"Let me talk to her," I whispered. I wanted to tell her that there was nothing to be stressed out about. That James had done nothing all weekend but sit at the pool. That if he had been acting weird recently that he was just stressed out. That all he wanted was to make her happy. I wasn't sure why I was feeling sentimental. Maybe it was Daphne's nagging me about letting James talk to her.
"No," Mason whispered back. "She's fine, I already calmed her down."
"It's different coming from me."
"Why? Because you flirt with her all the time? You're acting just as bad as James. You're being cut off from talking to her too."
"Give me the phone." I tried to grab it from his hand.
"Rob's back," Mason said into the phone. "I have to go. Please check on her, Penny." Mason hung up the phone.
"What the hell, man?"
"What the hell yourself? I thought all your flirting was a joke. But do you miss Penny too? Can't go a day without talking to her either?" he teased.
"Shut the fuck up. I'm just worried about her."
"Why? What did you and James talk about earlier?"
Is that why he was being a dick? Because he was upset that James confided in me instead of him? I knew he was pissed that he wasn't James' best man. "How stressed out he is. Which means Penny probably is too. Just let me call her back real quick and talk to her." I reached for the phone again.
"That's just going to worry her more. Just admit that you're in love with Penny." He laughed as I shoved his arm.
"What's going on?"
We both stopped and turned to look at James.
"We were just making sure Penny got to her bachelorette party without a hitch," Mason said.
"Bachelorette party?" He put his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah. What, you thought you were going to have a kickass bachelor party and she wasn't going to have a bachelorette party?"
"I never even wanted to have a bachelor party. You know that. Where are the girls taking her?"
"Calm down, James," Mason said and stretched out on the couch, kicking my leg so that I'd move. "They're just going to a bar."
I slapped his ankle and stood up. Mason was being a dick, but he was right. Me calling to check on Penny right after he did would just freak her out. Like we were trying too hard to prove that everything was okay.
"Which bar?" James asked.
"I don't know," Mason said.
"Penny sounded fine, James," I added. "She just misses you."
He gave me a weird look. How much had he heard of Mason and I talking? Shit. He had to know that I didn't love Penny. That was ridiculous.
"Yeah, okay," James said. "I think I'm just going to hang out in the room tonight while you guys go out. I just want to rent a movie or something."
Mason and I exchanged glances. "Nope," Mason said. "There's four of us and there's four girls we're meeting up with. We need you."
"I'm not going to hang out with Kristen tonight just so my brother can get laid."
"It's not about Rob getting laid. It's about you relaxing and having fun. We're worried about you, man. What is wrong with you? Why can't you just enjoy this weekend?"
"Nothing's wrong."
"Come on. Something's bothering you."
"Jesus Christ." James collapsed on his bed.
"Just tell us," Mason said.
"I'm horny, okay?! Fuck."
I laughed. "Wait, what?"
James groaned. "Penny decided she didn't want to have sex before the wedding. I haven't had sex in days."
"I knew you were a selfish lover," I said.
He propped himself up on his elbows. "That's not why, asshole. She wants our wedding night to be special. And you've shared a place with us. You've heard how much she enjoys what I do to her."
"Gross," I said.
Mason laughed. "Seriously? That's why you're acting like you have a stick up your ass? Because you haven't been laid recently?"
"You're the ones that asked." He collapsed back down on the bed.
"So that's why you want to talk to Penny so badly? I should have known it was about phone sex."
"No. I just miss her."
"Well, you have to eat either way, right?" I said. "Come have dinner. Then we can all come back and watch a movie."
"That sounds so incredibly lame," Matt said. He had just walked in the room.
"Where have you been all day?" Mason asked.
"Rob got me a bunch of cards from the front desk. I've been flirting with all the hottest girls here. I love bachelor parties."
"Well, we're getting dinner in ten minutes with Layla and her friends."
James groaned again.
"Don't mind him," Mason said. "Penny's been withholding sex from him."
Matt laughed. "Why are you in the doghouse, man?"
"I'm not," James said. "I'm just getting married."
"Getting married sounds awful. Speaking of which, are you getting nervous about popping the question?" he said and looked over at Mason.
"A little. I don't really know why though. I know Bee's going to say yes. It's not like I'm going to propose to her after only knowing her for a few months." He pointed over at James.
"You guys suck," James said and sat up. "Fine, let's go eat. But don't make me sit next to Kristen."
"Did she really stalk you?" Matt asked. "I didn't think stalkers were super hot."
"Yes. I almost got a restraining order, but I didn't want to ruin her life. I figured she was over it now, but did you see that crazy look in her eyes?"
Matt laughed. "Crazy girls are always the kinkiest. I bet she's into some weird stuff. And we all know Alina and Layla definitely are. Dirty, dirty girls."
"Are you seriously slut shaming them right now?" James asked and stood up.
"No. I totally respect their youthful decisions. I love naughty girls. I bet Daphne is real kinky too if she hangs out with them," Matt said and looked over at me.
"She's not like her friends. She's more reserved." I wasn't sure why I felt the need to defend her. I barely knew her. But I didn't want anyone to talk about her like that. Yeah, I'd been fantasizing about doing all sorts of primitive, dirty stuff to her, but that was different. I liked her. I like her? I shook the thought away. I'd only known her for one day. What the fuck was I talking about?
"You're totally smitten," Matt said.
"I'm not. She's just making the chase fun." I had been about to ask them if my outfit was okay, but now it seemed like that was a bad idea. "You're just jealous because she's mine."
"Yours? What did you pee on her or something to mark your territory? I could totally win her over."
"The deal was that I'd give you a bunch of cards if you stayed away from her."
"But now I'm almost out of cards."
"You can have mine tomorrow," James said. "Come on, let's go get this over with." He grabbed my shoulder as he walked toward the door. "I'm doing this for you, so don't you dare let me get stuck sitting next to Kristen."