Bette watched Tina drive off and stood there on the street shaking her head. Okay what the ***** was that about? she thought as she walked back into her house and climbed into bed. Bette knew that Tina had been upset about her talking to Megan, but Bette didnt understand why Tina had made such a big deal out of it. Bette had never hidden anything from Tina and she always answered Tina honestly whenever she had asked her questions about her past. Truth be told Bette had almost forgotten about Megan because it had been so long since she had seen her and they only saw each other for about a month or so. Then she had met Tina and everything had changed. Bette sighed as she tried to sleep but she was finding this difficult since Tina wasnt there and she knew Tina was angry with her. Bette tossed and turned and finally dozed off at four in the morning.

Tina woke up to the sound of her cell phone ringing and she angrily searched her bag for it. She glanced at the clock and when she saw that it was only eight in the morning she groaned as she finally found the damn cell and looked at the caller ID. Bettes home number showed up and Tina sighed before answering it. She had a long talk with Eric last night and while Tina felt bad about being so jealous and showing Bette her jealousy, Tina didnt have the energy to have this conversation right now. She threw the phone back on her desk and decided she would just call Bette when she woke up.

***
LAST NIGHT ON THE PHONE WITH ERIC

Hllo?

Hey Ericits Tina.

Tina heard him yawn and shuffle the phone a little bit and Tina figured he was sitting up in bed. She felt really bad for calling so late but right now she just needed someones opinion on things that didnt know Bette. Sometimes a completely outside opinion is the best one. It had been one year and two months since she broke up with him, the exact amount of time she had been with Bette, and Tina was grateful for his friendship. It took him about six months to even talk to her again, but after they got over the initial awkwardness of being each others exs and Tina turning down his marriage proposal to be with a woman, they had become good friends. Tina talked to him maybe once every other week, despite Bettes lack of approval, but Tina was glad she had a part of her past still in her life. Tina waited for him to wake up while she drove back to her house. Eric finally spoke and Tina could hear the tiredness mixed with agitation and concern in his voice.

Tinawhat is going on? Its two in the ***** morning for crying out loud.

I knowIm really sorryI just needed to talk to you about something.

What happened?

Eric sounded more awake now and Tina hoped that she hadnt woken up Sara, his new girlfriend, whom she assumed was sleeping at his place. Tina paused before continuing. She knew he would probably not see her situation as a big deal, hes just like that, but she knew he understood her when she was like this so she decided to give it a shot anyway.

I had a really bad fight with Bette and I dont know what to do.

Tinayou called me in the middle of the night because you had a fight with your girlfriend? What the *****? And youre positive this couldnt have waited till tomorrow?

Im sorry Ericplease I just need some advice. It wont take long.

Yeah rightokay finetell mewhat happened?

Tina smiled as she sat down on her couch. She had reached her house and walked upstairs quickly while talking to him and she was glad to be in her own home. She was glad she had Eric in her life, even though to this day he never lets her forget that she broke his heart, but in all honesty he was a great friend. He was a nice guy and he seemed to understand Tina better than anyoneeven better than Bette did at times. But she didnt love him the way she used to, in fact her love for him was more like a brother/sister type love than anything. Tina was pretty sure Eric was going to tell her she overreacted, but she just needed to hear it out loud.

Well, I havent seen Bette in a long time and tonight at her gallery I saw some woman hitting on her so I got upset and confronted her when she came home. We ended up yelling at each other and I found out Bette slept with this woman before. Which by the way she neglected to tell me until tonightbut thats besides the point.

So now youre whatnot sure what to do?

YeahI mean Ive never acted like this before.

Like what? Jealous? Its really not that big a deal.

But you should have heard me tonight EricI probably sounded crazy.

Dont worry about it TinaIm sure you guys will work it out tomorrow.

Oh noyou dont know Betteshes more stubborn than I am.

Didnt think that was possible.

Tina heard Eric laugh and she rolled her eyes. As much as she liked Eric, he could still be a pain sometimes but Tina welcomed the lighthearted joking.

Thanksbut seriously Ericdo you think it was wrong of me to yell at her for that?

Well what happened? I mean was this woman like grabbing her ***** or what?

Noshe was just being really flirtatious and Bette was loving the attention. I know her.

So what did Bette say when you told her this?

She said that the girl was some artist the gallery was trying to impress and it was all part of her job.

Do you believe her?

Tina paused for a moment before answering. She knew in her heart she did, but she just couldnt shake the feelings of jealousy that lingered. Tina toyed with a pillow on the couch as she thought about her answer.

I dont know.

That doesnt sound like you Tina. What makes you doubt her?

Its not Bette that I dont believe. Its the other woman. You should have seen her Ericshe was all over Bette.

Was she really? Or are you just blowing this out of proportion? I mean I find it hard to believe that the girl youve been dating, for over a year now, would let some random woman hang all over her right in front of you.

But it wasnt some random woman Ericit was an ex.

So are you mad at Bette for what she did or are you jealous of her ex?

Tina sighed loudly. Sometimes Eric did know her too well and Tina knew she was all to transparent this time. Tina sighed once more before answering him.

I dont knowboth I guess. I didnt like the fact that Bette was so friendly with her, but I guess I was also a little intimidated by the girl. She was beautiful and talented and Ive heard Bette talk about her before, but I just didnt know they had history you know.

Tina I think youre being too irrational about this. You said you hadnt seen her in a whilewhat is a while?

A month.

Okay so you havent seen her in a month and you were probably excited to see her right?

Yeah.

So when you finally see her shes talking to another woman and instantly youre jealous? Thats not the Tina I know.

I know. But I couldnt help it. I missed her so much and when I finally got to see her she didnt spend more than five minutes with her before she was pulled in a million directions by a million different people.

Well what did you expect? You went to one of her openings. You know how those goyouve been to them beforeremember?

Tina grinned as she heard the sarcasm in Erics voice. Bettes gallery was where they first met and Eric would joke about how he couldnt believe he personally brought her into the lions den.

I knowbut I guess I thought she would pay a little more attention to me and when she gave her attention to someone else I guess I kind of flipped out.

Kind ofso are you turning into the needy type now? Because if you are then Im glad Bette has to put up with it and I dont because I couldnt handle it.

Shut up, I am not turning into a needy girlfriend. I just really wanted to spend time with her but that was put off because of her damn work.

Well looks like youll be spending more time apart now. Tina why didnt you just let it go and enjoy her company tonight instead of picking a fight, leaving her place, then waking me up in the middle of the night?

Tina frowned as she thought about what he said. Why didnt she just let it go? Tina knew Bette was telling the truth about Megan and Tina knew that Bette really wanted to spend time with her too. So why did she let that ruin her evening? Tina knew she should have done that, but that would have meant a compromise on her part again and Tina was tired of it. She was tired of not being a priority in Bettes life, or at least feeling like she wasnt at times, and she was tired of fighting with Bette about this very thing. Tina knew Bettes work was very time consuming and when they first started dating Tina knew that Bette was going out of her way to make sure they could spend lots of time together and that it wouldnt be forever, but Tina wasnt happy with the way things were now.

Because Im tired of having to give in to her all the time Eric. She is constantly busy because of work and sometimes I feel like she feels obligated to see me.

Is she?

Noyeswhat?

Is she obligated to see you? Do you demand that she spend time with you?

No

Do you tell her that you want to see her more often and that you hate the fact that she has to work such long hours?

Sometimesbut

Did you tell her tonight that you were mad because you missed her and just wanted to spend time with her?

Yesthat I did.

Okay finebut is tonight the only time youve actually told her exactly how you felt when shes too busy to see you?

I guessmaybeIm not sure

Well Tinaif you dont tell her these things how is she supposed to know? Just call her tomorrow and apologize for being such a ***** and just tell her that you miss her. I dont know maybe you guys need to spend some time alone.

We didwe went to Hawaii like two months ago.

And?

And it was great while we were there but when we got back it was right back to the way things used to be.

Wellthen I dont know what to tell you Tina. Look just talk to her and see how it goes from there. You just need to let her know how you feel and thats all.

Yeah youre right.

I knowokay well if you dont mind Id like to get back to sleep.

Yeah sorry for waking you upand thanks again Eric.

No problem. Goodnight Tina.

Nite.

Tina hung up and stared at the ceiling. She knew Erics advice was the best thing to do right now but Tina didnt know why she didnt want to do it. She was tired of being the one giving in all the time and she hoped that Bette wasnt too angry with her for the way she acted tonight. Tina finally dragged herself upstairs and fell into bed as she let her thoughts drift through her mind.

***
At ten thirty Tina finally woke up again and rolled over in bed. She opened her eyes quickly when she felt someone next to her. Tina saw Bette lying there next to her fast asleep and Tina wondered when Bette had come over. Must have been right after she called, thought Tina as she sighed and lightly wrapped an arm over Bette before going back to sleep. She knew they needed to talk about what happened but right now she was just too tired.