4 -TIT FOR TAT '1990 SANDY THOMAS

I must have turned eight shades of red before I choked out, "AWWW, I, I thought you sort of look like my cousin, Christine. Sorry, I was sort of . . .'

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"Looking? That's what you were doing, LOOKING!" She smiled at me and grabbed my arm and said, "Let's go have a soda at the student hall."

I was uncomfortable around her, every bit of my shyness taking over. I could barely respond as she gabbed about school and stuff. I was surprised, she wasn't "stuck up" or anything. To my surprise, the next week she came to me again and wanted to have lunch with me. It became a weekly ritual.

We became very close as she told me all about her life. Everything from being a pretty little girl to changing into a sexy young lady. She was dating several guys and told me of her dates and how this guy or that one made her feel.

I asked her why she never went "steady" with any. She told me of her loves and how most of them turned into macho jealous pigs. She said, "They just want to boss me around. One date and they think they own me."

At lunch, one day just before graduation, she asked, "Would you like to go to dinner with my family tomorrow? My mother will love you.'

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"Sure," I said. I wondered if this was a date or "as friends."

"Tana and I on campus.

lips.

TV FICTION CLASSICS -5 IT WASN'T AS FRIENDS!

"Aren't you going to kiss me," she asked offering her ruby

I felt like an idiot. I had not even considered that she might want to kiss me. "Well sure," I said carefully and softly moving closer until our lips met.

Three months to the day later, we were standing before a Minister and 300 'close' friends getting married. It all happened so fast. I'd dated girls longer and never even went steady. Oh, I loved her, or at least I thought I did. My buddies all envied me. "YOU are dating Tana??" they'd say, their mouths open in surprise.

When Tana first suggested we get married, my first thought was "it's too soon", but I was in heaven. Who wouldn't want a luscious creature like Tana for a wife. I was "taking while the taking was good."

I was so happy, but I should have listened to Victor, my best man. Victor had been through a lot in his twenty-some years. His father had died suddenly last month and left him millions. If handling his new found wealth wasn't enough, he married the second most beautiful girl in college, Donna. Next to Tana, she was the most popular. At first, I thought Donna might just be after Victor's money but I soon realized that they were very close. Since Victor's marriage to a goddess had worked out, why should he be concerned about me???

Donna and Tana had been best friends since they competed at the Miss Mainville contest when they were sixteen. Tana was Donna's maid of honor when Victor married her and now she was to be Tana's. They were best friends except when it came to something competitive. Then it was 'every woman for her self. It was understood and a mutual condition of their friendship.

At first I thought Victor was warning me of what it was like marrying a 'goddess', but then I thought he might be talking of our wives competitiveness. Victor was rich and I was not. That sort of made Tana a 'loser' in a gold digger sort of way. I loved her, she loved me, that was all we needed.

Tana walked down the aisle in an exquisite hand-embroidered lace dress, towering three inches over me because