Till We Meet Again | A Bette-Tina Beginning Chapter 27

She was tortured and feverish, burning with ache and need.

“Bette…please…” she could only whimper as her lover thrust inside her with more force, harder and faster than before.

She pushed her hips up returning each thrust, her nails sketching her pleasure across her shoulders and back, her moans and cries filling the room.

More…She needed more. More touch, more skin, more connection, more of Bette inside her.

She was close, so close…

Something in her room screamed louder than her as her orgasm wrecked through her. It was her alarm clock blaring away at five in the morning. Tina groaned, feeling the sticky moisture of the sheets beneath her, as she got up to shut off the offending noise.

She couldn’t remember ever having an erotic dream, let alone one that had felt so real. Tina got off the bed and immediately felt a wave of nausea hit her. She sat back down and took several deep breathes trying to calm her nerves.

“Fuck you, Bette. What are you doing to me?”

7am; Shepaug Middle School

It was too early in the morning, or maybe it felt that way since Tina had been up for the better part of the night, tossing and turning, among other things. Too many thoughts invaded her mind and no prizes for guessing who was prevalent in most of those thoughts. She cursed Bette one minute, worried about her the next and wanted her in the third, which led her to cursing Bette again. To think she would need to wait till afternoon to see Bette was killing her—the seconds seemed to tick too slowly.

Tina grew more annoyed, pacing, as she waited for the other chaperon to join outside the yellow school bus that already held 19 5th graders—without another parent or guardian on board, the field trip would be cancelled and this person was already 15 minutes late. If they started out late, they would probably be late in coming back, which meant she would have to wait until even later to see Bette.

“Good morning.” Tina jumped back in shock at the voice, swiveling around and finding her beloved. Is this a dream or are you for real?

“Bette…what are you doing here?” She resisted the natural impulse of taking her love into her arms when she saw her with a perplexed-looking Trevor.

“Good morning Trevor. Do you have your lunch box? Go on, get on the bus.”

She turned back to Bette and sucked in a sharp breathe. The brunette looked spell-binding with her hair straightened out, wearing a semi-transparent white shirt underneath her jacket and faded Levi’s that accentuated her curves and lines. Then again, when did Bette Porter not look exceptionally gorgeous?

“Here is a letter from Mrs. Evans authorizing me to come on her part as guardian for Trevor and as the other chaperon for the field trip. You can call her to double-check that I am not just making this up in order to kidnap children” she smiled triumphantly at Tina’s reaction, teasing lightly as Tina grabbed the letter and read it.

“Great, I have 21 children to look after today,” Tina teased her, folding and pocketing the letter. She took in several deep breathes to calm her rapid heartbeats; Bette should be sued for increasing the risk of cardiac arrest.

It was totally adorable how much Bette needed to be with her—Enough to come out of her comfort zone and offer to handle 20 bratty kids for several hours. Tina gazed at Bette, her eyes full of warmth and love. She loved her so much, it hurt.

“What? You aren’t happy to see me?” Bette pouted. She leaned closer to the blonde’s ear, “I remember someone saying something about going crazy and wanting to show me so I canceled my classes today.”

Tina gasped softly, shivering as Bette’s hot breathe tickled her ear and warmed her cheek. A deep flush crept down her neck and she latched onto Bette’s jacket to steady herself as a dizzy sensation threatened to overpower her. Bette had her arms around Tina pulling her close before she could collapse.

“Talk about falling for me. Are you ok T?” Her voice was teasing but her eyes full of concern.

Tina smiled shakily at her beloved, warmed by the love and concern outpouring from her eyes. She nodded, “It’s probably nothing. I should have grabbed something to eat this morning.”

A familiar cheeky smile tugged at Bette’s lips as she eyed Tina’s hands tightly gripping her shoulders. “Well, you certainly grabbed something. I don’t know how nutritious it is though.”

“Bette!” She blushed furiously turning redder than before, and pushed Bette back lightly.

“I should have known you have ulterior motives. Promise me you will behave,” Tina warned. Bette had ulterior motives? Who was she kidding? Tina wanted to rip those clothes off and feel every inch of her body. It took every ounce of self-restraint to keep her hands to herself.

“Of course, I even got some art supplies for the students to keep them involved. Trevor’s mom told me that part of the assignment is about ‘adopting a tree’ at the park and having to draw it as it undergoes changes throughout the year. An art lesson might come in handy.” She pointed to the two bags of carry-on luggage by her side.

“You think you can get some over-active restless ten year olds to care about art?” Tina challenged. She secretly smiled at Bette’s gesture—it was sweet and considerate of her.

“Watch me,” Bette replied evenly as she turned loaded the supplies before boarding the bus.

Tina licked her lips subconsciously, checking Bette out in those tight jeans.

“I can do that…”

On the bus

After introductions, Tina settled down with a book, while Bette sat next to her and looked around awkwardly not knowing what to do. She looked at Tina engrossed in her book and nudged her.

“What?” Tina replied without looking up at Bette.

“What are you reading T?”

“Nothing that would interest you.”

“I still want to know…” Bette whined, feeling left out.

Tina turned to Bette with a frustrated look on her face. Pulling her close by her jacket, she whispered into her ear, “The Lesbian Kama Sutra.”

Bette stared at her in shock. “WHAT? You are reading about SEX – you might as well ask me.”

The gasps of the children in the bus were a sure sign that Bette had been way too loud.

“Uh oh, Mrs. Lively, Miss Porter said a bad word,” said Trevor from the seat behind them.

Tina was annoyed that Bette couldn’t keep it down and didn’t know how to behave around children but she had to grin in spite of herself as Bette Porter turned beetroot.

“Yes, she said a bad word. And I’ll make sure she won’t say it again,” she turned, mockingly reprimanding Bette, who scowled back at her.

“But seriously T, if you want to know about s-e-x, you can just ask me. I wrote the Kama Sutra,” she said in hushed conspiring tones.

Tina looked up from her book again, gazing affectionately at Bette.

“That explains a lot.” She stroked her cheek softly, tucking some hair behind her ear.

“What?” Bette returned her affectionate smile with a kiss on her hand.

“It explains why you look so old.” Tina cleared her throat and went back to her book, biting back a grin.

Bette sulked lower in her seat like a petulant child and sniffled. Tina smiled and reached down to intertwine their hands for the remainder of the trip.

Bette had to reluctantly pull her hand away from Tina to answer the phone vibrating in her pocket. She checked the caller ID before answering. It was from DIVA.

“Hello?” Bette frowned uneasily, shifting in her seat.

“Hi, Bette. It’s Helena. I hope you are not too busy and I’m not disturbing anything.”

Bette looked oddly at Tina. “No, not at all, what’s up Helena?”

Tina’s ears shot up. Helena?

“Yes, we are building a new Peabody Pediatrics hospital in New York and need some artists to do some murals. Would you be willing?”

“Wait, you want ME to do some murals for a children’s hospital? I don’t know Helena–It is not exactly my forte. Don’t you think you should be asking some other famous mural artists? I can give some names.”

Tina eavesdropped on the conversation. Helena Peabody wanted Bette to paint murals for her children’s hospital and Bette was saying no?

She prodded Bette after she had hung up.

“What was that about, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“That was Helena Peabody from DIVA, heir to the Peabody Foundation, offering me another job assignment.” Bette sighed and rolled her eyes.

Tina frowned. “Does she tend to do that a lot?”

“Oh no, she claims to like my work. She has bought a lot of my pieces in the past—Maybe she does it just to please Alice, I don’t know. Something about her just makes me uneasy.” Bette laced her fingers through Tina’s again, staring out the window.

“You think I should take the assignment?”

“No Bette, I didn’t say that. Do whatever makes you happy.” Tina smiled encouragingly at her.

“Being with you makes me happy.”

Somewhere between Los Angeles and New York

“We need to do something. This is getting out of control. I was calling you for advice but you seem to have the same problem on your hands as well.”

“But what can we do Kit? Your sister is so stubborn—she is not about to admit her mistakes. Tina hasn’t done anything wrong, so she won’t make it up to Eric. That just leaves us with Alice and Eric. They would have to make the first move.”

“Right, but how do we get the point across to them?”

“How about we let them get the point across to each other?”

“Now why would they do that? They hardly know each other?”

Jack chuckled. “Oh yes, but do you remember our problem-solution method. Two strangers, one circumstance, friendship and then problem-solved?

(Yes, that worked so wonderfully the last time…)

“Again Jack. How and why are they going to meet?”

“You leave that up to me darling.”

At Madison Square Park

Tina watched in awe as Bette held the attention of her bratty ten year olds, teaching them how to draw a tree precisely. Only Bette could make such a dull subject interesting.

“All trees are different—you’ll notice the difference in colors, sizes and even shapes. Is it irregular, shaped like an ice-cream cone, a club—no not the type where you go to drink and dance—maybe even a cloud, or a heart,” she looked at Tina meaningfully and continued, “even the trunks are not all brown. Today, I’ll teach you a 3-step technique of drawing and painting trees in watercolor. And I bet everyone—all of you could probably do a better job than most of my college students. All you need is a sketchbook, a brush and 3-4 colors.” The students scrambled about to grab their materials, listening and watching in rapt attention as Bette slipped into her artist mode and painted a tree true-to-life, within minutes.

Tina grabbed a brush and some colors, deep in thought, as she followed the steps that Bette had outline. She was convinced that something had to be horribly wrong for Bette to not make it as a great artist. She frowned as she thought back to the phone call from Helena Peabody.

“Wow T, I have never seen a blue tree before…” Bette crept up behind her, interrupting her thoughts.

Tina almost jumped out of her skin, dropping the brush and turning around only to place her paint-clad hands on Bette’s shirt.

“Oh shit…” Tina stared at her hand prints on Bette’s shirt, and Bette looked at her shirt and then her hands.

“T…we were using the paintbrush, not finger-painting,” she laughed, trying to quell the dismay on Tina’s face.

“I’m so sorry, I’ll take it to the cleaners for you,” she offered quickly, praying that Bette wouldn’t be too mad.

Bette smirked. “Yes, I’m sure you would do that. Or try to wash it off yourself. No thanks, I actually like the imprint. Very creative T.” She looked down, admiring her shirt, silently resolving to keep it as a memento forever.

“You like it?” Tina looked at Bette in disbelief. She had ruined her shirt and Bette liked it?

“Yes, I’m keeping it like this forever. But why on earth is your tree blue? Is it caught out in the cold?”

“You said to grab some colors. I decided to grab shades of our color.” Tina blushed at her admission.

Bette smiled adoringly at Tina, resisting the impulse to kiss her. She nodded towards the students, “You like what you saw?” She waited for Tina’s judgment with baited breathe.

“Yes. I used to think that I couldn’t love you any more than I already do.”

“And now?”

“I can’t imagine loving you any less than I do.”

Somewhere in New York

“James, you need to retrieve those files from Helena.”

“That … maybe a bit difficult.”

“No, I don’t care how you do it – just make sure that Alice does not get to see those photographs. Destroy every bit of evidence you can find. I also need you to look into Helena’s connection with the art world—if she hates Bette so much, why buy all her paintings and ask her to design a mural for the new Peabody Pediatric Center? Something does not make sense here.”

“Isn’t she going to be suspicious when she cannot find those photographs? What if she comes after us?”

“You let me deal with the consequences of my actions. I got us into this mess. I’ll get us out. But nothing, and I repeat, NOTHING, should happen to Bette. Is that clear?”

“Crystal.”

Madison Square Park

Tina placed the phone down and washed her hands in the restroom when she saw Bette walk in. Their eyes met in the mirror, aware that they were finally alone together, even if momentarily.

“Bette…what are you doing here? Who’s looking after the students?” she said without turning around.

Bette ignored her and came closer, resting her hands on the blonde’s shoulders, sliding them down her arms, coming to rest them on her hips, moving her hands slowly and purposefully in a circular fashion

“I have them occupied with some art lessons,” she softly breathed into her ear eliciting a moan from Tina.

“You realize…you haven’t kissed me today,” Tina managed to gasp out unevenly. Her body trembled with nervousness and sensual excitement when she caught Bette’s passionate gaze in the mirror, her eyes darkened with lust.

Without warning, Bette swung her around by the hips, pulling her closer. With the pad of her finger, she traced a line up from Tina’s collarbone to her ear who arched her neck, exposing it for Bette.

“I intend to…” Bette replied as she nuzzled her neck, cupping Tina’s face and gazing deeply into her eyes.

“Hi…” Bette smiled as she lowered her lips onto Tina’s.

Tina moistened her lips. Her throat suddenly seemed dry, her heart was beating wildly in her chest, her pulse quickening with both anticipation and desperation. “Hey…” she croaked back, keeping a steady eye on the soft pair of lips about to claim hers, closing her eyes as their lips finally met after being apart for more than 12 hours.

Tina could only moan as sensation erupted over her skin in the form of thousands of tiny shivers at the first touch of their lips. But instead of enveloping her mouth in a full kiss, Bette planted soft, fleeting feathery kisses on the corners of her mouth, at the top, and bottom, tiny intervals apart.

“I missed you…”

The voice seemed to come from a long ways off, but the hot breathe on her lips assured Tina that it was Bette.

Tina groaned and wrapped her arms around Bette, pulling her closer, yearning for the kiss to deepen. When she felt Bette catch and play with her bottom lip, her tongue darted out to fully take Bette into her mouth only to have Bette pull back and push her against the wall, arms pinned to the side.

She smiled down at her teasingly watching her chest rise and fall with anticipation, her eyes clouded with passion and desire. Tina struggled to free herself but Bette had a viselike grip on her and was way stronger.

“Do you know what I love most about you?” she placed soft kisses on her brows and eyelids.

The blond stopped struggling, swallowed hard and shook her head, hair falling over her eyes that Bette softly blew back into place.

“Everything.” Her eyelashes fluttered open in surprise but the solemn expression in those adoring teary chocolate brown eyes told her that Bette was serious.

Tina didn’t allow herself to choke with emotion. She replied in the best way she could, pushing her body up, her mouth finally claiming those irresistible lips in a deep, passionate kiss. Bette returned her kiss with equal fervor, letting go of her arms as she cupped her face, sliding her tongue into Tina’s mouth, wanting to devour her. Tongues entwined passionately, tasting and teasing, the kiss growing more intense. Finding her arms free, Tina wrapped them around Bette, running her fingers through her hair and down her back. She hooked her thumbs around the belt loops on Bette’s jeans, tugging her closer.

(Anyone else think these two are the worst chaperones?)

“Do you still have that whip we bought together?”

Tina frowned willing the haze to clear up. “Oh yeah, why?” She placed feverish kisses up the slender mocha neck, before nipping her ear.

Bette groaned and took a fistful of her hair, pulling her head back. “Nothing much. Just wondering how someone would like to be punished, especially for calling me old.”

The oncoming giggle turned into a moan as Bette found a particularly erogenous zone on her neck, underneath her ear.

“I was…I was right about you.”

“In reference to?”

“You have some really weird sexual preferences,” she gasped out, stifling another giggle.

“Tina … I was kidding!” She relaxed visibly when she spied the hint of amusement in her favorite pair of hazel eyes.

“Trust me baby, there’s nothing weird about this.” Her grin was hot and feral, as she pushed her top off her shoulder, fervently sucking on the exposed skin.

“Bette…”

She had never been so edgy and desperate for relief and yet she knew little about what to expect or what to do if she wanted to please and satisfy Bette sexually. Self-doubt flooded through her mind, overpowered only by the love she could feel emanating from deep within Bette. Everywhere Bette was touching her came alive, and she felt a familiar tugging and pulsing deep in her core.

“What are you doing to me?” Tina panted, her world spinning out of control.

Bette tore her mouth from her shoulder, her hands coming up to cup her breasts.

“I haven’t even started yet. God T, you are so sexy.”

Through the layers of clothing, Bette cupped her breasts, gently squeezing and kneading them together, pinching the erect nipples between her fingers.

Tina made a sexy little sound, a cross between a purr and groan as she bit her bottom lip.

Encouraged, Bette sucked the swell of her left breast right above her white satin bra and instantly wanted more.

“Bette…”

“Hmm, if you keep interrupting like this, we’ll never get started.”

Bette grazed her teeth up her neck, her hands traveling down grip Tina’s ass, pulling her closer, pushing her legs apart and grinding into her. More shocks of pleasure vibrated through Tina and she struggled to regain her senses, rein in her arousal.

“Bette… the children…” she could only muster enough strength to protest weakly once she felt her skirt pushed up and Bette’s denim-clad thigh stoking her desire to new heights.

“Don’t be silly. We don’t have children yet.”

She felt Bette boldly slip a finger beneath her thong. It was now or never.

“Bette!” Against her own will and ignoring the protest from her body, she pushed Bette back gently, surprising her, adjusted her top, and escaped outside, giddy with happiness and pleasure. Luckily for both of them, Bette had succeeded in keeping her students occupied enough as she quickly did a headcount, sighing with relief. Had they almost made love in a public restroom? She still couldn’t fathom how desperate and needy she was for Bette, how much she ached for her. Her arousal frightened and excited her at the same time.

After some time, Bette came outside looking for Tina, her shirt and hair fixed. She leaned against a tree, folded her arms and took pleasure in drinking up the sight of Tina—her hair was wild and damp, her skin still flushed. Her heart lept up to her throat when she saw Tina ruffle the hair of one boy, reassuring him that he was on the right track. Suddenly feeling a pair of familial eyes on her, Tina looked up to see Bette smile apologetically at her.

She smiled back reassuringly and walked over to her, mindful to keep her hands to herself.

“I thought I told you to behave,” Tina teased, knowing perfectly well that she was also at fault for what had almost transpired between them.

Bette looked crestfallen and avoided her gaze. “I’m sorry T…I just…I lost control.”

“Bette, its ok,” she stroked her arm. There was no way to keep her hands off Bette –she craved the constant contact, she needed to touch her. “I asked to be punished, remember? Both of us are equally guilty of losing control but I don’t regret anything so stop sulking.”

“You had better not regret anything,” Bette grinned as Tina rolled her eyes. That cocky over-confidence was back not a second after it had evaporated.

“We just need to establish some rules,” Tina said as she looked around, trying to keep an eye on all the kids.

“Rules?” Bette needed more clarity.

“Yes, baby, rules,” Tina smiled and traced the now-dried blue handprint on her shirt. It actually looked quite fashionable, she had to agree with Bette.

“What kind of rules?” Bette looked on quizzically.

“Rules of attraction. Rule #1 – Never end up alone in a room together, anywhere.”

“Erm, that rules out my office…”

Tina ignored her and plunged on ahead. “Rule #2 – You are not allowed to wear tight jeans. Actually, you are not allowed to wear any clothes that hint at your perfect body.”

“You want me to wear a sack?” Bette didn’t like the sound of any of this.

“Rule #3 – No sex …”

“Ok, now you are just trying to kill me.”

Somewhere in Los Angeles

“Fuck me.”

Dana shifted uncomfortably, not knowing how to reply to the suggestion. Alright, it really wasn’t a suggestion, but Alice being … Alice.

“Mr. Piddles, oh my gosh, he is growing cuter by the day,” Alice said, leaning down to stroke the feline creature.

“I think he prefers handsome.” She smiled at Alice again, another one of her goofy grins that Alice returned easily without any pretense or effort.

It had taken her under two weeks to become fast friends with Dana Fairbanks. At Helena’s insistence, she had stolen Mr. Piddles only to pretend to find him and give him back to the distraught tennis player. Dana offered to reward her handsomely, which she refused, but she got the brunette to give her some one-on-one tennis lessons, lessons where she started as many conversations as possible to learn as much about the reclusive Dana Fairbanks as she could.

Dana thought Alice spoke far too much and was far too curious and inquisitive for her own good. And yet, she was drawn to these very qualities.

As for Alice, Dana offered a much-needed distraction from Bette. She could let her guard down and not pretend to be Ms. Perfect anymore for no one was judging and scrutinizing her every move. But the more time she spent in LA away from Bette, the more she missed her wife.

She hadn’t heard from her in over two weeks. Where was she? Had she left home? Did she even miss her? Why hadn’t she called? Bette could have called just to yell at her, but she hadn’t even done that. Worry plagued Alice—maybe it was about time that she called Bette and made up for their last tiff.

Then she thought about Dana. She still wasn’t close to figuring out Dana’s sexual orientation, but it was becoming clear to Alice that even if Dana was gay, there was no way she would ‘out’ her in any magazine. She would kiss her career goodbye, but she couldn’t betray someone this innocent and unpretentious, someone who had only been good to her.

The ringing of her cell phone interrupted her thoughts. It was Helena. Alice excused herself from Dana, walking a few yards away to take the call.

“Hello Helena.”

“Good morning my dear. How is Los Angeles treating you?”

“Great.”

“And how is Bette?”

“Erm…great.” Alice had no intention of telling Helena about her fight with Bette and as far as she knew, Helena was also unaware that Bette was not in Los Angeles with her.

“That’s good to hear,” Helena smirked into the phone. “When do you think you’ll be done?”

Alice carefully thought about her answer as she looked back to Dana playing with Mr. Piddles.

“I don’t know Helena. Maybe a couple more days,” she lied. She knew what she had to do. March into the offices of Diva and offer to resign if it meant protecting Dana. Maybe it would finally make Bette less bitter about her success.

“That’s fantastic Alice. I have something to show you when you get back here. It concerns Bette.”

“Bette?” What on earth did Helena have to show her that concerned Bette?

“Yes, you will be … surprised. Come see me as soon as your flight lands. Come to think of it, I can always get the Peabody jet and come down to Los Angeles to meet you.”

“No, that won’t be necessary Helena. I am sure whatever you have to show me can wait,” Alice said, determined. The last thing she needed was Helena in Los Angeles finding out about the estranged couple and asking more personal questions that Alice didn’t want to answer.

“I see you in a couple days Helena. I gotta go.”

New York Waterfront

“Thank you…” Tina glanced at Bette as they walked along the New York waterfront, enjoying the sunset after spending the entire day together.

“No, thank you, T for allowing me to experience a day in your life. I thoroughly enjoyed myself,” Bette replied with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Yes Porter, I’m sure I know exactly what you enjoyed thoroughly.” Tina swatted her arm playfully as Bette tried to dodge out of her way.

“Bette…”

“Hmm?”

Tina stopped walking trying to find the right words. “There’s so much going on in my head. So much I need to tell you. So much I want to hear. I don’t know if we’ll get the chance. I’m so scared, I don’t know what to do. And I don’t want you to think less of me due to certain things I may have done in the past.”

Bette put her hands on her shoulders, massaging them in a reassuring gesture. “You are kidding right? T, I worship you, I can never think less of you. I love you so much. I don’t think you realize just how much…”

“How much?” Hazel eyes brimming with fear and apprehension searched for strength in the chocolate brown ones.

Bette cupped her face gently, staring deeply into her eyes. “I have loved you since the first time I saw you Tina. I didn’t realize it then but today I must love you with all my life; I don’t know how not to love you. Being with you is not a choice, not a want, it’s a need T. I need you just like I need air to breath. Even if you were to err, to alter or change in some way, I would continue to love you. If the world turned against you, I would cling closer, we would defy them and endure everything together.”

“You are a gone case Porter.” Tina was slightly relieved, the loving words having their desired effect. Maybe Bette would forgive her.

Bette kissed her forehead. “I seriously am. You can make me the happiest person alive or you can destroy me. You hold so much power over me T. I promised myself that I would never be this open and vulnerable to anyone. After my accident, I held the world at arms length. But then you came along and changed everything. If I die for you right now, I would have lived my entire life.” Her eyes filled with unshed tears. She was hopelessly in love and too far gone to retreat.

“Shh, don’t say that please. I don’t want anything to ever happen to you. I won’t let anything happen to you,” she said with a firm steely determination in her voice, hugging her tightly.

“Do you believe in destiny Tina?” Bette pressed kisses into her hair.

“I no longer know what to believe in. I don’t even know who I am anymore without you.”

“I am nothing without you too. I believe this is our destiny T. That we are meant to be together; that we were always meant to be together; that the entire universe has conspired to bring us together. And we will be together come what may. Just like in the movies and fairytales, everything gets better in the end, everyone lives happily ever after. So stop worrying about tomorrow and live for today.”

“But…”

She placed a finger on the protesting lips, silencing Tina. “Shh…Tina, I want us to take our time. I want to give you time to figure out what you need to do. I need to find a way to break this to Alice. And I want to make sure that I can give you everything you need when we are finally together.”

“What do you mean by that? You are the only thing I need Bette; the only one I want.” She didn’t even try to keep the growing desperation out of her voice.

Bette remained calm and conciliatory. “What about your family Tina? What about your Dad? What about your dreams of having a child? Your husband … he is a successful CEO of an expanding PR firm and I am a nobody. To make it worse, I am also a cripple. Living with me would be a big adjustment Tina. So would taking on this ‘alternative’ lifestyle.”

“That is…that is if you want that,” she added quickly.

“Don’t be silly Bette. And don’t ever call yourself a cripple again. When I fell in love with you, I realized it didn’t matter whether I was gay, straight or bisexual. Those questions are secondary baby. I don’t want the comforts of a luxurious or mainstream lifestyle if it means not having you in my life. I have wanted to have my own child for so long but in hindsight, I was trying to fill the void in my marriage, to bring someone into the relationship so I would feel less empty. When I’m with you, I’d rather not have anything or anyone between us. I feel complete.”

“You complete me too T … I know I am deeply flawed and imperfect, but I promise to improve myself, to make myself worthy of you.”

“Are you even listening to me? I don’t want you to become someone else or to improve—you are perfect for me Bette Porter.” She pulled her neck down to place a long lingering kiss on her lips, hoping that the kiss would cement her unconditional love for Bette.

“Mmhmm, good then. Because it’s hard to improve on perfection,” she dodged another blow from Tina.

“You must have been a boxer in your past life,” Bette teased.

“Whoever or whatever I was in my past life, I doubt I was anything without you.”

Tina sealed those words with yet another kiss.