Page 54 of Third Chances (Men of Manhattan 2)

"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.

"There they are," Kristen whispered. "Awesome, there's one seat open next to Professor Hunter. I call dibs." She quickly brushed past me.

I saw James lean over and whisper something in Rob's ear. Rob immediately nodded and stood up. I felt frozen as he walked toward me, his eyes completely fixed on me. They traveled from my feet to my face in the most primitive way possible. Sex wasn't off the table despite what he had said. He was clearly undressing me with his eyes. Not that there was much left for the imagination. This dress was completely ridiculous. The fabric crisscrossed along the front and the back, leaving so much skin exposed I wasn't even sure it could be classified as a dress.

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