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I sigh again. I doubt it. I really do. If Chase wanted me, he could have me. I just hope I'm not making a huge mistake. A girl can only make herself look pathetic so many times for a guy before she truly is pathetic.
♥?
Chase
That fucking dress.
My eyes scan the crowd and land on Lily. She's fucking stunning. Her skin is luminescent in the light, shimmering like the silk of her dress. It's a black-and-white fantasy, showing off every curve of her body and driving me mad with wanting her.
Why is she even here?
Luke probably invited her, and she's become fast friends with Holly and Avery, who are in charge of all our team’s social media and publicity, but I can't take much more of this shit. I've forced myself to stay away from her, but she keeps popping back into my life. I limit my visits to the Valentine home to times I know she won't be there. It's why I skipped Thanksgiving this year. I knew she'd be there, and I'd want her more than the damn turkey and stuffing.
A mic hums on as Henry Bollington takes the stage to organize everyone and begin the auction. I notice Lily take her seat and expect Riley to sit beside her, but she's seated across the room near the front. The rest of the seats are mostly filled with thirsty women, or as I like to call them, The Titty Brigade. Cleavage seems to be the order for the night.
I've participated in bachelor auctions before. They're the perfect way to raise loads of money for charity because there is no cheque a desperate rich woman won't sign for a night with a young athlete. The disclosure agreement says sex is not involved in the transaction, but in my experience, sex is always on the table. The last time I did one of these in Florida, I ended up fucking a forty-something plastic surgeon who was fresh off a divorce. She wanted to make her ex-husband jealous, and I think she accomplished that goal. He walked in on me fucking her from behind against her kitchen island. When she offered to tip me, I realized how low I'd sunk.
It's just another example of how screwed up I am and how wrong I'd be for Lily.
Hunter LaRoux, our goalie, is up first. Henry starts the bidding at one-thousand dollars. A middle-aged woman in the front row lifts her paddle. Another woman in the back, about ten years younger than the first, joins the bidding. I'm about to turn away when I see a slender hand rise and call out, "Four-thousand dollars."
Heat, vicious and cruel, courses through me at the sound of Lily's voice.What is she doing? She bids more and more money, and my fists clench at my sides. I'm ready to put a fucking hole through a wall.
"What the fuck is your sister doing?" I growl at Luke. He looks as furious as I do.
"I don't know," he curses. "She's only supposed to help Riley bid on me."
Thankfully, Hunter goes to the woman at the back of the room. He's probably relieved he gets to wine and dine the attractive, young brunette rather than the cougar.
Next, Logan McLeod steps onto the stage and the bidding starts again. After the first few bids, Lily's hand flies into the air, this time shouting out her bids with gusto. Logan shoots her a smile and a wink, and Lily returns it with a blindingly bright one. I'll pummel Logan the second he steps one foot off this stage if he even thinks about touching her. But I'm saved from murdering my teammate by a gentleman in the middle who wins the bid.
Daniel Drake goes next. He's one of the youngest guys on our team. We call him Sunshine because he looks like a blond surfer from California. I almost expect the bid this time, but seeing Lily's paddle go up first, right out of the gate, for Sunshine makes me want to rush the crowd and drag her out of here. If she's going to bid on my entire fucking team, she better be prepared to bid on me too.
I mean, she better not bid at all. Luke would strangle me.
Daniel is sold to a mother-daughter team of bidders and walks off the stage. I'm up next. I grab a drink of water and try to calm the fire licking through my body. I straighten my white tux and crack my neck as Henry calls me onto the stage.
"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for our last two bachelors of the night," he says, rubbing his hands together like he's getting to the real goods. He's like a greedy pimp selling us to the ravenous vipers in attendance. "He's the Northman's top scorer, and he's got a flow that would make a Head and Shoulders model jealous. Oh wait, he was a Head and Shoulders model. Please welcome Chase Wilder!"
I strain to smile as I take the stage. I hated that fucking commercial. It just won't die, especially in the locker room. All the guys take on endorsement deals; it just so happened that mine involved a shower scene, and my teammates love to grind my gears about it.
On stage, my eyes immediately find Lily's. She looks away, down at her program as if she's uninterested in what's happening.What the actual fuck?The cougar in the front row starts the bidding, followed by a corporate-type-looking man in the middle. Bids fly back and forth, but Lily just sits in her chair, avoiding my gaze.
"Seven-thousand dollars to the lady in red," says Henry pointing at the cougar. "Going once, going twice..." I'd rather go to dinner with the corporate guy than the woman who will probably try to give me a hand job under the table before the first course ends.
"Ten-thousand," a familiar voice interrupts before Henry finishes the final call. My eyes dart to Lily. For someone so small, she looks like an Amazon warrior wielding her paddle like a javelin, her blue eyes ablaze with want as she looks at me.
I'm not stupid. I knew Lily had a crush on me when we were kids, but the idea of her wanting me now almost sends me into a tailspin. My chest expands with longing and desire as Henry announces Lily as the winning bidder. Lily beams like she just won something of value and not some tainted piece of shit.
My eyes dart behind me and find Luke. He's pissed and looks like he wants to tear my throat out. Lucky for me, he's on the chopping block next and can't make good on the threats flashing in his eyes. I exit the stage and make my way toward Lily, wondering what the fuck I've just gotten myself into.
♥?
Lily
I won.
I can't believe I just won. I bought Chase at auction, and now he's mine for the rest of the night and for at least one date after. Although, he doesn't exactly look happy about it. In fact, he looks downright miserable.
