”Are you turning all S &M on me, Porter?, “ Tina asked playfully, to lighten the suddenly serious mood.  What was going on with Bette? she thought to herself.  

“My mad skills in bed don’t extend to wielding leather whips, I’m afraid,” Bette answered with a slight laugh “Unless you want me to?,” she continued in a teasing tone.

“Um…. No way, honey,” Tina quickly answered with a smirk.  “Not into that.”

“But I may spank you, and soon, if you don’t take me to bed… like, right now,” she said, intending it to be a tease, at first, but realized it came out with a hungrier edge than she intended.

“Oh I will, baby.  I will….but don’t expect to get any sleep when we get there, not just yet,” Bette smirked,as she pulled Tina to the door leading to the cave’s exit.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Next day

Electronic chimes rang softly from the cloud landline deskphone sitting on the nightstand next to the bed.

Tina reached a slim hand out in the general direction of the phone, absent-mindedly feeling her way to the source of the chimes.  She was lying faced down on the bed, head turned in the direction of the night stand. She knocked something over, and continued feeling around the table.  She finally felt the corner edge of the sleek glass finish of the deskphone.  She groped for the right corner edge, then tapped on the lower end of the glass screen, and mumbled, “Hello, hello?”

“Bonjour, mademoiselle,” a man’s low voice floated out of the speakerphone, and asked, “Would you like to have the breakfast you ordered brought over now?”

Tina slowly brought herself up, to rest on her elbows. She shook her head slightly, from side to side, to clear the cobwebs.

“Um… breakfast?  Did we order breakfast in bed?”

“Oui, mademoiselle.  Just a simple one, I understand? And a copy of the Tribune?”

”Oh… okay. Um… what time is it, by the way?,” Tina asked, still groggy but her consciousness was returning.

“It’s a quarter ‘til 10, mademoiselle”, he answered politely.  “I will send your breakfast up right away. If you will need anything else, please let me know.”

The screen went dark, as the man hung up.

Wow, nearly 10! Tina shook her head again, still faced down on the bed, resting on her elbows.

“Baby?,” she called out.

“Do you know that it’s nearly 10?”