“$50,000 going once… going twice…”
“Fifty-one!” Ronnie shouts from beside me. My mouth drops wide as I watch her laughing.
I raise my paddle again. But just as the auctioneer takes in my bid, Morgan raises hers. I raise mine again, glaring at her.
“$60,000,” Cecilia shouts from beside me, folding in half laughing.
I keep my paddle raised the whole time as the bidding keeps climbing.I don’t care what the amount is as long as I win.“What are you guys doing?!”
Their paddles keep lifting to the air every time the speaker calls out a new number. “We’re giving you a run for your money,” Morgan says, giggling.
When I look at the stage, I find Greyson looking down while laughing with a head shake. He lifts his gaze to mine and smiles, then shrugs his shoulders. The auctioneer calls out $73,000 to Ronnie.Okay, this is just getting out of hand.
“$100,000!!!” I shout. A few gasps sound through the grand room and all my friends stare at me with wide eyes.I’m done playing. This man is mine.
“$100,000 going once! Going twice! SOLD! To the lady in black, number 635.”Finally!
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our last and final prize for the night. Please give us a shout for our very own head coach for the New York Griffins… Shane Jefferson!”The room explodes with women yelling out, paddles already flying through the air all over.
“Shane is up for auction? Did you guys know?” I ask the girls, who all shake their heads.
Aubrey looks up at the stage with indecision. Her eyes turn to me with a nervous yet worried look, like she’s on the verge of freaking out and doesn’t know what to do. “I can’t bid.”
“Why not? I’ll pay it, don’t worry,” I tell her.
“No, I can’t bid. Greyson will flip out if I do. He’ll figure it out!”Oh, she’s freaking out all right. I’ve never seen her this agitated.
“I wonder what he looks like without his clothes,” a woman behind me says to her friend before shouting out, “Take your shirt off!”
Shane chuckles nervously, looking completely out of his element. He keeps glancing over at Aubrey, but she never tries to bid.
The girl behind me shouts again, telling Shane to remove his clothes. Shane turns redder every time she does. I giggle to myself and decide to join in as well. It might be fun to watch unfold, but mostly to see Aubrey’s face if he really does it.
“TAKE IT OFF!!” I yell.
I see Grey from the side frowning at me. All I do is blow him a kiss before shouting again, “Come on, Shane! Let us see what you’ve got under there! Take it off!”
Aubrey grabs my arm. “What are you doing?!”
“Giving you what you really want but won’t dare admit.” I wink at her and resume my chant. “TAKE IT OFF! TAKE IT OFF! TAKE IT OFF!”
Others start to join in as well, the girls laughing beside me while Brey looks petrified. Eventually Shane shakes his head and gives in, beginning to remove his suit jacket, then undoing his bow tie and unbuttoning his dress shirt.
“Woo-hoo! That’s it, Shane. Show us the goods!” I yell again, giving him some much-needed encouragement.
He finally gets to the last button and lets his dress shirt fall open, revealing beautifully sculpted abs. “Well, hot damn! I was not expecting that. Good for you, baby Brey!”
Aubrey’s eyes are wide as she stares at him. I can see them dilating as she parts her lips slightly. A heated flush settles over her skin, even the little hairs on her arms stand on end.Oh, she’s definitely affected. Our baby Brey is getting turned on.
The bids keep coming in, now reaching $40,000, which seems like an awful lot of money for one friendly dinner. But who amI to talk, I literally just paid $100,000 for Wolf. Aubrey looks to the last woman who just bid $43,000, then up at Shane with a defeated expression before dropping her gaze to the ground, shoulders slumping forward.
Julian suddenly appears behind us, standing an inch away from Aubrey’s back. He lifts his hand, paddle to the sky, as he calls out, “$50,000.”
Everyone turns to him with a gasp, not expecting a man to bid. Julian never gets outbid and claims the prize. Once the auctioneer declares sold, he places his hand on Aubrey’s shoulder, waiting for her to look at him. When she does, he offers her a small smirk.
“Consider this a favor for a favor.” He lowers to kiss her cheek as her eyes go wide with shock and her cheeks flush. “Goodnight, Aubrey. We will be seeing each other again soon. I have no doubt.” He removes his hand from her, nodding at us all before walking away.
“What just happened?” Brey asks as she stares at him leaving.
