Once Tina was in the car, Angelica and her brunette mother stood in their doorway waving until Tina’s car turned the corner and moved out of sight.

CHAPTER TWO

Angelica and Bette stared for just a second more after Tina’s car disappeared.  Bette then placed her hand on Angelica’s shoulder and guided her back into the house.

As soon as they stepped inside, the little girl ran towards her room.

Bette, though, was unable to so quickly shift her focus.  She looked around their living room and could sense the empty spaces Tina had left behind.

From the very beginning of their relationship, business travel had frequently separated them for brief periods of time.  It surprised Bette that she hadn’t gotten used to it.  In fact, since they had reunited, the loneliness of these new separations ached almost as much as they had during the first year they dated.

She wandered into the kitchen and smiled.  Tina had been too rushed to grab a cup of the coffee in the expensive programmable brewer.  The smile wasn’t because of the irony of the purchaser and programmer of the machine not being able to reap this morning of the benefit of her labor the night before.  Bette was smiling as she remembered why Tina had been so busy that morning.

Bette shivered as she remembered slowly waking to delightful sensations.  When she opened her eyes, she found Tina settled between her legs.

The blonde lifted her head.  “Took you long enough,” she chuckled softly as she watched her lover react to her teasing.

Lost in her pleasurable reverie, Bette hadn’t noticed the first four rings.  When she noticed, she walked quickly to her desk where her cell phone rested.  Bette smiled at the caller ID.

“Miss me already?” she asked.

“More than you could know.”

“I do know.”

There was silence for a few seconds as the couple shared the moment.  Bette spoke first.

“I predict a Starbucks trip in your near future.”

“Huh?”

Bette chuckled.  “You didn’t have a chance to have any coffee.”

“Shit.  That was the Hawaiian Kona.”

“It’s your fault.  Next time, though, I’ll be sure to remove your wayward tongue.”