Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

It was October 23rd which meant that Skylar was now officially 21-years old. Legal enough to buy alcohol and gamble, not that she'd be doing much gambling. She had to admit that she did like alcohol, wine being her preferred choice. Although it wasn't like she would be drinking everyday or run around wasted the entire time. She liked to limit herself.

In the morning her family called her to wish her a happy birthday. Kyle called her on Skype and they had a good conversation. Kyle was sad that he wouldn't be able to celebrate her birthday with her, but he'd be making up for it when she went to Chicago.

She had to admit, it felt good to age, she felt more like an adult. But she still felt like she looked older, and she was afraid of old age. She'd always been. Wrinkles and saggy skin, having other take care of you. Well, it was a fear that she would have to get over.

During school her friends wished her a happy birthday. Jason gave her a tight hug and wished her a great year. Sarah hugged her and apologized for being such a bee with an itch when they'd first met, they'd both started to grow on each other.

Cindy let her know that she would be throwing her a surprise party at Jason's later at night. Not that it was much of a surprise seeing as how she'd let her know.

"I just want to make sure you'll show up," Cindy had explained. Skylar had laughed and promised her she'd be there.

At the firm, Skylar walked into Ian's office where he greeted her with flowers and a case with a small, pale pink bow on top. He seemed nervous as she opened the case which revealed a silver bracelet with diamonds embedded on it. It was beautiful, really.

"Do you like it?" Ian asked nervously.

She gave him a big smile. "Of course! I love it!" And she wrapped her around him to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you!"

"I didn't know what to get you," he admitted. "I thought this was the best option. If you don't like it I can return it-"

"I love it," she promised him. "You really didn't have to get me anything, but this is perfect."

They embraced each other and kissed slowly. Ian trapped her lower lip between his teeth and lightly pulled. Skylar didn't mind, she loved the sensation of it. What better present than just being with Ian? That was all she wanted, to be honest. As selfish as it was, she wanted to spend all day with him, but she did have other plans.

"I was thinking you and I could go get dinner after this," Ian said. "And maybe after that we could head over to your place..." The suggestion in his words was evident, and Skylar really liked the idea.

"Cindy is actually throwing me a small party," she explained. "Would you mind going there after our dinner?" If she was being honest, she kind of wanted Ian to meet her friends. She was sure they would like him, and it would do Ian good to hang out with other people.

"Of course," he agreed. "Whatever you want to do. It's your day."

She gave him a quick peck and said, "And after that little party we can go back to my place."

After their first time making love Ian had proven to her that he had a lot of stamina and was insatiable. He loved showing her exactly how he felt about her, being as close to her as possible. Skylar didn't mind, she loved being with him in the same way. He knew how to please her and that was nothing to complain about.

"What about Emily, though?" she asked.

"The babysitter is taking her over to my mother's house," he explained. "She'll be spending the night there. I'm all yours for tonight, baby."

"Okay."

No matter how much she enjoyed being with him, she still couldn't help but feel guilty about Ian spending so much time with her and not enough time with Emily. What if she felt like her dad didn't care about her anymore? Which was not true at all, she knew exactly how much Ian loved his daughter. She made it her personal goal to spend more time with both Ian and Emily. If she was dating Emily's dad, she might as well try to get closer to the girl, make her feel like she could trust her. Even though she hadn't spent so much time with Emily, she sure had grown on her.

Ian didn't know what to do. He didn't like keeping things from Skylar, but it was her birthday and he didn't want to ruin it. The thing was, he had received a call from Christina earlier that day. She would be arriving in two days. Two! And she wanted to see Emily as soon as she arrived. He didn't really like the idea but Emily knew she was coming and he didn't want to take that away from her. He would tell her some other time.

He took her to a nice French restaurant, hoping that she would like the food there. She did, devouring the steak frites she had ordered as well as the chocolate mousse she had picked as her dessert. Ian liked watching her eat, she was adorable. She liked to savor her food and didn't leave a single crumb behind.

"Enjoying the food?" he teased.

"This food is orgasmic," she responded.

He tried his hardest not to let her little reply get to him. They were in a public place and he had to control his urges. But still...

The party was at Jason's apartment. Cindy, Ronnie, Ash, Gwen, Sarah, and Jason were there, obviously. Everyone looked at Ian with curiosity. He was obviously the outsider, dressed in more formal attire. Everyone else was dressed casually, looking more like the typical college students.

"Well, guys, this is Ian," she said, introducing him to them. "He's, uh, my boyfriend."

They all greeted him, and he did the same politely. It was awkward at first, but after a few minutes Cindy got the party started. They put on Maroon 5 and busted out the alcohol.

Holding up a shot of tequila, Cindy said, "To Skylar for being really awesome and f.ucking weird at times. Happy birthday, honey!" And they all drank to that.

Ian only took one shot and then switched to Dr. Pepper. When Skylar asked him why, he answered, "I'm driving us back, love. But you have fun."

Skylar broke away from Ian to talk to her friends. Ian didn't seem to mind, plus Ronnie was making conversation with him. Jason caught her and gave her a birthday hug.

"So that's Ian," he said with a playful tone.

"Yup."

"He seems nice." Jason sounded truthful. "Are you happy with him?"

"Yes," she confessed. "Very happy."

"That's great," he said. "I'm happy for you."

"And how are you and Gwen doing?"

He chuckled. "She and I...uh, we're doing fine. She's kind of crazy but she's great."

Knowing that Jason was in a relationship just made her feel so much better. After his confession about his feelings towards her, she didn't really want him to meet Ian. But everything was okay now, right? No more awkwardness seeing as how they both had someone else.

From a distance, Ian watched her interact with Jason. He didn't like it. Jason had kissed her, had feelings for her. How was he supposed to feel calm while she talked to him? Skylar may have made it clear to him that she was his, but he still didn't like the idea of her being so close to someone that wanted more from her.

He politely excused himself from the conversation he was having with Ronnie and Ash and made his way towards Skylar. Ian went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her cheek.

"Hi," he said. "Who's this?"

Skylar was oblivious to his reasons on interrupting his conversation. "This is Jason. Jason, this is Ian."

"Hi," Jason said. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Now Jason was not oblivious to Ian's reasons. He knew quite well and had to admit he would do the same if it was the other way around.

"It's nice to meet you too," Ian said in a serious manner. "It's always nice to meet friends of my beautiful Skylar."

"Yeah. She and I are really good friends," Jason responded in the same manner.

Skylar felt Ian's body stiffen and started noticing the tension between the two men. Ah. She finally understood. And yeah, she was pretty mad. How dare Ian look at this as a competition? And how dare Jason go along with it?

Throughout the rest of the little gathering she stayed with Sarah, Ash, and Cindy. She purposely avoided Ian and Jason. Especially Ian. He knew she was mad because every time they made eye contact she glared at him. He would sigh and go back to conversing with Ronnie.

On the way back to her apartment, she didn't say anything. When Ian said something she responded with a shrug. After a while Ian gave up. Yeah, she was mad. And with good reason, too. That had a been a d.ick move on his part. And maybe now wouldn't be a good time to point how tempting she looked when she was angry.

He walked her up to her apartment, carrying the presents she had gotten from her friends in his arms. She entered her place without even glancing back at him. With a sigh he followed her inside and set everything down on the couch.

She kicked off her heels and started taking off her jewelry. Still she didn't say anything.

"Are you really mad?" he asked, deciding he had to be the one to get this out of the way.

She paused and glared at him. "What do you think?"

"I'm sorry."

"Am I a f.ucking trophy to you, Ian?" she demanded, her eyes darkening. "Is that what I am?"

Why would she think that? "No. Skylar, I love you. You're not a trophy, you're the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Then what was all that with Jason?" He had acted as if she was a prize that he had won and Jason was the sore loser. "Because I felt like a toy that two little boys were fighting over." Sure, nothing physical or anything insulting, but their manner towards each other had been enough.

Ian was frustrated. How could he explain it to her? "I know that Jason has, or had, I don't know anymore, but he had a thing for you. Skylar, you told me that you two kissed! That must mean that you felt at least something small for him. I'm a jealous man, and I love you. And anything semi-threatening irks me because I don't want to lose you."

Okay. That was pretty sweet and understandable. Still, though...Well, she couldn't really stay mat at him for long.

Skylar sighed. "I can't stay at mad at you when you say things like that." She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. "I love you."

With a sigh of relief Ian hugged her back and leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head. "I'm sorry. I'm gonna try to control myself."

It wasn't long before they were tearing each other's clothes off and headed towards her room. Ian more than satisfied her needs and gave her a night to remember. Skylar really had to point out the fact that he was a giver and she really appreciated that. There was no better way to spend her birthday to have Ian make love to her and whisper sweet nothings into her ear.

Everything was perfect as she laid in his arms, just enjoying being next to him. They were both worn out and tired. And then Ian took out his phone to take a picture of her.

She immediately froze.

"Look," Ian said, showing the picture that just showed her head resting on the pillow. He was oblivious to her discomfort.

She tried not to let it show and simply said, "I don't really like taking pictures."

He chuckled. "Why not? You look beautiful," he said.

How could she respond to that? How could she explain to him her reason for not liking pictures without going back to her dark times? And she really didn't want to venture back to that point in her life.

After a while Ian started to notice her discomfort, though. The smile on her face had vanished and she lay still in his arms. But why was she acting that way? Had he done something wrong?

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head and looked up at the ceiling.

He wasn't having it. "Skylar." His tone grew serious. "Tell me what's wrong." Ian knew that Skylar hadn't been the happiest person when she was younger. There were things in her past that made her unhappy.

Kyle's words came back to him. "Sometimes she relapses...There are time when there is just emptiness and sadness in her eyes."

His beautiful girl still wasn't a 100% better, and maybe she never would be. But Ian wasn't about to let her drown in her own sorrows. No. He would fight to keep her happy.

"Please tell me, cara mia," he pleaded in a kinder tone. He didn't want to frighten her.

When her eyes met his, his heart broke. No. No. He didn't want to see her like that. Not her. Not Skylar.

When tears started running down her cheeks he held her tight. "I'm here, baby," he promised. "I'm here, I'll always be here. I love you." And he didn't push her more for answers because at that moment he knew all Skylar needed was for him to show her that he loved her and that he would never hurt her.