Chapter 4

Rachel zoned out as she was getting her make-up done. Her hair had already been curled, teased and hairsprayed to death. The woman had tried engaging her in a conversation, but soon fell silent when Rachel made no move to keep up her end. There was no way she could work herself up to the excitement everyone else was feeling.

‘Imagine!' Her hair dresser had gushed. ‘Being auctioned off to some of the most eligible bachelors in the city! Having those men throw down their money for you! Talk about romantic!'

Rachel rolled her eyes, thankful the woman couldn't see. ‘Romantic,' she scoffed. ‘Yeah right.'  Being paraded around like a prized steer was not her idea of romantic. It didn't even come close. Not by a long shot.

‘I'd be so nervous standing up there with those men looking at me. I'd be so worried they wouldn't bid! Can you imagine!' The woman went on. ‘Being all gussied up and not a one bids on you. I don't think I would be able to show my face anywhere again!'

‘That's when you have a backup plan,' Another hair dresser butted into the conversation. ‘If it looks like you aren't getting bids or something, you have a friend bid for you. If anything it will boost your ego. And who knows,' She broke out into a smile. ‘It might cause someone to fight over you.'

She tuned the two women out as they went on to discuss how romantic it would be to have two men fighting over you. Rachel had wanted to open her mouth and say it wasn't romantic if you didn't love one of them. Who cares if two men you didn't care about, didn't even know, fought over you?

The phone in her hand chimed, ringing out ‘Wi-yi-yi-yippie-yi-yay-yippie-yi-yo-yippie-yi-yay' over and over. It brought a smile to her face and she looked down at the screen.

‘Your support system!' The text from Melissa read. And she hit the down key, bringing the picture to the screen. The smile widened when she saw all the guys, including Melissa, their arms wrapped around shoulders, grinning into the camera.

"Friends of yours?" The make-up lady asked as she paused to allow Rachel to look at her phone.

"The very best," Rachel told her as she entered a reply.

‘I love you guys!'

"Are they going to be here watching you tonight?"

"No. They have a previous engagement."

"That's too bad."

"Yeah," Rachel sighed. It was too bad that they couldn't be here tonight; that they couldn't bid on her; rescue her from this. And she knew, teasing aside, that they would have done it in a heart beat. She would have gladly endured the teasing afterward when she would have affectionately belonged to them.

‘Any one of us more than the others?'

Rachel laughed at the returned message. ‘I love you a lot.' She knew that would get on Melissa's nerves. Ever since Melissa had realized her friend harbored a crush on one of the guys, she had done her best to figure out who it was. It only made Rachel work that much harder at covering it up. She did a good job. ‘Too good of a job,' she thought to herself. In order to hide her feelings she had to back off the man she had slowly fallen for.

JC.

Rachel conjured him up in her mind and it brought a smile to her face. When she first met him, she had thought he was cute; harboring a crush on him, as much as a fifteen year old could. Of course being nineteen years old, he didn't look at her.

But that all changed when they rode the same bus for a month. With Joey and Melissa only having eyes for each other in their young romance, it left her and JC to fend for themselves. Ignoring the young lovers, they watched movies together and television shows; listened to music and vegged together; talked about anything and everything that came to mind.

It was during that stretch of the No Strings Attached tour that she realized that her crush had grown into something more. She had fallen in love with the singer. And that had scared her; made her question if her feelings were real or if she imposed them since they had spent a lot of time together and he gave her attention.

‘If you take me out of the equation, any one of those men you love more than the other?'

Rachel read the text and bit her lip, but quickly released it at the sharp words from the woman working on her. With a murmured apology she replied back.

‘Yes.'

And that was truthful. After the guys took a minor break, the bus assignments were switched up and JC ended up with Justin and Chris, leaving Lance and Joey on the other bus. She didn't attend many concerts on that stretch as she had previously. Using that time instead to sort out her feelings.

When she rejoined the tour a few weeks later, she knew that her heart had lain with JC. But she hadn't been able to make her feelings known to the man. He had pulled himself back from her. He hadn't quite shut himself off from her, but he wasn't as open as he had been with her. It made Rachel wonder if he hadn't used that same time to evaluate his feelings and come up with the opposite as her.

So she kept her mouth shut. The last thing she needed to get out was her love for JC. She already had to endure the teasing about a childhood crush on Lance and the silly things she did when she had been in his presence. She was able to chuckle and laugh at her antics with the rest of them; realizing that her feelings for Lance were never real.

Knowing her feelings for JC were the real deal, she knew she couldn't handle the teasing. So she kept it hidden; making sure she didn't give anything away. And loved from afar.

If loving from afar wasn't bad, now she had to stand up on a stage in front of well known names in the New York society to be bid on. She didn't mind the money spent would go to charity, but she didn't want to have to honor the romantic evening each winner received. How could she spend a romantic evening with someone she knew only by seeing their name in the paper or mentioned in passing by her Grandfather?

She didn't want to sit across a candlelit table staring at a nameless man as she pretended to be interested in what he had to say. She certainly didn't want to take any type of moonlight cruise out into the harbor. There was only one man she wanted to see across the table; one set of eyes flickering in the fire. And there was no way she would be able to have those prayers answered. Even if the guys weren't due on Larry King Live tonight, she would never expect JC to bid on her.

She wondered if the guys considered her a pampered socialite. Here she was complaining about being in an auction, where all proceeds go for a good cause, and she couldn't give up one lousy night and pretend to have a good time. There was no underlining writing that stated she had to make a second connection after the date. She could go and enjoy herself on a date and go home. That would be the end of it.

Grandfather had no pull over who she dated or even her getting married. She was the one that had to sign the paperwork and walk down the aisle. And she wasn't going to consider doing that unless the man she loved was waiting at the end. She would never settle for less.

‘God will you quit thinking so hard! I can hear you over here. It's giving me a complex!'

‘My apologies. I left a ticket at the door for a guest incase you want to come.'

‘Do you want me to come?'

‘Only if you want to. You don't have to.'

‘Damnit, I hate it when you do that. DO YOU WANT ME TO COME OR NOT!'

‘Unless you're planning on bidding on me, it really doesn't matter. So up to you.' Rachel laughed softly knowing she was getting Melissa riled up. She knew if Melissa came she would be pretty bored and out of water surrounded by the type of people that were going to be in attendance. And she wouldn't be able to hang with her friend, so she didn't want her to come and be on her own.

‘Tell me who you want bidding on you and I'll make sure the ticket gets used.'

‘Nice try. They'll be on Larry King. Can't use it anyway.'

"All done Ms. Weatherly," the woman smiled in the mirror at her.

"Thanks," Rachel smiled at her reflection in the mirror and looked at herself. Her hair was left down and curled, with the front pinned out of her face with a couple clips that glittered in the lights. Her complexion was smooth and blemish free. Her eyes popped with the mascara and eyeliner; the shadow done in blues and silvers that would match her dress. "Can you snap a picture?"

"Sure," the lady smiled, accepting the cell phone and snapped a shot. "There you go."

‘Cinderella is ready for the ball.' She attached the photograph to the text message and sent it off the Melissa. She didn't have to wait too long before a reply rang back.

‘Wow! Unanimous! Gorgeous. Ah-mahzing!'

Rachel's ego swelled a little bit as she smiled at the response and wondered at their reactions. ‘You think so?'

Her phone chimed repeatedly as Melissa bombarded her phone with multiple texts.

‘Think so? Jesus, Rach; Chris wants to withdraw all his money and forget Larry King to bid on you.'

‘Joey, the horndog, did his best wolf whistle and wants to know if the photo will be distorted if blown up.'

‘Justin did his best Cary Grant impression. But what he was saying...Jesus, even Joey blushed!'

‘Lance is boring. He said you were gorgeous. But he had a smile. He knows something.'

‘JC said you looked absolutely stunning'

Rachel laughed out loud and replied. ‘Tell Chris he's my favorite. Joey's not allowed to print any picture of me...EVER. Ask Justin if his mom knows he talks like that.'

‘Tell Chris, never mind. Lance and JC are my favorites now.'

‘Damnit Rach, that gave nothing away. I will figure this out.'

Rachel grinned and quickly typed a reply as she stood on the sidewalk in front of the limo waiting to take her away. ‘Good luck.'