Protect My Heart

by Judy Corry

Kathryn glanced at Arie. She looked like she didn’t know whether she wanted to be talking about this in front of him. He seemed to notice her hesitation and concentrated on his mashed potatoes—giving her a little privacy. “No,” she whispered. “But he did hold my hand.” She sighed blissfully.

  “That’s a good start. Do you have plans to do anything this week?” Maya asked.

  “Not yet, but I think I’ll invite him to go to the date auction with me on Saturday to watch the bidding.”

  “Speaking of the date auction . . .” Maya turned to Arie, a sly look on her face. “What are you doing Saturday night?”

  Arie sat up straighter, his expression wary. “Umm, I’m not sure. Why?”

  “I had the most fantastic idea,” Maya said, her voice energized with her excitement. “How would you like to be a part of our date auction? I bet all the girls at school would go crazy over the chance to go on a date with you.”

  Yep, it was a loaded question.

  “Didn’t you say you had enough guys for the auction already?” he asked.

  “Maybe.” She scooted her chair closer to him, grabbed his bicep, and looked up at him sweetly. “But there’s always room for a big-ticket item like you.”

  “Oh come on, I’m not gonna go for any more than the other guys,” he said.

  “Now don’t be humble, Arie. You know half the girls in school are infatuated with you.”

  He shook his head. The skeptic in me thought he was a little too good at pretending like he didn’t know he was hot.

  Maya unleashed the big guns, with her pouty face and puppy-dog eyes. “Pleeeease, we need your help. For my nephew.”

  I could tell from the look on his face he was having an internal battle. He thought for a while and then held up his hands. “Okay, I’ll do it.” He pointed a finger at Maya. “But only because it’s for a good cause.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  ARIE

  I’M SUCH A CREEPER, I thought as I did another walk around the building Emma was cleaning. Now that we were becoming more like friends, my job suddenly felt more like stalking than actual work. Thankfully, Jason, Sophie, and Bruce were usually the ones doing the creeping around, since my shifts were typically in Emma’s presence while we were at school or hanging out. But since Jason and Sophie were celebrating their anniversary this evening, and Bruce had the late-night shift, I had offered to put in extra hours.

  Once I was sure no one else was poking around, I settled back into my spot behind the dumpster to watch Emma. The blinds weren’t closed all the way in the office she was working in, and the light from inside made it easy for me to see her. A smile spread across my face. She did a lot of funny things when she thought no one was watching. Right now she had her earbuds in, and I could tell from the way her mouth moved that she was singing at the top of her lungs. I had heard her sing in choir, so I knew she was good, but I hadn’t seen her jam to the music like this before. It was actually kind of cute.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark figure move from beneath the trees along the parking lot. My body went on high alert, eyes wide, ears perked, muscles tense. I watched the person in a dark hoodie creep along the sidewalk toward the building. I wasn’t sure whether it was a guy or a girl since the baggy clothing didn’t reveal much, but I assumed it was a guy based on the way he moved.

  I felt the back of my pants to make sure my gun was still there, and then I moved from my spot behind the dumpster to hide behind a tree for a better view. The mysterious person seemed to look inside the windows and watch Emma for a moment before he slunk next to Emma’s car. He pulled something out from the front pocket of his hoodie. My stomach tied in a knot. What was he holding?

  My mind buzzed through a dozen different possibilities. It could be anything, but there was one possibility that sent my adrenaline over the edge. What if he knew who Emma was and was placing a bomb on her car?

  I yanked my gun from its clip and snuck up on the guy. I was four feet away when I saw the hooded man was holding a piece of paper, folded in half.

  Not a bomb.

  Whew.

  A second later, he turned his head and looked right at me.

  “Brian?” I asked, quickly jamming my gun back into its holster—hoping he hadn’t seen it. “What are you doing here?”

  “Just out for a run.” He noticed me eyeing the paper, and before I could grab it, he stuffed it down the front of his pants.

  Yeah, I’m not going after that.

  But what could be on that paper? He certainly didn’t want me to know. It seemed far-fetched, but could he be working for the enemy? He certainly had a great track record for stalking Emma. But then again, it could have been a love letter. He was the type of guy who would write creepy notes to a girl, moonlighting as her secret admirer.

  “What are you doing here, Arie?” he asked, squinting at me.

  “My, ah, neighbor owns this building,” I fumbled for something believable to say. “While he’s out of town, he asked if I could make sure it’s locked up each night.”

  “Really?” He said the word slowly as if he didn’t believe me. Which, for all I knew, meant he knew who the real owner was.

  Lights went out of the office Emma had been cleaning. My chest tightened. If she was following the regular routine that Jason and Sophie had told me about, she’d be coming outside any minute to empty the trash. If I didn’t get Brian to leave so I could get back to my hiding spot, I would be caught.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  EMMA

  WEDNESDAY AT WORK, I was finishing up when I had the feeling someone was watching me. My neck prickled the whole time I vacuumed the floor.

  I worked in a large two-story building, with a few small businesses inside. There was a lobby on the main floor with four different offices, along with restrooms. The second floor was designed the same way. I was in charge of cleaning the main floor while another guy did the second floor. He usually cleaned early in the morning, so I had assumed I was all alone in the building.

  I turned out the lights and peeked out the window of the adoption agency I had just finished tidying. Since it was easier to see with the lights off, I expected to spot someone coming in from outside. But no one was out in the lobby, and the other offices were dark. I waited a little while longer, but when no one appeared, I opened the heavy door, grabbed the trash bags, and crept down the hall with them.

  This was the part of the job that freaked me out most. I had to walk down a long corridor, passing a few doors on my way out. If I worked here during the day when it was busy with people, I’m sure the hall wouldn’t be so scary, but at night it creeped me out. I never knew whether a door was going to be jerked open by someone working late, which had happened to me a few times. At the end of the hall was a dark staircase right before the back exit. I always imagined someone might be lurking there behind the corner, and I would never even know until they grabbed me. I knew my imagination was running wild, but it still scared me.

  When I reached the door, I stuck a rock in it to keep it from shutting all the way, then rushed to the dumpster twenty yards away to throw the trash in. I almost jumped out of my skin when something shuffled behind the dumpster. My feet were unsteady as I scrambled back to the building, locking myself inside. My pulse continued to pound through my head the whole time I packed everything up.

  Once I was in my car with the doors locked, I drew in a deep breath. From the corner of my eye, a light flicked on in the second floor. I waited, trembling with fear, until I saw the other cleaning guy start washing the window. It was him all along. I leaned back in my seat, threw my head back, and laughed—somewhat hysterically.

  My mom and I went to the school Saturday afternoon to help Maya’s family get everything ready for the date auction that evening. After a few hours, the stage was transformed to look like the backdrop of a fashion show. The podium was set in the center of the stage where Mr. Naylor, the biology teacher who was famous for his commanding voice, would be the emcee for the ev
ent.

  The stage was set up so the “date” would walk out from backstage through the doors on the side. They could strut their stuff across the stage if they liked and then stand next to Mr. Naylor for the bidding. I could only hope that when it was my turn, I wouldn’t trip in the high heels I planned to wear for the event.

  As showtime neared, I rushed to the dressing room to change into my lacy blue, knee-length dress. Running my fingers through my hair, I gave it one final fluff, touched up my mascara and lip gloss, and waited backstage with the other contestants.

  When Arie walked backstage, he glanced around at the groups of people for a moment before noticing me. My body flooded with warmth when he smiled and strode toward me. He looked so handsome in his light-green, button-up shirt and dark denim jeans. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had college-aged girls bidding on him as well as all the high school girls.

  “You look great,” Arie said after studying me for a moment.

  “Thanks, so do you.” My face flushed at the compliment. I hoped it wasn’t noticeable.

  “Thanks.” He tugged on his collar. “I can’t wait for this to be over with. I’m not really into prancing around on stage for everyone to see.”

  “Me neither,” I said, pushing some hair behind my ear. “I’m only doing this because Maya begged me.”

  “We need to find a way to get her back.” Arie peeked over his shoulder as if looking for someone, and then he spoke close to my ear, making me shiver against my will. “Maybe we should tell Mr. Naylor to introduce her as the last date to be auctioned off.”

  I drew in a deep breath. What was happening to me? I was on day twenty-four of my boy-cleanse. I should be immune to cute guys by now—not wondering what it would be like to go on a date with one. “She’d kill us if we did that. And knowing her, she’d find a way to get us back anyway.”

  “Come on, we have to do it. She conned us both into being auctioned off. I say we pay her back.” His smile was so cute and convincing I couldn’t say no. Plus, Maya had embarrassed me enough over the years it’d be okay to put her on the spot for once.

  “Okay, let’s go tell Mr. Naylor about a last-minute entry,” I said before we snuck off to write up Maya’s introduction to give to Mr. Naylor.

  “I can’t believe you talked me into doing this!” I said to Maya while pacing backstage. “I’m going to look ridiculous in front of all those people. Not to mention that they’re going to think I’m some narcissistic girl who feels like every boy is dying to go out with her.” Which we all knew was definitely not true.

  “Don’t worry about it, Emma.” Maya grabbed hold of my hands and turned me to face her. “You’ll do fine, and I bet all the boys will go crazy when you walk on stage.”

  “In my dreams,” I said. “I’ll be lucky if anyone normal bids on me at all.”

  “Our next date up for bid is . . . Emma Howard,” Mr. Naylor’s voice boomed through the speakers.

  My mouth went dry. I wanted to bolt, but Maya stepped right in front of me, blocking my escape.

  Maya took my shoulders in her hands and looked calmly at me. “You have nothing to worry about, Emma. You’re a great catch. I know there are quite a few guys out there dying to go out with you. Remember who you’re doing this for, and you’ll do great,” she finished her pep talk, gave me a hug, and gently pushed me through the door.

  The spotlights shone down on me as I stepped on the stage, feeling the weight of the audience’s stare. I fingered my dress as I came to stand next to Mr. Naylor, barely able to hear my introduction over the pounding in my ears. All I caught was something about me being an honor student who enjoyed reading, singing, and hanging out with friends. Why had I written such a boring introduction for myself? I felt silly but smiled at everyone, trying to appear more comfortable than I was. I’m doing this for Braden, I reminded myself. Remembering that gave me the confidence to look out into the crowd for the first time.

  The auditorium was filled with people of all ages. My parents and my sister, Lily, smiled and waved from the third row. I smiled back, lifting a hand at my side to wave. Maya’s family was seated in the front row. Maya’s cute nephew, Braden, sat on his dad’s lap. He was such a sweet baby, and I hoped the auction would raise enough money to help with the surgery next month. Open-heart surgery at ten months old had to be such a scary thing for his parents to think about. They didn’t need the added pressure of wondering how they would pay for it.

  As Mr. Naylor came to the end of my introduction, I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the worst.

  “Let’s start the bid at five dollars,” Mr. Naylor said. “Anyone want a date with this pretty young lady for five dollars?”

  About a dozen hands went up. I squinted to see whether I recognized any of the guys raising their hands. I gasped when I saw that one of the raised hands belonged to Brian.

  My stomach dropped to the floor. Brian’s family was loaded. There was practically no chance of him not winning the bid if he wanted to badly enough.

  “What about ten dollars?” Mr. Naylor said into the microphone.

  The same hands went up again.

  Mr. Naylor continued raising the bid, and Brian kept raising his hand. I tried to hold back a grimace as the bidding went higher and higher, with Brian remaining one of the main competitors.

  “I’ll bid two hundred dollars,” Brian’s voice shouted from the crowd. The current bid was only at fifty dollars, so of course a collective gasp sounded throughout the audience.

  I glanced at Mr. Naylor, who looked somewhat taken aback at the sudden increase in bid. “All righty, then. The bid is at two hundred dollars. Going once.” He paused for a moment. “Going twice.” He paused once more, allowing for someone else to make a counter bid. He banged the gavel on the podium. “Sold to the dark-haired young man in the fourth row.”

  Brian smiled hugely at me from his seat in the fourth row. I managed to paste on a smile as he winked at me. One of the attendants escorted me down the stairs and out into the audience to sit with him for the rest of the auction.

  I pushed some hair behind my ear when I reached my date. He smiled at me with his hazel eyes, magnified by thick glasses. I didn’t know what to say. “Uh, thanks for bidding on me,” would have sounded weird, so instead I simply said, “Hi.”

  Brian rubbed his hands together. “Do you want to finish the auction, or should we get started on our date?”

  “Oh, um,” I hedged. “Could we finish the auction first? I hear there’s a surprise entry at the end, and I really don’t want to miss it.” Plus the less time I spent alone with Brian, the better.

  He nodded, and we sat quietly for the next ten minutes as the auction continued. Most of the bids went as expected, until a college-aged guy got onstage. I’d noticed him backstage earlier, and remembered the way Derek and Kalon had glared at him. Apparently, they saw him as a threat to their goal of getting the highest bid of the night. And with the reaction he received from the college girls in the front row, it was obvious Derek and Kalon’s jealousy hadn’t been misplaced. The bidding was intense, and at the end of the bidding war, he went for a whopping $334.57.

  “Next up on this evening’s agenda,” Mr. Naylor said a few bids later, “Arie Blackwell!” The crowd applauded, and a group of high school girls to my right erupted into cheers when Arie walked onto the stage. He blinked into the spotlight but smiled at the crowd, and for a fleeting moment I found myself wishing I were one of the girls bidding. I quickly banished that urge, though.

  Arie might have said he wasn’t looking forward to being auctioned off, but he still stood with an air of confidence. There was only a slight crack in his facade that let me know he was uncomfortable.

  “Okay, ladies. Settle down, please,” Mr. Naylor said after the cheering had gone on long enough. “Settle down.” He struck his gavel on the podium several times before the crowd quieted again. Arie’s eyes rested on me for a moment, and I gave him a thumbs-up sign when I saw the color drain from hi
s face. Maybe Maya shouldn’t have done this. He really didn’t look like he wanted to be up there at all. It was a surprising thought, since I always assumed a guy with looks like him would love being the center of attention and have girls treating him like a rock star. But Arie was different. Yes, he did have a sort of charisma that made him instantly likable, but he didn’t seem to know it about himself.

  “What is it about Arie that all you girls find so interesting?” Brian said when the bidding began. I took my eyes off Arie and saw a disapproving look on Brian’s face. He obviously wasn’t a member of Arie’s fan club.

  I shrugged. “He’s nice.”

  Brian shook his head. “There’s something weird about him. He seems like he’s hiding something.”

  My brow wrinkled. “What makes you say that?” Had Brian even spent any time with Arie besides the night we got ice cream at Kiki’s?

  Brian pursed his lips like he was debating whether to answer my question. In the end, he shrugged. “It’s probably nothing. I just ran into him somewhere this week, and he seemed really agitated.”

  “What do you mean?” I leaned closer.

  He shifted in his seat. “It doesn’t matter. I just wouldn’t trust him. When I talked to Mr. Lund about it on Thursday—”

  “Wait, you talked to Mr. Lund about Arie? Why would you do that?”

  “He’s my Psychology teacher. I talk to him about lots of things.” He seemed to sense my irritation. “It doesn’t matter, though. You guys are friends. Forget I said anything.”

  But I couldn’t just forget what he’d been saying about not trusting Arie.

  “Why don’t you trust Arie?”

  Brian set his jaw. “Just forget I said anything. Let’s finish the show.” He pointed to the stage, and I knew I wouldn’t be getting anything out of him right now.

  So I turned my attention back to what was happening up front with Arie’s bidding. I thought I had come to terms with trusting Arie to be a good guy. Why did Brian have to go and try to tarnish Arie’s reputation?