Disclaimer: Alas, the Sons of Ipswich do not belong to me!

A/N: I'm sad :( only 2 people reviewed out of the 70 who read it. Thanks to them (puppygurl.98 & kvsgrl), you have this. Oh well, hope you enjoy this one.

Chapter Four: Tyler Simms

As usual, Tyler was being a wallflower. Don't get the wrong idea, he wasn't shy around girls. He just didn't like the prospect of finding his future wife. Marriage was so far out of his vocabulary that he couldn't wrap his brain around it. It was just – weird. He was only 21 damnit! So instead, he busied himself interrogating the waiters, the guards, the bartenders. Anyone who could talk to him that didn't want to marry him.

Strangely enough, none of the female populate (besides the mothers) seemed to acknowledge his presence. This relieved him.

But then again, you can't have Lily Simms as a mother and not get away with it.

He soon found himself standing in front of a pretty brunette with warm brown eyes. She looked uncomfortable. Great. He thought. That makes two of us. Lily was glowering at him two feet away. "Dance with her!" she hissed.

"Hi." Tyler said, offering her his arm. "I suppose you heard that."

"It's alright." She said smiling uncertainly. "One dance couldn't hurt."

They made their way towards the dancefloor. Tyler may not like the situation he was in, but he was far too much of a gentleman to just ignore the girl. Besides, she was cute.

"I'm Tyler, by the way."

"Cara."

"Let me guess, your mom put you up to this?"

"She sure did. I guess you could say I'm a little scared of her." She smiled timidly.

"Same here." Tyler said with a grin. "Mothers are monsters."

She laughed and he felt her relax in his arms. "So, you in college, Cara?"

She nodded. "I'm taking up interior design."

"That's cool. Must be fun." Tyler said. "Wish I could go to college."

"You should be a model." Cara suddenly blurted out.

Tyler almost lost his step. What? "What?"

But Cara didn't seem to be embarrassed by her suggestion. She just shrugged and grinned. "I mean, why not?"

"Because I'm not the model type?" Tyler stated slowly.

"Oh come on, Tyler. You're so freaking hot."

His jaw dropped to the floor. When had they gotten so blunt?

"Um, thanks?"

Cara waved him off. "It's a fact of life. So do you have a partner?"

Tyler frowned. "Partner? Like business partner?"

Cara matched his expression. "No. Like partner, partner. Like a lover, or something."

The fuck? "You mean a girlfriend?"

Cara stared at him as if he were crazy. "Hey it's okay. I've got a lot of gay friends."

No. Fucking. Way.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"I'm not gay."

By now, the two of them had stopped dancing. They stood in the middle staring at each other. Cara with disbelief. Tyler with queasiness. Were people actually thinking that? Him and another guy? The thought made him want to puke.

"You don't have to lie." Cara said softly, patting him on the arm. "You haven't had a girlfriend for more than two years. You've been avoiding every single girl like the plague the entire night, and I've seen you talking to that waiter. He's cute."

Tyler decided that he needed to clear things. Fast. "First of all, just because I haven't had a girlfriend for more than two years doesn't make me gay. I just haven't found the right one. Somehow, one-night-stands don't appeal to me. Second of all, I've been avoiding every single girl the whole night because I don't enjoy the prospect of getting married in six months, and thirdly, I don't think that waiter is cute. In fact, I don't think any person of my gender is cute."

His little outburst had earned them a little audience.

Then the whispering began.

For the first time in his life, Tyler found himself fuming. He stalked off in the opposite direction, leaving Cara to stare after him with shock. A few girls attempted to follow him, apparently realizing that they were sadly mistaken, but he brushed them off, not caring if he was rude.

"Give me that." He growled at the "cute" waiter, grabbing two glasses of champagne on either hand and downing them in one gulp. He decided he was going to get wasted that night and he was going to screw the first girl he sees.

Gay my fucking ass.

He was going to show them.

A/N: Review please. Chapters 5 & 6 are already done.