“I’m pleased to meet you ,miss Porter. Shane has told me so much about you”. Somehow she had squeezed the words past her constricting throat.

“Not as much as she has told me about you”, she said in a confidential whisper. “And my name is Bette”

“Say Bette, will you dance with my friend ,while I go prepare something to drink?”

Panicked, Tina had watched Shane’s retreating back ,knowing then that she shouldn’t be alone with Bette Porter. Strong intuition had telegraphed disaster. She didn’t heed it .Had she minded her instincts then, she might not have had to pay so dearly later.

“Shall we?” Bette asked

Before Tina could answer, she was pulled into the circle of her arms and speech was impossible.

Tina could never recall afterward what music they danced to. Her thoughts were centered on the hand pressing, not against the her lower back, where the fabric of her dress would have provided some protection, but higher, where her skin was naked and vulnerable beneath the gentle pressure of her hands. Instead of holding her hand indifferently, Bette had laced their fingers loosely together. Her thumb lazily stroking the side of Tina’s index finger. Bette didn’t hold her inappropriately close, but each time she brushed against her, Tina’s body reacted shamelessly. She hoped that Bette didn’t notice the tightening of her nipples beneath the clinging gown, or the the way her thigh had found it so comfortable to nest between hers, or the sudden rushing of her breath in and out of her body. -When the song was over she all but fell into Shane’s arms.

She’d wanted so badly to enjoy the evening of celebration, but Bette’s presence ruined it for her. She was tense and nervous. Every time she glanced around the room, she found Bette’s eyes drilling into her. Never able to disregard their hypnotism, she stared back at her while unthinkably erotic pictures were being painted on her mind. ___Thank God her mother hadn’t been feeling well that evening…because even though her parents were the ones to arrange the party, most of the guests were Shane’s friends and clients.

The next time she danced with Bette she did so under the duress from Shane. The band played a vigorous number that didn’t require her and her partner to touch. Caught up in the drumming rhythm of the music, she smiled easily at Bette who took to this kind of rhythm with the same agility as she did to the slower rhythm. Only when their hips bump together accidentally did Tina’s feet miss a beat__at the same time that her heart did. For a split second she stood stock still.