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He had to admit they were the cuter ones, not that girls that young caught his eye anymore.  Well, they did , but it made him feel like a dirty old man.   Today, he could admit that they were cute without lusting after them.   He’d been twenty-one the last time he’d been with a minor, and the threat of a lawsuit had scared the shit out of him.  Fortunately, he’d had a good lawyer and enough money that he could settle out of court before the law got involved and pressed the issue.
    He was okay with that.  Young girls often expected way too much— love , for example, something Riley wasn’t able to give for reasons far too many to divulge to the young lasses.  At least most women over twenty-five understood that if they chose to sleep with a rock star, said rock star knew they were groupie whores and wouldn’t even look at them the morning after if they ’d even made it to that point.
    “All right.   We have a bid of seventy-five dollars for Miss Beth.  Can I get one-hundred?”
    The lights would have made it hard to see the hands in the audience, but the theater guy had been smart enough to leave all the lights on , so Riley didn’t have to struggle to see the guys sticking their hands in the air.  On the downside, though, it made it hard for him to keep his eyes off the blonde in the bleachers.  He couldn’t even pretend to casually glance over, because the people placing the bids were part of the audience seated in the fold-up chairs in front of the stage.  The only time he could look over was when a new girl came up to be auctioned.
    “Aw.  Isn’t that just too cute?  Miss Beth, is that your parents bidding one-hundred dollars for you?”  Riley felt like he might puke.
    The redhead giggled.  “Yeah.   They love and support me.”
    “Isn’t that sweet, folks?  Beth’s parents love and support her.  So which one of you wants to love and support her more?”
    Oh, fuck .  It had finally happened.  That joke hit like a lead balloon.  What was worse was Riley had thought this one to be closer to innocent than most of his other wisecracks.  But no one was laughing.  No one was even smiling, and little Miss Beth’s bottom lip was beginning to curl up in a pout.   “Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but I merely meant that in the most generous sense.  Would anyone like to donate a higher amount to support the cause?”
    A rich kid’s hand finally flew up in the air and the good time recommenced.  Riley might have damaged his chances with the cheer coach…but he had one more card up his sleeve.
    * * *
    Erin felt herself growing jittery, knowing she was going to be the next item of scrutiny.  She kept telling herself it was all for a good cause.  And all of the girls had made at least one-hundred dollars, so she hoped she could make that much as well.  She’d lost count, but she knew they’d already made over fifteen-hundred.  Any amount she pulled in would be gravy.
    But there was another reason she felt anxious as hell.  She was going to be standing next to one of her old rock crushes.  She was afraid she’d come off as a giggly teenager, not unlike the dozen girls he’d already dealt with.
    No .  Must.   Remain.  Poised.
    She was inhaling slow, deep breaths in an attempt to keep her cool.  All the people in the audience who already knew her would think any residual nerves were simply due to the fact that she wasn’t comfortable with being thrown on a stage.   No one ever had to know the truth.
    And the rock star?   Well…she’d likely never see him again, so why did she give such a shit?
    After Beth was escorted off the stage, Erin took one last gulp of air.  She didn’t want to stand until she was called up, but she smoothed out the fabric of her dress that was resting on her thighs.  When she looked back up to the stage, she saw Riley walking toward the edge.  He crooked his finger at the co-captains and then walked off the stage.  Erin wasn’t quite sure