RaStro FicS

She keeps me warm (22)

After a restless night, Rhian submerged herself in work all day. She even called several clients and offered a special discount if they could come in that day or the next. Her mind was swirling with Glaiza's declaration of love and while her heart soared upon hearing those words, her thoughts were spinning out of control.

Glaiza had called twice that day and she kept the conversation short stating that she was extremely busy. When the short hair asked again if Rhian would be stopping by RK's later that evening, the red hair was non-committal.

Seeing that the red hair was upset, Robbyn rested her chin on Rhian's leg and whimpered.

"Hey. You hungry?"

Sad eyes stared at Rhian as if she sensed the red hair's dilemma.

Rhian sighed as she continued to pet her cat. "I don't know what to do. I know Glaiza wants me to stop by tonight but..."

Robbyn sat on her hind legs, showing great interest in Rhian's words.

"You know, she told me she loved me." When Robbyn didn't respond, Rhian frowned. "You know what that means, don't you? She's very open about being gay and...well, what if she wants to kiss me?"

Robbyn cocked her head and stared questioningly at the red hair.

"Oh, don't look at me that way. I'm talking about in public. She would beway okay with that you know."

The Russian Blue had this look on her face that said something like 'I do lots of things in public. It's natural'.

As if reading her cat's mind, Rhian rolled her eyes. "I know it's a natural thing to kiss her or hold her hand." The red hair leaned back, remembering the delicious kiss. "God, I love kissing her." She was lost in a daze for a moment before reality set back in. "It's just that with everyone watching. I don't wanna put on a show you know."

Again, Robbyn offered a lackadaisical response to Rhian's concern.

"Oh, what do you know?" Rhian pushed herself up out of her chair. "Come on." She knew she was putting off making a decision about going to the bar as she busied herself with various small projects around the house.

*****

Glaiza was finding it hard to be patient and every time a customer demanded her attention she was ready to bite their head off but put on a tight grin instead.

"What's wrong with you?" Chynna nudged her friend.

"Nothing."

"Yeah, sure." The pixie hair glanced around the bar before returning her attention to Glaiza.

Chynna slammed a hand over Glaiza's. "You gonna talk to me or what?"

"It's nothing." But Glaiza knew her friend wasn't going to give up until she told her something. "I was hoping Rhian would stop by tonight."

"Maybe she got hung up. She'll be here."

Shaking her head, Glaiza had her doubts. "I don't know about that." The short hair let out a heavy sigh. "I think I screwed up."

"What do you mean?"

Leaning forward so others couldn't hear them at the bar, Glaiza whispered. "I told Rhian that...well, that I love her."

"You did what?" Chynna nearly shouted until a hand clapped over her mouth.

The pixie hair grabbed her friend and spun her around till they were near the office door. "In here." She pushed Glaiza inside. "Now, tell me everything."

Glaiza shrugged. "Like I said."

"Yeah I know like you said. But exactly what did you say? What did she say?" Chynna had the short hair cornered.

"She didn't say much. It was all sort of sudden for her, I think." Glaiza sat on the edge of Ronnie's desk. "We were on a picnic yesterday."

"So that's where you were."

"And things sorta happened..."

"What things?"

Glaiza looked away. "We kissed and then...sorta made out a little."

"Oh, my God." Chynna stepped up to her friend and slapped her on the arm.

"Good for you. I was afraid after our talk Monday that you'd..." The pixie hair frowned. "Never mind. So, then what happened?"

Glaiza cut to the chase. "Basically, I told her I wanted to share my life with her."

"Dude, you don't do anything half way, do you?" Chynna pursed her lips together, thinking of how Rhian would take Glaiza's offer. "Okay, so why are you so down? Did she give you any reason to indicate she didn't feel the same?"

"No, not exactly. But she didn't have time to talk much today. She was busy...and the other day she said she'd be here tonight but today... well, she kinda shrugged it off." Glaiza was trying not to worry but she was a woman that had just laid her heart out completely and not know was tearing her apart at the moment. "If I could just see her for a minute, talk to her."

"Call her then." Chynna picked up the phone on the desk and handed it to her friend. "I'll help my uncle out at the bar. Take as long as you need."

With phone in hand, Glaiza stared at it. She barely heard the door close behind Chynna, leaving her alone with her doubts. Pushing the buttons, Glaiza waited patiently as she heard the phone ring.

When the phone rang, Rhian jumped. She stared at it for a long moment as her mind juggled the doubts bombarding her. Finally, she picked it up. "Hello."

"Hi." Glaiza greeted Rhian in a soft voice.

"Hi." Rhian twisted around and sat on the edge of her desk. "How are you?"

Wishing you were here. "I'm fine. You?"

"Okay. It's been an exhausting day for me." The red hair rubbed her temple.

"I won't keep you then. Why don't you get some rest?" Ending the conversation was the last thing Glaiza wanted to do. But she had to think of Rhian's well being first before her own.

"That's okay. I can talk for a little bit." Hearing Glaiza's voice eased her concerns.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine...really." Rhian wanted to alleviate Glaiza's concerns but found it hard since she herself was having trouble sorting out her own feelings. Facing a lifelong fear put her on unsteady ground.

The moment was unsettling, as both women remained silent.

"Glaiza?"

"Yes." The short hair hurriedly answered, hoping for some reassurance.

"Nothing."

Glaiza's eyes slammed shut, feeling rejected by the red hair. Oh, God. This one's gonna hurt like hell.

Somehow they muddled through a few more words then awkwardly wished each other a quiet goodnight.