"You totally get me, Daphne," Mason said with a smirk.
I laughed. I liked Rob's friends. And I really liked Rob. All the red flags were starting to disappear. None of that mattered. The more I thought about it, the more I thought Rob was right. I had been putting passion on the backburner. But I liked this feeling. I wanted to indulge in it. I smiled at him.
"That makes you weird too," Rob whispered.
"Then apparently you like weird girls."
"I guess so. I certainly like you." He put his arm behind me on the chair again, this time resting his hand on my shoulder. The feeling of his skin against mine sent chills down my spine. He started slowly making circles with his thumb.
"You're lying about the napping after sex thing," James said.
"Precisely," Mason said. "After sex, I just have more sex."
James groaned. "Ugh, I miss Penny."
"Don't mind him, ladies, he's just incredibly horny."
James' eyes got huge. "Why the fuck would you tell them that? Especially her," he unsubtly nodded his head toward Kristen.
I tried to hide my laugh.
"Me?" Mason asked. "You just groaned about missing Penny after I talked about sex and a few minutes ago you went on and on about how she won't have sex with you before the wedding."
"I did not. I would never talk about my private life in public."
"Um...you kind of did, man. Sorry."
James folded his arms across his chest. "Shit, is it my turn?"
"You chose the game," Mason said with a laugh. "You must have had something in mind to say."
"Not really."
"I don't mind hearing about your private life at all, James," Kristen said. "Tell us some truths about that."
"Do you mind going, Daphne?" James said. "And you can come back to me at the end?" His face was starting to get red and he looked even sweatier.
"Yeah, no problem." I looked over at Rob, but immediately looked away. His eyes on me made me nervous. His fingers on my shoulder were distracting enough. "I was my high school valedictorian."
Kristen groaned.
Apparently I hadn't thought of anything exciting during my extra time to think. I bit my lip. I wanted something sexy to say. "I have never dyed my hair." Why did I think that was sexy to say? "And I'm looking for a serious relationship because I feel like I'm missing something in my life." Well, that definitely wasn't sexy to say. I'm so bad at this game.
Rob stopped making circles on my shoulder with his thumb.
Crap, I freaked him out.
"Well," he said. "You seem very intelligent, so I don't doubt that you were valedictorian. And I wouldn't blame you at all for feeling like something is missing in your life. Especially with all your friends in relationships. I'm kind of feeling the same way myself. So, what color did you dye your hair?" He smiled at me.
I didn't need to wonder anymore if Rob was as sweet as James. He was so nice. And such a gentleman. At least when he wasn't trying to finger me under the table. "I dyed it red so that I could be Poison Ivy for Halloween a few years ago. It was just temporary dye."
James groaned again.
"What, did Penny dress up as Poison Ivy for Halloween one year?" Rob asked. "She'd kill that outfit too."
James looked down at his hands. "Yeah. Not for me, though. I mean, I think she bought the outfit for me. But we had broken up. She wore it for Tyler. She looked so beautiful."
I almost wanted to cry at the expression of agony on his face. I hadn't meant to upset him. Every part of me wanted to reach out and hug him. But he was a stranger to me. I couldn't just do that. Really, I should be getting him a glass of water from the bar to get out whatever was in his system. It was making him a mess. He was happy and loud one second and then depressed and quiet the next. What the hell was he on?
"Her friend Tyler?" Mason asked. "Tyler Stevens? The one Bee and her hang out with all the time?"
"Yeah, that one."
"Wait, have they ever been together?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"James, have they slept together?"
"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?"