Never Have You Ever (The Love Game #1)- Elizabeth Hayley Page 0,76

Hopefully this works.”

“My plans always work.”

Rather than stay and debate that fact, I hightailed it backstage to fill Drew in on the plan. I found him standing with two other guys.

“Hey,” I interrupted. Drew turned his attention to me and smiled. I let myself sink into it for a second before I said, “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Sure.” He waved to the guys as we walked away. “What’s up?” he asked when we were out of earshot.

“Carter’s here.”

“Yeah, he told me he’d come by after he finished with his conditioning coach.”

“He brought Joey.”

Drew’s brow furrowed. “As a date or…?”

“Yes, but not for him. For you. He’s going to have Joey bid so no one else wins you.”

Worry was clear on his face. “Did he tell Joey the truth?”

“No, which I’m not sure makes me relieved or more nervous. Joey’s evidently actually interested in winning you, which is a bit unfair to him, I suppose. But I figured we can cross that bridge when we come to it. And we’re funding his bid, so technically he’s not actually paying for you.”

Drew pulled at his tie. “This feels a little like being pimped out.”

I grimaced. “I’m sorry. Want me to pull you from the auction?”

At this point, I didn’t even give a fuck anymore. I shouldn’t have let my sorority sisters’ gossip get us into this mess in the first place. So everyone thought I was fucking my brother. It wasn’t like they had proof. Well, proof beyond a dark, grainy video on Aamee’s phone.

He looked at me for a second before offering me a sweet smile. “Nah. It’ll be fine.”

I wanted to believe that, but there was mounting evidence proving the opposite. He must’ve seen the doubt on my face, because he stepped closer and wrapped a hand around my wrist, giving it a slight squeeze.

“Stop worrying.”

We kept our eyes locked on one another for a second, and bit by bit I felt myself relaxing. I wouldn’t be able to stop worrying until this was all over, but I could maybe get through this without having a mental breakdown.

His smile grew wider as he clearly noticed that I’d taken a few steps back from the proverbial ledge. “That’s it. We got this.”

D R E W

I don’t “got” this.

As happy as I was that I could help Sophia calm down, inside I was a nervous wreck. Waiting to walk onto that stage so people could bid on me was not something I was looking forward to. The rumors swirling around us didn’t make the prospect of being thrust into the limelight any more palatable.

I watched the other men who’d agreed to participate march out, most of them at least appearing confident. People threw up the cardstock Sophia and I had spent the week gluing to popsicle sticks to serve as bidding paddles. Most of the guys brought in about a hundred bucks—not too shabby considering it was college kids bidding.

Sophia and I had agreed that I’d go out in the middle of the auction so as to not make a big production of myself. The hope was that I wouldn’t stand out in any way. So as the seventh guy was called to the stage, I prepped myself to go on next.

Sophia’s friend Gina had agreed to be the MC. Originally Sophia had planned to do it, but she thought it might be better to stay behind the scenes and make sure everything ran smoothly than be stuck up on stage. I tried to sneak a peek around the curtain to see if I could lay eyes on her, but the lights shining down on the stage were too bright.

I’d never considered the lengths sorority girls would go to to throw a successful party, but color me impressed. The company Sophia had hired to bring in the stage had also set up lights and sent a guy in to run them. Definitely impressive.

I moved back slightly as the guy who’d gone on before me waved to the crowd and came back behind the curtain.

“One fifty,” he said. “Not too bad.”

It wasn’t bad at all, and I was torn between wanting to outdo him and wanting no one to bid so I could be done with this nightmare. But before I could solidly decide which I wanted, Gina was calling me to the stage.

Stepping into the spotlight—literally—was jarring, and I stumbled a bit before I got my shit together and stood up taller, striding down the stage with confidence I