“That was my next question,” Shaw added. “It makes the most sense.”
“You’re just jealous too. Shit, I’m in high demand. Maybe I can make a business out of this.”
“There is zero chance of this not going to your head, is there?” Shaw asked.
“First, no. Second, do you know me? And third, you would be even worse. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go find the cute, dark-haired guy willing to shell out two g’s just to spend an evening with me.” Yeah, even saying it, the whole thing still didn’t compute. Two thousand dollars for one date with me? I felt like I was in Indecent Proposal, only you know, without the spouse or the sex as that was adultery and prostitution.
Elijah rolled his eyes. “They’re all in the other room. There’s staff inside to hook you all up.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate this opportunity to have something to brag to Shaw about for the rest of our lives.” I squeezed his shoulder.
“Um, yeah, I have E in my bed every night. I automatically win,” Shaw said. Elijah melted, and damn it, he was good.
“Whatever.” I made my way into the room where Elijah said I should go. There was, in fact, staff inside. They had tables with paperwork, where they were getting the information.
“Each person has to give their payment information first,” said a woman with a clipboard. “When they do, they’re over on that side of the room. You need to meet with them, plan your date, and then provide us with the details, so we know everything is in order.”
“Okay, thanks.” I looked over, and my date was leaning against the wall, wringing his hands. He was on the side of the room, where the people who had paid were supposed to wait. His two friends were flanking him, one of them saying something while the other rubbed his arm up and down. They were definitely trying to calm him down, and I felt a little squeeze in my chest of…well, sympathy, but also endearment. I’d never been like that, nervous to talk to someone I was interested in—if that was even the case. I was likely getting ahead of myself.
And the fact was, he really was cute. He was about my height, with a medium-frame body. He wasn’t scrawny or muscular, but looked naturally fit. He had black hair, cut short around his head. He had a dark moustache and a tuft of hair on his chin. His skin was a rich brown, and I had to admit, the bow tie was adorable as fuck.
Taking a deep breath, I made my way over. I was about twenty feet away when his eyes darted up and landed on me, and… Oh God. Was he going to puke? I was pretty sure the poor guy was going to lose his dinner.
He stood up straighter, and I gave him my best smile, hoping to soothe him. It was a good smile. I’d never had any complaints about it before. Most people said how much they liked it. I was beginning to worry he wasn’t one of them, but then his cheeks flushed and he looked down.
Well, shit. That was cute. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. “Hey, I’m Will.”
He had big, chocolate-brown eyes, his pupils blown wide. “Will,” he said.
“Oh, wow. Your name is Will too?”
His eyes grew wider. “Shit. No. Jameson. I mean, you’re Will, I’m Jameson. Oh God, you know you’re Will. I didn’t need to say that. Hi. Just hi.”
A smile tugged at my lips that wasn’t even fake. He really was adorable, even if not in the way that would typically draw my eyes. Not because he wasn’t hot, because he was. He was just…a wallflower, fading into the background, but it was definitely something he wanted. A guy like him would naturally draw attention, if only because he worked not to.
“Hi.” I winked, and it looked like his right knee nearly gave out, but he caught himself. “And you ladies are?”
“Kira,” said the one who had been holding the paddle.
“Ali.”
“We’re the besties and responsible for this whole night,” Kira added.
“Well, then, I guess I have the two of you to thank for scoring me a date with this guy.” I grinned, knowing I said the right thing. I might not have done something like this before, but I knew I’d be good at it.
“Whew.” Kira fanned herself.
Ali laughed.
“Oh fuck,” Jameson whispered. “I mean, hi, but I already said that, didn’t I?”
A chuckle fell from my lips. The second it did, I hoped he didn’t think I was laughing at him, so I quickly followed up with, “God, you’re cute as hell. Okay, ladies, do you mind excusing us for a few minutes so my date and I can chat a bit?”
“You want them to go?” Jameson asked.
“Well, they don’t have to, but I thought maybe this could just be between the two of us. Kira was nice enough to bid on me on your behalf, but I assume they won’t be on the date with us? Unless you guys are into that type of thing.”
“Oh, ew. No,” Jameson said.
“Gee, thanks,” Ali teased.
“Sorry! You guys are like my sisters!” His words came out much easier to them than they did to me, but then he did this awkward freeze-up thing before adding, “Not that you meant anything sexual. Did I sound like you meant anything sexual? We won’t. I didn’t buy you for that. Oh God. I’m shutting up now.”
I laughed again, feeling this giddy lightness I couldn’t remember ever experiencing. Jameson was fun. “First, yeah, this is a date. Selling sex is a no-no. Second, I’m pretty sure I’m the one who made it sound like something else from the beginning, so blame me. It was a joke, though.” I wanted to tell him not to shut up. I liked it when he rambled, but it felt a little weird to say, so I bit my tongue.
“We’ll leave you two alone now.” Kira squeezed Jameson’s arm in support.
I waited for them to leave before leaning against the wall beside him. It was clear Jameson didn’t know what to say. I could see the tenseness in his body that looked like he was trying not to fidget. At first I wanted to give him a moment, but then I worried my silence would stress him out more, so I said, “Thanks for bidding on me.”
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want… We can say we did it. Kira and Ali, this was their plan. We have this stupid pact and—” He whipped his head in my direction, covering his mouth as if he’d been about to say something he shouldn’t.
“Pact, huh? That sounds interesting.”
He groaned, dropped his head back against the wall, and closed his eyes. “I’m hopeless. Why am I so bad at this?”
“You’re not bad at anything. Cut yourself some slack. Also, no way I’m letting you out of this date. We’re going, and we’re going to enjoy ourselves, damn it.” Really, I couldn’t figure out why I was so interested in this date. I would have made sure we went regardless, because that had been the point of the evening, but while before I wasn’t stoked about the idea of going out with a random guy I didn’t choose, now I was…curious. There was something intriguing as hell about him. “Your friends seem nice.”
“Friends? What friends?” he joked, and I chuckled.
“I hear ya. My buddy Shaw, his boyfriend is Elijah, the guy who put this on. That’s how I ended up doing it in the first place. Our friends can get us in some crazy-ass situations, but we can make the best of it, Jameson. If you’re interested, at least. I’ll remind you that you bought me, and if you’re not interested in going out on the date with me, I won’t force you. I’m in if you are.”