“You’ll get over it,” she teases and then bends to kiss Jaxon. “I love you,” she tells him, and he grabs the back of her head, kissing her harder, making me roll my eyes. I spot Kylie walking from one table to the other, smiling. Her whole face lights up when someone says something to her. “Okay, let’s go.” Ariella puts her arm in mine.
“You don’t have to touch him!” Jaxon shouts at us as we walk away from him, and I just laugh at him as we head toward the silent auction.
“Okay, what do we have?” I ask her as we start at the first one.
“Night out on the town.” I roll my eyes.
“Sounds horrible,” she throws back, and I laugh.
“Not bidding on that one,” I agree, walking to the next one. “Tickets to an LA Warriors game.” I look at her. “Hard pass.” She snorts at the joke.
“Weekend away to a rustic retreat,” she reads. “Enjoy the taste of outdoors as you leave the hustle and bustle in the city behind you.” She looks at me. “You should do this.”
“I don’t know,” I hesitate, unsure of leaving the hustle and bustle behind me. “Not sure I’m the rustic retreat guy.”
“I’m bidding for you.” She picks up the pen. “Five thousand dollars.” I gawk at her. “It’s for charity.”
“Whatever, I’ll bid on something for you guys,” I tell her, and she shrugs.
“Okay.” We walk down the line and I put low bids on every single paper for myself. “Why are you bidding on all of them?”
“It’ll make people want to bid,” I tell her, not thinking that I’m doing it so every single item will be sold, and Kylie can see the night as a success. “Let’s go eat.” I motion with my head back to the table.
I sit down in my seat and look down at the first course of Caprese salad. “So what did you guys bid on?”
“I did the BDSM package for you,” I deadpan, “comes with a ball gag.” Jaxon looks at Ariella, who just laughs.
“It might be fun,” she tries to continue with the joke but can’t, and she bursts out laughing. Lane is next to me talking about our upcoming opening night game. The plates are picked up and then replaced with the surf and turf.
I spot Lexi and Kylie walking our way. “Hey,” Lexi says to the table, and we all look at her, “thank you guys so, so much for coming.”
“It means the world to us,” Kylie adds, looking at everyone at the table, except me. “We hope you guys have a good night, and don’t forget there are lots of prizes up for grabs.” She finally looks at me and I can see her cheeks are a touch pink now, and I wonder if she has thought about that night last week. I wonder if when she’s lying in bed, it’s the only thing she can think of? I hope it is, because it’s all I think about. When the kids are asleep in their beds and the house is quiet, my thoughts wander back to her.
“We are going to start the auction now for the bigger prizes,” Lexi says, “so stay tuned. There are some good ones.” She looks at Kylie, who is walking around the table toward my side. I about stop breathing when she gets down between Jaxon and me, the smell of her exactly as I remembered, and my cock stirs.
She turns her head and says something to Jaxon that makes him throw his head back and laugh. Right before she stands up, she turns to look at me. “Hi,” she says, “having fun?” It’s a simple question, but all the words I’ve learned in my entire life are now gone. There is not one word left in my vocabulary to answer her. “Go bid on some prizes.” She then stands up and walks away from me.
“Okay, everyone,” Lexi’s voice comes out of the speaker, “we have a big-ticket item.”
Kylie grabs the mic and brings it to her mouth. “A big one,” she says, making everyone laugh.
She lets go of the mic, handing it back to Lexi. “It’s a dinner for four.” She looks around the room.
Kylie grabs the mic back. “So grab a friend and then another friend and then maybe another one. Or it’s great for a couple and another couple.” I can’t help but snort at her talking.
“With a Michelin ten-star chef cooking especially for you,” she says.
“Whoever wins,” Kylie says, grabbing the mic again, “I’m open for the experience.” The whole room bursts out laughing.
“A five-course meal that will be held at a private estate,” Lexi continues.
“Say less,” Kylie adds. “Let’s get the bidding going at—” She looks around the room. “Come on, someone has to start it.”
“Two thousand,” I bid, “for Jaxon.”
“Aww, cute,” Kylie teases, “a bromance.” Making the whole table laugh.
“Five thousand,” Kirby states, “and you aren’t coming with us.”
