“Bette?” Tina called out, knocking on Bette’s bedroom door. “You still in there?”

            “Yeah. Give me a sec.” Bette answered.

            “Okay. I made some lemonade, is that alright?”

            “Yeah, sure,” Bette said, walking over to her closet and undressing. She put on a black bikini that she wore the last time she went on a road trip with the girls. Bette opened the door and walked with a towel and a bottle of sunscreen to the pool, where Tina was doing a few strokes. When Tina saw Bette, she swam immediately to poolside and looked up at her housemate.

            “Hey. You look good. Do you go to the gym?” Tina asked, taking a sip of the glass of lemonade she left lying on a spot near the pool. “Question’s purely academic.”

            Bette raised an eyebrow and sat near Tina, her legs crossed. “I just swim and do yoga.”

            “Nice. You look pretty fit, for someone in her early thirties.”

            Bette laughed through her drink and grinned widely. “I’m sorry?”

            “What? You’re twenty-something?” Tina asked, lifting herself up and sitting next to Bette. “I’m sorry.” Tina held out a hand. “Hi, I’m Tina Kennard, I’m thirty-three.”

            Bette took the extended hand and shook it. “I’m thirty-eight.”

            “No.” Tina replied, letting go of Bette’s hand.  Nearing forty? Really? No way. The brunette had toned muscles, she had hints of abs, she looked really, really great. Enviable, actually. But really?

            “Yes,” Bette said, laughing at Tina’s reaction. “Too old to be single, huh?”

            “No, not at all. But I have to say, I’ve rarely seen a thirty-eight year old look that good without being photoshopped or without the help of some million-dollar plastic surgeon.”

            “Welcome to the real world, Tina.” Bette said.

            “Uh-huh.” Tina said, giving Bette a grin. “Come on, let’s go for a swim.”

            A few minutes later, Bette was smiling while she was pressing an ice pack onto Tina’s back and shoulders. They were in the living room, relaxing after swimming all afternoon. Tina was applying cream on her arms and neck, as the aircon unit was set to the coldest possible temperature in order to help her cool down. Bette remembered the whole scene perfectly—she was doing a few strokes in the pool while Tina had gone on, laid herself on the lounger and rested. After two hours, Bette went to the steps on the pool, only to be approached by a panicky Tina, who happened to have had some major sunburn on her skin. Bette watched her housemate panic about work and how she couldn’t be seen in LA wearing sleeves, but how she also couldn’t be seen in public with the ‘grill marks’ on her skin. Thank goodness for Bette’s ever-reliable medicine cabinet, or else Tina would still be burning like a lobster in a steamer.

            “Ow!” Tina exclaimed, as Bette pressed the ice pack a little harder. “Watch it!”

            “You didn’t when you forgot to put on sunblock.”

            Tina looked at Bette, her eyes widening in disbelief. “No wonder you’re single,” Tina muttered under her breath. Bette pressed the ice pack harder, chuckling when Tina screamed.

            “What the fuck, Bette?” Tina asked. “That hurt!”

            “What?” Bette asked back innocently, proceeding to get the tube with the cream.

She started rubbing circles on Tina’s shoulder and back and watched as the blonde started to relax to her touch. Alice always said that the most potent part of her was how the feel of her skin contrasted with her character. Hard exterior, soft skin. Something like that. Her girlfriends all said that. Whether her touch was as smooth as silk or as soft as cotton, the compliment was there. An hour and a half after she started it, Tina was leaning onto her, sleeping like a rock.

Bette then leaned for her cellphone and started calling for pizza, carefully watching the blonde. Bette smiled as Tina plopped on her lap, oblivious to what was happening around her. This whole arrangement was and is insane, but she had to admit, whenever she wasn’t looking for anything in return, life was giving her some perks of its own.