Alina squeezed my arm. "Rob reminds me of him. A little. Not like in a creepy you're dating your brother kind of way, though. Just in...I don't know...his attitude."
"I think that was part of the problem. And his brother."
"Don't tell me you're in love with James too? I don't need two of you running around being inappropriate."
I laughed. "No. I'm not in love with James." I shifted on the couch and lay down so that my head was on Alina's lap. Am I in love with Rob, though? It was too soon to know that, right? I barely knew him. I did love the way he made me feel though. That much was definitely true.
"So, what does this have to do with James?" Alina asked.
"He's an addict."
Alina laughed. "His friend drugged him. He's not an addict. That's quite a leap."
"No. He told me. And I freaked out. I just thought that if I let myself get close to Rob, that would mean I'd be close to James and I can't go through that again. I can't do that."
"But, Daphne, you don't know his situation."
"I know that. And I told myself that I wouldn't let it bother me. I was just projecting all my problems onto them. But it's not just that. Rob is so different from me. I just got so overwhelmed with everything. I told Rob that I didn't need him. I told him I needed to figure out what I wanted on my own. I was wrong though. I want him. What if I missed out on my chance of starting over?"
"Do you know how I knew I loved Bryce?"
I shook my head.
"He made me laugh when I was sad. And he was there for me when I needed him."
I bit my lip. "Rob makes me laugh. And he tried to be there for me, but I pushed him away."
Alina grabbed my phone off the couch. "So call him and tell him that you need him."
I took my cell from Alina. "But if I need him, what happens when he leaves me?"
"Daphne, not everyone leaves. Sometimes you just need to take that leap of faith."
"He would have already called me back if he wanted to talk to me."
"Texts are emotionless. He needs to hear your voice."
"I don't know."
Alina sighed. "Do you like the way he makes you feel?"
I nodded. "I'm so out of my comfort zone with him. But I like that. I think he's good for me. He makes me feel like I'm fun." I laughed.
"You know, you've smiled more this weekend than you have in the last month. Are you really ready to let go of that feeling?"
"No." I didn't want to let go.
"Then stop being a wuss and call him."
I frowned.
"Tough love, Momma Bear."
"Are you guys seriously going to keep calling me that?"
"What would you prefer that we called you? Girl who's scared to call the man she loves?"
"I don't love Rob."
"Don't you? You should really stop fighting things so much. It's kind of exhausting, isn't it?"
"It's too soon to love him."
"There aren't rules and timelines for these things. Love is love. And the way he makes you feel...I don't know another way to describe that feeling. Now call him before I do."
I knew Alina wasn't joking. Sometimes her and Kristen would prank call the boys I liked in high school just to torment me. "I'll call him, geesh."
Alina laughed.
"Maybe after I take a nap, though?"
"Now, Girl who's scared to call the man she loves."
"Please just keep calling me Momma Bear." I sighed and sat up. "I'll go call him then." I walked out into the hallway as quietly as possible, trying not to disturb Kristen and Layla sleeping. Before I could chicken out, I pressed on Rob's number in my phone.
It rang several times and went to voicemail. It was one of those generic voicemail messages with some lady talking. Maybe it's not his phone. Maybe Mason gave Layla the wrong number. I shook my head. There was no reason for him to do that. Unless Rob really, really didn't want to talk to me.
It took me a second to realize that the voicemail had beeped awhile ago. Shit.
"Hey, Rob. It's me, Daphne Hughes from the Blue Parrot Resort. Sorry, that was a weird way to describe myself. I don't work there, we met there." I laughed awkwardly. "Wow, I wish I could somehow hack onto your phone and erase this and start over." I laughed again at my own joke. What the hell am I doing? "I'm sorry, I should probably tell you how I got your number. I'm not Kristen. I promise I'm not stalking you. Layla asked Mason for your number. That's how I got it. I don't know if Mason told you that, though, so I just wanted to make sure you knew."
Beep.
What the heck? The voicemail had cut me off. Shit! I had more to say. Was it weird for me to call back right away? Screw it. I pressed on his name again and waited for the voicemail to kick in.
"It's Daphne Hughes again. Your voicemail cut me off before I got to say why I was calling." Why am I calling? He's going to think I'm crazy. "I was wrong, Rob. I don't want to be alone while I figure out how to deal with...everything. I want to be with you. I mean, we can see how it goes, I guess. I'm not asking for you to commit to me. We barely know each other. That would be crazy. Right?" Don't ask him to validate your craziness! "Sorry, that was weird. I just meant, I love you. Fuck." I covered my mouth with hand. Did I just say that I loved him? Did I just curse at him? "That's not what I meant. I meant that I love the way you make me feel. You have a really good...energy."
Beep.
God. No! I quickly hit his name again. It eventually went to voicemail.
"I'm not a hippy. I don't like vibe people's energies. This is Daphne Hughes again, by the way. Wow, once you start leaving messages it's really hard to stop, you know what I mean? But I'm stopping now. I just needed you to know that I'm sorry for assuming the worst about James. I'm sorry for freaking out about your sexual history. I don't know if it counts as history if it was just a few days ago, but that's beside the point. And I'm really sorry for pushing you away. I'm just sorry for everything. I've been having a hard time, which you could probably tell. I'm a mess, honestly. But you made me feel better. You made me smile and laugh and I really, really like you. I'm just asking for another chance. I'll be back in New York on Friday. I know your brother's wedding is this weekend so you're super busy. But if you could call me, I'd really like to hear your voice. I want to give us a shot. If you're willing..."
Beep.
I sighed. There was nothing else I really needed to say. I just had to wait. I walked back into the room. Alina had fallen asleep on the couch. I went over and sat down beside her.
"Did he pick up?" she asked groggily.
"No, he didn't answer."
"Give him some time."
Time was one thing I had a lot of. I had no plans for the rest of the summer. I could wait. Maybe I really would turn into a stalker like Kristen. Because no one in their right mind would call me back after hearing those messages.
Chapter 37
Daphne
My phone ringing made me jump. Oh my God, it's him! I slid my finger across the screen without looking at the caller ID. "Hey!"