Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Kyle was completely done for the day. First, the girl he thought had only been a one-night-stand kept on sending him text after text after he had been completely honest with her about his intentions. She had been completely okay with it last night.

You can't trust women, he thought.

Second, his best friend confessed to him that she had very strong feelings towards his cousin. Was he surprised? Yes! He'd noticed that they'd gotten along well, he never thought it would escalate that far. Leave it to Skylar to crush on an older relative of his!

And now, his dear cousin was calling him. His excuse? He wanted to speak about Skylar. He knew where this was going and he didn't really want to get too into it. He'd never been the romantic type.

"You fucker," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Uh...what?" Ian asked, a confused tone to his voice.

"What happened with Skylar?" he demanded, not really wanting to hear the details. Oh well. Too late.

"I kissed her today," he said.

He cringed. "You know when I said that you needed to find yourself a woman, I didn't mean my best friend!"

If things between them didn't turn out great he would be stuck between them, and that was just an awkward position he didn't want to be in.

"I am aware of that," Ian explained. "I couldn't really help it you know. She's so smart and beautiful and charming. It's not hard to fall for her. I tried to keep my distance, but it's hard, Kyle. It's hard."

Kyle contained a chuckle, not wanting to joke around about his situation. But it was still funny.

"I'm sure it is," he muttered.

"What?" Ian asked.

"Nothing," Kyle replied. "I don't know what to tell you, man. Do you regret kissing my best friend?"

"I don't appreciate your judgmental tone," Ian pointed out. "But to answer your question, I don't regret it. I just don't know what to do now."

"Did she say anything?"

"No. We kind of both just left after that."

"You didn't think of anything to say?" Kyle asked. "Not even an, 'Oh, I'm sorry, I kissed you. But did you like it? Were you okay with it?'"

"Did I call you at a bad time?" Ian asked.

"You're a dumbass," Kyle retorted.

Skylar arrived at her apartment in a daze. She was really confused. She didn't know how to feel. Ian had kissed her. Really kissed her. And she'd kissed him back because that was all she ever wanted. He called her his. And she liked the thought of that.

But it still didn't take away the fact that it had been a s.hitty ending to a kiss. They'd both just walked away! Who does that? Oh, right. Her! And Ian apparently. They should have stayed. They should have talked about it. She should have said something to him! But she didn't. And now she was wondering how she would face him the next day considering the day's events.

Maybe she should have called Kyle, ask him for advice, but she didn't want to bother him. He was probably asleep at the moment. That was a conversation for another day. So she just tried (and failed) to put it at the back of her mind and try to get some sleep.

Even though Kyle had made a lot of snaky remarks, he still gave Ian advice and made him think. Ian was so close to turning thirty, he was already an adult, he had to start acting like one. He shouldn't be acting like a little school boy, afraid of talking to the girl he likes. It was time be the man and confront his feelings, and yes, have a very serious talk with her about their future together - that was, if she wanted one with him.

It was Saturday morning, and that meant she had no classes today, which in turn meant that she would be arriving to the firm early. Not enough time to come up with something to say. Would she even show up, though?

What was he thinking? Of course she would show up. Skylar wasn't the type of person to run away from things. If he knew her as well he thought he did, he was sure she would show up and talk things out with him.

So he made a decision.

He called Paula, the firm receptionist, to pass on a message to Skylar, to settle in his office and get to work, as he would be arriving later that morning.

The babysitter arrived just in time even though Emily was still sleeping, he decided not to wake her up. And then he was on his way.

Skylar was facing a big dilemma. She didn't want to go to work today. Nope. She had no idea how to face Ian after what had happened the night before. What kind of person just walks away after kissing someone like that? Then again, he had walked as well.

No. She couldn't ditch work because of that. They had to talk about it. Well, if he wanted to. Maybe he would just go back to ignoring her as he had been the entire week. It wouldn't be a big surprise. She still didn't know why he had done that in the first place. Well, that was something she could figure out later.

So she got dressed and applied her makeup, making sure she looked presentable. She'd even opted for the red lipstick, which was something she usually didn't go for. Hmm, she was feeling brave today.

Before getting into her car she sent a text message to Kyle.

So something happened last night...

And that was that until she got to work. She'd seen too many things on the news to risk texting him while driving.

Skylar arrived just in time, pausing at the entrance. It was time to face him. Just as she was about to take a step, Paula called her over.

"Mr. Rinaldi told me to let you know he'll be arriving later this morning," Paula said. "But to get started on your work. Here is the key to his office." She handed her a single silver key.

"Uh, thanks," Skylar said, taking it.

Closing the door behind her, she fell on Ian's office chair, exhaling deeply.

She wondered if Ian wasn't coming because of her...

Quickly, she shook that thought away. Paula had said he would be arriving later, not that he wasn't coming at all. And that was a good thing perhaps. It would give her more time to think.

Or not think.

She pulled out her laptop and the files Ian had her working on and focused on that. When the time came to talk to him, it would be better to say how she really felt. And she already knew that.

Work started at 8 o'clock sharp, and now it was almost nine. Ian sure was taking his time with whatever he was doing. Skylar didn't want to admit it, but she was getting pretty impatient. And the anticipation of confronting him was killing her. Couldn't they just get over and done with it - whatever was bound to happen.

And finally he arrived. Her head quickly snapped up when she heard the office door opening, her eyes meeting his green eyes. She felt heat quickly rush up to her cheeks. Could he tell she had been impatiently waiting half the time.

She stood up to move from his space, but stopped in her tracks when she saw what he was holding. Flowers. A whole bouquet of them. Now what was the meaning of that?

"Good morning, Skylar," he said, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Good morning, Ian," she said, also giving him a smile.

Ian awkwardly extended his arm holding the flowers, hoping he wasn't making a fool of himself. He looked at Skylar expectantly.

"You got me flowers?" she asked, taking the bouquet from his hands. They were beautiful red, soft pink, and cream roses. Well, he knew what she liked.

"Uh, yeah," he said, trying to find the perfect words for what he really wanted to say.

"Well, they're beautiful, thank you," she said truthfully.

"Listen, I'm sorry," he began. "For last night. I didn't mean...well, I guess I did mean to kiss you. But not like that. I didn't want to push myself onto you, and I'm sorry if you felt like I was pushing you. I just...I think we should talk about this...whatever this is."

He was cute, Skylar had to admit. She'd never witnessed him seem so flustered, it was rather adorable. But of course she couldn't say that. Well, at least she wasn't the only one struggling speak.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Ian," she said. "You didn't push me. You didn't force me into anything. I kissed you back out of my own free will." Hell, she had practically begged him to kiss her with all the, 'Take me, Ian' stuff she had been saying.

"I just want to make sure that you're okay," he explained. "I didn't mean to offend you in any way-"

"Ian!" she exclaimed, cutting him off. "I'm okay. I'm not offended. You didn't do anything bad. You kissed me, I kissed you. That's that. It happened."

For a moment they just stood there, staring at each other. It was a nice sight, though. For both, really. It was obvious what they both wanted, but of course they weren't sure either. Everything had happened so suddenly. It was almost scary for Skylar. Not to mention Ian whom had promised himself he wouldn't do anything about his attraction towards Skylar. Yet there they were.

Finally, Ian spoke. "It's obvious that I am attracted to you, Skylar. And I may have developed feelings for you over the past few weeks. And I would like to explore those feelings, if you would allow me."

Skylar was overwhelmed with emotions. So he did like her back. That was great news. Great news indeed.

"We can start off slow," Ian continued. "I don't want you to feel pressured. And if you don't want to, that's okay. I understand. You're a beautiful young woman that probably wants a guy equally as young. Someone that doesn't have all the responsibilities I do, and can dedicate all his time to you..."

She couldn't help to laugh a little bit. "Are  you calling yourself old?"

Ian grinned. "I'm turning 30 soon, Skylar. You're not even 21 yet."

"My birthday is in a few weeks," she pointed out. "October 23rd to be exact. So you're only nine years older than me."

"When you were nine, you were in the 3rd grade. I was graduating high school."

"So?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You still haven't told me what you want," he reminded her. "I'll understand if you say no. A lot of women would prefer a guy that has no children."

"I love Emily," Skylar said. "She's adorable."

"So what do you want, Skylar?" he asked, his eyes never leaving hers. He wanted her to say yes, to be with him, to let him show her that he could make her happy.

"I want to explore my feelings alongside you," she confessed. "Because I really like you, probably more than I should."

And that was exactly what he wanted to hear. She wanted to jump in his arms and kiss him, but she wasn't going to do that because he did say they were going to take things slow.

"So a date is in order then," he said. "Dinner after work?"

She nodded. "I'd like that."

When it was time for her lunch break, Skylar went out to the Starbucks that was across the street to grab a green tea. Ian said he couldn't join her as he had to finish up some things, but he promised he wouldn't cancel their dinner date. So she made use of that time to catch up with her friend.

When she checked her phone she saw that Kyle had sent her a text back.

Yeah. I know. Ian told me everything.

Well, he brought me flowers today...

What?

They're really pretty. J

Ian took you flowers? What the f.uck!

It was actually very sweet, Ky.

I'm sure it was.

Are you okay?

I'm sorry that I don't feel completely comfortable with my best friend and my  cousin, who is like a brother to me, getting it on.

No one is getting it on, Ky. We're going to dinner after work.

So this is a thing now? You guys are a thing?

I guess.

They were, weren't they? Maybe not officially but they were something. They'd both admitted their feelings towards each other, and agreed on "exploring" their feelings. And she did want to take things slowly. Well, she at least wanted to try. The last time she had trusted a guy too quickly had been...well, that was something she didn't like to think about.

Ian isn't like Gregg, she thought bitterly.

No. Ian was better than that. A million times better than that piece of scum. He wouldn't hurt her like he did. And even if they ended things, Ian would never stoop as low as Gregg did. Ian was a mature man, not a stupid boy.

She shook her head and pushed the bitter thoughts to the back of her head. No. Today was a good day. She had to focus on that. On Ian. On trying to make things work between them.

But no matter how hard she fought it, the sullen look on her face stayed until she went back to the firm. Ian noticed, and he did ask. She lied and said she had a headache.