“Samuel, you need to finish up that order before you can leave.” His manager says, stopping him before he heads to the back to clock out.

“I’ll be late though.” Sam whines. “I’ve only got 15 minutes.”

“Where are you going, exactly?” The manager asks.

“Umm ... Nevermind.” Sam says, flushing, and quickly working to complete the photo order.

“Sorry I’m late, Sam.” Sarah apologizes, coming out from the back in a hurry. “I can finish that up.”

“Thank you!” Sam says, setting the photos on the counter, and making a beeline for the time clock.

“You’ll never make shift supervisor with that type of attitude.” His manager calls at his back, before the door closes.

“Never make shift supervisor with that attitude.” Sam mutters to himself, in a mocking tone. “Not like you’ll have much choice, now that we lost more than half of our staff.”

Pulling up to the auction location, Sam jumps out of the car, and runs inside.

“Am I too late for the auction?” He gasps out, as he manages to stop himself in front of the check in desk.

“The preview period is nearly over.” The older woman at the desk says, her name tag identifying her as ‘Rosie’. “But you are still in time to bid. May I see your card?”

Handing it over, Sam fidgets, staring around the room as he waits.

“Looks like you are eligible for one concubine today.” Rosie says.

“Oh.” Sam says. “Any idea how close I am to getting two?”

“The system doesn’t tell me.” Rosie says. “A promotion at work usually does it, especially if it comes with a decent raise. I’m sure you’ll get there. Just go through the double doors, over there. You may have time for a quick preview.”

“Thank you!” Sam says, nearly running through the lobby, throwing the doors open loudly, and drawing the attention of nearly everyone in the room.

“Sorry.” Sam says, a bit louder than he intends, and slows down a bit, making straight for the women sitting at the back of the room.

“Hold on there.” One of the guards says. “We’ve only got a few minutes before auction. Is there a particular girl you wanted to preview?”

“I just wanted to look.” Sam says defensively.

“This is an auction, for people who are going to buy.” The guard says. “If you are just looking, you can leave.”

“I’m going to buy.” Sam insists. “But I want to look them over first.”

“You should have gotten here earlier.” The guard says. “You can walk by and take a look, but the auction starts in 4 minutes.”

Sam makes his way to the end of the line, looking the women up and down as he passes. Several cute women stand out, and he tries to memorize their faces, mentally assigning a dollar amount to each. Before he can reach the end, the auctioneer’s voice sounds. “Auction starts in one minute. Take your seats.”

“Damn it.” Sam thinks, turning to walk to the front. “I didn’t even get to look at them all.”

Taking his seat, as close to the front as he can manage, he anxiously awaits the start of the auction.

“Hello Folks, and welcome to the nightly auction. We’ve got 40 ladies for you tonight, all zero owner girls, no mileage on those tires.” The auctioneer says. “First we have a lovely young lady, who formerly worked in real estate. Don’t be shy now, get up here.”

A dusky skinned woman walks onto the stage, stopping on a spot marked with a X made of tape.

“This young lady says she can help with paperwork in a business, cook, and clean.” The auctioneer says. “She’s only 26, no kids. Who will give me $250?”

No bids come in initially, and Sam wavers. “She’s pretty.” He thinks. “But what if one of the prettier girls go cheap?”

The first bid comes in at $175, and she sells for $225.

“Lots more women to go.” Sam thinks. “I’m sure I can get one of the really pretty ones.”

After a few women in their 30’s that don’t interest Sam, one of the girls he had his eye on finally gets to the stage.

“Next up we have this gorgeous college girl.” The auctioneer reads off his card. “She’s only 21, no kids. Let’s be honest, you don’t really care if she can cook or clean, do you?”

“No!!” is the response that comes back from the crowd.

“Who will give me $500?” The auctioneer asks, and the bidding takes off quickly, rapidly surpassing the $700 that Sam has scraped together.

“Shit.” Sam thinks. “Maybe the next one will come in lower?”

After ten more sales, Sam is thoroughly discouraged. “Why are all the girls I want going so high?” Sam mumbles to himself. “It’s not fair.”

“You just have to lower your standards.” The older man sitting next to him says. “All these girls look the same in the dark.”

Sam looks over at him, and responds. “I don’t want to have to keep them in the dark. I want someone I’m proud to have, not some ugly, fat, old woman.”

“Guess you better figure out where to get more money.” The old man laughs. “Because otherwise, you’ll need to use that light switch.”

Angry now, Sam focuses back on the auction, trying and failing to bid on every remotely acceptable woman, but losing all of the bids.

“Only five left.” The auctioneer says, much to Sam’s chagrin. “Next up we have an office worker. She’s 31, and doesn’t appear to have many skills that any of you would care about. I’m sure a few of you could teach her a few tricks though, right?”

Laughter goes through the crowd, and Sam looks up from his hands, where he’s been hiding his face. The woman on the stage has bronze skin, a face that isn’t exactly pretty, but at least isn’t awful, and is a bit taller than Sam prefers, but she could work. “Decent tits too, even if they weren’t huge.” Sam thinks.

“I’ll bid if she goes cheap.” Sam thinks. Looking over at the remaining women, he realizes that she is the best one left, and probably the only one he would be willing to buy.

“Goddamnit.” Sam thinks, bidding almost reflexively, not even knowing what price the auction is at.

“Sold for $300.” He hears a moment later, realizing that the auctioneer is pointing at him.

After the last concubine is sold, Sam stands up shakily, more than a bit frustrated at the result. “I should have bid on the first woman.” He thinks. “She was cheaper, younger, and prettier.”

Making his way to the front, he waits his turn in line, before pulling out cash to pay for his new concubine.

“That’ll be $337.50.” Rosie says.

“Wait, I bid $300.” Sam says.

“Taxes and fees.” Rosie says. “It pays for their upkeep while they are waiting to be sold.”

“Damn it.” Sam mutters, peeling off a few more bills, before handing them to Rosie.

Thoroughly upset now, Sam looks up to see his new concubine being led through the double doors. “Here are her personal belongings.” The guard who had confronted him initially hands him a bag.

“Thanks.” Sam mutters, a bit aggravated to see that she is actually slightly taller than he is. “I guess.”

“Follow.” Sam says, walking to the front door, and pushing it open loudly again.

“Can I get my stuff now?” The concubine behind him asks.

“It’s my stuff now.” Sam says. “Hopefully there is something here that can help me get back my $337.50.”

Making his way to his vehicle, a 20 year old 4 door beater, he opens the drivers door, before getting in, and reaching across to open the passenger door. “The handle on that side doesn’t work.” Sam tells her. “If you ever go anywhere with me, you’ll have to wait until I open it from the inside.”

“Great.” The concubine says, getting in and slamming the door. “Just great.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Sam says. “I’m so tired of people like you. You think it’s easy to barely make it, every single month? You know how long it took me to save up that money? How many lunches I had to skip?”

“You don’t look like you were skipping lunches.” The woman says.

Growling with frustration, Sam puts the car in reverse, and aggressively pulls out of the parking lot. “Just wait til I get you home.” He says. “Then we’ll see if that attitude is still an issue.”

As they pull up to the apartment building, the concubine can’t help but laugh.

“What?” Sam asks angrily.

“I own one of these units.” She says. “Or used to own it, before all of this. Who knows, maybe I was your landlord this whole time.”

“Just shut up.” Sam says, struggling to control his anger. “Don’t talk.”

Moving two fingers over her lips, she makes a zipper noise, and then stares at him silently. “Get out of the car, and follow me inside.” Sam says.

Sam throws open the door, nearly hitting the car next to him, and then goes around to the side to make sure the concubine is going to follow. As she approaches, Sam turns, going to the center of the building, and taking the stairs up.

Sam stops at his door on the third floor, fiddling with his keys until he manages to get the right one. Looking up, he sees the woman smirking. “What the fuck did I buy?” He thinks, as he opens the door, and steps inside.

After the woman enters, he shuts the door, takes a deep breath, and says. “My name is Sam. What is yours?”

The woman turns, acting like she was trying to speak, but her lips were sewn together, before shrugging.

“You may speak now.” Sam says, frustration beginning to build again, despite his best efforts.

Taking her fingers like before, she reverses the previous motion, unzipping her lips.

“That’s so much better.” The woman says, exaggeratedly moving her lips and face muscles, as if she was stretching them. “I’m Bella. I’d say it was nice to meet you, but I’m not sure it is, so far.”

Sam’s hand clenches, and he nearly smacks her, but he manages to restrain himself.

“You really want to hit me, don’t you?” Bella asks, eyes on his hand, and not flinching.

“Why are you behaving this way?” Sam asks, trying and failing to keep the anger from making his voice a bit high pitched.

“This is who I am.” Bella says. “A piece of plastic around my neck doesn’t magically make me a new person. If you had talked to me before bidding, I would have told you that.”

“My boss wouldn’t let me leave work on time.” Sam says. “And the shift after me was like 2 hours late.”

“Maybe you should have waited until tomorrow.” Bella suggests. “So you could have been prepared.”

“I work tomorrow evening.” Sam says, voice taking on a wheedling tone. “We are seriously short staffed now.”

“Ah.” Bella says. “I see. And the drug store probably didn’t have many employees to start with, right?”

“How did you know I worked at the drug store?” Sam asks, before looking at his chest, where her finger was pointing. “Oh, the shirt.”

“Yeah.” Bella says. “It’s kind of obvious, if you are paying attention.”

“Yeah.” Sam says, deflating visibly. “I struggle with that, sometimes.”

“I can tell.” Bella says. “If I’m going to stay with you, things are going to have to change. This apartment is squalid.”

“It’s the best I can afford.” Sam says defensively. “And you said you owned one of these.”

“The one I owned was much nicer than this.” Bella says. “I had it totally renovated a few years ago. Tile floors, granite counters, and it didn’t smell like old cigarette smoke and dead pets.”

“Well, it’s what I can afford.” Sam says. “And work won’t give me more hours. They are keeping me at 32, even with the staff shortages.”

“Find a new job.” Bella says flippantly. “It shouldn’t be hard to find something better than ... this.” She points at his shirt. “Especially if there is a labor shortage now. What are your qualifications? Did you go to college? Wait, nevermind, I know the answer to that one. If you had, you wouldn’t be working part time at the drug store.”

“I started college.” Sam says angrily. “I just didn’t finish. My parents died, and things got rough.”

“Rougher than this?” Bella asks, pointing at the stained carpet. “This is one step from homelessness. Do you have a resume? I can work on figuring out what you can do that will pay enough to get us out of this ... place.”

“You aren’t in charge here.” Sam says, trying to grow a spine. “I own you, not the other way around. And I want a blowjob.”

“Get a new job, and a new apartment, and you’ll get one every day.” Bella says. “This apartment doesn’t exactly excite me, you know, sexually.”

“This is bullshit.” Sam says. “I paid $337 for you.”

“And 50 cents.” Bella says. “Every penny counts, when you live here.”

Sam growls, stepping forward and swinging at her face. Bella steps back nimbly, causing Sam to go off balance, and stumble.

“Don’t do that again.” Bella says. “I’m not going to be your punching bag. If you try to hit me again, you’ll wake up missing parts.”

“You bitch!” Sam screams at her. “I own you. You don’t get to talk to me that way.”

“I’m a human being.” Bella says calmly. “Go get your resume, and if you don’t have one, write down your work history, and skills. We can work together to improve your situation, or you can swing at me again, and see what happens.”

“God dammit.” Sam says, sinking into the couch. “Nothing ever goes right for me.”

“You thought I would ‘yes, master’ you, and give you blowies before bed, while making your lunch, doing your laundry, and cleaning this shitbox?” Bella asks.

“I mean, kind of.” Sam says. “I wanted someone to spend time with me. It gets lonely in here, all by myself.”

“You should have done your homework, then.” Bella says. “If you had shown up at the start of the preview, you could have interviewed all of us, and found someone who was interested in that. Like that first girl. She was just the sweetest thing. Always polite to everyone, and she was cheaper than me.”

“Fuck.” Sam says, hands going to his hands. “I almost bid on her.”

“Why didn’t you?” Bella asks.

“I had a few other women I kind of liked more.” Sam says. “I was hoping one of them would be cheap.”

“And instead you ended up with me.” Bella says. “Which is good news for you, even if you don’t realize it. If you will get your damn resume, I will work on finding you a decent job. Then you can afford a second girl, and I can help you find someone that actually works for what you want, and you won’t have to bring her back to a shitbox like this.”

“I’ll go get it.” Sam says, admitting defeat.

When he comes back from the bedroom with the resume, he finds Bella is sitting at the table with his laptop already open.

“Do you need the password?” Sam asks, handing over the resume.

“I figured it out.” Bella says. “Is this your complete work history?”

“Yes.” Sam says. “Back to high school.”

“What was your college major?” Bella asks, flipping through the multiple pages of the resume.

“I didn’t have one.” Sam says. “I just took a few core classes.”

“Great.” Bella says. “We’ll leave that off, then. I’ll let you know when I need something else. Do you have anything edible here?”

“Ok, I’ve found a few jobs you might be able to get.” Bella says from the tiny table in the kitchen. “Turn that off, and come over here.”

Sam rises sulkily, coming over to the table, not sure if he wanted her to actually find something, or not.

“Read over each of the open tabs.” Bella says. “Each of them is full time, with benefits, and pays more than you make now.”

Sam reads them, now fairly certain that he wanted Bella to be wrong more than he wanted a better job. After a few minutes, he says. “Ok, they are better than my job. But could I actually get these jobs?”

“That depends on how much of a fuck up you are.” Bella says, and pauses for a moment. “Well? Are you a total fuck up, or are you capable of learning?”

“I’m not a fuck up.” Sam says. “I’ve just had some bad luck.”

“You’re what? 35? 40?” Bella asks. “And you work part time at a drug store. You are a fuck up.”

“I’m 32.” Sam says, more than a bit offended.

“Really?” Bella asks, the look of surprise on her face absolutely devastating to his vanity. “Well, I guess you are a bit less of a fuck up than a 40 year old working part time at a drug store. But getting back on topic, yes, you should be able to get any of these jobs. I’m going to apply to them for you, after I redo your resume. I need two references that I can list on applications. Write down their names and numbers on this.” Bella pushes his resume across the table, taking back the laptop.

“Umm ... I don’t really know who to list.” Sam says.

“Did your last boss like you?” Bella asks. “Or a former coworker?”

“Not really.” Sam says. “They were all assholes.”

“What about where you work now?” Bella asks. “Is there a coworker who wouldn’t tell the manager if they got a call about you?”

“Sarah, maybe.” Sam says. “But most of the rest of them are gone, all that’s left are the old ladies, and the store manager, who is a jerk.”

“Then write down Sarah’s name and number.” Bella says. “And talk to her when you can, to explain what you are doing, and to ask her to give you a good reference. Offer to give her a good one, if she wants to use you as a reference, that will incentivize her not to tell people what a fuck up you are.”

“Can you please stop calling me that?” Sam asks.

“Fuck up?” Bella asks.

“Yes.” Sam says sharply, his frustration clear.

“I’ll stop for tonight.” Bella says. “And if you stop acting like one, I won’t call you that again. But if you keep being a fuck up, it’ll come right back out.”

“Deal.” Sam says.

“So what the fuck gave you the idea that you should buy a concubine?” Bella asks. “You can barely feed yourself, or pay your rent, and your car is going to stop running any day now. I’m genuinely curious, are you just that horny? or lonely?”

Sam sighs and looks, not wanting to answer. After a minute, he looks up, and sees Bella still waiting for an answer. “A guy came into the store about two weeks ago. He had two concubines with him, and at least one of them seemed to actually like him. I asked him how much they cost, and one of them was only $800. I just thought, if I could have someone waiting for me at home, something to look forward to, maybe life wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Wait, so some guy came in with two girls, and you asked them how much they cost?” Bella asks. “In front of them?”

“Yes.” Sam says, puzzled.

“Jesus Christ.” Bella says. “Did you ask him if they were good in the sack too? Or if you could borrow one of them for a few minutes?”

“No, of course not.” Sam says defensively. “I didn’t want to be rude or anything.”

“And you don’t think the girls were uncomfortable with you asking that while you eyed them up?” Bella asks.

“I didn’t really think about it.” Sam admits. “I’ll admit, my mind was going a thousand miles a minute, thinking about the possibilities.”

“About the possibilities of having a sex slave?” Bella asks, not hiding her scorn.

“It was more than just that.” Sam says. “The Asian girl seemed to actually like him. The way she looked at him when he asked if I had a problem with them being there. I want someone to look at me like that.”

“And you thought that buying me, being an asshole, and then bringing me back to this shithole in your shitbox of a car was going to do that?” Bella asks incredulously.

Sam puts his face into his hands, and Bella says. “Look, I don’t think you are a bad guy. But, no offense, you are an idiot who has no idea how to get what he wants. I can help you with all of that.”

“Ok.” Sam says, hands still in his face.

“Let’s start by not hiding, like a child.” Bella says, and after he moves his hands, she says. “Tell me about your love life. How long ago was your last relationship?”

“Define relationship.” Sam says.

“Exclusively dating one person, for at least 4 dates.” Bella says. “Mutually exclusive.”

“6 years ago, maybe?” Sam says. “I haven’t been dating much, lately.”

“Because you live in a shitbox?” Bella asks. “And drive another one?”

“That’s part of it.” Sam says. “I’m also tired of rejection. You can only hear ‘no’ so many times, before you’d rather throw yourself into traffic than ask anyone else out.”

“So this was the safe route for you?” Bella asks.

“I thought so.” Sam says. “Clearly, I was wrong.”

“Mostly.” Bella says.

“Sarah, can I talk to you for a minute?” Sam asks, when he arrives for his afternoon shift.

“Sure.” Sarah says, the cute blonde looking around for customers, and then coming closer to him.

“I’m applying for new jobs, and I was wondering if I could use you as a reference?” Sam asks quickly. “I’d be willing to be a reference for you, too, if you need it.”

“Umm ... Sure.” Sarah says, sounding disappointed. “We’ll be really short handed without you.”

“I know, but I can barely make rent with this job.” Sam says. “And it’s pretty clear they are never going to promote me. And with my new concubine, I have to make more.”

The color drains out of Sarah’s face, and she says. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Sam says. “She helped me apply for some new jobs last night. She said if I leave, you might be able to use that as leverage for the promotion, since we are so short staffed.”

“Umm ... Thanks.” Sarah says. “I have to go.”

“What’s going on with her?” Sam wonders, before walking over to the register to help the customer who is waiting.

“You idiot!” Bella says.

“What?” Sam asks. “And I thought we were laying off the insults.”

“You fucked up, again.” Bella says. “The girl had a crush on you.”

“Sarah?” Sam asks. “I don’t think so. We’ve worked together for years.”

“Let me get this straight.” Bella says. “You asked to talk to her, and she made sure you were alone. Then you asked for a reference, and she was disappointed. And you told her about me, and she got upset, and left. Am I forgetting something?”

“No...” Sam says. “Shit, you really think that’s it?”

“Either that, or she really hates the idea of people having concubines, or both.” Bella says. “I’d put my money on a crush that just got crushed.”

“What do I do?” Sam asks. “You already put her down as a reference. And I don’t really have any other friends.”

“Sam, you are a moron.” Bella says. “Call her, and tell her that you are a moron, and didn’t realize she liked you. Ask her if you two can talk. If she already knows about this shitbox, invite her over to talk.”

“I wish you wouldn’t call it a shitbox.” Sam says. “It doesn’t help.”

“It helps motivate you.” Bella says. “Go, call her. If she doesn’t answer, then send it as a text. Remember, you are apologizing for your stupidity.”

Sam dials, and after two rings, it goes to voicemail. Hanging up quickly, he says. “She rejected the call, I think. It only rang twice.”

“Then text her.” Bella says, trying to be patient. “Let me read it before you send it.”

After a few attempts, Bella edits it to be acceptable. “Send it, and we’ll see what happens.” Bella says. “Hopefully you haven’t fucked it beyond repair.”

The next morning, Sam’s text was still showing as unread.

“She had to have seen it by now.” Bella says. “That means she swiped it off, without bothering to read it. She must be seriously pissed at you.”

“Shit.” Sam says. “What do I say when I see her at work today?”

“Nothing weird or creepy.” Bella says, giving him a serious look. “If she avoids you, give her space. If she actually talks to you, you can mention that you would really like to talk to her about yesterday, and ask if you can call her tonight, after work.”

As Sam enters the store the next day, he sees Sarah, and walks in her direction. She says something to the customer she is waiting on, and slips into the back room.

Entering the back room, Sam sees her grabbing her stuff, while trying to work the time clock.

“Sarah, please don’t run away.” Sam says. “I just want to talk, for a second.”

She manages to get the time clock to do it’s thing, and walks to the door. “The customer at the counter is waiting on you.” Opening the back door, she ducks out before he can respond.

“Shit.” Sam says, turning and slowly walking back into work.

“I told you to leave her alone, if she was avoiding you.” Bella says, smacking him on the back of the head. “Why can’t you ever just do what you are told?”

“Don’t hit me.” Sam says. “And you aren’t in charge of me. If anything, it’s the other way around.”

“I think we both know that’s not the reality.” Bella says. “And that wasn’t a hit. It was a gentle reminder to stop being a fuck up.”

“I don’t know what to do.” Sam says, trying to ignore her use THAT word again. “I don’t work with her again for three days.”

“Good.” Bella says. “Maybe she’ll forget you acting weird by then. Give her space. If she’s interested, she’ll read your text. And if she isn’t, maybe we’ll find you another job before you get yourself fired for harassing her.”

“I didn’t harass her.” Sam says loudly. “I just asked to talk to her.”

“While she was trying to avoid you.” Bella says. “It’s creepy, and weird. Don’t do it again.”

“You don’t understand.” Sam says. “I wasn’t trying to be creepy and weird. I just wanted to explain the situation.”

“About how your concubine had to explain that she had a crush on you?” Bella asks. “And about how you are so desperate, that you’ll do anything to have her listen to you talk about that?”

“I just want her to know that I didn’t realize, and that if I had, I would have asked her out.” Sam says. “I just didn’t even think of her that way, since we work together.”

“Yeah, just keep that to yourself.” Bella says. “You have an interview tomorrow at 2, by the way. You are welcome. Try not to fuck it up, please. If I have to stay in this shithole much longer, I’m going to jump off the balcony.”

“It’s not tall enough, you’d just break your legs.” Sam says.

“This place is so shitty it can’t even kill you right.” Bella says. “Total shithole.”

“Where is the interview at?” Sam asks, not wanting to engage on the shithole topic again.

“Downtown.” Bella says. “It’s for the manager position at the storage facility. Easy work that even you can’t fuck up, and much better pay. Don’t fuck up the interview, please.”

“I’ll do my best.” Sam says. “I’d feel a lot better if I wasn’t distracted by the Sarah situation though.”

“Get over it.” Bella says. “I’ll tell you what: If you get the job, I’ll watch one of your games with you, like I’m your girlfriend. And give you a blowjob after.”

“Really?” Sam says.

“If you want.” Bella says. “Of course, if I do, you won’t be able to tell Sarah that I’m just here to help you with your finances and job search.”

“Fuck.” Sam says, mind racing between the thought of getting a blowjob, and the possibility of blowing it with Sarah a second time.

“Fuck, indeed.” Bella says. “And no, you aren’t fucking me, even if you get the job. You have a lot more self-improvement to do before I’d consider that.”

“Do you think Sarah will come around?” Sam asks.

“Probably not, if you pass up the blowjob.” Bella says. “And if you get the blowjob, she’ll probably knock on your door tomorrow, find out, and never talk to you again. That seems consistent with how things go for you. First, you have to actually get the job. If you don’t, it’s all a moot point.”

“Maybe I can get an IOU on the blowjob?” Sam asks. “And then cash it in, if Sarah doesn’t text me back in a few weeks.”

“Nope.” Bella says. “One time offer. If you pass on it, you’ll have to earn another chance, by doing things like moving us into an apartment that doesn’t make me want to puke every morning when I wake up.”

“Fuck.” Sam says again, and sits quietly for a bit.

“Weighing whether the idea of a girlfriend is better than the reality of a single blowjob?” Bella asks.

“Kind of.” Sam says, sighing. “I really want things to be ok with Sarah.”

“Then turn down the blowie.” Bella says. “Easy enough choice, right?”

“Not really.” Sam says. “She might never talk to me again, whether I turn it down, or not.”

“And then you have to go hide in the bathroom for an extra night.” Bella laughs.

“What is your greatest weakness?” Bella asks, looking up at Sam over the top of the resume she is holding.

“I’m too honest?” Sam answers hesitantly.

“I’m too honest means I’m a blunt asshole who can’t deal with people.” Bella says. “You need to come up with something better than that.”

“What should I say?” Sam asks.

“I’m not you.” Bella says. “If I give you an answer, any decent interviewer will know it’s not true. Maybe they won’t ask that question. It’s a stupid question, anyhow, even if it gets asked all the time. Time’s up. Go get dressed, and make sure you use mouthwash one more time right before you leave.”

Sam gets up, dread filling him as he heads to the bedroom to find his clothes. “Wear the ones hanging from the door.” Bella yells. “And don’t wrinkle them. I took the time to steam the wrinkles out of them earlier.”

A few minutes later, Sam walks out, looking presentable. “You actually look decent.” Bella says. “You should have come to the auction like this. It would have been a much better first impression.”