It makes me all those things as well. She’s like a reactor; whatever emotion she emits, I feel it too.
“Italian it is.” I promise.
“Yay,” she responds as the waitress drops our food in front of us. Ash eyes her plate up, clearly satisfied with what’s on it.
As we eat, I try to devise a plan to pull the information I need out of Ash without making her overly suspicious.
That shouldn’t be too hard, said no one ever.
I want to confront her delicately. I want to tell her who I am in a way that won’t freak her out and send her packing. But I need to know everything first.
Once full and back on the road, I decide to rip the Band-Aid off. Now or never.
“Ash.” I take her hand as I drive.
“Mmm?” She gazes over at me dreamily. I love that she looks at me like that. Like I’m everything. “I need to know something.”
“What?”
“I need to know... I need to know if you’re in trouble, or someone forced you to auction off your virginity.”
Her eyebrows crease. “I already told you, no. It was my decision.”
“But who set it up? Who was behind the auction?” I press.
She clams up.
“Ash, please.” I squeeze her hand.
“Why is it so important to know?”
“Because I want to make sure there are no repercussions,” I lie. “I care about you.” I tell the truth. “A lot. I want this to turn into something, but I just have to know everything. I have to know if there is someone out there I should be worried about.”
She exhales hotly, staring straight out the windshield. She’s still holding my hand, though, so I take that as a good sign.
“There’s no one out there,” she shares reluctantly. “No one put me up to it or forced me or threatened me. It was my choice. My entire sorority’s choice.”
“Sorority? You never mentioned you were in a sorority.”
“Yeah, well I didn’t expect to catch feelings for the man who was the highest bidder.” Her response is all aloof, but still she’s holding my hand. I wouldn’t let her let go if she tried.
“I’m glad that you did, if it’s any consolation.”
The corner of her mouth twitches. “Maybe a little bit.”
“So...” I urge her to keep talking.
“So...my sorority is very charitable and does a lot of community service. We were volunteering at a local animal shelter when a fire broke out. The entire place burned up, leaving dozens of animals misplaced.”
I’m trying to comprehend what this has to do with a virgin auction. “And...”
“And...one of the firefighters was one of my sisters’ brother. Did you follow that?”
“Yes.” I nod. “Firefighter is your sorority sister’s brother.”
“Right. He was severely burned, he was in the hospital for weeks and the medical bills piled up. Jessie decided to take things into her own hands,” she explains. “There’s a promise pact when you pledge. To save yourself for true love or marriage. Most of the girls sign it. But Jessie was desperate, so she decided to auction off her virginity. When the house caught wind, we were upset at first, but then realized it could really help out her brother Shane and all the homeless animals. So, we decided to put together an online auction. Who knew it would be such a hit? We made so much money, we’re building a huge new shelter and all of Shane’s medical bills are paid off.”
I’m completely silent. Actually, I’m completely floored, because I never expected the explanation she gave me. Gives the slogansorority girls give for a good causea whole new meaning.