CHAPTER ONE
Is he serious? Ben communicated via a stare to his cousin. But Jason Lee, having thrown down a few shots of scotch from a bottle of Macallan Rare Cask, was too intoxicated for nonverbal communication.
“It’s the best, dude,” seconded Derek, who sat across the booth from Ben in the latest of many trendy restaurants to open up in San Francisco’s SOMA district.
With a frown, Ben turned his gaze back to Jake Whitehurst, who sported a salacious grin as he swirled the scotch in his shot glass. Almost immediately, Ben hadn’t liked Jake. Something in the guy’s smug expression and the need to comment about the price of his Rolex watch ($12,000) and his shades from Cartier ($1,700) had left Ben less than impressed. Not that Ben begrudged the guy his haute couture when he himself had recently dropped two thousand for Louis Vuitton shades and gifted his mother a Tiffany bracelet that cost more than most mid-sized cars, but he never felt the need to brag about it.
If it weren’t for the fact that Jake was Jason’s friend and former college roommate, and Ben’s father wanted Jake’s business connections, Ben would have called it a night. He had tried to be cordial most of the evening, but Jake’s most recent revelation pushed his tolerance to the brink.
“You so hard up to get a date you have to buy one?” he asked Jake.
“Getting a date the old-fashioned way is too much work,” Jake scoffed.
Ben was incredulous. Jake was a good-looking guy in his mid-twenties. And, thanks to the successful sports agency his dad had founded, the bastard was rich. That took a man further than even his looks. A man could be as ugly as a naked mole rat, but money made him pretty.
“Women these days think they’re so special,” Jake continued. “But at the Scarlet Auction, you see what you like, you make a bid, an hour later, the girl’s yours.”
Ben raised his brows. “Girl?”
“You know what I mean. They’re not underage or anything. Just single, hot, and ready to get banged.”
“But some of them look like they could be, you know, teens,” Derek chortled.
“That’s gross,” Ben replied, referring to both the idea of going out with jailbait and the way Derek practically giggled.
“Oh, come on, don’t tell me you don’t fantasize about banging a high school cheerleader, with their short little skirts and cute little pom-poms.”
“I’ve been with high school cheerleaders—in high school. So no, I don’t fantasize about them anymore.”
The other three broke into guffaws. Jason clapped Ben on the back and slurred, “’Cause you’re an old man now.” Jason lowered his voice conspiratorially. “He turned thirty last year.”
“I turned thirty and I still fantasize about high school cheerleaders,” Derek said.
Because you never got within ten feet of one, Ben couldn’t resist thinking.
Jason patted Ben’s shoulder. “Just messin’ with you, cuz.” He looked across the table at Derek and Jake. “Honestly, there isn’t a chick this guy couldn’t get. Even in kindergarten, Ben was the man.”
“Bet having the Lee family name didn’t hurt,” Jake said, unable to keep the envy out of his tone.
“Hey, dude, you related to Bruce Lee?” Derek asked.
An accomplished martial artist, Ben could have said he had that in common with the kung-fu legend, but there were no family ties that he was aware of. Instead, Ben replied, “Your last name’s Nixon. Does that mean you’re related to Richard Nixon?”
“The Scarlet Auction only happens once a month. Bidding starts at midnight tonight,” Jake said. “We can all get dates for our week at the lake.”
Ben’s jaw tightened at the thought of spending the next several days at Jake’s cabin, but Jason had assured him the best way to do business with Jake was to socialize with him.
“I don’t need an auction to get a date,” Ben said.
Jake shook his head. “I don’t want yours to be the odd girl out. Either get a girl at the Scarlet Auction or come stag.”
“Don’t worry. They’re not ugly chicks,” Derek added. “The women who run the auction are very selective, so you’re guaranteed to walk away with a hot one, dude.”
Ben stared at Derek and briefly wondered if a kick to the guy’s head would stop him from talking like a surfer out of an ’80s beach flick.
Jason put an arm around Ben. “Come on, cuz. You don’t want to be the only one at the lake without female companionship.”
“Yeah, ‘companionship,’” snickered Jake as he threw back a shot and motioned for the server to bring the tab.
Ben made no reply at first. He didn’t want to “buy” a date at this Scarlet Auction. Hell, he couldn’t imagine bringing any woman, bought or otherwise, to hang out with these wankers for a week in a remote lakeside cabin.
On the other hand, due to his rigorous traveling schedule on behalf of expanding the family’s real estate empire, he hadn’t had female companionship in more than three weeks. There was the waitress in Berlin and the singer in Phuket, but the sex had been mediocore and barely enough to keep his balls from going blue.
As if reading his mind, Derek said, “And at the auction, you get girls who won’t make you run the bases. You make it to home base on day one.”
“Yeah,” Jake said. “I don’t bother with girls who make you jump through dating hoops.”
“How does the Scarlet Auction work?” Ben asked.
“You make a bid, you sign a contract, and the girl’s yours for a week. At the end of the week, you part ways. No strings, no emotional bullshit. It’s a business transaction. The girl walks away with a part of the proceeds, and everybody gets what they want.”
“And this is legal?”
“Sure. It’s gotta be. The whole thing’s consensual. No one’s getting forced to do anything. These girls want to sell their virginity.”
Ben started. “They’re virgins?”
“Not all of them, but if you want a virgin, you got to bid higher. I always bid high.” He clinked glasses with Derek.
Ben lowered his eyelids to hide his emotions. “Why do you want to fuck around with virgins?”
“Because it’s fun popping their cherries. Girls always remember their first time, and I live on in the memories of so many girls, I’ve lost count.”
Ben helped himself to another shot to wash away the revolting image of Jake pounding away at some poor young woman. He looked Jake square in the eyes. “Not man enough to take on a woman of more experience?”
Though Ben’s tone and following smile could have been mistaken for a casual ribbing, Jake stiffened and frowned. He replied seriously, “Virgins are...cleaner. I like knowing that some other guy’s gunk hasn’t been inside her.”
“But all the chicks at the Scarlet Auction have been tested, so you don’t have to worry about disease and shit,” Derek said. “You wouldn’t know that, just getting to know a chick by dating. The Scarlet Auction makes it all more...efficient.”
Jason leaned in closer. “So whaddya say, Ben? You gonna come with tonight?”