How Seth hated being in that position. He normally loved his job and most things that came with it but he hated this and he couldn't say no. Direct order from Vince. He was at an auction, not to buy anything but to be sold. One of those stupid auctions where they auction out dates with celebrities to get money for charity. He didn't even know what charity it was. He had been too angry to care.
"And next up we have a WWE superstar. The architech himself. Seth Rollins," the auctioneer said.
He stepped up on the stage, feeling uncomfortable in the black suit he wore. He knew he could rock a suit but he didn't like it this evening. The women immediately started whistling and howling as if he was a piece of meat. And he was. Tonight that was all he was.
"What do you say, ladies? Should we start the bidding at 1000 dollars?" The auctioneer asked.
Seth was sweating as the biddings started. They kept raising with 500 dollars and he was actually surprised when they reached 7000 dollars. Who in their right mind would give that much just to go on a date with him?
"100.000 dollars!" A voice broke through loud and clear.
Everyone went dead silent for a few seconds until the auctioneer cleared his voice.
"I believe we got 100.000 dollars? Do I hear any higher?" He looked around but no one would go that high. "Going once. Going twice. Sold to the lady in black in the back."
Seth stretched his neck, trying to find out who the crazy lady was. She had to be some crazy superfan with daddy's creditcard. He couldn't figure out who it was since most people wore black. He was asked to leave the stage and he walked out in the back to wait for his date. It didn't take long before a woman in a black cocktail dress came out. She had coffee brown hair, nut brown eyes and a warm smile.
"Hi Seth, I'm Ida," she said.
"You're my date?" He asked.
"I suppose," she smiled again. "Ready to go?"
"If I must," he said.
She sighed and closed the door on the awaiting camera crew on the other side of the door.
"I know what you might think but I'm not some crazy fan wishing to be with you. I hate these things but my friends convinced me to go. While every other guy on stage seemed to enjoy themselves, you looked like you wanted to run," she said.
"I did. I still do," he confessed.
"That's why I chose to put down so much money. To get you out of an awkward situation with someone who might expect more from you tonight than you're willing to give," she said.
"And what do you expect?" He asked.
"Nothing. We got a camera crew outside so we're gonna go to dinner and smile like we're supposed to but that's it," she said. "And it's for charity, you know. I hope my money will help more victims of human trafficking."
"Shit, it's for those poor women? I really should have listened," he felt stupid. "Okay, dinner. Let's go."
It felt weird sitting in a restaurant with a camera crew up in his face, trying to make them have a fake conversation and smile all the time.
"Back up a little, will you?" He pleaded.
At least they did as he asked but the cameras continued rolling while they started eating. He wasn't really hungry but he managed to eat a bit. She didn't eat much either.
"Not hungry?" He asked.
"I ate before the auction," she confessed.
"Me too," he chuckled.
She looked around as the crew started talking to each other. She leaned over the table and motioned with a finger for him to do the same.
"Look at them," she said lowly. "They're getting ready to eat themselves. Once they sit down and start forgetting about us, we're gonna sneak out of here."
"How?" He asked.
"I know the owner of this restaurant. You just excuse yourself to go to the bathroom and then wait for me out in the hall," she said.
She winked and he nodded with a smile. She sure was entirely something else than he had pictured when he first saw her. Soon the crew got their food and Seth made his way to the bathroom. She waited half a minute, sending a smile towards one of the crew members before saying loud enough for them all to hear that she needed to fix her lipstick before they started filming again. No one raised a brow as she disappeared too. Seth stood waiting in the hall as expected.
"Okay, let's go," she said.
She grabbed his hand with a smile and pulled him down to a door that had a sign saying "Employees only" on it. She opened it to Seth's surprise and he found himself in another hallway. He followed her blindly and suddenly they were passing what could only be the owner.
"Hey Larry," she fist bumped him. "We're sneaking out the back entrance."
"You kids me safe," Larry said.
Seth couldn't believe this woman but he liked her more and more. Soon they were out on the street where she stopped a taxi.
"Your place or mine?" She asked.
"Yours?" He asked back.
"Sure," she gave directions to the taxi driver. "Do you like video games?"
She just seemed more and more perfect. Soon they were in her house and she excused herself while she changed her clothes. His jaw dropped when she came back out casually dressed in sweatpants and a Sepultura shirt.
"Where did miss cocktail dress go?" He chuckled.
"I hate dressing up but you know as well as I that it comes with the territory when you're famous," she said.
"What do you do for a living?" He asked.
"I'm a songwriter," she answered. "Yep, I've been writing songs for so many people. All hits, I might add. You don't mind me bragging a bit, do you?"
"Hell, no! I like bragging about my title wins too," he said.
"I know," she winked. "That's why I knew we would get along."
He followed her into the living room where she fired up the playstation and handed him a controller.
"What do you wanna play?" She asked.
He put the controller down, unbottoned his suit jacket and threw it on the floor. He unbottoned the top two buttons of his shirt and leaned back in the couch. It felt better this way although he would have loved being in sweatpants and a band tee too.
"Seth?" She asked.
"It doesn't matter what we play. I'm really enjoying my evening with you," he said.
"Me too," she said.
"Can I take you out on a real date once? Without camera crew and stiff clothes. Just the two of us," he said.
"How about we call this a real date? When we get hungry again later, I know this great Chinese place that delivers at all hours. I got beer and soda in the fridge and we're gonna chill and just be us," she said.
"Best date ever," he said.