“So, how’d things go last night?” Shane asked Alice the next morning after she’d downed her essential morning triple shot of espresso.

“Well…I’d say it went pretty well, if you don’t count the fact that we almost burned the place down,” Alice told her.

Shane nearly spit out her coffee. “Say what?!”

Giggling, Alice told her the story. Shane shook her head in disbelief. “Man, only you two could cause some ***** like that. The two of you together are dangerous. What the *****’d you do next, knock the door off its hinges on your way out?”

“Oh, ha ha, aren’t you the little comedian this morning,” Alice said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

“Al, I’ve gotta ask: what’s going on between you and Dana? Is it serious?”

Alice paused thoughtfully. “I’m not sure. I’m still confused, but I must admit, I’ve been having some quite dirty thoughts about our Miss Fairbanks lately.

“So is a relationship in the future, or what?”

Alice toyed with a coffee stirrer before putting it in her mouth. “I don’t know. Right now, I’m just having fun and kind of checking things out. I guess we’ll see what happens later.” The coffee stirrer bobbed around in her mouth as she spoke.

“Well, just be careful. I don’t want to see either of you two getting hurt,” Shane warned her.

“Why? Do you care about us? Oh, how sweet! The Stud has a heart,” Alice teased.

Shane rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Al. I just don’t want either one of you coming to me to cry on my shoulder. I hate it when chicks cry. Anyway, I’d better go. I have a client in half an hour.”

Alice waved at her, and Shane leaned in for one last comment before leaving, “If you tell anyone I might have a heart, I’ll kick your *****.”

Alice watched her leave, grinning like a madwoman.


Bette warily stared across the desk at the bespectacled therapist. She hated therapists. Sure, Dr. Woo seemed like a nice enough woman, but Bette knew better. She knew that beneath that sweet demeanor lay an evil demon-woman therapist-from-***** waiting to emerge. She and Tina had tried therapy once, right before they’d decided to have a baby. In Bette’s opinion, it had been an utter waste of time, but she was willing to give it another go, just for Tina. *****, she’d do anything for Tina right now.

“So, Bette, Tina, which of you would like to start?” Dr. Woo asked, smiling softly at both of them.

Both women hesitated, glancing at each other, before Tina spoke up. “Well, we were together for seven years and then Bette cheated on me.”

“Bette, do you know why you did this?” the doctor asked gently, turning her attention to Bette.

Bette bit her lip, not sure where to begin. “Well, it’s like I told Tina before: seven years is a really long time.

The doctor leaned forward. “Explain.”

Bette continued, “Well, I guess I just got a little scared. We’d been together for so long, and things had definitely begun to fizzle romantically and, uh, sexually. Then along came…Candace, who paid all this attention to me and made me feel special. It was something new and exciting for me; a feeling I hadn’t experienced in seven years. Plus, Tina had just lost our baby and I was stressed about things at work, so things just kind of escalated and then went downhill from there.”

“You two had been trying to start a family?” Dr. Woo questioned.

“Yes, but I miscarried,” Tina explained, eyes downcast. Bette laid her hand on top of Tina’s, and they smiled at one another sadly.

“I just felt like I was being horribly rejected when Bette…cheated,” Tina said. “After the miscarriage, I felt like I wasn’t good enough anymore. I felt like I wasn’t even whole. I felt less like a woman and as if I suddenly wasn’t as desirable anymore because I couldn’t keep the baby for Bette, and I know she wanted it so badly…we both did.”

Bette felt tears prick at her eyelids as she said, “Oh, Tee, I’m so sorry. I had no idea you felt that way.”

Tina turned to her tearfully, and they embraced tightly. Dr. Woo smiled broadly at them. “You two have made significant progress today, and I’ve really enjoyed my time with you. Although your time is up today, would you like to make another appointment?”

Tina glanced hesitantly at Bette, who spoke up quickly, “Definitely.”