Chapter 33 - Fred Ashford

Fred POV

“Seven hundred thousand!” I hear someone in the back shout. I can’t really see who it is as the lights pointing toward the stage are kind of blinding me. I smile with my hands inside my pockets as they are starting to sweat. Put me in the middle of a rink with thousands of people watching me and I feel like no one is there, I feel normal, no pressure, but here, there’s only a couple hundred people and I feel like I am naked, exposed. I hate this feeling.

“Seven hundred and fifty thousand,” I hear another woman shout. The value keeps going up and up to fifty thousand. I keep smiling, pretending this is perfectly okay. To be auctioned like a doll, like a prize.

“One million,” I hear the hostess say, and I frown. When did it get to that amount? I look at her, smiling. “One million going once, one million going twice,” and without hesitation, I face her.

“Two million dollars,” I