Chapter 9

Tina looked up from the bed and into the eyes of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She loved sharing private moments with Bette, it was when she was at her most vulnerable. Tonight, there was an easiness about her. Tina reflected for a moment on why that was. It could have been the way Bette was dressed, casual, but still offering a sense of presence in the room. It could have been the smile plastered on her face, as if nothing in the world could touch this moment for them. It could have been that Bette was hopeful for the future given the significant moment they were about to share. Bette approached Tina with confidence, relishing in the moment, as she stood between Tina’s parted legs that hung over the side of the bed.

Bette bent down and gently brushed her lips against Tina’s. She did so once more, this time, kissing Tina harder. Bette chuckled as Tina wrapped her arms around her neck to pull her closer. Bette’s lips gently caressed Tina’s again, not in an urgent manner, but in a loving and gentle one.

Bette wasted no time when it came to the pursuit of what she wanted. Her hands reached for the bottom of Tina’s shirt and began to lift it upward in an effort to remove it from Tina’s body. When Tina felt Bette’s hands at the hem of her shirt, she instantly lifted her arms in the air. Tina broke the kiss when Bette had gotten the shirt up to her shoulders so that Bette could easily slip it off and discard it on the floor near the bed.

The cold night air caressed Tina’s skin causing goose bumps to appear and her nipples to harden instantly. Tina wasn’t sure if it was due to the cooler air or Bette’s inspection of Tina’s body. Bette smiled as her eyes traveled from Tina’s eyes, to her neck, to her breasts, and down to her slim abdomen. She allowed her eyes to quickly return over the same path and ended up staring into Tina’s eyes.

Tina looked into Bette’s warm eyes and felt instantly aroused. She felt her clit throb in time with the beat of her heart. She felt her wetness begin to seep out of her swollen lips and dampen her thong before Bette even touched her intimately. When Bette’s lips returned to Tina’s, she was fueled by her moans resonating from deep in her throat.

Bette began her descent, pushing Tina back to lay on the bed. Tina smiled against Bette’s lips seeing, in her mind, the picture of Bette almost panther like in her pursuit of her prey. This time, however, Bette was gentle in her movements. Tina wrapped her arms around Bette to pull her closer and urge her to become more aggressive in obtaining her own desires.

When Bette pulled away from Tina to take the image before her into the recesses of her mind, Tina’s hands immediately went for the buttons on her shirt. Easily, Tina slid the buttons through the linen fabric, which allowed the shirt to gape open accenting Bette’s cleavage. Once all of the buttons were unfastened, the shirt was discarded near Tina’s on the floor and Bette covered Tina’s body with her own.

Bette let her hand travel down Tina’s back lightly, tickling the skin before she laid on top of her completely. By the time Tina’s head hit the bed, Bette’s lips were on her neck kissing it lightly, licking it occasionally, escalating Tina’s desire.

They wasted no time in removing their pants, both discarding them quickly on the floor near their shirts. Bette laughed as Tina swung her leg over, now taking the dominant position on top of her wife. Tina sat up, straddling Bette’s body, gently tugging Bette into a sitting position as well. Bette smiled at Tina’s maneuver to position them with her being in the dominant role. It was Bette’s favorite position to make love to Tina even if Tina held the dominance.

“You’ll have a greater chance of getting pregnant if you’re aroused,” Tina could hear Dr. Wilson’s instructions ringing in her ears.

Tina smiled, knowingly, because she was extremely aroused and felt her desire seep out of her swollen lips and down her thigh. Tina felt a sense of security in Bette’s embrace as Bette snaked one hand down Tina’s back, tickling her smooth skin, while the other held the back of her neck accompanied by a handful of hair.

Bette was kissing Tina hard, her own breathing becoming erratic as she slid her hands down Tina’s sides and rested them on her hips. Tina needed to feel any contact with Bette as she moved under Tina’s body. Tina scooted up, desperate to touch her throbbing clit to any part of Bette’s body.

Tina’s breathing became heavy, her eyes closed, she needed to feel Bette. She needed to touch any part of Bette and the easiest was to run her hands through Bette’s hair as Bette sucked on her neck, lightly enough to not leave a glaring mark.

Tina moaned, her arousal reaching a dangerous level, as Bette held the back of her neck to engage her in a powerful kiss. Her tongue darted into Tina’s mouth, licking the roof of it with just the tip of her tongue, and then pulling it back and out of Tina’s mouth once more.

Bette needed a deep breath, her head was beginning to cloud, and she was having difficulty holding back her own need to fulfill Tina’s. She kissed Tina’s exposed shoulder quickly, her eyes closed, she relished in the feel of Tina’s skin against her swollen lips.

“Let’s do it,” Bette breathed in Tina’s ears sending shivers down Tina’s spine.

The only response Tina could muster for the moment was to moan. Tina dug her fingertips of one hand into the back of Bette’s body while the other held onto the back of her neck desperate to hold her still for a kiss.

“Yeah let’s do it,” Tina said breathless.

The knock on the door was enough to startle Tina, interrupting her dream. She stirred, not fully awake, and struggled to open her eyes.

“Mom!” Angelica knocked once more. “I’m going to be late if we don’t leave now.”

Tina opened her eyes and blinked to clear the fogginess out of her eyes. She looked over at the clock, on Bette’s side of the bed, and squinted to see what time was displayed. She rubbed her eyes once more, focusing on a note left by the alarm clock.

“Mom!” Angelica banged on the door once more losing her patience. “Are you even up?”

“I’m coming,” Tina called out to Angelica as she picked the note up and opened it to read it in private.

“Tina – I went to the Gallery early to start sculpting when I couldn’t sleep. I’ll call you later. Love, B”

The note was simple, and yet it had such an impact on Tina. She worried that Bette was running away from the continuation of the conversation initiated the night before. Tina rolled over and threw her feet on the floor as she rested her head in her hands.

“I’ll be out in a second Angie,” Tina called to her exasperated daughter.

She quickly got out of bed and walked into the master bathroom. She splashed water on her face and then quickly brushed her teeth. She ran back into the bedroom and quickly slipped into a pair of older jeans and a plain white t-shirt.

When Tina opened the door, Angelica was pacing down the hallway in a manner that reminded Tina of Bette.

“You look like Mama B,” Tina pointed out as she walked past Angelica and into the kitchen to grab her keys.

“You’re going to make me late,” Angelica said from behind Tina.

“Not if you just get in the car you won’t be late.”

Angelica’s answer was a silent eye roll as she followed Tina out the door and into her car. Tina quickly began her journey to Angelica’s school, working to avoid traffic, as she also dialed her cell phone.

“Helena,” Tina said as she was dumped into Helena’s voicemail. “I’m obviously going to be late today, so I’ll just work from home. If you need me get me on my cell at anytime.”

Tina shut her phone and placed it in the cup holder in the middle console of her car.

“Are you ok?” Angelica asked Tina seeing the stressful look on her face.

“Yeah,” Tina changed lanes quickly as she glanced at the clock to see if Angelica was late yet for school. “Why?”

“You never oversleep.”

“I have in the past,” Tina corrected her daughter.

“Not that I can remember,” Angelica pushed hoping Tina would open the discussion of another child with her so she could share her thoughts against it.

“Let it go Angie,” Tina warned as she pulled up to the curb at Angelica’s school with 5 minutes to spare.

Angelica ran out of the car with her books in her hand and headed for the entrance to the school. She looked back and saw Tina pull away from the curb and signal for a right hand turn, barely waiting for traffic to clear, and pull out to began her journey back home.

Angelica was almost to the door when a hand stopped her from opening it. The stench of a cigarette clouded Angelica’s air and she coughed as she turned around to see who was behind her.

Angelica’s eyes widened as she saw Tracy standing behind her with a pack of Virginia Slims in her hand and one prominently hanging out of her mouth.

“You’re smoking on school grounds?” Angelica said shocked to see Tracy taking a drag off the cigarette and blowing it in her direction.

“You should try it.”

“My moms would kill me.”

“You look like you could use one,” Tracy said offering her the already lit one from her mouth. “What’s wrong?”

“It was a long night,” Angelica said as she ignored the offered cigarette.

Angelica thought back to her conversation with Cathy about what she overheard. Images of her life changing and being filled with diaper duty flashed before her eyes and she shook her head to rid herself of the awful images.

“What’s your first period?”

“Art History,” Angelica said as she rolled her eyes in disgust. “I hate it.”

“Let’s go grab something to eat,” Tracy offered.

“We have class,” Angelica pointed out to her.

“So?”

“We’ll get in trouble for not being there!”

“Do you think they care whether you show up or not?” Tracy pushed. “My bet is they won’t even notice.”

Angelica looked past Tracy at Darren and a friend of his approaching the door.

“Hey Baby,” Darren smiled as he leaned forward and kissed Angelica on the lips. He glanced back at his friend and began to kiss Angelica aggressively seeing that he was watching. His hands roamed her hips as his tongue pushed past her lips and teeth into her mouth. Angelica’s hands remained stilled on his back until she turned her head to take a deep breath and clear her head.

“Good morning,” Darren said with a smile. “How’s my Baby?”

“Good.”

“What’s goin’ on lovely ladies?” Darren’s friend Kevin smiled in Tracy’s direction. “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“We were on our way to McDonald’s.” Tracy piped up. “Care to join us?”

“I’m in,” Darren spoke up first.

Before Angelica could react, Darren grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction opposite the school toward the sidewalk. As the four of them began to walk toward McDonald’s, pairing off in couples and holding hands, a sense of dread settled in Angelica’s stomach.

Tracy handed her pack of cigarettes to Darren who quickly took one and lit it, handing the lighter and pack back to Tracy. He grabbed Angie’s hand with his free one and squeezed it as Angie choked back a cough.

“Want a drag?” Darren held out the cigarette for Angie to take.

Angie hesitated and then felt the eyes of her three companions focused on her. She took the cigarette, conjuring up a picture of Shane in her mind. She closed her eyes to focus on the picture of Shane in her mind and tried to emulate what Shane was doing in slow motion in her mind.

Angelica put the cigarette to her lips and sucked in filling her lungs and throat with smoke. Her eyes began water and her throat felt like no air could pass by to her lungs. She coughed hard to clear the smoke from her throat, feeling her chest tighten.

“First time?” Tracy asked with a smile on her face.

Angelica leaned down, her hands on her knees, as she worked to clear her throat of the smoke and gain access to oxygen once more. Darren rubbed her back lightly to try to assist her in taking a calming breath.

Bette leaned back in her stool frustrated at the beginning of the sculpture in front of her.

“Damn it,” Bette muttered as she looked from Megan’s sketch to what she created with the clay.

Bette leaned in once more and began to massage the cold clay with her strong fingers to mirror what was in the sketch in front of her. She was growing increasingly frustrated when a voice behind her broke her concentration.

“I’d thought you’d be better then this,” Megan teased. “With all your hands on experience with the female form you should have that piece half done by now.”

Bette looked back to see a smile grace Megan’s face. Her response, a simple frown, took Megan by surprise.

“I can’t get it to look like the sketch.”

“You’re way too hard on yourself,” Megan walked in and dropped her bag on the floor walking behind Bette. She looked over her shoulder at the sketch and then at the piece on front of her.

“You’re trying to hard,” Megan said. “Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“Close them,” Megan demanded. “Put your hands in the clay.”

Bette did as instructed and felt the cool of the clay on her palms.

“Breathe deep, but keep your eyes closed.”

Bette did, once again, as instructed and took a few deep breaths to concentrate on the work in front of her instead of the conversation with Tina that plagued her mind.

“Do you feel how strong the clay is?”

“Yes,” Bette answered with her eyes still closed.

“Think in your mind of the power you have right at your fingers to make a powerful, affecting piece of art,” Megan said in Bette’s ear.

Megan slid her hands down Bette’s forearms to join hands with her in the clay in front of them. Her breasts were pushed against Bette’s back as her fingers stroked over the clay. She felt Megan’s hands guiding her as she continued to close her eyes and allow her hands to mold without the benefit of seeing what she was doing.

“The more analytical you get,” Megan began to explain a rule of sculpting. “The less likely you’ll get it to look like that sketch. It’s not about thinking, it’s about feeling the piece. It’s about connecting on a level that your mind won’t comprehend, but your hands and emotions will.”

Bette took a calming breath, the distinct scent of Megan’s perfume filling her senses. Megan flexed her fingers against the clay, touching Bette’s fingers, as they began to work together to create the bottom part of the sculpture.

“Do you understand the greatness you can make with a vision and this clay?”

“Yes,” Bette said feeling the move and form beneath her fingers.

Bette’s phone, held in her back pocket on vibrate, began to ring. Bette flexed her fingers once more, lost in the feeling of her hands manipulating the material. Megan leaned further into Bette’s body to reach a lump of clay to use to add onto the section Bette was working.

“It’s so smooth,” Megan whispered near Bette’s ear. “Any vision you have in your head can be created at your own hands. You don’t need help, you don’t need permission, you don’t need anything other then the vision and the clay.”

Tina rolled her eyes as Bette’s voicemail picked up and announced she was unable to take the phone call and to leave a message.

“Babe,” Tina began. “It’s me. I wanted to tell you I’ve opted for working from home today so if you need anything get me there. I’m stopping at The Planet to eat with the girls and then I’ll be home. Don’t forget that Angie has a game tonight under the lights so we need to get there to see her cheer. Let me know if you’re coming home first or working up to the game. I love you.”

Tina hung up as she parked her car in The Planet’s parking lot. She quickly made her way inside and saw Alice, Dana, and Shane sitting at a table near the entrance. Alice smiled and waived her over to the table kicking a chair out for Tina to sit in.

“Are you meeting Bette here?” Alice asked as Tina grabbed a menu to determine what she wanted to eat.

“No, she’s at work already,” Tina answered. “Why?”

“I thought she was meeting me here today,” Alice said slightly annoyed.

“Anything I can help with?”

“No,” Alice said. “I had some papers to give her.”

“I can take them home with me.”

“No worries,” Alice sloughed off Tina’s offer. “I can drop them by the gallery during the day. It’ll give me an excuse to shuck off work again today.”

Tina shook her head as a proud smile crossed Alice’s face.

“How do you keep your job?” Tina asked.

“Same way you do as you shuck off work!”

“Oh you’ve slept with your boss years ago and ended up to be amazing friends?” Dana teased both Alice and Tina.

“Wow,” Shane smiled. “Someone’s awake this morning.”

“More then I am,” Tina muttered as she pointed to her selection on the menu.

“Bad night?”

“Restless,” Tina confirmed.

“Night sweats?” Alice asked.

“No.”

“Mood swing?”

“No,” Tina answered a bit more forcefully this time.

“Cramps?” Alice asked and then quickly turned to Dana. “Do you get cramps during this time?”

“How should I know?” Dana answered defensively.

“No,” Tina answered again. “I didn’t have cramps, I had a strange dream.”

“Care to share?” Alice gently pushed Tina to open up.

“Not really.”

“We can’t help you if you don’t talk about it.”

“I don’t need help,” Tina said as she sipped her fresh coffee that was delivered to the table. “I needed more sleep.”

“You’re a mom,” Alice said. “They can last on like, some ridiculous amount of sleep. Like I’m talking 2 hours a night ridiculous.”

“I got more then that,” Tina said.

“Maybe we’re on a mood swing,” Alice whispered to Dana quietly.

“We are not on a mood swing! I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Such as?”

“Bette for one,” Tina said as she began to eat her fresh fruit plate. “She was at work so early and since I can’t get her on her cell I can only imagine that this show is going to suck up all of her time.”

“She’ll know where to draw the line,” Dana said reassuringly. “She won’t want it to take up all of her time.”

“Funny how I don’t think Bette has much of a choice,” Tina muttered as she picked at her watermelon with a look of angst on her face.

Bette felt Megan’s hands on her own while they coaxed and kneaded the clay. She quickly pulled a stool up for herself with her foot and sat down, urging Bette to scoot her stool over.

“Just feel what’s in your hands,” Megan spoke passionately. “I love the feel of it against your fingers.”

Bette still had her eyes closed as she felt the clay beneath her strong fingers. Megan ran her fingers up Bette’s forearms and then leaned back as she watched Bette play in the clay.

“This is amazing,” Bette said with a smile on her face. “I didn’t think it would be cold.”

“It is until you really get going,” Megan offered her experience. “I love this.”

“What’s that?” Bette looked back to see Megan smiling.

“I love seeing someone throw themselves in the first time they start sculpting,” Megan explained. “It’s like when you’d first see your child walk. The sense of pride you get, the joy at seeing someone else understand the power it can give you, it’s inspiring.”

“You’re excited aren’t you?” Bette asked as she stopped moving her hands on the clay.

“Ecstatic,” Megan confirmed. “But you already knew that.”

“I can see it in your eyes.”

“That’s passion,” Megan said confidently. “Now open your eyes.”

Bette opened her eyes to see the sculpture taking form per the sketch in front of her.

“Don’t think, just feel,” Megan directed her. “Finish it up so we can grab breakfast. I didn’t eat this morning and I’ll get cranky if I don’t.”

Bette put the finishing touches on the foot and calf of the female figure before turning to face Megan with a smile on her face.

“You,” Megan began to speak. “I’m in awe of your work already given you haven’t ever done this.”

“I’m a quick study,” Bette shot back.

“And I’m quick to get cranky,” Megan laughed. “Where are we headed to eat?”

“The Planet?” Bette suggested. “My sister owns it and it’s only about 10 minutes away from here.”

“They got food?”

“Yes,” Bette said smiling as she began to wipe her hands off. She threw Megan the towel and laughed when it hit Megan in the face and left a small smudge on her cheek. “You’ve got a little on your cheek.”

“Shall we escape to The Planet then?” Megan asked. “I’m going to leave it as a hazard of the job.”

Bette walked toward the hallway that led to her office with a smile on her face regarding the creation she had begun. She appreciated Megan’s help when she was struggling. She reached her office and quickly threw the door open to reach in her desk and grab her car keys and purse.

“Don’t think,” Bette muttered to herself. “Just feel, in life and in art.”

Bette’s mind flashed to a picture of Tina laying in bed this morning when she was writing her note regarding her absence so early in the morning.

“Just feel, that’s the key.”