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Till We Meet Again | A Bette-Tina Beginning Chapter 33

She was truly an Aeschylusian hero caught in the contemporary web of complex urban relationships. Her values and morals, her ideas about loyalty and commitment, were in a state of suspension. Truth be told, Bette had a high level of disdain for people who cheated. Her father had done so when she was much younger, leaving her motherless, and there was no way she would have chosen that path for herself. But here she was unable to stop herself, in the arms of another woman, with little clue about the whereabouts of her own wife. She had walked away at first and chosen the path that involved the least pain for everyone only to be redirected to another path by Tina uttering three words:

I like blue.

That’s all it had taken.

And now she was on the path that held the gravest consequences for all people involved, the path which would bring the most pain to everyone she loved.

She had never stopped to question it until the events that had occurred earlier in the night.

Helena telling Tina to dump Bette. Tina and Helena dancing intimately in each other’s arms. Tina taking Helena home. James and those photos of Tina and her making out. His admission that Helena was after Alice. And Tina’s unwillingness to come clean with her until the timing suited her.

It all added to confusion for Bette and the seeds of doubt had already been planted. But she could not doubt Tina. That would be akin to doubting herself, and Bette Porter would not allow that to happen.

Bette shuddered and snapped out of her reverie when Tina directed her towards the elevator.

“Baby how are you feeling?” Hazel eyes full of concern, warmth and love peered up at her.

“Crappy.” Bette sniffled. No, she wouldn’t and couldn’t doubt those eyes.

“I told you not to get wet in the rain,” Tina chided.

“I didn’t have an option. This amazing woman launched herself at me and I was rendered powerless to resist her charms.” The brunette smirked back at her. “I feel like I almost lost my virginity all over again.”

Tina giggled. “Really? I hope she was worth it.”

“I have yet to find out.” Bette flashed another one of her cocky grins and Tina couldn’t help but smile back.

They stepped into the elevator, relieved to find it empty and hoping it would remain that way this late at night. Tina pressed the button for one of the top most floors and turned around even as the doors closed with indeterminable slowness, her eyes searching her soul.

“I am glad you still have your sense of humor intact. Seriously though, how are you doing?” She closed the gap between them, running her hands through the mass of wet curls, her face contorted in worry.

Bette smiled away her concerns, capturing her hand and placing a light kiss on her knuckles.

“I have been better. But we are together and right now, that is all I need to feel better.”

“You are such an incorrigible flirt,” Tina laughed nervously and slapped her shoulder, turning away from Bette.

Bette combed some of Tina’s hair back, leaning down to whisper in one ear. “No. I just love you so much that I cannot even find words to describe how I feel.” Her arms encircled Tina’s waist, the promise in her words hanging in the air. Her voice, deep and low, sent heat throbbing deep inside Tina, heart pounding in her chest. Tina inhaled deeply, forcing back a full-fledged attack of desire.

Stop it Tina. You are here to meet Peggy Peabody and come clean to Bette, her head screamed.

Alas, her heart was only tuned in to Bette. She found herself being swung around in the next second, staring up into the most gorgeous set of deep brown eyes that were now smoldered over in passion against the harsh light of the elevator.

“Bette…”

A tiny whisper. A plea. Almost a prayer.

Bette cupped her face then, her lips mere centimeters away from claiming their destination.

“Beautiful…” Bette’s voice was thick with emotion, with love and lust spiraling out of control. She leaned down capturing the lips meant for her in a sweet, gentle kiss that didn’t last more than a few seconds and still caused Tina to moan and shiver in delight. Her hands moved to caressing the damp blonde hair and she drew back slightly to look deeply into a set of loving, hazel eyes.

The doors to the elevator opened, but they stood there lost in the warmth and love of their embrace.

“T, whatever you need to tell me, whatever you may have done in the past, it doesn’t matter. I don’t want you to be afraid of me T, afraid to tell me things, afraid to open up to me. It doesn’t work that way.”

She placed a kiss full of hope and promise on her forehead.

Tina felt the tears threatening to break lose. She knew she didn’t deserve this much understanding. It wasn’t Bette that she feared, it was her reaction. How was Bette going to react when she finds out about what Helena had done? The ever-so temperamental Bette Porter might not take things sitting down and confront Helena, which scared Tina. And what about Tina? Would Bette forgive her transgressions?

She simply nodded wordlessly and led Bette out of the elevator towards their room.

**********

Tina opened the door behind them and walked into the suite, dropping the bag on the floor and kicking off her shoes before removing her coat and flopping down on the couch.

Bette entered and stood in amazement at the suite which looked more like an apartment equipped with the amenities of a luxury hotel. Bette felt more confused than ill. She took off her own coat and eased herself on the couch and waited for an explanation for The Adventures of Bette and Tina in BizzaroWorld.

It was not forthcoming.

“We are breaking Rule #1.” She mused to no one in particular.

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

Tina buried her face in her hands, a turmoil of emotions coursing through her veins—exhaustion, guilt, worry, love, lust … She just needed a couple minutes to get her bearings.

Bette sneezed and cleared her throat awkwardly, not knowing how to break the ice. She looked around the suite, impressed by the décor.

“You know T, you don’t need to work so hard to seduce me; all you need to do is ask. I am ever-ready.”

Tina looked up and managed a weak grin. “Like the alkaline battery that eventually runs out of juice?” Tina quipped. She couldn’t help it – Bette gave her an opening and she had to grab it with both hands.

Bette frowned and considered her quietly. A dozen questions were running through her mind. What were they doing here? How was Tina involved with Helena? Did that rich British brat have anything going on with Alice? What was Tina hiding from her? What was she doing with Helena tonight at her mansion? Why did she have pictures of them lip-locked in her car?

“What Porter, ran out of smart witty replies?”

Bette didn’t answer. She got up and moved to sit on the couch occupied by her love, bringing Tina’s legs to rest on her lap, removing her shoes and massaging her tired feet, methodically yet lovingly.

“Mmm…That feels good.”

Her next words were uttered in quiet reflection.

“Something tells me that this is not supposed to the night we break all the rules and ….” She didn’t need to finish the sentence.

“What’s going on T?”

Tina gulped. “You aren’t feeling well. We should really get you out of these clothes and into something warm. I’ll go draw a hot bath for you. Then we can talk afterwards.”

“A cold won’t kill me Tina. But what you are hiding from me might just do permanent damage.” She did not mean to sound harsh and hyperbolic, but Bette was running out of patience. She stopped massaging her feet, watching Tina intently.

“What’s going on Tina?”

Tina coughed, shuffled her feet nervously, got up and started to pace the room. “You know that I love you right?”

Not the best start to a conversation.

“What does that have to do with Helena and Alice? Or the pictures of us making out that I found in your car?” Her eyes were stormy, clouded with restrained anger.

Tina approached Bette, trying to soothe her, willing her to temper down.

“Bette, baby, you are the love of my life. I don’t care how corny that sounds. You are the beginning and the end. And you are the best part as well. Please trust me.”

“I do trust you. It’s the only reason that I am still here T. Just answer my questions, please T.”

“There is no Helena and Alice. There’s just Helena who has carried a torch for Alice for far too long and I am beginning to think that she may have mental issues beyond her control.” That was an understatement.

“How do you know this for sure?”

“At the wedding, my wedding…” Tina shut her eyes, unwilling to come to terms with what had happened.

“What about your wedding?” Bette cringed at the unpleasant memory. It was the last thing she wanted to remember. She had spent too much time painting away her demons.

“The limo that crashed into you…”

Bette waited.

“I have reason to believe that was done by Helena.”

“What?! Oh c’mon T, Helena has been nothing but supportive of Alice and my artwork. She just recently asked me if I wanted to work on a mural for one of her hospitals. Why would…It was an accident.”

Tina shook her head rapidly, crying openly now. Could Bette really handle this?

“Because she is in love with Alice! No, that is the wrong word. She is fixated, obsessed with Alice. At least, that’s what she told me when she came to me.”

Bette regarded her silently, wanting to reach out and take Tina in her arms but not before she had fully grasped the situation.

“You are telling me that … Someone is responsible for this … What happened to me wasn’t just my fate?”

Tina wiped her tears and wordlessly moved to remove a tape recorder and video tape from her bag.

“I want you to listen to this.”

A steady stream of conversations between Helena and Tina ensues.

“Don’t take offense to this Tina. But I sometimes wish things had gone the way I had planned them on your wedding day.”

…

“I only have one question Helena. Why me? You could have chosen any blonde bimbo who would have been more than happy to work for your millions. Why choose me to play with her life?”

…

“I’ll tell you part of why Bette is struggling. Yours truly hired some art critics on the payroll to trash … I would make sure to buy any painting that she produced so …”

An eerie silence filled the space left by the taped recorded conversations.

The brunette just sat there, almost in a catatonic state. Had she even heard the conversations?

“Bette …”

She was tired of the silence, awaiting her judgment. Some reaction from Bette was better than no reaction at all.

Then finally, the object of her affection spoke.

“T, did you quit your day job?”

Tina smiled, a little relieved but still cautious.

Bette smiled and extended her right arm.

“Come here…” She didn’t need any further invitations. Tina settled down with her head on Bette’s right shoulder, basking in the comfort of her arms.

“What have you been up to baby?”

“Bette, she single-handedly ruined your life; I was just trying to fix that.”

“With the help of your friend, James? Did you try opening the phonebook for a real detective? Plenty unemployed ones around the metro area I am sure.”

“I didn’t know what to do, whom to go to. I couldn’t trust anyone. And I felt like I owed you this. I felt responsible for the ruin she has brought onto you.”

“No one can ruin someone without their consent T. I am just as much to blame for the demise of my career.”

“How can you say that?! That woman admits to derailing your efforts, your work! And she comes close to admitting that she tried to kill you as well!”

“Helena sounds very disturbed T. I am sure she didn’t mean any of this.”

Tina drew back in shock and disbelief.

“How can you be so calm about this? Bette, baby, you have lived with this pain for more than three years. It has directly come in the way of your relationships, your work, your success and your life.”

“And if I got angry and stormed around about it in New York City, what would change Tina? Nothing. This pain I carry has been a constant reminder of the day I met you. It hasn’t come in the way of us … If it wasn’t for Helena and all her diabolic deeds, we might not be here today. Have you thought about that?” Bette regarded her with teary eyes.

Tina remained silent and turned her body away from Bette.

“You are right. You would be happily married to Alice still and living your dreams.” Her voice was shaky, and her shoulders sagged in defeat.

“And…I wouldn’t have come in the way.”

“T…please don’t think that. We were meant to meet again, to fall in love. Don’t you think everything happens for a reason?”

“Bette…I am responsible for how your relationship with Alice has deteriorated.”

“Oh please, you cannot blame yourself for that debacle. Do you blame me for coming between you and Eric?”

“That’s preposterous. And a bad example. You weren’t hired to do so.”

Bette inhaled sharply, regarding her carefully.

“I have been meaning to ask you. How did you get involved in all this Tina?

Tina was quiet for a moment. This was the part she feared most. She took a deep breath and jumped, hoping her love would catch her.

“Helena hired me only to drive a wedge between you and Alice. Actually, hired is probably not the right word.”

She let the words sink in, almost afraid to look at Bette, afraid to be judged by her and to lose the love of her life.

Finally, she found the courage to look up, and saw Bette, her face downcast and stricken.

“Bette…”

“I don’t believe that. I can’t believe that. You aren’t playing with me, are you?”

Her voice was soft and fearful. She believed in Tina but needed reassurance badly.

“No baby, of course not. Her offer was enticing but what I feel for you is real. That’s precisely why I agreed to get involved. I did it to protect you. I need you to believe me.”

Tina put a reassuring hand on Bette’s knee.

“Those photos of us?”

“Helena wanted as evidence…”

“But they are not from…”

“No!”

“So what happened between us, what has happened, was not a plan?”

Tina winced.

“Helena bought the tickets to the Opera.”

“The night I realized my love for you…”

“She also had a videotape of our Bed, Bath and Beyond encounter.”

Bette shut her eyes tightly. This was so not happening.

She stood up and limp-paced around the room.

“Did she pay for this hotel room as well?” Her voice was harsh and caught Tina off-guard.

“No…”

“Any cameras here that I should know about? A live-feed? Or I am supposed to be busted for ‘cheating’ on a Cheaters episode? Tina, you have made our private lives into an entertainment worth selling to Hollywood!”

“Bette, please stop. You have it all wrong.”

“Yes, of course I am wrong. I am wrong for feeling like I have been played like a fool. If I hadn’t seen you and Helena together in the club tonight, when would you have come clean Tina? How would this have ended? You are not a hero in one of your movies Tina; you are a human being that can also get hurt. Did you ever stop to think how I would feel if something had happened to you while you were out playing ‘Operation Protect-Bette?’ Do you not have enough drama in your daily life that you have to simulate some more? Or did Helena offer you something far more entertaining?”

“STOP IT! I was only trying to protect you. What Helena had to give has nothing to do with anything.” Tina buried her face in her hands again.

“Yeah?” Bette was not about to let Tina off the hook. “What was it T? What did she offer you? What was it that you cannot even face me right now?”

Tina got up from the couch and reached for the nicely chilled bottle of complementary wine on the table. She needed some liquid courage to get through the night.

“T…” The warning signals were going off loud and clear in Bette’s head.

“Would you like some?”

“No, thanks.”

Tina took a sip. And then drank the entire glass. She poured herself another glass.

“T…” Bette wasn’t all that angry anymore, just concerned.

“Motherhood.” Tina closed her eyes tightly, willing to hold back the floodgate of tears threatening to well over. She has her back to Bette, afraid of admitting her weakness.

“What?!” Bette limped over to Tina and turned her around to face her.

The wine glass slipped from her hand and landed on the carpet.

“Look at me. Forget about cleaning that, the hotel has room-service and you are not part of the staff. What do you mean?”

“I swear I didn’t do it for that. Yes, I felt incomplete and inadequate before but not since I have met you.”

“Again, what do you mean Tina?”

Tina crumbled in her arms. For so many weeks, she had been battling everyone in her life–Her responsibilities towards her marriage and her father, her less than ideal work situation, Helena, and her feelings for Bette. It tore her down and left her exhausted.

“Helena had a team of the best doctors working on my case,” she managed to explain between sobs.

“Why would you need that when Eric has all the money in the world and could get the same for you?”

“The trials, which involved hormone injections not approved by the FDA, were experimental with a lot of side-effects and very much in the early stages of development. As far as I can understand, they figured out that my brain did not produce enough of one set of hormones to lead to full egg maturity. I thought long and hard about it. Eric would never have approved.”

She could see Bette grow cold and tense.

“Are you…Are you telling me that you submitted yourself to something dangerous?”

Tina looked fearfully in her eyes and nodded.

Bette staggered to her feet, absolutely furious and seething. “Fuck Tina! She used you as her guinea pig. She blackmailed you using your biggest weakness!”

Bette banged her fist on the wall, and winced in pain.

“Bette!”

“I am not going to just let it go.” She looked around for the car keys, ready to get out of the hotel and deal Helena a taste of her own medicine.

Tina was quick to interject. “Going over there is not going to achieve anything productive. Helena is probably out for the night. And no, she failed to blackmail me because of my biggest weakness.”

“What?”

Tina took her injured hand, kissing it tenderly.

“You, baby.”

“I would like to be considered your strength. Our love is not a weakness. It helps me get through the day just knowing and having you as a part of me.”

“You are my strength too babe. If it wasn’t for our love, I probably would not be standing up to Helena in my own underhanded way. I wouldn’t have gotten James involved to derail her efforts and I definitely would not be here right now…”

“Alice and my relationship has pretty much disintegrated. How have you derailed Helena, Tina? She seems to have gotten what she wanted without trying.”

“Not when you make me feel like this.”

For the second time tonight, Tina grabbed Bette to kiss her and all their resistance cracked. Bette reciprocated and took Tina into her arms, kissing her fiercely, with increasing passion.

A million reasons to stop this madness ran through her head. There was something Tina was hiding. They still had to fill in the blanks. They had to do things the right way. Bette did not care anymore, could not give a goddamn about anything besides the touch and feel of Tina. Call it comfort, lust or love, it was all experienced in heaven. And it was not supposed to make sense.

She kept her fear and loss out of the kiss, pouring love and passion instead, leading them into the bedroom suite, all the while not breaking the kiss.

Heat flew out of her hazel eyes paralleled only by the shimmering love in the deep brown eyes. Bette was hungry for Tina—her lips sapped all her will, moving wildly and possessively over hers. Bette arrogantly commanded Tina to open her mouth, coaxing her to part her lips, demanding her submission. Wanting to take in all of Bette, Tina dug her nails into her back, pushing Bette closer to her as she pushed back. Bette’s tortured groan filled the air when Tina began a rhythmic sucking of her tongue. Their quivering lips signaled their mounting passion.

Tina trembled uncontrollably as hot arrows of need coiled around her nerve ends, blistering her veins and drenching her to the core. Her legs hit the edge of the bed and she pulled Bette down on top of her.

The kiss slowed down as Bette held Tina tightly to her, laying soft, gentle caressing kisses on her lips that sent Tina to new dizzying heights.

Her hands came alive, stroking the brunette’s face, her neck, down to unzip her dress, pulling it off her in one swift move.

Losing eye contact momentarily, Tina let her eyes rake shamelessly over Bette’s almost-naked body above her. She drank in the caramel brown perfection, the kissable lips with the strong stubborn jawline, ripped shoulders and well-sculpted arms and abs. Bette was breathtaking, a divine goddess, perfect in size and symmetry. Fuck, watching her was making Tina short of breath, igniting a fire between her thighs. She reached out to lightly run her hands over the strong shoulders and arms, hungrily eyeing her ripe breasts covered by a thin shred of clothing, bearing fruits for Tina, coming down to her stomach, amazed at how the ab muscles rippled beneath her fingers.

“Will I do…?” Bette asked softly, suddenly unsure and insecure about herself. In fact, she was terrified as she realized this was the first time that Tina had probably seen and felt a woman so intimately. Her sense of responsibility escalated—she knew she had to take it slow, take baby steps for Tina. Now she was unsure whether this was a good idea.

Tina was positively drooling, and momentarily lost in the perfection that was Bette Porter. She lightly touched the black lingerie, running her fingers alongside her hips and then running her hands up the mocha’s perfect backside. The toned muscles, curves, the soft silky texture of her skin, the absence of hair–it thrilled Tina beyond belief. She mentally chastised herself for waiting so long.

“Oh you will DO perfectly baby…” Tina finally found her voice, hoarse and lusty. Tina grabbed Bette’s head with both hands and pulled her down for a scorching kiss, moaning with pleasure as she felt Bette pull her tightly against her, devouring her mouth, matching her stroke for stroke.

Bette was slowly and steadily losing control. She allowed Tina to continue her explorations without interference, willing herself not to take advantage of Tina.

Oh who am I kidding? She has me under her thumb!

“You have way too many clothes on…” Bette grumbled into her mouth as Tina reached behind to unclasp and get rid of the bra before moving her panties down with her toes.

“Not my problem…” she giggled, the light-hearted melody was music to Bette’s ears. But then she saw her breasts, her succulent breasts with the nipples round, rosy and erect.

She had to taste them, had to take them into her mouth.

“Fuck…”

“We are getting there…” Bette mused. She watched Tina, who seemed like a child fascinated with their first plaything. She gasped when she felt the blonde cup her breasts, kneading them ever so lightly.

It was Tina’s turn to be surprised as Bette ripped open her shirt, unclasped her bra, throwing it across the room and then got up to unbutton and tear her jeans and panties off, dropping them to the side of the bed. She took a moment to gaze down at Tina, sucking in a sharp breath as she stared at her creamy body, accentuated by tiny freckles, the most perfect breasts, her eyes traveling down to her smooth and waxed pussy. Tina flushed under her intense gaze, chest heaving, her center throbbing with need and arousal for the woman who was simply sex-on-legs, the woman with whom she was undeniably, irrevocably in love.

“Bette…” her eyes pleaded as her mouth softly voiced her need and desire for Bette.

She lowered her magnificent body down on Tina and gasped in pleasure as their naked bodies came together for the first time. God, she was already addicted to the feel of Tina against her, their bodies fitting perfectly, made for each other.

She pulled Tina’s mouth to hers again, this time sliding her tongue past her lush lips and teasing the tiny mate she withheld, coaxing her to play with her. Tina sighed softly, her sweet tongue skidding delightfully over Bette’s taste buds as she wrapped herself around her lover, moaning with increased arousal. She responded to Bette so easily, so fully, holding nothing back, and showing not hesitation, her trust in Bette implicit.

Bette pulled away from Tina’s tempting lips reluctantly, gathering fistfuls of blonde silky hair. She pressed her lips softly to Tina’s forehead, her cheeks, the brooms of her eyelashes, all the while listening to how Tina was breathing, and then how her breath would stop in little anticipatory hitches as Bette moved to her new target.

“If you don’t want this, you have to tell me to stop now.” Bette tore her lips from Tina, gasping for words, knowing that soon she would leave the rational world behind. “And please don’t tell me to stop.”

“Don’t stop,” she whispered back. “Don’t ever stop.”

Tina parted her lips and open her legs, offering herself to Bette, giving her the green light to be taken and indelibly marked.