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Her face brightens, her pink cheeks popping against her pale skin and long black hair that sweeps over her shoulders. “Really? You’re not just saying that?”
I nod and then glance down at my long-sleeve Captain America pajama shirt and matching red, white, and blue-toed pants. Yep, I have footie PJs because I’m so cool. Not.
“Just give me a few minutes to change into something… decent.”
She squeezes my hand, a smile stretching across her face.
* * *
When we reach the event center on campus, my throat closes up. My skin burns from the fire brewing inside me, the nervous energy shoo
ting throughout my body taking on a life of its own. The seats are packed with hundreds of people, the auditorium coming alive with excitement. While some of the students in the audience are male, most of the crowd is filled with rows of eager girls with numbered paddles in their hands.
“We have to sign in,” Sadie says, leading me toward a long table where five sorority girls are sitting behind it handing out wooden paddles to the hordes of girls in front of us.
Paralyzed by the fear of participating in the auction, I stand next to Sadie, stiff as a board and unable to move. This is the last place on earth I want to be today. What if I run into Julian? The thought numbs me to the core. For years, I’ve found ways to dodge him and every other hockey player on campus. On occasion, he’s made attempts to apologize for the past. Every time he does, I walk in the opposite direction and go back to avoiding him. I’ve even gone as far as switching classes before the drop period just to maintain my distance.
But the auction is not about me. I promised Sadie, after one too many bottles of wine last weekend, that I would set aside my issues to make her birthday special. She’s talked about The Player Auction non-stop for the past week, telling me how much she hopes to score Cole Harker, who happens to be Julian’s teammate and best friend.
Sadie taps me on the shoulder, urging me to move up with the tip of her head. A few seconds pass before my brain and body start working in conjunction.
“So, how does this work?”
“We get assigned a number.” Sadie points at the numbers at the top of the wooden paddles. “And then we have to find a seat. I was hoping to get here sooner. We’re gonna be in the rafters with no view at the rate we’re going.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin your birthday. It’s just…”
“You’re a total weirdo.” A bright smile illuminates her beautiful face. “But I still love you so don’t worry about it.”
“I’m not bidding on anyone,” I shoot back.
“You don’t have to.” Her words say one thing, but the evil grin on her lips sends a chill down my spine.
After we get our paddles, we head back into the crowded auditorium, where we luck out and find an open space in the front row. Well, it’s lucky for Sadie. Not so much for me. Because now, I have the perfect view of every single player on stage—Julian included. And the second I look in his direction, his eyes find mine as if he were staring long before I noticed him.
His dark, spiky hair sticks up in different directions, a messy on purpose look that I know firsthand is very much intentional. I used to run my fingers through his hair before he added gel to it. I loved the feel of his thick waves in my hands. Even after years apart, I can still recall simple things about Julian. He’s the kind of guy you never forget.
A smile reaches up to his deep green irises as he stares at me, appraising me with a strange look on his handsome face. We never made sense together. Julian is gorgeous beyond words, his muscular body all hard lines and smooth edges, every inch of him sculpted like a Greek god. With my curves and average looks, I always felt self-conscious with him. Knowing he could have the rich model types on campus made me constantly fear I would lose him. And I did.
He stares at me with so much intensity that I find it hard to stop looking at him. For a split second, I remember what it felt like to be held in his strong arms. How warmth would spread throughout my body from each carefully placed kissed he would leave on my skin. Julian used his body like a weapon, one that made me weaker with each second I spent with him. My heart aches at the thought of him walking out of the event center with another girl on his arm.
Julian rolls his tongue across his bottom lip, leaning forward in his chair with his elbows on his thighs. I suck in a deep breath, my chest heavy from how quickly he’s making my heart pound. It feels like rocks are weighing me down, making it harder to breathe when he looks at me like… How do I even describe the look on his face? Desire, maybe, which makes zero sense. He was the one who broke up with me.
Wearing a black suit, a crisp white shirt, and a silky red tie, the fabric molded to his frame fits him so well it must have been handmade for him. Nothing but the best for Julian Rivers. He’s a spoiled rotten trust fund kid who never had to work a day in his life. I know I can’t hate him for having a much better life than me, but I can still hate him for being too perfect, too polished, too in my face right now.
Turning away from him, I catch a sideways glance from Sadie that says she saw me gaping at Julian and him at me. My cheeks flush, the heat spreading down my chest and arms. I look down at my beat-up Chucks and cross my legs at my ankles. I’ll do anything to avoid looking at Julian or Sadie. After fighting her to come to the auction, I hate that a part of me, no matter how small, secretly wants to bid on Julian. But I won’t. I would never raise the paddle in my hand for any man gracing the stage, no matter how hot all of them are.
“I hope I win a date with Cole,” Sadie says, nudging me in the arm with her elbow.
I peek up at the broad-shouldered, blond-haired hockey stud seated several chairs down from Julian. His arms are crossed over his thick chest, his navy suit fitted tight against his big body. Sadie’s had a crush on him for years. And for the last three years, she’s come to The Player Auction, hoping to bid high enough to win a date with him. Every year, she comes home disappointed that she didn’t react fast enough to win.
“I hope you do, too,” I admit. “Maybe this will be your year.”
“Fingers crossed.” She takes a tube of pink gloss from her purse and dabs her lips with it, smearing it into place as she rubs her lips together. “I would give my left arm for one night with Cole.”
Sadie is gorgeous, popular, rich, and thin but with just enough curves to catch Cole’s attention. I could never get a guy like him. But Sadie totally could. Except she chickens out any time she gets anywhere near him. Even at parties, when they were both drunk and their inhibitions were low, Sadie still found reasons to disappear anytime he was in her line of sight. Instead of throwing herself at him, like most of the girls on campus, she would lurk from the shadows, sipping her beer and watching Cole dance and kiss other girls like some stalker.
“Welcome to The Player Auction.” A pretty blonde girl dressed in a white and green Greek-lettered shirt speaks into the microphone attached to the podium at the center of the stage. “Thank you all for coming today.”
