Chapter 3
 
 
"Are you sure it’s okay for me to stay in your apartment Tina?" Bette asked as Tina wheeled in her last suitcases.
 
"Absolutely," Tina said with a smile, "I can hardly take care of you at your father’s house or at Jake’s."
 
"Thank you," Bette said with a shy smile.
 
Tina thought it was absolutely adorable but she refrained from saying so, not wanting to scare the traumatized brunette.
 
"So do you have a guest bedroom?" Bette asked tentatively.
 
"No, you’re sleeping in my bed, I have a pull out couch," Tina said.
 
"I can’t let you sleep on the couch in your own apartment," Bette said.
 
"Do I have to order you as a cop?" Tina said cocking her head to the side.
 
Bette sighed and said, "fine, but the moment I recover I take the couch."
 
"We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it," Tina said with a sly smile.
 
"Tina!" Bette whined.
 
Tina chuckled and said, "alright let’s just drop it. Do you want something to eat?"
 
"Take out is fine," Bette said.
 
"There is no such thing as take out in the house of Kennard," Tina said, "my mother always taught me that."
 
"You cook?" Bette said, "I didn’t expect that from a cop."
 
"I do love my donuts but it’s not all I eat," Tina said with a grin, "so what do you feel like eating?"
 
"I don’t know, a hamburger?" Bette said.
 
"Tina’s homemade burgers coming right up!" Tina said with a grin. "Do you wanna sit at the kitchen table? You can learn a thing or two."
 
"Oh did Jake tell you what a horrible cook I am?" Bette said blushing.
 
"He said you can’t even crack an egg," Tina said.
 
Bette scoffed and said, "I so can, I just have to dig the shells out."
 
Tina laughed and said, "wow you’re so funny."
 
"Alright let’s get cooking," Bette said using her good arm to support herself on her cane and walk slowly into the kitchen. Tina pulled out a chair for her then helped her sit down.
 
"Alright," Tina said, "I’m gonna teach you how to cut tomatoes."
 
"I’m right-handed but I guess I can learn to use my left," Bette said.
 
"Lucky for you I’m left-handed," Tina said with a wink.
 
Bette blushed as Tina walked into the kitchen and came back with a knife and two tomatoes. She set the cutting board down in front of Bette then put a tomato on it.
 
"Now," Tina said, "number one rule, keep the knife away from your fingers."
 
"I figured that much," Bette said.
 
"Okay, so your goal is to cut the tomatoes into the thinnest slices you can manage," Tina said, "I’ll show you."
 
Tina grabbed one end of the tomato and cut a slice slowly. Bette nodded in understanding. Tina moved around behind Bette and leaned over her. She gently placed the knife in Bette’s good hand and closed her hand over it. She grabbed Bette’s injured arm which was just barely taken out of the sling but weak and placed it on one end of the tomato.
 
Then leaning forward pressing her breasts against Bette’s upper back, she moved Bette’s hand down to cleanly cut a slice off the tomato.
 
Bette shuddered as a jolt of pleasure shot through her body. Tina hesitated slightly misinterpreting the action and said, "just try to relax."
 
Bette nodded and sighed. They went on like that for a few minutes until all the tomatoes were cut into slices. Tina smiled at her as she backed away.
 
"Next time you’ll do it on your own," Tina said.
 
Bette smiled shyly and blushed. Tina couldn’t help but smile. When Jake had shown her the picture of Bette when she was missing, Tina knew by seeing her radiant smile and the way she stood that she was confident and powerful woman. But this Bette that was in front of her wasn’t that same one from the picture. This Bette didn’t only look broken physically but emotionally as well. Instead of being the confident, strong woman she should be, Bette was shy, weak, and with shattered confidence. That monster Bryon had completely destroyed her.
 
"What?" Bette asked as Tina had been staring.
 
"Eh nothing," Tina said shaking her head and turning towards the kitchen, "I should start defrosting the meat."
 
She walked to the freezer and took out the raw patties that she usually seasoned with her special ingredient. As she defrosted the meat in the microwave she looked back at Bette who had distracted herself by staring at the giant rack filled with movies and books beside the kitchen table. She sighed quietly then made a promise to herself that she wouldn’t rest until she had restored Bette Porter to the woman she once was.
 
The microwave beeped and Tina retrieved the meat. She set it down in a bowl and started adding her special ingredients. Then she left the meat to soak up the ingredients before scuffling around the kitchen getting the mini grill ready, taking out the buns, ketcup, mustard, mayonnaise, sliced pickles, craft cheese, and an onion.
 
"You grill the onions too?" Bette said.
 
"Yeah like ‘In n Out,’" Tina said.
 
"You’ve been to ‘In n Out?’ I thought they didn’t have it here," Bette said.
 
"I’m originally from Arizona," Tina said with a smile.
 
"I live in LA, I go to ‘In n Out’ all the time," Bette said. "I was just visiting here when Bryon…"
 
"What a way to spend a vacation, I’m so sorry Bette," Tina said with a sympathetic smile.
 
"Well I’m not going back to LA anytime soon," Bette said shaking her head.
 
"Don’t you have a job there?" Tina asked.
 
"I own a gallery but my business partner James is just as qualified to handle everything," Bette said. "In fact, I think being here can help my business. There’s a big artist here I would love to mount an exhibition for."
 
"Well that’s great!" Tina said turning on the grill, "I really love your positive outlook on life Bette. I love that you can take your situation and turn it around for yourself."
 
Bette smiled and said, "thank you."
 
Tina set four patties on the grill then said, "so who is the artist?"
 
"Jean Pierre Milano," Bette said with a smile. "That man is absolutely the best painter in the world. He’s one of the most famous gay artists of all time and he signs the bottom of all his paintings with his initials JPM."
 
Tina smiled at the spark of passion that flickered in Bette’s eyes when she spoke, it showed the part of Bette that was hidden behind the clad iron steel walls that she had set up. "Is his name really Jean Pierre Milano though? I bet he’s not even Italian," Tina said with a small smile.
 
"Very perceptive Tina," Bette said.
 
"I aced Art History in college," Tina said with a proud grin.
 
Bette laughed and said, "well no, Jean Pierre is not Italian. He’s British but he lived in Italy for the majority of his life. His real name is John Paul Melbourne."
 
"Did you just say John Paul Melbourne?" Tina said with an amused look on her face.
 
"Yes," Bette said cocking an eyebrow, "you know him?"
 
"Ha, well last week I gave him a 700 ticket for driving on the carpool lane alone without a seatbelt," Tina said shaking her head.
 
"On the carpool lane AND no seat belt? Jeez you went easy on him," Bette said laughing.
 
"Well I suppose he’s agree to meet you if I told him I wasn’t going to show up to our court date next week," Tina said.
 
"You would do that for me?" Bette said with tears in her eyes.
 
Tina melted when she saw that adorable look on her face and said, "aww don’t get emotional, of course I would!"
 
Bette smiled as a few tears rolled down her cheeks, "no one has ever been so nice to me."
 
"Well, when I was 14 we moved from Arizona to Texas," Tina said adding cheese to the grilled patties, "maybe I picked up some of that Texas hospitality."
 
Bette laughed and said, "well good thing then. I’m officially rooting for all the Texas sports teams, uh the Texans, the Cowboys, and uh the Rangers!"
 
"The Rangers?" Tina said in surprise, "you follow baseball?"
 
"Yes, I normally root for the Anaheim Angels, sometimes the Dodgers," Bette said, "but seeing as they suck most of the time, I go for the Giants."
 
"Any California team huh?" Tina said adding the onions.
 
"Mmm that smells so good," Bette commented. "And yes, any California team except basketball. If the Lakers get eliminated I’ll just root for Heat or the Knicks, but not the Clippers."
 
"Sports fan much?" Tina said laughing. "Well the only sports I watch are the Superbowl and the Fifa World Cup."
 
"Soccer is the best," Bette said, "I bet you don’t root for America."
 
"Nah, they’re getting better though," Tina said. "I root for Brazil."
 
"Hey me too!" Bette said, "they’re the best!"
 
"Did you see the last one? Holland versus Spain?" Tina said.
 
"The last minute goal," Bette said, "it was amazing!"
 
"I could have sworn Holland was gonna win but wow!" Tina said serving the hamburgers on the bun.
 
"Man, now we have to watch sports together!" Bette said, "not many women like sports much."
 
"Yeah I love all sports, even tennis," Tina said.
 
"One my friends is a pro tennis player," Bette said.
 
"No way! Who?" Tina asked.
 
"Dana Fairbanks."
 
"Oh my God I saw her play the other day! She’s pretty good," Tina said. "She’s your friend?"
 
"Yeah, closet lez," Bette said.
 
"Nah my gaydar picked it up right away," Tina said.
 
"You have gaydar?"
 
"Well I’m gay so…yeah," Tina said.
 
Bette looked shocked.
 
"What do you want on your hamburger?" Tina asked.
 
"Um, uh everything," Bette said. "Wow, I knew I was off. My gaydar was saying maybe bi."
 
"Bi? Ew no, not even," Tina said.
 
"Wow, I need to readjust it," Bette said laughing.
 
"No you don’t, I hide it pretty well," Tina said. "Before I joined the police force I was a Lieutenant in the United States Marina Core. Ever heard of the ‘Don’t ask don’t tell policy?’"
 
"Yeah, where if you’re gay you have to hide it and if you’re caught they discharge you," Bette said.
 
"Yeah, well I hide it pretty well," Tina said. "I loved serving my country but after seven years of secret girlfriends and pretending to check out men, I decided to retire and join the force so I could be free. I’m too old for that secret lifestyle crap."
 
"Too old? No way! How old are you?" Bette asked.
 
"34," Tina said.
 
"Oh well I thought you were younger than me, you look like 25," Bette said.
 
"How old are you?"
 
"28," Bette said.
 
"And you own a gallery already?" Tina said, "that’s very impressive."
 
"Well I graduated at 16 and got my doctorate’s degree in record time," Bette said. "Then when I was in Graduate School I was working at the CAC where I made a name for myself. James had made a name for himself when he was working at a prestigious Art museum in Washington DC. So both of us, with doctorate degrees and respected titles, were easily able to open our own gallery."
 
"That’s amazing," Tina said finishing up the hamburgers, "I would love to see it one day."
 
"If you do I’ll give you the personal tour," Bette said with a smile.
 
"I would love that," Tina said with a smile. "Alright, go to the couch, we’ll eat and enjoy some Monday Night Football."
 
"Ooo who’s playing?" Bette said standing up shakily and limping slowly towards the couch.
 
"Raiders vs. Jets," Tina said following Bette to the couch holding two plates with two hamburgers and a small batch of fries in each.
 
"Go Raiders!" Bette cheered.
 
"Oh come on Bette they suck!" Tina said.
 
"You go for the Jets?" Bette said with a gasp as they sat down on the couch.
 
"I love New York."
 
"So do I but the Jets?" Bette said.
 
"How about a little wager?" Tina said with a small smile.
 
"Alright," Bette said with a confident grin.
 
"If the Jets win," Tina said, "I sleep on the couch even after you recover, no arguments."
 
Bette scoffed. "Alright, but if the Raiders win, you sleep on your bed."
 
"You can’t sleep on the couch," Tina said firmly.
 
"Fine," Bette said, "if the Raiders win you sleep on your bed, with me."