Kenton cast a glance at the cute guy with the light brown hair who was bidding against him, then again at his watch. Fifteen minutes was long enough. It was time to place another bid.

Typically, he’d wait until closer to the end of the auction to snipe a last-minute bid rather than jack up the price this early, but his reasoning was twofold. One, this silent auction was a charity event so at least the money was going to a good cause, and two, Cutie-Pie was pinging the hell out of his gaydar even though he was here with a woman.

The pair seemed more like friends than a couple, and the way Mr. Delectable drooled over Captain Jack Sparrow in the Dead Men Tell No Tales framed and signed poster he and Kenton were both bidding on went far beyond what a straight fan would display.

So yeah, he was upping the bid again this early in the game in hopes of catching the man’s notice and using their shared pursuit as a conversation starter—at least see if Mr. Milk-Chocolate-Brown-Eyes might be interested in him, too. He placed his auction identification sticker on the paper and wrote in a ten-dollar bid. Judging by the guy’s well-worn although still respectable business-casual wear, his budget might be limited, so Kenton didn’t want to knock him out of the running before getting the chance to connect.

Kenton pointedly avoided looking in the cute guy’s direction as he walked back to where a group of his customers stood talking. He didn’t want to be too obvious, but he stood so his peripheral vision would alert him to activity near the coveted poster.

It didn’t take long before Mr. Floppy-Hair and his gal pal wandered back to it. He seemed relieved at the low increment, but didn’t place a new bid yet. Apparently, he didn’t share Kenton’s interest in a flirtation. The pair wandered away, but Kenton didn’t doubt they’d be back for an eleventh-hour bid.

He put it out of his mind while he schmoozed with customers and made a couple new contacts. Neither Pretty-Boy nor anyone else placed another bid on the Pirates of the Caribbean poster until ten minutes before the end of the auction. That’s when Mr. Adorable-but-Completely-Uninterested slinked back over to make his final bid.

Or at least Kenton hoped it was the man’s final bid because one way or another he was going to win that poster. Mr. Thought-He’d-Outsmarted-Kenton looked up and scanned the room after placing his bid.

No reason Kenton couldn’t be good-mannered even if the guy was obviously not attracted to him, so he beamed a friendly smile when the guy’s gaze landed on him and zig-zagged around tables laden with all manner of self-indulgent extravagances and a plethora of potential holiday gifts as he headed over to take back the top bid.

That’s when Mr. Good-Lookin’ turned into Mr. Sour-Puss. Apparently, he really wanted that poster, but had reached his limit, because after the childish scowl, he turned and stalked off. Kenton huffed and straightened his back. At least he no longer felt apologetic about outbidding the poor-sport.

The bid had only been upped by twenty dollars, and Kenton tacked on another fifty to discourage any potential last-minute casual bids. He glanced over the room after stepping back. Mr. Pouty-Face stood about fifteen yards away and had turned back to face him. The man offered up a weak smile, so at least he seemed to regret his petulant frown. Eventually he mouthed, “Good luck,” then turned and walked away.

Whatever. So the guy wasn’t completely irredeemable. He’d probably gotten his hopes up and Kenton had come along and dashed them. Welcome to life, Buddy.

Kenton hovered near the poster as the final minutes wound down, then smiled and executed a subdued fist pump when the bell rang ending the auction. That poster was going to look fantastic alongside the rest of his Pirates of the Caribbean collection.