“Thank god tomorrow is Sunday.  I do not feel like going to school anymore.  You’re so lucky you graduated,” Tina said.

            “Lucky?  Yeah right.  There’s nothing for me now that I’ve graduated.  I’m working at a bowling alley, do you really think that’s better than being in school all day?”

            “There’s just no reason for me to go, Bette.  I’m not gonna be able to go to college.   What’s the point?”

            “Hey, you don’t know that.  Listen to me.  You have to promise me that you’ll try your hardest in school, okay?  You only have a year and a half left.  You need a diploma, Tina.  You’re too smart.  Just promise that you won’t give up.”

            “Okay, okay.  I promise,” Tina sighed.  “I still hate it, though.”

            “You only hate it because I’m not there anymore,” Bette smiled.

            “Naturally.”  Tina leaned over and kissed Bette’s forehead.  “Goodnight, Bette.”

            “Night, T.”

            Unbeknownst to the other, it took a while for both girls to fall asleep that night.  Tina was curled on her side, facing Bette, and Bette was lying flat on her back, her hands behind her head.  Bette looked over at the face beside her. So beautiful.  Tina had her eyes closed; she at least seemed to be peacefully sleeping.

            Bette felt herself unraveling, being this close to Tina.  It was a feeling she was becoming used to by now.  She had been with some men in high school, just as Tina had, but for Bette it was never fulfilling.  The ache that Bette sometimes felt between her legs was almost always the result of being near Tina.

            Sensing no movement from Tina, whose face was in the crook of her armpit, Bette slowly maneuvered her hand down her own stomach.  She looked at Tina’s sweet, still face, the dip in skin between her hip and her ribcage.  She felt herself growing hotter and was powerless to stop it.

            Bette noiselessly slid her hand into her pants, trying to keep the bed from moving at all.  She knew she should get up, go into the bathroom, but she knew that would definitely wake Tina up. 

            She felt guilty for feeling this way about Tina, and even worse that she was powerless to stop it.  But she wouldn’t, under any circumstances, risk hurting Tina.  That was why she had to keep these feelings a secret.