Just One Kiss

Just One Kiss Ch 11

Tia shot straight up in bed and swore as the headache she'd been nursing as a result of very little sleep due to last minute prep for graduation came roaring back to life. She knew she shouldn't have gone to the dance but how could she not? Your high-school graduation dance only happened once. Now, what had woken her?

She focused on the noise and realised that it was coming from outside her door. Tia sighed and got up shrugging on a robe as she moved to answer the door. What did Rahul want now? She knew it was him, her mother wouldn't bother to knock these days and Wade called before he entered. Rahul was the only one who would knock until she opened her door. When he was excited, like now, the knocking would sound like he was trying to break down the door.

Bracing herself for whatever he had to say she opened the door and cursed silently when her heart skipped a beat. After all he had done and said why couldn't she give him up?

"What do you want Rahul?" Tia said weary of his good mood. These days it never brood well for her when he was like this. Her eyes slide over his crisp white shirt and equally crisp black pants and snuck a look at her watch.

8 a.m. what had he been doing so early in the morning? She didn't have to wait long to find out because Rahul burst out "She accepted Tia!"

Tia stared at him blankly, "What are you talking about Rahul?"

"Suzie! She accepted my proposal!"

Tia stared at him dumbly "What proposal?"

"I asked her to marry me and she said yes!"

Tia felt like her legs were going to give out and hastily left her room so that she could be on the steps before she collapsed. She didn't want Rahul in her room and his room was out of the question. "That's great! Congratulations!" she exclaimed feigning pleasure. When she could manage to stand she did and hugged up him. He picked her up and spun her around joyously.

"I am so happy!!"

"I can see that but are you sure about this? It's a really big step."

"Yes T, I'm sure she's the one."

"Ok. So when's the wedding? Tia asked with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes but Rahul was too excited to notice.

"Oh we're thinking of about one month from now. That should give us enough time to get everything ready."

"It's going to be a small wedding then?"

"Yea. We don't need a big to do." Rahul replied

"Ok. When are you going to tell Wade?"

"Right now. C'mon." he said setting her down and pulling her up the stairs to their parents room.

When they heard the news there was hugs all around and Johanna said that he was to invite Suzie to dinner.

Wade was the only one to see Tia's sad eyes. When she left the room crying exhaustion Wade followed her.

He found her in her room staring blindly at one of her sketch pad with a pencil held loosely, if not idly in her hand.

She looked up as he came in the room. Closing the door softly behind him he came and sat down next to her on the bed.

"How are you holding up?"

"Ok I guess. He's going to marry her Wade. He loves her enough to marry her."

"Are you going to be able to deal with that?" Wade asked gently.

"What choice do I have Wade? I have to accept the fact that he loves her and not me and hope that this love I have for him either fades away so that I can be free to love another or that I wake up one day and realise that what I feel for him is just brotherly love."