Bette was on cloud-nine but Tina quickly brought her down to earth as she was leaving the apartment. She told Bette that having sex with her was ‘nice, really nice’ but it didn’t change their circumstances; it didn’t mean that they were getting back together. Bette nodded her understanding and whispered “I know.” They shared an awkward kiss on the cheek and Bette departed to her therapy session.

Ten minutes later, Helena knocked on Tina’s door expecting to take Tina to dinner as they had discussed earlier that morning. She was surprised to find the blonde in her bathrobe, having obviously forgotten about their date. Tina was an emotional wreck. She hadn’t even washed off the scent of sex with Bette and here was her new girlfriend asking her why she wasn’t ready to go out.
That night Helena and Tina ended up having a huge fight. Tina wanted to stay in and ‘fuck’ while Helena insisted they either go out, or go back to her place. Tina did not take the rejection well, and totally lost it. She accused Helena of only being interested in sex when they had an audience or if there was a risk involved which had been typical of their sexual relationship so far.

The first time they had sex was in a public pool at a hotel where they were attending a formal dinner. Another time was in front of a realtor that was showing them property when Helena was looking for house to rent. The most recent was on the balcony of Helena’s mansion where her two children were playing just inside and Helena’s ex caught them when she showed up unexpectedly.
Helena had walked out on Tina that night leaving her frustrated and mad as hell. In an off-handed manner Helena had blamed Tina’s behavior on hormonal imbalance from the pregnancy.

Helena apologized the next day, and they made up but not before Tina made it clear that she wasn’t a plaything for Helena to take off and put back on the shelf whenever it pleased her. She also told Helena that she would not tolerate being reduced to a hormonal mess because of her pregnancy whenever they had a disagreement.

***

Though she had a rekindled desire for Bette, Tina didn’t want to break up with Helena. Being with the Brit although sometimes infuriating was part of the healing process for Tina. She’d never been with another woman sexually other than Bette, and she’d lost her autonomy in the marriage. As much as there were qualities she disliked about Helena she was still strongly attracted to her.