Some of Bette’s questions were answered when Bette was surveying the gallery after the dinner, and spotted a gleaming, silver object on the floor.  She recognized it immediately as the earring she had already returned to Tina once.  "The oldest trick in the book," Bette chuckled, recalling the moment with a knowing grin.   

Of course, Bette was grateful for Tina’s less-than-subtle gesture.  It was the only way Bette had been sure of Tina’s signals that night.  Still, she was nervous when Tina came to claim her earring the next day.  But when Tina stood close to her and was about to let Bette help her replace the earring in her ear, Bette knew there was no going back.  She had to kiss Tina, leaning in and allowing her lips to ever so slightly touch Tina’s soft, sweet lips, waiting for Tina’s reaction.  At first, Tina did nothing, so Bette deepened the kiss slightly, taking Tina’s bottom lip gently, but firmly, between her own.  Tina quickly responded, returning Bette’s kiss, although somewhat tentatively at first.  The kiss was short, but drastically changed both of their lives.  Tina broke up with Eric that night, and Bette and Tina had their first date the next evening.

They had been able to talk so freely back then, and Bette was truly relieved they had finally found their way back to that now.  Tina had been very open about never having been with a woman, but also making clear that she was definitely interested in Bette as more than a friend.  It was actually Tina who kissed Bette goodnight after that first date, leaving a very happy, but very frustrated, Bette standing on her doorstep.  They saw each other again for many dinners and many romantic evenings after that, but Bette knew that Tina was still struggling not with her attraction to Bette, but with the bigger issues that came with it.  Bette watched as Tina grappled with telling her friends, whether or not to tell her family, and how to handle her new situation with her co-workers.  These emotional stresses were all that Tina could handle as she continued to process her feelings for the beautiful Bette Porter. 

Bette knew there had been many nights that Tina had been close to asking Bette to stay, but just hadn’t been ready to take that final, irreversible step.  Bette knew that Tina was different from anyone else she had dated, knew how special Tina was.  So, over her body’s frequent protests, she waited patiently for Tina to tell her she was ready.  Bette also found herself taking many late night swims in the cold water of her swimming pool during that time.