Their first Monday

            “At least that answers why you’re still single,” Alice said, sipping her cup of coffee as the breakfast conversation rolled by. Bette rolled her eyes and glared at Alice while the rest of the group laughed. They always had to be complete on Monday mornings, and right now, the gang—Bette, Alice, Shane, Dana, Helena, Dusty, Max, and Jenny—was enjoying their early Monday get-together at the Planet. Kit went around, giving refills, as the rest of them laughed. Bette was just telling them what happened yesterday, and it puzzled Alice to no end why the normally straightforward Bette Porter would hesitate to make a move on someone she clearly liked.

            “Come on, Alice, give her a break. She’s just come out of a really long relationship.” Helena replied, as Dusty gave her a bite of her cake. “She can’t just jump in.”

            “Besides,” Jenny began, after swallowing her bacon. “Bette was really hurt.”

            Dana nodded after chewing down her toast. “Right, and we can’t have her sending signals to someone who might be nice to her just because Bette did her a huge favor.”

            “But it’s been two years!” Alice interjected.

            “Thank you for psychoanalyzing my relationship while I’m here.” Bette said with a bite in her breath. Shane and Max patted her back soothingly as Bette shook her head. “I really swear, Alice, when Tasha comes back, I am going to make sure you get locked up with her in your house for the rest of her vacation time so I can finally get some peace of mind.”

            “Hey, we dated.” Alice said, raising an eyebrow. “You should have known that this was coming.”

            “Wait, back to Tina,” Shane said seriously. “Are you attracted to her?”

            “Isn’t that obvious?” Alice asked again. “I mean, c’mon, Porter’s drooling.”

            “I’m not drooling, Alice.” Bette replied. “And she’s straight.”

            “That’s never stopped anyone, Bette,” Jenny said, rolling her eyes. “She’s single.”

            “Back to my question,” Shane said. “Are you attracted to her?”

            “Sure, she’s got a great body, we have some things in common, she’s nice, she’s sweet,” Bette rattled off, as everyone else watched in amusement and interest. “But she’s my housemate, she’s straight, and she’s a newfound friend, so I can’t do that. I don’t want her to think that I’m the kind of person who just sleeps with her friends. I’m not that kind of person.”