by Amanda Ashby
Crickets.
She’d wanted to call Via but couldn’t bring herself to.
Couldn’t bring herself to admit she was panicked.
There was a noise from the other end of the hall and her head shot up, but it wasn’t him. It was some of the volunteers carrying donations through to the back of the stage. She swallowed and turned back around. It made no sense. They’d spent the day in the hall, and he’d only gone home a couple of hours ago to get changed.
“He’ll be here soon,” Piper said, though her mouth was tight. Then she nudged Gareth.
“Yeah. I mean he turned up yesterday, didn’t he?”
Norah swallowed. He’d been over an hour late, but instead of offering an explanation, he’d simply kissed her so much she’d forgotten.
It had stopped her from thinking about the thing she didn’t want to think about.
Now he was back on the team, he didn’t need to go through with helping her. That he hadn’t meant what he’d said. That the reason he didn’t date was because he lost interest quickly.
He’s lost interest in me.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice—
Her chest tightened, but she ignored it. There was no reason to panic. Everything was done. The hall looked amazing. They’d covered the walls in blown up photographs she’d taken in Cambodia, and programs were placed on every seat. There were also long trestle tables set up for hot drinks, water, and snacks before the auction started.
On the stage was the podium where Greg would call each auction. Behind it was a long table of the lot numbers. Norah’s laptop was set up to one side to track each lot number with the successful bidder. To the left was where each lot would be carried out onto the stage by the four tenth graders Coach had recruited for her. There was also a white screen at the back of the stage to show the bigger items.
Everything was perfect, but—
“I’m here,” Zac’s voice echoed around the hall, and she swiveled as he jogged into the hall. His hair was tousled, and his mouth was set in an apologetic line. “So sorry. What have I missed?”
Just me having a silent meltdown.
“Nothing.” She quickly shook her head. “We’re going over everything one last time. Refreshments first, then the donations, and finally we’ll do the Buy a Date auctions,” she said, relieved her voice sounded calm. Piper’s phone buzzed and she stepped away to answer it, while Gareth followed her. Norah sucked in a breath. “Where were you?”
He threaded his fingers through hers. “Myles turned up on my doorstep. He was off his face and I couldn’t get hold of Pete and Max. That fight we saw was a bad one, and he and Kennedy broke up. I had to drive him home and hide his keys. Hopefully he’s sleeping it off. And you don’t want to even know what happened to my phone.”
The pounding in her chest lessened. There had been a reason.
He still likes me.
“I’m pleased you’re here.”
“Makes two of us. As soon as Myles is sober we’ll be having words.” He kissed her. The tension in her shoulders lessened. “And hey, at least we’ve got the disaster over and done with.” He gave her a mischievous grin and kissed her again.
“You know that’s how you jinx things, right?” she said as Piper reappeared, her mouth grim.
“Bad news. That was Hamish. He’s got food poisoning and can’t make the date auction.”
“Whoops.” Zac flashed her an apologetic smile. “I don’t suppose I can stand up twice?”
“No, it wouldn’t work. If there are two different winning bids someone might feel ripped off.” She shook her head and gave Piper a hopeful look. “What do you say?”
“I say no way.” Her friend held up her hands, and they both turned to Gareth.
“Sorry. I can just about manage to get on stage when I’m surrounded by the whole orchestra. You might have to do this one.”
Norah’s stomach churned. Going out with Zac to get donations had been bearable because he’d done all the talking, but standing on stage and being auctioned off for a date? So not in her comfort zone. Her hands automatically went to the scars hidden under her shirt.
“I’m not sure. The whole reason we got Zac and Hamish was because they’ll get so many bids,” she protested.
“You’ll get bids,” Zac quickly said. “Though none of them will beat me. Getting to go on a date with you? Priceless.” His eyes locked on hers. Piper and Gareth seemed to take it as settled and disappeared in the direction of the door to wait for people to arrive.
“Okay,” she said, her heart still pounding. “As long as I don’t have to stand there too long.”
“Trying to sideline yourself again?” he teased.
“Not helping,” she said, though her panic lessened.
“I promise I’ll be here the whole time. You freak out, just look my way.” He gave her one of his most charming smiles. His eyes crinkled and the dimple flashed at her. “I almost forgot…this is for you.”
He withdrew a crumpled white bag and passed it over. Despite her nerves she returned his smile and opened it. Jellybeans. They were all purple. For winning.
His eyes were crinkled and his lips upturned. He was clearly enjoying her surprise.
“Thank you,” she said as Greg walked in, followed by her mom. Zac’s hand slipped into hers and he grinned. “Showtime.”
xxxx
Zac rubbed his brow. As the seats had filled, there seemed to be a hundred things that still needed doing. And he thought running around on a soccer field for ninety minutes was hard. It wasn’t just him. He kept catching sight of Norah’s long dark hair as she flashed in and out of view, effortlessly dealing with all the small problems that kept cropping up. Ditto with Piper and Gareth, who were currently fixing the lighting, which wasn’t working.
It had been an hour since Greg had stepped up to the podium, calling out lot after lot. It had blown his mind how much people were bidding. He’d recognized most of them as he made his way around the rows of seats thanking everyone. His parents had won the weekend in Las Vegas, and Via and Hudson had chipped in to buy the Harry Potter first edition.
His friends were sitting at the back of the hall. It was the first chance he’d had to talk to them. Kennedy was sitting at the far end of the row, having a conversation with Taylor. And there was an empty seat where Myles should have been.
He slid into it and turned to Pete and Max. “Where were you guys? Myles turned up to my place wasted.”
“Sorry about that. We were at the beach. Surf was epic. Figured you sorted him out since he’s not here,” Pete said, craning his neck to one side. “Probably for the best. Kennedy’s on a rampage. She hasn’t stopped complaining about him all night.”
“But you know they’ll be back together by Monday.” Max didn’t look particularly bothered. “So, are we going out after this thing?”
Zac shook his head. “Nah. I was late thanks to Myles. I got some making up to do.”
“Oh, yeah?” Pete leered, but Zac ignored them as Greg announced it was almost time for the Buy a Dates. “That’s my cue. Don’t forget to bid.”
“Of course, man. You have no idea the things we’re going to make you do if we win. A date you won’t forget in a hurry.”
Zac rolled his eyes and walked to the stage. He was halted by Veronica Randolph, who held up a huge jar of money. “Great night, Zac. Zoey and the girls have all pooled in their pocket money. They made me promise to bid on you.”
“That’s because they’re monsters,” he said in a good-humored voice as he crossed to where Norah was standing in the wings of the stage looking seriously hot in a black skirt and top that hugged her chest.
“Hey, how did it go? Did we get the reserve on everything?”
A smile spread across her mouth. “And some. We’ve totally blown away my targets. I can’t believe it.”
“I can.” He wrapped his arms around her, relieved the pensive look in her eyes was gone. Not helped by him being late, especially on t
op of the detention he’d had yesterday. But at least it had all worked out, and after tonight they wouldn’t have to worry about any auctions or tryouts. “Does this mean we can cancel the Buy a Dates?”
“I wish,” she said with a groan as the lights dimmed, to signal it was time. “But it’s on the program. I think everyone in the room is going to bid on you.”
“That’s because I’m awesome.” Warmth spread in his chest as he lowered his mouth to hers. Yes he was joking, but when he was around her, it felt less of a lie than it usually did. Because she thought there was more to him than just a guy who played soccer. She laughed and untangled herself from him.
“Go on Mr. Awesome. It’s time to make some money.”
He waited until her stepdad called his name, then walked onto the stage. Max and Pete catcalled him from their table, and his parents and Via clapped and hollered. He grinned and waved his arms as Greg started the bidding.
His parents were the first to raise their paddle. He groaned. Why did he get the feeling his sister was behind that one? It went up to fifty bucks as Max and Pete lifted their paddles. Animals. He’d probably be waxing their surfboards and doing dumb pranks. A couple of girls from school put in bids, which were thankfully beaten on behalf of his under nines. Then Norah raised her own paddle to bid two hundred dollars, a shy smile on her face.
Now that was something he could look forward to. He flashed her a smile.
“Right.” Greg raised his hand. “Two hundred dollars. Is that our final bid? Going once, going twice, going—”
“Five hundred dollars,” a shrill voice called out from the back of the hall. Ice hit his veins as several people swiveled around to see who’d bid so much. His stomach dropped as a flash of coppery hair caught the light.
Kennedy?
The room went silent. He shut his eyes and opened them again. She was still standing there, hands on hips. A low murmur rose, and Zac’s heart pounded as he turned to Norah. Her face was white, and the paddle she’d been clutching was pressed into the front of her torso. Where her scars were.
Hell.
Greg, as if remembering what his job was, gave Norah an apologetic grimace and raised his hand again. “Going once, going twice, going three times. Sold.”
No.
The plan had been to stay on the stage until they’d met their “date” and handed them the bright yellow dating coins they’d had made. Screw that. He turned to Norah, but she was no longer there. The hall was silent apart from the clacking of heels as Kennedy defiantly marched across the room and onto the stage, surprisingly fast considering her height.
Someone handed her the coin, and she was clutching it as she reached him.
“What the hell, Kennedy,” he snapped in a low voice.
“What’s your problem? I helped your dumb charity raise five hundred bucks. You should be grateful,” she said in an equally low voice as she stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.
“Stop dragging me into your games,” he growled. From the back of the hall came a loud bang. Zac looked up to see Myles standing in the doorway. His dark eyes were glittering, and his mouth was set in a furious scowl. Kennedy shot him a smirk and Zac’s fists tightened. He’d been right.
Myles’s face turned to stone as he spun and marched out of the room.
Oh, hell.
Zac glared at Kennedy and then bounded off the stage, hurrying out the door to try and catch Myles before he did anything spectacularly stupid.
15
“It’s not that bad,” Gareth said an hour later as the hall finally emptied out. “We raised more money than we ever expected and everyone had a great time.”
“And he can’t control who bid on him,” Piper said in a quieter voice as she rubbed Norah’s arm. She swallowed and nodded her head. “Myles looked drunk. That’s why Zac followed him.”
She knew they were both right.
But it didn’t stop the clawing sensation in her chest. After Zac had disappeared, she’d been forced to go on stage. Her mom had been in the restroom so couldn’t even do a sympathy bid.
Everyone had looked at her. Like they could see the scars that were carefully hidden under her shirt. Like she was different. In the end Gareth had bid, paying the grand sum of thirty-two dollars. A bargain compared to what Kennedy Quinn had forked out.
Bile caught in her throat.
She wasn’t meant to be thinking about that.
About the fact he’d gone running off after his teammate while leaving her to face a humiliating auction. Why was she even surprised? He’d never hidden how important his team was. After all, that was what had started this whole thing.
It was just that somewhere along the way she’d managed to convince herself things had changed. That she was his teammate too. That she was the kind of girl a guy like him would go for.
She shut her laptop and rubbed her brow.
All the payments had been received, and the items that could be taken straight away were gone. Tomorrow she’d sort out delivering the larger things. There was still cleaning to be done, but right now she couldn’t face it. She passed over the clipboard with the instructions.
“Would you guys mind if I take a break?”
“Norah,” Gareth started to say, but Piper touched his arm and shook her head.
“You sure you want to be alone?”
Absolutely. Being alone was so much safer than dating someone who kept letting her down. She should have known better.
She nodded. “I’m sure. I need ten minutes and then I’ll be back.”
“Go. We’ll be here when you’re ready.” Piper hugged her.
“Thanks,” Norah said as Gareth gave her a quick pat on the arm.
As she walked away, her fingers drifted to her stomach. She pressed them against the scars.
Three weeks ago, Zac Mackenzie was a tiny blip on her radar. A guy she liked from a distance. It had been so much better that way. Because in her head she could control what happened. She could make herself fit into his world and his life. She could let herself forget who she really was.
But the reality was different. She was different. And while he’d told her it didn’t matter, she finally realized what the problem was.
It might not matter to him, but it mattered to her.
xxxx
“Do not let him out of your sight,” Zac instructed Pete after they’d finally caught up with Myles. He’d been eight blocks away. It had taken three of them an hour to tackle him to the ground and get him into the car. Zac had found the bottle of whiskey in his pocket and emptied it out before stalking across the parking lot to where Kennedy was crying. Taylor was patting her arm, and Max was leaning against the hood of his car looking uncomfortable.
It was taking too long.
Frustration gnawed in the pit of his stomach like a bug as he reached Max’s side. “Pete’s taking Myles back. Will you make sure she gets home?”
“You can’t tell me what to do,” Kennedy bawled, but Zac ignored her.
“Yeah. She’s staying with Taylor. There goes my night,” Max complained. Zac glared at him. “Fine. I’ll make sure she gets home and doesn’t go anywhere near Myles. What are you going to do?”
“What do you think?” Zac turned and jogged back to the hall. The parking lot was almost empty, and there were only a couple of lights still on. His phone was wrecked from when Myles had thrown up, but he’d used Pete’s to call Norah. She hadn’t answered. He told himself it was because she didn’t recognize the number. The tightening in his gut told him otherwise.
At least her car was still in the parking lot.
That had to be a good thing, right?
He hurried inside. Stacks of spare chairs were leaning against the wall, and Piper was pushing a broom across the stage while Gareth coiled up long cords from the sound system. They both gave him a punishing glare. Zac couldn’t blame them. He held up his hands.
“Just don’t,” he said and searched the room. It was Norah free. “Where is
she?”
“She’s gone. Probably to avoid you,” Gareth growled. Zac clenched his fists. How could such a bad day keep getting worse?
“Where has she gone?” he said in a tight voice. “Her car’s still here.”
“You’re meant to be her boyfriend. Shouldn’t you know? Oh, wait—”
Zac didn’t reply. He turned on his heels and yanked open the door leading to the school corridors. His sneakers echoed as he ran through the empty school. It was dark but for the low gleam of security lights, and he wished he had his phone with him.
He checked room after room until he finally reached the library. There was a small light coming from the study room they’d spent so much time in.
Of course.
He opened the door. She was sitting on one of the chairs, her feet pushed out underneath a desk, and she was wearing an oversized sweater, her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach.
“You know you’re not meant to be in here after hours. You must’ve been hanging out with me too long,” he said, trying to hide the relief flooding through him. At least now he’d found her, he could apologize and make it right.
“Seriously, you’re starting with a joke?” she said in a soft voice, not looking at him.
“Sorry.” He dragged a chair across the floor, flipped it around and sat down, leaning forward. “I’ve been saying that a lot lately, haven’t I?”
She finally raised her head. “I don’t feel like talking right now.”
“Okay. How about I talk then?”
“Fine. What do you want to say?” Her face was pale, and there were smudges under her eyes. She’d been crying? Hell.
“You know Kennedy only bid on me to get back at Myles, right? It’s what they do. It’s why she kissed me in the first place. I know it looked bad, but I swear it doesn’t mean anything.”
“She paid five hundred dollars to buy a date with you.”
“She once bought a cat that cost three grand. Her parents are loaded. For her, it’s not about the money.” He ran a hand through his hair. “And I’m sorry I took off. But Myles was still drunk. I didn’t want him doing anything dumb.”