Bette squared her jaw and spoke directly to the ceiling, “Don’t give her anything, period.”

    She wondered about their date tonight. Tina said to
wear something for clubbing. What should she wear? Something a little
more casual than one of her powersuits, but a bit more dressy than
sweats and a t-shirt. Ah, ***** it, she thought. I’ll just grab
something from the back of the closet where my clothes pre-Candace are
stored.

    Candace. Bette’s heavy sigh turned into a slight
sob. The one woman she’s ever loved, Candace, who took her heart and
stomped all over it. When Bette came home one night and found all of
Candace’s clothes gone, and a note stuck to the refrigerator door, she
just couldn’t comprehend any of it. How Candace could’ve loved her one
day and left her the next. How Candace could’ve run off to Hawaii with
her personal trainer, dreaming dreams that did not include Bette.
Candace, who was her first and only love. One year of dating before two
years of living together and all Bette had to show for it was a box
full of photographs and three cheesy emails. Bette started sobbing in
earnest when she thought of how Candace had truly abandoned her,
betrayed her trust by taking her heart and not giving it back, even
after she was through with it. “How could she have done that to me?”
Bette moaned, “Why? Why?!”

    Later, Bette curled up in the middle of the bed that
still smelled of the ***** she had with Tina on her mind, and drifted off
to tired sleep.

*****

    Alice’s cell phone rang and distracted Alice, who was ogling Dana who about to pull off her tank top.

    “*****. Stay there Baby, don’t move a muscle. I’ll
only be a second. *****, this better be worth it,” Alice flipped open
her phone and answered. Dana squirmed at the doorway, eager to jump
into the shower after her morning jog. But she knew Alice liked to
watch her strip, so she waited for her lover to get off the phone.

    “Yeah, what is it?” Alice tried to keep the
annoyance from her voice but didn’t succeed. Dana was sweaty and
flushed and Alice’s skin tingled to join with hers.

    “Alice? It’s Tina.”

    Alice quickly sat up from her reclining position on
the sofa and waved Dana into the bathroom. Dana raised her eyebrows at
this but dutifully went to take her shower. She could hear Alice’s
voice through the door and wondered what could be important enough to
force Alice to miss their Sunday morning striptease.

    “Hey Tina! What’s up?” Alice’s brow wrinkled as she tried to figure out why Tina was calling.

    “Hey Alice! Hi! Is this a bad time?”

    “No, not at all!” Alice lied through her teeth.

    “Well, uh, did Bette tell you we’re going out
tonight? No? Uh, we are. I’m going to see if she wants to go to Milk.
It’s worth a try. Listen, are you free for lunch?”

    “Lunch? Sure, I guess. I mean yes, I’m free. Uh-huh.
The Planet? Yeah, I know it. Can I bring my girlfriend or is it really
confidential? She knows Bette pretty well too. Yeah, okay. We’ll see
you at 12 then. Ok, bye!” Alice ended the call and ran to the bathroom.
She knocked on the door rapidly until a dripping Dana opened it. “Baby?
What is it? Is it… mmph!” The rest of Dana’s words were swallowed by
Alice’s hungry kiss. In a flash, Alice was naked and pushing Dana back
under the shower. The last thing Dana heard before she was drowned in
the rush of her pleasure was, “Hurry up baby, we have an hour til we
have to meet Tina Kennard at the Planet. She wants to ask us about
Bette. Raise your leg babe…”

TBC