The Thief of Hearts

Chapter 26

Keith's pov

When I met Thalia's mom, Cecile, I finally knew where her fiery feistiness came from. None of it, thankfully was directed at me, just some of Lia's brother's friends. Her eldest sister was a total neat freak just like me and we became friends right from the start. Her other sis was the quiet one, she barely talks but whenever she does, it was usually a joke. Her brother reminded me of Ashton, crazy guy, if asked me. His first love was a bike.

To sum it all up, the Christmas holiday with the Wright family was one of the best holidays I've ever spent. We enjoyed each other's company, playing games, making jokes, having movie nights, ice cream walks, exchanging presents... It was great, and my mom was having an equally good time as I managed to convince her to take a well needed vacation at one of the Caribbean islands.

We, Thalia and I ended up telling her family everything about how we met. I never thought they'd be cool with the fact that I did such a horrible thing to their Lia, but after they realized that everything worked out just fine, they didn't mind after all.

School was also a main part of our conversations. They all were very interested in all our studies, both Thalia and I's. That was when I finally accepted the fact that I only had one semester left before I graduated.

A part of me was glad it was almost over, but the other part of me was wondering how I would make it through one work day without seeing Thalia between breaks, like I used to. Of course I'd see her everyday when I get away from work, but would that be enough?

After the holidays, I spent all the time I possibly could with her. We studied, played, argued, laughed, cuddled, slept....
I seriously saw her in my life forever. Something that prompted me to buy an engagement ring against her wish to go slow. She didn't know I had it, and I intended to keep it that way until she was ready, so I kept the ring in my possession at all times. That way, neither Ashton nor Amanda could get ahold of it without my knowledge.

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It was graduation day. I sat with the other graduates with Ashton grinning proudly beside me. He was more excited about the whole thing than I was. I guess he just couldn't wait to get away from University and finally be free. Ashton also didn't have to work with his father at the car dealership company because he made a deal with his old man. I supposed that deal had something to do with Ash graduating with a degree.

I, on the other hand felt the complete opposite. It's not that I didn't want to graduate, I just didn't want to leave school, to leave Thalia. Of course I know that this didn't necessarily means I'm leaving her, it just felt that way. Everything except our relationship would change, and I just didn't think I could survive in a working world without her.

The whole time I sat miserably wondering when the hell will the stupid service end so I could get out of damn gown and be alone with my baby. I found her with my eyes sitting among the other attendees. She was with my mom and her's, and they happily smiled back at me and waved. This served to lift my spirit a bit and gave me a little more patience to wait for the service to end.

We finally threw her hats in the air and I was smothered with hugs and kisses when I met up with the moms. I squeezed my Thalia to me and whispered in her ears. "Let's get out of here."

"What about our moms?" She asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, "they can find their way home."

She pinched my arm as she replied. "At least let them Know we're leaving."

"Okay, okay." I sighed, dragging my feet towards our mothers.

Twenty minutes later we were laying in the grass on the lawn of my backyard, staring up at the starry sky. I had a arm around Lia while the other was in my pocket, absentmindedly playing with the ring. I was lost in blissful thoughts of what the future might be like when Thalia sat up to give me a quizzical look.

"What's in your pocket sweetie?" She asked, her eyebrows meeting.

I avoided her eyes as I answered. "Umm, let's see." I said, "some cash, a piece of gum, chocolate.... This feels like a coin..."

"I'm going home." She suddenly said, getting up.

I sat up quickly, almost panicking. "Wait, why?"

"What's in your pocket?" She asked again. 

I sighed in defeat as I took out the ring and handed it over. "I'm not sorry, I'm not giving it back, I'm not selling it." I said before she could react.

She just stared at the diamond ring for a while, sitting down where she was laying a while ago. She started to shake her head slowly. "Keith.... I..." She trailed off.

"I know baby." I said, "I'm willing to wait until you're ready."

She blinked and wiped her eyes with her hand. It pained me to see her cry. I sighed as I hugged her and gently rubbed her back. "I'll let you keep it if you'd like." I offered, attempting to cheer her up.

"Really?" She asked, a smile starting to form on her beautiful face.

"Yeah," I replied happily, "I want you to propose to me instead. That way, we'd both be ready."

She laughed, wiping away the last of her tears. "You want me to propose to you." She repeated, as if trying to see the norm in the arrangement.

"Sure baby," I said, "we'd do everything the other way around. You'd take me out on a date; somewhere candle lit and romantic, open the doors for me, pull out my chair for me, hold my hands, make me blush." I said as I grinned at her.

She grinned back as she sat on my lap. "Take you home, undress you, stay on top and make you scream my name so the neighbors can hear..."

"Oh yeah baby!" Just imagining that made me excited and our close proximity ignited my desire for her. I took her hands and lead her inside. "How about we start practicing now?"

Thalia giggled, the sweetest sound I've ever heard apart from her moans of pleasure.