Never Lose Your Flames by Francis Gideon

Author:Francis Gideon [Gideon, Francis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-63477-541-0
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2016-08-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

“THIS IS what you have to know about an auction,” Gabe said between sips of his Diet Coke. They had found another hole-in-the-wall diner around the corner from the storage facility and were still scarfing down the last of their meal of tuna melt sandwiches for Gabe and hummus for Nat. They only had another five minutes to get back to the storage facility without being seen. And only a couple more minutes in that for Gabe to impart all of his wisdom into Nat. “Are you listening?”

“I am, yeah.” Nat nodded. He set the crusts of his sandwich down and focused intently on Gabe.

“Good. First of all, know that the auctioneer is operating at least three seconds ahead of time. He has no need or requirement to pay attention to pleasantries. That’s actually one of the reasons I like auctions—you can communicate with a look and a gesture. When I first went to an auction, the person I brought with me kept scratching his nose without realizing he was doing it. The auctioneer took that as his bid, and he ended up with an entire set of silverware he didn’t need.”

“Really? That’s incredible.” Nat touched the side of his nose, as if he was about to sneeze. “So I should probably avoid doing this?”

“Yes! Should we get you some allergy pills so you don’t accidentally get me a dresser drawer set I’ll never need?”

Nat laughed. “No, no. I’m fine, only testing you. How do you even know there will be a dresser drawer set?”

“I don’t! And that’s half the fun.”

“All right. What else do I need to know?”

“Well, you’ll need to monitor your movements at all cost. Because a blink or a twitch could have you bidding on something, you need to be very disciplined. You also need to be considerate of those around you. I don’t mean you have to be nice—I mean you have to factor them into consideration. People who bid watch the room before they bid themselves. That way, they can swoop in out of nowhere.”

“Brutal.”

“I know!” Gabe said with delight. “It’s as much strategy as it is shopping. Perfect for someone like me.”

“I can watch the perimeter if you need?” Nat offered. “Since it’s not like I’ll want to bid on anything.”

“You never know what you may like. Even if you don’t have cash on you, let me know. It may interest me too.”

Gabe spotted the waitress and flagged her down for the bill. When he opened his wallet, he realized his cash would only cover this meal and nothing else. He’d have to get some cash out of an ATM if he wanted to bid, and oh, did he ever want to bid. His hands were already shaking with excitement. He’d need to calm himself down so he didn’t bid on everything and have absolutely nowhere to put it.

“I just remembered we have the Firebird,” Gabe said.

“Yeah. And?”

“And that means I’ll have a trunk. I can get something big if I really want.

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