CHAPTER FOUR #2
She waved her hand like it didn’t matter.
“I’m the one who decides who lives here.
It’s my house. I bought it, so I have full say.
Up to ten women can live here at a time, but there’s usually only seven or eight at any given time.
Right now, there are six. Someone just moved out because she was in the last auction.
You’ll make seven. I’m very selective, and I select you.
” She tapped me on the shoulder like she was my fairy godmother or something.
Lord. Maybe she was. She looked at me over her shoulder, turned, and saw me standing back from the porch, staring at the house.
“Come on, Nadine. Don’t be nervous. The other girls are all nice, okay?”
I gave her a skeptical look. “I’ve never been real successful at making friends that are girls. My friend Jelly is the only girlfriend at had back in Puckins.”
“Well, guess what? These girls are all in that same boat. No girls wanted to be their friends, either. It’s because y’all are too damn hot. The other girls were afraid you’d fuck their boyfriends behind their backs.”
Huh. Made sense. Not that I would have ever done that. I hadn’t known about Jessica Huber. Plus, Mark was my boyfriend way before he was ever hers. Technically, she was the one fucking him behind my back. If she even knew I existed.
I heard people hurrying to the door.
The door opened and a woman who looked like a living, breathing Barbie doll smiled at us. “Hey! I’m Madeline,” she said as she looked us over. “Wow, you’re a beauty,” she said as she looked at me.
“I thought the same of you,” I said shyly. “I’m Nadine.”
“Well, come on in and meet everyone,” Madeline said. She looked me over appraisingly, then smiled. “You’re going to fit in just fine here.”
I walked in with Carmen behind me.
I felt like I was going to faint as I took in the luxurious surroundings. Everywhere I looked seemed like it should be in the pages of a magazine. Then I noticed the other five girls standing around with Madeline.
They all had a couple of obvious things in common.
First, they were all beautiful. Like, really beautiful.
And they all had great bodies. I had always been told I was the hottest girl in any room I walked into, but I wasn’t so sure that was the case now.
Not that it mattered to me, it was just an uncommon experience.
“Y’all tell her who you are and what you do at Sugar,” Carmen said.
“I’m Madeline,” said Barbie, “and I’m a stripper and work the VIP rooms at Sugar.”
The other girls looked at each other to see who should go next.
“Just go in a circle,” suggested Carmen, disinterested. She was looking at her phone.
“Well, that’s me then,” a girl with long, dark hair and big green eyes said. “I’m Daisy. I’m a hostess.”
“Hostess?” I asked.
“That’s what the waitresses are called at Sugar,” Carmen said. She sounded a little bored.
“Oh, okay.” I wanted to ask why they called them hostesses, but thought I’d better wait until I was on the tour with Carmen the next day.
Carmen was busy texting someone.
“I’m next, I guess,” giggled a busty redhead with tanned skin and brown eyes. She was breathtakingly gorgeous. Not that the others weren’t. She just stood out. “I’m Bethany, and I’m a stripper. I also work in the VIP rooms.”
With her figure, I wasn’t exactly shocked she was a stripper.
“I’m Gloriana,” the next girl said, “but everyone calls me Glory.” She was Latina, with long dark hair, tanned skin, and big brown eyes. She reminded me of Sophia Vergara. She was that pretty. She didn’t seem friendly, but wasn’t unfriendly, either. She was more matter of fact. “I’m a hostess.”
I was a little surprised. She had a rocking body. She must’ve seen the look on my face, because she laughed. “I can’t dance to save my life. I’d be putting myself and all the guys in the tables closest to the stage at risk if I tried to be a stripper.”
We all laughed. One girl said, “But they sure would be happy to see you out there, Glory.”
Carmen nodded and looked at me. “Glory’s been our most popular hostess for a while now. I’ve got to get her in the auction soon.”
Glory didn’t meet her eyes, and there was a brief, awkward silence.
“Well,” a girl with the prettiest hair I’d ever seen said, “I guess I’m next.
I’m Abbi, and I’m a stripper.” She seemed sweet.
I watched in awe as she flung her long, thick hair over her shoulder.
It trailed more than halfway down her back.
It was mix colors, and they looked natural.
My one semester of beauty school made me think I might be right.
She had light brown hair, mixed with dark blonde, all interspersed with much lighter blonde strands.
It gave the effect that her hair was almost sparkly.
It was so cool I barely paid attention to what she said.
“And I’m Nora,” another woman stepped forward, “I’m a bartender.
I mainly work at Sugar, but if they’re short staffed, I sometimes go to Cayenne or Cinnamon.
” Gosh. I thought Abbi had the prettiest hair I’d ever seen.
But Nora did, too. Hers was thick and wavy and super long.
It ended where her waist met her hips. It wasn’t the kind that looked kind of thin towards the bottom, either.
It was thick the whole way down. It was a rich, chocolate brown.
When paired with her creamy ivory skin and dark blue eyes, she kind of looked like a very sexy version of Snow White.
I had a lot of roommates. A lot of stunning roommates.
“Well. I’m Nadine. I’m going to…” I turned to Carmen.
“Nadine will not be here long. I want her to either be a hostess or strip, maybe both, and I want her in the next auction.”
Carmen had told me they had auctions on the first Friday of every month, so I knew they’d just had one a few days ago.
I’d be here about a month, it seemed. I tried to fight back a wave of disappointment as I looked around Cinnamon House.
I’d love to stay here longer just to soak up the experience of living in a house like this one.
The other girls seemed surprised but not upset. It didn’t seem like I’d stepped on their toes or anything. Or knocked someone out of their rightful place in the next auction.
“Okay. Well, come with me, girl.” Madeline grabbed my arm and guided me up the stairs of the mansion. “You’re staying in the room across from mine. It’ll be fun to have someone nice over there. The last girl was a total bitch, and…”
“Bye, Nadine. I’ll see you tomorrow. We’re going to start you as a hostess first, then we’ll see about you stripping after that,” Carmen said.
“Bye,” I called.
But she was already gone.