I grin back at him, flashing leg as I bend down getting in.
“You do that on purpose,” he growls.
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“Yeah, you know.” He closes the door, a grin on his face.
Crossing my legs, I smile to myself, loving to tease him. He gets in, adjusting his suit pants, before starting the car and putting it in gear.
“Hopefully no crazy MILF bids on you and decides to use you as her hall pass.”
He throws his head back, laughing loudly. “You and I’ve never talked about hall passes. So, I mean, what is your thought about that?”
“I can’t believe you’re sitting here asking me what I think about hall passes.”
He reaches over to grab my hand. “You know I don’t want a hall pass.”
“But what if she does,” I argue.
“I mean we’re supposed to give them what they want.”
“Well they better not want you.”
“When you got it, you got it.” He winks.
“You’re such a shit, but you’re my shit.”
“How much do you think Sully will go for?” I ask Stella as we stand to the side of the stage. Stella’s not part of the auction, but she’s helping with the festivities.
“Sullivan. At least a couple hundred, maybe a thousand.”
I gawk at her. “You really think a thousand dollars?”
“You may not realize how hot he is because you see him all the time, but Sully’s hot.”
“Oh my God, Stelle. This is what I was worried about, some MILF using him for her hall pass.”
Stella laughs so hard she wipes tears from her eyes. “You’re so salty.”
“Well you would be too.”
“Oh girl, I already am. You should see the way women look at Ransom when he’s out with our kid.”
“How do you deal with it?” I ask her, really needing to know how I’m going to ignore the women who stare at our men.
“Every night he comes home to me. I never have to wonder where his affection lies. If we’re not together in the morning, he texts to let me know he’s thinking about me. When we have time for our lunches together, he surprises me by bringing me food. He, Rambo, and I, we sit on the hood of the SUV and eat as a family. You’ll realize it’s the little things that count. So many women look at that badge, that gun, and they see the uniform, not the man behind it.” She shrugs. “They don’t get to see the man who comes home after working a twenty-hour shift. The one who breaks down because there are bad apples in every profession, and it hurts him when things happen on a national level.”
I reach out, grabbing Stella’s hand because I understand what she’s saying. Even though I’ve only dealt with it to a smaller degree.
“Or when they come home beat up because a perp or a mentally ill individual put their hands on him. The call, though.” She looks down at the ground. “The call is the worst. Where they tell you your boyfriend or husband has been injured in the line of duty. They can’t let you know his condition; all you know is you have to get there. Your heart is broken because you’re in the dark. No one can prepare you for this, but you have to be strong, Shelby. We love these guys like no one else, and everything that comes with them. You deal with it because you love them. You’re their strength and their anchor in a hell of a storm. You ignore the shit thrown at you and you think about how your man makes you feel.”
“Sullivan makes me feel amazing.” I smirk. “Like I’m the only woman in the world.”
“Then that’s how you deal with it.”
“I got it, Stelle. I understand.”
She reaches out, hugging me tightly. “And remember if you ever need people to talk to, you have a whole group of women who know exactly how you feel.”
Before I can say anything we hear in the background, “Up next we have Laurel Springs Police Department Officer Sullivan Baker. According to my husband, Tank,”- she gives a smirk - “he enjoys long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, cuddling with cats, and something about big dick energy.”
The room erupts in laughter as Sullivan’s face turns a bright, bright shade of red.
The two of us turn our attention to the runway that’s been erected in the building. “God, he looks hot up there,” I whisper to Stella as he makes a lap.
“And all these women are seeing it just as much as we are.”
Blaze is working the microphone. “We’re gonna start out with one hundred dollars, do I hear a hundred?”
“I’d pay five hundred,” I whisper.
She cracks up when someone pledges that much. It goes back and forth between Whitney and Leigh.
“Leigh, I know what to do with a younger man,” Whitney yells from where she sits. “Eight hundred dollars!”
“Mom!” Stella yells as she turns abruptly to look at her mother. “I can’t believe you said that.”
“I’m trying to figure out why you’re not bidding,” she picks up Stella’s paddle. “Nine hundred from my daughter.”
“She’s not interested and we both know it,” Leigh raises her paddle. “And if we want to talk about age, I’m younger, Whit, and I can probably keep up with him better. Nine-fifty.”
“Ohhhh…” The room groans as the two friends face off.
“Ladies, ladies. There’s plenty of me to go around,” Sullivan says from the stage.
“No there’s not,” I yell from where I stand.
Blaze looks back and forth between all of us. She appears to want to be anywhere but here.
“One thousand.” Leigh slams her paddle on the table.
“Going once, going twice. Sold to Leigh Thompson for one thousand dollars,” Blaze laughs as Leigh shouts in happiness.
“I plan on having him be a waiter for me. Can you imagine the ladies who’ll come in to see a man in uniform?” She claps her hands as she moves up the aisle to pay her donation.
“You coulda asked one of your sons!”
“They’re my sons, I wanna at least enjoy the view. With Sully here, I can.”
“So you think,” Havoc yells from behind the scenes.
The room erupts in laughter at the married couple and I have to admit I feel good knowing she’s the woman he’s going to be with.
“Your turn.” Stella thumbs me up to the stage.
“Wish me luck!”
My body shakes as I stand in front of the room. I’ve never been one to enjoy being the center of attention, unless I’m in open court.
“We’ve got one of the best lawyers in the county here folks. Shelby enjoys a good argument, an afternoon Frappuccino, and cinnamon rolls from A Whole Latte Love. We’ll start it off at one hundred dollars.”
The smile is frozen to my face, as I hear people bid on me. My palms sweat as the number continues to go up. I know I won’t get the same amount Sully did, but as I get to eight hundred, I’m feeling proud of myself.
“Eight-hundred dollars going once, and twice,” Blaze says before she hits her gavel against her podium. “The person who won can come up and claim their prize.”
“It was an online bid,” Caleb says, where he sits at the back manning a laptop.