Page 90 of Sugar Rush
“I might tell you later,” he decided, smirking at my little whine. “Maybe.”
“You’re holding the answer hostage from me?” I asked, but he looked so kind of adorably protective of the information that I couldn’t help but laugh.
If he wanted to play it that way, that was fine. I had some very fun and creative ideas on how to coax it out of him, when we had more time.
AS WE SAUNTEREDinto the big venue room of the center, I gripped onto Dani’s wrist, my stomach bubbling with nerves. The parking lot was jammed full of cars. It was definitely going to be a packed house.
There was a sit-down dinner, where all the attendees had paid a premium to get a plate and table. Sandy, the director of the center, had shown some presentations about upcoming community events and some of the programs and services offered already. Once everyone was done eating, then it was time for the date auction.
Ironically, the light sting lingering on my ass cheeks helped keep me feeling grounded and stave off the worst of the anxiety I might have felt. It was awkward and embarrassing, but logically I knew I was probably worrying for nothing. A lot of the center’s donors were sweet old ladies that would have been perfectly pleasant to have dinner with. And even if it was a guy, how bad could a guy who showed up to a charity event be anyway?
Once Dave ushered me to the back where all the participants of the auction were waiting around and being given instruction on how things would proceed, I gave myself a final look in the mirror, adjusting my bow tie and tugging at my fitted dress shirt to ensure there were no wrinkles.
To Kieran’s annoyance, I was the epitome of a cute little cherub with my golden halo of hair and my perfectly tailored formal outfit. He hadn’t been thrilled when Dani’s car had pulled up in the drive to whisk me away, but he hadn’t said anything else about it. I guessed he felt he’d made his opinion clear enough already.
Anyway, I hoped I’d assuaged the worst of his jealousy with everything we’d done before, and all the promises I’d made to him when we’d been making out after, pretty much until the second Dani had honked her horn to alert me to come out.
Wringing my fingers together, when the auction started and one of the cute girls ahead of me went through the curtain, I strained my ear to listen to what was happening on the stage. They introduced her, bringing up the college she was currently attending and what her major was, as well as some of her hobbies and interests. They’d made me fill out a little card with that kind of stuff too, when I’d first gotten there.
Sandy started calling out amounts, verbally acknowledging members of the audience when they raised a little paper fan to show their interest. I grimaced. I didn’t know what would be worse, getting no bids and standing up there like an undesirable moron, or getting lots of bids and feeling like people were actually fighting over me.
When Dave told me it was my turn and nudged me toward the heavy curtain, I took a deep breath before stepping through it. There were bright lights pointed at the stage, temporarily blinding me, and I winced. It also made it hard to see theaudience, but I could tell there were a lot of people. They were all smiling and having fun.
It seemed like Sandy could tell I was nervous, because she put a warm hand on my shoulder and gave it an encouraging little squeeze before starting to list my attributes, and how I would be attending Oldport University when the fall semester started.
We were supposed to talk a little bit too, I guess so people would know what our voices sounded like before they bid on us, but I couldn’t help feeling like a slab of meat on a deli counter.
“So you were valedictorian of your graduating class,” Sandy commented kindly. “That’s very impressive.”
“Thanks,” I said, swallowing. I wasn’t shy, but the bright lights and all the eyes on me were starting to feel heavy, like they were pulling at my clothes.
“And you have a birthday coming up,” she noted. I felt bad for making her have to try so hard to get something out of me, so I forced a tiny smile on my face and nodded.
“Yeah. I’m a Libra,” I tacked on.
“And what does being a Libra mean? I’m sure everyone wants to know.”
I scratched behind my ear, rocking back on my heels. “Um, well, Libras are sociable. And they can be, you know, magnetic and charming.”
“That sounds just like you, Jordy,” she said, and there were some chuckles from the audience. A lot of the people in attendance did know me, so maybe they agreed with my description.
“Uh, but we can also be clingy,” I added quickly. I didn’t want to seemtooappealing. “And codependent.” That part was definitely starting to feel true.
“And what kind of dinner do you think you’d like to go to?”
The girl before me had said steak or seafood, but I didn’t really have much of a preference. I really just liked sitting in the truck with Kieran while he scarfed down cheeseburgers and magically never got fat.
“Um, I like everything,” I said. I’d never been a picky eater. “Oh! But I’m diabetic, so… Somewhere with some healthy options might be good.”
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem,” she assured me, again her voice radiating kindness.
She called the starting bid low, like she’d done with everyone else, but higher bids quickly started pouring in, to my relief and embarrassment. Men and women, young and old, seemed interested. When Sandy named the next dollar amount, a slight jump from the ones before it, someone farther in the back raised a paddle to signify their agreement to it. When I squinted to see who it was, my stomach dropped.
I’d had absolutely no idea that Andrew had been participating in the auction. Was the son of the director evenallowedto place bids? I glanced over at Sandy to see if she was shocked or annoyed, but she seemed perfectly content with it. An older woman outbid him by a few dollars, and I wanted to yell for Sandy to stop now, that there was no need to go any further.
But of course they would keep going. It was all about earning money for the center. The more, the better.
Andrew bid on me again, and then again when he was outbid. It was clear he was determined to win. I couldn’t see his face very clearly, whether he’d be giving me an evil villain smirk or a polite smile to express something likeyou said things weren’t weird between us, so this is okay, right?
