"Uh yeah," Bette answered trying to hide her emotions. That whole side of the wall held her artwork. Tina had collected the majority of them.

"Clyde Harrison," Tina said, "sometimes I wonder about that guy. I mean there’s so much passion in those paintings, they represent the inner turmoil of wanting something so bad but knowing that he could never have it. Those brush strokes are so delicate and exquisite like making love to a woman, yet it seems like it was done by a woman."

Bette looked up at her in surprise. No one had ever described her art so perfectly. That’s exactly what the painting represented. "Yeah," Bette said, "it’s a struggle with the soul."

Tina looked at her and smiled, "I’ve been trying to get his new painting, called ‘take me.’ I saw it at the CAC but there are some rich bastards outbidding me."

"Y-you want that one?" Bette said trying to hide her emotions as that painting was her absolute best work of art."

"Oh yeah, it’s my favorite," Tina smiled, "so beautiful. It’s a fight for dominance, at least that’s what I think. It’s an abstract so it has many meanings, but what I see is two people; faceless, genderless people, who are melded together in a passion. When is the submissive, begging the other one to take them."

"How is that a battle for dominance," Bette argued feeling more confident about her work, "one person is submitting to the other, there is no fight."

"Ah true, but see that in itself is the fight," Tina said, "the submissive is asking the dominant to take them, so that gives the dominant the power. However, when the dominant complies to the request and takes them, they are also submitting to the power of the submissive. It’s a mutual agreement."

Bette was shocked beyond words. She hadn’t thought about it that way. Tina seemed to know more about Bette’s artwork more than Bette herself. Bette felt her heart pounding fast, she never felt this way about anyone.

Was it possible to fall in love with someone only after hours of meeting her?

"Wow," she breathed, "you seem to know a lot."

Tina nodded slowly but said, "yeah Clyde Harrison is a genius."

"Tina," Bette started timidly.

"Yes?" Tina encouraged.

"Uh, do you help with thesis assignment?" Bette asked.

"Yes I do," Tina said.

"Do you think you could…" Bette trailed off biting her lip.

Tina smiled, finding the reaction adorably sexy, "yes I would love to be your thesis teacher."

"Thank you," Bette said timidly.

"What are you working on?" Tina said.

"I’m working on a fiction novel," Bette answered trying to control her nervousness as she’d never shown her writing to anyone but Dana, "it’s called ‘Wicked Attraction.’"