“Mmmm,” Dana said, looking away, “well it’s not always that simple but hey, if you’re cool with it, what does it matter. Right?”

“Right!” Kit smiled again. Her face lit up as she saw the drag king walking back into the room with two coffees.

“Here you go, Pretty Lady. I hope they got the order right. If not, I’ll….”

Kit waved her hand. “It’ll be fine, Ivan. Believe me, I’ve drunk things a lot worse than a badly prepared expresso.”

The laughter between them came easy, as did the banter which Dana only half-listened to, her thoughts turning again to ….”

“Dana! Hi!” Tina walked into the room, tea in hand and Alice in tow. She sat her cup down on the table, leaned over and gave Dana a warm hug and light kiss on the cheek. “I’m so glad to see you….”

“Alone,” Alice finished.

Tina shot her a look that said, “Don’t start!”

Alice threw up a hand in a casual wave. “Hey Dana. How’s it going?”

Dana looked into those dark eyes just a moment too long, then developed a sudden fascination with watching the foam on her latte. “Oh fine. Fine. Getting ready for the Seiko open. Big tourney. I’m finally seeded in the top eight.”

“Good for you,” Alice said a little too heartily.

Tina had seated herself at one end of the table, between Dana and Kit. The chair next to Kit had a jacket on it, so Alice knew it was taken. She didn’t think she could handle sitting at the other end of the table, face to face with Tina. She seemed to be handling things all right now, but Bette hadn’t arrived yet. That left the chair next to Dana. She ran her hand nervously through her hair and sat down, smiling nervously at Dana and then focusing on her coffee.

Kit was leaning close to Tina, whispering in her ear, words of consolation no doubt, Alice observed. She looked sideways at Dana who was looking sideways at her. They immediately turned their heads forward, took sips of their coffee in perfect synchronization. She felt Dana’s leg brush hers, and jumped.

“Sorry,” Dana jerked her leg back, “just sprawling all over the place. You know how we jocks are,” she tried to laugh, but it came out as a nervous titter. She clapped her hand over her mouth.