After putting the dress on, she sat on the bed to put on her shoes. That's when she noticed the dog. She'd forgotten to give it back to Taylor. Then all at once she was guilty again. She didn't mean to kiss him last night, it had just happened. She really did like him, just not in the same way that she thought she liked Isaac. But when she thought about it too much, she didn't know how she felt about anything. It must have been a big burden on Taylor, keeping her secret from a family he was so close to. It was times like this that she really missed Sunny. Sunny was very wise on the topic of boys. They often talked about them, even though Skyler was only fourteen when Sunny was killed. Sunny was the kind of big sister that always stuck up for you, and only pretended to be annoyed when you kept asking her questions. Sky could just picture her here, twisting her reddish-brown hair around her finger, giving advice with that slightly amused look. But none of that mattered right now, because she had about twenty minutes to get ready. She let her hair down and spritzed a little spray gel on it. Next, she touched up her face and put on some mauve lipstick. Then she dabbed perfume all over, put on small silver hoop earrings and a small silver star necklace that her friend Trish had given her last year, and went downstairs to grab her purse. It was actually Sunny's purse, a small black beaded one. But she was sure that her sister would've wanted her to use it tonight. She locked up and jogged through the Davis yard. Ryan came out as she was passing by. "Whoa, Sky, look at you! Where are you headed?" he looked surprised. "Over to the Hansons. I'm going somewhere with Ike." "I'm going over to get Zac so we can go help Justin and his dad." "Help them what?" she asked, as they headed for the Hanson's side door. "His dad's setting up a skateboard ramp in the yard." She nodded in understanding and knocked at the door. Zac answered immediately. "Hi! You look really pretty, Sky." he smiled, letting them in. "Thanks...I don't look too dressy, do I?"she asked, smoothing her dress. "Nah..a little exotic, though." She laughed and shook her head. Where did he come up with these things? While Ryan stayed behind in the kitchen to wait for Zac, Sky found her way to the living room where Jessica was reading a book while watching a movie. "Hi Sky, what a nice dress...Ike says to tell you he'll be right down." she smiled. "Okay, thanks." Sky replied, sitting down next to her. She stood up a second later when she heard someone coming. But it wasn't Isaac, it was Taylor. They looked at each other for a second. "Hi Sky...you look really good." he looked her up and down. "Thanks, Taylor." she gave him a warm smile, hoping to avoid any bad feelings. "Don't let my brother get fresh with you. He does that sometimes. A lot of girls complain." "Nice try, Tay." she laughed. He grinned and looked behind him as Isaac entered the room. He was wearing a black button-up shirt and tan cords with black Doc Martens. His hair was down. He had his usual silver ring on his middle finger, and a black rope necklace with a silver cross. He looked very good. And he looked her over before giving her a smile.

"Sky, I feel like a slob now!" "Oh no...I'm too dressed up, right? I didn't wear pantyhose, see? And look at my shoes! They're really casual..." She was sticking her foot out. Ike and Tay both started to laugh. "Okay,okay...You're fine, Sky. You look beautiful. Are you ready?" She nodded and tossed her hair back as they headed for the door. Mr. Hanson appeared in the kitchen doorway. "You guys have fun. Drive carefully, Ike. You look nice by the way, Sky." Ike said "okay" and Sky said "thanks" simultaneously. Then Taylor warned Ike to be a gentleman and he said he'd try not to screw it up this time (in a hillbilly voice) and they were out the door and heading for his car. He had a nice sporty car. Black. She liked riding in it. He took her to a nice restaurant about 15 minutes away. He kept making her laugh so much that she forgot to be nervous. She opted not to get spaghetti because she always ended up with it hanging out of her mouth. However, the chicken with rice seemed safe enough. They talked about music at first. Her dad played acoustic guitar and they'd always been really into music in her house. She told him about the Beatles record she and Sunny used to play and how her dad used to do Elvis impressions to make her laugh when she was mad. Then they talked about his career, where she'd grown up, all the things they hadn't already talked about at other times.

When they were ready to leave, she asked if he wanted any money. He shook his head and said no, since he'd asked her out. But she left the tip anyway. They went out to the car and finished her box of tic-tacs for dessert. They were sitting for a minute when she noticed him looking at the cut on her arm. She felt guilty again. But this time it was because she'd lied to him earlier. "So what do you want to do now? Go see a movie?" he locked the doors and rolled his window down part way. "Ike...I want to tell you something." "Okay." he looked unsure of himself but waited patiently. She sat quietly for a minute. "I didn't fall on broken glass at work."she finally said. "You didn't? Then how'd you do it?" "My dad....he threw a bottle at me. A whiskey bottle. And it hit the door frame next to me." she avoided his eyes. He seemed to take this in for a few seconds. "Oh...why did he do that?" "Well...he was mad at me. He was really drunk..."

Before she knew it she was telling him the whole story about her dad asking her to go meet Mr. Bivins and his son, to everything that happened in the car and after she'd walked back home. When she got to the struggle in the car, she got choked up and began crying. He moved towards her a little and rubbed her back as she leaned forward, trying hard to finish the story. He didn't say a word the whole time, just listened quietly, handed her a tissue and gently rubbed her shoulder. She finished by telling him about the talk she and her father had when she got home from the party. Only then did she dare to look over at him. She wasn't sure, but it looked like his eyes were a little teary. It gave her goose bumps. "One more thing, Ike...Taylor knows most of what happened last night because he found me out in the tree house. He bandaged me up. I made him swear not to tell, so that's why he didn't tell you. If you want to talk to him about it, just make sure he knows that I know that he kept his word. And I don't want anyone else to know. I'm really sorry I'm ruining our date, Ike.." she wiped her eye and sighed. "You're not ruining anything, Sky,"Isaac said softly, "I just wish I'd known you were out there...I would've helped you. But it was nice of Tay to bring you band-aids." "Yeah...he's really sweet to me." and that make-out session didn't hurt either!, she jokingly thought. Then she started to laugh. "What?" he said, startled. "Nothing, I just laugh sometimes when things get really weird. You know, my life the soap opera. You're probably plotting a way to end this date as soon as possible, huh?" "No way," he smiled, "I already don't want it to end." "You know what? Why don't we go to my house and watch a movie? My dad has a lot of stuff on tape. I really don't feel like going to the theatre. If you want to, that is." "I'd like that, Sky. And I'm sorry about what happened to you, but it's not your fault at all, so don't feel embarrassed. I won't tell a soul." he tilted his head down and gave her this crooked smile (the kind where you're not showing teeth) that made her glad she'd told him the truth. And happy that she was here with him. They went back to her house and she gave him a tour. He said that Tay had told him about her bedroom ceiling so she pointed it out with pride.

Then she got them both a drink and he picked out a movie. She kicked her sandals aside and curled up on the couch next to him, but barely touching him. She pressed play on the remote. About ten minutes into the movie, she noticed him looking at her out of the corner of her eye. She looked over at him, and he gave that little smile again. She returned it. He shifted around on the couch so that his leg was touching hers. Her heart started pounding. She tried willing it to slow down before he heard it, but it wouldn't listen. It wasn't like they'd never touched before. They'd even wrestled in the pool once. But it was different tonight. Maybe because he knew her secret and had been so good about it. Anyhow, her heart was pretty into him. It was driving her mad, so she shifted around and leaned forward to take a sip of her drink. When she leaned back again, his arm was there and hence, around her. She leaned back against it and fought a grin. Her eyes were glued to the screen but she was missing most of the dialogue. Her left hand, which was on his side, rested on her leg. He moved his left arm across his lap and their hands touched slightly. It sent chills up and down her spine. She just wanted to leap into his lap, but she fought the urge. Just when she thought she couldn't stand it anymore, he gently took her hand in his. She finally looked at him and he was looking at her intensely. But he looked really happy. She moved a little closer and he leaned down toward her. Their eyes were locked. Then he closed his, and kissed her tenderly. It was more wonderful than any of those sloppy tongue kisses they always showed in the movies. She was waiting for her heart to actually leap from her chest or for him to ask her to keep it down so he could hear himself think. But a few kisses later, it had slowed to a steady rhythm and his mouth felt so natural on hers it was as if they were custom made to fit. His other arm was now around her and she slid even closer, putting one arm around him and the other next to his leg. He took his time, kissing her soft and slow. When the kisses grew stronger and deeper, she felt weak and leaned back. He kept leaning forward and they were nearly horizontal on the couch. Then that annoying voice popped into her head. Sky! Slow down! This is getting to be a bad habit with you! It's the first date, Sky! She told the voice to shut up, and continued kissing his lovely mouth. But after another minute of this, she pulled away and he offered no resistance. "Do you want to stop?" he asked in a gruff whisper. "No..but we probably should." she found her voice weak as well. "Sky, can I see you again?"he asked, pushing her hair gently away from her face, looking at her hair then her lips then her eyes again. "Yes." "Good...that's great. I had a really good time, Sky. You're so beautiful..I'm so lucky to be here with you." He was holding both her hands in his, gazing at her face adoringly. She was melting inside. She felt her cheeks flush and she looked away then back at him, beaming. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead and she loved the way he smelled and the feel of his hair against her face. She did not want to let go of his hands. He didn't seem to be in any hurry either. They were breathing slow and deep. She didn't want him to leave and decided to say it out loud. "Ike..I don't want you to leave." "I wish I could stay...but I should probably get going. You smell really good."he added, sitting up and kissing her hand. Then they were smiling uncontrollably again. He helped her up and then carried his glass to the sink before she walked him to the door. They stood looking at each other again. "Well, thanks for dinner...I'm glad you asked." "I'm glad you accepted." Then he looked as if he'd just remembered something and wrinkled his brow. "What's wrong?"she asked nervously. "Oh...I don't know if Tay mentioned we're going on tour soon." "Zac told me all about it, actually." "Oh. Well...we're leaving in less than a week." "Really?" she couldn't hide her disappointment,"That'll be fun for you."she added quickly. "It's just for a few months." "Let's not worry about it right now, Ike." "You're right,"he relaxed and grabbed her hand. She kissed him this time, then pushed him out of the door and waved as he drove away.

When he got out of his car, he floated into the house, or at least that's how it felt. The kids were all in bed, but he said "hi" to his parents, told them about dinner and the movie (luckily they didn't ask for details) then said goodnight. He ran upstairs and right into his room. There was a knock at his door almost at once, and then Taylor came in, in boxers and a baggy t-shirt. "So,how was it? Did you have a good time?" He had to know. Maybe he was a masochist. Ike hesitated only a moment. "Super..she's so gorgeous, Tay..and interesting. And nice. And cool...it was so awesome." He patted his bed and Taylor hopped on beside his brother, who proceeded to tell him about the dinner and the whole incident in the car and the movie and the kissing, oblivious to the fact that Taylor had been kissing those lips just last night. Not that he was mad. He'd worked it through while Ike was on his date, and was determined to be adult and mature and not petty about it She was still his friend. And his brother would treat her nicely. So things could be worse. At least he got a few minutes of good kissing out of the deal. And that was worth a lot at this point in his life. So he listened as Ike rambled on, and said "really?" a lot. "She said to tell you she knows you kept your word, Tay. I hope you're not mad. I think it's really cool that you didn't tell. We can't always tell each other everything, right?" Thinking of that kiss again, Taylor nodded in agreement. Eventually Ike wound down and Tay said goodnight and returned to his room. But neither slept well that night, both deep in thought but for different reasons.