For her part, Alice just stood there scoffing and shaking her head in a mixture of confusion and resentment. Confusion as to where all of Dana’s anger and rage was coming from, and resentment that the athlete had the nerve to stoop so low after everything she’d done to damage their relationship. After all, it was Dana who wanted to be friends. It was Dana who walked out on that in the first place. And now she thinks she has the right to make her feel bad about having a new relationship? Alice just wasn’t having it.

"Fuck you, Dana. I should have known you couldn’t handle being friends after everything that’s happened."

"So now I can’t be your friend because I don’t think your girlfriend is as wonderful as she pretends to be?"

"Pretends? What the hell are you talking about? Jules is one of the realest people I’ve ever met."

"Alice, she has no fucking flaws. That’s not real. Maybe underneath all that perfect little bullshit there’s a real person there, but has she shown you that yet? Has she shown it to any of your friends? And how much do you really know about her anyway?"

"So what, just because she doesn’t appear to be as flaky or confused or emotionally unavailable as you, there must be something wrong with her?"

"No, I’m just saying that I don’t see you with her. She’s not right for you, Al."

"So you don’t think I deserve someone like her?"

"God no, of course not. You deserve someone who is perfect. But perfect for you, Alice. Not perfect on a piece of paper, or perfect to the naked eye. Someone who gets you, Al. Someone that knows you and loves you and is a better person just for having you by her side."

Alice hadn’t noticed, but somehow in the midst of all the arguing, they had gravitated towards each other and were standing only inches apart. The idea of Dana being so close made her head spin a little and she suddenly felt flushed. She cleared her throat loudly, trying unsuccessfully to look anywhere but at Dana’s inviting mouth. Her eyes seemed to have a mind of their own…or at least it wasn’t exactly her mind doing the thinking here, as she watched Dana slowly lick the salt off her lips. She mimicked the action, trying not to wonder what it would be like to lick it off for her.

This wasn’t lost on Dana, who quickly noticed where Alice’s eyes were headed, and a small sense of pride and elation washed over her. That was all the proof she needed to know that she could still make Alice squirm, and she reveled in the tiny victory. For a moment she thought she could take advantage of their close proximity and capture Alice’s mouth with her own. But just as her breathing quickened and she worked up enough courage to eliminate the gap between them, Alice halted any advancement by moving away from her.   

"Why are you saying all of this to me now Dana?"

"For one, because you asked me. And despite what you may think of me at this moment, I really do care about you. I don’t want to see you bury your real feelings beneath some surface relationship you’re getting involved in, just so that you don’t have to deal with them."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning…I’m not saying she’s just some random rebound. I know you care about her. But there’s still a lot of unresolved stuff between us and I’d hate to see you settle because she seems like an easy fit."

"Listen Dana, I think you lost any rights to tell me what to do with my sex life when you decided not to be part of it anymore."

"Fine. You’re right. Just forget it. Forget everything." Dana found herself trying to conceal her disappointment and hurt over the harshness of Alice’s previous statement. So before the writer could see how visibly upset she was, she turned away from her and began to walk back onto the court. 

"You know it just occurred to me. You call what I’m doing settling, and yet what you’re doing is, what…moving on?" Alice questioned as Dana continued her retreat.  

"This isn’t about Lara."

Alice shook her head dejectedly. "Right, of course. It never is."

And by the time Dana turned around again, all she could see was the woman she loved walking away from her…as fast as she possibly could.