Later that afternoon, Zofi went home and Sam joined me in going next door to have dinner with Belle and her dad. After dinner, we had a couple of hours of daylight left and Sam told me to grab my running clothes because she wanted me to build up my running endurance.

At first, I was scared she'd want to drag me around the 5-mile loop again, but instead she let me drive us to the park and then just go for a pleasant jog around the lake instead of running all the way from home. I brought the bag of leftover bread from the Santa Cruz trip which by now was getting stale, and after the run we spent a good thirty minutes chatting while feeding the ducks. There were also a few

Canadian geese who I knew from past experience would bully the smaller ducks trying to get to the bread. So Sam and I kept on the move, walking along the shoreline trying to throw our bread pieces where only the ducks could get them and the bully geese couldn't. By the time we ran out of bread, we'd walked halfway around the Lake again.

Feeling good with ourselves for sticking up for the little guys, as it were, both Sam and I were in a happy mood. She slipped her hand into mine and held it the whole walk back. The sun was also setting, and with no wind to speak of, the Lake formed a near perfect mirror of the trees on the far side. It wasn't quite a beach sunset view, but it was still quite pleasant and I certainly couldn't complain about the company.

We were walking hand-in-hand back towards the minivan when she asked out of the blue, “Were you really serious about letting me stay with you as Long as I needed?"

"Yes. Absolutely," I answered immediately.

She flashed me a skeptical Look and muttered, "You're just saying that because I've let you fuck me every day since I arrived."

I stopped walking and turned to hold both of Sam's hands with mine.

"I'd Like to think you know me better than that. Do I enjoy the sex?

Absolutely. Would I want you to stay as long as you needed even if we never had sex again? Absolutely. Your welcome in my home is NOT contingent on you putting out for me, and I rather resent the insinuation."

Chagrined, Sam nodded and muttered, “Sorry. I don't even know why I said that."

"I think you're feeling a bit in limbo right now, caught between a desire to go back home and a desire to stay with me, and maybe you're trying to accuse me of ulterior motives as a reason to make yourself go home and talk to your parents."

She pursed her lips and thought about that. "Maybe. I know I should at least try. But at the same time, they're the ones being pig-headed about it. If they want to show me they truly accept me as I am, shouldn't THEY be the ones to reach out to me first?"

“And you're gonna stay here with me until they finally do?"

Sam shrugged.

“Maybe they never will. Dad's as stubborn as I am."

“You said your mom's not as hardcore about Stanford as he is."

“But she'll side with him to present a united front. Maybe call me on the side, write me a check here and there to make sure I'm taken care of. But I already know Dad's waiting for me to crack first, and I don't want to do it."

“Then don't. I mean, of course I'd love for you to be able to patch things up with your family and go home, because that IS your home. At the same time, you're more than welcome to stay in my house for the rest of the week, the rest of the month, the rest of the school year, or even until we all leave for Berkeley together."

Sam blushed.

“According to your mum, if we get married, I can stay forever."

I squeezed her hands.

“The idea does appeal." I smiled and leaned in.

Sam smiled and leaned in as well, but before our lips met, she abruptly let go of my hands and turned to start walking.

I blinked, confused, but followed after. She'd walked away from me so abruptly, I had to assume she was upset about something, so I kept my distance even as I came alongside her. But she reached out and took my hand again.