It was 4:12 a.m., and Dana Fairbanks helplessly stood on her porch while watching Alice hastily drive away. Dana’s hands firmly grasped the doorframes of her entryway for fear of falling over in shock. She carefully freed one hand, only to clasp her forehead in utter disbelief. She leaned her head back against her front door, trying to stabalize her wobbly legs and equally jittery emotions before reentering her home. What had just occurred with Alice was thoroughly unexpected.

Only minutes before, Alice, her wisecracking and sarcastic best friend, had knocked on Dana’s door in the middle of the night. Dana, alarmed to see her blonde friend standing alone on her porch at 4 a.m., immediately concluded that something was amiss. Did the religious bigots who desperately tried to disrupt the Provocations exhibit come back and hurt Bette? Or maybe Shane had done something crazy? One never knew with Shane.

Dana had observed Alice’s nervous demeanor and downcast eyes and knew something was up. This was not typical behavior from her usually upbeat and confident friend. Bluntly, but almost shylike, Alice quickly proclaimed her reasons behind the late night visit. “You can’t marry Tonya,” Alice had whispered. Immediately, Dana’s defenses had gone up, ready to defend her fiancee at all costs. Who the ***** does Alice think she is, Dana had thought.

And then, after several futile attempts to understand Alice’s justifications (“Because…” was the only word Alice had uttered), it happened. Dana saw Alice move towards her in a flash. She felt the shock of Alice’s soft lips upon hers. And as quickly as she had kissed her, Alice suddenly pulled away.

Oh my God, Dana now thought. Still outside slumped against her front door, she remembered her initial thoughts after Alice’s first chaste kiss. The sudden realizations quickly manifested in Dana’s head.

Holy *****, Dana reflected, I kissed her back.

Dana remembered she had barely recovered from the shock of Alice’s introductory kiss when she found herself reeling Alice in for another one. And that one, that second kiss, had shook her to the core.

So Dana did kiss Alice, and Alice willfully accepted. And now, standing alone on her own porch some moments later, Dana knew their relationship would never be the same.

Her heart still pounded in her chest and her hands still quivered from Alice’s touch, but Dana knew she needed to go back inside. Tonya was waiting.

Be cool Dana, she frantically thought, it’s time to return to your fiancee. But how does one return to a fiancee when someone else, YOUR BEST FRIEND for God’s sake, had just given you the most passionate kiss of your life?

Dana cursed lightly and mustered the strength to compose herself. She quietly opened the door and reentered her loft, hoping Tonya had fallen asleep for the night. She slowly made her way upstairs and entered her bedroom, breathing a hushed sigh of relief upon hearing quiet snores emanating from the bed. Dana silently slid into the left side, but froze when she felt Tonya stirring beside her.

“Who was it, hon?” Tonya grumbled and half turned to face Dana.

Dana panicked, but miraculously responded in a casual tone. “Just Alice,” she said. Dana lightly fluffed her pillow and laid on her side facing away from Tonya. She squinted her face in pain and waited for the onslaught of questions from her fiancee.

But none came. Dana only heard a frustrated sigh and felt the bed shake as Tonya adjusted, resting on her side away from Dana. “Well, that’s just ridiculous. Does she not have to get up in the morning? Go back to sleep.” Tonya muttered groggily. A few seconds later, Tonya was lightly snoring again.

Dana had jumped over that hurdle, but her thoughts immediately returned to Alice. Her body periodically shuddered and her mind continued to race at a million miles an hour. Her thoughts were jumbled and frantic. What was Alice doing right now? God, what was Alice thinking right now? *****, what will I do when I see her again, she thought. She quietly groaned in frustration and slung her pillow upon her head. Her anguished thoughts centered around one word.

Alice.

No, there would be no sleep tonight for Dana Fairbanks.

———————-

It was 4:14 a.m. and Alice Pieszecki was driving home from her best friend’s residence.

“*****, *****, *****, *****!” she yelled while fervently banging her steering wheel with her right hand. “What did I just do? What the ***** ***** did I just do?”

In total frustration, she roughly slammed her left elbow against the driver’s side door. After a slight yelp in pain, she realized her attempts at ruining the interior of her car were idiotic. Composing herself, Alice breathed heavily and calmed down. She used her left hand as a prop for her weary head and slouched back against her seat, maintaining focus on the road before her.

Alice had a good ten minute drive back to her own apartment, just enough to stew and vent about what had taken place minutes earlier. It was that damn art exhibit. “Provocations” it was called, art created to stimulate, arouse, to PROVOKE.

“All that ***** artwork enticed me to get all kissy-kissy on my best friend”, Alice huffed out loud. After a few moments on that thought, Alice smiled gently, proud she came up with such an outlandish reason for her actions.

Alice quickly sobered. Her smile faded. No, the art from “Provocations” had nothing to do with it. She certainly knew that.

It was seeing Dana with Tonya at Provocations that had upset Alice more than she cared to admit. Throughout the entire evening, Alice had surprisingly caught herself looking for Dana all night. She had been aware of her friend’s location at all times, and had inevitably cringed multiple times when seeing poor Dana constantly dragged around by her fiancee, or Tonya continually sticking to the tennis player like glue. And God, they were creepily dressed alike. Again. The couple might have denied it, but Alice had had no problems hinting at the weirdness of their clothing coordination.

And she ***** left without saying good-bye, Alice sadly remembered. “Dana’s gone?,” Alice had asked Shane, who had apparently seen the couple leave the exhibit early. Shane’s affirmation of Dana’s hasty departure had left Alice with an ache in her heart. It was an ache that had gained more prominence every day, an ache that had prompted her actions just minutes earlier, and an ache that was complicating her life by leaps and bounds.

Alice skillfully parallel parked outside her complex and turned the ignition, bringing her vehicle to silence. She felt drained, and emotionally spent. She sat there, hands folded in her lap and head hung in resignation. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head slightly, trying to clear her mind of what she had done. An extended rush of air escaped from her, and she finally opened her eyes, only to stare at the car keys lying in her hands. Alice sat and pondered her predicament. Her thoughts returned to Dana, and a slight smile crept to her lips. The girl is probably freaking out, Alice presumed affectionately. She chuckled quietly and shook her head in disbelief once again.

She truly didn’t know when these unsettling feelings began. She had repeatedly tried to shrug them off. They had been popping up out of nowhere… a dash of jealousy here, a nudge of envy there, the tingle of attraction…. little pricks to her heart when she witnessed Dana with Tonya, or delicate flutters upon Dana’s entrance into a room. Alice flung her head back against her headrest in frustration and gazed out her car window.

Admit it sucker, the blonde thought to herself, even Dana’s fling with the sous chef irked you. But thankfully, Dana’s ex-girlfriend Lara had possessed an affable personality, which helped quell Alice’s jealousy of the redhead. Even though their relationship had ruffled her, Alice felt bad for Dana when her romance with Lara ended.

But now, in the blink of an eye, in the rush of a stolen kiss, everything had changed. It was her frustration over Dana’s relationship with Tonya that had led Alice to the tennis player’s doorstep that morning. But Alice knew now that her displeasure over Dana’s impending nuptials was not merely a reaction towards Tonya, but something much deeper, and much scarier. Alice had approached Dana’s doorstep with full intentions of articulating her reservations about Tonya. But then Dana had opened her door, and Alice, the usually gifted verbalist, had stumbled.

“So you just kiss her? Just like that?” she bewilderedly asked herself as she exited her Mini and began the short walk to her apartment. Alice couldn’t look past the seriousness of the situation. She had thrown herself out to the wolves. She had crossed the line that best friends are never even supposed to approach. She had altered their relationship forever.

But as Alice unlocked her apartment door, a sudden thought stopped her progression inside. Still holding the key in the lock, Alice stood for a moment and remembered. A slight smile sprung to her lips.

“She kissed me back.” Alice urgently whispered, as if remembering for the first time. Alice quickly reflected on the Dana-initiated kiss. Passion, urgency,… God, even hunger.

“Man, did she kiss me back.” Alice calmy uttered. The slight smile morphed into one of small satisfaction as Alice turned the key and entered her apartment. She didn’t know where things would go from here. She didn’t know what she would do or say once face-to-face with her best friend again.

Yes, Alice had placed herself in a tricky situation. But one thought held prominence over all others for Alice. Dana had kissed her back. Alice sighed and flung herself on her couch.
No, there would be no sleep tonight for Alice Pieszecki.

To be continued…..