Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The drive to Stanford was pretty fun for Skylar and Kyle. They bought several Monster Energy drinks and Sour Patch Kids packs for the not so long trip, which really wasn't healthy at all, but they were happy. They blasted Fall Out Boy the entire way there, and sang at the top of their lungs. Skylar was really enjoying that moment with her best friend, and was sad that she wouldn't be seeing him as often as she wanted to.

Kyle was pretty much the same age as her, but unlike her, was not going to law school. He would be going back to Chicago soon to finish up his degree in psychology.

Skylar had to admit that it was scary moving to California from Illinois. She knew no one - well, except for Ian, but come on! Did he really count? Skylar doubted Ian and her would speak ever again. She knew that she had to focus on school and making sure that she was at the top of her class to get any offers from top-notch law firms. Plus, it wasn't like she could take time out of her studies to make that 30-40 minute drive to San Francisco, and surely Ian wouldn't want to do it. Although, she would love to see Emily again. That little girl was a sweetheart.

Stanford was everything Skylar imagined it would be. The campus was beautiful and there were students walking around, talking to each other, laughing. It was amazing. Northwestern had been great! But Stanford had always been her dream school, the only reason she hadn't gone there for undergraduate study being that she wasn't ready to leave her home yet. But now she was in Stanford! Not quite sure if she was fully ready, but she knew it was time to prove herself.

She would be staying in the dormitories, Munger Hall to be exact, which wasn't so bad. Her plan was to move into an apartment for herself later on. Plus, most of the law school students lived in the same residence hall. Her new dorm room was much bigger than the one she had resided in while at Northwestern.

It eased her mind knowing that she would just be living with fellow law students whom she could connect with. All the same working towards the same goal, and at least then everyone could understand each other better. She doubted living with a music or theater major would help her get much studying done. Not that there was anything wrong with music or theater majors.

She had a roommate, she noticed when settling into her dorm room. She knew because there was already a lot of stuff in the room, and the bed closest to the door was already made. It just so happened that her roommate was not there.

"If your roommate it hot, put in good word for me," Kyle said, plopping down on her bed.

Skylar rolled her eyes. "Of course, Kyle. Because I want to see you hooking up with my roommate, break her heart, and have her hate me for the rest of the year!"

"Hey, cool it with the sarcasm, yeah?"

"I thought I wasn't going to have a roommate," she said. "When I got all the info in the mail, it just gave me my room number, no roommate name."

Kyle sighed. "Oh well, maybe it's fate using you to find my soul mate."

"Ha ha," Skylar sarcastically input.

Kyle was nice enough to help her unpack and settle into her dorm. She was quick to set up her desk with her laptop, printer, and all the usual necessities that she would be needing for her stay as a law student. Surprisingly, Kyle did a pretty good job putting her clothes away, even going as far as organizing it by category - something that she wouldn't have done. The gesture was greatly appreciated.

"So you're a law school student now," Kyle said, rummaging through the bag of snacks they'd picked up on the way.

Skylar sighed. "Yeah, I am."

"Congrats, Skylar," he said. "I'm sure you'll do great."

"Thanks, Ky. That means a lot coming from you."

"You might even do so great that Ian's firm will recruit you," he added.

Ian. Yeah. Like he would want her working for him. Although, she had to admit the idea wasn't so bad. Rinaldi & Associates was a greatly respected firm - yes, she'd done her research. But it was also awkward, Ian knowing what he knew. She wondered if he had truly been happy to see her or if it had all just been an act. She truly had been ecstatic. She'd missed him. That sweet guy that had promised her everything would get better. It was thanks to him that she was where she was at in her life.

"Are you going back there or are you leaving soon?" she asked.

"I think I'll stay there for a week," Kyle explained. "Then I'll go back. Classes don't start until next week for me. You know, I'm gonna miss you, Sky. You're the only girl that hasn't tried to sleep with me."

Skylar scoffed. "Yeah. Because you never try to sleep with girls."

Kyle pouted. "I'm just an innocent. Not my fault I'm irresistible."

That gave Skylar a good laugh.

Then the door opened and a petite blonde with a frown on her face entered.

"Oh, you're here already," she said, the distaste evident in her voice. "I'm your roommate, Sarah Carlton."

Skylar gave her a friendly smile and said, "It's great to meet you. I'm Skylar Grant."

Sarah did not take Skylar's hand when offered. Instead, she glared at Kyle. "I hope that bringing boys isn't a habit of yours. Please keep all your romantic affairs outside of this room. I don't know about you, but I'm here to learn and become a great lawyer. If you don't feel the same, then maybe this isn't the path for you."

Well then. Sarah was obviously the type that didn't keep her opinions to herself. Also, she seemed very competitive. Skylar knew at that moment that she was not going to have the best relationship with her. Great. Because a hostile roommate was exactly what she needed.

"Kyle is my friend and he was just helping me move in," Skylar explained.

Kyle got up and sent a flirtatious grin Sarah's way. "Yes, just friends. I'm single, just in case you wanted to know."

Sarah frowned. "I really don't care."

Kyle took the hint. "Well, Sky, I will hopefully see you before I return to Chicago. Good luck."

The two friends hugged each other and soon enough, Skylar was left alone with Sarah.

Everything about Sarah told Skylar that she was the prim and proper type. The type of girl that just cared about success and knew exactly what she was doing with her life. Skylar respected that.

"So you're a law student as well, huh?" Skylar said awkwardly, trying to make conversation.

Sarah rolled her eyes and sat down at her own desk, opening up her laptop. "Everyone in this residence hall is a law student, Grant."

Ah. So they were going to refer to each other by their surnames.

Skylar decided to start organizing her bookshelf. She arranged the few books she had brought with her, knowing that her studies wouldn't allow for much free-time reading.

"It would be nice if we got to know each other," Skylar said. "Seeing as how we're going to be living together..."

Sarah was quiet for a moment and then she turned around in her chair and made direct eye contact with Skylar. "Look, it's not that I don't like you. I don't even know you. But I'm here to get an education. To make something of myself. I don't want friends. I don't want to get to know you. I don't care what you like. You shouldn't care about me. You seem like a smart girl. Focus on school and forget about your little friends like Kyle. They'll only hold you back."

Skylar had to respect her logic, but she wasn't about to give up her friendships. Maybe Sarah thought that friendship only held you back, but Skylar begged to differ. Friends encourage you, push you when you need to be pushed. Skylar wasn't about to give all that up.

Ian was so done with work for the day. He was exhausted. He'd had to go to court four times that day and meet with other three clients and attend two meetings. All he wanted to do was go home to his daughter, whom was probably asking the babysitter what time her daddy was getting home.

He decided that paperwork could wait, and was the last person to leave the office.

When he arrived at his home, he saw that Emily was playing dolls by herself while Kyle chatter up the babysitter. Oh, that boy would never change.

"Daddy!" Emily exclaimed, jumping into her father's awaiting arms.

"Hello, princess, I missed you," he said, giving her a kiss at the top of her head.

"Hey, you're home," Kyle said, getting up from the couch. "I was wondering if you wanted to go grab a drink."

"Did you drop off Skylar?" he asked, ignoring his cousin's suggestion.

"Yeah. Man her roommate is hot! But she's such a bitch."

"In what way?"

"She's really mean and I feel bad for Skylar. She was dreading getting a mean roommate."

Hmm. For some reason Ian didn't like the idea of Skylar struggling to get along with her roommate. She should have just gotten an apartment close to the school. Maybe he could help her out with that later on.

"Law students are competitive and serious," Ian said. "It's only natural."

"Well, you should know," Kyle said, rolling his eyes. "So what do you say about that drink?"

"I don't know, I don't like spending more time away from Emily than I need to," Ian explained.

"Just one drink. I'm going back in a few days. After that you can spend all the time you need with Emily."

Ian sighed. "Fine."

"Great!" Kyle mused.

But Kyle had more than just a drink on his mind. His cousin spent too much time working and making sure his daughter was happy. What that man needed was a woman, even if just for a night. He would make sure of it.