Page 124 of Campus Crush
This girl could not take a hint.
Sam pulled out her wallet. “Those hockey boys saved my drunk ass more than once. Here,” she said, adding her own money to my stack. “Make it five hundred.”
I looked at my friends in disbelief before turning back to raise my paddle. “Five hundred dollars.”
A collective “ooh” went through the crowd. Foster was trying to suppress a grin on stage with his hand rubbing over his mouth, but his eyes gave him away.
Brittany hesitated, then raised her paddle, but before she could say a word, Sam stood up and turned to face her, fixing her with the most intimidating glare I’d ever seen Sam give anyone.
The entire room went quiet as they stared each other down.
After what felt like an eternity, Brittany slowly lowered her paddle, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“Damn, she’s fierce,” Gordy whispered with a hint of admiration in his voice.
“Going once…going twice…sold to Abby Walker for five hundred dollars!” Ava announced triumphantly.
The crowd erupted in applause as Foster jumped off the stage and made his way to me. He slid his hand through my hair and pulled my mouth to his, kissing me fiercely so there wasn’t a single doubt who he belonged to.
“That’s my girl,” he murmured when he finally broke the kiss.
“I had help,” I admitted, gesturing to the hockey guys and Sam.
Foster looked around at his teammates and nodded in appreciation. “I owe you guys.”
“You’d do the same for us,” Gordy said simply.
I laughed, still overwhelmed by what had just happened. It wasn’t just about winning the auction—it was about the way everyone had rallied around me. For someone who had spent most of college feeling invisible, it meant more than they could know.
Foster kept his arm around me as we settled back to watch the rest of the auction. Drew was up next, and Ava took particular delight in introducing her twin brother who jumped up onto the stage from where he’d been sitting near me.
“Next up, we have my brother, Drew ‘Monty’ Dumontier. Despite being related to me, he’s actually not terrible at hockey. He enjoys long walks on the beach and getting caught with his pants down in inappropriate places—wish I were kidding. Starting bid is twenty dollars—though personally, I wouldn’t pay more than ten.”
Drew flipped her off discreetly as he walked on stage in jeans and a tight-fitting white T-shirt. He had the same easy confidence as Foster but with an added edge of mischief in his smile.
And in a move that surprised absolutely no one, he wasn’t on the stage for thirty seconds before he pulled his shirt off and showed off his six-pack abs.
The bidding began enthusiastically after that, with several girls competing. When it reached $200, most dropped out, leaving just two bidders—a blonde sorority girl I vaguely recognized and a pretty redhead.
“Oh, fuck, is that Harper Tinsley?” Foster whispered beside me.
I knew a little about the feud between Drew and Harper from what Foster had told me. Something about their families having been enemies for generations, and Drew’s failed attempt to prank her by plastic-wrapping her car a few months back. I hadn’t met Harper myself, but I’d seen her around campus.
“Two twenty,” Harper called, her voice clear and confident.
“Two forty,” the blonde countered.
“Three hundred,” Harper said without hesitation.
The blonde hesitated, then shook her head and lowered her paddle.
“Sold to Harper Tinsley for three hundred dollars!” Ava announced, looking as surprised as everyone else.
Drew’s expression was priceless—a mixture of shock, suspicion, and something that looked a bit like eagerness. He stepped off the stage and approached Harper, who was sitting with a small group of music students just two rows behind us.
Drew leaned down to speak to Harper, his usual cocky demeanor nowhere to be found. He was smiling at her, and there didn’t seem to be any snark or malice in it like I expected for two people who were supposed to be rivals.
“I’m surprised you bid on me,” he said to Harper. “Where do you want to go for our date? Dinner? Movie? I know a great spot by the river.”
