Third Chances Page 8

  "Or, I'll tell Javier that you murdered an iguana and you'll be sent to Costa Rican prison."

  He laughed. A low, deep, sexy laugh. "I can handle Costa Rican prison." He started walking again.

  What? I quickly caught up to him. "What do you mean you can handle it? I bet the conditions aren't nearly as nice as American prisons. And I watched a documentary about that. American prisons aren't exactly nice either."

  "Do you watch a lot of documentaries?"

  "I'd say a normal amount, yes."

  "That doesn't surprise me at all. But you're right, I'd rather not go back to Costa Rican prison. James was not happy at all when he had to bail me out last time." He grabbed my wrist, making me stop. "Besides, I am a man of my word." He pulled a card out of his pocket and swiped it across one of my bracelets.

  "You've been to prison here?" I caught the bracelet as it fell off. That was another red flag. I didn't date guys that went to prison. Was that supposed to illicit a different reaction from me? Was I supposed to think it was sexy that he was all tough and rugged and went to Costa Rican prison? Damn it, why is that sexy?

  "That depends on whether or not you're more or less attracted to guys that went to prison?"

  "Definitely less."

  "I'll take that as more. It's not even a good story, though. I'll spare you the details."

  "Well, you have to tell me now."

  "Make me."

  I laughed. "What do you mean by that?"

  "I mean, there are plenty of things you could do to me that would make me tell you whatever you want."

  "Like..."

  "Like," he grabbed a card out of his pocket, "give me your underwear."

  I laughed. "I don't think so. I think I can live without the story."

  "So that's a no for that one too." He shoved the card back in his pocket. "I was lying to Matt when I said I'd give him all the dirty cards, but if you're refusing to do them, it looks like I have no choice."

  "Or you could keep some of them and use them on some other poor girl."

  "That doesn't sound appealing at all. I fully intend to use all my cards on you."

  "Is that supposed to flatter me?"

  "Supposed to? I don't know about that. But based on how rosy your cheeks are, I'm guessing that it did."

  I pressed my lips together. Stupid rosy cheeks. I didn't know how I was going to shake this guy. And I didn't even know if I wanted to. That was such a lie. I knew I didn't want to. I wanted him to push me against the wall again and do more than kiss me.

  "My friends signed up for a bunch of activities. So I'm sure I'll be pretty busy for the rest of the day. You'll probably need to find someone else to hang out with if you want to put a dent in those cards."

  "What a coincidence. My friends signed up for a bunch of activities too. Maybe we'll be at some of the same ones." He opened up the door for me, completely ignoring my comment about finding someone else.

  I walked back into the heat. My friends were all laying in their beach chairs tanning. Mason and James were both still reading, but Matt had disappeared. He was probably off harassing some innocent woman.

  Rob flopped down in the empty chair besides my friends and put his arm out. "Right here, snuggle bunny," he said and tapped the very small empty spot beside him.

  Kristen turned toward him. "It seems like you and Daphne are hitting it off."

  "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that kiss sealed the deal. Right, beautiful?"

  Kristen pulled her sunglasses to the top of her head and stared at me. "You kissed him?" she mouthed silently to me.

  I could feel my face turning red. I had kissed a complete stranger. And not even a peck. Like a full blown make-out session. "He keeps using cards on me."

  Rob feigned shocked innocence. "That kiss was not on my cards." He tapped the seat beside him.

  Kristen gave me a thumbs up.

  Fucking hell. I sat down on the very edge of the chair, trying not to touch Rob. I wasn't at all surprised when he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me down beside him. He quickly adjusted himself so that my head would be on his chest.

  "Are you done?" I asked.

  "Almost." He grabbed my thigh and pulled it across his legs. "There, that's better."

  "How long do I have to do this?"

  "I'd say 20 minutes would suffice."

  "Twenty minutes? That's ridiculous." I lifted up my head to protest and he immediately put his hand on the side of my face. The way his thumb gently traced under my check bone sent chills down my spine. He was staring into my eyes so intently. And I couldn't help but get lost in the deep brown of his. He was so handsome. Why the hell is he hanging out with me?

  "I'm more than happy to do one of the other cards," he whispered so that my friends couldn't hear. "I just thought it might be nice if we got to know each other first." His hand left my face and he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

  My heart was beating so fast, I'm sure he could feel my pulse against his torso. I tried to steady my uneven breaths. I should have slapped him. I should have told him I had no interest in accepting any more of his cards. But the way he was looking at me made it seem like he actually did want to get to know me. That was the most important thing on my list. For someone to be genuinely interested in getting to know me for me.

  "What do you want to know?" The words tumbled out before I even realized I was saying them.

  He smiled. "Everything."

  I laughed and readjusted myself so that my head was resting on his shoulder. Our faces were only a few inches apart, and his hand slid down my back, resting just above my ass. "Ask me something more specific."

  "What do you do for a living?"

  "I'm a high school math teacher."

  "Really? I wish I had you for a teacher. Although it's probably for the best that I didn't, because I would have found you very, very distracting. Your students must have a hard time focusing."

  I laughed. "I don't think so."

  "You probably have no idea how many inconvenient boners you've caused." He laughed and I felt the vibrations through my palm that was pressed against his chest. A sense of humor was another thing on my list. Rob definitely had that.

  "What about you?"

  "What about me?" He trailed his fingers through my hair. It seemed like he was doing it absentmindedly, but it was soothing.

  "What do you do for a living?"

  He shrugged, which caused my face to move even closer to his. "I'm just enjoying living right now." I smelled the mix of mint and coconut on his breath. It was very tempting to kiss him again.

  "What does that mean exactly?" Unemployed? Possibly unmotivated to achieve anything? Two more red flags.

  "It means that I'm taking time to figure out what I want to do, what will truly make me happy. I'm traveling. I'm having fun. And I'm going to take as long as I need to figure it out, because I refuse to sit behind a desk every day pushing papers and being miserable."

  That wasn't the answer I was expecting. I knew enough about Professor Hunter to know that he came from money. Which meant Rob did too. Yes, he was clearly living off his parents. But his answer didn't seem to hint at the fact that he was a stuck up rich brat. He was trying to find himself. And wasn't that the most important thing anyone could do? I was lucky. I grew up knowing I wanted to be a teacher. Just like Alina grew up knowing she wanted to run her grandmother's bakery and Layla wanted to be a meteorologist. But we were exceptions. Most people discovered their passions later in life. Most people changed their majors in college at least five times. It was admirable to want to find your passion. Underneath all the brash comments and rough exterior, maybe there was someone deep and insightful. I found myself wanting to know more.

  "And what have you found out during your travels?"

  "That Costa Rican prison sucks."

  I laughed. Maybe that deep insightful person was also hiding under a layer of sarcasm. "Do I get to hear that story?"

  "I told you it wasn't a go
od story."

  "I want to hear it anyway." If it wasn't good, it meant it wasn't funny. Or maybe he got arrested for doing something he was embarrassed about. Either way, it seemed like the perfect way to get to know him. And I wanted to get to know him. Despite all the red flags, he had so many characteristics that I hadn't found in anyone yet. My list was ridiculously long. If there was one good thing to come out of this weekend, maybe it was realizing that my expectations were too high. Rob was right about me. He could read me like an open book. It had been awhile since I had taken a good long look in the mirror. I loved being a teacher, but maybe there was something missing from my life too. I wasn't sure if I was passionate about anything anymore. I wanted to remember how to enjoy living too.

  Chapter 12

  Rob

  I was having a hard time getting a read on this girl. She seemed to enjoy resisting me one minute, and then she did...well...this. I looked down at Daphne, nuzzled perfectly in the crook of my arm, her hand pressed against my chest and her thigh draped on top of my legs. I was good at knowing what women wanted. But I was kind of lost on her.

  At every turn she seemed to contradict herself. The most interesting part of all was that she seemed so confident, yet she was embarrassed about her skimpy bikini. Did she seriously not realize how amazing she looked? The neon colors made the tan she was starting to get pop. Her skin was silky smooth. It felt amazing underneath my palms. I ran my hand slowly down her back as I stared at her perfect ass. It was virtually uncovered by the thin strip of fabric that somehow classified as a bikini bottom. I certainly wasn't complaining. It didn't leave much to the imagination, but I didn't mind. I was going to picture her naked either way. This just made it easy to tell that she was going to look amazing in my bed.

  I let my hand slip to the top of her ass. She didn't flinch. Another contradiction. If I told her I was going to feel her up she would have told me off. For sure. But she couldn't seem to resist when I started doing it. I guess it wasn't really a contradiction at all. She was set in her virtues. She just couldn't resist me. The thought made me smile.

  I was only going to be here for two days. Normally I'd be hanging out with Matt, adding to my number count, making an ass of myself, and not remembering a thing. We had an ongoing bet of who could seduce more women. I was always ahead. But this weekend I wasn't feeling it. Besides, James and Mason were being super lame. Since they weren't up for doing anything fun, it meant that I had extra time to break this girl out of her shell. And that was exactly what I was going to do. Again. And again. And again.

  She lifted her head off my chest and looked up at me, giving me a perfect view of her tits. "Are you really not going to tell me?"

  "What?" I had been daydreaming and had completely missed what she had just said.

  "The story about how you ended up in jail? Were you just staring at my breasts?"

  Fuck yes. And now I was imagining sucking on her hard nipples that were clearly visible through her bikini top. The material looked thin and flimsy. I could probably rip it off. Or I could un-tie her top and slowly pull it down, teasing her, until her breasts were exposed to me. That's what I wanted to do. Torture her. Nice and slow. I could probably make her come like that. Just my tongue swirling around her sensitive nipples, maybe a light bite or two. A gentle tug. Someone so tightly wound would be easy to release. She'd be dripping wet, just waiting for me. I so badly wanted to taste her. She smelled like sunscreen and mangos and I would bet good money that she tasted just as sweet. I could already imagine her screaming my name, begging for my cock as my tongue swirled around her juices.

  "Rob?" Her eyebrows were furrowed when I looked back up at her face. She had this cute little line in the middle of her forehead. One that came from worrying a lot. What was she worrying about? Someone that beautiful shouldn't be worried. She should be getting her needs attended to.

  I cleared my throat. "Right. Sorry. Actually, I have a really great story about this time that I..."

  "No," she said. Her breath felt warm against my chest. "I want to hear the Costa Rica one." She splayed her hands on my chest and rested her chin on them as she looked up at me. The new angle removed her ass from underneath my hand.

  I sighed. "If you insist." I ran my fingers along the dimples on her lower back. "I was living here a few years ago..."

  "In this hotel?" She scrunched up her face in clear disapproval.

  "No, beautiful, not in this hotel." I ran my fingers through her hair. I could tell it unnerved her when I called her that. It was clear that she wasn't used to being called beautiful. But she should be. She was gorgeous. If someone else wasn't telling her, I could. I could be that person. Even if it was just for a few days. "This is actually the first time I've ever been to this hotel. I did live in Costa Rica for about six months, though. I spent most of my time in San Jose."

  She nodded. "That's good. If you lived here for six months being part of this stupid bracelet game I'd probably have to worry about you having STDs."

  I made a mental note not to share my sexual history with her. And also of the fact that she was thinking about STDs, which meant she was thinking about having sex with me. "I'm clean. You have nothing to worry about there."

  She rolled her eyes. "Get back to the story."

  Didn't she realize she was killing me with those eye rolls? "Like I said, it's not a good story. They have this huge labor day parade every year. But it's not like labor day in the US, which doesn't seem to mean anything anymore. In Costa Rica, it's their day to air their grievances toward their government. When I was living here, there was a water shortage. Not just in San Jose. The whole country was basically living without water. People were dying on the streets. And I was standing there, watching this peaceful parade and it made me mad. It wasn't enough. They weren't getting their point across. People were going to keep dying. Nothing was going to change." I wasn't sure why she wanted to hear this. It wasn't funny. It wasn't a good story. And just talking about it made me mad again.

  But she was just staring at me with her big green eyes, so I kept going.

  "When the parade was over, I joined some protesters. But like I said, there were tons of people airing their grievances, not just about the water shortage, but about all sorts of stuff. Obama was visiting later that week and there were some protestors against that. Obama was going to talk about the embargo on Cuba and other free trade agreements, and the people of Costa Rica didn't care. The United States lumps all of the counties in Central America together, but Costa Rica doesn't get shit from the embargo on Cuba. They don't benefit from it at all. And everyone was mad that Obama chose now, when the country is dying of thirst, to talk about something that doesn't affect them. Costa Rica isn't part of the United States. They have their own problems. People were dying. And I was right next to them. So I joined their not as peaceful protest. Because...fuck that. It turned into a riot and I got arrested. End of story."

  She continued to stare at me. But I didn't have anything else to say.

  "That's the whole story." The way she was looking at me was unnerving.

  She nestled back down into the crook of my arm. "I'm sorry I judged you before I knew you."

  "Thanks." I wasn't exactly sure what else to say.

  Her fingers ran through the contours of my six pack. I tried to keep completely still. It seemed like she was doing it absentmindedly, and I didn't want her to stop. I just wanted her to go lower. I was about two seconds away from pulling that hand job card out of my pocket. Apparently I was wrong about that story. I'd have to tell it more often if it resulted in this response.

  "And I think it's nice that you look out for your future sister in law. It's sweet how much you care."

  "Sweet? I'm not sweet." If she knew how many times I had jerked off to the thought of Penny, she would have called me anything but sweet. Not that I made a hobby of jerking off to the thought of my future sister in law. I jerked off to most dimes I met. Penny just happened to be around a lot. Which meant it was
easy to picture her. It wasn't a big deal.

  "You are sweet, actually. Don't get defensive. I think it's nice. You left off an important part of your story though. How did you get out of prison?"

  "I'm not sweet," I said again. "James bailed me out. I went back to the states a few months later."

  She stopped running her fingers along my abs and looked up to me. "So, your brother bailed you out of Costa Rican prison. Doesn't that mean you owe him a favor? Like, maybe letting him talk to his fiancée?"

  "I'm pretty sure we're even right now."

  "You're keeping score of favors with your brother?"

  "Like you don't do that with your siblings?"

  There was a flash of something across her face. It was fleeting. It had disappeared before I could tell what it was.

  She pressed the side of her face against my chest. "I don't have any siblings. But that's what family does. They help each other without keeping score. FYI."

  I laughed. "I am doing him a favor. I'm doing Penny a favor too. They're together so much that it's unhealthy."

  "Well, I do think I was right about one thing," said Daphne.

  "And what was that?"

  "I think that you are scared of commitment."

  "I'm committing to you right now. I have at least a dozen cards in my pocket, but I'm choosing to hang out with you."

  She furrowed her brow again. "What did you do with your card this morning? Before we met."

  Shit. "Nothing that interesting."

  "Then tell me."

  "You're really bossy. You do realize that right?"

  She shrugged her shoulders as she stared up at me. The way the light caught her eyes almost made them look like they had golden flakes. There was no point in lying to her. Either she wanted me or not, and I was pretty sure she wanted me. Something dumb I did before I met her shouldn't matter. Hopefully. Because I had done a lot of stupid stuff over the years.

  But I didn't want to tell her. I had been waiting for over a year to talk to this girl. I wasn't going to blow this chance over something I did this morning before I had even really met her. "Let's just say I should have saved my card. I would have much rather used it on you."