The Scholar and the Star

Ch. 10: Mitch

"Yeah, we're doing a little dance lesson." Eric points to the blonde man. "That pain in the ass is River; he claimed he was a better dancer. I won't argue that just to grind with my brother."

Smiling, I recognize the name, a family friend that Skyler talks about like his own brother. "I see." Relief hits my stomach, along with the realization Lily played me. Glancing back up the stairs, I can't find the jewel tone of her dress anywhere.

So, Lily knew Skyler wasn't interested in another man. It was just an opportunity that came along.

I turn back to Eric in time to see Skyler appear next to us. He takes the drink from me, downing it in one go. Pushing the glass back into Eric's hands, Skyler tells his brother, "Don't give him drinks."

"That was yours," Eric looks down at the empty glass, "but sure."

The blonde man joins us, asking Eric, "Where's mine?"

"You can go get your own," Eric replies, taking a large sip from his full drink.

Frowning at Eric, the other man turns to me with a smile. "Hi, River Lee. And I already know who you are. Skyler told me all about 'the plan.'"

"Hi-" I get cut off as Skyler puts his hand on my elbow and turns me towards him. He reaches out and starts buttoning my shirt up from the lowest one.

"Do any of your clothes work correctly?" He grumbles, buttoning all of them but the very top. My cheeks flush as heat climbs up my neck. Skyler lets go and turns away like it's nothing.

"So," I ask him, "What's with the dance lesson?"

Eric, still sipping his drink, smirks at Skyler over the rim. River slaps a hand onto Skyler's shoulder. "He said he wanted to learn from the best."

"No, he didn't," Eric immediately argues. River and Eric turn on each other simultaneously, bickering quietly and quickly between themselves.

I turn to Skyler and offer him a hand. "Then, do you want to show me what you learned?"

We leave the other two and find ourselves a spot on the dance floor. The pumping music makes it easy to get into a rhythm, moving closer to Skyler. He places his hands on my hips, awkwardly shifting to the music. I am unsure if this is a supposed improvement on his abilities, but I match the size of his movements with my own and enjoy.

"So, what made you want to learn to dance?" I speak loudly next to his ear.

"Do you remember the last time we were going to dance?" Skyler asks. I nod. "Well, I'm not very good, and since we're going to be doing this more," he waves his hand between us, "I want you to be able to enjoy yourself when you're with me."

I move closer to him, his slow movements out of sync with the song. "Thank you, but you've already shown me I can enjoy myself with you."

Skyler coughs and clears his throat. He concentrates past one of my shoulders and won't meet my eyes. If I had to wager a guess, without all these flashing lights, I would be able to watch his cheeks glowing red.

"We-well, we can't just do th-that all the time."

"No, we can't." I agree. Sadly. "We're here on business."

Skyler nods in agreement. I step back to an arm's length, putting some distance between us. Skyler relaxes some, though, when I sway my hips, he quickly looks away.

"Speaking of that business, I ran into your mom when I arrived."

"What did she say?"

Unable to hold back a chuckle, I tell him. "She said you were too busy dancing with another man to have time for me tonight."