Page 87 of Choosing Skyler

I chuckle and kiss her just as my phone chimes, letting us know the Uber is here. Skyler pulls on a pair of white ankle boots, grabs her purse and we head out the door.

TG’s is much busier than I would have expected at nine o’clock on a Monday night. But I guess that’s what you get at a college bar, in a college town. We head to the corner booth where Tracey, Devon and Julie are already seated, and they smile up at us with wide eyes.

Tracey jumps up to hug Skyler. “You look amazing, Sissy. That dress makes your eyes look like they’re on fire.”

Skyler smiles. “Yeah? Good. I’m glad it doesn’t make me look like a clown or anything,” she says, shooting Devon a playful glare.

He throws his hands up in surrender with a grin. “Brady was right on that one. My bad.”

Skyler laughs and slides into the booth next to Julie. Tracey sits on the other end next to Devon, scooting over to make room for Joey as he comes to the table with two pitchers of beer. Tony walks up beside him, setting down a tray of frosted mugs and filling them for us. We order a spread of typical bar food and spend the next hour eating, drinking, and talking with everyone.

When Joey heads to the jukebox to play some dance music, the girls excuse themselves to the bathroom before hitting the dance floor. Devon’s eyes are locked on Skyler’s back as they walk away from us. He slides over next to me and leans in, talking quietly.

“Brady, that bruise on Skyler’s shoulder… Is that a… Bite mark?” he asks.

I chuckle and nod. “She said to tell anyone that mentioned it that she got mauled by a bulldog.”

His eyes widen. “That’s… um… Wow. I don’t even know what to say.”

I laugh. “I never thought I’d see the day thatyoudidn’t know what to say.”

He shoves my shoulder. “Whatever, man. I just mean… I can’t believe she left the apartment knowing she had a visible love bite like that. She’s come a long way from the Shy Sky that was scared of her own shadow,” he says, smiling.

I smile with pride, knowing that I’m part of the reason for her newfound confidence. But before I can respond his smile falls as he looks toward the bar. I follow his gaze and see Timothy making his way to our table with a glass of whiskey in his hand.

“Dad? What are you doing here?” Devon says with shock as Timothy stops at our table.

“You told me you’d be here with friends. I thought I would join you for a drink,” Timothy replies smoothly, holding up the glass in his hand. “Can you believe they consider Johnnie Walker top shelf scotch?”

“Um, yeah.” Devon laughs. “This is a college bar in a college town. Not a fancy hotel bar or country club or wherever you normally go for a drink,” he says, rolling his eyes playfully.

Timothy shrugs, looking around the bar. He looks out of place in his business suit, but he seems unfazed by it. It’s easy to see where Devon gets his easy confidence from. They both have a way of making themselves belong, regardless of their surroundings.

I catch sight of the girls coming out of the hallway that leads to the bathrooms. They make their way back to the table, giggling and bouncing. They stop when they notice Timothy and he turns to greet them.

“Hey, ladies. I hope you don’t mind me crashing your party,” he says, leaning in to kiss Skyler and Tracey’s cheeks in a fatherly gesture.

“Of course not,” Skyler smiles at him. “The more the merrier.”

He turns his attention to Julie and lifts her hand to kiss the back of it. “How lovely to see you again, Juliet.”

She giggles. “You too, but please call me Julie. Everyone does.”

“Hmm. I like Juliet better,” Timothy replies.

I glance at Devon and notice his brows scrunched together. Everyone can see the attraction between Julie and Timothy despite their age difference. I decide to intervene before Devon can make a scene. I bump his shoulder with mine.

“Come on, man. Let’s get these girls on the dance floor,” I tell him, standing from the booth and taking Skyler’s hand.

We dance to a few songs beforeUnholyby Sam Smith and Kim Petras comes on and I glance over to see Joey stepping behind Tracey to dance with her and Devon. Skyler follows my gaze, and she giggles.

“I wonder if Tracey likesbeingwatched as much as she likestowatch. The three of them are putting on quite the show,” she says, turning her eyes back to me.

I shrug. “Devon looks happy. Maybe they’ll keep his attention off of Timothy. It looks like he’s teaching Julie to play darts.” I chuckle and turn us so that Skyler can see the dart boards at the other end of the bar.

Timothy is standing behind Julie as she lines up the dart to throw. He has a hand on her waist and is leaning down to speak in her ear. Skyler looks over and laughs.

“He’s in for a surprise if he thinks he canteachher anything. She’s as good at darts as I am on the pool table.” She giggles and I laugh.

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