Alice put another round of drinks down on the table-Cosmos for Dana and Tonya, impossibly dark beers for herself and Shane. The music at the bar was so loud that her sternum was throbbing, and Alice half expected the glasses to start skittering from the vibrating table top onto the floor.

“To love,” said Tonya, raising her pink concoction and aiming a 1000-watt smile directly at Dana.

“To Bette and Tina,” Dana added, twining her forearm with Tonya’s before they both sipped at their drinks.

“To Maalox, which is what I need right now,” Alice muttered, rolling her eyes and swallowing deeply from her beer. “What is this *****? No wonder it’s on special.”

“Just drink up,” Shane said, “it’s good for you.”

“Right. And I’m going to take your word for that,” Alice said. “You’d drink kerosene if it was on sale.”

“You know, it’s not like Bette and Tina are back together or anything. Tina is only thinking about maybe letting Bette move back in. As a room mate,” Shane said.

“But if Bette is living in the house with Tina, they have a much better chance of getting back together. I think it’s great news,” Dana said, beaming.

“Don’t get your hopes up, Dane. That’s all I’m saying. It’s way too early to tell,” Shane said.

“Let’s dance, Baby doll,” Tonya said, tugging on Dana’s wrist.

Shane followed Alice’s gaze as she watched Tonya lead Dana across the dance floor, touching her in ways that were illegal in several mid-western states. Alice finally tore her eyes away and turned her full attention to Shane.

“What is the matter with you?” she asked.

“Hunh?”

“Why don’t you want Bette and Tina to get back together?”

“I didn’t say that. I just said that they aren’t back together. There’s a huge difference.” Shane sipped her beer calmly.

“Well, it sounds like you don’t want them to be back together.”

“What I want is for Tina to be happy.”

“And you think she’s happy without Bette?” Alice said loudly, trying to be heard over the insistent bass.

“Tina got her heart crushed. And I’m pretty sure Bette was on the other end of that.”

“So they don’t get another chance? Bette’s not allowed to try and make it up to her?”

“What if Bette’s not the right person to make her happy? What if there’s someone who could make her happier?” Shane asked.

“Someone like you?” Alice smirked.

“Whoever,” Shane said, taking another drink.

Alice looked back out at Dana and Tonya, bodies draped all over each other, lost in their own world as they swayed to the music.

“The trouble with you and me,” Alice said, not taking her eyes from the dance floor, “is that we always want what we can’t have. That’s what makes us incredibly tragic, *****, and romantic.”

Shane laughed and shook her head. “Is that so?”

“Unfortunately, Romeo, it is.” Alice leaned in closer before she continued. “You and Bette go back a long way, Shane. And deep down in that black heart of yours, you know that she loves Tina more than life itself. She hasn’t exactly been the poster child for good judgment over the past six months, but that doesn’t mean she loves Tina any less.”

“What’s your point?”

“My point is, don’t stand in the way of something that is meant to be or you’ll get run over,” Alice said, smiling warmly.

Shane leaned back on her barstool and surveyed the packed room for a long moment.

“You know Al, you’re wrong about the two of us.”

“I am, huh? How’s that?” Alice asked, making a face as she took another drink of beer.

“You can still have what you want,” Shane said, nodding in Dana’s direction.

“And what about you?”

“I guess I’ll find a way to want what I can have,” she said with a wink, getting up and making her way through the crowd.

“Yeah. Good luck with that,” Alice said, watching Shane sidle up to a pretty blonde with dark eyes and an easy smile.