Page 40 of In the Net (Sin Bin Stories #5)
HARPER
A flyer catches my eye as I’m walking to my next class.
There’s a standing column for posting flyers and other advertisements about events, things for sale, or anything else right in front of the tutoring center on campus.
Something I spot on it out of the corner of my eye pulls my attention. When I do a double-take, I see there’s a picture of Sebastian on one of the flyers.
Approaching it, I see that there are pictures of a couple of the hockey players on it. Along with Sebastian, there’s Jamie, Veikko, Carter, Felix, and their hunky third line forward, Demetrius.
Win A Date With A Black Bear! The big, bold letters at the top of the flyer enticingly boast.
My brow furrows. I read more of the text. They’re holding an… an auction where the prize is a date with one of the hockey players?
The event is a benefit for the tutoring center. Instead of bidding money, you bid volunteer tutor hours, and you need to have a certain GPA to be eligible.
A bunch of smart girls with high GPAs are going to be packing a room to win a date with Sebastian.
Jealousy unfurls in my chest, turning my shoulders stiff and pinching my brows.
I don’t like that image one tiny bit.
I envision a girl so utterly smitten with Sebastian that she gives up days of her time just to score a date with him. In exchange for all that extra tutoring, I bet she’d want her money’s worth, so to speak …
My teeth clench, territorial feelings galloping through me. Another girl going on a date with my fake boyfriend?
I have a very real problem with that.
Sebastian’s expression lights up as I approach him after he steps outside the building where he has his last class.
For my part, though, my lips are flat, my brow is low, and negativity is swirling through me. I’ve been in a bad mood all day, ever since I saw that damn flyer.
“What’s this?” I demand, holding the flyer out to him in my hand.
He frowns, furrows digging into his forehead. He takes the flyer from my hand and examines it.
“This? Oh, it’s something the team does every year. The tutoring center never has enough volunteers to meet the needs of the students looking for help. This is a good way to help them get it.”
My nostrils flare. Sebastian’s explanation hasn’t done anything for the bitter, acidic taste coating my mouth.
“You don’t think it would look bad for the guy I’m supposed to be dating to be on a stage selling his body to the highest bidder?”
Sebastian looks at me with a blank expression for a moment, but then a big, toothy grin splits on his face.
“You’re jealous.” He says it with far too much satisfaction.
My brows notch lower. “I’m being realistic. We’re supposed to look like a couple, right? I don’t think guys with girlfriends go on dates with other women, even if it is for a good cause.”
Sebastian’s grin isn’t going anywhere. He looks so damn cocky, like he just loves the idea of me being jealous over him.
It makes me want to slap him. It’s a feeling I’m used to, though I haven’t felt it in a while.
“Even the guys on the team with girlfriends do it. This is, like, a tradition. Normally, it’s just some girls who are big hockey fans bidding on us, and we all go out for a big group dinner.
It’s just a fun way to get some more volunteers to the center.
Everyone knows they’re not winning a real date. ”
What he’s saying makes sense, but that territorial feeling is still beating in my chest. Even if the so-called date the girl who bids on him gets is fake, I’m the only one allowed to fake date Sebastian right now.
I imagine a pretty pair of eyes brimming with excitement after placing the winning bid on my fake boyfriend.
I don’t care if it’s stupid. I’m not letting that happen.