She deserved to grow beyond me, and I didn't begrudge her decision to choose the school she thought would be best for her. But I sincerely hoped fate would bring us back together again someday.

Zofi sat to Mari's left, cool as a cucumber and content to observe the conversation more than participate. When she had something to say, she said it and could be quite witty and playful when she wanted, but otherwise she was the epitome of "chill". Thinking back over these past couple of summer months since she'd formally come out of the closet, it seemed to me that Zofi had never before seemed so at peace with herself and her life. I mean, she had always been graceful and reflective, going about her days with careful thought and at her own pace. But it was as if she had always been so restrained out of a need to keep her guard up, never completely able to let go for fear of revealing herself. No longer. Now, she moved and breathed with complete serenity, highlighted by the way she currently hugged herself against Sam's upper arm with unguarded love, not in the least bit concerned with any of us thinking negatively of her.

A romantic relationship had never been in the cards for us, but her promise of shared parenthood still bonded us together. I found myself more at ease with letting her go than any of the others, because I at least had that promise to look forward to.

I even found it easier to let go of Zofi than to let go of Holly. Her hair was back to blue, not quite the bright neon blue of that fateful night when “The Holly Incident" unexpectedly kick-started this whole thing off, but more of an iridescent dark blue. She'd even grown a small landing patch and colored it blue as well, just for kicks. She sat between Sam and Naimh, fully part of the BTC these Last couple of months instead of feeling like the newcomer. She'd been a breath of fresh air for the group, playful and inventive, asking for nothing and just happy to enjoy the time that we had. In a way, I shouldn't have been surprised that she'd approached her relationship with me so casually. She had been, after all, a social butterfly for as long as

I'd known her, never staying in one place for too long. The fact that she'd remained with the BTC this Long was a minor miracle, although I was sure that had more to do with the knowledge that there was a known time Limit on our relationships before the rest of us quite literally spread out to different schools from her.

Every now and again there had been hints of something deeper than the

Personal Slut persona she adopted with me so often, fleeting glimpses into the psyche of a young girl who wanted more but never let anyone in past the surface. I found myself wondering more than once “What if?"

What if we weren't going to different schools? What if she'd joined the

BTC a few months earlier? What if I'd let her seduce me that first night? What if there could be something more between us than our purely physical Master/Personal Slut relationship?

Too late.

Perhaps I'd never find out.

I wasn't ready to Let them go. Any of them.

But time had run out.

The end of the BTC was near.

For our final day together as a group, the BTC decided to spend it out at the beach. I drove around in the minivan picking the girls up just after breakfast, and we headed out to Half Moon Bay with a twelve-by-twelve canopy and a portable barbecue. We got a great spot on

Dunes Beach with its high cliffs backstopping us and set up camp. Sam brought her boom box and a few mixed MP3 CDs. We built some sandcastles, did some body-surfing, flew kites, tossed a Frisbee, and generally had a great time. The girls even spent an hour burying me in the sand and carving a mermaid body around me. I still have a photo of all seven of the girls surrounding me as the sandy mermaid on my desk at home.

After the mermaid bit, I headed into the water to clean up and spent a good five minutes shoulder-deep while trying to get sand out of the various crevices in my body, especially my ass-crack. When I emerged though, Alice moved to intercept me by the simple expedient of taking my hand and tugging me along the waterline for a walk along the beach

She brought my sandals with her, and I quickly realized she was taking me up to the coastal trail atop the bluff, probably so we could have a private conversation.

I was sort of right.

Alice wanted to talk, and she wanted to talk privately, but not one-on-one private. Mari, Zofi, and Holly were already atop the bluff, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to realize the four BTC girls who were NOT coming with me to Berkeley had pulled me aside for this Little chat.

“Hello, ladies," I greeted them casually, letting the wind dry me off rapidly. The four of them had put on shirts or jackets for this little hike away from the beach. "What's up? I'm assuming we're not here to enjoy the view."

The four of them glanced at each other, and to my surprise it was Mari who spoke for the group.

“I'm sure it goes without saying," she began

“but we need you to promise you'll take care of our best friends.”

I chuckled. "You're right: It goes without saying.”