"About getting high at one of his best friend's wedding?"
"Oh yeah. I think that sounds amazing. I get depressed at weddings."
"What do you mean?" I asked as we walked back toward our table.
He frowned. "It reminds me that I'm alone, you know? Especially with Mason and James both tying the knot soon."
Matt and I rarely talked about stuff like this. We hung out all the time and I had no idea he felt that way. And he didn't know that I felt the same. We were always too busy being each other's wingmen. I watched Daphne push the glass of water closer to James. "I know exactly what you mean."
"Maybe we can finish off the acid together during the wedding then," Matt said with a laugh.
No, I'm not going to be alone at this wedding. James said I should invite Daphne. Maybe I would. Maybe I didn't need to be envious of his relationship with Penny. I could have something real too. "I'm planning on being sober at my brother's wedding," I said and clapped him on the back. "I don't want to let him down. I'm the best man."
"You really like to throw that in everyone's face."
"Maybe if you didn't slip things in his drink, it would have been you."
Matt laughed. "Nah. I promise I won't do anything inappropriate on his big day, though."
"You better not."
"Good luck getting Daphne into bed tonight," he said with a wink and walked back to his chair.
I didn't want Daphne in my bed. I just wanted her in my arms. I put my hand on the back of her chair and crouched down beside her. "Do you mind switching seats with me? I need to talk to James."
"Yeah. Rob," she said and touched my forearm. "He's upset. He's worried Penny is getting cold feet. Don't you think you should let him talk to her?"
"Maybe in the morning. Letting him talk to her right now isn't going to help anything. It'll just get Penny upset for no reason."
Daphne smiled. "You're probably right." She slid into the seat that I had been in before and watched me sit down next to James.
"How are you feeling?" I asked him.
James rubbed his forehead. "Hungry."
I laughed. "Drink this, okay?" I placed the glass of water down in front of him.
"I already drank all of Daphne's water. I'm not really thirsty. Just hot." He had unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt.
"I know you haven't done any drugs since you left the shrew."
James laughed. He loved when I called his ex wife that.
God, what was Matt thinking? What if he gets addicted to this? I looked at James' face. He looked a mess. He didn't look like he was enjoying himself. "It's possible that you've taken a small amount of acid." Or a large amount. Matt was rather vague.
He laughed. "No. I didn't. I haven't touched anything like that since I started teaching. I miss that sometimes. Not the drugs." He laughed again. "Teaching. I felt like I was actually making a difference, you know? It's stupid."
"Yeah, I know. And it's not stupid." But I hadn't known. James never opened up to me about his problems. He always held everything in. He was never vulnerable like this. Or at least, he hadn't been in a long time.
"It is stupid. I'd give up anything to be with Penny. I don't need to teach, but I do need her."
"You can have both, you know."
He shook his head. "And who would hire me? I'm just the guy who seduced one of his students."
"No. You're the guy who's made billions with technological innovations, James. You're a marketing genius. Everyone loves you. Why are you beating yourself up about this?"
"I just don't feel good tonight." He ran the back of his hand across his forehead.
I hadn't realized how sweaty he was.
"I need to talk to her. I just want to make sure she's okay."
"Penny's okay. Mason talked to her a few hours ago. She's fine."
He nodded. "But why won't you let me talk to her?"
"You just can't tonight, okay? You can talk to her in the morning."
He wiped the sweat off his forehead again. "Please?" His hands shook slightly as he lifted up the glass of water.
Jesus Christ. I looked over at Matt. How much shit did he give him? "Not tonight, James. You can't talk to her when you're high."
"I told you I didn't take anything. I wouldn't take anything. I have something to lose now."
"I know. Someone slipped you something." I didn't want to throw Matt under the bus.
"I knew it." James suddenly seemed full of energy. "She drugged me." He pointed to Kristen.
Kristen laughed awkwardly and looked around the table. "No?"
James laughed. "Oh my God, she drugged me."
"I really didn't."
"I'm not going to sleep with you, Kristen Dwyer. You can give me all the drugs in the world. I will. Never. Cheat. On. Penny."
"I didn't drug you," Kristen said defensively.
"Liar!" he shouted and stood up.
"Whoa, buddy, okay," I said as I grabbed his shoulder. "Um..." I looked over at Daphne and silently cursed. There goes my night. "How about you and I go back to the room?"
James frowned. "I'm really hungry."
"Yeah, I know, me too. Mason, can you tell them to send our food up to our room?"
"Of course. Is he okay?" He glanced at James and then at Kristen.
"He'll be fine. You can talk to your brother about that one."
"What the fuck did you do, Matt?" Mason said.
"I didn't think..."
"She drugged me, right?" James asked, cutting Matt off.
"No, she didn't." I put my arm on his back. "Let's head up, okay?"
"Who drugged me?" He put his arm around my shoulders. He was bigger than me, but I could easily support his weight.
"Don't worry about it." I looked down at Daphne. Concerned was etched across her face. She didn't know James. But she seemed to care so deeply. Who was this girl? "I'm so sorry, Daphne."
"Do you want my help? I can come with you."
God, this girl. No one should be this nice around someone who was stoned. "No, enjoy the rest of your night. I'll see you tomorrow." I pulled James away from the table.
I didn't look back at her, because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make myself leave. I couldn't even be mad at Matt for cock blocking me, though. I wasn't going to get lucky tonight. But I just wanted to spend more time with her.
"I ruined your night," James mumbled as we made our way to the elevator.
"No. You're fine, man." Matt ruined my night.
"I'm sorry."
"Please don't apologize."
"I didn't mean to take anything. Penny's going to kill me."
"I know. And don't worry. Penny's not going to know about this." You're not even going to remember this in the morning. I pressed the button and the doors opened. We stepped on and I pressed the button for the top floor. The doors closed. I looked up at my big brother. I didn't want to take advantage of his state, but I was curious. "You really wish you were still teaching?"