Bette Porter stared at the floor of the secluded corner of the club as her former partner stood up to leave. The sequins of Tina Kennard's dress caught the light as she took a step forward. As if in a trance, Bette reached out a hand and let her fingers encircle the blonde's wrist. She pulled herself to her feet and their eyes met, piercing into the very soul of one another for a split second before the brunette's free hand clutched wildly at the back of Tina's neck. She crashed their lips together desperately, letting her hands caress the strong neck of the blonde as she had done so many times before. Tina responded immediately, her hands tangling into the brunette's wild curls as she returned the kiss with her own urgency. Losing herself in the very essence that was Tina, Bette slowed the movement of her lips to meet the blonde's with languid kisses. Hands slid down to waists as they let their mouths speak in a way they had been unable to do for years, but the kiss was deep enough for neither of them so they let their fingers tug on one anothers necks as they drank in the taste that was all too familiar. Their lips broke apart as they cupped each other's cheeks. The emotion of the situation overwhelmed Bette, she felt it crash over her and entangle with the sheer desire she was feeling for the woman before her. She was unable to prevent the tears from flowing, they fell as a strangled sob caught in the back of her throat. She clung to the blonde as she felt fingers running through her hair, down her arms, soothing her in a way that only Tina had ever been able to do. The blonde's hands came to her face and tilted her chin upwards as her nose nudged against the brunette's forehead. Bette lifted her head and in a split second their lips were connected again, every kiss hungrier than the last. The tears continued to spill down her cheeks as they kissed, but Tina knew as she wrapped her arms around the brunette, she understood that this was what Bette needed in this moment.
The gang had gathered at the Planet for what could only be described as a morning-after-the-night-before brunch. The hangovers on display were of varying degrees of severity. Shane, who had probably drunk more than most of her friends put together, was sitting silently awaiting her daily double espresso. Then again, this was no different from an average Saturday morning for the skinny brunette. Alice appeared to be the one of the group suffering the most. Well, she was the one being most vocal about her suffering anyway. Helena hid her eyes behind oversized sunglasses and sipped on a large coffee, slowly regaining her energy. Bette, who hadn't really drunk anything the night before, could have fooled everyone into believing she had an extreme hangover as she sat in her seat as silent as Shane, her gaze focused somewhere in the distance.
Always keen to assert her independence, Angelica was at the counter ordering drinks for Shane and her Momma B from her Auntie Kit.
"Sha-ane, Momma Beeee!" Angelica called in a sing-songy voice as she returned from the counter.
Shane grunted her version of a thank you as she took the small mug from the little girls hands.
"You are a grown up girl, aren't you?" the skinny brunette turned to her surrogate niece, revitalised almost instantly by the caffeine-overloaded shot.
"I'm not a girl Auntie Shane, I'm a Princess" Angelica responded with her trademark Porter pout.
"Here you go" came a voice from over Bette's shoulder as she watched familiar hands put down her coffee infront of her "I didn't want her spilling it all over herself"
"Thanks" Bette replied quietly without looking up.
"Arghhhhhhhhhhhh" Alice groaned, breaking the silence before anyone had a chance to notice the tension between Angelica's two mothers.
"Al please, you're hurting my head" complained Helena.
"I think I'm dying"
"What?!" Angelica's bottom lip began to quiver.
"Stop being so melodramatic" Tina scolded Alice "Your Auntie Alice is just being silly"
"Maybe you should go sit on her lap and make her feel better" Shane suggested, suppressing a wicked grin.
Alice glared at Shane as Angelica skipped happily over to her and clambered on her lap, patting her on the head as her version of "making Alice feel better".
"Excuse me, I'm just going to the bathroom" Bette said softly, leaving the table, fully aware of the pair of hazel eyes burning a hole in her back.
Angelica's form of nursing had moved on to singing Alice nursery rhymes, which left Shane fighting back a giggle and avoiding Alice's death glare. Tina took the opportunity to slip away from the table unnoticed, content in the knowledge that her friends would look after her daughter, if not the other way round.
She made her way to the bathroom at the back of the Planet and found Bette bent over the sink, dabbing cold water on her face.
"Bette" she said softly, not wanting to scare the brunette who was clearly lost in her thoughts.
Bette lifted her head and their eyes met in the mirror for the first time since she had walked away the night before. They stood there for a moment and time seemed to stand still. Neither of them wanted to break the intensity of the gaze as they both tried to read the other's minds.
It was Bette who broke the moment first, turning to face her ex-partner.
"I…" she stammered, trying to find the words to explain her actions "I'm sorry T"
"What are you sorry for?" asked Tina gently.
Bette paused. What was she sorry for? What a loaded question. Which part of her actions in the last 24 hours should she apologise for? There were so many to choose from. After taking a deep breath, she knew what she had to do.
"For kissing you"
The statement came out as barely a whisper, but cut sharply into Tina as though it had been screamed in her face. She tried to keep herself together and not let her face show that she was breaking inside, an exercise which was pointless considering the depth of knowledge that the brunette had about her facial expressions.
"Are you?" she asked, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
"T I shouldn't have done it, I accept full responsibility. You'd been drinking and I was emotional and just finding it weird I guess"
"Finding what weird?"
"Just…" Bette looked down at her hands, staring intently at her fingers as they intertwined "hearing about you and Brenda. I know I have no right, but it was weird for me to hear how you slept with her on the first date and then to see you with her…." she trailed off and prepared herself for the inevitable ear bashing that she was about to receive.
"You're right Bette, you have no right" Tina snapped "You're with Jodie and you and I finished a long time ago. You have no right to be jealous or get involved in my love life. And you certainly had no right to kiss me like that if you didn't mean it"
The blonde just managed to get out the last words before the tears that had been threatening earlier spilled onto her cheeks. She turned to leave but felt strong arms wrapping round her waist from behind before she could reach the door.
"T…wait"
"Let me go Bette"
"No, not until you hear me out"
Tina tried to struggle but she knew it was pointless, the brunette had always been stronger than her.
"I've heard enough"
"Tina…" Bette started, then lowered her voice to a whisper in the blondes ear "T I could never not mean it with you"
The blonde shivered at the words as she felt the arms drop from around her, Bette's point having been made. But it was too late, she vowed, her defences already up. She couldn't get her hopes up again for the second time in 24 hours only to have them crushed again. And it was with that mentality that she turned to Bette.
"Look, it was just a kiss ok. I had way too much to drink last night anyway. Let's just chalk it up to a stupid bit of nostalgia on both our parts and leave it at that"
And with that Tina walked out of the bathroom, leaving behind a gobsmacked Bette. She ran a hand through her hair. Shit Porter, she thought to herself, you've gone and got yourself in a right mess here. You swore you'd never hurt her again, and now look what's happened. And after all the preaching you've done to Jodie about monogamy. Maybe you haven't changed at all. You're the same old cheater you always were.
It was with a heavy heart that Bette returned from the bathroom. However, even she had to crack a smile at her daughter giving Alice her own special version of a "head massage".
"Angie, maybe you should leave your Auntie Alice alone now" Bette suggested, feeling an uncharacteristic moment of sympathy for her friend.
"But I'm helping Momma" Angelica retorted.
"Come on Angie, it's time for us to go"
"Okaaaaay" grumbled the little girl.
"What's with all the rushing off Porter?" asked Alice.
"I'm sorry Al, would you prefer to continue with your head massage?" Bette asked sarcastically.
"No" answered Alice quickly "It's just that TK rushed off a minute ago and now you're going"
"Tina's left?"
"Yeah, she said her hangover had kicked in and she was feeling sick"
"Oh…well she did seem to drink a lot last night" Bette reasoned.
"Didn't we all" grumbled Helena, slouching back in her seat.
Bette gathered her and Angelica's belongings, bending to pick her bag up from the floor when she spotted Tina's car keys lying by the chair that she had previously occupied. She picked them up without saying a word and waved goodbye to her friends as she led her daughter outside to the car.
A few spaces down stood the harassed looking blonde, searching fruitlessly through her handbag.
"Looking for these" Bette smirked slightly, holding out the missing keys.
"Yes" sighed a relieved Tina "thank you"
"You're welcome"
The two women stared at each other for the second time that morning.
"Will you…." Bette took a deep breath, an unusual bout of nerves for the normally confident brunette "Will you be at Jenny's dinner party tomorrow?"
"Why, you want me to watch Angie so you and Jodie can go?"
"No, Kit's looking after Angie. I just wanted to know if you'll be there"
"I'll be there. God forbid I miss an opportunity to schmooze with the stars of Lez Girls" the blonde replied with a wry smile, which Bette returned.
"I look forward to seeing you in action" the brunette teased with a wink.
"Why Ms Porter, are you flirting with me?"
The smile remained on Bette's face as she replied "Oh this is nothing Kennard. But I'm afraid that innocent ears prevent me from saying anything further"
Tina gulped, annoyed at herself for the effect that Bette was having on her, even after her resolve in the bathroom.
"Momma T?" piped up Angelica, unwittingly breaking the moment between her mothers.
"Yes sweetie?" asked Tina.
"Can you come and read me my bedtime story tonight?"
"No honey, you're staying with Momma B tonight"
"But you do the voices so much better" the Porter pout was back.
"T…you could come for dinner and read Angie her bedtime story…if you don't have somewhere else to be that is?" Bette offered nervously.
Tina felt her resolve melting away at the sight of two pairs of Porter puppy eyes looking at her.
"I guess it beats a night infront of the tv by myself"
"Yay!" Angelica ran to her blonde mother and threw her arms round her. Bette resisted the urge to do the same.
"If you come by about 6 I'll have dinner ready"
"You're cooking?" Tina asked incredulously.
"Momma B makes yummy food" Angelica informed her mother proudly.
"Still not a patch on your Momma T, but I can only try"
"Bette…will umm…will Jodie be there?" Tina asked hesitantly.
"No, it'll just be us and this little monster" the brunette replied, ruffling Angelica's hair.
"Hey!" Angelica protested "I'm not a monster, I'm a Princess!"
The two women laughed.
"I'll see you both at 6" Tina said with a smile.
Both women turned to unlock their cars and exhaled, both nervous about what the night would bring.