1 year later, Bette had moved to LA, smack in the middle of West Hollywood, in the community where she belonged.

She had made full use of that one year, using her old contacts in the Art world to help make her own gallery, The Bette Porter gallery, a mini success so far. Bette Porter truly was a rising star.

She had also made up for lost time, having many one night stands, quickly creating a reputation for herself, but Bette was slowly inching towards the big 3-0, and she did want to settle down into something more permanent with the right person.

That night, Bette was at The Planet, a café by day and a club by night that catered mainly to lesbians, run by the alluring and exotic Marina.

She sat in a booth with the people she had instantly bonded with when she had first arrived in LA, Alice, the motor-mouth journalist, her girlfriend Dana Fairbanks, a rising star in the tennis world and Shane, a young Yoda-ish Lothario whose total number of one-night stands far outstripped Bette’s and who worked at Alphaville as a hairstylist. As usual, Bette was scanning the floor, looking for that evening’s target.

“See anyone you like yet Bette?” Shane asked as she too let her eyes wander across the dance floor.

“Not yet Shane, anyway, we can take our time, it’s not as if those two are good company tonight. Amazing huh? I finally have time to come out and meet you guys after the recent show and then she-who-bugged-me-a-lot is ignoring me!” Bette replied, jerking her head in the direction of Alice and Dana who were making out, oblivious to the conversation going on.

Shane chuckled “Yeah, you’re right. But she-who-bugs-everyone is always like that, nothing new!”

——————————————————————————————————————

How do I get something off my chest when my heart’s beating so loud

Tina stared at Bette from far; she was sitting in a secluded corner of The Planet, obscured from Bette’s line of sight.

How do I stand there feeling so dumb just lost in the crowd

She watched as Bette scanned the crowd as she had done every day in the past week that Tina had been observing her.