“Heeeey you two!” A familiar scent assailed Tina’s nose and she turned, recognizing the distinctly male cologne of her former attorney.  She plastered a smile to her face just before she met Joyce’s beaming smile. 

Strangely, Bette and Tina both felt reassured by Joyce’s presence. This was partly due to the fact that Joyce immediately began coaching them on the etiquette of the party. She chatted nonstop to them as she led them around the house, putting them at ease and maintaining a friendly distance.

“Now if you two lovely ladies are interested, there are drinks and casual conversations to be had out here on this section of patio…” Joyce winked at them, but then suddenly turned serious. “Oh, no, can’t have that.” She turned them abruptly away from the scent of marijuana, causing Tina to erupt in giggles. “Ok, you can both socialize back there, but as an attorney, I cannot…”

“It’s all right Joyce, we’ll have a drink with you on this end of the patio.” Bette grinned at the flustered lawyer and opened a bottle of wine.  Two glasses later, Bette felt more at ease, more from the conversation than the alcohol. 

Once Joyce took her leave of them, Bette and Tina walked along the large, private beach for a short while.

“Do you feel it yet?” Bette asked quietly. “You know…the viiiibe…” Her nose scrunched up as she gazed back toward the house.  Tina shrugged and shook her head, stepping forward to place Bette’s arms around her. Still, neither woman felt compelled to leave.  The atmosphere was more relaxed than they had expected and the other guests were friendly.  Even those who seemed interested in them were respectful of the fact that they really weren’t willing to play, at least not yet.

Walking and chatting, they entered a small living area, where they found three couples engaged in decidedly less wholesome pursuits than the folks out on the balcony.  And there they finally found Helena—she was naked and being pleasured by ‘Dawn’s lover Cyndi’ who now went by Tucker.

Confusion washed over Helena’s expression when her eyes met Bette and Tina’s, only to be replaced by desire as Tucker—unaware that anything out of the ordinary was occurring—kissed her neck languidly. Helena looked over to see if Bette and Tina were still watching and was surprised to see that they were. Tina was saying something hurridly to Bette, trying to pull her away, but Bette was mesmerized.