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As an added way to raise funds—and make the girls feel good—they’re offering an up-sell to winning bidders. A Zeta who isn’t in the auction has a basket of single red roses for the men to buy and present their date with once they win her. Now that this guy bought one, I’m sure all the others will, too. They won’t want to look like cheap jerks in comparison.
I actually think the rose thing is pretty cute. I don’t expect to get one since my best-case scenario is not a real date, but I do love roses.
As soon as Vanessa’s date is announced as the winning bidder, he buys a rose, then stands and comes to the end of the stage area, presenting the rose to Vanessa. She takes it, grinning, and slides her arm through his before leaving with him.
Wait, leaving with him?
We’re leaving on these dates now?
I feel a surge of panic, but before I have a chance to ask, Shelby tells me, “You’re up,” and pushes open the curtain so I can walk out.
I am so not ready for this.
I try not to look like a deer in the headlights as she practically shoves me through the curtain, but that’s what I feel like.
I barely survived my public speaking class last year, and then I was only addressing a room of bored students, none of whom gave a single fuck about me or my topic.
There’s music playing and strategic lighting to give it a fashion show feel instead of a “human flesh market” vibe.
It still has that vibe to me, though, especially as soon as I stumble past the curtain opening and row upon row of men look my way.
If I ranked everything I would like to experience in life, this would almost certainly land in the bottom five.
But I’m here now, so I make myself smile, and I walk out like this isn’t a living nightmare. I do the walk just like we practiced last night before I left. A couple of the Zetas are pageant girls, so they coached us all on how to walk, how to pace ourselves, how to smile and present ourselves before making our way back.
I feel ridiculous, but I hope it doesn’t show.
“And for our second auction item, a date with the lovely Brynn Blakely. Brynn is a biology major and our newest Zeta sister, so you can expect stimulating conversation and extra stimulating alone time.”
Wait, what?
What to literally all of that?
I look back at Sloane, but she just flashes me an encouraging smile and winks. “Brynn also has the voice of an angel, and she can’t wait to sing for one of you lucky boys tonight.”
That gets a horrifying “whoo” from the back of the room, and I nearly burst into flames of utter humiliation on the spot.
“Let’s start the bidding at twenty dollars,” she announces cheerfully.
“Twenty,” calls some random dude in the audience.
I give up smiling and pretending I’m happy to be here and gaze in his direction in open horror.
“Twenty! All right,” Sloane says. “Do I hear twenty-five?”
“Twenty-five,” calls another man.
“I’ve got thirty.”
“Fifty.”
Oh my god, what is happening?
I don’t know who any of those guys are. Not one.
I swallow, searching the crowd for Ryan, then I hear a voice I recognize call, “Seventy dollars.”
Liam.
