“Sounds pretty similar to me,” Bee said. “I think you should give Matt a chance. I know him better than you guys because he is literally at our apartment all the freaking time. He has a sweet side just like Rob. You just have to dig a little deeper.”
“I think that’s true,” Daphne said. “Obviously I don’t know him as well as any of you. But Rob told me that Matt gets sad at weddings. Because it reminds him that he’s alone.”
“Matt seriously said that?” Melissa asked.
“That’s what Rob said.”
“Hm.”
“Who’s turn is it? Jen?” I asked.
“Guilty,” she said.
“Dare Melissa to hang out with Matt tomorrow.”
“Too obvious,” Jen said. “I’m pretty sure she’s going to do that anyway now that she knows he’s not a mindless sex robot.”
Melissa laughed. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Do you want a dare?” Jen asked.
“Sure, why not?” Melissa said.
“Okay. Then I dare you to go find our Porter’s first name. And do whatever it takes.” She winked.
“I’m not going to give the security guard a blowjob to figure out his first name.”
“Oh, please, Melissa, I’m dying to know!” I said.
“Ew. Then you go blow him.” She tossed a pillow at me.
I laughed. “I’m going to go tell him to come in here.”
“Don’t you dare!” Melissa shrieked when I stood up. “I’ll go out there and ask by myself. No sexual favors. I’m just going to ask.”
“At least pull your shirt down,” Jen said.
“And your shorts up,” Bee added.
Daphne laughed. “I’m so glad I keep picking truth.”
Melissa opened up the hotel door and stepped out, closing it behind her. We all watched the door, especially after a few minutes had passed. Finally she came back in.
“Did he tell you?” I asked.
“Maybe.”
“Shut up, he did not,” Jen said. “I swear the only person that knows is James. And I guess Porter’s mother.”
“You’re right, he didn’t. And just for the record, I was very flirtatious.”
“Fine. I guess you met your dare.” Jen laughed.
“Truth or dare?” Melissa said and pointed at me.
“Now I kind of want to pick dare just to see what you’ll come up with. But I’m going with truth because I don’t want to do whatever crazy thing you would come up with.”
“So lame.”
“Fine, fine. Dare.”
“I dare you to go up to the roof.”
“Of the building?”
“Yeah.”
I laughed. “Why?”
“I don’t have to have a reason. It’s a dare.”
“Can you even get on the roof of this hotel? I told James I’d stay in the room.”
Melissa started making chicken noises and flapped her arms.
I laughed. “You look ridiculous. Come on, just make me do something else.”
“The dare has already been announced,” Bee said. “Technically you have to do it now.”
“Will you guys at least come with me?”
“Nah,” Jen said. “You got this.”
“I’ll come if you want,” Daphne said.
“Thanks, that would be…”
“Nope,” Melissa said. “You have to go alone.”
“Why?”
She laughed. “Sometimes you’re so clueless. It’s exactly midnight. All of us are trying to get you to the roof. And we’re all refusing to go with you. Think about it.” She winked at me.
I smiled. “James is up there?”
“Don’t tell him I ruined it. Blame it on Daphne.”
“What? I didn’t even know.” She laughed.
“What’s he doing up there?”
“I don’t know. He just sent us all a text a half hour ago about how we needed to get you on the roof at midnight. And I didn’t want to risk going up there with you in case he’s naked or something. Not that the sight wouldn’t be great. It would just be hard to hang out with him after I saw how he was hanging.”
I laughed. “He’s very well-endowed.”
Jen put her hands over her ears. “Gross! Stop talking now.”
I laughed.
“It’s very tempting to text Ian while you’re gone.” She reached over and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. “But someone should probably stop me because I am officially drunk.”
I grabbed her phone and tossed it at Melissa. “I’ll let you guys handle that while I’m gone. I’ll be right back.” I tied the sash around my new robe and walked over to the door. Bee had given it to me right when we got to the hotel. It was silky and said bride on the back. It was the most comfortable thing ever.
“Sure,” Melissa said. She stretched the word out tauntingly. “You’re never right back when it comes to James. And if you two uncontrollable love birds are banging, it’ll be like an hour.”
Jen put her hands back over her ears as I stepped out in the hall. Porter immediately stood up from the chair he was sitting on.
“You don’t have to get up,” I said. “I’m meeting James on the roof.”
“Yes, ma’am. He asked me to escort you.”
“Oh. Okay, then. Thanks, Porter.”
He nodded.
As we made our way to the elevator he kept trying to walk behind me. So I kept slowing down, trying to get him to walk beside me. Maybe I imagined it, but I thought I saw him smile briefly.
He hit the elevator button for me and folded his arms.
“So what’s your first name?”
He looked down at me. “I’d prefer to keep this professional.”
The doors dinged and we both stepped onto the elevator.
“I know. It would just make me more comfortable if I could use your real name. Like if there’s an emergency and I need to call your name. Your full name would get your attention better.”
“Porter will do just fine.” There was a small smile at the corner of his mouth again. There was no denying it this time.
“Sorry about Melissa earlier.”
“It’s fine. She was just asking me random security questions. I thought you were checking up on me to see if I was qualified. I assure you that I am.”
“She didn’t ask you what your first name was?”
“No, ma’am.”
Melissa! I should have known she didn’t ask him for his first name. The doors dinged open to another floor. “How do we get to the roof?”
“Right this way,” he said and stepped out of the elevator.
I followed him toward a set of stairs. “How did you and James meet?” I asked.
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “It’s not my place to say.”
If I thought James used to be full of secrets, Porter was on a whole other level.
“That’s okay. I’ll find out eventually, you know.” I stopped at the top of the steps and smiled at him.