By: Dreiser


When Dana ran Tina had to wonder if it was a sign that she should just stop making plans. Because all they seemed to do lately was fall apart and that being so, it was hard to believe in them. The fact that Alice made it through the rest of a show without any visible signs of a breakdown showed that she was an admirable performer.

Then again, Tina already knew that. Anyone who was Alice’s friend did. She loved to put on a show, to entertain and amuse. That was who she was and Tina supposed it was that part of her personality that saved her when Tina’s plan went to ***** with Dana’s abrupt exit.

It was beyond Tina what exactly Dana was running from. Her own feelings? Alice’s feelings? Her fears? The only thing that Tina knew was she had royally fucked things up for Alice and that thought made her impossibly angry with herself.

Sighing heavily and looking around the tiny dressing room, Tina tried to think of the right words explain her actions. Then she caught sight of two pictures placed slightly off center on the wall of framed photographs of the various bands who performed at the bar. The first featured Ed’s band, Bitter Fruit, in the midst of what appeared to be a very emotional song and there was Alice, standing on the far left in the picture, face set in concentration as she played. The second picture…

Alice’s hair was long and natural color of brown, tied away from her face with a pair of braids on top, her jeans were far too large and barely held up by a clunky leather belt, the black tank top she wore revealed the tattoo wasn’t there yet. She found it very strange to see Alice looking that young but what affected Tina the most was the expression on her face.

Pure unadulterated happiness.

And god help her, Tina couldn’t remember the last time or if at all Alice had looked like that. The thought made her want to cry though she suspected that impulse was due to hormones. Sniffling and rubbing her eyes, Tina leaned in and peered more carefully at the photograph, focusing on the other woman in it who was surely Tayo, the infamous first girlfriend Alice had spoken about during the Dinah Shore weekend. After a few moments, Tina decided it was useless to try and figure out from a still picture what Alice had found so special about her. Sadly, it just couldn’t be done.

Sighing again, Tina contemplated sitting down but then she noticed a familiar messy scrawl at the bottom of the picture. A slow smile forming on her face, Tina laughingly read it aloud, “Butter rules.”

“***** yeah, Butter rules,” Alice’s low drawl filled the air and Tina turned to see her friend leaning in the doorway. Closing the door with a soft click, she looked at the pictures and grinned. “I guess you found proof that even I was a badly dressed teen at some point, huh?”

“Al, I’m sorry… I didn’t think, well, I guess I didn’t think,” admitting Tina wryly, sitting down on the nearby couch. Looking up at Alice who stood in front of her, expression inscrutable, Tina then whispered, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things worse.”

“An earthquake would make things worse. What happened tonight was just life,” said Alice, quirking an eyebrow and flopping down next to Tina. Wrapping a gentle arm around her friend’s waist, she murmured, “Don’t get down on yourself about this, T. I can guess what you were thinking with calling Dana and you know, normally it would have worked. To be honest, I’m not sure why it didn’t work tonight. Maybe the universe was out of alignment or something.” Groaning in frustration, Alice laid her head back and Tina couldn’t help but grin on seeing her stare up at the ceiling. “I do know that I need to stop doing this kind of ***** or I’ll ruin it with Dane before things have gotten started.”

“Wait, what did you do?” asked Tina, frowning in confusion. “I’m the one who called Dana. The only thing you did was sing…”

“I did more than that and you know it,” replied Alice, resting her right arm over her eyes. She was silent for a moment then said, “I’ve got this bad habit of rushing things. Trying to force connections and feelings in my relationships. I let myself or *****, I convince myself, I’ve fallen in love and I do it so quickly that it does nothing but scare people away. I can’t do that with Dana.”

“You aren’t rushing though!” protested Tina, unable to stop herself from voicing her opinion on this. “You’ve known her for years and loved her, anyone can see that. The only thing that’s quick is you just now realizing that you’re IN love with her.”

Lifting the arm from her eyes, Alice chuckled and dropping her hand to cup Tina’s cheek, she smiled tenderly. “That’s semantics and you know it, T.” When Tina reached up to squeeze her hand, she murmured, “I need to go slowly. I’m not about to let myself make the same stupid mistakes I always do when it comes to Dana. She matters too much for me to do that. Maybe what happened tonight was a good thing. It made me see that I was starting to go into those bad habits again.”

They held their gazes, sharing a silent connection and after a few moments, Tina formed a playful smirk. “Congratulations Alice Pieszecki,” Tina began in an overly perky voice that imitated countless game show hosts. “You’re officially pursuing an adult relationship!”

“God, T… thanks for that,” Alice groaned pitifully, her hands rising up to cover her eyes and she sank into the couch, seeming to meld with it. “You have officially made me feel old and boring.”

“That’s happening just now?” asked Tina teasingly.

“Meanie! You’re a big meanie,” declared Alice, squirming in her seat and burying her head underneath several pillows as she laid down on the couch.

“But now comes the hard part,” said Tina in thoughtful tones. She waited for a sign Alice that was paying attention and when she saw curious brown eyes peer at her from behind the pile of pillows, she continued mischievously, “Getting Dana to actually date you.”

A sudden and fierce barrage of pillows came instead of any verbal response and Tina squealed with delight, catching one of the stray pillows in her hand to whap Alice over the head with it. The two women were soon involved in a massive pillow fight that didn’t stop even when they heard the door open and Ed’s sardonic remarks about kindergarten letting out early.

They just exchanged matching evil grins and concentrated their efforts for a joined pillow attack on Ed. Which, upon considering their evening thus far, wasn’t a bad way to end the night.

—

The first thing Dana thought when she walked through the door of her condo and was confronted with Tonya and her complaints was that she was tired. Not tired physically but more mentally and spiritually. She found it exhausting, now more than ever, to continue pushing people away. To hide her feelings about who she loved in some vague attempt to protect her heart from this long held phantom concept of having it broken one day.

After all, what did that matter when it was already breaking from not being with Alice when she knew… really knew that Alice did love her. True, she was haunted by the thought of losing Alice thanks to the mistakes she consistently made in her fumbling attempts at romance but wasn’t she already losing her in pushing her away? Yes, Alice would be there for her. She would remain her friend but something would be lost. The blonde would surely forgive Dana but there would be an air of discomfort around them. Their natural ease with each other would disappear and for what?

To keep her heart safe? Safe, that’s all. Her heart would be safe, not beating hard with passion, not skipping a beat from love, just safe. Functioning and nothing more.

Staring at Tonya blankly, not hearing one word she was saying, Dana realized she was sick of merely functioning. She wanted to be alive… she wanted to be swept up in emotion… she wanted to lose control… she wanted what Alice did to her with every look, word, and touch.

She wanted to be in love. And being in love most definitely did not involve Tonya.

Tonya’s words slowly faded in and Dana heard as the other woman declared, “I simply will not stand for this, Dana! I am your fiance and unless you want this wedding to be called off you better–”

“Fine,” Dana interrupted calmly, meeting Tonya’s gaze.

“What?” asked Tonya, looking altogether baffled.

“Fine,” repeated Dana in quiet tones, completely certain she was doing the right thing, the only thing that would ensure her future happiness. “Lets call off the wedding.”

Then she pushed past Tonya and headed into the bedroom to prepare packing the other woman’s things. Fully aware that she was in for one horribly long and loud night. Especially after she heard Tonya scream her name in a high pitched rage.

—

“Knock, knock?” asked Dana playfully, her eyes twinkling and lips quirking in that adorable little girl smile that always served to delight Alice.

“Who’s there?” replied Alice whose sarcastic nature was unable to stop her from rolling her eyes at the performing this ridiculous age old joke routine.

“Knock, knock?” asked Dana again, her expression and vocal tones the exact same.

“Who’s there?” repeated Alice, frowning slightly.

“Knock, knock?” asked Dana and to Alice, she almost began to resemble a robot due to her expression not altering in the least.

“Who’s there?” said Alice very irritably.

Right when Alice was sure Dana would state the same words yet again, Tina’s voice somehow entered the scene, speaking over them with an annoyed and mumbled, “Answer the door, Al.”

“Wuzzat?” Alice grumbled in bleary tones, pulling her eyes reluctantly open and looking at the lumpy figure of Tina who was buried under the covers with a pillow on her head. Hearing the loud and persistent knock coming from her apartment door, she groaned, and proceeded to follow Tina’s suit and buried herself under the blankets. “You answer it, you woke up first.”

“This is your apartment,” came Tina’s muffled reply.

“OUR apartment, roomie,” responded Alice who gave into evil impulses and nudged Tina with her left foot, grinning when the blonde shrieked.

“Your feet are freezing! What’s your natural body temperature? Below zero?” complained Tina, scooting far enough from Alice that she was almost hanging off the left side of the bed.

“I’m reptilian,” Alice said, giving her version of a nefarious giggle. She was quiet then poking her head from under the blankets, she said cautiously, “The knocking’s stopped.”

“Good,” said Tina in a unhappy mumble. “I want to sleep.”

Not three seconds later, the knocking started up again and both women released noises of irritation. “Why won’t they go away?” moaned Alice, sounding much like a small child.

“They’ll go away if you answer the door,” Tina pointed out with blanket muffled logic.

“Fine,” Alice gave in and cursing whoever was behind the persistent knocking, she rolled off her bed in a movement that was more a clumsy fall than anything else. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand, she reached for the doorknob and muttered, “This better be good.”

Whatever she was going to say next exited Alice’s mind on seeing Bette Porter standing in front of her. Blinking at her friend, she stopped rubbing her eyes and said, “Bette. What are you doing here?”

“I want to talk with Tina,” said Bette quietly, her expression hesitant and hopeful.

“Right. Of course you do,” said Alice with a sigh. Leaning on the doorframe, she questioned, “What if Tina doesn’t want to talk to you? And how do you even know Tina’s here?”

“I know she’s here because this is where I would go if I was in her position,” Bette admitted in a bare whisper, the smallest hint of a painful smile showing on her features.

Sighing again, desperately hating this situation and the idea of taking sides between two of her closest friends, Alice glanced back at her bedroom, the door partially open, and then moved her gaze back to Bette. “She’s sleeping,” admitted Alice who couldn’t ignore the elated expression Bette wore upon hearing Tina was on the premises. “I don’t want to tell you what to do, Bette. *****, I don’t like telling anyone what to do, including myself. But I do think you should give her space… if she wants to talk to you she’ll take that step herself. Give her time.”

Happiness immediately fell from Bette’s face at these words and Alice would have regretted saying them if she didn’t believe they were honestly the best course of action. She began to say just that when Tina’s soft voice entered the air. “It’s all right, Al,” she said as she stepped out of the bedroom, her blonde hair in a tangle and her cotton pajamas rumpled.

“Tina,” Bette whispered her name as if it were a prayer and took a timid step forward.

“Don’t,” said Tina softly yet sharply, holding up a hand. “I know what you’re trying to do with this, Bette. I know you mean well but I can’t see you right now…” Unable to fight the impulse, hazel eyes darted upwards to gaze at the woman she loved, her heart constricting at the misery she saw there. Knowing she couldn’t look at Bette and say the words, Tina instead focused on Alice who after closing the front door perched herself on the arm of her couch, waiting for the sign for her to exit. Instead Tina gave her a silent plea to stay. “I don’t like who I am when I’m around you. I don’t like what we became, how we stopped communicating so much that we’ve somehow become totally different people without realizing it.” Lifting her gaze to lock with Bette’s, her voice trembled with emotion, “It makes me sad. So impossibly sad I can’t even begin to explain it.”

“I know, baby,” replied Bette in a muted hush, looking like she wanted to step towards Tina but holding herself back. “I feel the same. Just… just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it. I’ll do anything to fix this… no,” Bette spat the word out, seeming to curse herself with it. “I can’t fix this. I know that.” Right in front of Tina and Alice, she came to some sort of realization and the knowledge dawned in her dark eyes as they rested on Tina. “I’ll do whatever you need to make you feel better, to help you heal. Just tell me and I promise I’ll do it.”

“I know you will,” Tina murmured, hugging herself for comfort and staring at Alice’s chart with a forlorn expression. Ripping her gaze away from the half written name she had put there only a day ago, she said with a quiet strength, “I need you to let me be. To give me space and time so I can figure out how I really feel because right now, I have no idea. I’m too angry at you to know if I can forgive you and every time I see you… the anger comes back and I don’t want that. I don’t want to be that person with you. Because even though I feel better when I’m yelling at you, calling you names, cursing you, in the end all I feel is bad.” She turned to look deeply into Bette’s eyes and gave the smallest almost pleading smile. “Do that and I promise when I know how I feel, I’ll come to you.”

Bette dipped her head in a silent acknowledgement and agreement then turned to let herself out of the apartment. The air remained thick with tension then Tina released the tiniest gasping sob and collapsed onto the floor. Rushing to her side, Alice gathered her friend in her arms and led her back to bed where Tina proceeded to cry herself to sleep with Alice soon following after.

—

“Knock, knock?” asked Dana playfully, her eyes twinkling and lips quirking in that adorable little girl smile that always served to delight Alice.

“Who’s there?” replied Alice only to stop and frown. “Wait,” she murmured with confusion, “didn’t we already do this?”

“Knock, knock?” asked Dana again, her expression and vocal tones the exact same.

“We did do this!” Alice exclaimed crankily. Vaguely coming into consciousness now, she rolled over and ended up sprawled partially on top of Tina who had woken up only a few seconds before. “Stop tellin’ knock knock jokes, Dane,” grumbled Alice, in the odd place between sleep and waking.

“It’s the door again,” muttered Tina blearily, not really caring that Alice was lying across her stomach since it kept her freakishly cold feet away. “Someone should answer it.”

“I answered it last time,” reminded Alice, flopping herself over and snuggling underneath the blankets until visually she was nothing more than a lump. “Your turn, roomie.”

“You suck,” Tina moaned in protest but rose from the bed nonetheless, trying to fix her messy hair as she padded to the front door. Smirking when she heard Alice shout in response, “Only if you’re nice!” Pulling the door open and squinting as the dying rays of sunlight shone through the hallway windows and got in her eyes, she blinked at the person before her. “Lara?”

“Tina?” responded Lara, looking just as perplexed. Glancing at the apartment number, then down the hall, and finally back to Tina, she continued, “This is Alice’s apartment, right?”

Unable to help herself, Tina laughed and stood to one side, motioning Lara to come in. “Yeah, this is Al’s place. You might say I’m a guest on the premises,” said Tina, smiling.

“I woke you up,” observed Lara, taking in Tina’s pajamas and the darkened apartment when the blonde moved to turn on the living room lights. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think… I should’ve called first.”

“T? Who’s there this time?” Alice called sleepily, rubbing her eyes and bumbling into the living room. She paused in mid eye rub when she noticed it was Lara standing there. “Lara?” she frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“Alice,” said Lara, looking and sounding greatly relieved to see the writer, seeming to take special interest in the fact that like Tina she was fully clothed in a pair of pajamas. “I know you’re probably surprised to see me but I need to talk to you about Dana.”

“What’s wrong with Dana?” asked Alice immediately, moving over to Lara, wearing an expression of deep concern. “What happened?”

“Nothing’s wrong, well, physically at least,” Lara murmured, looking rather sheepish. Sighing quietly, she ran her fingers through her red hair and setting her jaw, met Alice’s gaze and decided to just say it. “Dana was in the gym at the club late yesterday night and I ran into her. She wasn’t in good shape, Alice. In fact, she was doing pretty terrible. I managed to find out a little about what was wrong when her fiance,” Lara grimaced as she said this, “interrupted us.”

“And?” Alice demanded impatiently.

Frowning at the blonde’s tone but at the same time understanding it, Lara murmured, “Dana’s in love with you but for some absurd reason she’s convinced herself that she can’t be with you.” Green eyes glinted in a silent type of warning that Alice saw quite clearly. “I’m not someone who likes interfering in other peoples lives. Especially when it comes to romance but I don’t like that woman she’s with. She doesn’t treat Dana well. But you,” Lara released a soft sigh as if she was letting go of something. “You would be good to Dana. I know that and so I decided to interfere and come talk to you.” Turning away from Alice, she headed towards the door. “That’s all I wanted to say.”

“Lara,” murmured Alice, her voice holding a question. When the redhead looked back and their eyes met, she knew the answer but voiced the words anyway. “You still love her, don’t you?”

Smiling sadly and sweetly, Lara didn’t give Alice the answer that she had already found on her own and instead said, “Dana deserves to be happy. You make her happy.”

The door shut behind Lara with a subdued click and Alice stood unmoving for a long moment. Watching her friend, Tina questioned softly, “Al? Are you okay?”

“Tell me the truth, T,” said Alice, her expression apprehensive and imploring absolute honesty. “If I went to go see Dana now… would it be rushing things? Would I be moving too fast? Because I can’t do that, I can’t be needy insecure Alice with her. I have to do it right this time and–”

“Shhh, Al,” Tina soothed and she moved quickly over to her friend then cupped her face gently. Smiling affectionately, she pushed a stray lock of hair behind Alice’s ear and murmured, “Wanting to make sure the person you love is all right isn’t rushing anything.”

“You’re sure?” asked Alice nervously, nibbling on her bottom lip.

“I’m sure,” said Tina who now had a smile in her voice.

“Okay,” Alice released a loud whoosh of breath. “Okay,” she said again, sounding more confident and nodding her head. “I need to change. I need to change then I need to think about what I’m going to say to Dana…” The rest of the conversation she had with herself trailed off when she disappeared into the bedroom and Tina smiled, watching her. Then only a mere seconds later, Alice exclaimed in something close to shock, “Damn, T! It’s five o’clock! How long did we sleep anyway?”

—

Taking in the haphazard and random destruction that was left in Tonya’s wake during her exit from Dana’s life and condo, Shane lifted an eyebrow and said, “I’m strangely impressed.”

“Shane,” whined Dana, utterly exasperated. Waving her hands expressively about, she said, “Look at this! How is it possible she did all this?! It’s like a disaster hit, she made such a ***** mess.”

“That’s why I’m strangely impressed,” drawled Shane who smirked when Dana shot her a dirty look and flicked her off. “Now, now,” Shane rumbled in good natured tones, turning a nearby recliner right side up. “Don’t be nasty to the hands that are helping you clean.”

“I’m sorry,” Dana sounded like a petulant child, bending over to pick up random pieces of clothing that had somehow ended up in her living room. “I just hate this.”

“What? Having a messy condo?” asked Shane wryly.

“Ha ha,” said Dana, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Slinging more clothing over her shoulder, she went on, “I hate this… all this drama. I don’t like drama. I’m not smooth like you but I do like things to be simple and things right now are definitely not simple.”

“You haven’t talked with Al yet, have you?” Shane questioned in soft and knowing tones. She was standing in front of the drapes and wondering exactly how Tonya had gotten them to hang at such a complex diagonal angle. She peered over her shoulder at Dana and saw the tennis player had stopped in her tracks. “Dane? You okay?”

“What am I going to say to her?” asked Dana, looking completely lost. Blue eyes went wide in panic and she said in a rush, “I’m not good at talking, Shane! I mess things up. I always do. What’s in my head is never what comes out of my mouth.” Gesturing wildly and pacing in a circle much to Shane’s amusement, Dana muttered, “This isn’t good… no, not good.”

“Dane, you need to calm down,” advised Shane who went back to cleaning up the condo, now adjusting the drapes. “You talk with Al constantly. Granted, this is a different kind of talk but it’s still a talk and it’s still a talk with Al.” Facing Dana who had paused in her crazed circular pacing, Shane smiled reassuringly. “She hasn’t changed. It’s just Al and from what it sounds like to me you’ve been in love with her for awhile.”

“Yeah, so?” asked Dana, frowning in confusion.

“Well,” Shane sighed and pushed the couch into place, “I don’t get the difference. You’ve been in love with Al and you’ve talked to her, right? What’s changed? Nothing that I can see. Except that now Al loves you back. That should make it easier to talk to her. I mean, the uncertainty is gone.”

There was silence and Dana wore an utterly bewildered expression. “You’re right,” she said in tones that echoed of incredulous disbelief.

“Of course I am,” replied Shane, sitting down on the couch in a graceful motion. She observed Dana, quietly searching her features, then said quietly, “Can I ask you a question?”

Snapping out the daze that accompanied the knowledge that Shane had given her good romantic advice, Dana looked to her friend. “Sure,” she said easily, shrugging her tan shoulders.

“You’ve been in love with Al for awhile, right?” Shane began.

“Five years, three months, and seven days,” supplied Dana giving a toothy grin. Then she looked rather morose and said, “I could tell you minutes but Tonya broke my stopwatch.”

Shane couldn’t help but laugh at Dana’s meticulous timing of how long she had feelings for Alice. “That’s really impressive, Dane,” she murmured fondly. “But my question is… how did you manage to hide it for so long? And from nosy ***** Al of all people?”

“It wasn’t that hard,” Dana shrugged again, gathering an armful of her tennis gear and dumping it in a nearby gym bag. “I was closeted for such a long time that I became more used to hiding things then revealing them, I guess. Plus I’m not exactly the bravest person around. I found it easier to keep my feelings to myself because I was safe that way.” Groaning now, Dana shook her head and arranged her kitchen table to face the proper direction. “Which is why I’m worried.”

There wasn’t a verbal response from her friend but Dana looked up and saw the inquisitive expression on Shane’s defined features. Releasing an unhappy sigh, Dana sat down in the recliner across from the hairdresser. “Al’s sweet… she puts herself out there, you know? She’s so honest and I just worry that since I’m not used to talking… to telling the truth about my feelings that I might end up hurting her. That I’ll push her away because that’s all I know how to do.”

“Maybe,” said Shane in soft agreement. They sat in compatible silence then she formed a lopsided smile and said, “But I think Al would say she’s got the right to take that risk if she wants, don’t you?”

“Yeah, she would,” Dana chuckled, picturing in her minds eye an irate Alice ranting about being denied the right to make her own decisions. She looked away from Shane and her blue eyes clouded over then she said quietly, “That’s probably what she was saying with that song. I think she was trying to talk to me with it… because I wouldn’t let her before.”

Frowning at seeing Dana go back into a slight depression, Shane tilted her head and asked, “How good is Al anyway? With playing music, I mean. You never said.”

“She’s wonderful,” said Dana who was immediately wistful as she recalled how Alice looked while performing. “I love it when she’s like that.”

“Like what?” asked Shane, curious though part of her knew it wasn’t the brightest idea to be asking Dana this type of thing. For some reason, she just knew she’d regret asking this question.

“Forceful,” Dana sighed dreamily.

Not one second passed when Dana turned bright red and darted an embarrassed gaze over to Shane who sat looking somewhat dazed at Dana’s response. Then she recovered and formed her patented knowing smirk while she drawled, “I always thought you were secretly femme.”

Much like Tina before her, Shane soon found herself bombarded by an onslaught of pillows by way of retaliation. And much like Tina, she found that she didn’t really mind.

—

An hour later, Shane left Dana’s condo which thankfully no longer looked as if a natural disaster had struck it. Wandering to her truck, she stopped in her tracks upon seeing a familiar mini with a more familiar driver sitting in the parking lot. Shane smirked upon thinking of Dana’s fondness for forceful Alice who didn’t seem to be making an appearance as the blonde stared nervously at the building, not even seeing Shane’s approach until she banged on the window.

“Jesus, Shane!” exclaimed Alice, a hand over her heart. Grimacing when the brunette pressed her face against her window to create a smushed expression. “Quit being such a freak,” she muttered, rolling the window down and in seconds she found her face centimeters from Shane’s. “Can I help you with anything?” Alice asked sarcastically. “Like signing you up for personal space lessons?”

“Aw, be nice, Al,” Shane rumbled, wearing the trademark ***** smile that caused hundreds of women to jump into her bed. “I’m just excited at seeing a rock star this up close in person.”

“Ugh, ***** me,” groaned Alice who rested her head against the steering wheel of the mini with a loud thump. “Dana told you about that, huh?”

“I hear it’s quite the sight to see,” drawled Shane, smirking.

“Yeah, well… don’t hold your breath for an encore performance anytime soon, okay?” remarked Alice, seeming aggrieved that her secret as it were was now out. Looking away from Shane, she returned to her previous position of staring at Dana’s condo. “How is she?” Alice questioned.

Leaning comfortably against Alice’s mini, folding her arms across her chest, Shane replied, “Why don’t you go see for yourself? I can say pretty safely she’d like it if you did, Al.”

“You sure?” asked Alice nervously, nibbling on her lip in the same fretful gesture she had used with Tina earlier. “I get this feeling like I’m stalking her or something. I keep going to her and I’m thinking maybe I should stop and just let her come to me. I don’t know,” Alice groaned loudly, thumping her head against the steering wheel. “I hate this,” she finally announced. “Indecision sucks.”

It looked like forceful Alice wouldn’t be coming out to play, thought Shane smiling to herself. “How long have you been here?” she asked, honestly curious to hear the answer. Knowing that unlike her previous question with Dana it wouldn’t be something to regret later.

“Forty five minutes and counting,” Alice moaned pitifully, popping one brown eye open to peer at a highly amused Shane. “Shut up,” she muttered. “This is harder than I thought it would be.”

“What?” Shane asked innocently, holding up her hands in a placating movement. “Don’t get pissed at me because I don’t see Dana as being that damn scary,” she finished with a smirk.

“Yeah? Well, I don’t see what you find funny about this,” retorted Alice, scowling.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Shane’s voice was a low and affectionate burr, walking backwards away from Alice. A playful grin tugged at her lips and her eyes twinkled as she said impishly, “Maybe it’s the fact that Fairbanks has made you act so ***** cute.”

Scowling even more heavily, Alice watched Shane walk to her truck and groused, “Stupid nipple confidence. I really do hate her sometimes.” Her gaze returned to Dana’s condo and taking a deep breath, she murmured, “I can do this.” Her hand hovered on the door to her mini and she repeated loudly with an exaggerated sense of bravado, “I can do this!” Pushing the door open and slowly stepping out of her car, she groaned miserably. “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.”

Watching from several feet away, Shane turned the key in her truck’s ignition, smiled slowly and chuckled. “So ***** cute,” she repeated, shaking her head then driving off.

—

Neater but not neat as it could be, mused Dana looking around with a scrupulous gaze. Cursing the anal retentive nature that she was sure she’d gotten from watching her mother needle various maids, Dana sank into her recliner and decided to just stare at the walls.

Who could have guessed Tonya was that destructive? She didn’t look like she had it in her. Dana thought with a wry smile. Then again, Alice didn’t look like the type who could knock someone out but Dana had witnessed for herself that the blonde could do just that. Laughing quietly, she leaned back, closed her eyes, and recalled that first momentous trip to Milk.

“The movies! We can go to the movies!” exclaimed Dana, her voice high pitched with false excitement, tugging on Alice’s arm as the blonde continued to pull Dana down the street. “Don’t you think the movies are good? Good with the dark and the buttered popcorn.”

“I don’t want to go to the movies,” Alice rolled her eyes. Laughter evident in her voice, she turned to look at her friend whom she kept pulling gently along. “And why are you so nervous? You’ve been to Milk before. That’s where you picked up Melanie, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but…” Dana bit her bottom lip then darting her eyes around, she held onto the sleeve to Alice’s shirt. When Alice raised an eyebrow and leaned closer, she whispered, “I never stay for very long.”

“Okay,” said Alice slowly, “how long is not very long?”

“I stayed the longest that time I ran into Melanie,” said Dana hesitantly, reluctant to go on.

“And that was how long?” Alice drew the words out.

Purposefully keeping her gaze from the blonde’s, Dana answered with more than a bit of embarrassment, “I don’t know. Five minutes maybe?”

“Five minutes,” repeated Alice, trying and failing to keep a highly amused smile from forming on her features. “You’re kidding me. What did you do? Stand in the doorway then turn and run out?” When Dana blushed, Alice laughed before she could stop herself. “Oh god, you did do that.”

“Al! This isn’t funny,” whined Dana, stomping her feet. “I get freaked out soon as I go in because I think people are looking at me, which of course they are, because people look when you come into someplace, right? I don’t know if I’m ready,” she confessed. “What if someone talks?”

“Dane, I’m telling you that it’s not a big deal,” Alice did her best to reassure the brunette, reaching down to hold her hands. “You’re like… an open secret. People know but they’re not going to say *****. I promise you.”

“Are you sure?” asked Dana anxiously, her blue eyes wide and pleading for honesty. Turning her gaze away from Alice, she said quietly, “It’s not that I don’t want to go. I think it would be fun to go inside a ***** club for more than five minutes but I can’t… I can’t come out, Al. My family would never understand and my agent, Conrad, he said–”

“Your agent is an *****,” interrupted Alice almost venomously. When Dana stared at her goggle eyed, she sighed and said, “I’m sorry. I don’t like him. He’s not nice to you. Look, if you feel weird and you think people are taking night vision pictures of you for the tabloids or something, we’ll go.” Putting a solemn hand over her heart, Alice met Dana’s nervous gaze. “I, Alice Pieszecki, hereby swear to obey Dana Fairbanks every word tonight.” Flashing an infectious smile, Alice held Dana’s hands and walking backwards now, she swung them cheerfully side to side. “See? Now you own me baby,” she drawled in a horribly bad British accent. “Lock, stock, and barrel. You’re in charge.”

“I’m in charge, huh?” Dana lifted an eyebrow and looked entirely skeptical. “So if I said that I’d rather go see The Matrix you would come with me and not complain?”

“I would go, yes,” replied Alice, rolling her eyes again at Dana bringing up the movies. “But I’m not promising anything when it comes to the complaining part. I’ve heard weird things about that movie and the idea of people hanging in midair creeps me out.”

“Why does it creep you out?” Dana couldn’t stop from asking, laughing at the strange expression of disgust that Alice wore. “It’s only a movie.”

“People hanging in the midair is something out of a bad drug trip,” Alice shuddered on just thinking about it. “I’ve had enough of those on my own so I sure don’t need to go paying for ridiculously high priced tickets to see it in a theater. Plus Keanu Reeves sounds brain dead when he talks.”

“True,” said Dana in agreement. Alice had let go of Dana’s hands, most likely because of the tennis player’s closeted status as mentioned earlier, and missing the feeling, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her pants in attempt to ignore that. Giving the blonde a curious look, she asked, “You’ve had bad drug trips? From what?”

“Pot mostly,” said Alice with an easy shrug. Meeting blue eyes, her lips quirked into a grin and bumping their shoulders, she said teasingly, “You’ve never done anything, have you?” When Dana turned red and darted her eyes away, Alice laughed in delight. “You’re so straight laced! I love it,” she declared, giving her friend an affectionate one armed hug around the waist as they walked. When Dana didn’t reply and simply turned a darker shade of red, Alice felt a little guilty. “Oh, Dane, don’t worry,” Alice soothed. “It’s really cute that you haven’t done anything. Honest, it is.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be cute,” muttered Dana peevishly.

“Hmm,” Alice frowned thoughtfully. Snapping her fingers, she continued, “What if I say it’s only logical? You being a professional athlete and all.” When Dana looked at her like she was insane, Alice gave into the urge and rolled her eyes yet again. “Drug testing. They still do that, right?”

“Oh yeah,” said Dana dimly, her face soon lighting up as she realized she did indeed have a noncute reason for not trying drugs. “That’s mostly for performance enhancers though.”

“It still works,” replied Alice with a shrug. “That reminds me,” wearing an almost evil expression, she scooted closer to Dana as they walked. “I have this article idea about female athletes and steroids. Do you have any stories to tell? Not about you, of course, because hello! Not manly. But maybe other people? There’s all these horror stories and I’m wondering how true they actually are.”

Trying to sort out the combined feeling of being flattered yet somewhat insulted, Dana groaned quietly. “No way, Al,” she said adamantly. “I can’t talk about that sort of stuff. If I did then it would just encourage people to… you know…” When Alice looked at her blankly, she gestured wildly between the two of them. “You know!” she exclaimed irritably.

“Ohh, the ***** thing,” Alice murmured, nodding. “Right. I getcha.”

Just as Dana started to make a smart ***** response to Alice’s ‘***** thing’ comment, she noticed exactly where they were and staring at the entrance to Milk, she swallowed nervously and shifted her weight from foot to foot. Noticing this, Alice reached down to touch her hand and Dana stared wide eyed at the blonde who was sure the tennis player might faint any minute.

“Hey,” whispered Alice, tilting her head forward so Dana was looking at her and not the entrance to the club. “I meant what I said. You’re in charge. We don’t have to go in if you don’t want. I’d prefer not to see drug trippy midair movie hanging but there are other things we can do. There’s this band playing down on Sunset that I’ve been wanting to check out…”

“I want to go in,” said Dana in soft yet strong tones.

“You sure?” asked Alice, looking worried.

“I’m sure,” Dana nodded and took Alice’s hand in her own.

Gazing at the brunette for another moment as if for personal confirmation, Alice dipped her head then squeezed Dana’s hand tenderly and pulled her inside Milk. Though she had been indeed been inside the club before it was as Alice guessed, just a few inches away from the door. She had never gotten any further, which meant she never got the chance to take a good look at the surroundings. The club was flashy and it was loud and it was a little glamorous.

And Dana was none of those things.

Though it seemed Alice was in her element, the blonde was easily weaving through the throng of women, waving and talking to some as she passed until they arrived at the bar. She turned to face Dana, leaning against it and forming a huge smile. Pausing to come to an internal decision and pulling Dana slowly towards her by hooking her thumbs into the belt loops of the tennis player’s pants, making them only inches apart.

“You look like you could use a drink,” Alice remarked dryly, lifting an eyebrow. “Do you want me to get you a drink? A strong drink? One that might help you develop amnesia in the morning?”

“That would be good,” agreed Dana, glancing around the club and wondering if anyone had recognized her yet. “Drinking helps me… I don’t know… not be me?”

“I’m not sure that’s a good thing, honey,” said Alice with sardonic humor. When Dana faced her wearing a confused expression, she explained, “Being yourself is kind of key to meeting someone, right? Who else are you going to be?”

“You brought me here to meet someone?” asked Dana who sounded and now looked completely panicked. “Because I’m not ready to meet someone. Meet meet as in dating and–”

“Dane, hey,” Alice cut in gently, moving forward to clasp the brunette’s hands which stopped her babbling speech. “I didn’t bring you here to meet anyone. I just thought you might, that’s all. We’re here to have fun, that’s it. The second you’re not having fun you tell me and we’re gone, okay?”

“Okay,” said Dana nodding her head aggressively and releasing a nervous breath of air. “I’m being a geek, aren’t I?” Her face heated up from humiliation. “I’m sorry, Al. I don’t mean to be.”

Alice wore a veiled expression then smiling softly, she tucked a stray lock of brown hair behind Dana’s ear. “No worries,” she announced, her dark eyes gleaming. “I promise a good time.” Her hand fell to cup Dana’s cheek and she said, “I’m going to get us some drinks, all right? I’ll be a second.”

Deciding that it was her turn to roll her eyes, Dana flicked Alice’s nose lightly with her index finger. “You don’t have to treat me like a kid. First time in a ***** club for more than five minutes or not I can manage to be alone without having a total anxiety attack.”

“Of course you can… a total one, at least. My bad,” chuckled Alice, moving away from Dana and towards the nearest available bartender to order their drinks.

Not a minute passed when Dana suddenly found herself facing a very svelte blonde wearing an overtly seductive expression. “Hello,” Dana managed to squeak the words out.

“Hello yourself,” the blonde drawled presenting a perfectly manicured hand which Dana shook awkwardly, not getting the hint she that was meant to kiss the top of it. “I’m Nadia Meirtschin and you would be Dana Fairbanks, wouldn’t you?”

“I would,” Dana squeaked again, trying to look around Nadia for a sign of Alice but not spotting anything. It figured as soon as she attempted to act cool around her friend something like this would happen and instantly reassert her permanent geek status.

“You’re looking anxious to depart,” purred Nadia who magically appeared in front of Dana, her lips curving into a sly smile. “I’d love for you to come with me,” she finished putting special emphasis on her double entendre which stupefied Dana. This worked to Nadia’s advantage and she moved in for the kill, lightly tilting Dana’s head for a kiss. “Don’t worry,” she said in what was meant to be soothing tones but only served to make the brunette more anxious. “I can keep a secret.”

“Secrets… venereal diseases… you keep and can’t quite get rid of them, isn’t that right Nadia girl?” Alice’s voice rang out loudly and the smaller blonde easily pushed in between them, facing Dana as if to make sure her interruption was wanted. The look of immense relief her friend wore told Alice all she needed to know. Handing Dana her drink, she turned to face Nadia wearing a droll expression. “You’re still here,” she stated with an air of disinterest. “Why are you still here?” Giving a dismissive wave, Alice declared, “Shoo! Begone! And something else fancy that means get lost!”

Nadia’s eyes narrowed maliciously and she hissed, “That’s fine. A worthless ***** excuse for a closeted tennis ***** isn’t worth my talents or time anyway.”

Tears and a muted sob.

That was the only thing that registered with Alice, that and the fact that Nadia caused both of those reactions in Dana. And that the woman had effectively ruined what she had planned on being a very good night for her friend. A night that Alice hoped would help Dana feel more comfortable in her own skin, putting her on the slow but sure road to one day coming out.

Then Nadia Meirtschin had to go and ***** it all up.

Which really pissed Alice off and when Alice was pissed off she tended to not think all that clearly. Actually, she tended not to think at all. She simply acted. Which was why she grabbed Nadia’s arm, yanked her around, demanding that she repeat what she just said and when the other woman went ahead and did just that is when Alice acted.

Acted in the form of delivering a fairly impressive right hook and sending the tall blonde stumbling backwards into a sea of women, most of whom were impressed with Alice’s display. Even Alice seemed impressed with herself. At least she was until her hand started throbbing enough to make her wonder if Nadia’s jaw was made out of bricks.

During the ensuing chaos that included Nadia shrieking that the cops be called was when Dana grabbed Alice’s throbbing hand in her own and did what she did best. Exit the club unseen. As she pulled Alice along, vaguely listening to the blonde rant about Nadia daring to say anything to Dana again, did she think on just what Alice had done.

She had defended her… stood up for her… for her, Dana Fairbanks, who was exactly what Nadia had said she was only she preferred using nicer terms. Like closeted ***** tennis player. That sounded better somehow. But regardless of how you worded it, that was Dana and before now no one had ever defended who Dana was when they knew, as Alice did, the truth about her as a person.

“Wait and see if I ever write about her stupid shop in LA Magazine again,” scoffed Alice, waving her hands wildly about, still in the throws of her rant against Nadia. “She’s such a *****! I’m not going to forget about this, Dane! I just won’t! She went too far with her skeevy ways this time…” Alice trailed off and brown eyes were now as large as saucers. “Oh god,” the words fell past her lips in muted horror, appearing as if she had just arrived at some horrible understanding. “Dana,” Alice barely got her name out. “I’m so sorry.”

“Al?” asked Dana, frowning in concern and taking a step towards her friend who backed away. Forming a hurt look at this, her voice wavered, “Al? What is it?”

“*****!” Alice cursed and hitting her forehead, she walked quickly down the street, leaving Dana standing in shock before she snapped out of it and chased after her. “*****, *****!”

“Al, please stop! Tell me what’s wrong,” demanded Dana in a tearful cry that got Alice’s attention and made her pause so abruptly in her walk that Dana slammed into her back.

Feeling the brunette’s hot breath and the burn of tears on her neck, Alice clenched her jaw and muttered sounding quietly disgusted, “It’s okay, Dane. I’ll drop you off at your place, all right? Then you don’t have to see me again. I’ll lose your number, I promise,” she said this in such a hushed murmur that Dana had to strain to hear the words.

“Why?” Dana’s voice shook and losing her energy, she simply let her head fall to rest on Alice’s shoulder. “I don’t understand. Is it because I freaked out when she hit on me? I thought…”

“God, no!” cried Alice, sounding thoroughly panicked and she whirled around to face the brunette. Seeing wounded blue eyes filled with unshed tears, she cursed herself again. “I suck,” Alice groaned, hitting her forehead with the palm of the hand used to punch Nadia. Seconds later, she yelped in pain and waving the hand, she grimaced and looked helplessly at Dana. “I’ll fix it, okay? I don’t know how but I’ll fix it and make sure that Nadia,” Alice somehow managed to say the name though it looked like she wanted to spit as she did so, “keeps her mouth shut. I just… I got angry, Dane. I don’t think when I get angry and now I made this huge mess for you because I don’t think.”

Dana formed a surprised ‘o’ as she at last realized why Alice had been ranting and cursing at herself. The very thing that Nadia had used to insult Dana in the first place. Her closeted status and looking at her friend, who was continuing to berate herself while muttering various ideas about how to pacify Nadia, she realized something else.

Though not the most ideal way to be outed, it certainly did come from one of the strangely happier moments in her life. Simply because Alice did what she did to defend her and to Dana there wasn’t anything more wonderful than that.

Sure that no matter what might occur she could never be truly angry with Alice for her actions, Dana smiled softly and took a step forward. Resting her index finger lightly over the blonde’s lips to stop her inane babble and when brown eyes peered up at her in confusion, she chuckled. Their foreheads met and Dana murmured, “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“But what if–” Alice protested only to be shushed by Dana.

“I said that it’s fine, Al,” reassured Dana with a smile. She dropped her gaze shyly and said, “I love that you did that for me. I mean, no one has ever…” Awkwardly meeting Alice’s eyes before turning away again, she repeated in a quiet but strong emphasis, “Nothing will change that, I promise.”

Absorbing Dana’s words, Alice sighed then gave a slight nod. Seeming suddenly exhausted she rested against her friend and gratefully fell into the hug extended to her. “Yeah, well, I’m still sorry for what I did,” Alice mumbled, “but she just made me so mad.”

“I kind of figured,” replied Dana, chuckling and depositing a brief kiss on top of Alice’s head of messy blonde hair. “I’m not a big fan of violence but I must say you pack quite the punch.”

“Because I float like the rainbow butterfly and sting like many allergy causing bees,” came Alice’s muffled reply, burying her head in the crook of Dana’s neck and wondering at her sudden lethargy.

“That sounds impressive,” Dana noted in dry humor.

Choosing not to respond, Alice instead burrowed further into Dana’s warm embrace and they remained like that, standing on a mostly empty sidewalk not caring, knowing, or thinking that this far more than any punch Alice threw would send an obvious message on Dana’s romantic preferences.

Though she didn’t know it at the time, that was the night Dana fell in love with Alice. How couldn’t she? Dana adored romance and there was something undeniably romantic in Alice’s fierce reaction to Nadia. Of course, they were actions that would end up costing the blonde in later years.

Nadia had come to the conclusion it was better not to involve the cops so she could milk, hah, the situation for all the available drama and put herself as the victim. Her not so subtle way of sticking it to Dana for that initial meeting and rejection was to pretend from that day forward to never recall just who she was. Something that annoyed the ***** out of Dana but she could easily deal with. Alice, however, ended up paying a more significant price for the slight given to Nadia.

Love Alice as she did, Dana had to admit that her friend made horrendous choices in women and a good amount of men as well. Nothing made that clearer than her relationship with Gabby Deveaux. The woman consistently treated Alice like worse than ***** and Alice continued to take her back. Nadia played into the scenario in the worst way because each and every time Alice would go back to Gabby it was Nadia who would worm her way into the situation by starting up their mindless on/again off/again affair simply to hurt Alice with it in the process. And it worked.

Every single ***** time.

Alice and her relationship with Gabby was a large reason why Dana hated herself for keeping her feelings quiet. Because maybe if she spoke up, maybe if she told Alice how she felt, then it would finally be over between them and Alice wouldn’t ever have to be treated like that again. It killed Dana to see how Gabby dismissed Alice, ignored everything good about her and pointed out the meaningless flaws that were nothing compared to Gabby’s own twisted issues.

It killed her because she let it go on by staying silent.

No more though. That trend was finally over and done with. Tonya was gone now and she was ready… she was finally ready to take that last big risk. The one that gave away her heart and soul, all that she was, to a singular and very special person.

First Dana had to change her clothes.

Because, honestly, who goes and confesses their love in a pair of old blue jeans and a t-shirt that said Friskies Cat Food on it? Someone somewhere probably would but Dana knew that person wasn’t about to be her. Which was why she was rising from the recliner and heading for her bedroom when the doorbell rang several times in rapid and irritating succession.

Scowling and positive Shane had returned out of some perverse need to harass her via insistent teasing, Dana yanked the door open only to gape at the sight of Alice. Locking eyes, both women flashed to the last time they were in these positions and several breathless moments passed as they recalled the kisses in great detail. Then Alice tore her brown eyes from Dana’s sea of blue and nibbled on her lip in a way that left the brunette utterly transfixed.

“Al,” said Dana hoarsely, nervously swallowing the lump in her throat and mentally reciting the speech she gave a million times in her head but never once managed to say aloud. “Come in.”

“That’s okay,” said Alice in a whisper, darting her eyes up to meet Dana’s only to then avoid them. “Here is fine. I just need to tell you something and then I promise I’ll go.” She paused to release a loud whoosh of air and flashing an overly bright smile, Alice looked at Dana with a steady gaze. “I don’t know if you ever noticed but I have this tendency to rush things when it comes to relationships. I try to make everything happen as fast as it possibly can, including making whatever person I’m with fall in love with me.” Giving a caustic laugh, Alice rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Thing is, it never works out that well. I scare people off and it’s really not good. I don’t want to do that with you, Dane. You…” Alice sighed in frustration and then said in a bare hush, “You’re too important for me to be my usual clingy, needy, insecure freak of a self. So I’m just here to tell you I’m going to back off now and if you want to be with me, fine… great… wahoo!” exclaimed Alice, her laugh an anxious twitter as she clapped her hands. “If not, ouch… but I can deal. So that’s that. And here’s me going,” Alice finished her speech and walked backwards, hooking her thumb in a gesture towards her mini.

Going? Thought Dana in shock. She was going after saying all that? How could she be going? Wait, how could SHE be letting Alice be going? She shouldn’t be going! She should be staying!

And with that agitated and confusing myriad of thoughts reverberating in her mind, Dana took two large and rather athletic steps forward to clasp Alice’s hand, effectively ending her retreat. “Don’t go,” Dana murmured. Her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton and she wondered desperately how she was ever going to find the right words to explain how she felt.

Then she realized she didn’t need words, not for what she wanted to show anyway. Because when it came to Dana and words, especially in regards to words of love, they always got fumbled and served to complicate her very uncomplicated message that was simply Dana loves Alice.

“Joanie loves Chachi,” Dana snickered, unable to stop from making the lame joke which, again, only complicated her message and made Alice stare at her as if she was insane. “God,” she muttered miserably. “I’m messing this up already. I don’t mean to, Al. I don’t!”

“Dane?” asked Alice in utmost confusion though part of her was encouraged by the tennis player’s odd behavior. “What’s going on?”

Lifting her head and unconsciously mimicking Alice by nibbling on her bottom lip, Dana decided to do as Alice did on the night that Dana fell in love with her. She decided to act. And so, she gripped the other woman, soft but strong, pulling her forward and meeting their lips for the first kiss of her own volition. Pouring everything she was into it, trying to show Alice with every nuance how very much Dana loved her. When the blonde opened her mouth, inviting entrance, Dana immediately deepened the embrace and swept her tongue inside. Eagerly tasting what was offered and pressing closer yet, as close as she possibly could, to Alice while doing so. But nothing could be close enough short of actually having *****, Dana reasoned, and the couple went stumbling halfway down the stairs to her condo and noticing the loss in balance, Dana wrapped a steady arm around Alice’s waist while the other caught hold of the ***** to her front door. This kept them from tumbling down the stairs but also caused them to swing partially to and fro. Finally, their lips separated with gasps from them both and Alice buried her face in the crook of Dana’s neck to then begin giggling uncontrollably, causing Dana to soon follow suit.

“I’m such a geek,” Dana groaned, thumping her head against the front door that they were now leaning up against. “I try to be smooth and we nearly fall down the stairs killing ourselves for it. Shows how good I am at this…”

“I think you’re good,” said Alice using what Dana had once called her pervert voice. Wiggling her eyebrows in that weird way that made Dana laugh, she finished, “Really, really, good.”

“Dork,” accused Dana and Alice shrugged happily, not appearing to care if she was acting dorky or not she was so pleased with their current situation. Pausing as she realized that although she was horrible with them, she did have some fairly important words to say, Dana cleared her throat. “Al,” she murmured soberly, holding dark brown eyes in a comforting gaze. “You could never rush me. I love you…” Dana couldn’t keep from laughing joyfully at the suddenly light feeling in her heart then continued on, “I’ve always loved you, I was just too scared to tell you.” Reaching down to hold Alice’s hands and cover them with ardent kisses, she said, “Tonya’s gone. I broke up with her last night. The engagement’s off, the wedding is through, and my condo was… well, it sort of still is, a huge mess. But that doesn’t matter because…” Dana trailed off and finally gave into her gayest instincts and waved her hands expressively about. “Because look at us! Us, Al, us!” she exclaimed, laughing and exuberantly sweeping Alice up in her arms to kiss her thoroughly.

When they parted, Alice slid down Dana’s body in a slow sensual motion and softly breathless moans filled the air as the blonde, held safely aloft in strong yet gentle arms, cupped Dana’s face in a gesture that for them would always be hers alone. “You’re right,” said Alice as she smiled sweetly. Leaning down to capture the lips below hers, echoing before doing so, “Look at us.”


To be continued…