Page 88 of In the Net
My brows notch lower. “I’m being realistic. We’re supposed to look like a couple, right? I don’t think guys with girlfriends go on dates with other women, even if it is for a good cause.”
Sebastian’s grin isn’t going anywhere. He looks so damn cocky, like he just loves the idea of me being jealous over him.
It makes me want to slap him. It’s a feeling I’m used to, though I haven’t felt it in a while.
“Even the guys on the team with girlfriends do it. This is, like, a tradition. Normally, it’s just some girls who are big hockey fans bidding on us, and we all go out for a big group dinner. It’s just a fun way to get some more volunteers to the center. Everyone knows they’re not winning a real date.”
What he’s saying makes sense, but that territorial feeling is still beating in my chest. Even if the so-called date the girl who bids on him gets is fake,I’mthe only one allowed to fake date Sebastian right now.
I imagine a pretty pair of eyes brimming with excitement after placing the winning bid onmyfake boyfriend.
I don’t care if it’s stupid. I’m not letting that happen.
36
HARPER
Ican feel the hostility simmering in my gaze as I scan the room. A competitive feeling fires through me while I find my way to an empty seat among the rows of chairs in front of the stage.
All these girls are going to be bidding for a date with Sebastian. Too bad for them, they’re going to have to go home disappointed. Or settle on winning a date with one of the players who’s not my fake boyfriend. Two options, ladies.
With my GPA, it was easy for me to get approved as a bidder for this event.
Sebastian tried to mollify me by reminding me how platonic this whole thing is. I don’t buy it. Any girl giving up hours of her life in exchange for a date with one of the most lusted-after men on campus doesn’t haveplatonicthoughts running through her head.
I didn’t tell Sebastian that I was showing up to bid on him. I didn’t want to deal with days of him teasing me for being jealous.
I’ll just have to deal with that after I win. Because even if it is just ending up in a group dinner or something, no girl is going to claim my fake boyfriend in public.
The lights dim, and high-pitched cheers and clapping fill the room as the heavy curtain slowly draws back to reveal the stage.
A woman who I recognize as Dr. Harver, the assistant director of the tutoring center, steps onto the stage with a microphone in her hand.
“Welcome to the tenth annual Player Auction!” she exclaims enthusiastically into the microphone, drawing more cheers.
My nose twitches. These girls sound downright feral. Platonic my ass.
Possessiveness has the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I feel like a feline with my claws drawn, ready to pounce on a source of threat.
“Instead of money, you’ll be bidding with volunteer tutoring time in the subjects you qualify for,” Dr. Harver explains. “But you all already know that. Enough with the preamble, let’s bring out the players!”
More hungry cheers. I’m surprised I don’t hear any of these girls smacking their lips.
“We’re starting this evening with a guy who hasn’t been at Brumehill College for long, but he’s already made a big splash. Felix Marshall!”
Felix struts onto the stage, reeking of confidence. An arrogant smile dances on his handsome face, and he carries himself like he’s the biggest movie star in the world walking down the red carpet. He tosses out winks to girls in the crowd, drawing more cheers as he strikes poses while slowly making his way to the center of the stage, milking every second of his time in the spotlight.
“Let’s be realistic and skip right past one hour,” Dr. Harver says into the mic, like an experienced auctioneer. “Do we have three tutoring hours?”
Every hand in the crowd but mine shoots up.
By the time the bid is up to ten hours, only the most determined girls are still in the game. The winner ends up pledging twenty hours of her time to the tutoring center in exchange for the date with Felix.
Twenty hours! These girls are all students here who study hard enough to meet the GPA requirements. Adding an extra twenty hours of volunteering? That’s like an entire week at a part-time job.
Sure, Felix is one of the best-looking guys in the whole school, but Sebastian’s been a Black Bear for four years. He was part of the championship-winning team last year. If a newbie commands twenty hours, I shudder to think how much time I’m going to have to give up to keep any of these other girls from sinking their claws into Sebastian.
I sit through a couple more players’ auctions. Jamie ends up commanding thirty-one hours. His face was red as a tomato the entire time.
