Till We Meet Again | A Bette-Tina Beginning Chapter 32

Chapter 32

“Bette, where is James and what were you doing driving without a license?”

Bette hung her head.

“I left him a few miles back to hitch a ride.”

“You WHAT?!”

“He was not letting me drive. And he would not tell me what was going on. I had to come and find you and make sure you were safe and sound. Please Tina, I was so worried about you.” Bette hoped Tina would understand her behavior. In hindsight, it probably made little sense, but she acted with her heart, with good intentions.

Tina frowned.

“You were so worried about me that you left one of my best friends and one of your biggest fans out on some street in the middle of the night?” She was not buying it.

“Fan?” Bette was confused.

“Yes. We’ll talk about this soon, I promise. Tina drove silently hoping that Bette would just let it go for now.

“If I argue with you on this point, will you shut me up like you just did a while ago?” Bette grinned cheerfully.

Her grin faded at Tina’s mock glare.

**************************************************

Somewhere in LA

The city’s dead by morning

Slipping past the great divide

It chases over bridges

Spins me out of my own mind

How much are you likin’

What you see is what you get

Oh, say you love me again

But you never do

“Hey handsome.”

Eric looked up from his drink to find himself staring into the most gorgeous set of blue eyes. She was blonde, about 5’11, with a figure that even America’s Next Top Model might envy.

He looked down and gulped down his drink.

“Here on your own?” she persisted, pulling out the chair beside him and taking a seat.

Eric stared off in the distance, hardly paying attention to the loud music and her questions.

I am not singing a love

Singing a love song

‘Cause love is a game to you now

Watch just to see how long

“No. I’m sorry, I am with my wife.”

“That’s a shame. She left the hottest guy in the club to sit and drink at a bar, open for propositions from other women. I wouldn’t do that.”

Eric smirked. “That’s good. Your boyfriend is very lucky.”

“Nice try. I don’t have a boyfriend. But I can say that your wife is definitely lucky.”

Eric chuckled. “No … I’m sorry … what is your name?”

“Catherine.” She extended her hand as a greeting, which Eric took.

“Catherine. My name is Eric and as for my wife, I am the lucky one. It was nice meeting you. I must go now, I have an early flight back to New York tomorrow.”

With a polite nod and wave, he carefully withdrew himself from the conversation and headed for the exit.

“Well, good luck with everything Eric. I hope things work out for you,” Catherine called out after him.

“I hope so too Catherine. I hope so too.”

I still disappoint you

Why don’t you find another threat

It seems that you fall now

If you fall would you tell anybody

**************************************************

New York City, New York

You are so gorgeous. I want you so much. I love you so much. Where on earth did you learn to kiss like that? Not that it matters as long as you are only kissing me, only loving me.

For now, Bette was temporarily sated. She cast her puppy eyes at Tina and pouted, who just drove quietly, trying not to smirk or laugh out loud at the secretive glances that Bette kept shooting her way.

Her hair was plastered wet, cheeks flushed red and clothes drenched. But for Bette, Tina had never looked more beautiful. She traced a golden rain drop travelling down Tina’s neck and disappeared into the valley of her breasts.

Bette groaned in frustration.

Tina smirked.

“Anything on your mind Bette?”

Bette cleared her throat, trying to clear her head simultaneously.

“Uh…me, no.”

She looked down at herself feeling naked and vulnerable and attempted getting more comfortable, especially with the tight strapless black dress that had now been ruined in the downpour.

“I believe that was taken care of a while ago.”

She stared at Tina intensely, who could feel the heat, love and lust in her gaze. It burned her skin and thrilled her down to the core. She squirmed in her seat trying to maintain some semblance of control.

“You might need to put a heat cap on those eyes.”

Bette grinned. It gave her the confidence she needed. She reached out and ran a couple fingers down the blonde’s dark wet tresses, tracing her arm slowly, back and forth.

Her skin tingled with every touch, her flesh erupting with goosebumps. Tina fought hard to maintain control of her senses and the car.

“Is the heat too much for you?” Her voice was low and quiet, sensual. “I can turn it down a bit.”

Tina chuckled dryly. If only she knew what she was doing to me. God, how did we get to this point?

She watched Bette from the corner of her eyes as the brunette leaned down to fix her shoes and the dress slipped back, exposing more of her nicely shaped legs while also revealing a wonderful set of cleavage. Tina swore under her breathe and tried to keep her eyes on the road. The last thing they needed was an accident because she had a raging inferno of hormones.

The cursory words were not lost to her lover. Her ears pecked up and she smirked.

She cleared her throat again.

“Anything on your mind T?”

Tina shot her a glare and turned back to concentrate on her driving.

“We should get you out of that dress. You might get a chill.”

Tina tried to keep her voice as non-chalant and matter-of-fact as possible.

She turned up the heat in the car trying to ignore the flames she had ignited earlier and the ones she was just stoking now.

“Your coat is in the backseat, maybe you should hop back there, strip off that dress, and just put your coat on.”

Bette gaped at her.

“We’ll be home in a few. I can do it then.”

“We aren’t going to your house.”

“We aren’t?” Bette was growing more confused and frustrated by the minute but she reined it in.

“No. We are going to do a slight detour at a hotel.” Tina flashed her a grin, hoping it triggered the dirty faculties of her mind long enough for Bette not to ask any questions or leap to any conclusions.

She knew Tina was up to something but whatever it was, she had to trust her love so Bette played right along.

“Well, in that case, we can wait till we get there.”

*****************************************

West Hollywood, Los Angeles

People cheered and clapped and whooped as Alice finished her song on a high note. She strummed her guitar one last time and jumped off the stage, weaving herself through the crowd that definitely needed another jamming session.

“That was great Alice! You are a rockstar! Wow.” Dana was so excited and proud.

Alice beamed. She really did feel like a star after such a long time.

“You think? It’s been a while. I thought Kit was going to tie my strings around me and remove me from the club after the bad start.”

“You should totally get back in the music industry. It is never too late.”

“Yeah. But it’s more of an investment than one might think. Especially at this age.” Still she blushed.

“I think you look fine.” Dana said quietly, blushing profusely.

Alice caught on slowly. “You think I look fine.” She tilted her head to the side, trying to uncover what Dana really meant. Not that it mattered anymore. She planned to come clean to Dana about her assignment and her job.

Dana looked up and met her eyes, “Listen, I know you have an early morning flight. But please come and meet me at my personal tennis court in an hour. I have something to show you.”

Alice raised her brows but Dana hurried past her, not waiting to give an explanation.

“Ok. I’ll be there,” she said to no one in particular, hoping what Dana had to show her had nothing to do with any sort of physical exercise.

*******************************************

New York City, New York

Tina pulled into the parking lot of the Marriott Marquis. It was a little past midnight, she felt a bit ill and exhausted after the long day but this is something she had to do.

She turned towards Bette, who was giving her the most quizzical look.

“What? You are always talking about having sex and now that we are at the hotel where you proposed to have a four-some orgy a while ago, you are somehow perplexed? What happened to trying and testing new things? Step off the R, and get into D-gear Porter.”

She could only keep a straight face for a second as Bette looked more wide-eyed and almost terrified.

“Who are you and what did you to with my Tina?” Bette demanded mockingly while Tina threw her head back in laughter at her facial expressions.

She unclasped her seatbelt, doing the same for Bette, and reached back to grab her handbag.

“Come with me. Or do you need some other incentive?”

“Your wish is my command, Tina. I love you”

Tina smiled and pushed a wet strand of hair away from Bette’s face. “I love you too. Don’t ever forget that.”

They both got out of the car and Tina opened the trunk to pull out an Adidas sports bag, before locking down the car.

Before Bette could raise more questions, Tina answered them for her,

“It’s my gym bag. I bought some change of clothes and accessories.”

Alright, since when does clean-freak Tina go to the gym? The warning bells were blaring in her head, but her heart ignored them. And her body had other plans.

“ACHOO!”

*******************************************

Fairbanks Tennis Courts, Los Angeles

Candles glittered at all corners of the tennis court, lightening up the dark moonless night. But all was not light in the life of the tennis star, who had finally spilled her true feelings to Alice, only to be slapped with a note of betrayal.

“No, you lied to me Alice. You were going to destroy my career to become some hotshot CEO of a magazine? I only hope that it would have been worth your while.”

“That’s the point. It wouldn’t be worth my while. In this short time I have spent with you, I have come to like you. You’ve inspired me to pursue my dreams, dreams I had given up on long ago.”

“Well, Congratulations Alice. Either way, you got something you needed. Please just let me be.”

“No…”

“Why not?”

Alice didn’t know how to answer that question or what to say. She stared back at Dana helplessly, hoping the tennis star would read the sincere feelings behind her actions.

Maybe Dana misread the signals. Before Alice could clue-in on what was happening, Dana leaned down to kiss her. She managed to turn her head, so Dana missed her lips, connecting with her right cheek instead.

Startled, Alice pushed back. “I’m sorry Dana, I can’t.”

What the hell? Her mind was screaming. This was wrong, so wrong on so many levels. Even if she and Bette were not on talking terms, they had yet to dissolve their relationship officially. And Alice was not sure that she wanted to let go without a final battle.

“Why not?” Dana searched her eyes for an answer.

It was on her hand. Alice held up her left hand to show her wedding band.

“I’m married and in a committed relationship.”

Somehow the words felt empty and hollow.

Dana stared at Alice helplessly. She tried to feel angry, to pour her emotions out in a torrent, but she was too far gone. “I was falling for you Al. I was ready to risk everything and tell you how I feel, let you in on who I really am. Are you telling me you don’t feel the same way?”

Alice shook her head slowly and sadly. “I’m sorry Dana. I am remorseful but I am in love with someone else.

Dana turned and headed for the doors. She shot one last lingering look at Alice.

“I hope you are sure that she’s the one for you. That there is no one else out there who can love, cherish and make you happy in the way you deserve to be. Goodbye Alice.”

“Never say goodbye…”

The voice did not belong to Alice. It was in her head. It belonged to Bette.

Without knowing it, without meaning to, Dana had opened up doors for Alice—in her mind, heart and even her life.

*******************************************

Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York

They entered the lobby of the exquisite hotel, hand-in-hand this time. Bette had certainly caught a chill and still needed to get out of her wet outfit. For now, she was covered by a coat but feeling increasingly ill. She wondered whether to ruin the plush leather seats in the waiting area and decided to just stand-by and wait for Tina. Making sure she was comfortable and after sharing a quick kiss, Tina walked up to reception.

She took a deep breathe to calm her nerves. Here goes.

“Hi, welcome to Marriott Marquis, how may I help you?” He seemed pleasant enough even at this ungodly hour.

“Hi…” she looked for any indication of his name and flashed him a winning smile. “Jason…I’m here to see Ms. Peggy Peabody…I believe she has left a key for me.”

“Ms. Peabody? I see, I would need a password to authorize the release of the key.”

Tina stared at him, momentarily at a loss of words. “You need a password to see Ms. Peabody?” She laughed nervously and mentally chastised herself. “Uh, gosh, it must have completely slipped her mind, or mine, for that matter.”

He was unimpressed and not budging. “Password please.”

“I really can’t remember. Why don’t you page her and tell her that Helena’s friend—Tina is here to see her?”

“Sorry ma’am, Ms. Peabody has specifically requested that she not be disturbed—that means no phone calls and no visitors who are unaware of certain passwords.”

“Maybe the receptionist can slip-up and reveal the password.”

Tina slipped him a $50 bill nonchalantly. She was growing increasingly desperate. There was no way she would leave without exposing Helena to Peggy Peabody.

He smiled wickedly and took the $50 note, pocketing it. “Well, the receptionist has had a rather slow evening. I am sure whoever rents the executive suite next to Ms. Peabody’s would probably get a buzz when she is arrives or leaves…”

Tina raised an eyebrow. “$900 a night to know Ms. Peabody’s schedule? You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. That’s extortion!” she hissed.

“No ma’am, $900 a night for a cozy suite for you and your friend over there.” He nodded towards where Bette was now sitting on the leather couch, shivering despite the warm temperature of the lobby.

Tina frowned, growing worried about her love. She had to get Bette out of those wet clothes before she developed pneumonia, and force some dinner down her throat. The blonde watched as Bette grimaced, obviously in some sort of distress.

Jason continued, seeing that his extortion had her re-considering in the least.

“The schedule is just a bonus. One of the bonuses I might add, along with the large marble bathrooms with spas, spacious rooms and top-of-the-range guest amenities.”

She was not really listening. She just needed to take care of Bette ASAP by any means.

Tina turned back to him, her mind made-up. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

Preview for Chapter 33
She had never ever experienced love-making so fast, so furious, yet so fulfilling and gentle, so animalistic yet so loving, so totally abandoned, pounding with reckless desire and wanton need. It was both terrifying and thrilling. They were two bodies, two souls becoming one entity, charged, hungry and desperate, having their first real meal in this lifetime. Devouring and enjoying every delicious morsel, savoring every inch, every delectable moment. Delirious from all the riveting mind-blowing sensations, Tina marveled at the feverish kisses, heated caressing, finger sucking, hair-grabbing, nails-digging-into-flesh. They were totally decadent. There was no place left where Tina had not licked, sucked and kissed, and there wasn’t a square inch on her that Bette hadn’t done the same.