Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 148473 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 742(@200wpm)___ 594(@250wpm)___ 495(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148473 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 742(@200wpm)___ 594(@250wpm)___ 495(@300wpm)
There’s a collective gasp in the room.
Everly looks around, searching the audience, shooting a concerned glance my way, cautious for me. “Seventy thousand. Anyone want to bid more than seventy thousand for a date with Asher Callahan?”
Snake Girl shoots me a scathing look, then flicks her black hair over her shoulder, sneering in my direction before she ups the ante. “Eighty-five thousand.”
For a moment, the air has been sucked out of the room. Then, whispers begin, and in seconds they turn louder. “What are you doing?” Asher mouths to me.
I don’t answer him. I can’t back down now. Not when I’ve come this far. I lift my hand one more time, my voice loud and clear. “One hundred thousand.”
Beckett wheezes out a shocked, “Holy fuck.”
Like he’s not okay that I’ve gone that high. But…I guess I don’t fuck around with my brother’s money.
Everly blinks, her surprised smile taking over her face. “We’ve never had a bid that high. Does anybody want to counter the bid?”
Even Snake Girl hesitates, her confidence faltering for the first time. She looks at me, eyes narrowing into slits as if sizing me up, but there’s a flicker of doubt in her gaze.
How much is a beauty line worth? I guess we’ll find out, folks.
“Going once, going twice,” Everly says.
A few tense seconds that extend longer than my last relationship tick by. Snake Girl lingers, tapping her long, fuchsia fingernails against the wooden paddle before she reluctantly lowers it.
The victory is mine. Yes! I punch the air.
Everly’s voice cuts through the tension, triumphant. “Sold! One hundred thousand to the woman in the vest! Congratulations, Maeve! You’ve just won a date with Asher Callahan!”
A wild laugh bursts from me, adrenaline still pumping through my veins. Next to me, my brother’s face is pale and he’s clutching his stomach like he can’t quite believe he gave the go-ahead on that.
Reina is rubbing his back.
And Asher looks equal parts impressed…and bewildered.
5
THE ICE STREAKER SCALE
Asher
I’m not usually thrown for a loop. But consider me officially loop-thrown here on stage. It’s like that time last season when some dude jumped over the glass and onto the ice during a break in game action. Wearing only a bathing suit, a sandwich board, and skates, he flew down the ice toward the tunnel, advertising his new adventure tour business. Talk about a stunt.
And on a scale of one to ice streaker, I’m definitely off-the-charts surprised right now. Because I’m going on a hundred-thousand-dollar date with my best friend. Why would she do that? It can’t be a real date she wants. She wouldn’t need to throw down money for a real date since, well, we hang out all the time.
Then, like a puck slamming into the boards, it hits me. She wanted to drive up the price to make sure I didn’t break my streak. She did it for me because I wouldn’t have gone for the top amount if she hadn’t started a bidding war with Miranda Blush.
She did it because, well, I asked her to be my good luck charm.
Did I…overplay my hand? Force my luck? Shit. Tinkering with chance can be a big mistake. I don’t even want to think about what could go wrong.
Everly’s voice breaks through my spiraling thoughts. “And there you go,” she announces, turning the mic toward me. “For the third year in a row, you’ve gone for the highest amount in our Win a Date Auction. What’s the secret?”
I push aside the unease gnawing at my gut and take the mic with a practiced grin. Think fast. Don’t be the buzzkill. I’m the guy who keeps the party going, not the one who kills the vibe.
“It must be my good luck charm,” I say, shrugging like it’s no big deal.
“Do you have a rabbit’s foot in your pocket? Or maybe a lucky puck?”
I shake my head and nod to Maeve, who’s sitting in the front row wearing an outfit that matches mine perfectly. “My friend Maeve’s my good luck charm. She’s been here for the last couple years, but tonight she decided to surprise me with a date,” I say easily.
“Did it work?” Maeve chimes in, as if this is another of our big adventures.
“Sure did but you know what I like,” I say, up for the challenge too.
“Are you a big fan of Outrageous Record?” Everly asks, cutting in.
That must be the date package we’re going on—a concert. I didn’t pay close attention to the details. But no harm, no foul. “Love that band,” I reply, smoothing over my earlier distraction. A concert will be easy enough to attend with Maeve. Just like every other time we’ve hung out. It’ll be like old times—bonfires, amusement parks, spelunking, cake-making. “I’ve always wanted to see them in concert,” I add, keeping control of the situation.
Maeve grins, victorious. “That’s why I wanted to surprise you.”