She shook her head slightly and smiled lightly. "Umm, yeah. I just really like this one."

Bette let out a quiet laugh. "It is a beautiful piece."

She studied Tina for a moment and noticed that her earring had gotten caught in amongst her hair. "Oh, your earring got caught."

She ran her hand deliberately through Tina’s hair, gently removing the offending accessory. Bette’s fingers brushed gently against Tina’s neck, making Tina close her eyes for a moment at the contact. This didn’t got unnoticed by Bette, but she didn’t do anything else to cause Tina to react further. She tucked the memory away in her mind for later perusal though.

Tina looked down at the earring and resisted the urge to touch her neck. She took it from Bette and stuck it through her ear again. "Thank you. These things are always coming out. They’re so light I don’t even notice."

After a moment, the women made their way to the dinner table to eat with the rest of the elite. Bette pulled out the chair for Tina and made sure she was comfortable before she walked over to her own place at the end of the table. The next hour passed by quickly. The food was delicious and the conversation was constant. If Bette knew one thing, it was how to keep a conversation flowing smoothly from one subject to the next.

After dinner and dessert were completed, the guests slowly started making their way out to their cars. Bette bid everyone a good night, including Tina and Eric. She looked around and absorbed the state of the gallery and sighed. She was exhausted. She loved throwing parties and having dinners, but at the end of the night she only wanted to be with one person. For several months now, all Bette wanted was someone who would let her fall asleep in their arms. Lately though, the desire which had only tugged at her heart slightly began to grow out of control. She had no idea what was wrong with her, but she hadn’t taken a woman home in at least three weeks. Sometimes she thought she would explode from the sheer frustration of it all, but whenever she tried to take someone home, she would experience the most profound feeling of emptiness. The frustration was much more bearable than the emptiness.

She saw the caterers cleaning up around her and glanced down at the floor. A glint of light caught her eye and she tilted her head to get a better view. She kneeled down and saw an earring lying helplessly on the floor. She smiled as she realized to whom the earring belonged. She walked into her office and placed it in an envelope, reminding herself to call Tina in the morning and inform her of her loss.