“There’s no way in hell I will agree to this.”

“It makes sense, Tina. There’s always a possibility of us not working out. I just want both of us to be sure of our choices, that’s all,” Bette reasoned.

“So what you’re saying is you want to dip into the big pond. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too, you know,” Tina kept her gaze trained on her ex-wife.

Bette stopped in her pacing; her sigh was loud for all to hear. “I truly want us to work, but without all the expectations from the outside world.”

“There are other ways to do that, Bette.” The blonde matched Bette’s sigh with one of her own. “It’s late. Let me get pajamas for you.”

Taken aback from the abrupt change of subject, Bette took awhile before answering, “I should go.”

“Do we need to go over this? It’s late, Bette. I have a perfectly good bed here.”

Her eyes shone with desire. All of a sudden, Bette realized Tina was standing in front of her, closer than she recalled. The air around them was charged with pent up desire. Her body hummed with Tina’s proximity. Then, she stepped out of arms’ reach. “I’m going, but I’ll be back in the morning.”

Tina sat down in a huff. “Why do you keep fighting me, Bette? I thought we agreed to try again.”

“Yes, but nothing was said about sleepovers.”

She waved off Bette’s words. “Special circumstances.” Tina’s voice softened. “I want you to stay.”

Bette looked away. “I’m not fighting you, Tina. Give me some time and space to digest everything.”

“Then take the guest room.”

“Why do you insist on keeping me here?”

Tina watched the woman standing near her. She was not ready to concede. “It’s late.”

“Not that late,” Bette replied calmly.

“Angie might look for you if she gets up in the middle of the night.”

Checkmate.

“She has lived through many nights without having me there, another night won’t matter,” the woman said sadly.

Tina threw up her hands in defeat. “Fine, go home. Do whatever you want. I give up.”

“Oh no, you’re not doing this,” Bette trained her gaze on her ex-wife. “All I’m asking is time and space to process. If nothing, at least give me that.”

“Thereby creating chances for the senator to get another crack at you? I don’t think so,” Tina narrowed her eyes, seeing nothing but red in her vision.

“When will you learn to let go?”

“When will she get out of our lives forever?” came the reply.

Bette picked up her purse and headed for the door. She threw one last look over her shoulder at Tina, and a small frown began to form. “It looks like we still have a long way to go.”

It wasn’t until the sound of a closing door did Tina snapped out of her daze. She hurried out of the front door, hoping to catch Bette before she left. The departing car stopped for a moment, but then began its intended journey soon after.

Her strangled, frustrated groan was swallowed by the dead of the night. Slow, heavy footsteps marked her tracks. Tina sat down, dejected. No matter what, they seemed to be at odds. She was too eager to have things the way they were before, and in its course had missed the big picture. It would be a hard lesson for Tina to learn.