I had only known him for one day. Why did I feel guilty walking away from him? But I refused to let myself lose anyone else. That was fair. There was no reason to put myself through this. "Yeah," I lied. "Get some rest, okay?"
He nodded. "Do you mind if I finish that?" He pointed to my sandwich.
"It's all yours." I had lost my appetite. I pushed it toward him. "Goodnight, James."
"Goodnight, Daphne."
I stood up and walked toward Rob. "I'm going to get going, okay," I whispered.
"What, why? I haven't even taken my shirt off yet."
I laughed. "It's getting late. I'm going to go get some rest."
"Did he say something else entirely inappropriate?" He gave me a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry if he was out of line, I..."
"No. No, your brother is great."
"It's something I did then?"
"No. Your brother is right. You're a great guy, Rob. I just...I can't do this."
"Can't do what? We only just met."
"I know. I'm really sorry. I hope that your brother gets some help. And I wish you the best of luck with all that. But I can't do this again."
"Wait, what?"
I quickly walked toward the door and left before I could change my mind. I immediately felt guilty. I knew the places where James could get help. It was irresponsible for me to walk away without telling Rob about them. But they hadn't helped my brother. So why would they help James?
I pressed the button for the elevator.
"Daphne."
I grimaced. I should have known it would be harder to shake Rob after he had been so persistent all day.
He stopped in front of the elevator, blocking my path when the doors dinged open. "What's going on? I thought we were going to see where this weekend went? I don't understand what happened."
"I'm sorry if I led you on. I'm just going to go back to my friends."
"Sorry if you led me on? I thought we were on the same page here. What the fuck happened?"
I folded my arms in front of my chest. I silently cursed myself after I realized it just pushed my breasts up. "Don't raise your voice at me."
He shook his head. "Then don't treat me like one of your students."
"I'm not..."
"You're talking all sternly like I've done something wrong. Trust me, teachers were always mad at me. What, are you going to give me detention?" He raised his left eyebrow. "Tell me why you're leaving." He looked so sexy when he stared at me so quizzically.
"I'm just tired."
"If it's something I did, then I want to know. I'm sorry about tonight. I'm sorry if James made you uncomfortable."
Uncomfortable? That's what he thought I was upset about? "Your brother needs help, Rob."
"Help with what?"
"His problem."
"What problem?"
"I know it's easy to be in denial about this. But...James is clearly an addict."
"Clearly? Seriously? You don't know him."
"He's using..."
"He's not using. It was Matt. Just like you said."
"Whatever you want to believe. But he..."
"Don't you dare judge him."
I almost jumped at the harshness of his tone. I took a step back from him.
"You don't know anything about him. Where do you get off?"
"I'm just trying to help."
"Great. But you're wrong."
"Look, I know what I'm talking about."
"And I know my brother."
"You wouldn't see it even if it was staring you in the face. He needs help. Ignoring the problem isn't going to make it go away. I'm just trying to help," I said again. I felt horrible about the expression on Rob's face. His handsome features seemed twisted. He was clearly seething and I didn't know why. I really was just trying to give him advice, advice that he should take if he wasn't so stubborn.
"Well, great. How about you help us by leaving us the fuck alone?" He stepped away from the elevator and walked back toward his room. Before he got there, he turned around. "And you know what, you did lead me on." He laughed and shook his head. "What the hell did you come up here tonight for anyway?" He walked back into the room and closed the door before I had a chance to respond.
"Because I care," I said to the empty hallway. I wasn't trying to hurt him. I wiped away the tears that had started to fall from my eyes and stepped onto the elevator. It wasn't just because I cared. I also wanted to experience something outside my comfort zone. I wanted to experience him. I was such an idiot. There wasn't a world that existed where I could be reckless. What had I been thinking?
Chapter 24
Rob
Fucking bitch. I tried to calm myself as I walked back into the room.
"Everything okay?" James asked.
"Everything's great." Thank God I didn't waste any more time on her. I had never met someone so judgmental in my life. It was one thing to judge me. It was an entirely different thing to judge my family. Fuck her.
"Movie time?"
"Yeah. How about I go grab us some dessert to eat while we watch?"
"That sounds great. I'll come too."
"No, I got it. Just finish your dinner and pick a movie. I'll be right back." I needed to be alone for a second to cool off. I walked back out of the room, happy to see that Daphne wasn't still standing there acting like she knew everything about everyone. I had been so wrong about her. I was usually a good judge of character, but that girl was all over the map.
I hit the elevator button with my fist. Hopefully I wouldn't run into her tomorrow before we left, because I had thought of a whole list of new adjectives to describe her. Arrogant and bitch were definitely the biggest contenders. I stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for the first floor. I couldn't believe I had thought she was sweet. She was anything but sweet.
I leaned against the elevator wall and pulled the card out of my pocket. It read, "talk until the sun rises." I threw it on the ground. I felt like such a chump. I wasn't a nice guy. Why the fuck was I pretending to be? I didn't need a serious relationship to be happy. I was happy exactly where I was. I loved my life.
I stepped off the elevator. There was nothing better than the freedom to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. And whoever I wanted. I smiled at the girl at the counter of the small store I just walked into. For all I knew, she was a complete psychopath too. And sure, I could flirt with her. I could probably get her into my bed when she was done with her shift. But I wasn't feeling it tonight. Tonight, I would hang out with my brother, who didn't have any problem, unlike the judgmental bitch thought.
Geez, she didn't even give me a chance to defend him. Yes, James had problems in the past. But he was good now. I wasn't in denial. It was just a fact. The girl that he was marrying saved him. I had never seen him as happy as he was with Penny. I was glad I was no longer pursuing Daphne. She didn't deserve to hang out with James. And she certainly didn't deserve to meet Penny.
I smiled when I saw the row of dirty magazines. That was just what James needed so he'd stop groaning about being horny. I grabbed one of the magazines and a bottle of lotion. Tomorrow would be better. There was still time to salvage this bachelor party. I wasn't sure why my focus had been on Daphne anyway. It should have been on my brother. I wanted to give him the best fucking bachelor party ever. He deserved it.