“Oh my god, I have to tell you something, but you can’t tell anyone.” My best friend, Sienna, comes barreling through the front door of my boutique. Her black hair tied up in a slick bun. She has on a black leotard and pink yoga pants, a bag that says Dancing is Life slung over her shoulder and a bottle of water in her had. She co-owns a dance studio in town teaching tap and ballet. I knew it was ballet day from the shoes she’s wearing.

“Take a breath girl and grab a seat.” I take the box of journals off of the spare stool behind the counter gesturing for her to sit, while I slip the box under the table that displays our selections of journals and pens.

I own a store called The Unique Boutique – Cuteness for a Cause. I carry a variety of items from clothing to stationery, books to children’s toys. Every month I concentrate on a different cause or charity. Take October, for example, I will donate a generous portion of my profits to a breast cancer organization. All year round, we have a section called ‘Help- a-Soldier’ and offer several different items that my brother told me are useful overseas. Such as personal hygiene items, protein drink pouches, microwavable rice and, my brother’s personal favorite, jelly beans. Some of them are odd, however, if you purchase any of the items, I box them up and ship them to be distributed amongst our troops. So, it’s shopping for some unique, beautiful items from fun art, to a funky scarf, to hand crafted stationery and you can support a cause as well.

I walk back over to her and she hands me a flyer. “What is this? I thought you had to tell me something?”

She takes a sip of her water. “Just read it,”

I start to read, discovering it’s a bachelor auction, and I know right away I will be attending. Not because I’m desperate for a date, but because it’s the charity, Helping Heroes, that was chosen that hooked me. The eight the delicious bachelors being sold to the higher bidders, they are a definite added bonus. This organization is an important one as it trains rescue dogs to become service animals for veterans with PTSD. My brother, Paul, is military and currently on deployment. Knowing what my brother and his buddies have gone through, any military charity that helps our vets is basically an automatic donation. Then I see that Nadine is the coordinator and I smile. She was instrumental in helping me to build my business. Her newspaper does a short story about the chosen charity my store is supporting every month.

“So?” Sienna asks with a smirk.

I get some tape, so I can hang the flyer in my window.

I walk over to the front window, taking down the flyer for a street fair that happened a week ago, replacing it with the one for the bachelor auction. I lock the door, switch my sign to ‘closed’ and head back to counter.

“So, what?”

“My brother gave it to me.” Her smile is wide, and I want to kick her. She knows I’ve had a silly crush on her older brother, Colton, for what seems like forever.

“And he works with Nadine who put it all together.” I’m not sure why Sienna is giving me the ‘are you dumb?’ look and then it clicks.

“No way, Sienna!” Her smile widens even more. She has always encouraged this crush. She says we are already like sisters, so maybe her brother can make me a real one. Sometimes, I don’t even know why I can’t shake my attraction to him. Scratch that. He’s totally hot in a nerdy kind of way. He has this dark, thick hair that always looks like he just rolled out of bed. He has such a handsome face. Deep blue eyes, the color of the sky right before it rains, and they are usually rimmed by these sexy black-framed glasses. And his body, well don’t even get me started on that! He has an ass you can bounce quarters off of. Yes, he can be a moody bastard sometimes, and yes, he rarely acknowledges my existence but, when he does, it’s like I’m the only person in the room. It’s like all he sees is me and all I can feel are the butterflies taking flight in my stomach.

“Mmhmm and you’re going to bid on him!” Her matter of fact tone pisses me off.

“No way! Plus, the flyer says the bachelors will be masked so how will I know which one he is?” I place my hands on my hips as a show of defiance.

“You don’t think your body, or sixth sense, will know? Come on Ev, I see how you both look at each other when you think no one is watching.”

I let out a sigh. Not that I haven’t caught him looking at me or glancing at me over the years, I just don’t believe it’s in the way Sienna thinks it is. I’m eccentric, an odd, flitty bird at times. I chalk up the looks and stares to him thinking I’m weird.

“Sen, I know you’ve been hoping something would happen, but it never will. Just tell me what date is his so I don’t bid on him. I’ve embarrassed myself around him enough over the years.” That statement is all too true. I ‘ve lost count of how many times I have gotten tongue tied around him. It’s probably why he barely says more than two words to me. He most likely thinks I’m an idiot.

“You have not!”

I roll my eyes.

“Have you already forgotten the great pants splitting of 2016?” I ask, and she loses it. She laughs so hard she fucking snorts. I was helping her move furniture around her living room. When her parents left, she bought some things from Ikea to modernize the place as she put it. Colton was walking in and, when I bent down to pick up a table we had just put together, my pants split right down my ass crack. What made it worse was that I had Oscar the Grouch panties on and that just sent every one into a fit of laughter. I don’t think I have ever been so embarrassed in my life. The first time I saw Colton after that he called me grouchy pants and I was mortified. I don’t think I’ve said more than two words to him since.

“Seriously though” her face softens as she continues, “it’s time you put yourself out there, Ev. You are fun and kind; any guy would be lucky to go on a date with you even if it’s not the guy I want it to be.”

“Look, I’m going to go. If there’s a date that sounds fun, then I’ll bid. I have no problem dating, Sienna. I just haven’t found the right person yet.” It’s mostly true. I’ve been single for a few years now and have been concentrating on my business. It’s not that I haven’t dated, nor have I been celibate. Honestly, I just don’t’ want to have to put the work into building a new relationship. I know, it sounds kind of harsh but it’s the truth. Maybe if I met someone like in the books I read where there is an instant spark, a jolt of electricity from just a brush of an arm or an indescribable pull to that person, I would be more inclined to go on a second or third date. I’m a realist though and I know that shit only happens in books I read, not in real life! Especially, when the one man I would try for is fifty shades of not interested.

“Good because I’ll be there too!” she jumps off her stool.

“Are you going to bid?”

“Oh, hell no! What if I accidentally bid on my brother?”

“Gross!” We both say at the same time.

“Wait, don’t you know what date is his? You think I would recognize him strutting his stuff on that stage, but what about you? You’re his sister for crying out loud. If anyone will recognize him it’s you!” The thought of seeing Colton McDaniels strutting doesn’t have me only stifling a giggle, it has wetness pooling between my legs. I need to stop my thoughts from roaming.

“Nope. From what Colt said, it’s anonymous. Besides the masks all the bachelors will be wearing, the dates are listed without any identifying information and they are all wearing the same exact tuxedos. He wouldn’t tell me anything else. Apparently, I have a big mouth,” she scowls, I giggle.

“You? Never!” The mock shock in my voice has her laughing with me.

“No matter what the outcome, we go, we drink some amazing wine, and support a great cause,” she says. I nod and smile.

“And Ev?”

I raise an eyebrow.

“You never know what’s going to be hidden behind the mask. It may be someone that even our favorite authors couldn’t make up.”

“Maybe.”

Once I lock up and set the alarm, we walk to our cars making small talk the entire time. Sienna talks about this single dad that brings his six-year-old daughter to dance class. My thoughts keep drifting to Colton.

When I get home and finally crawl into bed, my thoughts are still on him. I don’t want to admit it, but this auction has given me something I haven’t had for a long time when it comes to him, and that’s hope. The likelihood of me being his winning bidder is pretty thin but crazier things have happened.