Chapter 1
Aspen
"There has to be a way I can keep my house," I tell my best friend, Willow, for what feels like the hundredth time as we look through articles online about how to make money quickly.
Almost everything we’ve come across looks like a scam with headlines like Make $20,000 from home in a week. I'm pretty sure the ads are to trick women into sex trafficking.
Willow has different reasons for trying to make money quickly than me. It’s all about safety for her, getting out of town and out from under the debt her dad left behind. For me, it's about keeping my house and paying off my mom's medical bills after she died.
A few hours later, I'm about to give up hope when Willow finally strikes something.
"Okay, so somehow, I ended up on this sugar baby website. While neither of us wants to go the sugar daddy route, they have some good ideas, even if they’re unconventional. Maybe we should sleep on it tonight and see what options sound okay in the morning. All right?" she asks, looking at me.
Great. If we're down to that kind of option, I'm about to lose my house and everything I have left.
"Okay, let's hear it."
"So, this one is more along the lines of what I need. It’s a modern-day mail-order bride service. Sort of like online dating, but instead of looking for a date, he’s looking for a wife. The man pays for me to move out there with him. They list specific criteria. At a glance, many are cowboys looking for someone to keep house and cook. I have the option not to marry him, but it's all done within a few weeks."
We look over the recommended website, and it seems legit. But Willow is right—it’s more suited to her. I don't want to move and give up everything. I want to stay here.
Moving out of town, at least for now, would be best. But the gamble is not knowing what kind of man you’re tying yourself to.
"That sounds great for you, but I think you need more information. Like how long you need to stay married before you don't have to pay back the money. Especially since the company headquarters looks to be right here in Chicago."
Willow returns to the original webpage and looks at a few ideas, each less appealing than the last. The suggestions range from selling your used underwear online to starring in a porno.
"Okay, here's one I think you should give some serious consideration. Hear me out before you immediately reject it," Willow says, staring at me.
"Fine. I’ll give it serious thought. What is it?"
"Have you heard of Club Red here in Chicago?" she asks, pulling up the Club Red website.
The website shows it’s one of those BDSM sex clubs we read about in the romance novels we like to share. I knew they existed, but I've never been to one or looked one up online. Though it looks classy and, if I'm honest, a little fun.
"I know what it is. But I didn't realize there was one in Chicago." I shrug it off, waiting to see what she says next.
"Well, the club is holding a virgin auction."
"Did I hear you right? You want me to auction off my virginity?" I ask in complete shock.
"I would totally do it if I were still a virgin, so hear me out. Your first time is going to suck anyway, so why not get paid for it? Not only will you get paid more than you need to clear your debts and keep the house, but it'll also give you enough to go to school. You lose your V-card and only have to spend a week with the guy. Then you never have to see him again."
I stare at Willow in shock because she’s absolutely serious.
"Think about it. I'm going to sleep now so I can call this mail-order bride company first thing in the morning." Willow packs up her computer and heads upstairs. She's been staying with me in the guest bedroom for the past couple of weeks.
We both need money, and no matter how many extra shifts or jobs we pick up, we won't be able to make the money we need in time. I look around the house where I grew up, the home where my mom raised me as a single mother. She worked hard and spent all her money to give me a stable home.
The stack of bills on the dining room table seems to mock me. Angry red stamps all over them, telling me this is my final chance to pay.
At the time, taking a second mortgage on the house to help my mom get better seemed like a good idea. Her doctors were so sure she would beat her prognosis. After she was better, we’d both work and pay it off while I went to night classes. We had a plan, dammit.
Then, one morning, she was too weak to get out of bed. Her doctors said the cancer had taken an aggressive turn, and it was nothing like he had seen before. She died a week later.
That was only a few months ago, and the debt collectors didn't waste any time calling in everything in my mom's name.
The thought of losing this house is more than I can bear, and the big red foreclosure letters on the envelopes from the mail today mock me as I sit at the dining room table.
I'm out of time, and I have to do something fast. But is selling my virginity the solution to all my problems?
