"Mitch, where's your new boyfriend?" One of the many photographers yells across the barrier of the red carpet.
"He's inside, waiting for me." I smile and pose. This event is well known for photo ops. I keep moving along the short walkway into the Barrio Valiente Arts Center.
Tonight's gala will benefit multicultural education programs across the country. It is one of the many events on the list Skyler gave me. His mother is active in each one in some way: event planner, member, chairwoman, hostess, etc. The woman does it all.
Becca promised to change my schedule in the future, but today, I was already committed to stunt training for my new role. So now, I am meeting Skyler almost two hours after the start of the event.
The lobby is already filled with partying guests. The brightly lit entrance winds down into a large reception hall. Lily waits like a spider on its web near the top of the wide staircase.
Her hair is coiled into a simple knot, suiting her off-the-shoulder gown in a vibrant emerald green. Anticipating this all day, I've been trying to imagine her face when she sees me tonight. The lack of surprise disappoints me.
"Lily, good evening." I join her, looking out over the crush of people below. Our facades of polite friendliness are already in place.
"If you're not going to show up on time, I wonder why you bother dating Skyler at all."
My mouth turns up. Lily doesn't want to hear why I want to date Skyler. "Oh, no, did I miss one of your fun little surprises?"
"I don't know what you mean," Lily sniffs. "Don't feel the need to linger. I'm not waiting for you."
She searches down on the dance floor, pausing, her smile widening. Tilting her head in one specific direction, she looks at me pointedly. "It looks like Skyler isn't waiting for you either."
Eyeing her, I hesitate. Taking a deep breath as subtly as possible, I hold my composure and turn my head to look down. Following her direction, it's easy to find Skyler on the dance floor. Tall, broad-shouldered, and wiggling his hips awkwardly.
And dancing with another man.
Someone tall and fit with short, blonde hair, not anyone I recognize. The other man leans up to say something in Skyler's ear. In response, Skyler puts his hand on the man's back and moves him closer.
Other than my eyes narrowing, I keep calm. Turning casually back to Lily, I give her a flippant response. "Then I'll have to go convince Skyler to give me some of his time." Nodding a curt farewell, I blend into the traffic of people heading down the stairs.
Dropping my fake expression, I watch Skyler's location in the room. He knew I was going to be late. I know he's eager to be with a man, but there's a lot at stake. And I'm worth waiting for.
I brush my hand through my hair, tousling the carefully styled look. At the bottom of the stairs, I step aside and unbutton the top two buttons of my silk shirt. Then, one more, just to be sure. I tug at the fabric on my shoulders, pulling it outward and exposing my chest and abs more.
The noise is louder down here, the party in full swing. Moving quickly through the crowd is a struggle, but I stay locked on target. Some guests try to greet me, acquaintances mostly. I respond to them accordingly but keep moving.
"Mitch!"
I clench my jaw but turn around with a pleasant expression to another person calling my name. Skyler's brother is pushing through towards me. He wears a slim-fitting tux and holds a drink in each hand.
"Hey, you made it!" He yells above the thumping music. He thrusts one of the glasses into my hands. "This is Skyler's. Do you want to take it to him?"
"You've been with Skyler?" I swivel and look again, spotting Skyler and that man through a break in the dancers.
"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."
"What?" Skyler has to step close again to hear the whole story. "Ugh, no, I can't believe she said that about River." He shakes his shoulders out in disgust.
His reaction has me laughing out loud. "What do you think your mother is planning tonight?"
"Tonight? You don't think she'd do something here, do you? It's so public."
I raise my eyebrows but keep my recollections of interacting with Lily in the past to myself. "Do you think she'll just let us date openly without any problems now?"
Skyler shrugs, screwing up his face. "I assumed Mother would have a talk with me tomorrow or something."
I keep dancing, considering. Skyler has sound reasoning, and Lily's obviously protective of her family.
"I think you're dancing really well." I take the opportunity to slide close to him again, putting my arms around his shoulders and letting my body move to the music against him.
Skyler's movements grow even smaller. He holds himself stiffly as we rock together. The music tempo outdistances us. He places his hands on my lower back, pulling me closer.
I'm lost in the movements until Skyler pulls his head back and looks down at me. "Your pants are vibrating."
"What? Jesus," I didn't feel the notification go off. I pull out my phone and turn away to read Becca's message.
What's happening? Has Lily made a move yet?
I feel Skyler step up behind me. "Anything wrong?"
I show him the message. "No, just Becca checking in."
Skyler places his hands on my hips from behind. When I lean into him, he runs one hand around my waist. "You guys really believe she's going to try something tonight?"
"We did." I tip my head back against his chest and shoulder, turning to look up at him. His body warmth runs down the length of me. "I haven't had the best track record with her."
Skyler haltingly moves our bodies to the music again. "Last week, you said something about her making you dress up as a cowboy. I didn't exactly follow it all, but that's the kind of stuff you think she'll do?"
I turn in his arms and slide my hands up his back. "She tricked me, not forced. With complete honesty, I also wasn't on my best behavior that night."
Skyler quirks an eyebrow down at me. "Oh?"
I shrug away his questioning tone. "We all make mistakes; things get out of hand."
Skyler frowns, waiting silently.
"Alright," I roll my eyes. "The invite said it was a costume theme, and it wasn't; I told you that. I knew that Lily wouldn't want me there for no reason. So, I ended up causing a scene, and a lot of people left early. However, the only part of the night that made the news was my outfit, and I debuted on every worst-dressed list that month."
"Caused a scene?"
"Ask your mother."
Skyler snorts. "I've been avoiding her all week."
Stopping, I pull back to look at him. "You haven't talked to her tonight?"
Skyler shakes his head no.
I loop my arm through his. "Well, then we should go say hello to her. As a couple."
Together, we make our way off the dance floor and stroll around the edge of the room. I keep watch for that dress. And, there she is, sashaying towards us.
A woman in the crowd trails behind her, following and smiling widely. Her eyes dart between Skyler and me.
I look at Skyler, finding surprise and recognition on his face.
"Darling," Lily joins us, "there you are. And you know Kathryn."
The woman steps forward; her black gown is simple, elegant, and expensive. Her hair is an elegant twist of tiny braids. She places a hand on Skyler's bicep opposite me and leans up to kiss him on the cheek. "Skyler, so good to see you."
Skyler briefly balances his hand on her lower back and automatically kisses her cheek. "Kate, it's nice to see you too."
Who the fuck is this?
Thankfully, she steps back right away, and I stand here, forcing a smile on my face.
"Mitch," Lily turns to me. "Let me introduce you to Kathryn Moore. Skyler's girlfriend."
"Ex-girlfriend," Skyler corrects her.
"I see. It's nice to meet you." I nod towards her, still holding Skyler's arm territorially.
"I insisted she come tonight; she just loves the arts." Lily gushes, smiling fondly at Skyler's ex. "I've missed you, Kathryn, and the times we spent together.
"Me, too. I was happy when you called this morning and invited me personally." Kathryn sidles closer to Skyler. "Let's go dance so we can catch up."
Skyler's arm slips from my grasp as he is pulled away. He smiles apologetically before leading his ex-girlfriend to the floor.
Lily wears a small, irritating smile. "Oh, dear. Skyler left you so quickly."
Turning to watch the dancers intensely, I laugh it off. "You're too old-fashioned. Skyler can dance with other people." Still, I'm glued to the scene before me. "He'll still be coming home with me tonight."
"Tonight, maybe. But for how much longer?"
I glance over at Lily to catch her side-eyeing me. She looks at the couple with a smile. "They do suit each other. I know what it sounds like, but I assure you, it's not because she's a woman."
"How progressive." I mock.
"She's a curator at an art museum. She studied in France at Sorbonne. I know she comes from a good family."
"I see." It's all I can manage and keep my face serene, my teeth grinding behind my cheek. "How wonderful."
"Kathryn and Skyler are on similar paths. She can help him in his career. They'll have a lifetime of common interests."
It's harder to maintain my smile. The differences between Skyler and myself haven't gone unnoticed. Still, I answer Lily with honesty.
"I think I'll be good for Skyler."
Lily's expression says, 'suit yourself', and with one last satisfied look at the dance floor, she turns and leaves me alone.
I count to ten slowly, taking a deep breath each time. It doesn't stop any of the emotions rolling through me, but it helps keep a smile on my face.
Stalking into the crowd, I head right for Skyler. I stop the dancers mid-step, placing a hand on Skyler's shoulder and angling myself between them. Facing Kathryn, I give her my mega-star smile.
"I'm sorry, we really have to be going now."
"We do?" Skyler questions. I flex my hand on him, and he gets the picture. "It was good to see you again, Kathryn."
"Yes, nice meeting you." I echo while moving my hand to Skyler's elbow and hauling him away.
"Nice to meet you, too!" She calls out. "Skyler, let's keep in touch."
I keep moving towards the stairs.
"We're leaving already?"
"We have to leave sometime." And I'd like to get the hell out of here.
When we reach the front doors, a staff member steps up readily. "Leaving for the night, Mr. Wild."
"Yes, can my car be brought around?"
"Wait," Skyler speaks up, eyeing the exit like it's a booby trap. "We're going out this way?"
"Of course. It's how I got in here. Let's go."
The doors are opened as we approach.
Skyler follows my steps haltingly. "I don't think..."
There's a smaller crowd than before. Mostly tabloid journalists looking for sloppy party exit photos. The stretch of carpet is empty, leaving us a clear path past the mob. Some cameras flash when we're noticed in the doorway.
I want to step forward, but Skyler is an anchor, not budging an inch. Looking over at him, his eyes are wide, and his head is slowly turning side to side.
"Skyler?"
As we stand here, we draw more attention. My name is being called.
"Skyler!" I repeat. He shakes himself, turning his frantic gaze to me. He opens his mouth soundlessly. Then he turns abruptly, pulling himself free, before running away.
I watch his back become lost in the crowd as he escapes.
My name is still being called from the carpet behind me. Taking shallow breaths, I straighten my shoulders. Then, turning on my Mitch Wild charm, I turn and head outside alone.