ONE
Three hundred dollars was a small price to pay for revenge.
The student center ballroom buzzed with an energy that made my skin crawl. String lights cast everything in a romantic glow that felt completely wrong for what was about to happen, and the folding chairs filled with excited sorority girls made me want to turn around and walk right back out.
But I had three hundred dollars burning a hole in my purse and a very specific target in mind.
“I still can’t believe you’re actually going through with this,” Rachel whispered beside me, clutching her own auction paddle. My roommate from the music house had insisted on coming for moral support, though I suspected she was mostly here for the entertainment value.
“Neither can I,” I admitted, scanning the crowd of mostly female students. The hockey team’s fundraiser had drawn quite the audience. “But desperate times call for desperate measures.”
And Drew Dumontier had it coming.
He’d found endless ways to humiliate me over the years,but I knew nothing would stroke his ego like me betting on him and making him think I actually wanted to go out with him.
As if.
I’d rather eat a stranger’s toenail clippings than go out on a date with him.
But after rehearsal one night, right as we’d passed a sign for the hockey bachelor auction, Brody, the cellist in my orchestra, mentioned our need for crew support at the recital next weekend. And an idea had sparked in my mind that I couldn’t let go of.
It wouldkillDrew to have to play gofer for a Tinsley, so it seemed like the perfect way to get back at him for his most recent set of pranks. Honestly, I was overdue for payback.
I patted my purse again, hoping I really wouldn’t need to spend all three hundred dollars on his lame ass, but I knew how thirsty sorority girls got around these hockey guys, so I was prepared for the worst-case scenario.
“Welcome, everyone, to the first annual Clark Fork University Hockey Bachelor Auction,” Ava Dumontier’s voice boomed through the microphone as she took the stage. Drew’s twin sister looked completely in her element, beaming at the crowd with the kind of confidence I both envied and despised. In another life—one where our families hadn’t been feuding for generations—I imagined we might even be friends. “I’m Ava Dumontier, your emcee for the evening. All proceeds tonight go directly to supporting our hockey team’s travel and equipment costs. Remember, you’re bidding on a date with these fine gentlemen, nothing more. And now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Let the bachelor bidding begin!”
The crowd cheered, and I forced myself to smile andclap along, even though the idea of supporting Drew in any way had me gritting my teeth.
Just picture him wearing the shirt Brody made and getting to post it all over social media,I thought to myself, and for the first time tonight, my smile was genuine. It might’ve looked a bit like how the Grinch smiled when he got the idea to steal from the Whos, but I didn’t care.
I would win this stupid feud between us and get back at him for all the bullshit pranks he’d pulled on me over the years.
“Let’s get this show on the road with bachelor number one—the man, the myth, the legend—Liam ‘the Hot Irishman’ Farrell!”
I shook my head subtly as Liam strutted onto the stage to wolf whistles and excited squeals while “I’m Too Sexy” blared from the speakers. He’d always been overly confident when we were kids, but he’d really found his element in college as a total ladies’ man. I’d probably find him attractive if he wasn’t best friends with the devil Dumontier.
Ava read from a card. “Liam is a sophomore defenseman from Montana who enjoys long walks to the refrigerator and has been known to quote poetry when drunk. Ladies, the starting bid is twenty dollars. Who wants to try their luck with the Hot Irishman?”
The bidding started immediately and escalated quickly, finally ending when some blonde in the back won him for $175.
Several more players were auctioned off, each introduction more ridiculous than the last. I watched the bids climb higher and higher, my nerves ratcheting up with them as I realized the stakes were steeper than I’d anticipated. Thank God I’d brought way more money than I’d thought I’d actually spend—this crowd was definitely as thirsty as I’d feared.
“Next up,” Ava announced, “we have the strong, silent type—Harrison ‘Gordy’ Gordon!”
I wasn’t super familiar with Gordy even though we were neighbors. He was tall with black hair and gray eyes. He was the quiet type and far more serious than the other hockey guys. I wasn’t even sure I’d ever heard him talk.
Right now, he looked like he’d rather be anywhere but on that stage.
“Gordy is our star goalie who stops pucks with the same efficiency that he stops conversations with his dry wit. Starting bid is twenty dollars!”
The bidding for Gordy was competitive but not outrageous, ending at $120. He looked relieved when it was over, giving a polite nod to the girl who’d won him.
“And now,” Ava said, building suspense, “our team captain. The man with the moves both on and off the ice—Foster ‘Candy Kane’ Kane!”
I figured this one would be an easy win considering everyone knew how in love Foster was with his girlfriend, Abby Walker. He’d never been a big dater as far as I could tell, but anyone with eyes could see he was totally sunk for Abby. I was pretty sure in Foster’s world, no other women existed.
What was it like to have someone love you that completely?
