“I’m Elijah Coleman,” the guy onstage said. “I participated in my first fundraiser a while back, a dinner and dance for a local homeless shelter. It was one of the best nights of my life, and not just because I had my very own Dirty Dancing moment. Seriously, you guys. Best. Big. Moment. Ever. But I digress. It felt good to do something important, so when the LGBTQIA center had the fire, I knew I wanted to do something to help. My boyfriend, Shaw, and I came up with the idea of a bachelor auction!”
Everyone in the audience clapped and cheered. Elijah looked down at a guy with dark hair sitting in the front row, about ten seats away from us, and smiled. The guy blew him a kiss, so I figured he was the boyfriend.
“Anyway,” Elijah continued, “you didn’t come to hear me speak. The rules are in the pamphlets you were given at the door. You should each have your paddle. Let’s start bringing out the boys!”
More cheering from the crowd. My gut twisted, and I hoped I didn’t do something really embarrassing, like vomit. Thankfully, there were no drinks around me to spill, so I was safe there.
“I don’t know if I can do this.”
“We made a pact. You have to, and that’s also why we’re doing it for you.” Kira waved the paddle at me.
“But—”
“Shh,” Ali cut me off. “It’s starting!”
Don’t throw up, don’t throw up, don’t throw up, I repeated over and over in my head as Elijah called out the men one at a time. They were all gorgeous, of course, and a wide variety of types—twinks, dude bros, Black, white, Hispanic, Asian. They came out, introduced themselves, and gave us a few facts.
It was when number sixteen took the stage that I automatically leaned forward.
He looked like he belonged on the beach in California somewhere—blond, blue eyes, smooth face, cut jaw, and high cheekbones. He wore a black V-neck tee that was tight across his arms, stomach, and chest. He had a great body, firm and sinewy, but his muscles weren’t huge like he spent his life in the gym more than anything else.
He was so pretty, and I didn’t know why I was sitting up because he wasn’t my usual type. I was a nerd. I belonged with a nerd, thank you very much. Still, there was something about him. He exuded confidence, but it felt like there was more hiding beneath. The light pink to his cheeks and quirk of his smile seemed almost…bashful, unsure. I was likely seeing things, something I wanted to be there. What did this guy have to be unsure about?
“Hey, I’m Will. I’m twenty-five. I have a business degree from Atlanta State University, and wow…this is weird. I didn’t expect this to be so weird.”
There were a few chuckles, and I found myself smiling. He was the only one to go off-topic like that, and it was a little endearing.
“I’m here because this is an important cause. I used the resources at the LGBTQIA center before I came out to my family. They still don’t get it. I’m bi, so they don’t really understand why I can’t simply choose to be with a woman. Anyway, I’m rambling, and I don’t ramble. You’re enjoying this too much, Shaw.”
Elijah’s boyfriend laughed and shrugged, so clearly, he knew them.
“I enjoy going to the gym.”
Nope.
“Meeting up with friends at the bar for a drink.”
Double nope.
“Movies and television—the art of it, really.”
Triple nope to the infinity. This guy was the anti-me.
“And I have a secret love of museums, which isn’t so secret anymore.”
Oooh, maybe not the complete opposite of me. He was the only one to have mentioned museums so far, and I totally dug those too.
Before I knew it, Will was gone, and the next person came onstage. Even with his cute rambling and hidden bashfulness—which I’d likely fabricated in my mind—Will definitely wasn’t the guy I should try and have a summer fling with… Oh my God. My stomach twisted again. I was trying to have a summer fling with a random person. This was going to be a disaster.
We listened as guy after guy walked across the stage and spoke. None of them screamed I want to have a fling with an awkward sociology major who likes to dress up. So I was counting this evening as a total flop.
“We should go,” I said quietly.
“What? They haven’t done the auction part yet,” Ali countered.
“Did any of those guys look like I would have anything in common with them?” I’d make a fool of myself.
Kira shrugged. “We’re trying to get you laid, not married.”
“Shh!” I looked around, but no one was paying attention to us.
A few minutes later, Elijah came back for the second portion. He called out each guy’s number, and they strutted around the stage in their tuxes. Most of the guys went for a few hundred dollars, some around a thousand.
What in the hell was I doing there? This so wasn’t me.
“Next we have number sixteen—Will,” Elijah said, and oh, wow. Why did he have to look so good in a suit? A bow tie would be better, but I wasn’t complaining.
“We’ll start the bidding at a hundred dollars,” Elijah said.
Someone immediately raised their paddle.
“Do I have two hundred?” he asked, and Kira held up ours—I mean, mine. What in the hell was she doing? The guy liked entertainment, bars, and the gym.
“Two hundred. Do I have three?” Elijah asked.
“Stop it,” I said under my breath, not wanting to make a scene.
“Trust me, sweets,” she replied.
No, I didn’t. I didn’t trust her at all.
When someone said three hundred, Kira went with four. As the bidding went higher and higher, I got dizzy, felt faint. I was going to kill her. He was bi, so I would make her date him. I wasn’t going to go out with Mister Blond Gym Rat.
Whoever the guy was in the bidding war with Kira didn’t seem to want to stop. He countered each of her bids. I couldn’t see him because my vision was so blurry, and the room was spinning, and oh my God. Was I having a panic attack? I’d never had a panic attack before.
“Two thousand dollars!” Kira said, and everyone in the room gasped, including me.
“Wow…two thousand dollars,” Elijah said. “Going once, going twice, won by the woman in the—”
“Will’s for him!” Kira said as both she and Ali pointed at me.
Elijah smiled. “To the gentleman in the bow tie.”
I waved because, well, because I didn’t know what else to do, then sank low in the chair and did everything in my power not to crawl under it.
CHAPTER FOUR
Will
“Holy shit! I can’t believe you went for two thousand dollars!” Shaw said to me backstage.
“Jealous?” The truth was, I couldn’t believe it either. I’d gone for more than anyone, but I sure as shit wouldn’t let him know it surprised me. Plus, I wasn’t convinced my date wanted a damn thing to do with me. He’d looked like he was going to run out of the room. I was fairly certain that if he’d stood, he’d have fainted. That was likely the only thing that had kept him in his chair.
“Did you pay him off?” Danny teased.