Never Have You Ever (The Love Game #1)- Elizabeth Hayley Page 0,74
you want these flowers?” Gina asked. “Oh God, are you okay?” she added when she got a better look at me.
“Yeah,” I wheezed. “Great. And anywhere.”
“Are you having an asthma attack? Do you have an inhaler or something?”
“No. I’m just feeling a little…” I flailed my arms around, hoping that would convey my breakdown without alarming her.
“Do you want some water?”
“Yes. Water…great.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” She practically sprinted away from me.
Bending over, I put my hands on my knees. I was behind the curtain of the small stage I’d rented for tonight that fit perfectly. I’d never been more thankful for our enormous main room.
I tried to focus on taking deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth. My heart had barely started to feel like it wouldn’t pop out of my chest like one of those creatures from Alien when I felt a large hand on my back.
“Hey, you okay? Gina said you were freaking out.”
Drew.
I stood up and turned toward him, wanting to fold myself into him but knowing I couldn’t. My sorority sisters were milling around in an effort to help with the finishing touches, and I didn’t want them to intrude on any more intimate moments. Instead, I looked up at him and used the look of concern he had in his eyes to ground me.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Just a little overwhelmed. And a little scared.”
Drew put his hands on my shoulders and squeezed. “Everything is going to be fine. There’s already a line outside, and you’ve planned this thing down to the smallest detail. It’s going to be great.”
I wished I could share his enthusiasm. Maybe when it was all over. But now, my prevalent feeling was panic laced with terror. Instead of saying that though, I gave him a once-over.
“Damn, you clean up nice.”
We’d asked the guys participating to wear a suit if they had one and, if not, to get as dressed up as they could. Drew had borrowed a charcoal-gray suit Brody had in his closet, and it fit him remarkably well.
“Yeah?” His hand shook a bit as he ran it down the lapel of the jacket, as if he were insecure wearing it, which made guilt slam into me. He shouldn’t have to do this. He should be at home hanging out or getting caught up on schoolwork or whatever the hell he felt like doing. Participating in a bachelor auction simply because I’d asked him to was really going a little above and beyond.
“Yeah,” I croaked out instead of confessing my adoration and gratitude for him. I’d already barely managed to stave off a panic attack—this night didn’t need to get any more embarrassing.
“Soph?” I looked around Drew to see Emma standing there. “It’s eight. We good to open the doors?”
I took a deep breath before nodding. “Let’s do this.”
Drew and I moved closer to the entrance so I could greet people coming in and oversee that everyone paid the cover to get in. I wasn’t going to make Aamee’s mistake and count on the kindness of people’s hearts for donations. I also wasn’t going to count on the auction being a success. We’d decided that charging three dollars to get in was reasonable enough for people to willingly pay it.
My mouth dropped open as the line of people entering was still steady nearly five minutes after we’d opened the door.
“So many people came,” I whispered.
Drew put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “You did good, Sis.”
I elbowed him lightly as a smile pulled at my lips.
Eventually the line thinned, and I managed to resist the urge to run over to where Macy and Kyla, our house treasurer, were collecting the money and ask them how much we’d raised so far. Instead, I busied myself making sure the party was running smoothly and we had enough food and drinks to accommodate the crowd.
I also checked on the two lacrosse player frat boys I’d hired to make sure only people over twenty-one came to the table where the alcohol was. I hadn’t wanted to limit the party to people legally able to drink, but I also didn’t want to get busted for serving people underage. So I’d decided parting with a hundred bucks for the two guys to guard the liquor table was a small price to pay. Macy and Kyla had been checking IDs at the door, and putting brightly colored bracelets on people twenty-one and over helped the process.