"Never?!," Tina shot back.

"Never knowingly do anything to hurt you," Shane repeated.

Tina blew her breath out, then gave Shane an exasperated look, "Your friend sometimes!"

Shane smiled, "Well… I didn’t marry her. And, as I understand it, based on what a certain blonde has told me often enough, Bette’s quite a catch!"

Tina shook her head, appreciating what Shane was trying to do.

"C’mon, Tina, smile!" Shane said, giving Tina a side hug. "It’s Valentine’s Day. Call her later, after you’ve had a chance to blow off some steam. And give her a chance to explain. And say sorry."

Shane was right, of course. Bette would never do anything to hurt her, and that she was probably feeling really bad about the whole thing, back in New York.   And it was Valentine’s Day, too.

She sighed, Bette was surely feeling as lonely for her as she was feeling for Bette. She and Bette would have to find a better way to handle these types of challenges. Damn Lauren!

Tina checked her watch. It was time for the agent and the owner of the other treatment to show up to discuss possibilities of striking a deal. She regretted drinking several rounds of gin and tonic while she waited, steamed about Bette. "I hate women sometimes," she sighed aloud.

Shane laughed, sensing Tina had calmed down about her friend.   Slightly.  But she thought she’d have to have her own talk with Bette someday about things like this.  Bette really had to learn to pay better attention to what was happening around her, and not just rely on Tina knowing that she loved Tina. And only Tina.

Tina jumped when she spotted the agent that she’d met the day before. "Shane, I’m sorry I gotta go. The agent I told you about is here, and whomever she represents is probably here, too. Wish me luck!"

Tina walked quickly to the agent, and signaled to her that they could go to Kit’s office to talk, once she and her client got a drink.

Kit and Helena were outside checking out the crowd waiting patiently for their chance to enter the new sandbar section of "Hit" that they’d just opened.