Page 38 of Auctioned to the Billionaire Stalker

I started to make a face and say something negative, but Jelly stopped me. “Don’t say whatever it is you’re thinking! You need to use this guy just like he’s using you. He thinks you’re hot and wants to fuck you. So what? You think he’s hot and want to fuck him, too, right?”

I grinned and nodded. “He is the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen.”

“Exactly!” Nia jumped off the bed and put her hands on her slim hips. “Let this gorgeous guy take you out to some fancy restaurant and then spend the night fucking him.”

“You’re not looking for a boyfriend any more than he’s looking for a girlfriend,” Jelly reminded me. “You wantto ditch out on West Bay as soon as you graduate in December. That’s just four months away.”

“Right,” Nia jumped on the bandwagon. “If Carmen okays it, you’re going to do the auction in a couple of weeks, have a contract that runs right up until you graduate in December, and then that’s it. You’ll barely be with the guy for any longer than three or four months. So,” she said jumping over to me and joining me in a yoga pose, “you can use Jack for practice.”

“Oh my God, yes. Practice for a couple of weeks with Jack, and then ditch him for your auction guy.”

They had a point. But why did it hurt my heart to think of ditching Jack at all? “I wish…” I stopped myself before I could say more. But when I turned around to do a warrior pose on my other side, they were both staring at me, waiting for me to say more.

“You wish what?” Jelly narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Just that… Jack could be my auction guy.”

Jelly frowned. “You’re living in a dream world. Jack’s not even a member at the club.”

I sighed. “I know that. I’m just really attracted to him. And if I have to be a cinnamon girl for a few months to save my family, it might as well be with someone I want.”

There air was heavy with unsaid words, and I turned to look at them. I was fast enough to catch them sharing a glance.

“What’s that about?” I asked pointing between the two of them.

“Nothing,” Jelly said, taking a lazy bite out of an apple, crossing one leg over the other one, and staring up at my ceiling. “I just think you have a Cinderella complex, that’s all.”

“Explain yourself.” My hands were on my hips.

Jelly sat up, the apple in her mouth like she was a pig on a spit. She took a big crunch out of it before saying, “Do you remember how Nadine was?”

I shook my head, frowning. “What are you talking about?”

“I guess y’all wouldn’t know.”

“I don’t even know Nadine,” Nia said.

“I forgot. So,” Jelly continued, “after her shitty ex dumped her by sending her an invitation to his wedding with another woman…”

Nia gasped.

I nodded, commiserating. That breakup had been worse than what Myers had done to me.

“Yeah, exactly,” Jelly pointed at her. “It was awful. Well, anyway, after that happened, she locked herself in her room in her mama’s trailer and watched old Disney movies for days. I think she was really waiting for some fucking prince to ride in and save her.”

I didn’t want to point out that Reynolds had sort of done just that. Granted there had been plenty of bumps over the course of their relationship, but still. It had ended up having a fairy tale-esque ending.

“Well, don’t be like that, Daisy. You have to saveyourself. You’re young, smart, gorgeous, kind—all the things. You’ll end up married to some wonderful guy some time probably not so far in the distance. But for now? You need money, you’re choosing to enter the auction, and it’s all a means to an end. So have some harmless fun with a hot guy while you can.”

“You know what? You’re right. I’m going to go get ready and head to work. If he asks me again when I deliver his food, I’ll say yes.”

“I thought you were going to ask Old Man Dinardo to get someone else to deliver Jack’s food,” Nia said.

I made a face. “I did. He said no, unless I could tell him why. Ivan was standing there and… well, I didn’t want to go into it.”

“Sometimes I think Ivan’s into you,” Nia said.

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think so at all. Between the two of us, I’d say he’s much more interested in you.”