Black Number Four by Kandi Steiner Read Free Book Online Page B

the cheers, “We’ll start the bidding at fifty dollars!”
    A paddle goes up near the front of the room. Josh.
    “And we have fifty, do I hear one hundred?” Chelsea says, pointing at Josh. Another paddle goes up a few rows over. It’s Adam. I shake my head and point out at him, smiling. He shrugs and winks, which makes me smile even bigger. Adam and I had a short run last year and he was fun, but he needed to focus on getting elected president, which left no time for me. We’re still friends, and every now and then we have a drunken night together, but I can’t imagine us going on a date again. Though he’s definitely been paying close attention to me this semester.
    Josh lifts his paddle again and the bid is up to two hundred. Adam goes up one more time and then someone in the back before it gets back to Josh. Four hundred.
    Adam bows out and for a few seconds, no other paddles go up. Chelsea is just about to call it when Kip emerges from the back right of the room. He thrusts his beer in into the air and calls out, “Five hundred.”
    Everyone cheers, turning to see who made the bid. He doesn’t even have a paddle, but apparently that’s not stopping him. I can barely see him, but from what I can see he’s looking just as fine as he did the first night we met.
    Oh, Lord have mercy. He couldn’t just not show up?
    Chelsea yells excitedly, “Five hundred! Do I hear six?”
    Josh lifts his paddle and the crowd goes crazy. This is the highest bid we’ve ever had. I focus on remaining calm and appearing confident. Smile, chin up, boobs out, extend the legs – just don’t let them see you sweat, Sky.
    Kip jumps up on the bar, lifting his beer again. “One thousand!”
    Everyone goes nuts. My sisters start emerging from behind the stage to see who the bidder is and all the Alpha Sig brothers are chanting, their song ringing through the bar. Everyone except Adam, who looks a little more than pissed when he sees it’s Kip who’s making the high bids. I’m not sure if it’s because Kip’s a pledge that Adam is mad or if it’s because he wanted to be the one on the other end of the winning bid.
    “Wow! One thousand dollars!” Chelsea screams and the crowd cheers again. “Anyone left fighting out there?”
    I snap my eyes to Josh and purse my lips together, giving him the signal to keep bidding. I know I only gave him a grand, but at this point I’m willing to pay the difference. I’m going to a tournament tonight, I can swing it. He looks at me panicked, shrugging and looking around like someone in the crowd is going to help him. I roll my eyes and press my hands into my hips to keep from smacking myself in the forehead. What an idiot.
    “Going once? Going twice?” Chelsea bangs the gavel against the podium. “Sold! To the Alpha Sig pledge in the glasses!” Everyone laughs a little and Kip’s brothers lift him onto their shoulders, parading him around.
    That did not just happen.
    Suddenly, my heels are a little too tall. I feel dizzy and my body begins to sway. I shake my head, focusing on the ground in front of me. I need to get to the tournament.
    Breathe, Sky.
    I push through the crowd and out the front door, searching the parking lot for a cab. It’s a little early, but there’s one waiting just around the corner. I run my hand through my hair, trying to calm my shaking fingers, and head toward it. Suddenly, a hand wraps around my waist and spins me around, bringing me face to face with two blue eyes shielded behind black frames. His scent rushes to my nose and I feel my knees shake a little more. Damnit, why does he have to be attractive?
    “I have to go,” I say, not giving him the chance to speak. I break free from his grip and turn for the cab.
    “Wait!” he calls out, following. “Where are you going?”
    “I can’t tell you.”
    He stops momentarily and I look back to see him frowning a little before he jogs to catch up. “Can you take me with you?”
    “No.” I slide into the