“Forget it,” Bette said, pulling her arm back. “Still friends?”

Tina smiled. “Friends.”

****

The next morning Tina was awakened by a persistent ringing of her phone. She fumbled for it on her nightstand and groaned when she saw it was Grant calling. She had forgotten all about him coming over this morning.

“Hello?”

“It’s me. I’m outside. I’ve been knocking but you didn’t answer.”

“So you didn’t take the hint and leave?”

“You said we could see each other this morning. You said I could come by.”

Tina sat up and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I know what I said. Hold on. I’m coming.”

She hung up the phone and yawned. She’d had a good time with Bette last night. She hadn’t told her about Grant or anything else; they’d just talked about other things on the walk home. It turned out that Bette lived further down the beach so they were going in the same direction. They discovered while just chatting that they had many things in common. They had exchanged numbers and made plans to hang out again soon. Tina smiled as she pulled on her robe and ran a brush through her hair. It was good to have a friend. Maybe when she got to know Bette better she could tell her about Grant and get some advice. As of right now Tina didn’t know how she felt except annoyed at being woken up.

Opening the door and seeing Grant’s overeager, yet pitiful hangdog expression didn’t do much to ease her annoyance. “Can we do this later?”

Grant held out a cup of coffee and a bag from Tina’s favorite bakery. “I brought you some breakfast.”

“And that’s supposed to fix everything?” Tina snapped, then sighed. She took the proffered cup and bag and muttered a thank you.

“I just wanted to see you,” Grant said. “I miss you.”

“Yeah, well. I don’t know how I feel yet, Grant.”

“Do you still love me?”

The question threw Tina off-guard, and she answered quickly. “Yes.”

Grant’s face seemed to light up. “Well then, we -”

“It’s not that easy! Will you just let me breathe and stop trying to pretend that nothing has changed?”

“But I-”

“No, Grant. I’ll call you. When I’m ready. When I have something to say about all of this. Give me some space. It’s the least you can do.”

“Alright. I will.” Tina doubted by the look in his eye that he really would. He seemed like a different person than he had just a minute ago. “I love you, Tina. I know we’re going to get through this because we love each other. I know it.”

“Grant, I’m not -”

Grant was already backing away. “I know. You want space. I get it. I just had to see your face again. It’s so hard being away from you.”

Tina was tempted to say that if he had considered that before, things wouldn’t be as they are now, but she let it go. “I’ll call you.”

“I love you,” he replied.

“Thanks for the…” Tina lifted the coffee cup and backed up, closing the door without meeting his eyes again. She went into the kitchen and got a saucer, then sat down and looked at the coffee and muffin sitting in front of her. She said that she still loved him. Did she mean it? Of course she did. There was no point in denying that. But she was still angry, and so hurt. Could she live with what he had done? She was going to have to figure that out. And even if she did get over it and took him back, who was to say she wouldn’t resent it years down the line when she was playing stepmother to his child with Shelly? Just thinking about it brought back a fresh wave of pain. She dropped her head into her hands. What was she going to do?