Page 28 of Bought For Us

No, no, no. I’m not ready. I can’t do this. Fucking hell, Cora!

“Hello? DeeDee?”

“Get a hold of yourself woman!” I scold myself harshly under my breath. Fanning myself for a second, I take a look at myself in the mirror before fixing my hair.

“You got this.” I try to pump myself up but it’s a lie. I don’t got this. Maybe it could be an eighty year old man and he passes out before we have sex? I mean, it’s hopeful thinking, right?

With a deep breath, I plaster on my fakest smile and open the door. “Hello.”

My eyes dart to the people behind Amy and my smile falls. I blink. And blink.

“Ha.” I let out a bit of a hysterical laugh. “This is some kind of sick joke, right?” I start to blink frantically as I look between the two ghosts of my past. “I’m dreaming. I’ve got to be dreaming. Okay, I’d like to wake up now.” I say, taking a step back into the dressing room as Amy looks at me with concern.

“DeeDee?” She asks me. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh, it’s fine. Totally fine.” I turn around and step further into the room. Grabbing handfuls of my hair, I struggle to breathe. This can’t be happening. It’s not them. It can’t be them.

Of all the damn fucking people in the world, why them!

“Cora.” His voice is soft, and cautious, like he’s talking to a scared animal. He practically is.

Spinning around on my heel, I watch as Zack and Kimmy step into the dressing room. “What are you doing here?” I ask, my voice cracking. It’s too much. Fuck, I can’t do this right now. I can’t fucking breathe.

“DeeDee. Do I need to get security?” Amy asks.

“Yes. No.” I shake my head, grabbing another handful of my hair. “I don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t fucking know.”

“Cora, breathe.” I hate his voice, how sweet and calming it is. I hate how still to this day, ten years later my body reacts to it.

“It’s okay.” I hear Kimmy telling Amy through the ringing of my ears. “We won’t hurt her. It’s just been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”

“Still. If DeeDee isn’t okay, I’m not leaving until she is fine.” Amy responds and god, I could hug her right now.

“Cora. You're having a panic attack.” Zack tells me.

“Don’t you think I know that,” I shout, staring at him with wild eyes. “You think I can just stay calm in a moment like this.” And then it hits me. “You two.” My eyes dart between Zack and Kimmy. “You're the ones who bought me for the weekend?”

So many things are running through my mind right now. Like the fact that they’re seeing me in a vulnerable moment like this. Half naked and selling myself for money.

The fact that they are together. I knew it. Kimmy loved him so much back then and while Zack never told me he had feelings for her, I saw it in the way he looked at her. The way they danced together that night was anything but just friends.

And the fact that they spent a million dollars on me tonight.

My heart pounds painfully in my chest. I feel like I’m going to be sick and pass out. “I can’t breathe,” I say, fanning myself as I squeeze my eyes shut.

“Yes, you can, Daredevil,” he whispers and my eyes snap open to meet his. He’s changed so much. He’s grown his hair out a little bit, long enough to run his hands through it. His face is covered in a neatly trimmed beard. But his eyes, no they haven’t changed one bit. “Breathe for me. In and out.”

I nod and hold his stare as I take a breath in and out. He keeps working with me until my heart rate has lowered and I’ve calmed down.

“That’s it. Good girl.” The words send my body to a new degree.

“Cora?” My attention snaps over to Kimmy. She’s so damn stunning. She always has been. Her long brown hair is styled a lot like mine. She’s in a long sleek black dress that hugs her curves perfectly.

“Of all the people to buy me tonight, I never thought in a million years, it would have been you two,” I whisper.

She gives me a small smile. “Surprise?”

“Kimmy,” Zack groans.

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