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Was he … had he just …
“Ha, hilarious.” My cheeks heated. But I didn’t have time to be
embarrassed. Because that meant … “So, do we have to … you know, do it?”
“What exactly?”
“The date thing,” I explained, lowering my voice so nobody could hear
us. “I know I’m only your fake bidder. So, do we have to do it anyway? Like,
fake do it? Because you said I’m here to fake bid on you, so I just … you
know.”
Judging by Aaron’s expression, there was something from all the things I
had just said that he found particularly unpleasant. His throat worked slowly,
looking as if he were swallowing something sour.
“Never mind. We’ll figure it out later. I guess it’s not important.” What
was important now was climbing out of this hole I had just dug for myself.
“So, do you take part in the auction every year?”
His eyes looked away for a heartbeat and then settled back on me. “Ever
since I moved to New York. This is my third time.”
“And you … take all these bidders on dates?” Okay, that wasn’t exactly
changing the topic of conversation, but a part of me wanted to know. Kind of.
“Of course. It’s part of the deal.”
His earlier words came to mind.
“And you don’t go back on your word.”
“Exactly.”
That confirmation, that part of the deal bit, felt like a punch to the
stomach. Back in my apartment, I had thought he’d sounded sincere when he
told me that he wouldn’t pull out of our deal. And I had felt … skeptical in a
way, yes, but a part of me had also felt special. For lack of a better word.
Like he was doing that for me and I could count on him. Perhaps because he
knew how important it was for me, how much I needed him. But now, it
seemed I had been wrong. This was the way Aaron was wired.
It didn’t have anything to do with me.
And that made sense. The dumb thing to do had been thinking otherwise.
“And what do you do on these dates?” I asked without thinking much of
it, just so he wouldn’t get a chance to see anything on my face. “Where do
you take them?”
“Nothing special,” he admitted with a sigh. “The bachelor usually picks
the activity and puts everything together. So, the two times I have
participated, I have organized something at one of the animal shelters in the