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1151 Words
I thought about the scars on my stomach. “Did someone try to hurt me?”
He didn’t respond.
“And where is James, huh? You said he loves me, but he left in the middle of the night? If someone’s trying to hurt me, where is he? And where the hell is my phone? I want to talk to my parents. I…”
“Penny.”
“You can’t just stand there and tell me nothing. Am I in trouble?” My voice cracked. “Did I do something wrong?”
He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
I melted into him. I felt more comfortable in his arms than James'. Maybe it was because I was lonely in this new world. Or maybe it was because he was closer to my age. Or maybe it was because he was the one that was actually here with me, trying to calm me down.
I shifted my head so that it was pressed against his chest. “When we were upstairs, you mentioned that you would have thought we’d have ended up together. Why didn’t we?”
“Bro-code. My brother met you first.”
“That’s the only reason?”
“You’re his person.”
Rob laughed and squeezed me tighter for a moment before releasing me from his embrace. “He is serious. You should have seen him before he started dating you. It was like he always had a huge stick…”
“…up his ass,” I finished for him. “He still does.”
Rob smiled. “He has a lot going on. He’s just worried about you.”
“Can I ask you something else?”
“Anything.”
“You said he loves me. But do I love him? I mean, do you think that I did? Before all of this?”
“He hasn’t given you the book?” he asked.
“What book?”
He shook his head like it was nothing. “Never mind, it’s not important. But yeah, Penny, I think you loved him back. You transferred out of the University of New Castle for him. You moved your whole life here.”
“Why did I give up so much?
“It was a two-way street. He had to resign from teaching. You two had a rough start but you’re both happy now. I don’t just think it, I know it.”
We were really close. Geez, was this man my best friend? How was that possible? It wasn’t like I could share intimate details about his brother to him. I stared at him. “I thought James was joking when he said he was my professor. This apartment doesn’t exactly scream a professor’s salary.”
“When he gets home, ask him about the book I mentioned earlier. I think you should read it.”
“What’s it about?”
“You’ll just have to read it. Come on,” he said and grabbed my arm to pull me into the kitchen. “We’re going to spend the rest of the morning eating ice cream and watching TV.”
In just that one sentence I realized how right I was before. He was a much better match for me than James was.
Friday
It took me awhile to completely relax around Rob. But his inappropriate s****l comments and the fact that I barely knew him went out the window when we found a show we both loved. Now my feet were propped up on his lap and we were laughing at a re-run of Shark Tank that didn’t feel like a re-run to me.
“I bet Kevin’s going to offer him a terrible royalty deal,” Rob said.
“Are you saying that because Kevin always offers royalty deals or because you’ve seen this episode before?”
Rob laughed. “Both. I’ve missed this,” he said and looked over at me.
“Missed what?” I asked through a mouthful of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream.
“Hanging out just the two of us. We used to do this all the time.”
I set my ice cream down on the coffee table. “What changed?”
He shrugged. “Marriage. Kids. Work.”
“You have children?” I smiled at the thought. He was probably such a good father. He was so fun. Any kid would be lucky to call him Dad.
“Two. Well, one with another on the way. My daughter Sophie is three and a half. And my son will be born next month as long as everything goes smoothly.”
“I’m sure everything will go smoothly,” I said. “If there weren’t any complications with the first delivery, there probably won’t be with the second, right?”
“Yeah. I guess.” But he didn’t sound all that convinced. It was charming that he was worried about his wife and child.
“If I ever have kids, I don't want to know the s*x. The surprise is half the fun.”
He pressed his lips together, like he was holding something back.
“What?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
I looked back at the screen, but I was having trouble focusing on the show anymore. Rob had been so carefree moments ago, and now it seemed like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. I didn’t want to press him, but I still had so many questions. Mostly about James and my life here. What we were like as a couple. What a normal day for us looked like.
“Where's James?” I asked as nonchalantly as possible.
Rob kept his eyes on the TV. “Um…he had a class.”
That pause was a little suspicious. “He teaches during summer session?” I pulled my feet off of Rob’s lap.
“Yup. He’s teaching two classes until fall when he’ll have a normal schedule again.” It was like his eyes were glued to the TV.
“And one of those classes takes place in the middle of the night?”
He took another bite of ice cream, clearly buying time for whatever lie he was about to tell. “He has more on his plate than just teaching.”
Like what, a mistress? I ignored the comment that wanted to spill out of my mouth. “Do you have work?” I asked instead. “It’s Friday morning. Surely you have something better to do than babysit me?”
He finally pulled his gaze away from the screen and smiled at me. “There’s nowhere I need to be right now.”
“The two bulldogs keeping watch outside aren’t exactly going to let me out. An inside man isn’t really necessary. Two watchdogs is plenty.”
- Writer
