18. JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT: THE LOTTERY
Preston
Kirk almost had a nervous breakdown when I told him about the cannibal village and not only is he refusing to come exploring with me tomorrow, he’s demanding I stay put. He even ratted me out. I wish that guy would man up. He has to know the only reason Anna is giving him the time of day is because he’s the only available guy on the freaking planet considering the circumstances.
I’m so irritated. Even his snoring is grating on my nerves. Nothing like being stranded somewhere with your best friend to shed light on all the annoying habits you never noticed or cared about before.
I need to calm down.
But I’m so pissed that he ratted me out. What happened to loyalty? He claims he did it because he doesn’t want anything to happen to me. Whatever. I think that knock on the head during the crash turned him into a freaking girl.
Loyalty.
That’s funny. I guess I’m not the person to judge anyone when it comes to loyalty. If Sergio were here, he’d be the first one to point that out. I should have put him in the hospital when I had the chance, and maybe things would be different. I wanted to kill him for the way he stalked Ava, but who could blame him? She was amazing.
I remember how exquisitely beautiful she looked the night of the art reception. When I went to pick her up, she opened the door. I took off my sunglasses and examined her from top to bottom. It was a risk to take her out in public looking so good because she’d attract attention and that was the last thing I needed, but at that moment, nothing was going to change my mind.
On the way to L.A., I glanced in the side mirror and saw the black Mercedes three cars back. Ava saw it too so I took her hand and told her not to worry. I then talked about what still needed to be done to the sailboat to distract her and get her to relax.
The art gallery is an exquisite model of modern architecture, and I know Ava was impressed. People dressed in formal attire were scattered everywhere in various groups, engaged in casual conversation, and a live band played on one side of the room. In front of the stage, a few people were dancing, and servers walked around with trays of gourmet finger food and goblets of champagne. All along the walls were fine pieces of art.
I spied Kirk standing on a loft balcony from across the room. He waved cheerfully before stepping behind a wall and reappearing on the main level to make his way through the crowd. He gave Ava a big hug and gave me a cheap shot to the gut. Kirk told Ava to make sure I bought something, and then gave me the two fingers at the eyes ‘I’m watching you’ point before he walked away.
We walked around to look at the art pieces and paused by a picture of a large, purple cobra, emerging from piles of money and looking as though it might strike and jump right off the canvas. Just below the head, the snake morphed into the muscular upper torso of a man. Ava and I looked at each other and snickered at the couple in front of us debating the hidden meaning.
“Interesting,” I said in a hushed voice, and she nodded in agreement. That was when I saw it. “That’s it.”
She followed my gaze to a smaller painting with a bright red elephant holding a four-leaf clover in its trunk on a completely black background. We stood in front of the painting, humored by the artist’s interpretation of good luck and fortune.
I winked and said it would be a perfect addition to Miss April. She agreed until she glanced at the price displayed underneath the title. Her eyes widened in perfect synch with her mouth, but then Kirk came bouncing up behind us to slap a sold sign on it.
“Excellent choice, buddy,” he said.
I sarcastically thanked him before lowering my voice to ask, “Did you make the arrangement we talked about?”
Kirk smiled. “Of course, who’s the man?” and then told me to give him the ‘signal’ after the auction that would be starting in a few minutes. He thanked Ava over his shoulder for helping out and then headed for a group summoning him on the other side of the room. That was an idiot move on his part but, luckily, she didn’t catch on to his comment.
I led her to the middle of the dance floor and wrapped my arms around her waist to pull her close. Flashing a smile at her, I lowered my lips to her ear. “I feel sorry for the artist,” I whispered. She looked at me in confusion. I told her the pieces weren’t getting the attention they deserved with her in the room because “no one can take their eyes off you long enough to look at the art.”
It was definitely a cheesy line, but the distraction worked. When the song ended, Kirk took the stage. After a quiet round of applause, he thanked everyone for coming, and then he announced it was time to proceed with the event everyone had been waiting for. He held up a bowl and explained that it contained the names of ten eligible bachelorettes attending the party that night, and one lucky girl would be chosen to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The proceeds of each and every bid go to charity, but only the highest bid is the lucky winner of a romantic dinner with the chosen bachelorette.
Kirk said, “Drum roll, please.”
It was fascinating to watch her mind put the pieces together. I knew she assumed the auction was for the art, but after his speech, she must have realized the beautiful women that filled the room were the eligible bachelorettes. Men gathered in front of the stage, and the live band obliged with a drum roll as Kirk swirled his hand around in the bowl. He pulled out a white slip of paper and examined it before leaning into the microphone.
“And the lucky bachelorette is… Miss Ava Starr!”
It was a perfectly orchestrated masterpiece.
Men were clapping and cheering, glancing in every direction to spot the girl they were waiting to bid on. She glanced around too, and then noticed Kirk motioning her to join him. Over the calm applause of the men, he mouthed the words, “Come on, Ava,” and her face flushed.
Yeah. That’s what he’d meant when he thanked her for helping. She turned to glare at me with my guilty grin, but then I could see her anger dissipate and be replaced with a wave of panic.
“Don’t worry, Miss April,” I told her, “I don’t like to lose.”
I winked and nudged my head in Kirk’s direction. The applause died down, and Kirk spoke into the microphone again, telling her not to be shy and to “come on up.” Horrified, she made her way to the front and took her place on the stage next to Kirk.
Kirk read from his cue card using information he acquired from her calendar blurb—that she was a recent high school graduate who moved from colorful Colorado to sunny California to try her luck in an exciting career of aviation and modeling, making sure to point out that she was currently featured in Oceanview Aviation’s upcoming calendar.
Kirk continued with, “An outdoor enthusiast and an all-star athlete, accompanied by her 4.0 GPA, make her a true all-American girl. There will be no shortage of conversation over dinner with Ava; just don’t arm wrestle her unless you want to lose.” Snickers ran through the crowd. Kirk started the bid at one-hundred dollars, and an offer shot up near the back of the room. Then a hand popped up near the front with a bid of two hundred. She watched me stand there with my hands in my pockets.
Then she did something that surprised me. She started across the stage, got to the end, and posed. Releasing the clip holding her hair in a twist, she shook her head so the long, brown waves fell down her back. She flipped her hair and spun around, finishing in another pose, lips in a slight pout, then tilted her head and looked the audience over through her hair that covered one eye.
It was so hot.
Whistles and hoots emerged from the men, and hands shot up followed by shouts of multiple bids. For a second, I wondered if I’d have to jump on stage and become her personal bodyguard. Kirk’s mouth popped open for a second, but then a satisfied grin shot across his excited face. He was thrilled.
The bids came pouring in, and she made her way across the stage again. Now the bids were up to eight hundred. Her hips swayed back and forth with the gracefulness of a pro. I could tell she was so nerv
ous that she probably thought she might puke, but she held her chin high, placed one hand on her hip, and blew me a long, exaggerated kiss off the other.
The crowd of sophisticated men went wild. Hands flew up and the bidding skyrocketed. Nine hundred. Twelve hundred. Fifteen. I decided to have a little fun and wait until the last second to bid. She was horrified.
She walked to the center and stood next to Kirk, forcing a big smile even though I knew she was wondering if I would really let her to go to dinner with one of the strange bachelors.
“Five thousand!” someone yelled from the back of the room, and I recognized the voice immediately. Irritation boiled to the surface but as usual, I kept my cool.
The curious stares of the other men led Ava right to the one who threw out such a ridiculously high bid. Sergio stood near the back in a black tux the same color as his hair.
“Five thousand going once…” Kirk said. Her eyes darted back and forth between Sergio and me. “Five thousand going twice…” Her eyes closed in preparation for what must have seemed like a death sentence. Then, at the last second, I shouted, “Ten thousand!” and she exhaled as shocked whispers flew through the crowd before it fell silent.
Kirk beamed from ear to ear. I wanted to look over my shoulder, past the bewildered faces of the other women, to see Sergio’s lips that I knew were pressed in a hard line as his eyes pierced into the back of my head with a vengeance. Kirk was saying, “Ten thousand going once… ten thousand going twice… Congratulations to bidder number twenty-three.” Afterwards, he thanked all the bidders for their generous donations and gave instructions for payment.
Sergio’s icy-cold stare followed me to the counter to settle up. He was crazy if he thought I would actually share her with anyone, especially someone like him.
I paid and turned to find Ava face to face with him. My irritation boiled into rage. He thinks replacing that skull earring with a diamond makes him look respectable, but he’s nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I couldn’t make my way through the crowd fast enough. He slid one hand around her waist, grabbed her hand with the other to dance, and whispered something in her ear. She tried to push him away subtly, but he tightened his grip and pulled her closer. I was going to kill him right there in front of that crowd of very sophisticated people.
She glanced around, and relief swept across her face when she saw me approaching. I was one dancing couple away when a hand caught my arm.
“Preston.” Kirk’s mom offered me a kiss on the cheek. Her timing was terrible. “I’m so glad you could make it. Kirk tells me that beautiful girl has caught your eye, and it must be true for you to bid such a ridiculous amount. Please, you have to introduce me.”
“Later, I promise,” I said, swallowing back my impatience. “I promised her this dance, and someone else has beat me to it.” I winked and forced a smile. She laughed and started to say something, but I quickly turned and snuck up behind Sergio.
“I’m sure you’re thrilled that pilot boy just paid an insane amount of money to take you to dinner,” I’d overheard him say to Ava. “Kind of unnecessary if you ask me. Unless it’s part of his master plan.” She saw me standing behind him, but she played it cool and asked what plan he was referring to. “The plan to keep your head in the clouds so you won’t figure out he’s too good to be true. May I suggest you save yourself the heartache and go to dinner with me instead?”
“And may I suggest you take your hands off my girlfriend unless you want to be permanently disabled,” I said, stepping into view.
Sergio hesitated before he dropped Ava’s hand and took a step back. He slid his hands in his pockets and cocked his head to the side.
“Girlfriend?” he asked with an evil grin. “Is that what you’re calling her?” he taunted. “Because I can think of some better words to describe what she is to you.”
I wanted to punch him in the face. “Careful. No one likes a sore loser.” I draped an arm over Ava’s shoulder and started to lead her into the crowd, but Sergio laughed and called out to me over the music, “You’re the one who should be careful and decide where your loyalty lies. Switching sides always comes with a cost.”
I distracted Ava with my lips and dance moves just long enough to get Kirk’s attention. He snuck us out a back door where his white Hummer was waiting outside with the engine running. I’d arranged to switch cars with Kirk to ditch Ava’s shadow.
“Now I have you all to myself,” I said with a flirtatious smile, hoping the words were actually true, and then I cut through alleys and back streets to the main highway that would lead us home.