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My stomach tightens into a ball at the thought of a date with anyone. It’s been years, maybe eight, since I’ve been out with anyone of the opposite sex. I don’t even remember what dating is like or what it means, but the thought of doing something different for a change does sound interesting. And if the school were to give me some additional time to figure things out with Austin, that is something to seriously consider.
I draw in a deep breath, swallowing down the lump in my throat. “See you at six.”
Chapter Two
Chap
I stand at the edge of the stage and look out at the crowd of women staring back. I stand for the auction every year, and every year a date with me is bought by Mrs. Robinson, a woman in her nineties who lives down in the valley. When her husband was alive, she’d take me back to her house for a cozy homemade meal, just the three of us. Since he passed, I take her out and we do our best to remember him with a couple of shots of whiskey and a steak.
“We’ll start the bidding for this sexy hunk of religion out at one hundred dollars.” Kane loves this shit. He’s got the personality for it… loud and aggressive.
Being that most folks here know how the bidding goes with me, Mrs. Robinson is the first to raise her hand. She’ll usually take me for one hundred flat, which she asks to be donated to the animal shelter.
I stare out at the crowd, waiting for Kane to drop his gavel, but another flag goes up. “Two hundred,” the woman shouts. I can’t see where I’m standing who the bidder is.
Mrs. Robinson is on a fixed income. The one hundred dollars she spends is all she can afford. Sure, we can have dinner another night for free, but this night is kind of our thing.
Kane lowers his gavel. “Sold to the woman in the back for two hundred dollars. You can meet your date by the bear statue in the lobby to set up the night.”
Mrs. Robinson stands from her chair, and I meet her toward the side of the crowd. I try to stop by to see her at least once a week, but every time I do, it’s as though years have gone by. Her hair seems grayer, her stature more rounded, and her wrinkles more pronounced. I don’t know how much time we have left with her here, and I want every second to count.
“I’m sorry. I promise we’ll do dinner tomorrow night. My treat.”
She leans into my chest for a hug. The woman has been a pseudo mother for me for as long as I’ve known her. Most of the guys in the MC feel that way about her. “Hopefully you won’t have time, dear.”
“I always have time.”
She nods toward the woman making her way toward the lobby. “Not if that’s your date. She looks much more appealing than me.”
I glance toward the woman making her way out of the room. A tall blonde with curls that land on her mid-back. She wears a tight black dress that leaves little to the imagination.
I look away and back toward Mrs. Robinson. “Nothing compares to a date with you.”
She laughs. “I think that would. Let’s not lie to ourselves here. Go! Talk to her! Let an old woman see you be happy. I was only buying you out of guilt, anyway.” We both know she’s full of it, but I go along with her game.
“Is that right? Well then, I suppose you don’t want dinner tomorrow night?”
She pats me playfully. “Nope. I’m busy tomorrow night. Kane and his family are dropping by for my famous chili and cornbread.”
I grin and kiss her on the head, hooking her fragile arm into mine as we walk toward the lobby. “I see how it is.”
We turn toward the elevator, and I press the button. She’s one of the lucky few to stay in the lodge tonight before the grand opening.
“You know this is good for you, right?”
“What is?” I glance down at her.
“A date with a younger woman.”
“This isn’t a date.” I shake my head and stare down at the ground. “It’s an agreement for charity.”
She glances up at me. “You should think of it as a date. Look at her! She’s gorgeous!”
I glance toward the woman in the hallway whose breasts are spilling from her dress. “She is beautiful, but you know my heart is with God.”
“You understand you can love God and a woman, right?”
My chest tightens. “You’re a thirsty old woman. Doyouknow that?”
