by Smoak, Ivy
"Shit," Rob said under his breath.
"I'm sorry, I'm probably overstepping..."
"No. I'm not mad at you. I should have seen it earlier." He cleared his throat. "Matt, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure, man." Matt smiled and got up, following Rob to the bar.
Chapter 22
Rob
God damn it. I walked to the bar, waiting for Matt to catch up. I leaned against the counter. The bartender, a woman with a low cut blouse and a skirt that was too short, came over. She was the type of woman that I would normally flirt with. But not tonight. Not when I was trying to win over the most beautiful girl here. Probably the most beautiful girl in any room.
"What can I get for you?" she asked with a seductive smile.
"Water, please. No ice."
She tapped the counter. "That's it?"
"That's it." I turned around just as Matt reached me. I had to take a deep breath so I wouldn't try to kill him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You drugged James, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I did. He was being such a downer all day. We all get it, he misses his fiancée. Whatever. It's his bachelor party, he's supposed to be having fun."
"That doesn't mean you should slip something in his drink."
"He's having so much more fun now, though. Hell, maybe he'll even get lucky with that Kristen girl. She's been throwing herself at him all night."
"Is that really what you want to happen tonight? You want him to ruin his whole life?"
Matt frowned. "No, of course not. But he's allowed to have fun. It's his..."
"I get it. It's his bachelor party. That doesn't give him a free pass to fuck whoever he wants."
"Actually, it kind of does."
"No, it doesn't. He made a commitment to Penny. And if he ever did cheat on her, I'd kill him myself."
"God, you have such a hard-on for her. I bet you're hoping he does screw it up." He waved down the bartender. "Can we have another round of drinks for our table?"
"Sure thing," she said with a wink as she set down the water in front of me.
"I would never want that," I said as soon as she was out of earshot. "I want him to be happy. You know what he's been through. Penny is the one good thing he's been given. I don't want him to lose that. She's his fresh start. He has a second chance."
"You're being dramatic. He's not going to cheat on her. All he's done all night is ignore Kristen and talk about Penny. I just wanted him to have a little fun. And he is. You're welcome."
"This isn't fun, Matt. We're not kids anymore. You just gave an addict drugs. You're a fucking idiot."
"Really? You're saying that I'm immature? You just met that girl and you're telling her you don't want one night stands and pretending that you want something serious? If I'm immature, then so are you. Stop lying to yourself."
"I'm not lying. I'm so sick of this."
"If you're not happy, don't fucking take it out on me."
Fuck. I sighed and sat down at one of the stools. "I'm sorry, I just...you didn't see James at his worst."
"I know. Look, it'll wear off by tomorrow. And until then, we get the fun James. What are you so worried about?"
Losing him. "Nothing. You're right. What did you slip in his drink?"
Matt smiled. "Do you really want to know?"
No, but I need to know. "What, did you roofie him?"
"No, I'm not a weirdo. I'm not trying to rape your brother."
The bartender gave us a strange look.
Matt laughed and lowered his voice. "Remember that party a few years ago when we had that really bad trip and we said we'd never do acid again?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, I had a ton of acid left. And since we took a private jet, there wasn't any security. So, bam. Tons of acid."
I shook my head.
"You want some?"
"No I don't want any. I'm trying to win over Daphne, not end up face first in a toilet bowl."
Matt laughed. "Fair enough. What is it with that girl, anyway? You seem totally off your game. I thought you would have taken her to our room ages ago."
I looked over my shoulder at Daphne. She was even more beautiful than I remembered her being on campus. Her hand was on James' arm, but I could tell it wasn't in a flirtatious way. Daphne didn't even know my brother, but she was worried about him. She was trying to take care of him. She had pushed her glass of water in front of him and she was holding the tie that he had been wearing before we left the table. I had never met anyone like her. "She's different."
"Well, she's definitely hot."
Don't talk about her like that. My own thoughts made me frown. Daphne wasn't my girl. Sure, I wanted her to be, but I had only just met her. Matt and I always talked about women like that. But for some reason it irked me. I didn't want him to be checking her out. I didn't want anyone else looking at her. She wasn't mine yet, but she was going to be. "She's not just hot, she's gorgeous."
He laughed. "What's the difference?"
I shrugged. Was there one? I wasn't sure. But Daphne wasn't just hot. That wasn't substantial enough. Beautiful, gorgeous, sweet, caring. I wasn't sure how I'd describe her. She had called me amazing. Maybe that was the best way to describe her too. "It's just different." I picked up the glass of water. "You're taking care of James if he gets sick."
"Fair enough. We all know how well he handles stuff like this though. He'll be fine."
I nodded. He was right. But I'm not sure James had ever had a ton of acid slipped into his drink before. I guess there was a first time for everything. "And dude, stop flirting with Alina. You're being super inappropriate."
Matt laughed. "You can't blame me for trying. I mean, you watched that footage almost as much as I did. She's skilled."
I laughed. "Just for the record, I'm going to slip something in your drink when you least expect it." I stood up.
"Can you do it at the wedding? That would be so much fun."
"That wouldn't be when you least expect it, then."
He laughed. "A guy can dream."
"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."
Dap
hne 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?"
"I loved it."
"You can still teach. Even if it's not at a university. You could give speeches and guest lectures. If that's what you want, you can still do that."
"I don't want Penny to think I regret anything."
"So your solution is to pretend you don't want to be a professor anymore? You're lying to her."
James pulled away from me. "Is it true?"
"Yes. Not telling her that you still..."
"No. Is it true that you're in love with her?"
"It's not true." I laughed. "Honestly, I thought I was for awhile."
Something flashed across his face. It looked like he wanted to kill me.
I held my hands up. "But I'm not. I just like the idea of her. You know, like the way Mason feels about Justin Bieber."
James laughed. "I think I get that."
The elevator stopped and the doors opened.
He kept his hand against the wall as we walked toward our room. "You'll find your own Penny." He leaned against the wall outside our door. "I like Daphne. She's really nice." He smiled. His grin was a little goofy looking because of the drugs.
"She is really nice." And beautiful, smart, funny...I could think of endless ways to describe her.
"I think she's your person."
I laughed. "What does that mean?" I held the door open for him.
He slowly walked inside and flopped down on the bed. "You're going to end up with her, I can just tell."
"I didn't think you believed in fate."
"I didn't. But then I met Penny." He yawned. "Thanks for letting me come back to the room. I didn't feel good."
I tried not to laugh. "Yeah, I know."
"Do you want to know why I think she's your person?"
I sat down on the edge of his bed. I wasn't sure how logical high James was, but I'd play along. "Sure."
"She called you infuriating."
"And that's a good thing?"
He laughed. "It's the best thing."
"I'm not sure infuriating is the best way for someone to describe someone you like."
"No, it is. Trust me. Penny infuriated me. I told her so. And then we fucked for the first time. Right on the desk in my office. God she's so sexy."
I knew they had sex in his office. "I don't see what that has to do with me?"
"I called her infuriating. Daphne called you infuriating. She's going to fall in love with you. Just like I fell in love with Penny."
Something in my chest seemed to tighten.
"Maybe she already is in love with you. When you know, you know. You know?"
I laughed. "Yeah, I know." But I didn't. I had never been in love before. Hell, I had never even made love before. I was good at fucking. That was it. Emotion wasn't part of that for me.
"She's a keeper," James said to the ceiling.
It was possible that he was talking about Penny, but it seemed like he was st
ill referring to Daphne.
A knock on the door made me jump.
James immediately sat up. "Food!" He laughed. "The way she ordered dinner was kind of weird though. That'll take some getting used to."
I laughed. "Yeah, that was kind of strange." But I secretly liked that she knew what she wanted. Especially if she wanted me. I opened up the door and smiled. Daphne was standing there with three takeout containers. She also had James' suit jacket draped over her arm and his tie in her hand.
I couldn't help myself. If I let her in this room, God help me, I wasn't going to be able to resist tying her up with that tie. I had already warned her what I liked to do with ties. If she walked in, she was basically giving me consent.
"I don't mean to intrude, I just thought you might need some help," she said. "Or want some company. Can I come in?"
I stepped to the side. I wasn't going to try to talk her out of it.
Chapter 23
Daphne
I never did stuff like this. I didn't know either one of these men. For all I knew they were both terrible people and I shouldn't be alone with them. But one look at Rob made me happy I had come. I was feeling reckless. I wanted to throw all caution to the wind. I wanted to experience him. He was staring at the tie in my hand. I smiled and placed it into his hand. "I believe this is your brothers. And this." I gave him the suit jacket too and put the takeout containers on the table.
My eyes landed on James on the bed. He was smiling. At least Rob had cheered him up. But he needed to drink more water to flush out his system. It was a good thing I had come.
"I'm going to go grab some waters from the store downstairs."
"We can just use the ones out of the mini bar."
"No, they jack those prices up. It's half the price if I go pick some up."
