Tina did something that Tina had always done very well. She hid.
SheBar had so many places to hide, Tina thought, that nobody, not even the IRS, could find her. She nursed her drink; she wasn't sure what it was and she had stopped counting how many it was after the sixth. She was a little more than tipsy tonight, but she wasn't wasted. She wasn't even drunk, really. Call it genetics, but Tina alcohol tolerance was quite high—just something she inherited from her father.
She stared into the glass, wondering why she'd even bothered to come out tonight—and with Brenda, nonetheless. Brenda was nice, smart, funny, and a pretty decent lay, but she wasn't really Tina's type. She didn't know what it was that was missing from Brenda, but she could come up with it, she thought, if she kept looking into this glass.
She rolled the remaining liquid around the glass, knowing that she'd need to find a way home tonight. There was no way she'd go home with Brenda. Brenda was too wild for her. She couldn't see herself doing this every night, running around from club to club, dancing until the sun comes up. She just wanted to go home, maybe snuggle up with someone special.
The things she used to do when she was with Bette.
Maybe that was her motivation to show up tonight. Bette was going to be there—with Jodi.
Oh, Jodi. She watched them with a jealousy that she hadn't felt before. It was true that, when women showed Bette attention, which happened often, she'd find herself becoming a little jealous, but it was never like this. Out of all of those times, Tina knew that Bette's heart belonged to her and only her. Besides, Tina never seemed to be alone for very long. After Bette cheated, it didn't take long for Tina to started dating Helena, then she got back with Bette, then left Bette and started dating Henry, and now she was alone.
She was utterly and totally alone for the first time in 10 years. And it seemed as if the only person she wanted to spend time with, was claimed. Someone had finally taken Bette from her and that someone's name was Jodi.
Too engrossed in her own thoughts, she barely noticed that the person she loved—the person she wanted back—had entered the room.
Tina turned, upon hearing footsteps. Bette stood there, looking as beautiful as humanly possible, holding her own drink. Bette raises her hand.
"Hey."
"Hey." Tina had so much more to say but couldn't begin to form words that made any sense.
"What are you doing here all by yourself?" With Bette's voice, it sounded more like a pick-up line than a concerned question.
Hiding, sulking in my own loneliness, missing you.
Of course, Tina didn't answer that way. Something that she also did very well was hiding her feelings.
Her eyes searched for an answer and she let out an exasperated sigh, followed by a chuckle, "I don't know. Uh, what are you doing here?"
Her voice was clearly slurred.
"I was just looking for Shane. She disappeared. I promised I wouldn't leave without her."
Tina sighed. Bette was always so loyal to her friends. Even if you've done her wrong, she never once gave up on you.
Bette was so close but so far away at that moment for Tina, though. She longed to be in that embrace again; where she knew that Bette would do anything for her.