It was early one morning when Tina went for a jog, and by the time she got back, it was still too early to make any noise. She took ten minutes outside to catch her breath and then to lay on the grass before quietly making her way back inside. It had been nice to run off some of her frustrations and concerns, but she’d really pushed herself. A cold shower would be heavenly.

Tina went directly to the shower on the third floor – the bathroom she’d taken to thinking of as her own – and stripped down. She gasped when the water poured over her at first, but it felt so wonderful that she replaced her surprise with a gentle moan. She leaned forward and dropped her head to enjoy the relaxation she felt. The time away from the city was paying off in full. And her time with Bette? She loved every moment.

After wrapping a towel around herself just to slip from the bathroom down the hall to her room, she carefully walked in.

“Cal!” She half-screamed, stumbling back against the wall with giggles when Bette turned to her. “Oh my god … what the hell are you doing in here?!”

Bette was standing there in old, torn clothes with a paint roller in her hands – one wall of the room covered in black paint. “Uh …” she smiled, putting the roller down on the sheet of plastic as she wiped her hands on her pants. “Well I know how you like to paint and all your talk about how it calms you, but there’s no canvases here …”

Tina held her towel a little closer, self conscious as she stood before Bette, nearly naked. “… So I get a wall?”

“I just wanted to do something,” Bette reasoned, trying to keep her distance so she could ignore the fact that Tina was naked underneath the towel. She looked back to the wall. “And it might bring some life to the place, you know?”

Tina adored Bette’s impulsive motivation, but she was confused – weren’t most canvases white? As politely as she could, she wondered aloud: “So … why the black? Is there some artistic reason I’m starting with such a dark canvas?”