The alarm sounded around six and woke Bette from a restful sleep in Tina’s arms. Tina, however, slept through the racket, having a truly peaceful, deep sleep for the first time in ages. Bette reached over and tapped the snooze button, then settled back into bed. She knew the alarm would buzz again in ten minutes, but she wanted to spend as long as she could in this break from the chaos she’d created.

            Tina’s chest rose and fell slowly and Bette pressed her ear to Tina’s chest. Listening to her heartbeat, she closed her eyes and willed the moment to last forever. Bette knew that Tina had allowed herself to forget everything for last night and it was all worth it. They had the most beautiful, gentle, desperate ***** that Bette could ever remember having and Bette felt whole for the first time in a long time.

            The alarm buzzed and Bette moved to turn it off. Tina stretched and yawned, then turned towards Bette and smiled.

            “Hello love.” Bette said, brushing the hair out of Tina’s eyes.

            “Call in sick today.” Tina said, scooting close to Bette and resting her head on Bette’s chest.

            “That’s a great idea, baby.” Bette said and, around eight, she called CAC with her message.

            Bette and Tina spent the day cuddling on the couch and watching stupid movies. They ordered in all their food, stayed in their pajamas, and turned off all the phones.

The Next Day

            Bette had gone to work and Tina was at home doing some housework. Tina finished up at 11:00am and around twelve, Christine called.

            “Tina! Hey girl, I haven’t heard from you so I thought I’d see how things were going.”

            “Hey! I’m pretty good, how are you?” Upon hearing Christine’s voice, Tina got the familiar butterflies.

            “Fabulous. Do you want to go to a movie?”

            Tina gulped and considered it all for a moment. She and Christine were friends. What was the harm in spending time with a friend? After hesitating an obvious amount of time, Tina said, “I’d love to.”

            “Awesome, do you want to go tonight or now, or what?”

            “Let’s go now. Want to meet me there or do you want me to pick you up?” Tina said, her hands shaking a little.

            “Pick me up. I’ll be ready when you get here.”

That Evening

            “Well, the movie was awesome. I thought it would be scarier, but it was still good.” Tina said, walking Christine up the stairs to her apartment.

            “Oh, I thought it was scary!”

            “Oh my God, are you serious? You’re a wimp!” Tina said with a laugh.

            “Hey,” Christine said, faking a pout.

            The two were standing outside Christine’s door. Christine was standing a couple feet away from the door, wearing a short denim skirt and a white tank top Tina was a leaning against the railing with her head tipped back, looking up at the city-lit sky. Tina tipped her head forward and looked at Christine standing there, one hand on her hip and the silly fake little pout still on her face.

Without thinking, Tina rushed forward, pressed Christine up again the wall and pressed her own lips to Christine’s. Christine’s arms were above her head, with Tina pressing them against the brick wall of the building. Tina ran her hand down the front of Christine’s chest, stomach, and waist and then found her thigh. She pushed her hand up Christine’s short skirt and then slipped her fingers into her lacey feeling underwear. Christine gasped and groaned and grabbed at Tina’s breast. Tina’s eyes flew open. She saw Christine standing in front of her and she pulled away.

“Christine, I’m so sorry, I I can’t.” Tina said, looking at the concrete walkway.

Christine grabbed Tina by the shoulders, spun her around, and pressed her against the wall in the exact same way Tina had done to her. She slipped her hand down the front of Tina and under her white sundress, giving her a quick, hard, tantalizing rub; she removed her hand and stepped away. Then, putting her hands on Tina’s shoulders, and looking her in the eyes, Christine said, “Tina, go home, give your girlfriend a hug and a kiss and tell her you love her.”