Initially, she thought the
earring thing was too clich, but when Bette was near, Tina couldn’t think of
anything but keeping her closer. Tina remembered how Bette “found” her earring
and gently retrieved it from Tina’s hair. Tina also remembered the electricity
she felt when she let her hand linger in Bette’s as she took the earring from
Bette. Tina had never felt so drawn to another person before. She liked the way
that Bette carried herself – the confidence in who she was. Tina was extremely
taken with the way that Bette held her gaze. Tina usually found it unnerving
when people would stare at her but with Bette, she felt as if they could see into
each other’s souls. Each time that Bette spoke to her, Tina would get lost in
those beautiful mahogany orbs. Tina would feel her temperature rise and her
breaths quicken and would tell herself to remain calm, cool and collected. Tina
had to see Bette again – without Eric around. Tina figured since the earring
had worked so well before that it would be the perfect excuse to see Bette
again. That’s when Tina decided to “lose” her earring so that she could
retrieve it from Bette at a later date. Luckily it worked. Tina had gotten the
call from Bette’s secretary that Bette had found her earring and it would be
available to be picked up from the gallery the next day after the dinner party.
Tina admitted to herself that she was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t
Bette that had called to tell her about the earring, but that was all set aside
when Tina went to the gallery to get the earring. Instead of dealing with a
secretary, Tina was treated to personal interaction with Bette Porter herself.

Again Tina felt the heat
between them when she touched Bette’s hand in which the earring was placed.
Tina had wanted “the kiss” just as much as Bette. So when Bette leaned in to
kiss Tina, it wasn’t a surprise and she allowed the emotion to consume her.
Bette tenderly grazed her lips across Tina’s and waited for Tina to react to
the contact. When Tina didn’t pull away, Bette let the contact – lips, hands,
and hips – linger. Tina finally understood. It wasn’t Eric that she didn’t feel
attached to – it was men in general.

Bette opened Tina up to a
whole new world of experiences. Ones that Tina knew she never would have
experienced had it not been for her “losing” her earring at Bette’s gallery.
The Bette Porter Gallery – how it held such wonderful memories for them both. Life
was so much better then. Tina had missed the intimate gatherings and getting to
know the artists on a personal level. She missed helping Bette ready the
gallery for new exhibits. She longed for the late night romantic interludes
that they shared in Bette’s office when Bette would be too busy to come home.
Then it dawned on Tina. It wasn’t just her quitting her job and letting Bette
have more control of the decision-making. Things changed drastically when Bette
closed her gallery and started working at the CAC. No longer was Bette the
“boss”. She didn’t have the creative freedom that she had by owning her own
gallery. She definitely didn’t need Tina around as often to help. The
transition to become gainfully employed with the CAC was supposed to be a good
thing, but all that Tina saw of it was more stress on Bette, less time at home
together, and Bette losing a part of herself and individuality. Tina knew that
if things were going to change, then the CAC would have to be something that
Bette would need to eliminate from her life.