Apparently she feels the same, because after taking one look at me she downs the two shots in front of her. I think one of them was supposed to be Clinton’s because he laughs and catches the bartender’s attention to order again. I sit down at the table just as salads are served. When Skyler and Clinton make their way back to the table, she doesn’t waste any time.
“What are you doing here?”
Well, it’s not my choice of words, but at least she’s speaking to me.
“He came with me,” Ashlei butts in, sitting up a little straighter. Skyler eyes Ashlei, clearly waiting for her to explain but Ashlei doesn’t go into details. Skyler huffs, plopping down in her seat and taking a strong pull from her mixed drink before starting in on her salad. She turns her chair away from the rest of the table and focuses on chatting with Clinton.
I give Ashlei a sideways glance but she shakes her head. “It’ll be fine. Just give her a while to warm up, she’s still really hurt.”
“Exactly, so then why am I here rubbing salt in the wound?”
“You’re supposed to be the one nursing her back to health.”
I sigh, taking a bite of salad even though I’m far from hungry. Dinner drags on and I can’t decide what’s worse – watching Skyler ignore me, listening to Erin talk, or catching death glares from Adam every chance he gets. Even though he’s with Cassie now, apparently he still feels protective over Skyler. He hasn’t talked to me since news of us splitting got around and now he’s practically cracking his knuckles at the table.
Why am I here?
“Excuse me,” I say when I finish dinner, standing. Skyler looks up at me, but doesn’t say anything. I make my way to the bathroom and splash cold water in my face, trying to calm myself.
“Kip!” I turn just as Kade breaks through the bathroom door. “I thought that was you I saw! Damn man I’m glad you’re here. I need my partner in crime tonight. I came with this chick Arielle, but Jess has been giving me the eyes all night and I’m kind of thinking she’s over the shit that douchebag, Greg, has put her through. I might make my move. Is that stupid or just dumb?”
He’s talking sixty miles a minute and clearly is oblivious to my current turmoil. I do my best to smile genuinely. “Who cares? If it’s what you want, go for it. Just don’t be a dick to the girl who brought you. Is she into you or did you guys come as friends?”
“Friends, but I think she might think it’s something more.”
“Ah,” I appraise the situation. “Well, tread lightly. It’s bad enough to get kicked in the balls, you don’t want it to happen when your neck is constricted by a tie, too.”
“True story,” he says, fixing his tie in the mirror. “I fucking hate getting dressed up like this. Jeans should be formal.”
I laugh and shake my head, enjoying the ease he’s bringing to the night. I actually like getting dressed up, so I don’t chime in on that one. And I definitely don’t mind seeing Skyler dressed up.
Even if I can’t touch her.
A sharp pain wrecks my chest again and I expel another long breath to clear it. Kade claps his hand on my shoulder. “You all right, dude?”
“I’m as good as I can be, considering.”
It takes a minute, but finally recognition sets in on Kade’s face. “Oh shit, you and Skyler are still split? I figured you’d be here with her.”
I shake my head. “Ashlei invited me. She said she thought Skyler would want me here, but I think it’s clear that’s not the case.”
Kade shrugs. “Well, you probably won’t have to deal with her much longer. I think she was drunk before we all got on the bus to drive here.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, man. She’s drowning out the memories, tonight. Good thing she came here with Bear and not another guy because I’m pretty sure they’d be scoring later.” I punch him in the arm a little harder than I intended and he rubs it out. “Fuck, man! I’m just saying.”
We make our way back to the ballroom and I immediately see that Kade is right. Everyone is dancing, Skyler included, but she looks sloppy already. She’s got a drink in her hand that keeps spilling on the floor as she moves, but her hands are in the air and there’s a huge smile on her face. She does look happy, and I can’t be mad at that.
Ashlei pulls me out onto the floor, too, and we dance a little, though she’s mostly with the girls and I’m mostly with my brothers. We’re all being goofy, doing ridiculous dance moves, but I can’t keep my eyes off Skyler. She’s trying her damndest not to look at me, either, but somehow our eyes always make their way back to each other.
Suddenly, she turns away from Clinton and makes her way straight toward me. “Dance with me,” she says just as the music switches to a slow song. I swallow and nod, taking her waist gently in my hands as Ashlei winks and leaves us alone.
“Why are you here?” She asks, not wasting any time. She’s clearly not affected by the close proximity of our bodies where as I, on the other hand, have forgotten how to breathe.
“Ashlei invited me.”
“Right,” she says. “But why are you here?”
I sigh, wishing we could have this talk somewhere a little more private. “I wanted to see you, to talk to you. I feel like I owe you an explanation.”
“Oh, you think that’s all you owe me?”
She’s feisty tonight, the same Skyler I met at the beginning of the semester. She’s not soft like the Skyler I’ve come to know. No, her walls are back up and I’m on the outside trying to climb them again.
Except this time, she’s installed barbed wire.
“I’m sorry, Skyler.”
“If you’re sorry, drop out of the tournament.”
“I can’t.”
She scoffs, removing her hands from around my neck. “Yes, you can. And if you loved me, you would.”
“It’s not that simple, Skyler. There’s more to it.”
“Oh?” She crosses her arms. “There’s more to it than you being a conniving dickhead, making me fall for you so you could learn my poker game? So you could beat me at a tournament for your daddy?”
She’s pushing my buttons now, but I try to keep my cool. “Skyler, please, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I know everything just fine. Your dad didn’t get to play poker the way he wanted to in his life so now he’s making you do it for him and you don’t have the balls to tell him no. You preach all this bullshit to me about being comfortable with who I am and not caring what other people think, yet here you are letting your dad control you like a puppet.”
“You don’t know anything about him!” I say it a little louder than I want to and I really don’t know why I react the way I do. Had this been three weeks ago, I probably would have agreed with her. I did agree with her. I hated playing this stupid game for my dad and I was going to call the whole thing off. But then everything changed. In one split second, over one of the longest phone calls of my life, every single little thought in my head rearranged.
She laughs a low, soft laugh, shaking her head. “No, you’re right, I don’t. And clearly, I don’t know you, either.”
With that, she turns and storms away, straight toward the bar. I run my fingers through my hair and curse under my breath. Before I can make my way back to the table where Ashlei is, Erin slides in front of me.
“Can I have this dance?”
“No.” I push her aside, not in the mood for her shit.
“Wait.” She grabs my arm and I turn to face her, annoyed. “Listen, we don’t have to dance. I don’t want any trouble. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry, for everything.”
“A little late for that, I think.”
She sighs. “I really hope what is going on between you two isn’t because of me. I want you two to be together. I know she makes you happy and that’s all I want, for both of you.”