"What difference does it make?"
"It makes a huge difference," Mason said. "How can you let her hang out with him if they've slept together?"
"Because I trust her."
"Do you trust him?"
"Tyler is a good guy. I don't know. He wouldn't hurt her. It was just one time a few years ago. He wouldn't hurt her," he repeated. His words were slightly slurred now.
"But..."
Rob cleared his throat. "It's my turn, right? Let's see." He looked down at me and smiled. "I'm sick of having one night stands. I spend more time in hotels, hostels, and friends' couches than I do in my apartment. And I've visited almost 20 countries."
I looked up at him. That pretty much summed up the difference between us. Rob Hunter lived. He traveled. He had fun. And I just let life pass me by each day. My routine was rarely ever broken. I was envious of his life. I wanted to grab his hand and never let go. I wanted him to teach me how to live.
"Take a guess, Daphne," he said with a smile.
"I hope that you're sick of one night stands. And I know you travel a lot. So I'm going to guess that you're lying about the number of countries you've been to. It's probably way more than 20."
"Yeah, it's closer to double that."
I just stared at him in disbelief. I had never left the country until this trip. My grand total was now two. "You're kind of amazing."
"I will take that adjective any day."
"So back to you, James," Kristen said. "Let's hear some more personal facts about you."
"Fine," he sighed. "You want to hear some of my private confessions?" He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. It didn't look like he had improved from the conversation about one of Penny's exes at all. "Sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep at night because I'm worried I'll wake up and Penny will be gone, as if I just imagined being this happy, and my life will be dark again. And I can't go back to what I was. That fear consumes me. I need her. I need her so much that it scares me." He ran his hand through his hair. "And at the same time...sometimes I feel guilty for seducing Penny in the first place. It was my responsibility as her professor to keep her safe and I crossed the line. And I feel like I shouldn't be allowed to be happy when I broke the rules. Like I cheated fate. That guilt eats at me too. That I should have been better. She deserves the best. And what if that is Tyler? What if I ruined her life?" He looked down at the table.
"James." Rob's voice sounded pained. "You know that isn't true. Penny wants to be with you."
"No, that's one of my truths. Oh crap, I need a third thing, right? I don't know...I hate dirty dishes in the sink."
Everyone was silent.
"No one has a guess? I don't care about dirty dishes. That was my lie. My wonderful maid takes care of them. And Penny sometimes. Because she's still not used to having a maid and she feels bad making her do anything. She's so sweet." He loosened his tie. "Why is it so fucking hot in here?"
Matt started laughing. I glanced at him and then back at James. Matt winked at me.Of course it was Matt.They had walked off together to the bar. I leaned over to Rob and put my hand on his thigh. I hadn't meant it to be sexual, but I could almost feel the heat in the stare he gave me. I immediately removed my hand. "Sorry. I just...this is going to sound strange," I whispered. "And I don't know your brother very well, but he seems different tonight than he did earlier. Kind of all over the place actually. He's slurring his words. His pupils are dilated. He's overheated. I think that maybe someone slipped something in his drink? And I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be presumptuous at all, but by the way Matt is laughing, I feel like maybe he did it? They walked over to the bar together and..."
"Shit," Rob said under his breath.
"I'm sorry, I'm probably overstepping..."
"No. I'm not mad at you. I should have seen it earlier." He cleared his throat. "Matt, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure, man." Matt smiled and got up, following Rob to the bar.
Third Chances - Chapter 22
Rob
God damn it.I walked to the bar, waiting for Matt to catch up. I leaned against the counter. The bartender, a woman with a low cut blouse and a skirt that was too short, came over. She was the type of woman that I would normally flirt with. But not tonight. Not when I was trying to win over the most beautiful girl here. Probably the most beautiful girl in any room.
"What can I get for you?" she asked with a seductive smile.
"Water, please. No ice."
She tapped the counter. "That's it?"
