The Backup Girlfriend (Grove Valley High #2) - Emma Doherty Page 0,57

at the amounts being called out.

I turn to Sasha, my eyes wide. “People are bidding.”

She rolls her eyes. “Of course they’re bidding on you. Half the girls at school worship you.”

Yeah, and the other half hate me.

I tune back in. “One seventy.”

“One eighty.”

It’s gotten a bit quieter now, slower.

“Anyone for one ninety? It’s a great prize…once in a lifetime. You get to boss Abigail around all day, tell her exactly what you want and get her to do it.”

I narrow my eyes.

“Two hundred!”

“Sold!”

I breathe a sigh of relief. I wasn’t humiliated.

The girl heads to the side of the stage to pay for her purchase, smiling over at me. I wave her over and introduce myself, finding out that she’s Kelly and a freshman, and we swap numbers so we can plan her day.

She’s petite and shy, and I can already tell what colors will work best with her brown eyes and skin tone.

I’m actually looking forward to it. I love a makeover.

I can feel myself getting excited.

“Okay, next up, something all you ladies have been waiting for: a date with Brendon.”

There’s cheering around us he bounds up to the stage, flexing and lifting his shirt up to show his abs, and more people seem to crowd into the room.

I look around at everyone and breathe a sigh of relief that most people in our school have money. I’m lucky that people are willing to contribute to this charity night, and even though I only started doing this for extra credit, it’s really awesome that so much is being raised for a worthy cause.

Chase is giving his spiel about Brendon, talking him up and telling them about the date.

He starts the bidding.

Surprisingly—or not really, if you know Brendon and what a flirt he is—the bids pick up pretty quickly.

“Seventy bucks.”

I turn in surprise to see Sasha next to me with her hand in the air. I raise an eyebrow at her.

She shrugs. “It’s for charity.”

I glance back at the stage, and Brendon looks pretty pleased about her bid, looking down at her with a smirk on his face. The bidding moves on, and I can see her deciding what to do next.

“One hundred.”

This time it’s Aaron who turns to glare at her, looking pissed. “What the hell, Sash?”

Now it’s me who’s looking between her and Aaron. He really doesn’t look impressed with her at all.

“It’s just for charity,” she insists, but when the bets move on, she doesn’t bid any higher.

Weird.

Maybe she is ready to date after all and isn’t still pining after her ex, which definitely bodes well for me with getting her to date Brett.

Suddenly two arms are wrapped around me from behind and I jump, wondering who the hell it is that’s touching me. When I twist around, to my complete surprise, Dan Summers is there, flanked by a couple of his friends.

“What are you doing here?”

He shrugs, a smile on his face. “Heard this was the place to be tonight.”

I force myself to smile back at him even though I’m not entirely happy to see him here. This is a Grove Valley event, and now I feel like I’m going to have to entertain him when I really just want to hang out with my friends.

He turns to look at the stage. “Brendon Greene’s selling dates?”

I shrug. “It’s for charity.”

He smiles down at me. “I’d buy a date with you.”

He’s so cheesy.

I nod toward the kitchen, telling him and his friends that the drinks are that way and I’ll join them when the auction is over.

Sasha turns to me the second they’ve walked away. “I didn’t know you invited Dan Summers.”

“I didn’t.”

Her face lights up. “He just came on his own? He must be really into you.”

I roll my eyes. I really don’t think that’s the case, more like they were all bored and decided to swing by. But they will have paid entry to get into the party, so I guess I can’t complain about the extra contributions to charity.

“Do you like him?”

I don’t really have a strong opinion either way. “He’s okay.”

She hesitates. “You are giving him a real chance, right?”

I frown at her.

“I mean, after Chase, you’re not comp—”

“Stop!” I interrupt. “I’m not even thinking about Chase like that anymore.”

She doesn’t look like she believes me for a single second.

“Seriously.” I’m very close to snapping at her. “It’s done, and I know that.”

“I know you do, but it doesn’t mean you don’t miss Chase.”

I scowl, mainly because she knows me too well and I