The rest of the day goes smoothly for Tina. Her stomach took a nosedive when at one point she saw Helena approaching her in the hallway, rather than the usual perverted comment, or inappropriate gaze, Helena simply put her nose in the air and continued walking. Tina couldn’t hold back the big grin that filled her face. Whatever Bette had said, it seemed to have done the job.

Across town the protective brunette was in full exhibition mode. She had spent a lot of the day rushing around, although everything was in place, she was a perfectionist and knew she would be working up until the moment Tina arrived.

Even though Bette had done many shows over the years, she still got the butterflies before each one. She was standing in the gallery lost in thought, glancing over one of her favorite paintings. She allowed herself temporarily to dwell on the thought of how nice it would be to share these moments with someone, for someone to tell her everything will be fine, and give her a much needed hug. Although Bette had a tough exterior, she really was mush underneath, though sadly, rarely did anyone get to see that side of her. So instead she inhaled, exhaled, put on her Porter smile and continued to supervise the final touches.

Hours later Tina had returned home, changed into a cute little blue dress (a dress that she may have secretly rushed out and purchased when Bette first invited her to the show), and had then spent the best part of the last hour redoing her hair and make up. ‘Why do I have butterflies?’ she thought. ‘This isn’t a date, Bette is just showing you around her gallery’. The nervous blonde stood looking in the mirror. As she thought more of Bette she could feel a rush of heat rising up from her neck, her whole face began to blush. ‘Oh my god, is this what I look like when I see her? This is so embarrassing. She is so out of my league, and besides I’m straight. I’m straight. I don’t fancy her, it’s just because she’s so cute and protective, and I need someone to look after me. Well I don’t neeeeed to, but I love it when she does. Oh pull yourself together T, Tina! I love it when she calls me T. Ughhh, Oh shit, I’m fucked, I’m properly fucked. Maybe I shouldn’t go.’ As Tina is thinking all of this she is pulled from her crazy thoughts when she hears the hoot of a taxi. She swallows deeply, her palms beginning to sweat. ‘This is it T, Tina! Just act normal’. The blonde glances once more in the mirror, and heads for the door.