Jodie felt conflicted as she silently observed Alice’s harsh characterization of the woman she loved. Prior to meeting Bette she would have been the person caught in Alice’s crosshairs, not because she cheated on her girlfriends in the traditional sense, but because up until Bette she hadn’t believed in nor practiced monogamy…a belief that left behind several broken hearts, whether it was deliberate or not. However, when she fell in love with Bette Porter she surprised herself when she realized that not only did she desire a monogamous relationship, but she couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else touching the stunningly beautiful brunette she was proud to call her partner. It was because of her firm belief that both she and Bette had been faithful to each other that she turned to Bette and trying to lighten the mood asked, “Were you? Are you cheating on me?” Oblivious to the pain barreling her way she laughed so that Bette would know her question was a tease and not meant to be an attack.

“Oh boy,” Kit muttered under her breath so only Bette could hear.

Bette’s heart dropped to her stomach and underneath the winter layers her body broke out in sweat.  Teasing or not she felt she was walking a tight wire in the middle of a hurricane. Desperately she looked to Tina for a lifeline, but instead was met with the terror of discovery swimming in Tina’s eyes. She let out a nervous laugh hoping to bleed off some of the tension in her body while she frantically search for an appropriate answer to Jodie’s question, one that would not be a lie, but would also spare Jodie from being exposed to the humiliation and pain the truth would bring.

Fucking Alice Bette knew it had not been Alice’s intent to bring out a deception she didn’t know existed, but if it wasn’t for Alice’s need to always provide the shock value to any conversation, Bette and Jodie could have had this very painful conversation in the privacy of their own home, not splayed out in front of their friends for all to see.

From the moment the words were out of her mouth Jodie felt the change in Bette. She saw the quick intake of breath, the furtive glances between Bette and Tina, and could practically feel the tension rolling off of Bette in waves. Then, as the silence wore on and it became clear that the instant response Jodie expected wasn’t going to be so instant, the smile faded from her face. Dread replaced playfulness, and as the pain from the truth finally shone from Bette’s eyes it crashed into Jodie’s heart, plunging to depths of which she had never known.