Shane nodded her head at Dana’s answer, “ and how are things with your chef?”

Lara was a topic Dana didn’t feel comfortable talking about with her friends. She knew they would never pass judgment on her, but her own guilt caused her to shutter every time one of them mentioned the red head. “She’s good.”

Shane stared at Dana for a few seconds before responding, “You know, Dane you can talk to us about Lara. It doesn’t break some code of loyalty we have with Alice.” The hairstylist leaned back in her chair. “And Alice is doing a lot better. She’s not at a hundred percent, but who is.”

There were a million questions the athlete wanted to ask. She wanted to know every detail about what had happened in Alice’s life for the past month, but she refrained from blurting anything out; instead she nodded her head and forced a weak smile.

“Do you think I should call her?”

Both Tina and Shane responded with a gentle “no”

Tina reached across the table and took Dana’s hand in hers, “I don’t think she’s ready for that. It’s going to take awhile before she’s strong enough to talk to you.”  

A frown formed on the tennis player’s lips “I know she hates me, but I really do love her.”

“You know Alice could never hate you, but you can’t have it both ways, Dana. You can’t break her heart and then tell her you love her, unless you’re ready to get back together.”

Dana knew Tina was right, but the battle that was taking place in her heart was brutal, and she wasn’t sure how much longer her sanity would hold up.

——————————————————-

Dana’s lips were pressed firmly against Lara’s, and her hand was tangled in the chef’s hair. Lara let out a small moan and then pulled away from the tennis player. “Dana, I would love to continue this, but I’ve gotta head over to The Planet and talk to Kit about the new menu.”

Dana’s eyes were glazed over with a mixture of desire and relief. She loved how she felt when Lara touched her, but lately she found herself feeling guilty after they shared intimate moments. Nodding her head in response to the chef’s statement, Dana wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and gave her a small peck on the lips.