Chapter 1

chapter one

Zara

"Yeah" — Usher

" O h my god, Zara, that guy up there is eye-fucking the shit out of you right now," my best friend Harper mumbles over the rim of her red Solo cup, her golden gaze trained on the dim, makeshift stage in front of us. "Biiiiitch, if you don't bid on him, I am."

It's not even midnight yet, and the house is already packed. Admittedly, the Kappa house is not my favorite place to party with the number of douchey frat guys and the stench of BO and stale beer, but there was no way in hell I was missing tonight.

Their annual Date the Player auction.

A night that even I, a new freshman at OU, have heard countless stories about.

I follow Harper's gaze out to the darkened stage in search of the guy she's referencing. There are no less than twenty up there, but I immediately spot him.

Holy shit… this guy is hot.

Like, really , really fucking hot.

And he's staring directly at me.

His pillowy lips are curved into a cocky grin, and when he catches my gaze, his thick, dark brow arches, something unspoken passing between us.

I lift a brow, mirroring the motion as my tongue darts out, wetting my lips and tasting the cinnamony remnants of the night's earlier Fireball shot.

Mystery guy's wearing a white long-sleeve that's rolled to his elbows, showing off thick, veiny forearms. The wrinkled fabric hangs open, unbuttoned, and even in the dim light, I can make out the washboard abs and a happy trail that peeks out.

He's got dark, unruly hair that kisses the top of his shoulders and what could possibly be the sharpest jawline I've quite literally ever seen.

As if his chiseled face was carved from the sharpest, most luxurious stone.

There's no doubt that this guy looks like trouble, and coincidentally, there is nothing I love more than trouble.

Hmm.

Now, this could be fun.

Smirking, I lift my cup and bring it to my lips as I take a long, unhurried sip, never breaking our intense gaze.

"My god. I can feel the sexual tension from here. Or maybe I'm just horny. Either way… holy fucking shit," Harper nearly yells in my ear over the loud thrum of music surrounding us, her elbow digging into my side and forcing my attention back to her.

Her eyes are wide as she clutches her pink-painted fingers to her chest dramatically. They're nearly the same shade as the short minidress she chose for tonight. Unsurprisingly, she's decked out in all pink like she's the Gen Z version of Elle Woods.

Her signature color.

"You're the horniest person I know, so let's go with that, Harp," I tease, rolling my lips together before glancing to my right at Lily, the third of our thirsty trio.

Harper and Lily have been my best friends for as long as I can remember, and I've never been more thankful in my life that we all ended up at the same university because I don't know how I would have survived my freshman year without them.

A long-distance friendship with the girls who know me better than anyone sounds like the worst form of torture.

We're codependent. They're my girls, and I need them by my side for what I already promised myself will be the best year of my life.

A year of being wild and free, without anyone or anything holding me back.

"You both are the horniest people I know, so that point is invalid," Lily says, shaking her head, causing the dainty pearl necklace around her neck to jostle with the motion. She's like the… mom of our trio.

The smart, responsible, dependable one.

Whereas I'm the wild child, and Harper is the party girl who somehow manages to keep straight As, even though she hasn't picked up a textbook all year and stumbles into class still slightly drunk from the night before on a regular basis.

Put us all three together, and we're perfectly balanced.

The loud, screeching sound of the mic slams through the speaker next to us, and the crowd groans with the sudden deafening noise.

"Yessss, it's finally starting!" Harper squeals, clapping her hands together excitedly. She reaches into the pristine white Gucci bag on her shoulder and pulls out the red auction paddles she picked up for each of us before the party started.

I wasn't planning on participating in the auction tonight, but after seeing mystery guy… I think I just might.

After all, it is for charity, and there's nothing I'd rather spend my father's money on than a good cause.

I see Lily begrudgingly pluck the auction paddle from Harper's grip, and I laugh before sliding my gaze back to the stage.

The crowd has nearly doubled in the minutes leading up to the auction, and the room is buzzing with electric anticipation. If it wasn't for the ridiculously large speaker we're standing near, then I doubt I'd even be able to hear the president of Kappa take the stage.

He taps a long finger on the top of the microphone. "This thing on? Hello, hello?"

"Yes! Now, bring out the guys," a girl screams from the staircase, giggling with her friends when the crowd cheers in response.

"Alright, I know y'all are excited and ready to get this going. I mean, tonight's a bit of an infamous night here at Kappa. We're going to have a fuckin' blast and raise a shit ton of money for charity, but remember, these guys are not a piece of meat, ladies. They're real boys with feelings." He waggles his finger to the crowd. "If you're bidding tonight, please come up to the front of the stage."

Harper grabs both Lily and me and hauls us through the crowd, placing us at the very front next to at least thirty other girls.

I spot mystery guy at the far right of the stage talking to another tall, broad-shouldered guy standing beside him.

"Okay, before we get started, a few rules. This is an auction, so if you'd like to bid, raise your paddle. If you raise it and you win, you pay the donation before leaving. Your date with the player starts as soon as the auction ends. That means he's all yours for the next six hours… wherever you crazy kids end up. No takebacks either. Thanks to John Ryan from last year, I've got to add that." He shakes his head. "Now, let the fun begin. We're going to introduce each player, tell you a little bit about them, and then they're going to mingle in the crowd briefly before the actual bidding begins."

Harper's fingers close around my wrist, tugging me against her side, and I can feel the excitement radiating off her.

I rake my teeth over my bottom lip to bite back my smirk, keeping my attention on the stage as the first few guys are announced. With each introduction, there's a new song played as they make their way down the line of girls waiting to bid on them, and I wonder what mystery guy's will be?

"Okay, now he's hot ," Harper says dreamily as a stocky guy with a full beard that doesn't hide his bright smile walks out.

Damien.

Football player. His dog is his best friend, and he enjoys working out.

Cute, but… pass.

Yeah, the guys so far have been attractive, but no one has caught my attention the way mystery guy has.

And if I'm bidding on anyone tonight, it's going to be him.

"Yeah, he's cute. Bid on him!" I say to Harper.

She looks over at him, then back at me, her gaze shifting as she tries to decide. Ultimately, she shakes her head. "No, I think I want that guy down there."

Her pale-pink-tipped finger points toward the end of the stage, where a tall guy with buzzed blond hair stands, his lips tightened in a scowl as if he's not interested at all in being here.

Of course. Harper has a thing for broody assholes, so this absolutely checks.

"Lil, what about you, you gonna bid on anyone?"

Her eyes widen in what I can only describe as sheer panic as she shakes her head animatedly. "Uh… no. No way. Definitely not."

"You sure? That guy over there looks like he's definitely your type," I tease.

Another adamant headshake. She'd probably throw the paddle on the floor if Harper wouldn't pick it up and bid on someone for her. "Nope. Just here to watch and supervise you two. Someone has to keep an eye on you."

I grin with a nod and loop my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into me. My cheek presses against hers, and she laughs when I snake my tongue out and try to lick her.

"Love you, Lily pad. Don't worry, we'll save the corruption for another night."

Several of the guys make their way down the line to us, and a few dance with us, grab our hands, and spin us around. One guy drops to his knees in front of Lily, and I swear to god, I think she might actually faint on the floor of the Kappa house.

Fortunately for her, Kappa's president hurries it along and saves her from further mortification.

And finally, it's mystery guy's turn.

He saunters unhurriedly toward the middle of the stage, pulling at the loose-knotted tie around his neck, a mixture of pink and black that seems to make his skin even more tan in the dim light.

God, he is so fucking hot.

And although I'm blatantly aware of that, I don't want to seem too interested because that is not my style, so I sip my drink and feign the slightest amount of boredom as the Kappa president introduces him.

"Next up, we have Davis Guidry. He's a sophomore and is a pitcher for the Hellcats Baseball team. He considers himself a complete catch and the kind of guy who knows exactly what he wants."

Davis.

My fingers tighten around the paddle in my hand as I roll my lips together. His song?

"Yeah" by Usher.

I don't know the first thing about him, but somehow, I find myself thinking that it fits him. The cocky, assured swagger that he possesses. The flirty tilt of his lips. His molten irises that can only be described as bedroom eyes.

He makes his way toward the line of girls waiting to bid, starting at the opposite end from where I'm standing, and I expect him to take his time, charming each of them as the guys have before him, but no.

In the blink of an eye, he's made it to me, and he wastes no time dipping his head forward as his large hand lands on my hip, tugging my body against him.

His lips brush against the shell of my ear, and he whispers, "Gonna be real disappointed if you're not the highest bidder tonight, beautiful."

God, his voice .

It's low and raspy, a delicious baritone that has heat pooling in my belly and the crowd around us drowning out.

It's the first time in my life I've had such an immediate visceral reaction to a guy, let alone a stranger . My pulse is racing just from the brief interaction, and it surprises me.

He's surprised me.

With a wink and a slow, filthy lick of his lips that sets my body on fire, he walks off, my gaze trailing on the tight slacks on his ass.

"Oh my god. What did he say?" Harper whisper-yells the moment he's out of earshot. "Tell me!"

I can't stop the smile flitting to my lips as I drain the last of my drink and turn toward her, "He said he's going to be disappointed if I'm not the one who wins him tonight."

"So does that mean you're going to bid on him?" Harper asks excitedly.

"I'm not just going to bid on him, Harp. I'm going to win ."