Life through a string of kisses

Radio Girl

A few weeks into University and Rebecca decided to try and join the radio society.
Young and keen, she tried to get to know everyone's names. She memorised how the buttons worked and was given a slot for her own radio show.

She met a girl called Tia who was as excitable as her and who was passionate about controversial topics. Rebecca ended up being dragged to a Poetry society the girl had founded. It wasn't really Rebecca's idea of fun but she liked the people she met there.

Tia and Rebecca started hanging out more and more. They would watch shows together, make pancakes, plan their radio shows and go for hot chocolate. It was a cute little friendship they both valued. Both were busy women juggling friends and uni and societies.
Tia liked to rant and would often come over to Rebecca's just to rant about a mutual friend and then leave straight after. Rebecca thought nothing of it, until she started recognising how exhausted she was after these visits.
But they carried on meeting up, their little flirtatious banter not interrupting Rebecca's relationship with Adam.

After a few months, their friendship group, of amateur poets, started to feel strained and tense. Fallouts started to occur and simple misunderstandings started to blow up. Tia was always part of it. Most of the time, from an subjective point of view, Tia was the cause of it.
The contrast was so bizarre. Tia spoke of acceptance and inclusion. But then would 'forget' one of the poet's preferred pronouns.

Tia was also a hopeless romantic. She always seemed to struggle with being too quick with the girls she dated. There was always a new girl who had captured or broken her heart.

Rebecca herself was so intrigued by the girl. She felt confused trying to separate her feelings of liking the girl as a friend, and liking her as more than one. She recognised this as a familar struggle. One she knew she ought to get control of sooner rather than later. Especially, with the unease she felt at not understanding an aspect of her personality.

Then one night while lying in bed together, watching a movie, she made a decision. They lay, staring at each other, the faint baby hairs on Tia's face slightly moving from Rebecca's breath. They almost kissed. Tia's lungs seemingly froze as all self preservation thoughts went to try to sort out her thoughts that rambled around in an illogical order. Why was Tia even this close when she had been cheated on herself, surely she didn't want Rebecca to cheat? Was this the step Rebecca wanted to take? Effectively destroy her budding relationship with Adam.

Then she was up, putting her shoes on and speaking of needing space.

And that was it.
The two girls spoke a few more times but with the clarity space gave Rebecca she let the friendship go. The girl was toxic, and she didn't want to be a cheat. She like Adam. He was good to her and made her laugh. He was safe.

She decided not to tell him of the potential kiss, not wanting to hurt the boy she was starting to fall for. And with Tia out of the picture, and all focus on Adam, Rebecca found their relationship had strengthens tenfold.