Chapter 12

Bette grunted as she struggled to carry the heavy box in her arms to the backyard. She settled the package between one arm and her raised knee, balancing it in order to free a hand, and successfully unlocked the gate that served as a blockade to the distractions from the world outside. Once the gate swung open, she quickly grabbed the box with both hands before it fell to the ground and continued to struggle as she hauled it forward to the patio.

When Bette got to the patio, she gladly dropped the package where she stood and stepped over it, making her way inside for a glass of ice water. She grabbed a tall glass and filled it with water that Tina kept in a purifier in the refrigerator. A small piece of paper, perched on the kitchen table, peaked Bette’s interest. She walked to the table and sat down, allowing her eyes to glance over the note that was addressed to her in Tina’s familiar handwriting.

Bette,

Left to drop the clan off at the airport for their flight. Should be home soon, I’ll pick something up for dinner on the way since it’s been a long week.

Love,

T

Bette smiled at the small heart that Tina made near her initial, something she had done from the very first time she sent Bette a note in the early stages of their relationship. It had become her trademark through the years.

“Has it only been a week that they were here?” Bette muttered aloud to herself. “God it feels like months.”

Bette’s mind flashed back to the moment the phone rang and interrupted the beginning of her planned weekend with Tina. At that point, it had been a month since they had enjoyed any time alone and the untimely interruption only served to frustrate them more.

Bette thought back, with fondness, to the impromptu sign making party that had her brushing glitter off her bare feet for days after. That was a small price to pay to see Dana’s joy at having her family there when she won her first major tournament of her career.

Her thoughts drifted to the night of Dana’s tournament when Tina baited her into a night of seduction with a simple bedtime story.

“Once upon a time,” Bette closed her eyes, almost hearing Tina’s seductive voice explaining that night had fallen on a remote town.

A smile crossed Bette’s face as she remembered Tina challenging her to control her reactions in an effort to hide their intimate moment from her family. Bette began to chuckle as she remembered how quickly her resolve was unraveled by the simple words spoken by her wife. Bette’s then broke out into laughter as she remembered her last words that night to Tina, a reminder that paybacks are often hell.

“Paybacks you shall get Miss Kennard,” Bette muttered as she made her way back outside with a steak knife and the remainder of her water.

Although it was pure torture on her as well, Bette had managed to thwart the last attempt Tina made at intimacy when her family was visiting. Bette quickly had excused herself to go to the bathroom and splash cold water on her face, amazed at the sheer resolve she had to stop Tina’s progression down her body. Bette smiled though, knowing that it would serve a purpose and ignite the payback plan that she had developed for when Tina’s family left to go home.

Bette promptly set her water down as she inserted the steak knife into the tape that held the two flaps of the box together. She slit the tape quickly, stood up, and dumped the contents of the box out on the cobblestone pavers that accented the pool area. She picked up the piece of paper that was included in the box and sighed at the numerous numbered steps that were illustrated.

“How hard can this be?” Bette pondered. “Tab A goes into slot B isn’t this hard.”

Bette turned the paper over in her hands and frowned as her eyes glazed over quickly. She took note of the inventory drawing and quickly counted the pieces, assuming that she had them all rather quickly.

“Best way to get this done is to just use logic,” Bette said aloud as she got on her knees and began to thumb through metal pieces and links of chain that were scattered around her before she reluctantly picked up the instructions to determine which of the two longer pieces should serve as her starting point. “Optional equipment may be needed?” Bette read further down the list of optional equipment until her eyes focused on a particular item. “An optional spreader bar? Oh dear God do I want to even know what that is?”

“What what is?” Dana asked from behind Bette startling her as she dropped the piece of paper quickly.

“You scared me!”

“I knocked,” Dana said in her defense. “But you’re so into whatever this is that you obviously didn’t hear me. What’s a spreader bar?”

“Not what you think.”

“Please,” Dana sat down beside Bette on the ground. “Do you even think I could make that dirty? I’m not Alice.”

“But your mind immediately went there didn’t it?” Bette asked with a smile.

“What is all this?” Dana asked avoiding the question while she thumbed through the pieces all around her.

Bette tried to hide the rope hammock that she had placed beside her, but much to her dismay Dana saw it before she could slip it back in the box.

“Is that a hammock?” Dana asked as her eyes widened. “You bought a hammock?”

“It’s not what you think,” Bette began to muster an explanation.

“Am I missing something because you keep telling me it’s not what I think?”

“Well tell me what you think,” Bette smiled at Dana warmly. “Then I’ll tell you if you’re missing something.”

“Need a hand?” Dana ignored Bette’s bait and picked up the piece of paper that had fallen to the ground when she startled her friend. “How pathetic is this?”

“That you’re helping me?”

“That I’m hiding out from my manager so I’m choosing manual labor over playing a big, fat hetero couple with Harrison.”

“We all have our crosses to bear,” Bette said as she spread the pieces to the hammock stand out before them. “We start with the long bar for the bottom and put the top bar into that slot over there.”

“Top bar?”

“Where the head of the hammock goes,” Bette said as she bit down on her lower lip in concentration. “I bought one that has a pillow so it has a definite top and bottom.”

“Top by your view or top by my view?”

“What view?”

“Well we’re sitting opposite,” Dana tried to explain. “So we’d be facing the opposite direction from one another. If I’m looking at the bottom, you’d be looking at the top.”

“Do you want to be the top?” Bette felt her confusion rising. “You just decide to be the top no matter what direction we’re looking at.”

“Dana is far from a topper,” Alice said, appearing at the gate with a smug smile on her face. “She’s a pillow queen, you can just tell.”

“Fuck you Alice!”

“Can this day get more complicated if I tried?” Bette asked rhetorically.

“We could try,” Alice said ripping the directions from Dana’s hands and looking at them. “What project are we working on?”

“We are not working on a project. Dana and I were working on a project.”

“I don’t get to help?” Alice play pouted as she fought to hide her smile. “This is for a hammock.”

“Yes it is.”

“Not even trying to hide that little tidbit are you Porter?”

“Why would I try to hide it Alice?”

“I don’t know,” Alice nudged Dana with her elbow in the ribs. “Why would one do such a thing? I mean, you’re really changing the look of the backyard with this addition. Everything is so natural, and now you’re putting this big, metal stand in here to hang this hammock?”

“It will be hidden in a spot in Tina’s garden so you won’t see anything but the hammock,” Bette assured her. “With a little walkway of these stone pavers so it adds to the backyard and doesn’t take away from it.”

“It will be a nice place for you and Tina to relax,” Dana added with a smile.

“Or act out any fantasies that one might have,” Alice said waiting for Bette’s reaction. When none came she moved to be directly in Bette’s line of vision.

“You’re blocking my view of these pieces.”

“You’re avoiding admitting that you have every intention of ‘unmasking a stranger’,” Alice said loudly. “Or the sequel at least.”

“What would give you that idea?” Dana asked.

“Yes,” Bette agreed. “What would make you jump to that conclusion? Just because I want to have a place to relax with my wife doesn’t mean…”

Bette’s eyes shot open in terror as Alice held the Harlequin sequel to “Unmasking A Stranger” up so she could see it.

“You must have dropped it in the driveway lugging this damn prop back here,” Alice said in triumph.

“Wow,” Dana covered her mouth to refrain from laughing. “You really can’t deny it now.”

“Not to mention that the dog-eared pages are those that contain a hammock and a very naked heroine.”

Dana watched intently as Alice waved the book in the air and began to recite small snippets of the sex scenes back to a horrified Bette. Once Alice put the book down on the patio, Dana casually walked over and kicked it to the side where she slowly bent down and picked it up. She thumbed through the book, specifically interested in finding the dog-eared pages, and began to speed read once she found one.

“Can we please just put this together?” Bette pleaded.

“Once you finally admit that you’re into these romance novels,” Alice said as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I want to hear you say that they make for interesting reading.”

“How do you know I dropped it?” Bette shot back. “Tina or Donna could have dropped it since they read these all the time.”

“Tina needs to read these all the time?” Alice asked with a raised eyebrow to challenge her friend. “I’d have thought you and her were beyond the point where you’d need tips.”

“We are,” Bette said defensively. “I never said she was reading these or getting tips from them.”

“I do believe I gotcha Bette!” Alice shrieked in delight. “I’ll help you, even though I know you just contradicted yourself, because I happen to take delight in those books and know the power they have.”

“Power indeed,” Dana said loudly as she flipped the page to the exact scene Bette was trying to recreate.

Both Bette and Alice stopped what they were doing and changed their focus so Dana was the center of it. She felt someone gazing at her and looked up.

“Did I say that out loud?”

“Clearly,” Bette said as she shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I’m on a time schedule here so if you’re going to help, can we please get back to it so I can get this done.”

“I’ll do it for the sake of promoting Harlequin books everywhere,” Alice said as she picked up one of the medium sized poles and snapped it into place. “Not to mention I’ll be pimping Tina for breakfast tomorrow since I’ve helped.”

“She’ll buy you breakfast and lunch if you’ll be quiet and get this put together.”

“I don’t know,” Alice smiled at Bette. “Should we swap our time and talent for just breakfast and lunch Dana?”

“Throw in the book and I’m all yours,” Dana said to Bette sticking the paperback into her purse on the ground.

“Done.”

“Cheap slut,” Alice said with a smile on her face.

“Throw in some tape for Alice’s mouth and I’ll even clean your house,” Dana offered with a smile.

After an hour of work, coupled with a small fight to get Alice to leave her alone to wait for Tina, Bette finally stood back on the patio and looked at the hammock. It was completely set up and in position in Tina’s garden spot. Pleased with the results of her hard work, Bette smiled wide. She would never had guessed in a million years that she would be thankful for the help that Alice and Dana offered her to prepare everything to seduce Tina. Had they not been there, Bette was confident that she would not have been able to put the stand together, drag it where she wanted it, and position it in enough time to set the rest of the scene.

“Babe I’m home!” Tina called out breaking Bette’s concentration.

“Hey!” Bette called back and hurried inside as to not spoil the surprise once the sun set and she could escort Tina outside. “How did it go?”

“I know it’s strange,” Tina said as she hugged Bette tight. “But I miss them already. I just have to adjust to them not being here like they have been for the last 7 days.”

“Back to just the two of us,” Bette said as she rubbed Tina’s back. “Makes for cheaper take-out bills.”

“As if Mom would have let us have take-out these past 7 days.”

Bette stepped back and looked at the bags that Tina had placed on the table before their embrace.

“Chinese?”

“It was quick,” Tina added as if to justify her choice. “It’s been so long since we ate alone together that right now even bread and water would be appealing as long as you were sitting next to me.”

“Awww,” Bette said with a smile. “That’s sweet. Why don’t you go change and I’ll set this up so by the time it’s ready you’ll be comfortable.”

Bette watched and Tina barreled down the hallway and into their bedroom to change. She looked outside once more, happy to see the sun finally beginning to drop toward the horizon, which meant that right after dinner she could put her plan into motion.

Dinner was intimate. Bette had set the table and turned the lights completely off, lighting candles to set the tone of the evening.

“Candles?” Tina asked as she walked into the kitchen pulling her t-shirt over her head and allowing it to fall down her body.

“Thought it might be nice.”

“It is,” Tina said as she straightened the shirt and placed a quick kiss on Bette’s lips. “It’s a nice surprise after a long week.”

“You miss them a lot don’t you?” Bette asked as she reached across the table and caressed Tina’s hand with her own.

“I do,” Tina said with a forced smile. “But then there’s the part of me that knows that I could never handle being around them 24/7 if they lived here. I’m not sure any of us would survive.”

“Rodeo Drive barely made it,” Bette teased as Tina gently kicked her under the table. “The manufacturers of glitter barely made it, and I mean barely by the amount that was wasted that ended up on my feet.”

Tina snickered as they continued to chat about the week and the many moments that they shared with her family.

“The only moment that I had an overwhelming urge to inflict some sort of punishment was that very first moment, but I’m not sure it wasn’t directed at Alice.”

“I blocked out the moment where I walked into a room, in front of my entire family, with no pants on.”

“No pants,” Bette smiled as she moved her chair closer to Tina’s and rested her hand on Tina’s thigh. “No pants coupled with being aroused if I remember correctly.”

“Oh you do,” Tina smiled as she cracked her fortune cookie open and handed one to Bette. “Embrace your new lease on life with open arms.”

Bette opened her fortune cookie and smiled.

“An exciting adventure awaits you,” Bette paused for effect. “In bed.”

“I can’t believe you still add ‘in bed’ to every damn fortune you get.”

“Why bother to do anything if it’s not in bed,” Bette whispered close to Tina’s ear and then ran her tongue slowly on the outside of it.

“Babe,” Tina mumbled as shivers ran down her spine.

“Now if you recall this past week,” Bette allowed her hand to travel up Tina’s thigh once more. “I made you a promise. Do you remember?”

“No,” Tina breathed as she closed her eyes while Bette’s lips began to tease the sensitive skin on Tina’s neck.

“Oh really?” Bette used her foot to kick Tina’s feet apart, thus spreading her legs further. “You don’t remember schooling me on the proper response of grocery store romance novels?”

“Only when they unravel you,” Tina smiled as Bette’s hand toyed with her skin just above her waistline but under her shirt. “You’re tickling me.”

“Now you remember,” Bette said with a smile. “I hope you’re prepared for my promise.”

“What was that Babe?”

“Come here,” Bette whispered seductively as she grabbed Tina’s hand and pulled her to her feet.

They walked hand in hand to the French doors that led to the outside. Bette smiled as she watched Tina’s eyes glaze over with confusion as to why they were standing up at the door. Bette moved behind Tina and kissed the back of her neck while Tina stared at their reflection in the glass.

“God I love you,” Tina whispered as she felt Bette’s hands move up under her shirt to massage her back.

Bette sighed into Tina’s hair, feeling her soft skin with her fingertips, dangerously close to losing control herself. She removed her hands to, once again, grab Tina’s, but this time she led them outside. Tina frowned, curious as to why they were outside, but smiled at the sensual look that crossed Bette’s face.

“Why are we outside when we can be indoors enjoying each other?” Tina whispered close to Bette’s lips as she stood on her tiptoes.

“Jean Jacques Rousseau once said ‘I have always said and felt that true enjoyment can not be described’,” Bette said with a smile. “I thought of that quote immediately when I looked at this house and knew I had to buy it solely for the privacy and seductive garden.”

“Bette,” Tina shot back quickly. “When I moved in here this ‘garden’ you’re talking about was nothing more than a pile of weeds.”

Bette kissed the nape of Tina’s neck, allowing her tongue to taste the sweetness of Tina’s skin while her hands massaged Tina’s hipbones.

“I always seem to find myself coming out here to gather my thoughts,” Bette began.

“You come out here only to swim, and that’s mostly when we have our friends over for a BBQ,” Tina interrupted. “Are you drunk?”

Bette’s hands stilled on Tina’s hips as she rolled her eyes and sighed at Tina’s response. Desperate, barely fighting off her physical response to Tina, she took a deep breath and tried to begin her seductive scene once more.

“Drunk only from your beauty,” Bette said fighting the urge to smile. “When I’m out here in this garden, all I can do is close my eyes and picture your perfect breasts heaving as they were the night we made love in the secluded bar.”

“Secluded bar?” Tina said completely confused. “Breasts heaving? What in the hell are you talking about Bette? Did you actually throw yourself out a window and fall on your head?”

Bette placed her hands on Tina’s shoulders and turned her around to face the part of her garden where the hammock now resided.

“Is that…” Tina’s voice trailed off and she squinted to make out the object of Bette’s focus. “Oh dear God!”

“Yes it is,” Bette said with a satisfied smile on her face. “Shall we my lovely bartender?”

“Are you actually proposing that we have sex out here?” Tina asked shocked. “Someone will hear us!”

“Not if you control your reactions,” Bette said with a bigger smile given she was using Tina’s own words against her.

Bette tugged on Tina’s hand and began to lead her toward the hammock. With each step, both women became increasingly aware of the scene that was about to unfold per the romance novel.

Bette approached the hammock with slight trepidation. She had every detail planned out in her head, yet as she approached the contraption she realized she hadn’t even begun to think about how to gracefully get herself and Tina into the 2-person hammock. She first stood staring straight at it, but then opted for standing with her side to it and inched her way closer.

“You don’t have any idea how to get into it do you?” Tina challenged with a smile.

“Why don’t you show me?” Bette said as she watched Tina gracefully climb in it.

The hammock was rocking back and forth as Tina settled in it, lying on her back and looking at Bette. Bette stopped and watched as Tina placed her foot on the ground to steady the hammock and held her hand out, beckoning Bette to join her.

Bette made her best attempt to mimic the manner in which Tina climbed into the hammock, but much to her dismay, the hammock rocked and sent her tumbling on top of her wife.

“Very graceful Stranger,” Tina snorted as she tried to control her laughter.

Determined not to be derailed, Bette ignored Tina’s comment and settled beside her while gazing up at the stars. Bette extended her arm so that Tina was laying on it, resting her head on Bette’s shoulder, allowing her other hand the freedom to explore.

Bette started with tracing Tina’s eyebrows, smiling at how it seemed to relax her with just a simple touch. She trailed one finger down to the tip if Tina’s nose before she angled her head to place a soft kiss on it. Bette pushed her body up, rocking the hammock, but was able to leverage her body above Tina’s as she waited for the hammock to steady.

“God I hope I don’t get motion sickness,” Tina joked as Bette took her familiar dominant role.

Bette ignored Tina’s funny remark as she concentrated on her balance. She slowly pushed upward so she was resting on her knees, straddling Tina’s body. She pulled on Tina’s hands to prompt her to sit up, which caused the hammock to rock slightly.

Bette’s hands immediately went to the hem of Tina’s t-shirt, pulling on it in an effort to remove it. Tina automatically raised her arms allowing the shirt to be removed and chuckled as Bette threw the shirt on the ground.

“Going straight for the heaving breasts I see,” Tina smiled as Bette shot her a warning look.

Bette carefully reached behind Tina and removed her bra, throwing it in the same direction as the shirt. Bette gently urged Tina to lay down, placing one hand on her shoulder and pushing backward while the other was firmly intertwined with the rope of the hammock to provide her a sense of balance.

Bette slowly began a decent toward Tina’s breasts, but was thrown off balance as Tina adjusted her weight to be more comfortable. Bette barely caught herself before, once again, tumbling onto her wife.

“A little more graceful than before,” Tina said with a smirk as she helped Bette steady herself.

Bette easily ignored Tina’s comment as she stared at her breasts, making it harder to control the scene she was trying to recreate. Tina’s nipples were rock hard, whether it be from the cool night air or her arousal, Bette didn’t care. She dipped her head to one of Tina’s breasts and touched the tip of her tongue to her hardened nipple.

She heard Tina moan in response, which fueled Bette’s desire even further. She took the pebble into her warm mouth and teased it more with her tongue. When Bette felt Tina’s fingers lace through her hair to hold her closer, Bette began to suck hard on Tina’s nipple.

“God this feels good,” Tina said quietly.

Tina arched her back as she felt Bette’s hand begin to tease her other nipple, rolling it between her thumb and index finger. Tina arched her lower body upward, desperate to come into contact with any part of Bette’s body on her throbbing center. The hammock rocked, alarming Bette, causing her to react suddenly. Her hand, that was massaging Tina’s other breast, suddenly clamped down pinching Tina’s breast hard.

“Fuck!”

“Don’t move,” Bette warned as the hammock slowed. “For every action there is a reaction.”

Bette turned her focus back to Tina’s body as she slowly licked the valley between Tina’s breasts. The perspiration that was glistening along Tina’s body made a small trail as it moved from between her breasts down to her stomach, pooling in her bellybutton. Bette’s hand followed the trail downward as her lips gently kissed her other breast.

“Touch me,” Tina begged as she concentrated on Bette’s fingers trailing downward.

“Shhh,” Bette said quietly. “Remember we’re outside and noise carries.”

Tina bit down on her lower lip to refrain from crying out when Bette’s fingers expertly unbuttoned her pants and slid her zipper down. Tina lifted her hips to allow Bette to remove her pants, however, both women were aware of the physical restrictions of being in a hammock and moved very slowly.

Tina methodically moved her legs to assist Bette in lowering her pants down past her thighs, but neither made any effort to fully remove them. Once Tina’s pants were as far down as they needed to be for her to be exposed, Bette slowly moved to look down at her wife’s body.

“You are so beautiful,” Bette said, abandoning the seductive scene and falling into her normal role with Tina as her wife. “I just can’t seem to get enough of you.”

Tina didn’t need words to communicate with Bette, she grabbed her wrist and guided Bette’s hand between her legs. Tina kicked her legs out further, opening herself wider for Bette to touch her.

Bette touched the inside of Tina’s thigh, tickling the sensitive skin causing Tina to shiver. Tina took a deep breath before Bette forcefully inserted her tongue into Tina’s mouth. As they dueled for control, Bette’s fingers moved upward and to Tina’s drenched center.

Tina moved her head to the side, taking in a much-needed breath, as she felt her arousal spill out of her swollen lips.

“Please I need you now,” Tina begged in a voice barely audible.

The throbbing between Tina’s legs bordered on painful as she moved her hips once more desperate to come into contact with Bette’s skilled fingers. Bette slowly slipped one finger inside Tina, massaging her opening and smiling at how wet her wife had become.

“God Baby,” Bette said before once again lowering her lips to Tina’s.

Tina began to move her hips in a rhythmic fashion trying to gain some relief from the pounding between her legs. As Bette inserted another finger, Tina’s hips thrust off the hammock and into the air in response to Bette’s touch.

“Does that feel good?” Bette asked as she slowed the movements her fingers were making.

“You know it damn well feels good,” Tina barked back. “I expect you to continue it and then some.”

Bette began to match Tina’s rhythm as she slipped her fingers in and out of her wife. Each time she did this, Bette felt herself become more unglued as she felt how wet Tina was growing. Tina’s arousal coated Bette’s fingers, her moans fueling Bette’s desire even more.

“I’m going to come,” Tina said as she struggled to prolong her orgasm.

Bette quickened the pace, feeling Tina’s insides begin to clamp down on her fingers making movement difficult. Bette expertly applied pressure to Tina’s clit with her thumb sending her quickly over the edge.

“Oh God Bette!”

Tina arched her body as she felt her orgasm rip through her. Bette struggled to move her fingers as Tina’s body completely clamped down around them. As Tina’s fingers grasped the rope of the hammock on either side of her, she felt it rock and quickly opened her eyes.

Tina shifted her weight to try to accommodate the swinging of the hammock, but much to her dismay, she made the situation worse. As the hammock began to flip, Tina felt Bette’s fingers slip out of her body and she heard Bette gasp in surprise.

Tina was facing the ground with Bette underneath her. She opened her eyes once more when she heard Bette grunt as the impact from their fall was mostly shouldered by Bette.

“Ouch,” Bette winced from the pain of landing on the ground and having Tina land on top of her. “That hurt.”

“There has to be an easier way to top you Babe,” Tina said with a smile as Bette began to laugh.