Harold explained the particulars of the kissing auction quickly, and then beckoned him over to speak in private for a second.
“How do you feel about coming up in 2 weeks from now. Do you think you can get the time off? We could train and hang out.”
“The time off should be okay, I’ve got some vacation saved up. But I’ll need to make sure I can book a hotel.”
“Don’t worry about that,” he replied. “You’ll stay at my house, I have a very large place and plenty of room.”
“Okay. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but why are you helping me? You barely know me.”
“Well, first of all, I love to see new blood in the mix, and you have some talent. We’re very immersed in this game, we even make much of our living off of it, so I have an interest in seeing in flourish.”
“Okay. What’s the second reason?”
“My wife has taken a fancy to you, it appears. And I like to give her what she wants, if possible. I know Kiana has flirted a bit with me and her, but we weren’t sure if you two were just the type of couple that plays here, or is actually open in their relationship.” He paused for a second. “Is it possible, outside of this game?”
Luke stopped and glanced over. Marianne was openly appraising him, and he smiled at her, feeling a stirring down below at the thought of having her on top of him, moving those shapely hips as he buried himself deep inside her. He looked back over at him, nodded, and smiled. Harold broke into a broad grin, clapped him on the shoulder, and said “Excellent! Let’s go back and join the others.”
They rejoined the others. As the conversation picked up, Kiana came up and kissed him. “I have a confession, love.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“I entered you in the kissing auction.”
“Excellent!” Bernardo cried out. “I’m one of the emcees. I’ll make sure he gets bidded on. We need some fresh meat this year anyway.”
They all chatted for a bit, and watched as the auction got underway. It was slow at first, with a few people of either sex who weren’t especially attractive, and bids were low. After a few, though, an attractive latino man came up, and the bids started to get intense. 10 minutes later, he was being auctioned off for $100, and a portly but cute middle aged woman came up and practically ravaged him on the stage. A younger girl of about 20 got up next, blonde and doe-eyed, and the bidding once again went wild. Bernardo came up beside him, fetching water from a cooler. “Don’t expect them all to get this attention,” he cautioned, making his way back to the stage.
“And next, a special treat for the ladies,” Bernardo bellowed from the stage. “Prime USDA meat, in the form of Sir Lucien!”
Kiana kissed him on the cheek, whispering in his ear “Good luck. I’ll clear out of the tent for a bit tonight to give you some room to play.”
Before he could ask her if he had heard her correctly, Tika kissed him on the other cheek and said “Have fun tonight, stud. We’ll catch up with you later.”
Luke ran up to the stage, as Bernardo was urging him and getting the crowd behind him. He was urged to turn around, then to take off his shirt, and he got into the routine, flexing and clowning around. The bidding started. It passed 10 dollars, then was up to 30 in no time flat. 40, 50—was he hearing this right? With the lights on the stage, he couldn’t make out the people in the crowd very well, so he couldn’t see who was yelling. It got to 70, and then one woman’s voice yelled for 90 with authority. And suddenly it was silent. “Going once! Going twice! Sold to the lady in the middle in blue!”