Work Text:
The Auction
“I’m not doing it.”
“Come on, Bette, it’s for a good cause.”
“Alice, it may be hard for you to acknowledge, but I have a position that requires a certain degree of dignity. I’m a Dean at a university, for God’s sake!”
“Listen, we decided a year ago that we would honor Dana’s memory with this benefit and we are going to raise a lot of money for breast cancer research. The concert is going to be fantastic. We’ve had the silent auction planned for months and I don’t think adding this live auction at the last minute is such a big deal.”
“Maybe not for you, Alice. But frankly, I think the whole idea is wrong.”
“You know the men’s community has been doing this for years—they’ve raised millions of dollars for AIDS research this way. It’s a great idea. We have a lot of women who have already volunteered. Look at this! “
They sat at a table at the back of the Planet and argued, for what seemed like the hundredth time, about the live auction. Alice showed Bette the list of names on her laptop—every day the list grew as women registered directly onto the website that had been set up.
“Bette—you are just too fucking serious. Come on—there is no harm in this. And it’s bidding to spend a night with someone—not necessarily have sex. We’ve made that clear.”
“Well, you may think that you made it clear, but there’s a lot of talk out there saying otherwise. And I am not going to pimp myself for breast cancer, or anything else, thank you.”
Shane strolled over to the table with her coffee. “Hey guys.”
Alice turned the laptop around for Shane to look at the list of names. “Look at this—we’re going to raise a ton of money. You’re going to do it, right?”
Shane nodded, “Yeah, why not.”
Alice yelled, “Yes!! The bidding will be furious! Would you tell your friend over here,” nodding toward Bette, “that she should do this?”
Shane looked over at Bette. “Come on, Bette. Just think about how much money you could raise just by going on a date.”
Alice added, “And it wouldn’t hurt for you to go on a date—it’s been a year since you and Tina split. It’s getting ridiculous.”
Bette stared at Alice. “I have a job and a 2-year old daughter—I don’t have the time or inclination to date.”
“All the more reason to do this, then!” Alice wasn’t giving up. “OK, look…how about this, we’ll make a very strong announcement that they are bidding on a date for the night. Will you do it then? Bette…” she whined, “you know you could raise a lot of money if you would do this. You know what—I’ll bid on you!”
Bette gave Alice the disdainful Porter look that said, “Don’t do me any favors. Been there, done that.”
Kit walked over to the table as she spoke on the phone. “Yes, that would be wonderful! Thank you so much for doing this!” She hung up and grinned at the girls. “Ladies, I have done it! Melissa is definitely coming! She is actually going to fly back to LA from her tour just for the benefit! And, she’s going to allow us to auction her off! Some lucky lady will win a night with her backstage after one of her concerts!”
Alice turned to Bette, “Well—if she’s willing to get auctioned off, who the hell are you to say no??”
Bette just shook her head. She knew she might as well just give up and give in.
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Kit walked around the silent auction tables, amazed by how high the bids went; another fifteen minutes and they would collect the sheets and make up the list of winners. The live auction would start later—after the bar was open for awhile to rid everyone of any inhibitions they might have. Carmen had set up her DJ equipment and would beginning spinning after the concert was over.
They had spent a year organizing this event and it was coming off smoothly; all of the musicians had donated their time and energy thanks to Kit. Helena’s contacts in the world of the wealthy had gotten them large donations to cover the costs of the venue; Alice and Jenny had begged and cajoled amazing goods and services out of businesses in the community for the silent auction. The women’s tennis community joined in and sold the special high-priced tickets to an exclusive pre-event cocktail party to meet and greet the celebrities, which went off fabulously. Bette used her considerable influence in the art world to get some special pieces for the auction and had donated two paintings from her own collection.
They had all worked hard and long for this special night and were enjoying themselves immensely. It had brought them back together as a group; even Shane and Carmen had been able to put aside the past and work together so that the evening could honor Dana. Carmen had even spent some time with her and Shay; no one knew where that might lead but felt good that they were no longer completely estranged.
Except Tina. Alice had never told Tina about the benefit, feeling that it would be unfair to Bette to have to be in so much contact with her. They had worked out a custody arrangement but rarely saw each other—Angus had been playing go-between for a year and almost all of their communication was by email. Tina left Shaolin not too long after Helena had been fired and was working at another studio. Alice tried to keep in touch and on the few times she had seen her for drinks or dinner, it was clear that Tina was very upset and angry that she had been ostracized by the group. The “mixer” that she had invited them to had only made things worse. And although Bette could see how unfair the situation was, she was relieved that she didn’t have to socialize with Tina—the pain was still there, no matter how cool she acted.
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When Tina found out about the benefit she was upset and called Alice, who dodged her questions as much as possible. Tina decided at that moment that, despite the fact that the group had treated her poorly, she would do something to add to the benefit. She spent hours contacting her media business colleagues and was able to raise an enormous sum to add to the funds that were raised in Dana’s name. And, knowing that the group all still met for brunch on Sundays at the Planet, took it upon herself to surprise them about a month before the benefit. She brought Angelica, feeling that she needed that buffer, and also knowing that they never saw enough of her. The first person to notice her come in was Kit, who happened to be standing near the entrance. Her exclamation brought everyone’s attention to them and, if ever complete silence could descend upon that table of women, that was the moment. Angelica’s excitement at seeing her Aunt Kit was followed by her unabashed screeches of joy when she saw her Momma B—her chubby two-year old legs couldn’t run fast enough to the table and she jumped into her arms.
Tina took her time strolling over to the table with Kit, enjoying the looks she was getting from many of the women patrons. She knew she looked good and wanted to be sure that the women surrounding Bette at the table saw the looks she was getting. Bette’s stare was worth it all; at that moment she knew that no matter how long it had been, Bette was still attracted to her. Kit pulled a chair over to the table and wedged it between Bette and Alice, practically shoving Alice over so that Tina could sit down.
“I can’t stay long; I just wanted to be sure to get this to you.” Tina handed an envelope to Alice who speechlessly took it from her. She smiled at everyone and turned to Bette. “I thought I would surprise you with a little visit from our daughter. And this way Angus doesn’t have to come and get her later.” Bette smiled and said, “Don’t run off—let me get you a cup of coffee at least.”
Alice stared at the contents of the envelope. “Oh my God!”
All of them turned to her.
“There’s $200,000 in here. Holy shit!”
Tina just smiled. “I’m sure that you’ll raise much more than that at the benefit.”
Bette smiled, knowing exactly how Tina was handling the situation. She had disagreed with Alice’s decision to not get Tina involved with the benefit and was glad that Tina had done things her way. Bette leaned over and touched Tina’s hand, whispering “Thanks.” At the moment that Bette leaned over, Angelica decided she needed to be on Tina’s lap, causing them to fall into each other. Angelica, caught in a tangle of mommies, pulled their faces together and into hers so that they all met in a three-way kiss; Angelica giggled loudly as she grasped both of them by the hair to keep them all together. It was the closest they had been to each other in over a year.
After they managed to separate themselves, Tina said her goodbyes. Alice, recognizing how poorly she had been acting, leapt up to walk with Tina to the door, begging for forgiveness, asking if she was coming to the benefit. Tina gave her a hug and said that she really wasn’t sure if she would be in town that weekend. She smiled and walked to her car.
Alice came back to the table and sat down. “She’s a class act, Bette. I shouldn’t have done what I did.” Bette lifted Angelica up and over to Alice, “Go give your Earth Mother a kiss and make her feel better.”
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As the women streamed out of the concert, the music came on for dancing. They had decided that this would give everyone a last opportunity at the silent auction as well as have a few drinks. They waited about a half hour and then began picking up the bids.
Kit, Alice, and Shane went back into the concert area to get it ready for the live auction. The first person to be “auctioned off” would be Melissa—not just to get her home to her family, but also to be sure to get all the women back in for the auction. Preferably well lubricated and ready to spend their money for a good cause.
While Kit checked backstage and said all of their thank you’s to the musicians who had donated their time, Alice and Shane set up the stage. Shane asked “Have you seen Tina?”
“No and I feel really shitty about it. I spoke to her last week but she was very noncommittal. When we announced all the donations, I really wanted her to be here but I guess she just couldn’t come. You know, I invited her with Henry—I mean, there are plenty of guys here—and she laughed and said that there was no Henry.”
“No shit? Does Bette know?”
“I told her—I don’t think she knew. I don’t think that they talk about anything except Angelica, although lately I have detected a warming trend. Can you help me pickup this amplifier? We need to move it over to the other side.”
They moved all of the chairs out of the way—they expected at least twice the number of women for this part of the evening; tickets were selling like hotcakes all week. They would probably also get a large crowd of last-minute arrivals who were willing to spend the $50 to party and bid on the hot women expected to be auctioned.
An hour later they were ready to open the doors again and women flooded into the auction area. The lights were set very low except for a spot on the stage. Alice was the MC for the evening and a roar went up when she finally came on stage, mic in hand. Carmen took charge of the sound equipment and a loud, sexy beat came through the speakers as Alice boogied to the music for the crowd. Her radio station was one of the sponsors, so she gave them their credit and proceeded to get the crowd warmed up. On Bette’s advice, they had borrowed the bouncers from some of the other clubs to stay between the crowd and the stage and Alice suddenly realized what a good idea that was. It was a little scary to look out at hundreds of women, most of whom were slightly, if not more than slightly, drunk. Anyone who wanted to bid was given a paddle with large numbers on them so that Alice could read the highest bid. Which was a good thing because all she could really see when she looked out were the large paddles—it was impossible to see faces in the crowd. Jenny and Helena sat at a table to take down the winning numbers and the bid amounts that won. Shane was backstage with Bette and the women who had volunteered to be auctioned off that evening. Shane was dressed as usual in her tee shirt and jeans--the women who wanted to have an evening with her could care less about what she was wearing. But Bette had decided that if she was going to do this, she would go for it. She wore tight black leather pants that left nothing to the imagination—not even a thong could possibly be under them. Her top was a white shirt that was loose but sheer enough to show that there was nothing under it as well. High heeled black leather boots completed the outfit and even Shane had trouble not staring at her.
The evening started off with a roar as Melissa came on stage and the bidding was rapid and intense; Alice kept up with it and got into a groove, making jokes and keeping the crowd happy. Four thousand dollars later, Melissa pulled the winner on stage and gave her a huge hug and kiss. “This is for Dana. And for all the women out there who are winning this fight! I love you!”
Seventeen more women strutted their stuff and raised big money for the Dana Fairbanks Foundation. Alice saved Shane and Bette for last so that the crowd stayed.
Shane came out first in the spotlight with her half cocky grin in place.
“Well, I can see you got real dressed up for tonight! Great T-shirt, Shane!”
Laughter filled the room.
“But we know it doesn’t matter, does it girls???” Alice yelled at the crowd. “You’ve all been waiting for this—What am I bid for a night with this incredible woman??”
The bids started immediately, with women rushing the stage. Alice and Shane looked at each other for a moment nervously and Shane whispered to her “You better do this faster.”
Bette was backstage watching and started wondering what she had gotten herself into. “Only for Dana would I do this.” Kit walked over and put her arm around her. “Easy, baby Sis. Now don’t get offended, but you ain’t gonna have to deal with quite that much excitement!”
Bette laughed. “You’re right. I am too old for that much excitement.”
The chanting ended and the winning bidder, suddenly shy, had to be dragged up to the stage for a hug from Shane.
“OK ladies. Now I have something really special for you. Our last victim…no, no…just kidding. This is a woman who you all know. She had to be bribed to do this—yes, bribed, cajoled, begged and let me tell you, there aren’t that many women who I get down on my knees for—despite rumors to the contrary!!! She is my best friend and is doing this for Dana. ‘Cause we all know she’s too damn old to do this for a living! And we all had to promise to never tell her daughter about this when she gets older! Ladies, I give you our sexy college Dean—the one, the only, the incredible…Bette Porter!!”
Bette took a deep breath and strutted out to the front of the stage. She looked out at a sea of women; the noise was deafening—she could hear the music but it was barely discernible because of the cheers and screams. Slowly the noise became a single chant and all she heard was “Bette, Bette, Bette…” chanted over and over. Lights flashed and she knew she was never going to get over this—Alice would have pictures on the internet tomorrow, if she wasn’t too hung over. And then she thought, what the hell—you only live once! It was for a good cause. Besides, she knew Phyllis was out there waiting for Alice to be finished for the evening!
The bidding started and Alice’s banter kept the crowd laughing, commenting particularly about her age—“an “older vintage”—“but think about all that experience”… and kept them bidding. As it slowed down, Bette started to realize that the price of an evening with her was getting damn close to an evening with Melissa! It became a bidding war between two women—she hoped it was two women, damn she hadn’t thought about that!—and it wasn’t ending. The price kept going up by hundreds and finally one of them gave up. The winner was all the way in the back of the room. Alice screamed out the amount and called the winner up; a buzz began and got louder as the person began to walk up toward the stage. Bette couldn’t see anything more except that the crowd started to part; the buzz got louder. She started to see a shape—it was a woman with a very nice shape and a very sexy swagger (for which she was grateful) but she still couldn’t tell if she might recognize her. The buzz of conversation got louder still and as the woman began to walk up the steps of the stage, she could hear Alice say “Holy fuck!”
She stared and couldn’t believe her eyes. The woman looked at her, her long blonde hair falling over half her face, and gave her the sexiest half smile she had seen in a long time. She was dressed to kill—a low cut black dress, incredibly high heels, clearly nothing underneath. She moved up to her like a cat claiming her prey.
“I just bought you, Porter.”
Bette just stared.
“You are mine to do with what I choose. You know that, don’t you?”
Bette looked her up and down and nodded, still speechless.
Alice was not speechless. “You know Porter, for this kind of money, we want to see a kiss.” She looked out at the crowd and asked, “Right? Don’t we want to see at least a kiss?” The crowd yelled back and chanted, “Kiss, kiss, kiss…”
The blonde cocked one eyebrow at Bette, asking her the silent question.
Bette stepped two steps closer and leaned in.
The blonde stepped one step closer and put her hands on her hips and cocked her head, “Yes?”
Bette leaned in and pecked her cheek.
The crowd roared. “More, more, more…”
The blonde pulled Bette into her, “I know you can do better than that! Or have you forgotten how?”
Bette knew a challenge when she heard one. And knew that once she did it, she would be lost forever. Her arms pulled the blonde into her; their bodies merged as easily as they always had. Tina’s hands moved to Bette’s head and as she wove her fingers into her hair, she pulled Bette in for the kiss. At the same time, synchronized as always, Bette moved her hands to cup Tina’s ass, pulling her pelvis into her. The kiss began softly but became like a brushfire, roaring out of control immediately.
All they could hear above the din was Alice’s voice saying, “Porter, get a room!”