It had been a long miserable week. Bette had gotten her appointment with the doctor the next day. She had gone right in and had a long talk with her. Bette had explained the situation and obtained any information she possibly could, both in regards to herself and Tina. Her doctor informed her that unfortunately, there was some risk that Bette had contracted the virus by having unprotected *****, but that there was almost no chance that Tina would have gotten it from Bette, not if the only ***** they had was that final act that Bette described. What Bette had read was confirmed. Without any blood involved and no contact of body fluid to mucous membranes from one to the other, it was as safe ***** as possible without using protection. At least Bette didnt have to worry about passing this on to Tina.

Bette had then had a test for the virus. It had been the longest twenty minutes of her life waiting for the results, but the test had come back negative. The doctor informed her that it could be a false negative, since it had only been a month. Only some cases showed up that early. Bette made appointments to get tested again in three months and in six months. If both of those tests were negative, then she was in the clear! And she had thought the twenty minutes was long. The next few months would be agonizing.

The other thing that Bette had accomplished was seeing Dan Foxworthy again. She was still nervous about that, but he had guaranteed her that not one word of their talk would be passed on to Tina. So, she had relayed all the events and fears of the past week. She had explained how she was afraid to tell Tina of her possible infection because she was afraid of Tinas reaction. She wanted to work her way back to Tina and was afraid this would only drive a wedge further between them. She had also explained how she was afraid not to tell Tina. Suppose she did develop the virus and then had to tell Tina. It would just be more lies, another truth that she had hidden from Tina. They would not survive another lie. Bette had come away from the sessions knowing what she had to do. But how she dreaded it!

Tinas week had gone quite well. After that weird but hilarious night with Cindy, Tina had gone to the gym for a workout, and things had been fairly comfortable with Cindy. Best of all, Tina did not have that nervous feeling around Cindy because nothing was said or done that Tina could even slightly construe as a come-on. In fact it had been quite nice, friendly but not strained. Apparently she had been worrying unnecessarily about continuing to use that gym.

Tina had also had some more sessions with Dan. For a doctor of the stars, he certainly had a lot of time free to squeeze her and her problems in. Maybe he had never been involved in a ***** drama before and was especially making time for her. Bette had said she had seen him quite frequently too. Well he was certainly getting trained in the handling of ***** drama with both of them seeing him. Tina had finished telling of her confusion concerning the angry ***** that she had engaged in with Bette on the night of the Provocations opening. Dan had asked numerous questions of her feelings relating to various stages of the relationship with Bette during the last few months. He had passed on some of his observations as to the way she had seemed to him as she relayed the story, and she realized more about how the relationships progress had affected both herself and her reactions to Bette. Although she didnt feel as though she was finished with therapy, she did feel as if she had progressed enough to start talking with Bette about what had occurred in their relationship and what they were going to do now to either fix it or end it.

Bette was still considering how she was going to tell Tina about everything when her cell phone rang. Glancing at the ID, her heart picked up a few beats as she answered.

Hi Tee. How are you?

Not too bad today Bette. Im calling because the girls are going out tonight for a few drinks and some music. I thought you might want to join us, and maybe we could talk a little bit.

OK Tina, Id love to meet with all of you. I dont know how much talking we can do at a noisy bar, but I would love getting out and seeing friends. Especially you, Bette thought. In fact I dont care if anyone else shows up as long as I can see you.

Good. We are meeting at the Planet at about seven and will head out from there.

See you at seven. Bette hung up the phone. It would be so good to see Tina. Bette didnt think Cindy would be there because Tina would not have said they could talk if Cindy were going to be there also. Bette thought again about the shower comment she had overheard between Cindy and Tina. She knew she would have to ask, especially after her conversation with the doctor, but surely Tina was smarter than Bette had been. She would have practiced safe ***** with Cindy, wouldnt she? Bette had to turn her mind off before she made herself crazy. So Tina had slept with Cindy. It tore her up, but she had been unfaithful first. They could get past this. She just needed Cindy to be gone.

Tina dressed up special tonight. She wanted to leave Bette drooling. She wanted to keep Bette off balance as much as possible. She knew Bette loved her, but she needed to feel loved by her. That was something that had been lacking in their relationship for a while now. She hadnt felt loved. Especially when she saw Bette with that carpenter. Well she would find out tonight. She put on a teal dress that clung to her body like a second skin. It wasnt tight; it just molded itself to her. She also spent extra time on her makeup and hair. Finally, when she was ready to go, she looked at herself in the full-length mirror. Well, she thought, this is as good as it gets. If I dont get some reaction from Bette with this outfit, I can just throw in the towel on this relationship now.

Bette had dressed in a comfortable but classy pair of slacks and a beige Italian silk blouse. She knew Tina would like it better if she didnt wear a suit, which is what she would have preferred to wear. Bette also knew that Tina loved the feel of silk and always rubbed her hand over the silk blouses that Bette wore. She loved Tina so much. It was murder not having her there to wake up to or curl up with to go to sleep at night. And now there was this new problem to address. But not tonight, Bette thought. Tonight is about seeing Tina, drinking her in while I still can.

Bette walked through the door of the Planet. She spotted her friends at the usual table, but did not see Tina. She was waved over by the group.

Tina said you were coming, Alice said after hellos were passed around.

Speaking of Tina, where is she? Bette asked.

At that moment everybodys words faded out and Bette lost control of her breathing. Tina had just come out of the bathroom and everything else ceased to exist. Tina saw Bette and smiled at her. Bette felt such a shot of longing run straight through her body and land right in the pit of her stomach. Tina was an absolute vision. Her beautiful blond hair was complimented exquisitely by a teal dress that flattered her every curve and left nothing to the imagination. Bette pictured every inch of Tina in her mind and knew that nothing would ever be ok again if she didnt have Tina in her life, by her side, forever.

Tina saw Bette from across the room and smiled at her. She also smiled deep inside when she saw the look in Bettes eyes, for Tina had gotten the reaction she had been hoping for. That look Bette gave her was what had been missing. The look said come here, let me hold you, and I will never let you go. The look spoke of the raw passion and hunger beneath the surface that craved to be released. The look ignited the same feelings in Tina as it had so many times over the past seven years. Oh yes! She could still get a reaction out of Bette. But would she be able to control her reaction to Bette?