Chapter 3

Ryan was seated a row in front of Sian on the bus but he was turned with his back at the window so he could talk to her properly. "You said you were confused, does that mean you still like guys?" He asked watching her face closely.

Sian shrugged not feeling comfortable with the conversation at all. She liked Sophie, wasn't that enough? Why did everyone need to label you?

"I know you liked me Sian. We weren't horrible together." He continued.

"I did."

Ryan's lips twitched at the confession.

"But I like Sophie now." Sian said not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "And I don't know what that means okay?"

Ryan frowned. "But you liked what we did together, I know you did Sian."

Sian glanced around the bus wishing Ryan had left her to get on alone. Thankfully there weren't many other passengers and none that were close enough to overhear them.

"You think being with Sophie will be any better?" He asked still feeling angry that this whole time Sophie had been having feelings for his girlfriend.

"I am not having this conversation on the middle of a bus Ryan!" Sian hissed at him and got up to move seats.

Ryan sulked as Sian moved away and ignored him. But the more he thought about it the more he was convinced Sophie had filled Sian's head with this idea. The blonde wasn't gay.

Sian stared out the window, hardly believing that spending time with her dad was preferable to time with Ryan. She had hoped they'd manage to somehow remain friends, he had pretty much saved her life after all.

Sophie slumps down as Ryan's mum leaves the store. Her hands were still shaking and Michelle had given her such a funny look before she'd left...what if Ryan had said something?

"You okay Sophie?" Sunita asks as she comes into the front of the shop to find her young worker with her head buried in her hands. Luckily there weren't any customers in the store so Sunita could take a few minutes to talk to Sophie.

Sophie swallowed and tried to look more cheerful as her boss came and sat next to her. "Yeah, sorry. I'm fine. Just a headache."

Sunita didn't look convinced.

"You know sometimes the best thing for those headaches is to talk about it to someone." Sunita said with an open smile but Sophie looked away from her nervously. "Is it your results?" She asked.

Sophie shook her head, her exams had gone fine. "No."

"A boy then?"

Sophie took a few breaths and stared at the door, but there wasn't anyone paying customers to distract Sunita as the silence between them lengthened. "Did...do your parents like Dev...I mean do they approve of your relationship with him?" She asked eyeing her boss.

Sunita was a bit taken aback at the question. Then she figured she was still on the right track when she'd thought Sophie's problem was boy trouble. So she felt better by answering the young girl. "You're a little bit too young to remember I guess, but the short answer is no they don't."

Sophie frowned and tried to think of anything her parents or Rosie may have said about Sunita or Dev, but she couldn't.

Sunita smiled kindly and did her best to explain a little bit of her history. "My parents had arranged for a match between myself and the son of a family friend. I was supposed to go over to India to marry Depak." She chuckled at the horrified look Sophie was giving her. "Arranged marriages are still fairly common Sophie and some of them work out." Her parents had seemed happy and her older sister was.

"But you love Dev?" Sophie asked not wanting to think about her parents choosing a husband for her.

"I do, but it wasn't always easy." Sunita said, not wanting to go into too much detail and she didn't think Sophie really wanted to hear everything she and Dev had been through to get to this point in their lives. But she wasn't lying in saying she loved her husband because she did.

Sophie sighed. Love didn't seem easy for anyone.

"It was worth it though, right?" Sophie asked needing to know that following your heart was the right thing to do no matter what anyone else thought.

Sunita smiled despite the hurt she still felt knowing her parents would more than likely never want to be in her children's lives. She shrugged. "You can't let anyone live your life for you Sophie and I'm very happy with my life right now." She added.

Sophie nodded. Sunita did seem happy with Dev and the kids.

Sunita grinned and leaned in closer asking, "So who is he?" From the conversation Sunita gathered young Sophie was interested in some boy one or both of her parents didn't like and she was eager to hear all the details. And it meant she could escape the shop paperwork for a bit longer.

Sopie's eyes widened and she paled slightly. She hadn't said anything about a boy.

Just as Sunita was about to ask again Dev entered the shop along with Aadi and Asha, she shot her husband a knowing look as her children raced around the shop.

"Having a good day?" She asked him getting up and going over to round up her children and keep the damage to the shop at a minimum.

Sophie sighed in relief and just watched the couple talk.

Sophie poured out Sian's soup into a bowl and then her own. Then she dumped the dirty pot into the sink, filling it first with hot water from the tap so it'd be easier to clean later.

"Thanks." Sian said lifting her bowl and taking it with her as she sat at the table.

"No prob." Sophie replied carrying her own over then picking up a roll to eat along with her soup.

Sian kept her head down and concentrated on her lunch. She still hadn't worked out if she should mention her talk with Ryan. Sophie wasn't going to like it and with Rosie upstairs maybe now wasn't the best time.

"How's your dad?" Sophie asked wanting to break the silence. Normally it didn't bother her but she couldn't forget about Michelle coming into the shop earlier and needed something else to talk about.

Sian looked up at her girlfriend. "He's fine." She answered with a shrug then went back to her soup.

"He doesn't want you moving back in with him does he?"

Chuckling Sian shook her head. "Nah, he's busy with work so I'd be on my own most of the time. He said to thank your mum and dad for him for letting me stay."

Sophie relaxed. That was good wasn't it? It meant Sian could stay as long as her parents didn't mind. She grinned at the blonde and wiggled her eyebrows. "Cool!"

Sian laughed.

Rosie came bounding down the stairs and popped her head around to find her sister. "I'm going into town with a mate, will you tell dad I won't be home 'till late?" She asked.

"Sure."

"Great!" Rosie threw a grin Sophie's way before heading for the door.

Sian silently finished off her lunch before meeting Sophie's gaze. "Now what?" She asked, painfully aware they were now alone in the house.

Sophie huffed out a breath and gave it a thought. "We could go out?" She offered but Sian quickly shook her head. "Do the dishes?" She couldn't help laugh as Sian snorted. "Well, how about a dvd? Up my room?"

A grin slowly emerged on Sian's face.

"Come on then!"

Sophie tried to focus on the movie, but her girlfriends wandering hand was becoming too much of a distraction. They'd both managed to sit through the first one with only minor bouts of kissing and cuddling, but now they were stretched out together on the bed with Sophie laying flat on her back with her head turned to the monitor screen while Sian lay on her side against the back wall watching with her head propped up as she leant on her elbow.

Sian felt her hand being captured by both of Sophie's and glanced down her girlfriend's body to see her hand being pulled out of the brunette's top. She blushed and quickly apologised.

Sophie grinned up at her embarrassed girlfriend, she hadn't thought Sian was trying to push her into anything, she'd spotted the blonde staring at the screen and she now looked suitably mortified by her actions.

It was just if the blonde was going to be touching her like that she'd rather it was on purpose and that both of them were aware of what they were doing.

"It's okay."

Sian groaned and hid her face against Sophie's neck. "No it's not." She muttered.

The movie forgotten, Sophie shifted around and pulled Sian to her, closing her arms around the blonde and just holding her. She'd always enjoyed how easy it was to be around the other girl. Before she'd realised that she shouldn't really enjoy touching the blonde as much as she did.

Friends shouldn't want to hold hands as much as she'd wanted to with Sian.

Sophie sighed as she tried not to remember how scared she'd been when she couldn't overlook the way her heart started to skip a beat when Sian smiled or laughed around her, or how jealous she got when Ryan was with them.

He'd always try to get rid of her so he could be alone with Sian. Even going so far as to fix her up with Lee, telling him she was up for a good time. Jerk! That still pissed her off, but remembering how Sian had raced after her to make sure she was okay made her feel giddy inside.

And now Sian was with her and not Ryan.

Sophie pressed her body closer to Sian's, and nuzzled against the head tucked against her shoulder. "It's really okay." She whispered, her hand tracing lazy patterns on the blonde's back.

Sian lifted her head up enough to make eye contact. She could see the hint of desire in the eyes staring calmly back at her. Her breathing started to pick up as their eyes locked together, questions being asked and answered without the need for words.

Sian tilted her head and smiled. As Sophie smiled back at her she reached out and pushed some fallen hair clear of the other girls face, then let her hand linger a moment before cupping Sophie's face and leaning over to claim her lips.

She felt Sophie smile into the kiss causing her to nip at the brunette's bottom lip. They both broke away laughing only to go back for a deeper more passionate kiss as Sophie's hands now found their way to the bottom of Sian's t-shirt and the skin beneath.

Next part in a day or two!