Part One
Dana stared at the letter in her hand, all the blood rushing from her face. Her fingers began to tremble and the paper nearly slipped from her grip.
She sank down in the chair.
“Hey, what’s up?” her roommate, Elli, asked, as she walked past and slumped on the couch across from her. “You’re white as a ghost.”
“I … uh…” Dana glanced up at the slim, tall blonde who shared the small, two-bedroom apartment with her. It was a bit dumpy, but it was only a ten-minute walk from the university. “It’s from my mom.”
“Oh? What does the bitch have to say?”
Dana cringed a bit at the way Elli referred to her mom, feeling disloyal to her family for not sticking up for her, but at this precise moment, she didn’t really feel like defending her mother. And Elli was only going on the incidents she’d witnessed.
“She…” Dana sucked in a deep breath. “She says I’m cut off.”
“Cut off? You mean, she won’t be giving you any more money toward your education?”
Dana shook her head. “She thinks it’s a waste of money and time for me to go for my master’s. She thinks I should go out and get a real job, and learn to stand on my own two feet. She won’t even co-sign on another student loan.”
Which was wholly unfair. Every time Mom had driven away another man, Dana had been there to pick up the pieces. To get her off the bottle and back on her feet so she could cope with the world again. Dana always had to be the adult, while Mom would wallow in her misery.
Dana gazed at Elli, her chest compressed under the weight of her crushed dreams. “I don’t know what to do,” she murmured helplessly.
Elli pursed her lips. “I think I have an idea, but promise me you’ll keep an open mind, because it’s a little bit crazy.”
* * *
Dana stepped off the elevator of the big office building. Elli had accompanied her on the bus, as much to make sure she actually went through with it as to provide moral support. Now Elli waited in the lobby while Dana went to meet the photographer.
She’d filled out the forms on-line, knowing she could back out if she wanted to. She couldn’t believe she was about to do this—sell her virginity to a billionaire willing to pay top dollar. But it made sense from a practical standpoint. She’d secretly wanted to get rid of her virginity since starting college, because everyone she told about it treated her like a freak. Rather than shed it at some lame party with a drunk college boy, why not get the money she desperately needed and lose her virginity at the same time? She wouldn’t think too hard about the implications.
She opened the glass door and walked into a lavish reception area. On the walls were photographs. All portraits.
“May I help you?” the receptionist behind a high wood-and-glass desk asked.
“I have an appointment at two p.m.”
“Miss Reynolds?”
Dana nodded.
The receptionist smiled. “Just take a seat.”
Instead of sitting, Dana walked to the wall and glanced at the photographs. They were exceptional. The first several were stunning portraits of young women. Dana walked along, admiring each one. Then she came to one of a man.
He wore a suit and watched her with confident eyes, sending goose bumps along her spine. Was this one of the men who might…? She sucked in a breath, then gazed at the next photo, then the next. Every one of these men gave off an aura of incredible power and confidence.
Her heart fluttered in her chest. Oh, God, could she really do this?
The sight of all these handsome, intriguing men had her certain she wanted to try.
Why did these men do it? Surely with their looks, money, and confidence they could have any woman they wanted. But that was another part she didn’t want to think about too much. They were willing to pay, and that’s what she needed.
“Are you ready for us to take your portrait for the site?”
She stood up. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Copyright © 2015 by Opal Carew
