I put my empty glass on a tray and grab another one when I hear Nico's voice fill the arena. “Testing one, two.” I look up and see that a spotlight is on him now. “Testing one, two.”
The chattering stops, and the room goes quiet. “If I can get everyone’s attention.” I look around now and spot Ralph and Candace sitting down at a table in front. I make my way through the crowd and find an empty chair beside Candace. I sit down and look over to see that Manning is sitting next to me, and his wife just glares at me. I smile at her and wave, but she turns her head, and I see Manning roll his lips. “Please help me welcome our captain Manning Stevenson.” The applause starts, and he gets up, and so does his wife, kissing him on the lips as though he won an award or something. He walks up the stairs while he wipes off his lips, and I giggle, which earns me another glare from his wife.
“How drunk are you?” Candace says, leaning into me.
“Not drunk enough,” I say, taking another glass of champagne. “Cheers.” I hold up my glass, and she grabs her own, and we click glasses quietly. I listen half-heartedly to Manning’s speech about why we are here, and my curiosity has me looking around the room to see who else is here that I haven’t seen.
I spot the owner of the station sitting at a table with a couple of the players and their wives. I look around and spot Miller standing with five other men on the side. Our eyes meet again, and this time, he winks. I roll my eyes and look away. What in the hell is wrong with you? This is the second time he’s caught you looking at him. And why are you looking at him? It must be the suit or the champagne. “I think this champagne is not good,” I whisper to Candace, who looks at me and smiles. “Can champagne go bad? Like, can it poison you?”
“No.” She takes a swallow from her glass. “Tastes fine to me.” She puts it down, and a waiter comes over and grabs the two empty glasses and puts two more on the table.
“Am I going to have to carry you into the house?” Ralph asks Candace.
I lean over Candace to whisper to Ralph. “Don’t pretend you don’t like drunk sex.”
“I like drunk sex,” Candace says, not in a whisper, making Ralph just shake his head. I sit up now, looking at the stage as they bring the bachelors on stage. They introduce a couple of the rookies, and then they save Miller for last.
“And it is my greatest pleasure,” Manning says with a smile. “Introducing my assistant captain, or what I like to call him, Mr. GQ,” he says. The applause starts, and a couple of whistles are blown as he walks onto the stage and shakes Manning’s hand and then looks out into the crowd.
“He’s so gross,” I say under my breath, and Candace laughs at me. The bidding starts with the rookie first. The highest bidder is five thousand dollars. The second one goes for the same price, and the third one goes for just a touch more. They all stay under five thousand dollars.
“Now,” Nico says, “it’s time for the last bachelor of the night.” The girls all cheer, and I look over at Candace, who laughs. “We are going to start the bidding off at—”
“Fifty cents.” I hold up my hand, and everyone laughs, even Miller.
“One thousand dollars,” one of the women on the side says, and Candace looks at me.
“Not worth it,” I say, drinking another sip. “So not worth it.” I look into the glass.
“Twelve hundred!” another woman shouts, and I look over at the woman who sits there with a huge smile on her face.
“Fifteen hundred,” another one says.
“Seventeen!” one woman shouts from the back.
“Ohh, this might be a hot ticket item,” Nico says, laughing. Miller just looks down and shakes his head.
“Two thousand,” the first one comes back with.
“Do I have twenty-one hundred?” Nico asks.
Now the girl who sang his name before shouts out, “Five thousand dollars!” The crowd gasps, and Miller just looks at her.
“Ten thousand dollars,” Nico says, pointing at the one who just shout out the highest bid, “Going once, going twice.”
“Twenty-five thousand dollars!” I shout. The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them, shocking everyone, especially me.
Chapter 4
Miller
The hot light shining directly on me is making me sweat. I hear the bids coming in, and my hand tries to loosen the tightness of my shirt. Why the fuck did I think this was a good idea? I mean, the only time I felt okay about this was when Layla bid fifty cents for me. God, that made me laugh, and for one second, I forgot that I was in the spotlight. “Going once.” I hear Nico, and I swallow down the lump in my throat. I’m trying to tell myself that it’s not the end of the world. It’s a date one night for a couple of hours. What’s the worst that can happen? “Going twice.” Fuck, here we go. The worst woman I’ve ever met.
“Twenty-five thousand!” I hear shouted, and gasps fill the room. My eyes look at the table right in the front. I spot Ralph and Candace, who are both looking over at Layla with their mouths hanging open. Layla isn’t even sure what is going on as she realizes that the words came out of her mouth. The other women look over at her, and all she can do is stare at me. The room erupts in applause and cheers. The other guys who were on the stage with me are now clapping their hands and laughing hysterically.
“Sold,” Nico says, pointing at Layla. “That has to be a record,” he says, laughing, and then looks at me. “For that price, you better go get that woman a drink.” Everyone laughs, and I walk down the step toward her. What is going on here? I think to myself. What did she just do, and why? Why would she just do this? She literally hates me. I mean, she tells me this all the time. She’s pushed me away at every single advance for the last, I don’t know, four years, and now this? My head spins with all the questions, but all I do is paste a smile on my face.
I can’t help but smile, putting my hands to my chest. “Be still my heart,” I say, joking, and she groans. “That was so romantic, gorgeous. I knew there was something between us. I just felt it.” I pretend to make light of the situation, but my head swims with questions. Why would she do this? Can she even afford that? My heart starts to speed up, thinking that she just might have wasted all her savings on me, and I’m not okay with this. Do I want to date her? Damn straight I do, but not if it’s going to put her into debt. I’m going to go to Nico and just pay it off.
“Oh my God.” She puts her hand to her mouth and then looks over at Candace. “What did you just do?”
“What did I just do?” She laughs at her friend. “What did you just do?”
“God.” Manning’s wife gets up. “How desperate can one woman be that she has to buy herself a date?” She looks over at Layla with disgust all over her face, and I have to admit she might be hot as fuck in a totally fake way, but her attitude just makes her ugly.
“I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars not to come home,” Manning says to her and pushes away from the table. “Fuck, I’d give you a million dollars to never talk to me again.” He walks off, leaving her with her mouth hanging open, and the four of us just looking at her. She straightens her shoulders and turns and walks away in the other direction.
“Well, that was weird,” Layla says, grabbing her empty champagne glass and bringing it to her lips for the last drop. “I wonder if I won the All-Star tickets?” she says, looking around.
“Well, there she is.” I hear Nico now and turn to look at him as he walks to the table. He holds out his hand for Layla, who smiles and takes it, and I want to hit his hand away, but instead, I put my hands in my pockets. “We need a picture of the happy couple. Twenty-five thousand dollars.”
“About that,” Layla says, now standing up. “How bad would it be if I took the bid back?” she asks, looking around.
“Take it back?” I say, shaking my head and laughing. “Now, why would you do that?” I start to panic, thinking that she’ll take it back and I won’t get my only shot with her.
“Because the thought of going on a date with you
,” she starts to say, and I look down at her hand still in Nico’s. I look over at him, raising my eyebrows, and he drops her hand. Now that her hand is free, she throws it up in the air. “The thought of going on a date with you,” she repeats herself. “It’s preposterous.”
“You just bid twenty-five thousand dollars to go out with me.” I point at myself. “Now forgive me if I’m wrong, but I think that just tells you how much you want me.” I smirk. “At least twenty-five thousand times.”
“Oh, I want you all right,” she says. “I want you to go fly a kite naked over a cactus farm.” She winks. Nico and Ralph both wince and put their hands over their junk.
“This is perfect.” A woman comes over with a camera hanging from around her neck. “Could we get a couple of pictures of the big-ticket item with the woman who shut it down?” She smiles and then motions with her hand to follow her.
“If you don’t go with her,” Nico says, “she’ll just come back.”
“Fine,” Layla says, then turns to Candace. “How’s my face?”
“Gorgeous.” I answer for her, then reach out my hand and pull her with me as I walk after the lady. I hold her hand, and to my surprise, she doesn’t yank it away. The woman stands in front of a huge white banner that has the foundation’s name on it.
“Now, if I can get both of you in the middle.” She motions to us. “There is a little X on the floor. Stand there.”
“Do we have to take the picture together?” Layla asks as I look down and make sure that I’m standing on the X.
“What’s the matter, gorgeous, scared that the picture is going to show that you really, really want me after all?” I smirk, which makes her glare. She puts one hand on her hip, and the way she cocks her hip, her bare leg comes out, and I finally get a look at those black strappy heels she’s wearing.
“I’m afraid the picture is going to be exhibit A at my trial when I kill you.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder and looks away. “You can get one with one of the backup bids.” She points at the women who bid but lost as they gather to watch us. I pull her to me and wrap my hand around her waist, and I swear she fits perfectly.
“That is perfect,” the woman says as she snaps two and three pictures. She takes the camera away and looks down at the pictures, and it gives Layla the opportunity to step away from my touch. I look up at her and see that her light brown eyes are bright and her cheeks are pink. “We need a couple more.”
“You know,” Layla says. “This is so much fun, but wouldn’t it look better if all the bidders get in on the picture?” I watch her trying to talk to the photographer. “Girls, why don’t you get into this picture?” She motions to the women who are standing around, looking at us. They put their drinks down, and I watch them make their way over.
“This is brilliant,” the photographer says. I’m about to say something when the photographer calls my name. “Look over here, Miller.” I look her way ignoring the women gathering around me as she moves the women around, and when I turn around, I see that Layla is walking away.
“Layla!” I call her name, and she turns around, wearing the world's biggest smile, and she honestly is gorgeous. Hands down more gorgeous than any other woman I have ever met.
“Sorry,” she says. “My ride is here.” It’s her turn now to wink at me. “Have fun with that.” She points at the women around me. “Take care, slugger.” She turns around, making her way through the crowd.
“Slugger,” I repeat the word and then look at the photographer. “You have one shot, so make it count.”
She nods her head, and after she snaps the picture, I clap my hands together and look at the women. “Ladies,” I say in my charming voice. “It has been amazing, but I have to go. There is a big game tomorrow, and I have to be in tip-top shape.” Some of them moan, and I swear a couple of them pout. I nod to the photographer and walk away, spotting Nico first. He is standing there talking to Manning, and the two of them are laughing at something.
“Mr. GQ.” Manning chuckles and slaps my shoulder. “Twenty-five fucking grand.”
I shake my head and look at Nico. “Listen, if she can’t afford it,” I start to say, looking around to make sure it’s just the three of us, and people aren’t eavesdropping. “I’ll pay for it.”
Nico shakes his head, laughing. “She already paid it,” he tells me, and now my mouth hangs down. “She also said she would double it if you let it go.”
I laugh now, putting my hands in my pockets. “I’m going to triple it if she actually goes out with me.” I look at Manning. “Time for me to get going.”
“Thank you,” Nico says, “and I look forward to collecting that seventy-five grand from you.”
I shake my head, laughing, and head out, not making eye contact with anyone. I get into the car and text Ralph.
Me: Did you take Layla home?
I start the car and make my way home, a text coming through as soon as I put the car in park.
Ralph: She said to tell you it’s none of your business.
I laugh.
Me: Tell her she owes me a date and to get ready. I’m going to collect it.
He answers right away.
Ralph: She said words I don’t want to repeat, but none of them were nice.
Me: Good. Tell her I like it when she’s feisty, and I’ll call her in the morning.
I throw my head back when the phone pings as I’m getting out of the car.
Ralph: BLOCKED, BLOCKED, AND BLOCKED.
Layla, Layla, Layla. I shake my head, walking into the house. You played your cards well the past four years, but tonight, you let one slip. She wants me. It’s time for her to admit it to me, and oh, am I going to have fun making her say it.
Chapter 5
Layla
Heat hits my face, and then a light, maybe a flashlight, is shone on me. My eyes try to flicker open, but then the brightness makes me shut my eyes again and groan. “What in the world is that hammering?” I roll over in my bed to lie on my back. The banging starts again, and this time, I pry one eye open, or at least I try to, but then have to shut my eye again. I put one of my arms over my eyes to block out the light and try to swallow, and that is the first indication that last night was either a good night or a bad night. My mouth feels like there is a cotton ball stuck on my tongue, and I roll over on my side. The cool sheets hit my naked body, and now I turn over and stick out my hand while my eyes are closed to make sure I’m by myself. The pounding starts again. “Oh, God,” I say out loud, trying to sit up, and the minute I do, the room spins, and I fall back down on my back. “I’m dying,” I say to no one since I’m all by myself.
The sound of my front door opening and closing makes me open one eye as I hear heels clicking all the way from the front door. The sound comes closer and closer to my room. “Oh, dear God!” I hear Candace shriek. “Why are you naked?” Her voice goes high, and I wince.
“I can’t do anything with you unless you close the shades,” I tell her, and I hear her walking over and closing them. Only when I don’t feel the heat on me do I open my eyes and see that she is dressed in tight jeans, a jacket, and heels. “Thank you,” I tell her, and she just smiles and shakes her head, walking into the master bathroom. “What are you doing?” I ask her and groan when my head pounds again.
“I’m getting you something,” she says and comes back with a glass of water and two Tylenol. “There you go.” She hands them to me, and I take them and swallow down the whole glass of water.
“You’re the best,” I say, and she crosses her arms over her chest.
“Why are you naked?” she asks me again, and I look down at myself.
“I’m not naked,” I tell her, and her eyebrows pinch together. “I’m wearing shoes.” I pick up one foot. “Okay, fine, I’m wearing a shoe.” I close an eye now and look around. The dress that I was wearing last night is lying across the floor with my panties right next to it.
“Why don’t you put on a robe, and I’ll go start the coffee
,” she says, turning around.
“I swear if I were into women, I would give Ralph a run for his money,” I tell her, and she throws her head back and laughs.
“Except he has something you don’t,” she says over her shoulder.
“It’s called a strap-on. I can have one just as big as him, if not bigger!” I yell after her and then wince when my head pounds. I get out of bed, unstrapping the only shoe I have on and walk over to my walk-in closet to grab my white plush robe. I slip it on as I’m going to the bathroom, and I take one look at my face and wince. “What the hell happened last night?” Grabbing a towel, I clean the makeup off my face and tie my hair atop my head.
I walk out of my bedroom and straight into my family room. When I bought this house, I asked my realtor for one thing. I wanted a cozy home. I wanted to be able to have everything on one floor. I wanted a huge family room for gathering, and that is what I got. I immediately went in search of a couch because everyone knows that if your couch isn’t comfy, it’s useless. I found the perfect sectional couch with deep seats and more cushions than it’ll ever need.
I then got the table that now sits in front of it, and I spot the reason I woke up the way I did. “Who thought that was a good idea?” I walk over and pick up the empty tequila bottle and then see an Uber eats bag right next to my phone. “I can not be trusted,” I say and look over at Candace in my kitchen that is right off the family room. A white island separates the two rooms. The smell of coffee now fills the room. “Why did I think it was a good idea to order?” I peek into the bag. “Three double bacon cheeseburgers,” I say to her, grabbing the paper receipt that is hanging on the bag. “At one a.m.?”
“I need coffee,” she says before she turns around and looks at me. I sit on one of the brown cushioned stools at the counter as she sets a cup of coffee down in front of me and then grabs her own. She takes a sip and then smiles at me, and I can see that she is dying to tell me something, but I just don’t know what it is.
Only One Chance (Only One Series 2) Page 3
