Amber's mouth set into a hard line, and then she walked up and smacked me... HARD... across the face.

I slept on the couch that night.

When my eyes opened, enough sunlight came through the windows to tell me it was morning. I looked across the living room, the wall clock telling me I'd only been asleep for five hours.

I sat up on the couch, stretching and trying to work out the kinks in my back. And then I got up and silently went to our bedroom.

Amber was already awake, or perhaps she'd never gone to sleep. She was curled onto her side, obvious tear tracks on her cheeks. She looked up at me with an expression of utter agony as I approached the bed.

I held my hand out to touch her cheek, but she reached out and grabbed it with both hands first. And then she trembled as she brought my open palm to her cheek and began rubbing herself against it, whimpering softly.

I knelt beside the bed, bringing myself to her level as she lay still at the edge. And then as I moved my hands to hold her head, we came together in a tender kiss.

I tried to pour all the love I felt for her, and the sorrow I felt for sleeping with Brianna. If Amber asked me in this moment to come with her to Stanford, I would do it in a heartbeat.

And when we pulled away, Amber pinched her eyes and Looked at me with forlorn sadness.

“I love you.”

"I love you, too," I said as firmly as I could.

She choked up and Looked at the floor for a moment, already starting to cry.

“I don't want you to sleep with her again," she bit out through her tears.

Immediately, I answered, "Done."

"NO!" Amber shouted loudly just inches in front of me. Instinctively, I backed away, with Amber holding my hands so I didn't get too far back.

Her eyebrows pinched in again as she took that pained expression on her face.

“I didn't mean that.”

"Yes, you did." She meant it, and we both knew it.

Amber just grit her teeth and the determined blue fire I loved so much came into her irises. The tears stopped, and she said in a clear voice.

“Call her. Now."

I was confused, but the withering glare in Amber's eyes already had me reaching for my phone. When Amber got determined about something, nothing in the world could slow her down. Her dream of Medical School was one. Apparently, she decided that her ‘plan’ was something to be determined about as well.

"Do NOT come home tonight unless I can taste her pussy on your cock."

FALL (September 2003)

“Hi David."

I turned and managed a weak smile.