Bette returned her look, with her own one raised eyebrow in question? “Helena, let’s not and just say we did.” Bette cautioned her friend. “Anyway, what happened to that woman who was driving you crazy in lust?” Bette questioned.

“I’ve decided to stay clear of that one, she spells trouble.” Helen said.

“I thought you were the speed speller of ‘trouble’. Oh wait that is your name.” Bette reminded Helena

“If I’m trouble, then Shane is disaster and you my friend are the original heartbreaker.” Helena retorted.

“Heartbreaker?” Shane questioned as she placed their beers on the table.

“Oh forget her,” Bette advised. “Let’s enjoy this Monday and pray the week gets better.

“I’ll drink to that,” Shane lifted her beer to her lips after giving Bette a meaningful look.

Bette’s cell phone rang. After fishing it out of her jacket and seeing the caller ID, she looked at Shane. Stands up and walkes off to answer it in a quieter place.

“Hey you.” Tina greeted at Bette’s answer.

“Hey yourself,” Bette smiled at the warm voice that always sent shivers down her spine when at this tone.

“Rebel rousing I hear. You out with your crew?” Tina said and questioned Bette. Not sure why this made her slightly uncomfortable.

“What you hear are the patrons doing their own thing, while my friends and I catch up since I’ve been unavailable.” Bette answered hoping that would put Tina at ease. “Where are you being a good girl?” Bette asked.

“With my girls, sort of doing the same thing.” Tina told Bette. “I’d love you to meet them sometime.”

Bette didn’t say anything so Tina continued. “You’d love them, if not they will definitely love you.”

“Wow, that’s …..” Bette trailed not sure what to say, but she was taken aback by that admission from Tina.

“Keen to come over to mine’s after your friends’ have bored you?” Tina asked, trying not to sound desperate, but actually pining for Bette. She’d told her friends that she needed to make an important call, at which they’d all chorused ‘BETTE’ . She blushingly called Bette and was rewarded with that sexy ‘Hey yourself’.

“They know there’s no toss up between them and you. You are my number one and only.” Bette told Tina and then swallowed a lump, because that’s how she’d thought of Tina during her absence. She couldn’t look at other women in her sober state and really not wish they were Tina, inebriated, everything was a blur, like Ashley. “Text me your address and I will be there before you get a chance to change your mind.” Tina’s breath caught at Bette’s answer. She didn’t know she was so tense and hoping Bette would agree. Now she was besides herself and blushing like a cheerleader who’d just caught the eye of the star quarterback.

“You got it.” Tina said. Bette couldn’t wait to be with Tina and almost walked out without her keys or saying goodbye to her friends.

She approached Shane and Helena who were looking at some women, who were looking back at them too.

“I see you are fully occupied, so I will be out.” Bette startled them out of their reverie as she picked up her wallet and keys.

“See you Buddy,” Shane stood up to hug Bette, knowing full well where she was off to. Even without the ‘cat that got the cream’ grin, Shane knew it was Tina that Bette was going to.

“More for us,” Helena said after she too had given their departing friend a hug.

Bette walked her like a woman on a mission and she was.