From inside the refridgerator, Bette spoke, “Did you forget you have a boyfriend?” She stood up with a bottle of water in her hand.

“No.  And that’s what makes it so difficult.”

She sat the bottle down on the counter and walked towards me.  I leaned against the sink.  On either side of me, she placed her hands, trapping me in my spot.

“Do you think you could handle being with a girl, T?”

“The only thing I can’t handle right now is how close you are to me without having some kind of physical contact.  I’ve been wanting…”

“What do you want, T?” She moaned it out to me and in 17 years of life, I had never felt so turned on.

“You.” I kept it simple because to me, it was that simple.  All I really wanted was her.

And slowly, she pressed her lips against mine.

Had I just gone to heaven?

I closed my eyes and let the feelings of  her lips take over my body.  She pulled away from me, but I wrapped my arms around her neck and brought her lips back to me.  Our tongues played against each other and I moaned at the way her fingers began a trail against my back.

And there it was, our first kiss.

We broke to breathe.

“Y-y-you’re a really good kisser.” She stuttered.

“You’re a better one.”

“Tina…”

“I want to be with you, Bette.  End of story.”  I decided my best bet was to put all my cards out on the table, “I don’t know if I’m gay or bi or straight,  but I know that what I feel for you isn’t what you feel for a friend.”

“And Eric?”

“From one kiss, Bette, I know that Eric has absolutely nothing on you.”

This caused Bette to smile, “This is as far as it’s going to go as long as you’re still with Eric.”

“I won’t be for long.”

“Are you sure about this, Tina?”

“Kiss me again and you’ll see.”

She leaned towards me and I capture her lips between mine.

Yeah, I was more than sure.

*

When her sister got home, Bette and I took off.  She pulled up to the house and I kissed her on the lips.

I could tell she was nervous.  She had every right to be

“I’m sure about this Bette.”

“I believe you, Tina.  I guess, I’ll be waiting for you to call or text me.”

“I will, as soon as I can.”  I kissed her again, just to make sure she knew.

Inside the house, my mother was in the living room, reading a book of poetry my grandfather gave her when she was a little girl.

“Hey, Tina.  Where have you been?” She asked, not looking up from the book.

“Just hanging out with Bette.  She had to babysit her nephew, so I kept her company.”

“Eric called here.  He said he called your cell phone, but you never answered.”

Fuck.

“You know, I think I had my phone on silent because her nephew had fallen asleep.  I’ll call him.  Goodnight, Mom.”

“Night.”

I had no choice.  If I wanted to be with Bette, I had to tell Eric it was over.

“Hello?” He answered hastily.

“Hey, Eric, it’s me.”

“Tina!  I’ve been calling you all night…”

“I know.  I was with Bette and I lost track of time…”

“Oh, Bette, huh?  Tina, if you’re going to be a dyke, just tell me now.  I have plenty of girls I could be messing with if you’re just going to leave me…”

I was thrown off by his response.  I didn’t really know what to say.

“Oh, so there’s other girls?”

“Tina…”

“I care about you, Eric.  I even love you.  But I think that I could be in love with someone else.  And in order to pursue that, I have to end this with you.”

“So, you’re leaving me?  For a girl?”

“Yeah, I am.”