The bed seemed warmer than ever as they spoke of their first ever – and misleading – first real encounter with one another. Tina smiled at Bette, excited at their momentary meeting.

“You didn’t even say anything to me?”

Bette laughed and closed her eyes, her hands in her lap. “I said hello.”

“But you saw me … how did you … I mean …”

“I had come in to meet with one of the executives, and then I saw you walking down the hall. It might seem unreasonably to others, but they just don’t understand. In the way you walked … it was like I could see how desperately you wanted to be tied down, to be dominated. It was in your shoulders …”

Tina slowly straightened her back.

“… And in that longing expression on your face …”

Tina pulled her lips into what felt like an innocent smile, enjoying the fact that Bette hadn’t been watching her subconsciously fix her features.

“… And that piercing look in your eyes … I mean, you didn’t really see me because I wasn’t in clear sight, but … it was like you were burning a hole through the wall ahead of you. There was so much passion in you, just begging to be cut loose. The emotion was bursting from your eyes especially.”

Tina smiled in earnest, then, enjoying the compliments.

“I don’t know if any of this is making sense.”

With an eager moan, Tina nodded. “Mmm … I like hearing this. So what happened then? I can’t believe we actually met.”

“I think you’d been having a terrible day,” Bette whispered, finally looking up at Tina to see the adorable change of posture – more confident. It made her smile. “But that look in your eyes … I just wanted to care for you.”

And then Tina wasn’t smiling – she could see the emotion in Bette’s face. “You wanted to hurt me.” She knew that it must not have been easy for Bette to feel so strongly about a woman she wasn’t sure she’d ever see again – to have such intense desires. She put her hand over Bette’s. “Were you scared of what I would think … if I knew?”

Bette finally broke into a smile at Tina’s concern. “I couldn’t get your face out of my head.” She reached her hand up to Tina’s cheek, so gently that it was sinister. “Your beauty was so enchanting, knowing you didn’t understand it yet. I still don’t think you know what it does to me.”