Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
YURI
The Sand Bar is even more packed than usual, and the atmosphere is loud and rowdy.
My ears are ringing from all the noise, and my face went numb an hour ago from the polite smile I’ve pasted on and refused to let slip.
But none of that is the real reason that my heart is pounding and my stomach has been churning all day.
“Hello and welcome to all of the power bottoms, soft boi tops, and chaotic switches in here tonight,” Easy says to a round of cheers and half-drunk men shouting out their actual preferences.
Cooper is seated behind him on the small stage Devil built over the past few days where the jukebox and makeshift dance floor usually are.
He’s perched on one of the bar stools with his guitar on his lap, ready to provide the background music for Easy’s MCing.
His eyes meet mine for half a second before he looks away.
He’s been doing it all night, and every time he does, I want to tell Boston that whatever his idea is can’t be that good if he still thinks I should go through with this stupid auction.
“We’re going to get this bachelor auction underway in the next few minutes here, so freshen up your drinks, get your fists around the big, thick wads of cash you’ve got in your pants, and get ready to have some fun.”
I brace myself for the rush to the bar, and Bird bumps his shoulder against mine to let me know that we’ve got this.
The next few minutes are pure chaos, with people shouting their drink orders and tossing cash down onto the bar to cover them while Bird, Boston, and I do our best not to bump into each other too much as we fill the orders as quickly as we can.
“Hey, gorgeous, are you getting auctioned tonight?” one guy with a sunglasses tan and bleached blond hair asks as I pass a rum and Coke across the bar to him.
He doesn’t bother to hide his admiring gaze or the lecherous smirk that stretches across his lips, and my attention automatically darts over his shoulder in Cooper’s direction again.
I don’t want to play any more games. I just want to go over there and tell him that I want to talk all this shit out. Even if it’s hard, even if it hurts, I just want to figure out where we stand. I start to shake my head, but Boston’s voice booms over the din of the bar to answer for me.
“Of course he is. Get ready to spend some money, because I get the feeling there’s going to be a bidding war over this one.”
My face heats and I give a one-shouldered shrug before hustling away to help the next guy clamoring for a refill before the auction kicks off.
“Alright, everyone, take your seats and get ready to fall in love with some very eligible bachelors,” Easy announces, and the flurry at the bar top dies down instantly.
My shoulders sag with exhaustion and I sidle up next to Boston.
“I’m not sure this whole thing is a good idea. Can we tell Easy to take my name off the list?”
“It’s gonna be fine, just trust me.” He squeezes my shoulder just like Bird did a few minutes ago.
A surprising feeling of warmth and belonging rushes through me.
I don’t know if he’s right that his plan is going to work out, and there’s no way for him to know for sure either.
But he wants it to work out for me, for us, and I’m not sure I’ve ever had that before.
I’m not sure I’ve ever felt like I belonged somewhere before.
“Alright, but if Melanoma Ken over there wins a date with me, you and I are going to have a problem,” I warn.
Boston laughs like he’s not at all worried.
Cooper plays a bouncy melody while Easy calls the first bachelor up to the stage.
“Gentlemen and not-so-gentle men, stop using your paddles to spank each other and get ready to use them to bid on this delicious bear cub. Scout is two hundred and five pounds of prime meat, and he’s learned a thing or two about glazing holes down at the local donut shop.
He enjoys long blowjobs on the beach and sleeping in.
His ideal date would be a hike up to the waterfall for some skinny dipping.
” The crowd hoots and catcalls as Scout flexes his biceps and lifts his shirt to show a glimpse of his round belly.
“Let’s start the bidding at one hundred dollars. ”
I lose track of the bidding pretty quickly because I’m too busy thinking about the list of ways I wouldn’t mind dying and trying to decide which might be doable in the twenty minutes before I’m supposed to get up on that stage and shake my ass for a bunch of horny idiots.
I only want to shake my ass for one horny idiot, dammit.
Bird gets his turn on the stage, followed by Storm’s sous chef, Wild, and then Boston gives me a little nudge and Easy calls my name.
“Where’s our sweet little nerd at?” he asks. “Yuri, get your cute ass up here.”
LYRIC
My fingers stumble over the chords. I manage to avoid looking up for a whole ten seconds before I can’t take it anymore, and I have to see. Yuri is blushing furiously, his head ducked, and a nervous smile plastered on his face as he edges his way through the crowd to get to the stage.
What the fuck am I doing? I’ve been leaving seashells on his porch for two weeks instead of just knocking on his door and talking to him.
I should have told him I didn’t want him to do this.
I should have told him I never stopped loving him and I want to figure shit out together. Fuck, I’m an idiot.
His eyes meet mine and my heart stutters.
You don’t have to do this.
I want to say it, but I can’t make my mouth form the words, so instead we just stare at each other for the longest few seconds of my life.
“Come on, Yur, don’t make these nice men wait too long or they might just start stuffing money down each other’s jocks instead,” Easy coaxes.
The blush on Yuri’s cheeks deepens and he turns around to face the crowd.
“You all are not going to believe what a catch this guy is. Not only does he have the face of a Russian super model, but he’s also got that shy, nerdy vibe that I know some of you just can’t help creaming your jeans for.
Is there a sex kitten underneath his blushing, brainy exterior?
Only one way to find out. Do I see a hundred dollars? ”
Dozens of paddles go up immediately and Easy gives an impressed whistle.
“How about one fifty? Two hundred? Three hundred?” He keeps rattling off higher numbers and paddles drop one by one.
I’m not even bothering to play my guitar and I’m not sure anyone has noticed.
I can hardly hear the number Easy is up to over the rush of my pulse in my ears and my own thoughts screaming at me to quit being a fucking dumbass and do something.
I can’t let Yuri go home with any of these guys.
They wouldn’t get him at all. The dude with the sunglasses tan wouldn’t be able to tell when Yuri’s feeling touched-out and overstimulated and needs to be rescued.
The guy with the backwards hat and douchey t-shirt offering “mustache rides” won’t know how to help him chill out when he’s having a panic attack.
The tall dude in the back with all the curly red hair won’t know which stupid jokes make him laugh the hardest.
None of them would let him go because it’s what was best for him and then love him for eight years without thinking they’d ever see him again.
“Five thousand dollars,” I blurt. That has to be more than the current bid, and if it’s not, I’ll just bid more. No one hears me over Easy still calling out numbers and the crowd shouting and cheering though. I drop my guitar and jump out of my seat. “Five thousand dollars,” I say again, louder.
Easy stops rattling off bids and turns to look at me with raised eyebrows and a huge grin on his face.
“Well, well, well, would you look at that? It looks like we’ve got a new bidder entering the race. I’ve got five thousand, anyone want to beat that bid?”
Yuri meets my gaze again, and this time his smile isn’t strained and nervous, it’s hopeful. It’s fucking beautiful.
“Six thousand,” sunglasses dude shouts, and there’s a loud “Ooooh!” that ripples through the room like we’re on an episode of some shitty daytime talk show.
“Ten thousand,” I say without missing a beat, without looking away from Yuri.
His mouth falls open and he shakes his head.
I can hear him telling me that I’m a fucking idiot without even having to say a word.
And he’s right. I didn’t have to pay ten thousand dollars to make things right between us, but I will.
I’ll pay whatever I have to so that I’m the guy who gets to take Yuri on a date.
“We have ten thousand. Anyone else willing to pony up that kind of cash for a walk on the beach with an honest to god Nobel Prize winner?” Easy asks, but no one takes the bait.
Cool, I would have had to call my bank to take out more cash than that from the ATM all at once.
“Ten thousand going once, going twice, and sold to the sexy beach bum with a suspicious amount of money to throw around.”
I’m pretty sure someone in the crowd shouts “It’s about time!” It kind of sounds like Boston, but I don’t bother to look around and find out. I’m too busy pulling Yuri into my arms and making up for the last two weeks of stupidity.
He laughs against my lips, our tongues finding each other in a hot, playful chase, muffling sounds of relief and amusement from both of us.
We have a lot of shit to work out, things to talk about that are going to be hard as hell, but it feels like something’s different now.
It feels like I’ve got my hands on him solidly at last, instead of feeling like he’s already slipping away.
“As much as I’m sure we’d all love a live show, I’m going to have to ask you lovebirds to clear the stage so I can get the next bachelor up here,” Easy says.
“Sorry,” Yuri mumbles against my lips, both of us laughing again as he wipes the back of his hand across his damp mouth and we grin stupidly at each other for a few seconds. “I… um… still have to finish my shift.”
I nod. “Right, I’m supposed to play for the rest of the auction.” I gesture vaguely in the direction of my guitar, lying on the ground near my stool.
“Cool. Do you want to walk me home after?”
A yes jumps immediately to my lips, but I manage to bite it back. Not because I don’t want to walk him home and work things out the fun way though.
“No way,” I say, and his face falls for a second. “I won a date, so I’m going to set up a proper date. When’s your next night off?”
His smile is back, bright as ever. “Tomorrow night.”
“Perfect. I’ll come by your place and pick you up at sunset.”
“Why do I feel like there’s at least a fifty percent chance you’re going to knock on my door at sunrise instead?” he teases.
“Hey, give me a little credit, I know which way is East. Most days.”
He snorts and I catch his lips in another quick kiss that feels like a promise and the start of something new.
No, not new, more like a remix. All of a sudden, I know what’s wrong with the song I’ve been working on too.
I was so stuck on the way I had it arranged when I first started writing it, but that wasn’t right.
My fingers itch for my guitar now so I can try it again, just a little bit different now, better.
I finally let Yuri go, and I watch him make his way back behind the bar before I sit down again and start to strum, chasing the remixed notes that finally feel right.