”It’s easy to lean over in a restaurant and whisper in your ear what I want to do to your body,” Bette said. ”Without arousing suspicion in those around you.”

”The fact that my face flushed from what you whispered may have been a clue to a few people,” Tina replied. ”Especially if we were out in a group of our friends.”

”Did I live up to what I suggested?” Bette asked.

”Every time,” Tina replied. She let her fingertips move over the skin of Bette’s abdomen as their conversation continued.

”Are you going to…talk to me?” the implications of what Bette might want to hear was apparent in her tone.

”Would you like to hear me recall what our first time together was like for me?”

”Yes please…” Bette turned for a kiss that threatened to distract them from any conversation.

”I’ve been thinking about this all day,” Tina broke their kiss. ”Just like that day…we had decided to spend the night together, and I couldn’t think of anything else.”

”Neither could I,” Bette said. ”I had to leave work early because I was so distracted.”

”You never told me that,” Tina replied.

”I was working on a letter of invitation for an artist I was hoping to woo for an individual show, and I couldn’t even write the first paragraph,” Bette said. ”I went home and swam before you came over, so I could burn off some energy.”

”You were still pretty energetic that night,” Tina laughed. ”And all night, I might add…”

”I don’t know if I can do that any more,” Bette said. ”The enthusiasm of youth…”

”You’re fishing for compliments,” Tina accused gently. ”You know you’ve barely aged since I met you…”

”It takes me a little bit longer to recover from anything…” Bette countered. ”A late night out, or one martini too many results in a reminder that I’m not 25 any longer…”

”We almost missed our reservation,” Tina reminded her. ”I came over to drop off my overnight bag before going out and we ended up in the bedroom together.”

”But we re-established a sense of decorum before we got too carried away,” Bette said. ”And we did make our reservation.”

”But with no time to spare,” Tina recalled. She continued to tease her fingertips over bare skin, but never too intimately even though Bette was naked beneath the covers.