January (Calendar Girl #1) Anthology Anthology (132 page)

At that comment, Rachel tipped her head back and laughed. Laughed so hard she had to put the tips of her fingers to her tear ducts to staunch the flow and not mess up her makeup. “Mia, if we don’t make a million tonight I’d be shocked.”

One million dollars. In a night. I’m working every day as an escort to rich dudes to make a million to pay back my father’s debt to his loan shark and we might make that much in an evening. “Unbelievable,” I gasped.

Her hand came up to my shoulder and squeezed. “Different type of lifestyle. Don’t worry, they can afford it.”

“I guess so. At least it’s all going to a really good cause. Mason will be pleased if we make that much for the charity.”

“Come on, let’s get this party started. People are starting to arrive.”

***

The next three hours flew by in a whirlwind of meeting people, hob-knobbing, drinking champagne, dancing to the DJ’s beats, and laughing with all the baseball wives. Everyone was having a blast and the last I checked, the auction table had hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of bids for the items being auctioned. Even if the player auction flopped, the charity would still get around half a million, which absolutely made me giddy with delight.

I shimmied on the dance floor sipping my pink champagne. All the drinks were pink tonight and flowing freely. The crowd was having a blast and everyone was in a very giving mood.

Rachel came up to me and grabbed my hand leading me off the dance floor. I pouted. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. It’s time for the Men of the Night Auction! Wanted to make sure you had perfect seats for the show.” Good looking out, I thought to myself. 

Oh yeah! Sexy baseball players stripping off their clothes. I pulled my cell phone out of the side of my boobs. Rachel looked at me and shook her head. “I can’t believe you can fit a cell phone in your bra. Men must love your chest.”

I looked down at my plump ta-ta’s and grinned. “Never had a complaint,” I offered and she giggled.

The auctioneer we hired came up to a long stage and stood off to the side by a podium. “Tonight, we have a special treat for the ladies out there. Seeing as this is a charity for women, we’re going to give the women something to bid on. Men, come on oooooouuuuuuut!” He said, drawing the word out. All twenty-five baseball players came out onto the stage and lined up. It was a thing of beauty. Veritable eye candy no matter where you looked. “We’ve got for your bidding pleasure…a date with a Red Sox baseball player! They take you out for no less than four hours for the date of your choice,” his voice tipped down, “within reason, ladies.”

The DJ started playing a saucy stripper type number and the third baseman walked out. “Oh my God, it’s Jacob Moore!” one woman screamed and threw up her pink paddle before the announcer even got the chance to ask for a bid.

“Well, looks like we’ve got some excited bidders. How about you take that jacket off and show the ladies what you’ve got hiding under there, Jake!” Jacob played along. His blond hair and blue eyes shined in the light. “How about we start the bid off at one thousand dollars!” Holy fuckballs! A thousand dollars as the starting bid! I couldn’t believe it.

Needless to say, it wasn’t enough. Jacob strutted around the stage, and the moment he unbuttoned his shirt, his bid upped to forty grand. “There are some seriously rich, horny chicks here,” I said to Rachel while clicking a pic of Jake and forwarding it to Gin.

Instantly, I got a response.

To: Mia Saunders

From: Skank-a-lot-a-Puss

I fucking hate you. Keep em coming…which is what I’d like to do to that piece of hot male action. 

I laughed and showed Rachel what Gin said. She shook her head. “I can’t believe you have your best friend in your phone as “Skank-a-lot-a-Puss.”

“Why not? It’s funny.”

She shrugged. “If you say so.”

We watched the outfielder go for another twenty thousand. Next up, left field. There was a woman standing by the stage literally drooling over his chocolate skin. He matched the color of dark chocolate perfectly. He went for fifty. That woman was not about to let him go for anything less. She started her bid at twenty-five.

I nudged Rachel in the shoulder, clicked a pic, and sent the dark beauty to Gin.

To: Mia Saunders

From: Skank-a-lot-a-Puss

Fuck me. I’d take such a giant bite out of that
chocolate ass. I wonder if he’d melt in my mouth and not in my hand. 

With that, and my easily tipsy state, I cracked up. Full guffaws that were unlady-like and made me miss one of the players being auctioned. I didn’t tell Gin. That would just piss her off.

“So Rach, we should mess with these bidders. Force ‘em to go higher right?”

“We could, they’re doing a pretty good job on their own though. By my count, we’re eight guys in and have already made three hundred thousand. The last two both went for fifty.”

I watched the next guy come out. It was Junior. Kris, his pretty girlfriend ran up to me bouncing. “Junior is allowing me to buy him!” she squealed in utter and complete glee. This ought to be good. Most women wanted a piece of Junior Gonzalez. He was perfectly edible. Tonight, was no different.

“Sorry, Kris,” I held up the camera and when all the mocha hotness came into view, his eight pack abs shining, the pink ribbon painted on his chest I about swallowed my tongue.

Kris cried out screaming, “Me, me, I want to buy him! He can catch me any day!” she roared and I snapped a picture of Junior’s male beauty. Okay, if I was honest, I snapped several. Face front, side view, and a definitely tight ass pic where he squeezed those gluts and had all the ladies hollering out. I sent the array of pics to Ginelle and my phone pinged with the ladies screams.

To Mia Saunders

From: Skank-a-lot-a-Puss

OMG Junior! I love you Junior! Tell him I love him.

I couldn’t even put my phone down before it pinged again.

To Mia Saunders

From: Skank-a-lot-a-Puss

That ASS! Have mercy on my slutty soul. I’d let him catch me, throw me, bat me, tag me, as long as he did it naked and fucked me stupid.

The bidding went wild for Junior, and at each bid, Kris would pout. Then the tiny firecracker got down right pissed off. Waving her paddle around, yelling at the auctioneer, and shooting evil eyes at the women bidding.

Finally, she screamed “One hundred thousand dollars!” And I almost fell back. Rachel caught me and tipped me back on my feet.

“Kristine! Are you allowed to spend that much money?” I asked, concerned that she was about to get in some serious shit with Junior.

She nodded vigorously still waving her paddle and giving attitude. It was funny as all hell. Then she responded to me. “He wanted to donate to the cause anyway. This way, no one gets my man and he gets his wish to donate the money in Mace’s Mom’s honor. He said he always wanted to show his respect and Mace is a brother from another mother. That’s what he says.”

She beamed and then danced around when the announcer cried, “Sold to the petite blonde for one hundred thousand dollars!”

Instead of walking back to his spot, Junior jumped down from the stage, eyes on his prize, picked up his girl, and crushed his mouth to hers. “You did so good baby!” he said, swinging her around like a rag doll. She preened and kissed him all over. Those two were made for one another. I know, usually a religious, old-fashioned Hispanic male would normally go for a Latina, but somehow he’s making it work. It would be interesting to see how that all works out when he takes her home to his Mother. I visibly shook thinking about it. With how much they loved each other, you could tell he did not give a crap about old-school rules. He had his pixie and he liked it.

Man after man was auctioned off. Bids in the high tens of thousands all the way up to one hundred and fifty had already been called tonight before it was Mace’s turn. The last man standing.

“All right everyone, the man you’ve all been waiting for. Mason “Mace” Murphy! He can throw a ball at one hundred miles an hour, he’s been on sexiest man alive lists all over the globe, and now he’s here for your bidding pleasure. Let’s start tonight’s bid at fifty thousand dollars!” the announcer called. Paddles flew up across the room. A veritable sea of pink. “All right not high enough for you high rollers, let’s go to one hundred thousand!” Still at least ten paddles stayed up.

Finally, when it got to two hundred and fifty, only one paddle was up. “Do I hear two hundred and fifty thousand dollars? Going once, twice, and sold to the lady in the pink satin dress!”

I turned my eyes to my left and saw Rachel’s paddle up in the air. Mason winked at the crowd and jumped down. He stormed over to Rachel and pulled her into his arms.

“Did you just buy me for a quarter of a million dollars?” he asked in awe. I was right there with him and I couldn’t believe it either.

“The company told me how much I could give. You’re about to sign several spokesperson deals, advertisements, and product sponsorships; overall, that’s really a drop in the bucket on what we’ll secure off our commission. Want to keep the client happy,” she purred. Her lips glistened off the lights, making them look delectable. 

A quarter of a million dollars was a drop in the bucket. Fuck me, I was in the wrong career.

“I don’t know what to say,” Mason’s eyes were soft and took in every inch of her face.

“Thank you would be a good start.” Her eyebrow quirked and for the first time I watched sweet, innocent, Rachel smirk. It was lovely.

He held her face, but photographers were already taking pictures. This did not look good. Instead, he hugged her close, said thank you into her ear, and moved to my side and nuzzled my hair. The cameras went off like crazy.

“Rachel, this isn’t over. I want alone time with you after the event. Don’t run from me. I want you in my room when this is over so we can talk. Swear you will come,” he pleaded under his breath.

“I will,” she promised. Then he kissed my cheek and went off to shake the hands of the donors who had given during the auction. 

***

The crowd continued to dance and participate in the festivities as the rest of the night wore on. Finally, Mason’s voice broke through the loud speaker and the lights turned up, signaling the night was just about over. It was after Midnight and my feet were killing me. I needed a hot bath, which I knew I had back in my hotel suite. Mason had booked us another double suited room so we wouldn’t have to drive or take a taxi back the thirty minutes to his place. Instead, we were in one of the Penthouse suites in the luxury hotel as were most the players and their WAGs.

Mason cleared his throat, which sounded inordinately loud through the PA. “Can I get everyone’s attention?” He asked the crowd and slowly everyone made their way to stand around the stage. The spotlight went onto Mace’s beautiful face. “I just wanted to thank everyone for coming tonight, for supporting Breast Cancer Awareness and the local Boston Chapter. Ten years ago, my Dad lost his wife, and my three brothers and I lost our Mom. She was only thirty-five years old. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t miss her. The cancer hit quickly and took her fast. She never even had a mammogram because she wasn’t forty. Even with a family history, she thought it wouldn’t happen to her. Well, it did. Let’s not lose any more of the women we adore to this devastating disease.”

The crowd’s applause was deafening. Mason put his hand out and shushed the crowd with a gesture.

“Though tonight was in honor of my mother, Eleanor Murphy, it’s more for the women who have yet to be saved. That’s why it is my extreme pleasure to welcome up the President of the Boston Breast Cancer Awareness Group to accept a check for tonight’s donations.” Mason looked down at the check and his eyes turned watery, and before he could man-up, a tear slipped down his cheek. He rubbed his eyes. “Think I got something in my eye.” The crowd laughed and so did I.

Mason shook his head and his hand trembled. Seeing a big, confident man hit with some serious emotion made the entire crowd respond. It was like a tidal wave of happiness and sorrow mixed into one. Mick Murphy jumped up on stage and clapped a hand onto his son’s shoulder and squeezed several times. Being there for his son, helping him stand proud during a very powerful moment was something I wished I’d had from my own dad.

“It is with extreme pleasure and gratitude for everyone here that I present you with a check for one million, two hundred seventy thousand dollars.” Mason held out the check and the entire crowd screamed so loud it almost brought the house down. Chills raced up and down my arms and gooseflesh rose across every inch of my skin. We had raised close to one point three million dollars in a single night. The man from the charity took the check, tears rushing down his face. He didn’t try to hide them.

Through the mic that was held at Mason’s cheek you could hear the man say, “Son, I lost my wife a few years ago. She would have been proud to see this. My daughter is alive because of the work we do and the prescreening she underwent at twenty. I can’t thank you enough for bringing such attention to the cause in our own home town, but also spreading the word through your good name,” he pulled back and finished. “And the entire Red Sox team. Thank you all. Everyone who’s here tonight and contributed, we will put this money to good use right away!” he wiped tears from his eyes.

There’s something about seeing grown men cry that turns a woman into a sniveling idiot. All the women around where weeping, blotting their eyes with pocket squares and handkerchiefs, me included.

It was the best night I’d had in a long time.

***

Back at the room, I sleepily pulled myself out of the tepid bath water. I’d long since lost the bubbles, drank all the rest of my champagne, eaten my weight in chocolate covered strawberries, and was now about to hit the sheets. I pulled on the comfy robe, wanting to go out and say goodnight to Mason. He had been so busy with his brothers; I’d told him I’d see him up in the room or in the morning first thing for some breakfast. He kissed me sweetly on the lips for the cameras that were anxiously waiting, held my hands, and thanked me for everything. One of the WAGs and I took to our rooms and left the men to finish up their male bonding for the night. Overall, I was really impressed with how things worked out. A crazy amount of money was raised, the entire event looked great for Mason and the Red Sox team as a whole and a bunch of rich people got fat tax write offs. Most importantly, Mason’s mom was honored and more women than I can count on my fingers and toes would get the prescreening they needed and hopefully save lives.