As the car pulls away from the curb, I glance over and see Rod standing at the chain-link fence, his fingers gripping the metal as he watches me leave.
Back at the hotel, I approach the front desk and request a room for myself. While Rod is gone, I’ll move all my shit out of his room. Rather than upsetting Tracy and Kevin’s plans for the last couple of days on the island, I’ll get a separate room and enjoy my time alone to decompress before we go back to Atlanta.
“How many room keys do you need?” The clerk is only doing her job, but that question hurts more than it should.
“One.”
With my new room key in hand, I rush to Rod’s suite and throw all my things in my suitcase as fast as I can. After checking the bathroom, closet, and drawers one last time, I’m sure I have everything. I leave the extra key card on the nightstand and walk out the door, the loud click of it locking behind me somewhat befitting of the moment. That door is closed and locked behind me.
A tiger can’t change its stripes.
A leopard can’t change its spots.
A Hot Rod can’t change first impressions, no matter how good of an actor he is. His true colors will always bleed through.
“Daisy, where are you?” Tracy called my cell phone from hers, so I know they’re back from the water park.
“I’m in my room. Why?” I know why, but that’s a required question so I can appear nonchalant.
“Rod just came from your room and said all your clothes are gone. He’s sitting here in my room, bleeding.”
“Why is he bleeding?” It’s more curiosity at this point than concern.
“Because I beat the hell out of him with your Harley Quinn baseball bat when he showed up at my door without you.”
“It’s a plastic bat, Tracy.”
“Well, it’s warped to shit now and has Rod’s blood on it. I busted his lip.” She’s obviously proud of her actions. I can’t say I blame her.
“Hot Rod got his ass beat up by a girl, huh? That amuses me, probably a lot more than it should. But, to answer your original question, I’m in my own room, not his suite. I moved out of there as soon as I got back from the park.”
She relays our conversation to Rod with an emphasis on her convictions in her tone. I can’t help but giggle at my best friend.
“Rod wants your room number. He said he’s coming over to talk to you.”
“I don’t think so. I’ll give it to you, but there’s no reason he needs it. You know I don’t demand much of anyone in my life, but disrespect is one thing I will not tolerate from anyone. My initial impression of him was spot-on, and I should’ve listened to my gut. Now that he has his suite to himself again, he’s free to do whatever he wants.”
“Rod, she said you can go fuck yourself with Lucille from The Walking Dead. I’m paraphrasing.”
I hear Rod’s response in the background. “Who the fuck is Lucille?”
“She’s a baseball bat covered with barbed wire. She’s very effective.” Tracy fake coughs to cover her laugh. I can only imagine the horrified expression on Rod’s face. “Daisy, what room are you in? I’m coming to see you in a few minutes. Alone.”
We disconnect after I give her my new room number and strict instructions not to share it with Rod. I feel like a big enough fool as it is. From the moment I first met him, I knew I shouldn’t trust him, shouldn’t fall for him, shouldn’t get involved with him, but I didn’t listen to my instincts. I thought I had gotten better about that, but I obviously have a long way to go.
A few minutes later, there’s a soft knock on my door. After checking the peephole to confirm it’s Tracy, and only her, I open the door and let her in. She wraps her arms around me in an uncharacteristic display of affection and kicks the door shut with her foot.
“Daisy, I’m so sorry. There’s something I need to confess, and I’m afraid you’ll be mad and never speak to me again.”
“What could you have done to make me never speak to you again?” I step back to gauge the seriousness of this conversation by her expression.
Shit. This doesn’t look good.
“We’d better have a seat.” She moves to the sitting area and pats the cushion next to her on the couch.
When I sit, she grabs my hand and gives it a light squeeze. “Okay, here’s the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”
I arch an eyebrow, waiting for her confession with anxious reservations.
“Kevin and I have been seeing each other for the last several months. When we met, we immediately clicked, and everything has felt so right from day one. He talked a lot about Rod because they’ve been best friends since middle school. Kevin is the vice president of Rod’s company.
“One night, Kevin and I were talking about how happy we are together, and we both wished our best friends could find someone, too. You’ve been closed off from feeling anything for years, with reason, but I wanted someone other than me to know how amazing you are. Kevin told me about how Rod dotes on his sister and niece every day, but that he had commitment issues, too.
“Kevin and I hoped you and Rod would find each other the same way we did. So, we arranged this trip as a way you two could meet, but without the usual awkwardness of a blind date. You’ve found something wrong with every guy I’ve tried to set you up with anyway, so I hoped a more casual setting
