Release the Stars

by Harper Bliss

  Liz, Nick, and Jason exchanged some niceties, and Charlie took the opportunity to scan the room. She spotted Josie and a few other members of her softball team to the left of the stage. Britt caught sight of her and waved, Charlie waved back.

  “I have to go now,” Liz said. “Please make sure Charlie does as she’s told,” she said to Nick and Jason. “And I do hope you’ll stay for the party after. All proceeds go to the youth homeless shelter.”

  “Wouldn’t miss it,” Jason said, and patted her on the back. “You’re awesome for organizing this.”

  “Check this.” Nick handed Charlie a flyer as Liz sped off. “You’re the top catch tonight, Charlotte.”

  Charlie took the paper from him. Liz had sent it to her for approval a few days ago. It was likely that the poor woman had barely gotten any sleep, what with the show filming at a hectic schedule and putting this fundraiser together. Seeing the picture of herself printed out like that gave Charlie a strange sensation in her stomach. Now that she’d seen the flyer, it was as if all eyes were on her.

  “No seats?” Nick pouted. “Lesbians really have no class.”

  An amplified tap-tap-tap came through the speakers. Charlie took the opportunity to shove Nick playfully in the shoulder. Then a woman Charlie didn’t know took the stage and welcomed them all.

  “I’ll get us some drinks,” Charlie offered. The presenter was still making introductions and giving details about the chosen charity. According to the flyer, ten women would be auctioned off tonight, and she was the last on the bill. She could either be nervous until it was her turn or drink away the knots coiling in her stomach. She chose the latter. She headed to the bar and purchased a bottle of red wine.

  She said hello to Sarah and Tiff on the way back to the boys, then poured them generous portions.

  “Take it easy, tiger,” Nick said. “You don’t want to fall off the stage. Think about your net worth for the next hour, please.”

  Megan, the first woman under the hammer belonged to a team Charlie hadn’t played against yet, so she didn’t know her. She’d scrutinized Liz’s flyer and the only woman she’d been remotely tempted to make an offer on was Josie. It was probably a bad idea, but Charlie didn’t dismiss it entirely just yet.

  The crowd roared, and bidding paddles were thrust into the air generously. Megan went for $550 and was introduced to her date under loud cheers from the audience.

  Charlie waited until Josie had disappeared backstage to say a temporary goodbye to Nick and Jason and join her teammates closer to the action.

  Her team cheered exuberantly when it was Josie’s turn. Sarah was the first to bid on her.

  “Just to get the numbers up,” she whispered in Charlie’s ear.

  Numbers soared for Josie and a quick-fire of bids brought the sum to $1900 in no time.

  “Should I bid?” Charlie asked Sarah.

  Sarah widened her eyes. “For real?”

  “I feel like I owe her.”

  While Charlie chatted with Sarah, two stubborn bidders pushed the amount higher and higher.

  “Go for it,” Sarah shouted. “Anything goes today!”

  Charlie checked out her competition. The woman who had just bid $2400 was tall, blonde, and so LA Charlie believed she should stay out of this fight. The other person was Asian-American like Josie, but she was much bulkier and wore her hair shaved close to her head.

  “It’s now or never, Charlie.” Sarah prodded her arm.

  The MC acknowledged Charlie’s raised hand and shouted, “We have a new contender in this race. That brings us to $3000, ladies and gentlemen.”

  The Asian woman scanned the room and, when she saw Charlie, shot her a filthy glare. Someone had the hots for Josie.

  The blonde counter-offered, again.

  “Three thousand one hundred,” the MC said, her voice growing more high-pitched every time she screamed out a new amount. “Let’s set a record here, folks.”

  Charlie raised her hand again. The blonde countered again, until they’d reached $3500, and Charlie’s opponent resigned from the bidding war. Their teammates whistled and yelled encouragement to Josie, while slapping Charlie on the back.

  Charlie was still coming down from the adrenalin rush of bidding, and only snapped out of it when the MC called her to the stage, as she had done with all the previous winners.

  “Someone has deep pockets,” the MC said. “We love that!”

  “Some things have no price.” Charlie stood next to Josie awkwardly.

  “I know you’re on the same team… literally and figuratively, so I won’t introduce you. Enjoy your date, ladies.”

  Charlie and Josie left the stage together under loud applause.

  “Seriously?” Josie asked as soon as they were backstage.

  “Why not?” Charlie retorted. “I think we need a do-over. I know I screwed up last time.”

  “You guys.” Liz headed in their direction, a big smile plastered on her face. “That was awesome!”

  “We’ll see about that later,” Josie said.

  “Oh, come on, this is for charity. Have some fun.” Liz poked Josie in the bicep with her elbow.

  Charlie cocked her head and fluttered her eyelashes, hoping to win Josie over with some slapstick.

  “Okay, fine. I surrender. I will go on a date with you again. No phones allowed,” Josie said.

  “That’s the spirit!” Liz beamed. “The next one’s up. Charlie, no need for you to go back to the front now. It’s almost your turn. You can watch from the side of the stage if you want. Or you can chat some more with Josie, of course.”

  “I’ll gladly stay here,” Charlie said. “I’m not entirely sure it’s safe for me to go back out there. Someone gave me the evil eye just before I outbid her.”

  Josie lingered backstage with Charlie. “What happened to the woman who was texting you on our date?” she asked.

  “She’s out of the picture.” It hurt for Charlie to say that, even though she smiled through it. “She’s straight so—”

  “Charlie, you’re up!” Liz shouted.

  “Good luck,” Josie said, and gave her a thumbs up.

  Charlie walked onto the stage and could barely see because of the spotlight that bathed the front of the house in a bright white light, and her eyes needed a moment to adjust.

  Through the crowd’s cheers, she could hear Nick’s voice. It wouldn’t surprise her if he bid just for laughs.

  “Here we have Charlie Cross, ladies and ladies, and the five gents in the back!” the MC said. “Best get your check books out one last time.”

  Charlie had downed enough wine to not want to sink through the floor with mortification, but she wasn’t feeling very natural and relaxed either.

  “Do you need me to introduce the lovely Charlie or is that not required?” the MC asked the audience. They broke out in another cheer.

  “Just get on with it,” a low voice shouted from the back. Her team, positioned to the left side of the stage, hollered.

  “As you wish,” the MC said. “We can’t possibly let Charlie Cross go for less than a thousand dollars, so let’s start bidding at that price.”

  “One thousand five hundred,” Nick shouted.

  “Very well,” the MC said. “Thank you, sir.”

  Charlie would die of embarrassment if no one bid higher than the gay friend she brought. It was nerve-wracking to be on display like that, like a piece of meat, being examined by hundreds of people.

  To her relief, the bids kept coming. The league had advertised the auction well.

  By the time the MC shouted “five thousand for the woman in red,” most of the bidders had dropped out. Charlie’s eyes had adjusted to the lights, and she was able to make out more and more of the faces in the audience.

  “Does anyone bid more than five thousand,” the MC asked.

  “Six!” a woman in the middle of the pack shouted. Charlie recognized her voice from earlier bids.

  “Whoa!” the MC said. “This might b
e the winner right here!”

  The crowd went silent with anticipation. Charlie’s gut clenched.

  Then, as the MC drew a breath to declare the last bidder the winner, a voice came all the way from the back.

  “Ten thousand,” the voice said. It was a voice Charlie would pick out of any crowd. She blinked a few times and shielded her eyes from the spotlight with her hand. All the way in the back, flanked by Nick and Jason, Ava stood with her hand raised defiantly—making a clear stand.

  Charlie tried very hard to hold on to that feeling of pure joy that raced through her at the sight of Ava. For a fraction of a second, she felt like the luckiest girl on the planet.

  “That definitely seals the deal,” the MC, now almost completely beside herself, screamed. “While we give Charlie and her generous bidder a big round of applause, may I ask that the lady in the back come to the stage, please?”

  The crowd cheered, half of them craning their necks to see who had made such an outrageous bid on Charlie. Charlie could hear some muffled sounds of surprise coming from the audience.

  Still in the jubilant grasp of an adrenalin rush, Charlie staved off any worries about Ava exposing herself like that, about having bid on Josie, about anything other than this moment of bliss she found herself in.

  The crowd parted for Ava as she strode to the stage as though she were on the catwalk. She didn’t glance at anyone and kept her gaze solely focused on Charlie. Charlie’s heart slammed furiously against her ribcage. She wanted to skip the date altogether and just take Ava home.

  There on the stage, Charlie was, at last, free of the fear that had paralyzed her for months.

  Liz rushed to the front of the stage and gallantly offered Ava a hand as she climbed the steps. When Ava turned to them, the crowd went wild. Charlie didn’t dare look to her left where Josie stood.

  “It’s Ava Castaneda, ladies!” the MC hollered. “How amazing is that?”

  Ava gave the audience a quick wave then walked from the other side of the MC to Charlie. The smile on her face connected directly with Charlie’s soul. It was odd to have this realization in front of a bunch of strangers, her softball team, and under a scorching hot spotlight, but for Ava, Charlie would try. She would banish the fear, the insecurity, and the jealousy. She would let Ava in.

  Ava leaned toward her and whispered, “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make you realize how serious I am about you.” She grabbed Charlie’s hand and squeezed. Charlie couldn’t remember a moment in her life when she’d been happier.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Charlie and Ava sat in the back of Ava’s car. After the excitement of the auction’s grand finale had died down, they had gone backstage, and Ava had whisked Charlie out of the venue. Charlie had a million questions, but the one burning in her mind the most was, “What about Eric?”

  “Big mistake,” Ava said. “I was upset and I did something stupid.”

  Charlie was too elated to question Ava further on this topic. She didn’t want to think about Eric Brunswick on this magic evening. Since leaving the stage, their hands had barely lost contact. Charlie was perfectly all right with never letting go of Ava again.

  “How did you get Nick to not spill the beans?”

  Ava was wearing a simple, figure-hugging black dress, and Charlie couldn’t keep her eyes off her.

  “Simple.” Ava smiled cheekily. “I didn’t tell him.”

  “But when did you arrive? I never saw you.”

  “I had someone on the inside who kept me up to speed and let me know when to make my entrance.”

  “I can’t believe this.” Charlie grinned goofily. “You do realize you just came out?”

  “Came out of what? The closet?” Ava ran a fingernail over the palm of Charlie’s hand. “I’m really not hung up on that, Charlie. I don’t care about any of that. All I wanted was for you to understand how I feel about you.”

  “You’ve certainly done that.” Another sort of tension rose in Charlie’s gut.

  The sound of Ava’s phone ringing came from her purse. “Oh, for crying out loud. I’m going to turn this thing off.” It had been ringing and buzzing and chiming since they’d gotten into the car. Ava dug her phone from her bag and quickly looked at the screen. “Sandra’s having a fit, but she’s going to have to wait.”

  “You know at least a hundred people posted pics of us on Instagram and Facebook,” Charlie said.

  “Good for them.” Ava’s smile faded as the conversation went on. She switched off her phone altogether and slipped it inside her purse. “Look, Charlie, what I did tonight might seem rash and not very thought through for someone who makes her living in the public eye.” Her nail dug a bit deeper into Charlie’s flesh. “But I’ve considered every angle of this for the better part of two weeks, and there wasn’t a counter-argument that could persuade me not to do it. I hope you know why.”

  Deeply moved, Charlie nodded.

  “Let me say it anyway.” Ava wasn’t done with grand romantic gestures yet. It was her night for it. “Because you’re worth it, Charlie. Despite all that’s holding you back in that tortured mind of yours, and your silly percentages, and how you’ve brushed me off several times now… I want you to give me a chance.” She lifted Charlie’s hand from her lap and brought it to her mouth to plant a kiss on one of Charlie’s knuckles. “Give us a chance.”

  The kiss swept through Charlie the way a bolt of lightning hits a lone tree. It stripped her of every possible defense and left her bare.

  “Besides,” Ava continued. “I’ve read every word you’ve ever published, and I know all about your flair for the dramatic. A big gesture was required to make you snap out of your, frankly, morose state. I guess it worked.” Ava kissed Charlie’s knuckle again.

  “Have you even paid for me yet?” Charlie joked, although she suspected that, if Ava didn’t stop being so damn sexy, pretty soon her voice would lose all its power.

  “Your friend made me sign something before we eloped.”

  “Liz.” Charlie chuckled. “She should moonlight as an event organizer.”

  Charlie hadn’t paid any attention to the road, and veered slightly to the left as the car took a sharp turn. Had they arrived at Ava’s house already? Was she ready for this?

  If she wasn’t tonight, she never would be.

  Once inside, Ava pulled Charlie to her instantly and, before kissing her, joked, “I paid a lot of money for this so you’d better make it worth my while.”

  This didn’t help Charlie’s growing nerves. “You paid for a date. I mean, if the woman in red had won, I wouldn’t be about to kiss her right now, would I.”

  Ava tipped her head to the side and stared at Charlie with those dark eyes. “What are you saying, Charlie? You don’t want to kiss me?”

  “Hell no.” Charlie couldn’t wait any longer. She lifted her hands to the back of Ava’s head and brought her lips to within an inch of Ava’s. “Thank you,” she said, before letting their mouths meet.

  This kiss was different from the first one they’d shared on the beach because, instead of flooding Charlie with doubts, it shredded every last one she had. She’d been foolish to try to fight this attraction. Crazy to think she could get over Ava. Cowardly for surrendering to fear like that.

  “I hope you’re staying this time,” Ava said when they broke from their kiss.

  Charlie replied by kissing Ava again, and slipping her tongue inside. Ava’s one hand was on her cheek, the other on her neck, and Charlie was starting to lose it a little already. Not only was her heart going mad inside her chest, but her quickened pulse had reached other body parts as well.

  “Come on. You haven’t been upstairs yet.” Ava took hold of Charlie’s hand, pulling it away from her grasp on Ava’s neck.

  Walking up the stairs of Ava’s beach house, the events that were about to unfold very clear in her mind, was a surreal experience. Ava’s behind danced against the tight fabric of her dress as they climbed to the first floor, and Charlie’
s breath hitched in her throat. She’d barely touched another woman since Jo. That kiss from Ava on the beach a few weeks ago was the most action Charlie’d had in many months. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had made love. And now, Ava wanted her so badly she’d braved a crowd of rowdy lesbians to make that point. Charlie couldn’t quite wrap her head around that yet. But she was doing this; she was going all in with Ava.

  “You can admire my bedroom later,” Ava said, and dragged her close for another kiss. “I’ve been dreaming of this for a long time, and I can’t wait any longer.” Her kiss was more insistent this time, her lips moving against Charlie’s with more purpose. She trailed them to Charlie’s ear and whispered, “I want you, Charlie Cross. Please get that through that thick skull of yours.”

  If there ever was a moment post-Jo that Charlie could easily push all her doubts and neurotic quirks to the side, this was it. Ava’s breath hot in her ear, her hands already tugging at Charlie’s tank top. She let her body slip into auto pilot, let it take control over her mind.

  “Turn around,” she said. Ava shot her a smile and spun on her heels.

  Charlie unzipped Ava’s dress. The flutter of nerves in her stomach was replaced by pure lust. She didn’t need to be able to wrap her head around the fact that she was about to take Ava to bed to know exactly what to do.

  It took a bit of ass wiggling to get Ava’s dress to fall to the floor. Charlie’s breath caught at the sight of Ava’s back, naked except for the fine lace of her bra. She’d seen her in a bikini, but these circumstances were entirely different.

  Ava didn’t turn to face her. Instead, she brought her hands to her back and unclasped her bra. When she spun around, she held the fabric to her chest with both hands.

  “Are you ready for this, Charlie?” she asked, her voice filled with teasing lust.

  Charlie nodded. Ava didn’t drop her bra. Instead, she grinned and said, “Oh, you thought I meant this?” She removed her bra a fraction of an inch away from her breasts. “Well, I meant for you to take off your clothes.”