It was late in the day when Tina Kennard got into the passenger seat of her girlfriend’s car. Today they were having a late cup of coffee at the Planet… something she knew they had been planning to do for a long time now, but as Bette took the occasional glance over at her it was quite clear that Tina was a little more than just anxious.

“What’s wrong?” Bette asked as she pulled the car aside in order to give Tina her full attention.

Tina looked at her glumly before reluctantly admitting, “I’m just nervous I guess…”

She stared at Tina for what seemed like the longest time, trying to grasp what she could possibly be worried about. Bette inched nearer to her, “Can I make it better?” she offered, brushing a hand against Tina’s cheek before taking her in for a comforting kiss, a kiss which to her surprise grew into something too deep for her to control… She couldn’t help it, Tina just looked so beautiful, even under the poorly lit confines of her car. Things got a little heated in just a matter of minutes as Bette pressed her body closer into Tina’s, making the best out of the cramped space her vehicle offered. Their lips never lost contact, but soon Bette realized that breathing was becoming quite an issue so she pulled away… however instead of stopping all together, she settled by nestling on Tina’s neck, planting soft kisses while Tina dug her fingers onto the smooth fabric of her suit. They continued in this revelry for some time, forgetting the world around them, while letting everything simply melt away… and just when Bette thought that she had managed to steer Tina’s mind away from her worries something else came along:

“We’re going to be late…” Tina reasoned out as Bette’s hand ran across her legs, gently tugging and hiking up the sheer fabric of her dress.

“I don’t care…” Bette said in between kisses, thinking Tina was saying one thing but her body was definitely telling her a different story.

“Mmmm… Baby trust me I don’t want to stop either but…” Tina breathed deeply, closing her eyes as Bette kissed her way down towards her collar bone, “I just want to make a good impression tonight…”

It took a minute for Bette to compose herself but nonetheless she gave in to Tina’s request… after all she was right, they were running a little late. Bette shook her head and gave Tina an encouraging smile “You’re right… I’m sorry…”

Tina couldn’t help but mirror Bette’s expression as the striking brunette took her hand and gave it a final kiss before she continued driving. The drive to the Planet took a good thirty minutes, more or less… but as Bette parked the car, Tina felt as if it was all ending too soon.

“Bette are you sure about this?” Tina asked as she unbuckled her seatbelt, looking out the windsheild for a while before turning to face the driver’s seat.

“Believe me baby you’re going to be fine…” Bette smiled reassuringly as she took the key out of the ignition. “This will be a cinch compared to that whole ordeal you had to go through with Alice.”

“What are you talking about? Alice wasn’t that bad…”

“I know!” Bette chuckled as she got out of the car, and waited for Tina to do the same. They were walking the short distance towards the coffee house when the lithe brunette further explained, “Usually she’s merciless, you should’ve seen her interrogating some of the other girls I used to date.” As Bette said this she had a satisfied grin on her face, Tina on the other hand wasn’t quite as uplifted. “But she didn’t do that to you”” Bette paused when she realized that this was Alice she was talking about.

“…Well at least she didn’t go too hard on you… she could tell you were different…”

“Really?” Tina asked behind her shoulder while she pushed through the doors of the coffee house.

“Well that and I told her if she tried to pull anything I’d kick her *****…”

The mood noticeably lightened around them as Tina felt her face flush, “But Bette this is different… it’s your sister.”

“And she’s going to love you…”

But before Bette could add anything else she heard a woman clearing her throat from behind them, quickly she turned towards the sound before letting the name Kit slip out. Upon hearing this, Tina turned in the same direction. Standing in front of them was the great Kit Porter, holding a cup of coffee in her hand… Giving a welcoming smile and gazing at them with a look of warmth, Tina felt the instant sense of familiarity in Kit that she also found in Bette.

“Sorry we would’ve gotten here sooner, but the traffic was unbelievable.” Bette explained, directing a wink towards Tina when Kit wasn’t looking

“Yes… uh… traffic…” Tina answered, her attention still directed toward Bette.

“Kit this is Tina Kennard… my girlfriend.” Bette said, momentarily cutting Tina away from what she was doing. “Tina this is Kit Porter my sister.”

“It’s nice to meet you. Bette has told me so much about you.” Tina shyly said.

“Well that’s nice to know.” Kit said in return, appreciating the tasteful way Tina carried herself. She was fond of her already. “Come on I already got us a table.” she finished, walking a few steps ahead of Bette and Tina.

They had been sitting by one of the circular wooden tables for about a good fifteen minutes now, and considering the nervousness Tina felt earlier, the easy chatter between the three of them was refreshing. The talk ranged from anything that caught their interest, touching on topics like Tina’s family and what she did for a living… how she and Bette first met… to Kit’s new show, and Bette’s recent gallery mishaps… until finally Kit brought up the subject Bette wasn’t quite sure she wanted to get into.

“So you two have been seeing each other for?”

“The past three months.” Bette proudly stated, beaming at Tina before looking back at her sister… She knew what the next question was going to be.

Kit merely nodded, “And you haven’t told me because…?” Now there was an unspeakable tension around them, a feeling that was even palpable to Tina. Bette had told her once that her relationship with Kit now was doing better than it used to, but she also kept in mind that old wounds run deep… so for a while Bette just sat there, trying her best not to meet Kit in the eye, seeming like she had no plans to respond. With this in mind Tina knew what she had to do…

“….Because Bette and I wanted to take it slow…” she said with a warm smile on her face, trying her best to ease the tension between the two women seated alongside her. “Listen, I’m going to get another one.” she said pointing to her now empty container of coffee, “Can I get you guys anything while I’m gone?”

Both women politely said no, and watched as Tina made her way towards the counter, leaving them there alone with their thoughts. Kit looked pensively at Bette, her eyes conveying how upset she truly was at her sister. Yet again Bette had shut her out, and she couldn’t see why… Bette in turn was glaring at her expectantly, waiting to hear her opinion about Tina… It took just a split second for her to realize that she wanted to hear what her sister actually thought of her new found love, not that she cared what anyone else thought, but as much as she hated to admit it to herself, she really wanted her sister’s approval or atleast in this case she did… Bette finally came around to acknowledging the fact that deep down she really wanted Kit to like Tina…

“Well?”

“I like her…” Kit said sincerely.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean you’ve really out done yourself…” Kit said following Tina with her eyes. “Just look at her…”

“I know…” Bette sighed and met Kit’s gaze, “I think she’s the one…”

“Well girl you better keep an eye on her then…” Kit grinned looking away from Bette and turning her attention towards the coffee counter… “I think someone’s hitting on her over there….”

“What?” Bette asked, sounding a little more alarmed than she meant to. Immediately her eyes began searching for Tina, stopping only to find that a couple of women were indeed chatting her up by the corner, “*****… I’ll be right back…”

“Go ahead.” Kit told her, “Oh and get me another one of those lattes.” she handed Bette her cup and watched as her sister walked towards Tina. Sitting there alone Kit smiled inwardly, thinking that she was glad to have met her sister’s new girlfriend… And though she still felt a little let down that it took Bette this long to tell her about Tina, deep inside she had the quiet feeling that Bette wouldn’t be introducing any more women to her, any time soon… and for the first time she knew that was actually a good thing..