The Saab pulled up in front of a non-descript place where Tina had never been. She glanced over at Bette and asked where they were. “It’s a surprise” Bette said warmly. “Just follow me.”

Bette walked over to a wooden gate and slowly opened it. Tina could hear the sound of running water and was very curious as to where they were.

As the gate closed behind them, Tina looked up and was perfectly amazed. She couldn’t believe what she was looking at. This beautiful woman had just brought her to the most stunning outdoor garden she had ever seen. There were slow running waterfalls in every corner nestled under large, mature trees. There was a flagstone pathway that wove its way throughout the garden, linking a small number of intimate  two-person tables. There was soft instrumental music playing and a strong aroma of fresh baked bread filled the courtyard.

Tina smiled widely at Bette “Did we just die and go to coffeehouse heaven?” she asked imploringly. Bette let out a small laugh saying “No, but I imagine this is pretty close.”
“Come with me” she said, squeezing Tina’s hand and leading her along the pathway.

The touch of Bette’s hand made Tina’s heart flutter. She completely loved how open Bette was, how inviting and natural she was with her. There was no pretense, nothing fake and zero hesitation. When she wanted to touch Tina, she simply did so. Tina couldn’t have stopped smiling for all the money in the world.

Bette gently pulled Tina around the garden, stopping at each aspect she wanted to show her and talk to her about – the koi pond and the Buddha who watched over them, the stone carvings that Bette had an artist donate to the space… the whole tour was so peaceful.

There were a few other people there, but it was largely private to them and Tina loved this aspect as well. They were seated and continued chatting. Tina learned that two friends of Bette’s owned this place – a gay couple who moved down to L.A from Vancouver and tried to recreate a bit of the tranquility they left behind in the mountains. Tina smiled when Bette told her that this is the place she often sneaks off to when she needs to shut off the rest of the world and Bette joked with her not to breathe a word of her secret paradise as her own sister owned a coffeehouse called The Planet and would probably be hurt if she knew Bette sometimes cheated on her.

After a few cappuccinos and some fresh tea biscuits that melted in their mouths, the women realized that more than an hour had passed in what had felt like only a few moments. In a natural move, Tina bent her wrist and looked at the time. Bette took the cue and said “Should I be driving you back to your car? I don’t want to eat up your whole day, well not unless you wanted to” she said playfully. With her eyes fixed on Bette’s, Tina’s reply was even a surprise to her own ears “Well what do you have in mind?”

Both women’s hearts quickened at the same time, they just didn’t know it. Their shared smiles appeared again and Bette leaned closer across the narrow table towards the beautiful blonde. “Well I know this might sound crazy as we really don’t know each other that well, but I am just having such an amazing time, I don’t want to say goodbye just yet. So are you up for playing hooky and spending a lazy day with me?”

“I’d love to” Tina happily replied. “I just have to make a few calls to the studio to clear my day, so excuse me, I’ll be right back.” And with that, she picked up her purse and walked down the pathway towards the gate and slipped out of their little garden paradise.

Bette sat in silence, her mind racing with excitement. It wasn’t clear to her what exactly Tina’s intentions were, but she also suspected that Tina really wasn’t sure either. It was undeniable that there was chemistry between the two of them and she was content enough knowing that Tina obviously felt that chemistry and had reached out to her this morning. What the rest of the day would hold in store for them Bette couldn’t guess. All she knew was that she was about to place a call herself to James to clear her own day and that she eagerly waited for Tina to return to the table with a cleared schedule and an open heart for whatever came next.

TBC