Chapter Six

Chapter Six

As soon as he sent the text, Ian instantly regretted it. What had he been thinking? Just asking Skylar out for lunch like that. And right after he had rejected Katherine George, stating that he needed to spend more time with his daughter. Maybe it had been the conversation he'd had with Kyle before he left for Chicago that still haunted him.

"You need to go back out there," Kyle had said.

"What for? I need to focus on Emily, that's what is important."

Kyle had brushed off his comment. "And I'm not saying that you need to forget about Emily, but you need someone else in your life. You're a man, you have needs. And you made it pretty obvious that  you're not one for one-night-stands. You should go back out into the dating scene."

Ian was against one-night-stands. After what happened between him and Emily's mother, he didn't want another surprise. He promised himself that if he ever got with a woman again, it would be because they had something good going. After Emily being born, he had never had time for meeting other women. And he felt slightly ashamed that he had not had sex in four years, but it was for a good cause.

"It's not that easy, Kyle," he had said.

"It is easy," Kyle said. "You need to find a woman that fits all the great qualities you want and go for it. It doesn't matter who she is, but if you like her, you need to get her."

Ian knew that his cousin had been right, but that didn't mean he should go after Skylar just like that. The girl was still in school, her studies were important if she wanted a good future for herself. Plus, it wasn't like she would want to go for him anyway. She needed someone closer to her age. Someone that didn't have other duties and could focus solely on her. Why would Skylar want to date a guy whom had a daughter already? She would want her own family.

But he had still sent her the text. Not necessarily asking her out on a date, he just wanted to see her. Spend time with her. And yes, he did see her in her Civil Procedure class, but he never really got to talk to her much. A simple 'hello' was all. And soon he wouldn't even be able to do that. He didn't really like the idea of not being able to see her anymore. That was why he wanted to give her the internship, and he hoped that she would take it. But she was a stubborn one.

He was scared that she thought he was weird. She was probably only interested in hanging out with her friends, other people her age. What if she saw him as just an old man?

But soon her reply came and all his fears vanished.

Sure. Just text me the time you're picking me up and I'll be ready.

A grin formed on his face. She'd accepted his invitation. That was good, he guessed. So she  didn't find going out to lunch with him that weird. Ian knew that he shouldn't have been feeling so happy, but he couldn't help it. The thought of getting to spend time with Skylar excited him. That woman had a really big effect on him, it was scary.

"You look really happy, Daddy," Emily muttered as she crawled onto his lap, resting her on his chest.

"That's because I am, princess," he said, running his fingers through his daughter's hair.

"Why?" Emily asked innocently.

"I'm going to go see a friend tomorrow," he explained. "And why are you up? I thought I put you to bed earlier."

"I couldn't sleep," Emily said. "Can I watch TV for a little bit? Please."

The next day, Skylar awoke in a bright mood. Sarah had gone for her morning jog, leaving Skylar to do as she pleased. She put on Linkin Park's In The End while she got ready for the morning. Usually, Sarah would complain about her music, saying that it was for rebellious teenagers that gave no craps about school. That little comment had offended her slightly, but she let is slide seeing as how it was Sarah, and Sarah would be Sarah.

Ian had said that he would pick her up around noon to take her to San Francisco. It was currently eleven, so that meant she currently had less than an hour to get ready. Wow, she had really slept in, it felt great.

She didn't know where Ian was taking her, but judging from his more refined taste, she knew it would be somewhere nice. She picked out a white dress with a flower design, a black cardigan, and nude color heels. Her makeup was simple: foundation, pink lipstick, mascara, and a little bit of eyeliner.

Skylar used to hate makeup with a passion, and never really saw why women liked it so much. But one day she was forced to put on a little bit for a family event, and she loved it. She believed that makeup made women more confident, and there was nothing wrong with that. Sure, she wasn't about to cake her face with it, but she was all for more simplistic makeup. There was nothing wrong with that.

In fact, after that night with Ian and the wretched balcony, she found herself using it more and more. As if a new layer of foundation was a new life for her, one where her past self was no longer visible, but covered with a better her. It felt liberating.

When Sarah came back from her run, she took a good look at Skylar and raised an eyebrow.

"Going somewhere?" she asked.

"Yes," Skylar replied with a smile. "I'm gonna go have lunch with a friend."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "So you're seeing a guy?"

Skylar just smiled. "It's not what you think. He and I are just friends."

"A fellow law student?"

Well,  well, well. Sarah was asking a lot of questions, which she hardly ever did. She usually just ignored every aspect of Skylar's life, declaring it unimportant.

"No. He's not a student."

Ian pulled up his car in front of Skylar's dorm, he felt anxious. He knew he shouldn't, it was just Skylar. And no one ever made him feel nervous. So why was it that he feeling anxious now? Oh, right! Because Skylar was a beautiful girl that seemed to have a huge effect on him no matter how hard he tried to deny it.

And then he saw her, looking as amazing as ever. He quickly got out of the car to open the door for her. And as she approached him, she smiled making Ian lose all senses, just focusing on her.

But Ian wasn't the only one feeling strong emotions at the moment. Skylar could barely remember how to breathe as she saw him standing there. He had on black shoes, black trousers, a blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and  black sunglasses. It was a mouth-watering sight. Did he not realize what effect he had on women? Or did he do it on purpose?

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he said.

For a moment they just stood there, not saying anything, just looking into each other's eyes. It was as if they couldn't look away.

"Uh, we should...we should get going," Ian said, trying to control himself.

They both got into the car and soon they were on the road. Skylar was in heaven to say the least. A very attractive male was at close proximity. The car smelled of Ian's cologne and masculinity. It was intoxicating. She loved it.

Ian had put on music, and the sweet sound of Lana Del Rey's Burning Desire filled their ears. It was pretty ironic.

"So where are we going?" Skylar asked, trying to steady her voice, but it came out husky and almost breathless. Ian noticed.

He looked away from the road to sneak a glance at her and gulped. Well, the ride to San Francisco was going to be torture. "A small restaurant that I know. I hope you like Italian food."

"I love Italian food," she said. And the men, she wanted to add.

They didn't speak much, but that was okay. Ian focused more on his driving and Skylar was free to think.

Seeing Ian for the first time in five years had made her really happy. At first she thought it was because he had saved her life and set her on the track to a better life. She had thought that he only meant so much to her because he'd had a huge impact  on her life. After seeing him in her class all those days, she started to realize that maybe it was more than that. And after meeting Jason, a sweet, handsome guy that she should have liked as more than just a friend because he was supposed be her type, she realized that she couldn't like Jason. That was because she already had feelings for somebody else. And that person was Ian.

But she knew that she couldn't do anything about her attraction towards him. She was still in school and needed to focus solely on her career. Ian had to focus on his daughter and his firm. She also doubted that he felt the same way about her as he did. And even if he did, they still couldn't do anything about it. Ian was just too important and she didn't want to risk losing such a great person as him.

The restaurant he had been referring to resided in an Italian neighborhood. It was gorgeous to say the least. Everything about San Francisco was making her fall in love with the city more and more. They passed by a mural of famous jazz musicians, political figures, and writers. Overhead, there were -literally - books on a wire. It was amazing. The artistry breathtaking.

"This is amazing," she said.

Ian smiled. "I thought you might like this neighborhood."

"I just want to stay here forever and ever," she confessed, looking out the window as they drove past.

"You can," he said. "At least stay in San Francisco, I mean. You can take my internship offer and then work at my firm after graduation."

Skylar thought he was too kind, but she didn't want to take advantage of his generosity. "I don't know."

They arrived at the restaurant and were seated promptly. It smelled amazing in there and Skylar's stomach growled a little bit. Italian food was her weakness.

Ian ordered a bottle of wine to have between the two.

"You do know I'm not twenty-one yet," she pointed out. "You, as a lawyer, should know the laws."

He chuckled. "I think we can make an exception." But then his smile faltered as he thought about just how young she was. Of course nothing could ever happen between them.

Skylar watched in awe as Ian ordered their food in fluent Italian. It was hot, and she couldn't help but blush as she realized that that was a very inappropriate thought to have.

"Why are you so unsure about taking my offer?" Ian asked.

"I feel like giving me the internship is unfair to the other students," she explained. "There are others that deserve it more than me."

Ian shook his head. "Skylar, you're brilliant. You're an amazing student and you'll make an amazing lawyer. I'm not just giving you the internship because I know you, I'm giving it to you because you deserve it."

Skylar was flattered. She hadn't know Ian had such high opinions on her. It made her feel warm on the inside.

"And then after graduation you can work for me," he added. "You might even make it to senior partner before you're thirty."

"I don't know if I'll stay in San Francisco after graduation," she confessed, looking down at the table.

Ian paused for a little bit. Why would she want to leave? Was she not happy?

"Why not?" he asked carefully.

"I was born and raised in Chicago," she said. "I love the city. I'm used to it. I know how things run there. I have my family there. I don't have anything here. There's no reason for me to be here apart from my studies at Stanford. And I would have stayed in Chicago and gone to the University of Chicago if it hadn't been for my family convincing me that Stanford was the better choice.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Stanford. It has always been my dream school, but I was afraid to leave. I was afraid of change and having to start fresh. This is a huge step in my life. I just don't know if I want to make this permanent. San Francisco is amazing, and it's starting to grow on me. But it's also scaring me to let myself like this so much."

Ian's jaw tightened, and he didn't say anything right after. He was kind of angry. He knew he shouldn't be, Skylar was free to do as she pleased. But the thought of not having her around, her going back to Chicago was not something he liked very much.

"Just take the internship, Skylar," he said after a while. "Take it. Give this place a chance. If it doesn't work out and you want to go back to Chicago after graduation, I will personally make sure to get you a job at the best firm there. Just give this a try, that's all I ask."

Skylar was taken aback. Why did Ian care so much? Sure, it felt good to know that he actually cared about her and her future, but he didn't have any reason to. She didn't need protection. She didn't need him to worry so much. She wasn't his responsibility.

"Okay," she said. "I'll take the internship, Ian."

That brought a smile to Ian's face. "I promise you won't regret it, Skylar."