Searching the area as I went, I was so focused on finding him that I nearly smacked into someone about halfway there. I immediately slammed to a stop to avoid crashing into a woman who must’ve just moved around her table. I put my hands up and apologized.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I didn’t see you there. Sorry.”
When I finally focused on her, my eyes widened. She was gorgeous, a brunette with wavy long hair and deep brown eyes. A slightly tanned complexion made her gaze shine when it met mine, and her soft curves were encased in a pitch-black sleeveless dress.
Her eyes flew up to mine and I felt a zap of electricity to the center of my stomach. I was so surprised that I frowned and looked away from her, wondering if I’d stepped on a cable or something. It hadn’t felt like an electric shock, and it shouldn’t have been possible in these shoes anyway, but it was so fucking weird that there had to be some explanation for it outside of it having been caused by her.
As my gaze moved away from hers, she opened her mouth to say something, but then I spotted Jeremiah standing right next to the stage and hurried over to him, accidentally cutting the woman off.
All I heard was, “No, I—”
But by then I was already on the move, and while I felt bad about taking off while she’d still been speaking, I was too nervous to turn back.
What if no one bids on me? What if they can tell I have no idea what I’m doing? And what the hell was that shock?
By the time I made it to the stage, Jeremiah was already turning to go somewhere else, and I only just managed to grab his shoulder before he disappeared back into the crowd. He turned with that fake, welcoming grin of his on his face, but it spread into something more real when he saw I was the one who’d grabbed him.
“Tanner! I was wondering when you were going to show up,” he said. “Come with me. Most of the other guys are already gathered backstage for a quick briefing before going to their tables for dinner. You’re sitting with me and Steph.”
“Thanks for that. I was worried about sitting with a bunch of assholes I don’t know.” I fell in step beside him, and now that I was with our esteemed host, the crowd parted as we moved through it. “Are you sure I have to be part of the auction? Can’t I just donate some money and have a good time?”
“You will have a good time,” he assured me. “Tonight is going to be fun. We’ve done our best not to invite any of those assholes you just mentioned. There’s a lot of money in this room, but they’re all decent people.”
“That’s nice, but my definition of fun is watching the game in sweats and having a beer with you and the guys, not this.” I swept my hand out just in case he needed me to clarify what I was talking about. “Why do we need to auction ourselves off?”
He smirked. “It gives you a nice weekend away with a pretty lady to look forward to. Worst case scenario, you’ll have to play arm candy to an old lady for a few days, and you can do that. See? Fun.”
“Not fun,” I said. “As long as someone bids on me and I don’t get laughed off stage, I’ll count the night as a success. Like I said, my fun will be had once this is all over.”
“You won’t get laughed off stage.” He scoffed and clapped me on the shoulder as he led me through a door to where the others were waiting. “Just relax, man. It’s not like you to be a wreck over nothing. Trust me, it’s going to be fine.”
“I’m not a wreck, but I don’t trust you with stuff like this. Do you remember when you convinced me to audition for the school talent show? You said that was going to be fine, too, and it wasn’t.”
He flinched at the mention of the talent show, but he also dropped his head back and laughed. “Maybe armpit farting the national anthem wasn’t such a great idea, but I still think it was a talent regardless of what the judges said. You’ll be fine. Just keep your hands out of your armpits and a smile on your pretty face, and someone is sure to bid on you. If they don’t, Steph will buy you, and you and I can go golfing for the weekend.”
“Golfing?” I shook my head, but some of the nerves eased up when he said Steph would bid on me if no one else did. “No, thanks. I’d rather play arm candy for an old lady than spend the weekend chasing a tiny ball around a lawn.”
“That’s the spirit.” He laughed again and looked at me over his shoulder as we approached the group of men waiting for him. “Get excited about being a trophy for a couple days. There are worse things in life, right?”
Right. Like getting laughed off stage. Then again, the thought of Steph using his money to buy me was hilarious. If I kept focusing on that, maybe it really would be okay.