Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

After the whole Gregg betraying her and breaking her little, fragile heart, Skylar had no choice but to go to school. She wished that a hole in the ground would open up and swallow her. But that didn't happen. The whole school knew what Gregg had done to her. Even the teachers. And as if that weren't bad enough, her parents were notified of the situation.

The school principal, Mr. Neeson, and her counselor, Mr. Hamilton, held a meeting with her. Mr. Hamilton was a nice guy in his early thirties, he cared about his students, and made sure to help them as much as he could. He'd been really nice to her since everything went down. Mr. Neeson hadn't been the same way.

"Miss Grant," the principal began, "yesterday, topless pictures of you were posted around the whole school. In one of those pictures it was clearly evident that you had been in bed with another male student."

Skylar wanted to laugh. Yeah. He was pretty much just stating the obvious. He should have saved himself the time because it was an unimportant meeting.

"I just need to ask you one thing." Mr. Neeson looked at her with a stony face. "Were you aware that these pictures would be posted?"

"Of course not!" she yelled. What the hell did he think? That she was in on Gregg's plan the whole time, that she would willingly humiliate herself? Why wasn't he talking to Gregg instead of her? She was the victim here!

"Were you and Mr. Gregg Peters dating?" he asked.

Well, no s.hit. "Yes, Mr. Neeson. Gregg and I had been dating."

He nodded. "Did you do anything to get him mad?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Boys do irrational things when their girls talk to other guys. Had you been flirting with other guys? Did you do anything that would cause him to get jealous. Boys these days do dumb things when they're jealous."

Skylar had not been expecting those words. Not at all. Mr. Neeson was making it seem as if it was her fault that Gregg decided to hurt her. Like she deserved to be publicly humiliated. As if she deserved to be punished. She had not asked for any of this. Her only mistake was letting her foolish emotions get the best of her. For letting herself be controlled by a guy that claimed to have loved her.

She shook her head. "No...I never did any of that." At that point she was blinking back tears. Of course everyone would claim it was her fault.

"Are you sure you didn't do anything to get him mad?" Mr. Neeson asked again. "Maybe you did something that caused him to do that. There should be a simple reason behind this."

Mr. Hamilton cleared his throat and his kind, blue eyes met hers. "Skylar, none of this is your fault." He turned to Mr. Neeson. "The only reason behind this is that Gregg manipulated Skylar into trusting him when she was in a vulnerable state in her life. He decided to betray her and humiliate her because, Mr. Neeson, Gregg Peters is an as.shole."

Mr. Hamilton was liked by pretty much the entire school. She was lucky to have him as a counselor. He was young and attractive and nice, a lot of girls had a crush on him. And maybe she had been one of those girls for a time, until Gregg came along that is. He was nice. He was understanding. Skylar really respected him.

"Mr. Hamilton, there is no need for such foul language," Mr. Neeson snapped.

"Well, there's also need to make a young girl feel guilty in a situation she's obviously the victim in," Mr. Hamilton responded. "None of this is her fault. The only culprit here is Gregg and I hope you take immediate action in his expulsion from this school."

Gregg had not been expelled. Instead, both of them had served a week long suspension. Her parents had clearly stated their disappointment in her. Premarital sex was a disgrace and they had expected more from her.

"None of this would have happened if you had just held on to your virtue," her mom said.

"You should know better, Skylar," he dad added. "Boys at this age don't really love you. After this whole scandal you'll be lucky if any guy wants to date you later on."

Yeah. So, Skylar had had a s.hitty high school life. Even after Ian helped her out by stopping her from jumping. Yeah, she had seen reason to live and stuff, but that didn't mean everything had gotten better just like that. Everyone still hated her at school. Gregg graduated a hero. She spent her lunch time in Mr. Hamilton's office. Well, that was until a new guy transferred in junior year. You guessed it. Kyle! He'd brushed off everyone's comments and became her friend, introducing her to his friends from his old school. He'd helped her out a lot.

Skylar couldn't take it anymore. She told Ian everything. From Ingrid dying to the whole school blaming her to dating Gregg to the whole picture thing. She cried a little bit, and when she did Ian would hold her until she felt like she could speak again. She was scared. She didn't want Ian to judge her like everyone else had years ago.

When she was done telling him everything, Ian kissed her cheek and hugged her tight. He was mad. Not at Skylar. But he was mad at the entire world. More specifically the as.sholes that had caused her so much pain. Even more specifically, f.ucking Gregg. He wanted to go to Chicago, hunt him down, and kill him.

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" he asked.

She hiccupped a little bit. "I guess I was just afraid that you would want to leave me. Why would you want a killer and a w.hore of a girlfriend."

"Ingrid's death was not your fault," Ian said. "She's the one that decided to get drunk and high knowing that it would be hard to make it back home in that state."

"I regret so many things," she muttered.

"And you're not a w.hore," he promised her. "Your only mistake was trusting a guy that obviously didn't deserve you. You were young and vulnerable. You gave him your virginity and then he screwed you over. That doesn't make you a w.hore no matter what anyone told you."

She wasn't going to school that day, that much was obvious. She should have been well on her way to Stanford. Oh, well. One day of missing classes wouldn't hurt her that much. Ian, apparently, wasn't going to work either. She was glad that he would be staying with her, that way she didn't feel so alone.

He had not judged her like she thought he would. Instead he kissed and consoled her, like the perfect man he was. Why did she doubt him? Why did she think that Ian would leave her just like that? He was too good of a person to do that to her. Maybe it was hard to believe it, but Ian did love her, and she had to get that through her head.

"Do you want breakfast?" Ian asked.

Skykar shook her head. "Not now." She got on his lap, facing him, wrapping her legs around him. "Kiss me."

And Ian did just that, claiming her mouth with a passionate kiss. Just like that, all thoughts of that wretched Gregg flew out of both of their minds. Skylar's mood lifted as their bodies pressed against each other. Being close to Ian felt so damn right, she never wanted to move away.

"I love you," Ian whispered when they pulled away for air.

"I love you," she said, resting her forehead against his.

Ian knew that he would never stop loving this beautiful woman. She meant too much to him. No other woman would ever compare to her. And he never wanted to leave her. Ever. He would just be miserable without her. The things she told him didn't make him love her any less, if anything they just made her seem like such a strong person. She was here, she was still here because she had been strong enough to hold herself up even when the whole world seemed to be against her.

Skylar happily let him pull off her top, her nipples hardening as the cool air hit them. She leaned back as Ian leaned down to capture one in his mouth, lightly sucking. Moans and whimpers of pleasure escape her lips. Yes, this was exactly what she wanted to be doing at the moment.

Ian got off the bed and quickly pulled off all his clothes, soon joining her again on the bed. She giggled as he peppered kisses over her stomach. That sound made Ian smile. Yes. He wanted Skylar to be happy. This was exactly how he wanted her to be.

He laid back on the bed, pulling her on top of him. "Ride me," he breathed out, his eyes filled with desire.

Skylar eagerly positioned herself, her body taking in his desire. Ian groaned as she took him in, placing his hands on top of her hips to keep her steady. As she rode him, he met her with his own thrusts, one hand roaming up to squeeze her breasts.

Ian loved seeing her like that. Her on top of him, looking every bit the goddess she was. It drove him crazy seeing her in her naked glory, her lips slightly parted as she moaned his name. It was him, him that made her feel that way. There was no better feeling than that.

After their morning love-making, Ian pulled on his pants and headed to the kitchen to start making breakfast. Skylar sat on a stool as she watched him cook, only wearing his shirt over her body. She liked watching him cook, it was adorable. She could get used to this...

Thoughts of waking up next to Ian everyday, him cooking for her every morning, and being able to consider herself a part of Ian and Emily's family flooded her mind. Yes. She did think about one day marrying him. Not that she would tell him that, she figured it was too soon to start thinking about that. Plus, she still had law school to think about. Marriage was not something she should have been thinking about.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ian asked, a playful smile on his lips.

She blushed at having been caught staring, but she was also past the point of feeling shy around him. He knew too much about her. "You look really good cooking," she admitted.

"Really?" Ian raised an eyebrow and flipped a pancake.

"That and those pants make your butt look great," she added flirtatiously.

Ian chuckled. It was good to see her so playful and happy. Maybe the day had not started off so great, but it quickly developed into a good day. See, Skylar needed to open up to him, it was the only way he could show her that he really loved her. That he really cared for her, and that he would do anything for her.

"Have I mentioned how s.exy you look in my shirt?" he asked, giving her a playful wink.

She liked flirting with Ian, it made her really happy. See, they could act like a normal couple...

For some reason she was feeling really confident at that moment. So she propped herself up on the counter and - looking directly into his eyes - started unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing slowly. Her confidence rose when she saw that Ian was staring at her with hungry eyes.

"How do you like me better?" she asked innocently. "Shirt or no shirt?"

Ian groaned as he watched her. No. He was on a mission, he had to feed her. So he walked over to her and took her hands in his before she could unbutton the shirt any lower. One of her breasts was already exposed and he was having a very difficult time ignoring it.

"Be patient, bella." He was amused. "I'm trying to cook us both breakfast. We need to be energized if you want me to make love to you." His fingers start buttoning the shirt back up. "And for the record, I like you better without the shirt."

Skylar hoped that Ian didn't think she was some s.ex-crazed demon. She just liked s.ex. With him, of course. She liked it a lot. Ian knew what she liked. Hell, he knew things that she didn't even know she liked. Could anyone really blame her for wanting more of that addicting man?

When Ian was done cooking, they both gorged themselves on pancakes. Ian was set on proving to her that they could be like any other couple. Sure, he would have to be more careful the next time he wanted to take a picture of her, but he could still feed her and pepper her with sweet kisses during breakfast. Gregg could never take that away from them.

Skylar was in the shower and Ian was busy on his laptop getting work done. It was then that he received a call from Christina. Sighing, he picked it up.

"So I'm getting there earlier than planned," she explained. "In fact, I'm in Pennsylvania right now. Layover flight, you know. I'll be in San Francisco by tonight. I was wondering if you could pick me up from the airport. Bring Emily along, will you?"

What? No. He had not planned for this. Ian had been expecting her arrival for a few days more. He didn't know if he was ready to see that woman. Especially now that Skylar had barely opened up to him. He didn't know how her arrival would affect Skylar. What if she wasn't happy with the idea of Christina being so close? Not that she had anything to worry about. Christina was just Emily's mom and the girl he had gotten pregnant. Nothing else.

"Uh. Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Ian asked.

"Surprise?" She sounded unsure.

He could not contain the exasperated sigh that escaped his lips. What a nice surprise (note the sarcasm). Because Christina's impromptu arrival was just what he needed. Ian was not prepared - like at all!

"Isn't there anyone else that could pick you up?" he asked, silently hoping that there was so that he could have more time to get it through his head that he would soon be seeing the woman that left with him with their newborn child.

"No. My parents are out of town," she explained. "I was hoping that I could stay at your place."

Okay. He did not really want to get into an explanation as to why her staying at his house was a bad idea. Plus, hadn't he already told her that it would be inappropriate seeing as how he was with someone.

"Um," he began, "there's a lot of hotels in San Francisco."

"But if I stay at your house I can be closer to you and Emily," she retorted.

Okay. That was it. "Christina, you left me when Emily was just a newborn. You went off to party in Europe and forgot that you're a mother. I obviously don't feel very kindly towards you at the moment. That, and I do have a girlfriend, and I don't want to have any problems with her."

"I'm sure she'll understand-"

"No," he cut her off. "That doesn't matter. I mind. Maybe it's too soon for us to be on a complete friendly basis. Look, I'll pick you up from the airport and I'll drop you off at some hotel. You can see Emily tomorrow."

After he hung up on her, it wasn't long until Skylar got out of the shower. She was in yoga pants and a loose, gray V-neck. She also had on a smile so big that you would have never thought she'd broken down into tears just a few hours ago.

"I have some news," he said as she sat down on his lap.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Christina is arriving tonight."

It took a few seconds to let that sink in. Oh. Christina. Emily's mother. She was coming. Skylar knew that she shouldn't be feeling bothered by that news. Sure, she was Emily's mom, but that was it. Ian was her boyfriend, Christina's arrival wouldn't change that fact. Ian had made it really clear that he had no feelings for Christina whatsoever, he'd never had any.

"How do you feel about that?"

He scoffed. "I'm pretty mad that she didn't tell me her plans had changed. I don't know if I want to see her so soon."

That was understandable. She couldn't blame him for feeling that way. Christina had been a b.itch. What kind of mother left their newborn child just because they didn't want to be held back from having fun. It bothered her that her arrival was affecting Ian so much. She didn't want to see him stressed out.

"Everything is going to fine," she assured him. "Yeah, she's not the greatest person, but she is Emily's mom. I know Emily wants her mother with her. When she told me that she had been talking to Christina, she seemed so happy. Ian, she needs a mother in her life."

Ian studied her features, his green eyes softening. "I thought that Emily would look to you as a mother-figure."

Her heart warmed at that comment. If she was being honest, she would have been honored to have Emily look at her as a mother. "Trust me, I wouldn't mind that. But Emily knows who her mom is, and she wants her in her life. To her, I'm just her dad's good friend. No one can take away the fact that Christina is her mom."

Ian pressed a soft kiss to her temple and said, "You're right, and I wish you weren't. But you are."

Wrapping her arms around him, she replied with, "You can do this. You're such an amazing man, and you're too nice to hold grudges. I'll be there with you for whatever you may need."