Third Chances

by Smoak, Ivy

  Rob smiled. "It's fine. Really." He grabbed three bottles out of the fridge.

  I felt my cheeks flush. Of course it was fine. He was rich. I turned away, hoping to hide my embarrassment, and opened up the containers of food. The waiter had been nice enough to give us plastic forks and knives. I pulled them out of their plastic wrapping and set them down on top of the napkins.

  "Thanks for this, Daphne," Rob said as he tossed me a water.

  "Of course." I looked up at him. My eyes wandered to his mouth again. I knew what it suggested that I had come to his room. His friend Mason had joked around with me when I asked for their room number. Surely Rob was thinking the same thing. But I wanted to spend more time with him. We were adults. We could control ourselves, couldn't we?

  "This looks fantastic," James said and sat down at the table.

  I looked away from Rob. Of course we could control ourselves. And we kind of had to. Right now his brother needed us. I opened up one of the water bottles and handed it to James.

  "Your friend drugged me."

  I laughed. "Kirsten does have a crush on you, but she doesn't do drugs. At least not hard drugs. She's a competitive athlete. She'd get kicked off the team."

  He looked at the bottle. "You were sitting next to me." He lowered his eyebrows slightly as he looked at me.

  I wanted to laugh, but he looked so serious. I turned to Rob for help.

  "It wasn't Daphne," Rob said.

  "If you say so." He took a sip from his water bottle. "So, you guys like each other?"

  "Dude." Rob put his face in his hand, clearly embarrassed.

  I laughed. "How about you eat your food?" That would help too. Whatever he had taken, it was on an empty stomach. Eating would help with the symptoms.

  "There's another room in the suite. I can eat alone if you want." He poked at his food.

  "Don't be silly."

  "Okay, I'll stay." He took a huge bite of his steak. "Fuck, this is really good. Tell us about yourself, Daphne," he said with a mouthful of food.

  I looked over at Rob. He shook his head and took a bite of the steak he ordered.

  "What would you like to know?"

  "Where did you grow up?" James asked.

  "Newark. I live in New York now, though."

  "We grew up in New York." James hit Rob's arm across the table.

  I laughed. "Yeah, Rob told me. And you lived together in Newark for a little while too?"

  "Yeah. Not for very long though. I had to leave because of everything that happened with Penny. But Rob stayed. He likes the college life. Right, Rob?"

  Rob cleared his throat. "It's okay."

  "No, come on, you love it there. I personally think he should settle down though."

  Rob laughed. I was glad he was finding this humorous instead of mortifying. He did look a little flustered, but in a cute way.

  "How old are you, Daphne?" James asked.

  "I'm 23."

  "Oh, that's a good age. Rob is 27. I was 27 when I met Penny. But she was only 19." He cleared his throat. "But she was almost 20. I thought she was a senior. She made me think she was. Not that I wouldn't have pursued her anyway. It just would have been nice to know. I've had to wait so long to marry her. You two are closer in age, though. That's easier. And he's not your professor. What do you do?"

  "I'm a high school math teacher."

  "Really? Well, I guess I should say at least you're not his professor." He giggled at his own joke. "Can I try that?" He pointed to my crab cake with his fork.

  "Um...yeah, sure."

  "Don't touch her food, James," Rob said.

  "No, it's fine." I pushed my takeout container toward him.

  He lifted up the crab cake sandwich I had just finished assembling and took a huge bite.

  "I'm so sorry," Rob said.

  "This is really yummy. You order things really weirdly, but it's good," James said.

  I laughed as he took another bite.

  "James, seriously, stop eating her food," Rob said.

  James suddenly looked embarrassed. "Right. Sorry, Daphne. Here." He cut off a piece of his steak and put it on my plate. "You can have some of my meat. I mean, my steak. Not my penis. But maybe you'll have Rob's penis later." He giggled again.

  "Uh, thanks." I usually didn't eat red meat, but he was looking at me so eagerly. He wasn't acting like he was on cocaine. I had no idea what Matt had slipped him, but it must have been a lot of whatever it was. James was a tall, strong guy. It was really endearing to see him acting like this. I took a bite of the steak he had put on my plate.

  "Good, right?"

  "Mhm." I nodded my head.

  I looked up and saw him wink at Rob. I didn't doubt at all that it was a, "she'll like your meat too" kind of wink. Especially when James said, "ow, don't kick me!"

  Rob cleared his throat.

  "Do you have any siblings?" James asked.

  I took a bite of my sandwich so I'd have a second to answer. It was such a simple question. But my answer was too complicated. I didn't want to talk about it. Not with James. He reminded me so much of my brother, Derek. I had been spending my time in Costa Rica half trying to forget about missing Derek and half trying to figure out my feelings for Rob. I preferred thinking about Rob. Thinking about my brother was too painful. "Um, no. It's just me." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either.

  "That's a shame. Penny doesn't have any siblings either. I have Rob, but I also have my sister Jen. I think it's good for Penny. She thinks of them as her family now."

  "That's really nice." I looked over at Rob. He was staring at me closely. He had barely touched his food.

  "It's different growing up with siblings, though," James continued. "Sometimes I feel like she missed out. You probably did too. I mean, we have a pretty strong bond, right, Rob?"

  I bit the inside of my cheek.

  "Yeah," Rob said. "Daphne, are you okay?"

  "I'm fine." I took a big bite of my sandwich. It was good. But I knew better than anyone that food didn't fill the void.

  "It's hard to find such a close relationship outside of family. And I haven't been the best brother," James said.

  "That's not true," Rob said. "He's an amazing brother."

  "Not really. I think Rob still loves me though. He's a good guy. You'd be lucky to have him."

  Rob opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then he pressed his lips together. He lowered his eyebrows, like it pained him to hear James say what he had. Or maybe he was just pissed that James was pushing us together so hard.

  "Well, you guys are lucky to have each other," I said.

  "Mhm. Do you mind if I take my shirt off? It's so fucking hot in here."

  I laughed. "No, that's fine." I tried not to look at his perfect six-pack abs as he unbuttoned his dress shirt. He wasn't the brother I was interested in, but it was kind of hard not to stare. I knew why Kristen liked him. She'd be drooling right now if she was sitting in this chair.

  Rob cleared his throat. "Don't make me take my shirt off too."

  I smiled. "You can do whatever you want. It's your room." For some reason I felt perfectly comfortable flirting with him right in front of his brother. And I liked the distraction from our earlier conversation. I was so tired of thinking about the past. All I wanted to do was jump into Rob's arms and have him show me how exciting the future could be.

  "All in good time, beautiful," Rob said with a wink.

  I could wait. I had already seen him with his shirt off down by the pool. But it would be different being in his room. It was more sexual here. I wondered if all in good time meant later tonight. Maybe James would fall asleep soon. I almost laughed at the thought. We'd be like two kids sneaking around.

  "You'd like Penny," James said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I think you two will get along really well. I can't wait for you to meet her."

  "You're making Daphne uncomfortable," Rob said.

  I laughed. "He's not. I'm sure I would like her."
>
  "You should come to our wedding next weekend."

  Okay," Rob said and stood up. "Let me get you some more water. Hopefully it'll make you stop saying inappropriate stuff."

  "See, he's a really good brother," James said as Rob walked back toward the fridge. "Someone put acid in my drink tonight and he's taking care of me. Who does that? He's such a good guy. I'm clean, you know. I've been clean for years. I'm not usually like this."

  I swallowed hard. Was he an addict? Did his friend seriously slip something in his drink knowing that? I touched the bracelet on my wrist. It suddenly all made sense. That was why Rob was so good at taking care of him. This happened all the time. It felt like it was hard to get air into my lungs. The whole room felt stifling.

  James frowned. "Don't you believe me?"

  I nodded. "I believe you." And that was my problem. I did believe that he was clean. I believed my brother too. I couldn't do this again. This was one red flag I couldn't ignore. Suddenly my heart started racing. I needed air. "Drink the rest of your water, okay? I have to get going."

  "You should stay for a movie. That's all I wanted to do tonight."

  Me too. I should have just trusted my gut and stayed in my room. "Not tonight."

  "Will I see you tomorrow? It certainly seems like Rob can't get enough of you."

  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 pas
t. 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.

  I grabbed a few Tasty Cakes for dessert and stopped at the wall of freezers. My eyes landed on the pint of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream. It was Penny's favorite. That would make James happy. Besides, I liked it too. I grabbed a pint of it and went to the checkout counter.

  The girl at the counter blushed when she saw the magazine. It didn't affect me at all. I was off my game. I needed time to recover from the Daphne fiasco. I had never jumped into something so quickly before. Matt was right. I was lying to myself. I didn't even make eye contact with the girl when she gave me the total.

  "Can I have a spoon for the ice cream?" I asked and slid her my card.

  "Sure. One or two?"

  "Two."

  She looked slightly disappointed. Good. She didn't need to know the truth. Not that I was embarrassed. I'm sharing a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream with my brother. Leave me the fuck alone.

  She slowly put the magazine into the bag. "Your girlfriend must be fun."

  Was this chick seriously still going to hit on me after my weird purchases? "Nope. My brother and I just like to jerk off together and eat ice cream. Thanks." I grabbed my card and the bag she handed me.

  "Oh," she said and laughed awkwardly.

  "Have a good evening." I walked out of the store a little more cheerily and made my way back to my room. When I opened the door, James was laughing. I glanced at the T.V. He had found Wedding Crashers. We had watched the movie a million times together. I laughed and sat down next to him on the bed. "I love this movie."

  "Me too. Do you think someone will try to crash my wedding?"