Third Chances

by Smoak, Ivy

  "I don't do one night stands."

  "Who says it only has to be one night?"

  "He's leaving tomorrow. He's literally here for only one night. Thus, it's a one night stand."

  "Then get his phone number."

  "What, so I can text him and he can wait at least two days and then text back some generic message that just leads me on? No thank you."

  "You don't know that."

  "Yes I do. He's a player. I don't want to date a guy like that. I want something real. Like what you guys have."

  "I'm just saying...if you date Rob Hunter, we'll all be the ones that are jealous of you. Do you know how hard it was for us to get into this resort? And Layla and Alina are famous. It should have been easy, but it wasn't. And Rob probably got in just like that." Kristen snapped her fingers. "He's got connections. And he's hot. Like almost as hot at James. Which means he's above a ten."

  "I don't care about those things. Looks are fleeting. Money doesn't make you happy. I'm not looking for any of that."

  "Mhm. Then why can't you keep your hands off each other?"

  I sighed in exasperation. "I can keep my hands off him."

  "Mhm. The hickey on your neck says otherwise."

  "What?"

  Layla laughed as I ran back into the bathroom. Sure enough, there was a hickey on the left side of my neck. And not just a little one, but one that was prominent enough to be almost impossible to cover with everything I was trying to put on it. Was I so turned on that I hadn't noticed him do that to my neck? Just picturing him kissing me behind that waterfall made me start to get wet. He could have done whatever he wanted to me. But he chose to brand me like some...hooker. That bastard.

  I walked back out of the bathroom, trying to keep my head held high.

  "Layla's right you know," Alina said. "You look happy when you're with him. And it was pretty clear that you couldn't keep your eyes off him."

  I was trying to be discrete about that. Was I really that open of a book?

  "What Kristen is trying to say is that you should give him a chance. Because he's been looking at you the same way you've been looking at him. Plus, it was really adorable that he showed up at that waterfall to surprise you. I don't think players put in that much effort."

  I knew she was right. Yes, Rob had the dirty mouth of a sailor. But he was also sweet and thoughtful and protective of me for some reason. He had gotten all the bracelets off of me after all. Not that I'd go so far as to say he was a gentleman.

  "You aren't really going to stand there and deny that you like him are you?" Kristen said.

  I scrunched up my face. They had cornered me. "Of course I like him. I'm just trying to say that it isn't worth pursuing."

  "Momma Bear, happiness is worth pursuing." Her words made me feel cold. I knew that. I loved teaching. I loved living in New York. I was actively pursuing happiness. Wasn't I?

  "Why are you guys pushing this so hard?" I asked.

  "Because we want you to be happy," Alina said.

  "And wearing this dress and flirting with a rich playboy is going to make me happy?"

  "In the case of Rob Hunter, absolutely."

  "I don't know." I sat down on the edge of the bed.

  "Are you going to make me pull out my Bridezilla card, Daphne? Because it is my bachelorette party. And there is nothing I want more than to see you hook up with Rob."

  "Ew. Why do you want to see that?"

  She laughed. "I don't really. But I want to know it's happening somewhere in the hotel."

  "You're all so bossy."

  "That's because we love you," Kristen said. "Now, throw this on. Boys love when girls show some skin."

  "He's already seen me in a bikini all day."

  "Mhm. So don't disappoint him by wearing one of your parka-esque dresses tonight."

  "Sundress. They're sundresses. Normal people wear them."

  "Whatever. Tonight you're not being normal. You're being sexy Daphne. Who loves flirting with handsome bachelors and not fucking it up for her friend that is in love with Professor Hunter."

  "You're not in love with Professor Hunter. You're such a psychopath."

  "Why do I have a feeling that you're all going to embarrass me tonight?" Layla asked. "Fortunately I don't work with Mason anymore or this would be a nightmare."

  Alina laughed. "Welcome to my life."

  I scoffed. "Like what you did in Brazil didn't embarrass us," I said under my breath.

  "I asked you not to talk about that. Ever. Now put on your whore dress and let's go. I warned you," she added when she must have seen my expression. "You've unleashed the Bridezilla within."

  Kill me now.

  Chapter 18

  Rob

  "Is he in the shower yet?" Mason asked as I walked back into the main room.

  "Yup, the water just turned on." I sat down next to him on the couch. "I feel like it was poor planning on the girls' part to leave a crucial part of Penny's bachelorette party surprise to you."

  "At the time, Bee didn't know I'd be in Costa Rica. But it works out well anyway. I'm just going to pretend to be worried I haven't heard from Bee and get Penny to go check on her. Boom. Surprise done."

  "Isn't it kind of a dick move to ask her to check on Bee when you won't let her talk to James?"

  "That we won't let her talk to James you mean? And no, Penny will totally understand. She encouraged him to have a bachelor party after all. Now, be quiet when I call." He clicked on Penny's name in his contact list.

  "Put it on speaker," I whispered. I wanted to hear that Penny was okay too. If James was worried about her, it would calm him down if I told him she sounded fine on the phone.

  Mason pulled his phone away from his ear and hit the speaker button.

  "Mason!" Penny's voice filled the room.

  Mason laughed. "Hey, Penny. Having a good weekend?"

  "Can I talk to him?" She sounded worried. What was she worried about? Just because James and I beat up a professor one time she doesn't trust me to take care of him? When was she going to let that go?

  Mason laughed again. "Jumping right into things, then? So, about that...you need to stop calling. You're distracting him from having fun."

  "I'm sure he's having quite enough fun."

  Rob and I exchanged shrugs. Is that what she was worried about? James having too much fun? He was being a bore if anything. He only had eyes for her.

  "Where are you guys?" Penny asked.

  "Costa Rica."

  "What hotel?"

  "Nice try, Penny. I'm not telling you where we are. You're not allowed to infiltrate his bachelor party."

  "Mason, I really, really need to talk to him."

  "Umm...I would hand the phone over, but he's currently indisposed."

  "Indisposed? What have you been doing?"

  I hit Mason's arm and shook my head. If he couldn't hear the worry in Penny's voice, I could. She didn't need him to joke around right now. She needed him to tell her everything was okay.

  He pushed my arm off him and laughed. "I'm just kidding. He's taking a shower."

  There was a slight pause. "Has he been getting packages? Or any mail there?"

  Mason looked at me and I shook my head. "No?" he said into the phone.

  "Has he been acting weird?"

  Mason laughed. "He's not getting cold feet, if that's what you're worried about."

  "Okay."

  "I promise I'm taking good care of your fiancé. You don't need to worry. I'm not going to let him fuck up the best thing that's ever happened to him."

  I gave Mason a thumbs up. That was exactly what Penny needed to hear.

  "That's not what I'm worried about."

  "Ask her what's bothering her," I mouthed silently at Mason.

  "Are you okay, Penny?" he asked. "You can talk to me you know."

  "I need to talk to him, Mason."

  "I'll give him a message for you."

  Another long pause. "That's okay. I'll just...see him tomorrow
night. Right?"

  "I'll have him back before midnight. I promise."

  "Okay. Bye, Mason."

  "Wait. There was a reason I was calling. I think Bee's phone died. I haven't heard from her all day. Could you go over there and see if she's okay? And tell her to call me?"

  "So you want me to tell Bee to call you, but you won't let me talk to James?"

  "Yeah."

  "You're a terrible person." Penny's laughter filled the room. She was definitely worried about something, but her laughter calmed me down. If she was laughing she was okay.

  "And that's why you love me," Mason said.

  "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."

  "Doing it for me? It's your bachelor party."

  "Yeah, but I've seen the way you look at Daphne. Like you want more than whatever disgusting things you're planning on doing to her tonight."

  "Disgusting things? I'm a very giving lover, James. Unlike you." What look was he talking about? I was looking at Daphne like I wanted to fuck her. That was it. The humidity in Costa Rica was making eve
ryone lose their minds.

  He gripped my shoulder a little tighter. "Trust me, I give Penny everything she wants and needs."

  Fuck, he had definitely overheard me and Mason talking. I shook his hand off of me. I knew James had a terrible jealous streak. I did not want to be caught on the wrong side of that. He seemed to tolerate my flirting with Penny because he knew it was a joke. And it was a joke. She was like a little sister to me.

  "I know. I'm just messing with you," I said. "You're right. I remember her screaming Professor Hunter all night long when I lived with you guys." And jerking off to it, pretending she was my naughty student. Fuck, maybe he should beat me up.

  Chapter 19

  Daphne

  My friends were right. Rob had even said we could just see how the weekend went. He had actually taken sex off the table. I hadn't agreed to his deal. But that wasn't because I didn't think it was a good idea. Having sex this soon in a relationship was disastrous. Relationships weren't built on physical attraction. Not having sex was a prime idea. Just fantastic, really. I certainly wasn't thinking about having sex with him.

  I sighed. Even my mind was rambling. Could we really be more than a weekend fling? I didn't want to think about all the red flags. I just wanted to have fun. I wanted to feel alive. If even a little bit of Rob's energy rubbed off on me, it would be for the better. Now that sex was off the table, I wanted it even more though. Did he do that on purpose?

  We walked into the restaurant and my eyes found his right away, like I could sense his presence. There was just something magnetizing that I was drawn to. I couldn't even control it. I should have been more relaxed entering a restaurant tonight since I didn't have any bracelets on my wrist. But I was more nervous than ever. Having Rob's brown eyes on me was the most nerve wracking thing in the world. I didn't understand him at all. I didn't know what he wanted from me.

  I looked away from his gaze, taking in the ambiance of the restaurant. Unlike the Jaguar's Den, all the waiters and waitresses were dressed in normal clothes. This restaurant also had more of a casual vibe than a sexual one, which I was happy about. The far end of the restaurant was open to a veranda where couples were dancing. I could feel the breeze from the night air from where I was standing. There weren't any crazy decorations or anything, because the view was the only thing anyone was going to look at anyway. When my eyes found Rob's again, he was staring at me even more intently. I awkwardly tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.