Last night, she had set Tina up in the guest room, when they arrived at Bette’s place.  Later that evening, however, she found to her chagrin that the blonde had wandered into Bette’s room at some point, and had snuggled next to her, seeking warmth and comfort in Bette’s assuring embrace.

Bette started,“Well you were catching the disjointed half of a strange conversation between me and this girl I had been involved with, and whom I was trying to break up with.”  She continued, “With some lesbians, you just have to break up with them more than once, I guess.  In this case, about three times. And the call in Paris was the third time.”  She paused.  

Tina quickly said, “That’s ok, you don’t have to talk about it.”  Tina thought she may be pushing it a little with Bette, deciding she could probably ask her again later when Bette was more comfortable.

But Bette plunged ahead with the story, trusting in the emerging process of allowing somebody else into her most private thoughts. “No, no I think I do want to talk about it. I really haven’t talked about it with anyone, actually, and I think it’s time. That is if you’ll let me.”

”Of course,” Tina nodded, reassuringly.

Tina put down her mug, disentangled her fingers from Bette’s, reached across the sofa, and took Bette’s mug. She set it aside, and then scooted back to her corner, wriggling her back to a comfortable position.  She opened her arms out to Bette. ”Come here, you.”

Bette hesitated for just a second, then crawled over to Tina, turned slightly, then laid her back slowly on the blonde’s chest, settling her head on the curve of Tina’s shoulder, leaning partially against Tina’s chin. Tina closed her arms around the brunette in a warm embrace.  She wondered how many others had done this for Bette, without expecting to have sex with the sexy woman afterward.   Probably few, if ever.   She waited for Bette to continue when the brunette felt ready, gently stroking Bette’s hair, softly kissing the top of it.  It was a reversal of roles from the previous night.

”Jodie and I… we just really never connected. Just never had the same understanding, at the same time, of what we each wanted, out of life, out of each other, etc.”