Bette sat at her desk looking at more details about the upcoming show. The lights on her phone were blinking like crazy and there hadnt been a point all day when she didnt have at least three calls on hold. Franklin was in and out of her office going on and on about something or another and Bette was ready to strangle him. Her life had been extremely hectic lately and she didnt know how she managed to get through her days. It had been one month since she went to visit Tina at her old house and when Bette vowed to move forward, she did with a vengeance. She had been spending all of her time working on the new exhibit that was due to arrive in three weeks and any extra time was spent either trying to think about what she needed to do to get her life back together, or she was sleeping.

As Bette was driving home later that day she began thinking about her past. She thought about how her life had been before Tina and how her life was now. She saw a lot of similarities. Endless days leading into random nights. Bette had not been going out much due to sheer lack of energy and she knew that Alice was concerned. Every time Alice called her to go out with them she always gracefully declined. It wasnt that she didnt want to see anyone, it was just that she was simply too exhausted to go out. She did talk to Alice on a every-other-day basis and she never interrogated Alice for information about Tina. That was the old Bette. The new Bette allowed for Tina to have her own life while still maintaining contact with the friends shes always had. Bette did manage to meet up with Alice, Dana and Shane a couple of times on the weekend when she wasnt too beat and these times were always fun. Bette had her spirit back and she felt happy again just to be around her friends. The only void in her life right now was Tina but Bette knew she had a lot of work to do before even trying to get her back.

Candace had been calling her as well, but Bette could never bring herself to call her back. Bette was getting tired of feeling like she was being disloyal to Tina every time she saw Candace. Bette knew that for what it was worth Candace would never be more than a good *****. Whenever she did see Candace and tried to talk to her about what was going on between them she always stopped herself because of a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Candace was not the person she was meant to be with forever, but Candace was a person she was meant to be with at some point. Bette didnt have the feelings of joy and excitement anymore like she had when she first met Candace. Those feelings gave away to a comfortable understanding that this woman was someone who was in her life at a certain point in time. Bette was okay with that and apparently so was Candace.

Bette was glad that these feelings of doubt and frustration about Candace had passed. Bette did what she always did in a situation like this. She compartmentalized her and put that box up on a high shelf, out of reach, but low enough so that she would always know it was there. Bette spent many nights trying to get in touch with her inner demons and try and see where her sudden infidelity came from, but so far she was making very little progress. She had also tried talking to Kit a few more times, but she would get too frustrated with her and end up leaving. Bette could see that she was slowly starting to change, but that it was hard and she fought it all the way. Bette knew her old life was slowly disappearing and she was learning to accept her new life and her new sense of self. While she was glad she could put the past behind her and move on, she was terrified at what her new life would bring.

***
Tina was running out of the house, about to be late for work, when her cell phone rang. Glancing down she saw that it was Alice and decided she could just leave a message. Tina quickly got in her car and headed for work. The 405 was surprisingly empty today and Tina made it to work in record time. She had gotten a job at a smaller production company and the studio she was working out of was based in Century City. Tina sat at her desk and sighed as she looked at the mound of paperwork in front of her. Although she had taken a lower position than when she left the pay was adequate but the work was overwhelming. Tina flipped open her phone and decided to check her messages before throwing herself into her work.

Hey Tina its Alice, listen, Dana and I are going through a phase and we need outside contact with anyone who isnt us, so we wanted to know if you wanted to join us for dinner tonight. Give me a call later.

Tina smiled at this and made a mental note to tease Dana when she saw her tonight. Dana and Alice were becoming quite the serious couple and Tina was happy to see her friends so much in love. Tina listened to her next message and as she did she felt a warm feeling spread throughout her body.

Hi Tina, its Melanie. I was just wondering if you had plans tonight because I heard about a new Thai place thats opening up in North Hollywood and I was wondering if you wanted to try it? Call me later when you get a chance. Okay, bye.

Tina sighed happily as she set her phone down. She met Melanie a week ago and Tina felt a spark that she only thought she would feel with Bette. Tina was at a coffee shop not too far from her house when she bumped into Melanie and managed to almost spill her entire coffee on her. Melanie steadied Tinas coffee cup before grabbing some napkins to clean up her own spilled coffee. Tina smiled as she remembered how embarrassed she was and how she insisted on buying Melanie another one. Tina could tell that Melanie was immediately attracted to her, but she played it off nicely and made Tina feel at ease. They ended up talking for a while and Tina noticed how calm and collected Melanie was when she spoke. Melanie was a professor at UCLA and Tina thought she looked way too young to be teaching at the collegiate level. Melanie was shy at first but after they talked for over an hour she loosened up and Tina found herself hanging on Melanies every word. When she spoke her voice was soft but strong and it reminded Tina a lot of Bette. As she was leaving Melanie asked Tina for her number and at first Tina was hesitant about giving it to her, but after seeing the warm glow from Melanies eyes she happily obliged. As Melanie was walking away Tina couldnt help but notice her graceful movement and how her hips swayed from side to side.

The thing that Tina liked best about Melanie was how comfortable she made her feel. Melanie didnt have the aggressive side that Bette did, but she displayed just as much passion and drive when she talked about things that interested her. Tina could see a certain sadness in her eyes however and she always wondered what happened in her past that made them that way. Tina had agreed to dinner once before with Melanie and she had a great time. Melanie was easy to talk to and Tina soon found herself sharing personal stories with her about almost everything. Everything but Bette. Tina couldnt talk about Bette whenever she was with Melanie and she didnt know if it was because she was still hurt by what happened or if it was because she felt like she was betraying Bette. Tina knew that Melanie wanted to pursue a relationship with her, but Tina made it clear from the beginning that she just got out of a seven year relationship and didnt want to jump right into another one. Melanie was fine with that and she never pushed Tina to limits emotionally or physically. Melanie had a great body and she was stunningly beautiful, but she was so down to earth and so compassionate that she never used her looks to try and pressure Tina.

Shes the complete package, thought Tina as she turned her attention away from her possible new love interest and back to her work. Tina worked for the next ten hours straight only stopping for twenty minutes to eat lunch. By the time she got off of work Tina was so tired she didnt think she wanted to go out with Dana and Alice but she didnt mind seeing Melanie. Tina checked her watch and saw that it was almost six thirty. She quickly dug through her bag and called Melanie.

Dr. Sinners office.

Hi this is Tina Kennard, can I please speak with Mel- I mean Dr. Sinner.

Hold.

RING RING RING

Hello.

Hey Mel its Tina.

Oh hi Tina, how are you?

Tina smiled at this. Melanie was always so polite and proper. Tina decided a little teasing was in order.

WellactuallyI was having quite a bad day.

Why? What happened?

You only called me once.

Tina heard laughing on the other end as Melanie understood what Tina meant. Tina doodled on a piece of paper in front of her as she listened to Melanie tease back.

Well Ms. Kennard I apologize, but I had a full schedule. Three lectures and research to oversee. My sincerest apologies.

Its okay you can make it up to me tonight.

Tina bit her lip and didnt know if she should have said that. She didnt want to lead Melanie on and she knew that Melanie might jump to the wrong conclusion with something like that, but Tina also reminded herself that she didnt have any ties romantically to Bette anymore so she was free to date whoever she wanted. Tina knew she would never be able to fully move on from Bette, but it felt nice to have someone who appreciated her. Luckily Melanie didnt notice the undertone in what Tina had just said and instead just offered to buy her dinner.

Well then dinner is on me tonight. Did you get my message about trying the new Thai place?

Yeah. It sounds great.

Good. Well Ill be here for about another hour or so but what time are you getting off?

Right now. But its okay because that gives me time to go home and change.

Cant wait. Okay well, I need to finish up here so Ill pick you up at eight?

Sounds good.

Tina hung up with a smile on her face. She was looking forward to seeing Melanie tonight and she knew that just being out with her was slowly helping her to see what she was looking for in a relationship. Melanie was so good to her, and so sweet, and so kind and smart and caring that Tina thought she could search the world over and never find a better person. But there was one thing she wasnt. She wasnt Bette. Tina sighed as she grabbed her briefcase and headed out the door. After everything that Ive been through why do I still feel for Bette? Tina shook any thoughts of Bette out of her head as she went home to change. She knew that eventually she would have to tell Melanie about Bette, but she didnt want to do that until she was sure she was ready to be with her. Tina always felt that Bette was her first, last and only and while she may not be the last thing, in her heart Tina knew she would be the first two.