Between Love and Passion

Virginia

The walk from the bus stop to my house was tiring, even more so after spending an hour and a half in a crowded public vehicle. But it was part of my routine and I could only accept it.

I came home longing to sit down and put my feet on something because they were throbbing in my sneakers. No matter how comfortable the manufacturer insisted it was, there was no possibility of spending almost the whole day on my feet pleasantly.

"Mom!" I called out, after throwing my purse onto the hard, worn-out couch in the living room of the modest house where I had lived with my parents for twenty years. " Mom!"

She didn't answer and worry soon took the place of tiredness and I practically ran out of the small house, looking for some sign of Ms. Beth, popularly known as my mother. 

 I could only breathe normally again when I saw that my mother was just sleeping peacefully in her bedroom. 

She was probably so exhausted from another day of work that she had gone to bed early and didn't wake up even when I shouted for her.

I thought about how hard my parents had worked in their lives, and how they had always tried to give me the best that the lack of financial conditions allowed, and I promised myself, once again, that I would do anything to be able to give them a comfortable life, at least now in their old age.  I would do anything, as long as it was not something that would harm anyone.

I went back to the living room and checked my cell phone for messages and missed calls since I hadn't touched it since I left work two hours ago.

My father arrived at that moment and looked exhausted. After a day's work as a bricklayer and being almost sixty years old, that was quite understandable.

" Hi, Dad! "

I approached the best father one could have and tried to hug him, who shied away, reaching out his hand to stop me from doing what I wanted to do.

"I'm all dirty, child."  

"I don't mind," I spoke in an affectionate tone, and even against his will, I gave Mr. Francisco a tight hug and kissed his cheek.

"Stubborn girl. Always doing what she wants." Despite the words, his tone was also affectionate. "I'm going to take a shower, and we can have dinner. "

"Mom is already asleep," I commented, getting ready to fix us something to eat. 

"She called me to tell me she was going to sleep early." He informed me. "But our dinner is in the oven."

" Then I'll wait for you, and we'll have dinner together. "

My father agreed with the gesture and went to his room, while I went to read my messages.

Mariana: Friend, I found a way for us to get a lot of money.

Mariana: And it only affects our lives and nobody else's!

I smiled as I read what my best friend, who was completely crazy, but whom I loved like a sister, sent me, my heart already racing.

Virginia: A lot of money?

Mariana: A lot!

Virginia: Are you sure?

Mariana: I'm talking about thousands of reais, my friend.

I was immediately curious as to how I could win so much money like that, other than through a lottery win, but no matter what, it was too much money for me to miss this opportunity.

I was sure that Mariana was not calling me to commit a robbery or anything of the sort. 

Virginia: Whatever it is, I'm in!

The Auction

Virginia

When I entered the Season Hot Club with Mariana, nervousness took over my whole body, but I closed my eyes and thought about the money that could change my parents' lives and when I opened them again, I filled myself with self-confidence and went for it. I would do it. 

Mariana had discovered a secret club, which had a very unusual form of entertainment for those who had a lot of money.

The club offered auctions where men could bid on various types of "goods", from a date with the woman of their choice to a night of sex, or even someone's virginity, which could be from either a woman or a man. 

Although the practice was something that I could consider very grotesque, all the people who were at the auction had come on their own, just as my friend and I had come, but of course, the motivation was money since the values could reach thousands of reals. 

I understood that although everyone was there of their own free will, the fact that a man was bidding for sex or, worse, virginity at such an auction said a lot about him. 

To think that I would have to give myself to such a person brought a shiver down my spine. I focused again on the money, it was what was driving me to be there that night. 

Looking around the room, I noticed that there was a very "normal" bar and that the place was very busy. I looked at Mariana, and she nodded, indicating that we should go to the counter, where some people were serving the customers.

After she told us where we should go, we went in that direction, where we were instructed to look for Pamela, who was in charge of organizing the auctions.

"Are you Luan friends, who will participate in the virgin auction? "

The woman was dressed very sensually and was beautiful, and she looked at us both appraising when we asked if she was Pamela. 

"Yes, that's us. " Mariana answered, and her voice showed the uncertainty in her words." 

"We are totally up for it." I decided to intervene. 

Luan, who worked with Mariana in a retail store downtown, was also a waiter at the club and explained to us that they only accepted people who showed that they were willing to go all the way with that deal because they didn't want to risk that the "well" auctioned would end up giving the bargain. 

"As you know, I am Pamela. I'm going to guide you through our auction, and you can back out at any time." She spoke nicely, showing her satisfaction with our confirmation. "However, after I go on stage, you will no longer have this option. "

We looked at each other with a certain fear, Mariana and I, but I made a discreet gesture to her, to let her know that I would remain firm until the end of the story. 

"As Virginia said, we don't intend to give up." My friend assured me, now in a firmer manner.

"Come with me, then."

We followed her down a long, narrow corridor that followed the decoration of the whole space, in shades of silver and white, all very bright, totally the opposite of what I imagined for an environment of that type, and we quickly arrived in front of a door, which she opened and told us to enter.

It was a very spacious room with several people inside, all very young and in various stages of nudity. 

I understood that the room would be a kind of dressing room and that the people there should participate in the "attractions" of the night. 

As soon as Mariana told me about the club and what was happening there, my first thought was to refuse, because I was afraid that someone would see me in that place and the story would spread, reaching my parents, who were already elderly and would be very sad if they knew what I was about to do. 

But Luan told us that everyone who was there wore a mask to preserve their identity and this made me calmer.  However, in that room, there was no one wearing a mask yet, and I was afraid I would meet someone I knew. As unlikely as it was, anything was possible.