The Boyfriend Bid (The Girlfriend Request)

by Jodie Andrefski

  “Seriously?” Sarah asked.

  “Why not?” I said. “Afraid of cooties?”

  “Very funny. I just think it’s a bit much.”

  Hannah sighed. “All right. What about something over by the net?”

  I nodded. “Okay, fine by me.”

  Sarah nodded.

  We headed over, and Hannah instructed us to lay next to each other on our stomachs in the center of the goal, our chins propped up on our hands. It was like it didn’t occur to Hannah that the ground was about thirty-five degrees.

  “Oh, this’ll work, this is great!” she called. “Hold that pose, just like that!”

  The grass was still slightly damp, which made it less than comfortable. I peeked over at Sarah. Her cheeks were pink from the cold. Her lashes were long, the kind of long you could tell were real and not those fake kind some girls wore. That wasn’t her style. I was again taken aback by how pretty she was close up. Her eyes were so green they looked almost fake. They stood out against her smooth tawny-beige skin.

  She caught me looking. “What?”

  “What, what?”

  “You were staring at me,” she said.

  “Does that make you uncomfortable?”

  “No. Well, I don’t know, kind of, I guess.” She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t stare at me.” She laughed. I liked hearing her like that, carefree and not so guarded.

  I grinned. “Okay.” But I waited another second or two, still looking her in the eyes, before turning back to the camera. When I did, Hannah was still clicking away, a pleased expression on her face.

  “So how’s it going with your girlfriend?”

  I slid my tray onto the lunch table and sat down with a bunch of the guys from the soccer team.

  “She’s not my girlfriend,” I answered Brett. I’d expected the jokes and questions and figured I’d let them have their fun and get it out of the way.

  “I don’t know, six weeks is a long time,” Kevin said. “Longer than any relationship I’ve ever had.”

  “That’s not saying much,” Eli said, tossing his straw wrapper at Kevin.

  Kevin gave him the finger.

  “Nice, man.”

  “All I’m saying is, six weeks? You could do a lot of damage in that time, if you get my meaning,” Kevin went on.

  He was a pig.

  “God, Kevin. Sarah is Emma’s best friend. Shut up.” Eli looked annoyed.

  “Whoa, dude. I was only kidding, chill.” Kevin held up his hands.

  I shook my head. “Seriously, it’s no big deal. It’s not like I’m really dating her. It’s for charity.”

  Doug looked up from staring at his tray. He’d been noticeably quiet during the whole conversation. “So she’s just a charity case to you?”

  I stared at him. He stared right back, his jaw set.

  “What are you talking about? I didn’t say that. The auction’s for charity.”

  Doug squeezed his hands around the edge of his tray so tight that his knuckles turned white. What was this guy’s problem? Did everyone in this school have anger issues?

  “Doug, just drop it, man. He didn’t mean it like that.” Eli spoke quietly, directing his words at Doug, but we all heard him.

  It occurred to me that Doug must have some kind of thing for Sarah or something.

  Great. Sarah gets roped into a dating raffle and now one of my teammates is pissed at me as a result.

  “Look, man. All I meant was that the whole auction thing is just to raise money. There’s nothing between me and Sarah, so it’s not like you have to worry or—”

  “I’m not worried. I couldn’t care less.” Doug stood up so suddenly the table shook. He walked away.

  “What the hell was that about?” I looked around.

  Eli shook his head. “History. Some people just don’t like a reminder of it, even if they were the ones who decided they didn’t want something and screwed it up.”

  Realization dawned. So Doug and Sarah used to go out.

  “Were they serious?” I asked.

  He nodded and lowered his voice even more. “Yeah, pretty serious. Then again, not serious enough. He hooked up with someone else when they were still together, and it really did a number on Sarah.”

  It was starting to make more sense—how guarded Sarah was, and the wall she always seemed to have up around me. She probably didn’t have it in her to trust any guy right now. Anyway, it was none of my business. I didn’t need to know about her past relationships.

  A thought stopped me cold. For all I knew, she was dating someone right now. After all, it looked like she was wearing some guy’s jersey this morning. Or maybe she liked someone. The thought bothered me, although I knew it shouldn’t. She could date whoever she wanted. It wasn’t like we had anything real; she didn’t even bid on me. Which should make our first date all the more interesting.

  I hoped she bothered to show up.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sarah

  When the sun goes down, and the lights burn out,

  Then it’s time for you to shine brighter than a shooting star ~ Owl City

  A date in the park was supposed to be romantic. Just read any romance novel or watch any rom-com. You always see couples strolling hand-in-hand, all starry-eyed and ridiculously happy—stealing kisses, eating a perfectly arranged picnic of champagne and strawberries and some fancy bread. Too bad my life wasn’t a Hallmark special feature.

  I stamped my boots, trying to remove the mud that I’d gotten on them while walking through the grass to the steps of the large gazebo in the center of the park. We’d agreed to meet here for our big get to know you better date. Erica had come up with that clever moniker. I wrapped my sleeves tighter against me, shivering, waiting for my pseudo-date to show up.

  Maybe I should have suggested somewhere indoors instead of an open outdoor spot. I tucked my chin deeper into the collar of my jacket. I hardly thought I had anything to worry about going somewhere more private; it wasn’t like Chance was going to be so overcome by desire that he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands to himself. I didn’t tend to have that effect on guys.

  “Sarah!”

  I peeked over the collar of my coat.

  Chance hurried toward me, waving. I told myself that my heart racing a little faster must be from the cold getting to my brain. I ignored the fact that even with my whopping one class in anatomy, I knew that made zero physiological sense.

  I stood up and shuffled around a little to get my blood moving again. He was in front of me in seconds. Even dressed casually in his letterman jacket over a flannel shirt and jeans, he looked good.

  “Hey.” Small white puffs of air came out along with his words.

  “Hey.” I offered him a tentative smile.

  Chance looked around. “So I thought we were meeting Hannah here.”

  “I thought so, too, but so far it’s just you and me.” I shuffled around some more, starting to feel awkward.

  “Well, sorry if I’m late. Practice ran longer than usual.”

  I shook my head. “No, you’re not. You’re fine. I just got here early, I guess.” I stopped. I hoped that didn’t make me sound like I was overly eager to be here. I cleared my throat.

  “Um, well, do you want to sit down while we wait?” he suggested.

  “Oh, yeah, sure.” It felt like some weird arranged courtship from a Brontë novel, all forced and polite, minus the fancy language.

  I sat back down on the wide wooden bottom step. The paint, once a colonial blue, had chipped away to a dull gray. Chance joined me, his leg inches from my own. I swallowed and stared straight ahead.

  I took a deep breath, then blurted out, “Chance, I think we should get something out in the open, before Hannah gets here.”

  He looked at me.

  “It’s just…” I wasn’t sure how to say it without sounding like a bitch. I decided to just go for it and hope for the best. “I told you how I wasn’t the one who bid on you.”

  “Yeah.�
�� He didn’t say anything else. I couldn’t read what he might be thinking from his expression, which didn’t help.

  “It’s just, I’m not looking to date anyone. At all. It’s not that it’s you.” I tried to soften my words a little and felt completely cliché with the it’s not you, it’s me excuse. Even if it was the truth. Although I didn’t think he’d even care. It wasn’t like he’d shown the slightest interest in me anyway.

  He nodded. “I get that. And I’m right there with you.”

  I leaned in. “You are?” It was strange. While I felt slightly better getting things out in the open, his words still unexpectedly stung a little. I told myself that maybe the whole thing wouldn’t be so awkward moving forward if we were both on the same page.

  He shrugged with one shoulder. “Sure. I’m not looking to really date anyone, either. I only did the whole auction thing because Coach asked me to.”

  A shadow crossed his face, and it seemed as though he went somewhere else for a moment. I nodded.

  “Anyway, I certainly didn’t expect it to end up being six weeks’ worth of dates, either. Kind of more than I bargained for,” he said.

  Ouch.

  Some of the sting of his words must have shown in my expression, because he reached over to lay his hand on my knee briefly. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant…” He turned to face me more fully. “I get it, Sarah. You weren’t looking for any of this. Neither was I. I have stuff in my own life that I’m trying to focus on right now.” He shrugged again, his hair falling into his eyes. “But, we’re in it, so we might as well at least try to make the best of it.”

  I nodded. “Okay. I guess that makes sense.” I looked down at my boots. The mud was starting to dry around the edges.

  He nudged me.

  I looked up, and he grinned for a few seconds. “Just try not to fall in love with me.” He winked.

  “Ha, very funny.” I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry, I think you’re safe.” I raised an eyebrow. “Same goes for you.”

  He reached out his hand for me to shake. “Deal.”

  “Deal,” I echoed.

  He removed his hand and took a deep breath before speaking again. “You don’t like me much, do you?”

  His question surprised me. I looked back up to face him. His brown eyes were warm and sincere, without a hint of sarcasm.

  “I don’t even know you,” I said honestly.

  His head dipped the tiniest amount, acknowledging the truth in my statement. “But that doesn’t change what I said, does it?”

  “Why do you think I don’t like you?” I asked.

  He cocked his head, watching me. His scrutiny made me feel self-conscious, almost like he could see more than I wanted him to. I looked down again.

  I realized that he deserved for me to be honest with him. Which wasn’t easy. It was my turn to take a deep breath before answering him. “Chance, I really meant it when I said it wasn’t you.” I paused. “I’ve just been through some stuff recently, and I’m not ready to let anyone in.” I felt stupid even saying the words.

  He didn’t say anything right away, just nodded. About a minute later, he said, “I get it,” barely above a whisper. We both stared out at the twilight sky, not speaking. But this time, it didn’t feel as awkward, somehow.

  I glanced up at him. “I’m sorry I’ve been a jerk.”

  The corners of his lips turned up in a small smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

  I smiled back at him.

  “I think I see Hannah,” he said. “Saved by the photographer.” His voice held a hint of teasing. He stood up.

  After a beat, I stood next to him, waiting for Hannah to reach us. She wasn’t alone.

  “Hey, guys.” She smiled at us. “Sorry I’m a few minutes late. Someone signed out the camera with the seventy/three-hundred-millimeter zoom, and that’s the one I needed, so by the time I tracked them down…” She took a look at our blank stares and laughed. “Never mind. Anyway, do you guys know Josh? He’s the numero uno sound and tech guy at school, and he’s agreed to help us.”

  Josh reminded me of the tenth Doctor, tall and lanky with glasses and an honest-to-goodness overcoat. He looked vaguely familiar, but we didn’t run in the same circles.

  “Josh, this is Sarah and Chance.”

  We all murmured polite greetings in one another’s direction.

  I realized that Josh must be in charge of the audio on our dates. The awkward feeling that had disappeared the past few minutes returned, stronger now.

  Josh ended up attaching tiny microphones to our jackets to transmit to a box he carried that would record us. As long as we didn’t move out of range, which was seventy-five feet or so, we’d be good to go. It made me feel a little better that he wasn’t going to be sitting right next to us pointing a microphone in our direction the entire time.

  “How about you each walk away a bit and we’ll test them to make sure we get a good reading without any feedback,” Hannah suggested.

  Chance and I walked ten feet, did the usual testing, testing, one, two. When that worked, we tried again in further increments. Once Josh was satisfied, we met back together for final instructions.

  “The most important thing is to just be yourselves, act natural,” Hannah directed. “Erica couldn’t be here today, but she made it clear before I came out to let you know that she really wanted you both to just act like you would if you were hanging out on a casual first date, getting to know each other.”

  Except for the tiny little fact that this wasn’t a real date, she made it sound so simple. What could be easier? I nodded that I understood. So did Chance.

  Hannah and Josh looked back and forth between Chance and me, probably wondering why we didn’t seem more excited. After all, I’d supposedly just spent a boatload of cash to be on these dates. I was too embarrassed to admit to her at this point that I hadn’t even been the one who did the bidding. I felt like a cheapskate. Or someone totally pathetic who my friends felt the need to find a pseudo-boyfriend to make sure I was over my ex.

  I gave a thumbs-up. Chance chuckled like he knew some private joke I didn’t get.

  “Okay, if you two are ready, we’ll get started. Just completely ignore me. I’m not even here,” Hannah said.

  Right. Except she obviously was.

  Chance and I looked at each other, not moving.

  No one said anything.

  Hannah backed away a few steps, and a shutter closed a few times.

  I looked over. Her face was half-hidden behind the camera as she clicked away. I looked to Josh. He motioned with his hands for us to go.

  What were we supposed to do? I felt like an idiot. And I’d be immortalized for the world to see, for what would forever become known as the first date from hell. “What do we do?” I whispered to Chance.

  “What do you want to do?” he whispered back.

  “I don’t know.” People were walking through the park, and a couple glanced over, probably wondering why someone was bothering to take pictures of the two most boring people on the planet.

  “Here, let’s do this.” Chance grabbed my hand for a second, long enough to turn me in the opposite direction, facing away from Hannah and Josh. “They aren’t even there. It’s just me and you, hanging out in the park, no big deal.”

  I took a deep breath. The park really was pretty, even this time of year. The sky already held streaks of red mixed in with the deep blues. The lights along the pathways were blinking on. I felt my breathing even out and become more normal.

  I smiled up at him.

  “Better?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Better. Thanks.”

  “Any time.” He nodded toward the path in front of us. “Want to walk for a bit?”

  “Sure.”

  I fell into step next to him. At around six feet tall, Chance had long legs, but he seemed to make sure to walk at a pace that made it easy for me to keep up.

  “So, I guess we’re supposed to ask each other ab
out ourselves,” I finally said after a few minutes of walking in silence.

  “What do you want to know? You can ask me anything, I’m pretty much an open book.”

  I thought about it. “Why soccer?”

  His face lit up. “For me, it’s not just about scoring some goals or even winning the game. It’s all of it.” As he spoke, it was easy to see the passion behind his words, how much he truly loved the sport. “It’s about the team, the relationships. It’s about pushing myself to the limit and then pushing just a little bit more.” He shook his head. “I don’t know, I just love it. I watched my first match when I was five and knew right then I wanted to play.”

  His answer surprised me a little, and yet in other ways, it didn’t. If I was honest, I knew he wasn’t just some stereotypical jock. I’d been glimpsing pieces of the real Chance since I’d first met him, and I’d been wrong to place him in some box based on his looks and the fact that he played a sport.

  “That’s really cool,” I said softly. “I wish I had something I felt that passionately about.”

  “Well, what about you?” he asked. “What do you want to do after high school?”

  I smiled. “That’s easy.” I told him all about my dream to study pediatric medicine at NYU and where that dream came from.

  He whistled. “That’s pretty damn impressive yourself.” I could tell he meant it, and it felt good.

  We walked and talked for about another twenty minutes, asking simple questions—things like favorite classes (gym and math for him, science and English for me), favorite colors (his was green, mine was lavender), and favorite foods (we both decided on anything Italian). I smiled when we found that commonality. It made me feel closer to Chance, somehow.

  A strong gust of wind blew, and I shivered.

  “Cold?” he asked, brows wrinkled in concern. It was kind of cute.

  “A little.” More like freezing, but I didn’t want to complain. I was actually having a really nice time, which amazed me on several levels. But I decided not to overthink things and just enjoy myself. After all, now that Chance and I had talked and we’d both been honest about the fact that neither one of us was looking for any kind of relationship, it took some of the pressure off the whole thing. I could relax a little.