“Because of Trent?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Look, if it bothers you that Trent is part of The Player Auction, I can replace him in a second.”
“No, I don’t mind that they’re being auctioned off. It’s for charity. I’m sure someone will pay a lot of money for him, and at least it’s for a good cause.”
She steers me toward the kitchen table and kicks a chair for me to sit. “You’re afraid to see him? Is that it?”
I lean my elbow on the table, thinking over her question. Am I nervous about seeing Trent? Yes, to some extent, I suppose I am. I made out with his twin brother.
So far this week, I have lucked out and not had the misfortune of running into either of them—not even his friends. But with Shannon dating Jamie, I will eventually run into Trent.
“Maybe I’m overreacting.”
“No way.” Jordan’s tone grows serious. “They played with your head. Those assholes should consider themselves lucky I haven’t murdered them for what they did to you. If you had let me, I would have issued a campus-wide warning to every girl not to talk to them.”
I roll my eyes at her. “I thought you were joking about that. It would be impossible to do that on a campus of this size.”
She leans back in her chair and laughs. “You underestimate our power. With your sisters’ help, the twins would spend their last semester without sex.”
“It’s hard, you know. I don’t know what to do. At some point, I will have to confront Trent.”
“You’ve spent weeks avoiding him. So far, so good, right?”
“We’ll cross paths at the charity auction. There’s no way around it.”
She scrunches her nose as if thinking. A beat passes between us, and she says, “Do you want to be with him?”
“Yes,” I admit. “But I’m still so confused.”
“You kissed Trent at the kissing booth, right?” I nod, and she continues, “He’s also the one you had sex with. And the one who asked you on a date.” She bites the inside of her cheek, mulling it over. “I want what’s best for you.”
“You didn’t think Corey was good for me either.”
“Corey is a good man, but he isn’t going anywhere. He’s a good friend, a hard worker, and a nice guy. It’s just…”
“He’s not the one.”
“I suppose one good thing came from the twins’ incident,” Jordan says.
“Yeah. How was that a good thing?”
“It helped you decide about Corey.”
“That’s true.” I cover her hand with mine, holding it against the table. “Thanks for this. You helped me more than you know.”
She flashes a bright smile. “Good. Let’s get back to work before our sisters notice we’re gone. Abby will have a stroke if she thinks we’re dodging our duties.”
I return her smile, feeling less stressed than before, though still somewhat confused and frustrated about my feelings for Trent.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jemma
Crammed with several hundred people, the auditorium comes alive with excitement. Girls crowd the front rows of the room, holding bidding paddles in their hands. According to Jordan, this event raises the most money for charity all year at Strickland University. Everyone is in attendance, even Dean Whittaker and the heads of the departments.
The auction is going according to plan, with all the guys on the ice hockey team settling in with the girls who paid for a date with them. Trent is the last one up for bid. They announce his name before he strolls onto the stage, his head held high and confident.
