(The chapter starts by picking up from the opening scene in Chapter I)

Bette and Tina finally made it to the first class lounge of the airline alliance they were using for this trip.   Tina reexamined their boarding passes for the connecting flight they were taking to Hyderabad, but finding she was unable to focus and was still groggy from the long flight over.  She thought as she momentarily shut her eyes, “Besides, my body clock is still adjusting to the current time zone, and, unlike Bette, I’m not used to criss-crossing time zones like this.”  To her sluggish head and body, it was still around 1 in the morning, and they were supposed to be in REM sleep right now.  Tina refocused on the time stamped in the boarding passes, and looked up at the clock display.  She calculated that they had about three hours to wait until the expected boarding time to their flight to Hyderabad.

She followed Bette’s lead as they entered the lounge.  The brunette signaled that she was going to wheel their carry-on luggage to the locker area.  She stretched out, feeling weary from the long flight from New York, and the long walk across the terminal to get to the lounge.  After nestling their carry-on bags into available slots in the cabinets Bette walked slowly towards Tina.  She smiled as she took in the sexy figure of the blonde, who was browsing at the magazine rack to wait for Bette.  Tina had been grousing about the long walk from the gate their plane from New York had landed in, to the lounge they were now in.

She needed to change the blonde’s mood, and fast. “And I’ve got an idea how,” Bette thought to herself, as she slipped her arm through Tina’s.   As Tina turned to her, smirking, she proposed excitedly, “Tina why don’t we get a massage while we wait?  Or soak in the spa?”

At least Bette was trying.  Tina smiled back fondly, “Hmm… great idea, baby.  But why not do it all?  We’ve got time, right?  Let’s soak first, then shower, then grab a massage?”  Boy, she thought, perking up, she could get used to this first-class flying experience!

They walked with more bounce to their step, towards the far-end of the lounge, heading to the spa. Bette picked up two flutes of champagne as they walked past one of the bars, handing one to Tina. This is the life, she thought.   Excellent French champagne, Tina on my arm, a spa experience upcoming, then a soothing massage.  Then our honeymoon!  They smiled at the woman attendant as they entered the spa, sipping their champagne.