Alice’s mouth hung open as she was confronted by the woman she loved- by the woman she was still in love with. Dana’s mouth mirrored Alice’s searching for words that would not come to her rescue. Eventually the silence was broken as Alice muttered ‘excuse me’ and tried to push her way past Dana’s imposing body.

‘Alice please’. Dana began turning her best friend to face her.

‘I know you probably don’t even want to look at me right now but please listen to me because i miss you so much’.

Alice laughed sarcastically at Dana’s declaration.

‘You dealt the cards Dana’ she began ‘Now if you’ll excuse me, i have to go meet Shane.’

Dana grabbed a hold of Alice’s arm gently urging her towards her.

‘Shane will understand Al…I don’t want to lose my best friend. And if you even feel like there’s a chance we can save our friendship then I am begging you to hear me out’.

Alice looked towards the ground for a second but her thoughtfullness was interrupted when a storm broke out overhead.

‘Please Al’, Dana urged.

‘We can go to my place’.

‘Is she there’? Alice questioned yelling over the heavy rain.

‘No Lara’s working’ Dana replied, unaware of the hurt she was causing her best friend by even allowing this other womans name to fall from her lips.

‘Please’ Dana asked again, staring up at the rain as it came down heavier on their bodies.

‘Ok…but just for a while’, Alice finally agreed.

The two hustled through the doorway of Dana’s condo and shook the water from their clothes. Alice tried her best not to concentrate on the way the water flattered every curve of Dana’s athletically toned body. ‘Stop it Al’ she said quietly, forgetting she was speaking out loud.

‘What?” Dana responded as Alice was shaken from her daze, ‘Oh…nothing, can, can you get my a towel?’ she asked stuttering.

‘Ok, you wanna wait in the living room?’ Alice agreed and made her way through the kitchen. The sight of chopping boards and ingredients hit her like a bolt to the heart. Lara had obviously been cooking as Dana never did and lying across one arm of the courch was a scarf that obviously did not belong to Dana. ‘It just isn’t her taste’ Alice thought. Alice was struck by everything in the room that struck of an outside invasion. She choked on the scent of Lara’s perfume, something that hung in the air like a bad memory. Just as she began to recall the heartache of Lara and Dana’s relationship Dana entered the room and handed Alice a towel.

‘Here you go’ Dana began, ‘can i get you anything else’.

‘No, i probably shouldn’t stay’ Alice admitted, eager to escape the uncomfortable scene.

‘Oh…Ok.’ Dana began nervously. ‘Well I just really need to say how sorry I am.

Alice cut Dana off immediately before she could continue.

‘I know that you’re sorry Dane, and i know that you mean it but it doesn’t make me feel any better because i’m sorry too. I’m sorry you broke my heart, i’m sorry you left me for you’re ex- and please don’t say that you didn’t, but most of all i’m sorry that i’m not sure we can ever have our friendship back.’

Dana looked disappointed and shell shocked by Alice’s passionate response.

‘Please Al’, she started ‘Can you at least say you’ll try to forgive me?’

Alice stared at her ex lover for a while and remembered how good it was to make love to her. She now could not disperse of images of Dana kissing Lara the way she used to kiss her.

‘I want to try Dane, i love you and i swear i do but it’ll be hard to hang out with you at night in the knowledge that you’ll be going home to her. I’ll have to picture her making love to you and you her, i’ll have to imaging you laughing together and most of all i’ll know that every time you’re with me, you can’t wait to go home to be with her.’

A silence descended upon the room as Dana absorbed Alice’s words. Finally Alice rose from her seat and left Dana with the departing sentence

‘If i ever think i’m brave enough to deal with that, then i’ll call you.’

And as quickly as the words fell from her lips she was gone.