reserves

[mejavaman]

I bid on a reserve item and my bid of $27.00 did not meet the reserve price but my bid is winning at $10.50 so the price to beat is $10.50.  if I have the winning bid at the end of the auction and the seller decides to sell the item to me, will it be at the $10.50 price or the $27.00 price?  If its the $27.00 price then why is the current bid only$10.50 instead of $27.00?  Thank you for your responses.  after reading comments, I have an additional question.  If I increase my bid above the reserve, say it was 30.00, will my bid still remain at 10.50 if that's the highest bid?  This sounds silly but I don't understand why the bid remains at $10.50.