Rosette

Chapter 11: Anashuya and Vijaya

A week went by and Olivia was now a lot closer to Tyler, still waiting for him to ask her out since she knew she couldn't get over the humiliation if she asked him and got rejected. Now Olivia was taking her father's car to her tennis practice.

Jake was in his room, nervous beyond belief, trying to calm his hair down. He felt like he was going on his first date ever as he sucked on a mint, even though he just brushed his teeth while getting ready, and went to the kitchen to begin on the dinner, only a half hour until he knew Rose would arrive.

Rosette was in her room, straightening her red dress out and applying perfume. A lot of thoughts were going through her mind, what if she couldn't keep the conversation up, what if Olivia burst into the house and catches them, what if this made things forever awkward between them—

Oh, my God. I didn't think of that. How will I ever face Olivia again? How will I ever face him again if this goes wrong? I shouldn't have agreed to this. It's too late to back out, and besides I couldn't. I need to see how this plays out. I wish I could've just swallowed my feelings and went on with how things were.

She thought all of this as she put her shoes on and snuck out the back door, deciding to walk there since it was her only mode of transportation. She thought over things, realizing how wrong it was from the beginning; they couldn't even go on a date outside of the house, because if they were caught by any girl in her grade they'd immediately be recognized, since Olivia was a very outgoing person, it made it hard to hide.

She sighed, looking out at the setting sun, walking past parks and stopping at green lights. It all felt heightened. The green leaves seemed brighter than ever, the passing cars were a lot louder and she knew it was all because of a secret joy in her chest, though she was incredibly nervous and was overthinking, she already knew this was meant to happen. There couldn't be a better person for her. Jake was always so kind, sweet, funny and incredibly attractive in her eyes, and there always seemed to be a connection between them, she just couldn't stay away, and it seemed like he didn't mind that at all.

This all felt like such a long time coming. She always felt her pulse speed up around him, he always had that effect on her. She was always slightly embarrassed by it, Jake was attractive but he was also much older, and though she once overheard some of Olivia's friends make jokes on his attractiveness she knew no one would actually try anything, Olivia's friend ended up being teased so much for what she said that it was almost considered bullying. And here Rosette was, having initiated a kiss and now going on a date with him. She didn't know the consequences yet.

Somehow though it always felt different, it was never just a crush. She always liked him for more than what she saw. I mean, he was smart, witty sometimes and incredibly nice, it was hard not to fall for him but she soon did and then it was hard to stay away.

Once she finally reached, she decided to ring the bell than get the hidden key. Jake was quick to come to the door.

He opened it with a smile and a white rose in his hand. She was a little short of breath when she looked at him, in his tux and pushed back hair, she couldn't breathe right knowing it was all for her. He smiled at her.

"Hi," he said, discreetly looking down and checking her out, making her blush. He felt his heart beat a little faster, but he tried to push down his nerves, he didn't want to seem nervous, though he slightly was. "You look gorgeous, like you always do." He looked back up into her eyes. "Here," he held out the rose. "I was going to get a red rose but this reminded me so much more of you."