Wait, what if the reason he isn’t coming is really because they’re having problems? Would she even tell me about it? Probably not. We may be civil with each other, but I don’t think that we’re quite at the comfort level that would allow her to talk to me about her relationship problems with the man she left me for.

And yet, my curiosity is still piqued about his non-appearance this evening. He must really trust her to let her go out to see her ex-partner’s sister sing in the company of all of her lesbian friends. Of course he trusts her, Tina isn’t one not to be trusted, but still. There’s no way I would ever let her go out alone like that. But that’s just me. Or at least, that was me.

Maybe Henry is so confident and secure in his manhood that he doesn’t think twice about Tina going places where she will be devoured by stares. And I won’t lie, I may be the owner and operated of one of those stares. We may be broken up, but that doesn’t mean I have forgotten how absolutely stunning Tina is. The only difference between me and the rest of the oglers is that I have had the pleasure and privilege of seeing her naked. So I can appreciate how truly gorgeous she is.

Fuck! What am I doing? Stop thinking about your ex, Bette. She doesn’t want you back. She was just waxing nostalgic about the good times, that’s all. Right?

——

When I stepped into the Planet, my mind was still reeling about Jodi and the date she was on at that exact moment. Amy. That was the bitch’s name. There was no way I’d be able to handle this non-exclusivity clause with her. I could already feel the bile rising in the back of my throat.

Then I saw the woman who used to own my heart. The one woman who knew what it meant to love to the exclusion of all others. She was already there throwing back a martini.  Images of her and me during our “Sexy Cocktail Hour” came flooding back in an instant. We would come home after a long day for both of us at our respective jobs and put on silky kimono robes like we were female versions of Hugh Hefner, while mixing up a drink for the other.