Lovers and Other Strangers Box Set: The Boston Stories (17 page)

***

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! I can't believe I missed the shot. I make that nine times out of ten! Fuck!"

"Sorry dude, but you'll have to pay up. 7:30, Saturday, the Continental, auction starts at 8:00. Wear a dark suit or better yet a tux. The women will love you." Chauncey walked away laughing

"Shit!" Cam lobbed one ball after another at the net and all of them dropped in without touching the backboard. Now he was stuck going to the annual meat market and he had a really bad feeling about it. It wasn't as if he lacked for female attention, well he hadn't exactly been overwhelmed with it since he had ended up in the chair but, damn those bachelor auction things gave him the creeps. Something about the blatant appraisal and the women's no holes barred sexual aggressiveness had turned him off when he had two working legs. How would he be judged now? It wasn't like he could roll out there and yell, Hey Ladies! The legs don't work but the rest of the equipment is just fine. The fact that the auction raised money for the widows and families fund didn't make it any less unsavory. He'd just have to deal but this was going to suck in no uncertain terms.

Saturday had gotten here way too quick but then your execution always does. Cam took a deep breath to quell the nerves that he wasn't used to feeling. Joseph Camenitti was not afraid of much but being auctioned like a piece of meat was not high on the list of things he wanted out of life.

"Camenitti? Christ! How the hell did they get you to do this?"

"Hey O'Reilly. Would you believe I lost a bet. I'm taking Chauncey's slot. You ever done this before?"

"Yeah, My wife ropes me into it. Its not really so bad. She kind of gets off on buying me for the night. I suppose after ten years of being married I should be happy she still wants to pay for the pleasure."

"You mean your wife buys you?"

"Yeah, didn't Chauncey tell you how this works? You figure out how much you're willing to pay to save your ego and then you get some woman to bid that amount and you pay it. Happily I might add. God, I'd never get up there if I didn't know for sure I'd get bid on." O'Reilly shuddered for added effect. Cam wanted to be sick, this was going to be even worse than he had imagined. He could see how it was going to play out. He would roll out on stage and there would be dead silence, fucking crickets. He was going to kill Chauncey when he saw him next. He snagged one of the programs. Everybody had a picture and a short bio, except him, his bio was on a piece of paper that had been stuck in at the last minute announcing that Chauncey had a pressing engagement and Joseph Camenitti would be taking his place.

He supposed he should be grateful that they listed him as a decorated cop, wounded in the line of duty but they didn't say the wounds meant he'd ended up in a wheel chair. He looked in the mirrors the organizers set up. He wasn't bad looking he supposed, not like he thought about it much. God knows his romance writer sister had used him often enough for her damn romantic heroes.

She claimed women loved the tall dark and handsome look. He ran his hand through his curly hair, well he did have the dark hair. Women always seemed to love the blue eyes too. He had been tall and broad shouldered but that was before he got shot and before he'd ended up in the chair. He was still fit and had some muscle on him, being behind a desk all day sucked but at least he had time to workout and shoot hoops so he hadn't turned to mush yet. This wasn't helping. He pulled at the bow tie and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. At least he could breath now. His tux still fit which was good because it was this or his dress blues and that seemed like a serious cry for attention. The guys had been going out one by one and getting bought up. He needed to just brace himself for the worst and move past it. What the hell did it matter if nobody bid on him, their loss.

***

"Eden, you said we were just going to go for a drink!"

"We are, but in here we can have a drink and ogle some man flesh too!"

"You're depraved."

"You don't know the half of it!" Eden laughed, she loved to shock her older sister.

"Evie, when was the last time you actually went on a date, forget about having sex, just a date with a man? Wait, have you decided you're into women?

"No, I still like men but I don't see its any of your business when my last date was..."

"You can't remember because you don't date, EVER! I know it is hard for you to believe but you really are a beautiful woman, even if you went through a serious ugly duckling phase. Most guys would be thrilled to have you by their side but you won't even make eye contact."

"So instead, you expect me to buy some cop? These things are always so...awkward."

"No you don't have to buy one of them, but we can look at the merchandise. Think of it as shoe shopping. You see something you like, you try it on, maybe you take it home, maybe not. Either way no harm done. Come on, it will be fun and its almost over anyway. We'll have to sneak up toward the front. I see two seats on the side, over there."

Evie tried to calm her nerves. Nobody knew her here and where they had found seats was in the dark so most of the women couldn't even see them. She should just relax and enjoy the good looking guys on display. No matter what Eden said it wasn't like she would ever bid on any of them. She picked up the program and looked through the bios of the guys. All of them were cops, rugged macho types. She'd given up on the macho guys after high school. When she had lifted the program a slip of paper had fallen on the floor. She bent over to pick it up when the MC announced the next guy up. She banged her head on the table on the way up and it hurt like hell. She wasn't able to stop her shout in pain but she had a greater shock when she looked up on the stage.

Cam had expected crickets. Gasps of horror seemed a little much even to his way of thinking, okay maybe just one gasp of horror, but still. He narrowed his eyes trying to see the audience through the blinding stage lights. He couldn't make out any faces. He could tell the shout had come from the left side of the stage but since he couldn't see anything he just glared at all of them. The MC read his information off and started the bidding at five hundred dollars. Thank God he hadn't pulled himself back together and retied his tie because he'd be gasping for air now. He smiled his best panty melting smile, the one his sister said she wrote into all her novels. For half a second he wished she were here, she'd bail him out. What were big sisters for? Of course then she'd never let him forget it. Delia wouldn't be any different. His niece was tough as nails and under normal circumstances he loved her for it, except when she turned it on him. He had a real soft spot for the kid. The MC dropping his price down to three hundred pulled him back to reality.

He started cursing under his breath and heard rustling over where the gasp had come from. He focused all his attention on that corner of the room. He turned his chair in their direction and leaned back in what he hoped came off as a devil may care dare. He heard some frantic whispering, and a woman stand up.

"Three thousand!"

The MC croaked. "three..."

"Three THOUSAND dollars."

"Going once, twice, sold!"

What the hell had happened? One minute he wasn't going to go even at three hundred, he'd been sure of it and now he was the highest selling guy of the night. He hadn't thought about what happened next because he had figured there would be no takers. He was more than intrigued to find out about the woman would dump three grand on a date with a guy in a wheelchair.

***

"Damn Evie, what the hell was in your drink. three grand, you probably could have gotten him for the three hundred. You made him the most expensive guy of the night." Eden watched her sister smile.

"That was the point. Come on, I need to go pay up and then get the hell out of here."

"Aren't you going to stick around and even talk to the guy? I don't get it. You pay that much money and you don't even want to date him?"

"It wasn't about the date. It was about making sure he got through the auction. I owed him one."

"Are you going to explain any of this?"

"No." Evie found the table where she needed to pay and wrote out her check ignoring the curious looks from the ladies manning the cash box. When she turned around she almost fell on top of her prize. Physically he was different than she remembered, stronger, broader. Then there was the wheelchair. Her heart broke a little for him at that, funny how it didn't seem to have changed his sex appeal one bit. His attractiveness, for her, was always about his eyes and the way he smiled. Okay, it wasn’t like she hadn't ever noticed the gorgeous body but the smile and the way it lit up his eyes was always the part that grabbed her. A if he had this wonderful secret and he was about to let you in on it. Her stomach did a flip remembering what that was like. He was smiling at her now but it was shyer more tentative.

"I owe you for saving my ego."

"No, you don't. I owed you one so we are even.

"Do I know you?"

"You don't remember me? Actually that's just as well, better maybe. I have to go."

"No wait. We're supposed to make plans for the date you just bought."

"I have no intention of holding you to it. Bye Joseph." She stepped around him and disappeared into the crowd. Even if he ran over people he wouldn't be able to get near her again. He turned back to the cash table and put on his most winning smile.

"Ladies, a small favor."

Cam had her name, number, and address sitting on his desk for a week. All week he thought about calling her and rejected the idea. Something told him if he called she would brush him off as she had done at the auction. It was making him crazy, she knew him and he couldn't remember her at all. They definitely hadn't dated before or after he'd been shot.

She was not his usual his type. He went for the obvious sexual heat. This Evie Tolland was much more of a slow sizzle. She wasn't curvy but what she had looked damn nice. She had worn a sleeveless dress that was cut low, so she couldn't have been wearing a bra. There was enough there to be feminine without going overboard. She had a cute butt too. Her legs were killer.

It took no imagination to come up with what it would be like to have those long strong arms and legs wrapped around him. His type or not, there was no way he'd have let a woman like that go. Her face didn't look familiar either, she was pretty but in a clean cut kind of way. She was one of those women who absolutely looked better without much makeup. He'd bet she looked best wrapped up in a sheet after having sex, all rosy and warm, her golden hair swirling around her. Okay, so yeah, he was more than interested in where she knew him from. No, the only way to make sure she couldn't ditch him, corner her on her own turf. Yeah, it was a little stalker-like but she had it coming.

The ride out to Somerville wasn't bad. The neighborhood she lived in had been industrial at some point Now it was reclaimed as artist spaces so it looked rougher than it actually was. He found her address. She lived in an old warehouse and from the sounds coming out, was torturing something in there. He banged on the door but didn't get a response, not a big surprise considering she probably couldn't hear him. He put his hand on the knob while he considered how to get in when the door opened of its own accord. Guess the fates had decided for him.

When he rolled inside he saw her, at least he thought it was her. She was wearing a respirator and googles, and had her hair covered with a bandanna. Her outfit was a far cry from what she had worn at the auction, a men's tank undershirt, huge overalls that had seen better days and construction boots. If she took off the protective head gear he'd bet she looked hot in a tomboy kinda way. She had a grinder in her hand and was moving it back and forth over a piece of stone.

"Evie!" He called out when she stepped away from where she was working.

She almost dropped the tool in her surprise. She flipped up the goggles and pulled off the respirator.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"Um, I did knock. You had left the door open. And as for why I am here, I owe you a date remember. If nothing else at least tell me where you know me from. It has been driving me crazy." She started laughing.

"I guess it would drive me crazy too. Sorry. Well you're here now, want a cup of coffee?"

"Sure." She put the grinder along with the protective gear on a bench with a bunch of other tools. Except for the marks around her eyes from where the goggles pressed against her skin Cam knew he was right. She was gorgeous in a very wholesome way.

She led him through her workshop. It was 2 stories and had tons of light coming in from all the windows. The upper floor had been cut away so this side had the double height of the building. As they got to the other side of it she led him through a door to her living space. It was colorful with lots of artwork on the walls and shelves. It was a loft with exposed brick and white-washed walls. Her whole living space was open with an office set up in one corner, a free standing kitchen unit right in the middle. Seating and eating areas on the other side. Cam smiled to himself. The place was warm and inviting, was she?

"You call me Joseph, not Cam like everybody else does, so I am betting you knew me a while ago. Actually, only my grandmother still calls me Joseph but somehow I don't think you hang out with Nana."

She smiled at him and started measuring the coffee into the machine.

"Um, no, I don't hang with Nana."

"Probably for the best, she is a tough old bird and I would have good reason to be afraid of you."

"You were never afraid of anything."

"So how long ago did we know each other."

"Years and years." She turned to get the water from the tap and poured it into the coffee maker.

"School years and years ago?"

"High school"

"I was a complete asshole in high school. How could you owe me a favor worth three grand?"

"Hey, compound interest. It adds up."

"Were we in the same year?"