Tina pulled away with a sigh, her hands resting on Bette’s upper arms. She looked down at their breasts pressed together, cream on mocha, and sighed again. Bette’s nipples were dark colored and mixed delightfully with her own pink nipples and the whiteness of her breast.

Bette waited, knowing Tina was about to say what was really on her mind. Her hand moved back to Tina’s neck and she traced her jawline with her thumb. Tina looked up.

“Today, Aaron made a decision that impacts my career. The proposal – such a stupid fucking word, it is a done deal after all, not a proposal – means that any new book I find can get developed into a movie, if – and this is the crucial part – IF Eric agrees to finance. This does not count the usual scripts I get sent; this is for the out of the ordinary book deals we are now doing. The ones that haven’t made the best seller lists, the sleepers I call them. I started this project; it was… is… my idea. Aaron hated it at first. Eric will bankroll but he will also reap the rewards if it succeeds, which gives him financial incentive to be careful in what he chooses. I will get a cut too, but… don’t you see? He holds all the cards. Metal Jungle will be a monster hit, monster. I know it, I can feel it. It will make us millions, Baby. Me and you. And they want a bigger piece of that, they want what I started… and they want to take over the sandbox to get it. Don’t you see? In the movie business, this is how you know you’ve been marginalized”.

Bette nodded, understanding her frustration and racking her brain to figure out what to say, her verbal prowess deserting her. She swallowed thickly. She knew how hard Tina had worked to be taken seriously in the industry. For a woman to achieve what she had was remarkable, more so because she had kept her integrity intact while she did it.

She blinked and was about to speak when Tina leaned forward, this time resting her head on Bette’s forehead, “All those years ago you awakened something in me Baby. You awakened…me. The woman I was supposed to be, the woman I was hiding inside. The woman that Eric… or any man really… never saw…”