”How about you and Jenny? Doesn’t she live here too?”

    ”Yeah. She’s not here this morning though. She was
out with a… someone last night.” Tina bowed her head and concentrated
on tossing the salad she’d made.

    ”Oh. Um. Tina, listen,” Bette suddenly turned
serious. “I never did get to apologize for my asanine behavior the
other day. I am deeply deeply sorry, you can never know how sorry I
am… that I hurt you and that I made you feel like… I’m sorry I was
a real *****,” Bette stated earnestly.

    ”How were you an ***** Bette?” Tina didn’t look up from the bowl of greens.

    ”Well! I was really hypocritical, for one! And… I
was using your profession as an excuse… actually I was simply afraid.
Well, I was terrified of how I was starting to feel towards you and…”

    ”Feel towards me?”

    ”I mean, how close we were getting!”

    Tina cocked her head to the side as she finally looked up at Bette. “How do you feel towards me Bette?”

    ”I…” Bette stopped, at a loss for words. “I don’t know Tina. That’s the truth.”

    Bette watched Tina nervously. She was afraid that
Tina would get mad. She half-expected Tina to be incredulous and to
start yelling at her.

    ”Hm.” Tina looked at Bette gravely. “That’s just
perfect, Bette. Coz I don’t know how I feel about you too.” Tina broke
into a smile. Bette laughed in relief. Of course I love you, Tina
thought to herself, but I’m not about to scare you off again with
something you’re not yet ready to handle. I can wait.

    Bette laughed but inside she was confused and just a
little bit disappointed. Tina doesn’t know how she feels about me? She
wondered. I should help her figure it out, shouldn’t I? But how do I
want her to feel about me? That last question stumped Bette.

    ”By the way, where are your shoes?” Tina looked
pointedly at Bette’s bare feet. “You came without them last night.”

    ”Oh! I sort of lost them.” Bette wiggled her toes. “Shoes are overrated, don’t you think?”

    ”Compared to your little piggies, they surely are!”
Tina closed the gap between their faces with a smart peck on Bette’s
lips.

    ”And Bette? I’m sorry too. I guess I was asking a
lot for you to like what I did for a living. I’ve been surrounded by
people who didn’t think anything of it and I must’ve assumed other
people would be as accepting.”

    ”Nonsense! I’m accepting!” Bette protested hotly. “I
wasn’t at first! I’m still… kinda not… but I can adjust! If we’re
going to be dating, then I can surely adjust… a little bit… for a
while maybe…” Bette trailed off, thinking intently.

    Tina laughed out loud. “Stop it Bette. You don’t have to adjust…”

    ”But I do! I would!”

    ”… you don’t have to coz I’ve quit.”

    Bette opened her mouth to protest again until the
meaning of Tina’s words dawned on her. “Quit?” Bette squeaked.

    ”Yup. Last night, before you came over, I just told
my clients that I was retiring. It was time to stop, anyway. I wasn’t
as into it as I used to be.”

    ”Not into it?”

    ”Yeah, I mean, I wasn’t enjoying myself as much.”

    ”Why not?” Bette tried to focus on the current
conversation and not on the visual of Tina ‘enjoying’ herself with
other women.

    ”I imagine myself going out with my clients and it
just bores me. I can’t help think… I’d rather be out with you.”

    ”Oh.” Bette was still for a beat then her arms shot
out and captured Tina in an embrace. She wrapped even her legs around
Tina’s hips.

    ”Careful baby, you’re gonna fall!” Tina laughed when she felt Bette starting to slide forward.

    ”You’re going to catch me, aren’t you?”

    ”Definitely. I’ve got you.”

    Breakfast was forgotten as the new lovers made full
use of a beautiful swath of sunlight on the kitchen counter, stripping
clothes off skin and basking in the heat of a lovely morning.

TBC