“I don’t know if this’ll give you the results you’re looking for, but…” I smirked. “It is correct.”

“What if the first two or three functions are wrong?”

“The very first one would need to be wrong. And it’s not.”

“How do you know?” She sounded a little alarmed.

“It’s just…not.” I gazed down at my work. “It’s actually rather simple really. You want one action to cause three…or more…” I wanted to entice Sammie a little. “…repetitive actions and this does just that. In truth…?” I gazed back up at Sammie. “She could have copied that part of it from somebody else’s work.”

At my laptop, I brought up a number of equations that basically did the same thing as what I worked on.

“I’ll bet if I looked long enough I would find the equation she began with.” I snickered.

Sammie didn’t think that was so funny. And understandably so...! She was paying Jessie ‘what’s her name’ money to do this stuff. And…as if that wasn’t enough…I already made up my mind that I was definitely doing the wrong major. I couldn’t wait for my tour of the engineering school and I couldn’t wait to have a palatable reason for cutting my first early morning class.

We also learned two things that were even more majorly important; at least at the time. Sammie definitely didn’t smell or taste weird…although I could probably pass on a scratch and sniff test after she’s been to the gym…and before a shower. And…I could actually have a real live full blown orgasm!

Her discovery was as equally as monumental, and coincidental, as mine. She didn’t smell weird and she could get me off! Years of wondering about my ability to enjoy being truly and fully intimate with someone disappeared away like yesterday’s rain. In a way…we were just about as normal as it gets. We were happy being with each other and we both were growing…together.

All I could think about when I reassured Sammie that I found nothing to my distaste…several times in different manners of speaking…was how horrible her last girlfriend must have been. I wondered why she even stayed with anyone who thought she smelled and tasted weird.

One thing was for sure. She certainly didn’t take care or look after Sammie. At least not the way I did. Sammie always made a point of saying ‘thank you’ whenever I did something for her; like hang up her clothes or clean up after dinner.

Even when I cooked…something she usually did for herself…my Sammie always said ‘thank you’. I remember the first time I cleaned up after the breakfast with her and Lia. She looked positively shocked.

But this is who I was…who I am. Maybe it’s that touch of OCD. Or maybe it’s my mind simply needing to slow down and kind of turn off for a short while. Not that one’s everyday household tasks are mindless. They were simply a refuge from my hyper active mind.

No doubt some of it stems from my early teen years were spent under the tutorage of my grandparents. Pop…as he liked to be called…was a retired naval office like my dad. So everything had to be in its place or I’d hear about it. And Nana…as she liked to be called…was no different. After being married for so long, I guess people begin to become one another. Quantum entanglements…?

They were strict. But they were also loving and supportive. I couldn’t help but feel that sometimes they gazed at me askew. Sometimes I felt like they really didn’t understand me. After all, there goes the lineage. But, and to their great credit, my choices were never discussed after they were made. I guess you could call them team players?

They weren’t exactly warm people. But you show your love by your words and deeds and they were as supportive as they possibly could be. Pop knew my mind worked differently than most. And for sure I had my…idiosyncrasies? I could zone out so far when I found something interesting to play with that the house could burn down around me and I wouldn’t notice.

What really astounded me was the amount of time I was now spending thinking about myself. I guess relationships like Sammie and mine would give cause to be more than a little introspective. And nothing provided better time for that like doing the dishes…or the laundry…or cleaning the bathroom. I also thought a lot about Sammie. And of course I put in a fair amount time in thinking about us.

We never got dressed on Saturday…at least not dressed to go out. Sammie and I sat on the couch and talked. Or we sat upon the bed or at the dining table and just talked to one another. Our legs touched. Or our hands touched. And we spoke about nothing of real value at all. Oh…yeah…except for an analysis of my big time event…sexual speaking.

Sammie virtually fired a barrage of questions about what she did and what I liked. It was kind of meaningless because I always loved anything Sammie did for me…or to me. And she told me what she loved; which was everything. She especially loved pleasing me. But Sammie also instructed me on how to do certain things better…or more effectively should I say?

So Saturday night was ‘Sammie night’. And my excuse was quite…scientific? I told her I wanted to try out the little nuances she told me about. So…one orgasm…which came surprisingly quickly due to her suggestions…became three orgasms…and then became even more!

It sort of became a contest after that. Just how many could she have? Anyway…it’s sort of like cars. A sports car whines and zips. But a bear-like truck truly shakes the earth and everything upon it! And we raced to see who bailed first.

The thing of it is that I was having so much fun making the bed shake…actually…making Sammie shake the bed...that who did what to whom became kind of moot. The real task became keeping certain parts of my body just out of her reach. Even with her arms pinned to the bed by my knees, she bounced me off twice. It’s truly a blessing to be able to be so intimate with someone that you know would return the blessing any time.

Sammie’s vagina was amazing. When I would place two fingers into her, the texture, the warmth, and the wetness were all amazing. I truly had no idea! And to think I actually came out of something like that…a vagina? I liked the fact that there were parts. And each part would elicit a moan or a squeal of delight. It was like we couldn’t get enough of each other.

We were both damaged. I certainly had my little gremlins and for sure Sammie had hers. But our gremlins seemed to vaporize when we were together. Sammie would finally beg for me to stop. She lost count of the number of orgasms she would have. I envied her since I only had that never ending epic one. When I did stop she’d grab hold of me and we’d both fall into a deep sleep almost immediately.

We slept in on this particular Sunday and had a very leisurely breakfast. And after showering and dressing we went shopping for the week. Determined to make Sunday evening my night to cook, we decided on my making sausage with peppers and onions. That we would have over pasta since Sammie did so love her carbs.

Monday morning came all too soon. After stuffing ourselves silly on dinner, we spent the evening massaging each other’s tummies with oil, which of course led to other most pleasurable activities? I simply didn’t want the weekend to end. So when we reluctantly left the apartment at seven thirty on Monday morning, I let Sammie lead me to the engineering school.

We walked attached at the hips with our arms around each other’s waist. Stopping for coffee…with two shots of espresso…we must have made quite the sight as we doted on each other’s wants and actions. We even drew several looks, a few head shakes, and a smile or two from the other early morning students.

The engineering building was part of a complex at the remote northwestern end of the campus. Across a small expanse of lawn loomed the physics building and that kind of made sense. Physicists come up with stuff and it’s up to the engineers to figure out how to make it practical. It was also quite convenient because I would need to take some classes there.

After being met by a very cheerful Dean, he immediately launched into how much Edith enjoyed my company. And then he lauded me because I solved a rather simple problem for Sammie’s project. Within the first half hour I knew my decision was correct. I saw several classrooms with only six students or eight students. The lecture hall sat maybe twenty people. What a marked difference from what I was accustomed to.

But the best parts of our tour were the labs I was allowed into. They definitely had the best toys I’d ever seen. Their mainframe puter was gigunda! It had twenty-four terabytes of RAM!!! You could run the world with that much RAM. And it was for the exclusive use of the engineering school only. Even the access was highly restricted. Then we went into another building where students were doing pressure testing on concrete beams used for highway construction.

Sammie’s lab was the very last stop. There was a keypad next to a very stout looking metal door.

“You’re really not allowed in here but…” Sammie grinned slyly as she entered the code. “Now we’re going to be separated from the actual work areas.” She held the door open for the Dean and me. “We’re in the observation room. As you can see through the poly…we have a clean room.”

Beyond the thick poly-carbonate wall was the most amazing lab I’d seen yet. It looked more like an operating room? The walls were white and all the cabinetry was stainless steel with what appeared to be stainless steel tables. Various equipment and several puters littered the tops. Even the tools I saw were stainless steel.

Several figures were moving around but I couldn’t tell who was who. They were completely gowned and they even had dust covers on their shoes. They wore hoods that covered their heads down to their shoulders as well as surgical gloves on their hands. The hoods had built in filters. The flooring appeared to be raised and covered with what looked like rubber matting.

“This entire room gets cleaned every week. That’s from the ceiling down.” Sammie smiled. “It’s totally sterile and the temperature never gets about sixty two degrees.”

Totally awed, I stared at Sammie.

“We have very sensitive equipment in there. And the information we’re putting together is…sensitive?” Sammie gazed back into the room. “The mechanical end and the chips for micro-boards are even more sensitive. That’s why this is a restricted space and why everybody has to gown up.”

“Who are those people in there?”

“Well…” Sammie exhaled slowly. “Two are grad assistants. That tall one is doing a fellowship. And…hopefully…one of them is Jessie.”
Sammie picked up a phone that hung on the wall. Someone picked it up.

“Yeah…” Sammie grinned. “Ask Doctor James to step out. Thanks…” Sammie put her hand over the phone. “She’ll need to gown up again. And that’s a real pain in the ass.”

Sammie snickered. Even the Dean chuckled. I guessed that Jessie wasn’t everybody’s fave these days. She came out after about five minutes of taking her sterile gear off.

“Hi…” She smiled widely. “Everyone come to see what’s going on today?”

“Well actually…” Sammie reached behind her back and beneath her blouse. She pulled out the pages I’d been working on from the back pocket of her jeans. “I do believe that this will work.” Sammie handed the pages to Jessie.

Jessie looked carefully at both sheets. She turned an amazing shade of red and looked up at Sammie.

“There was an error.” Sammie smirked. “Fortunately Emmie was able to find it and work it through.”

Jessie gazed at me and simply gawked.

“In fact the Dean and I are trying to convince her to switch majors and come here.” Sammie paused to let that sink in. “She already knows the math and, at the rate she can learn, she should be coding in no time at all.”

Jessie went from beet red to snow white in seconds. I must say…and sadly so…that I had to contain a giggle. I seemed to always feel for the person who screws up majorly.

“Anyway…” Sammie put her hand on Jessie’s shoulder. “Get back in there and see if you can’t get this coded.”

Jessie briefly said her goodbyes and meekly slinked back through the door to the changing room. Of course Sammie and the Dean broke into laughter. I felt even worse for Jessie actually. They both seemed to want her gone. And with me there, she probably saw the writing on the wall…in huge block letters no less.

As we started back toward the Dean’s office, we passed the student bulletin board. I walked very slowly gazing at what was posted. Amongst the usual stuff about needing roommates and places to eat and drink, I found a number of pinned sheets with what appeared to be a logic problem printed on them. It looked interesting so I ripped one of the sheets off.

“What do you have there?” The Dean asked.

“It’s just something that looked interesting.” I giggled and gave the sheet to the Dean.

“Well…” He smiled. “Every so often one of the professors posts a problem on the board. And once in a while somebody actually solves it. When that does happen, his entire class bows down to the solver.” He chuckled. “That’s only happened twice so far this semester and even that is a record.”

“Really…?”

What was the point of putting up a problem that was ridiculous to solve? I stared down at the paper when the Dean gave it back. Sammie kind of led me by my arm as we went along. Then I felt the urge.

“I need to pee.” I whispered to her.

“I’ll come and help.” She whispered in return.

“No thank you…” I lilted and grinned.

Even as I sat to do my thing, my eyes were fixed upon the sheet of paper. Logic problems are truly fun. They’re kind of like puzzles with only one real answer…or solution. My mind was quickly working on what I saw. Math is basically easy. We all learn that ‘a’ plus ‘b’ equals ‘c’. The rest is all definition and vocabulary.

The proof is substituting values for the letters and coming out with the practical answer. Even leaving one value out doesn’t matter because one simply solves for that value. Okay…so maybe it’s easy for me. Of course I have trouble writing a simple letter.

“Hey…! What the hell are you doing in there?”

Sammie’s abrupt and quite loud voice shook me out of my little world.

“Sorry…” I squeaked. “I’ll be right out.”

Quickly wiping, flushing, and rearranging myself, I came out of the stall and washed my hands. Of course I could never resist looking carefully at my appearance in the mirror. I retouched my lipstick and ran a small comb through my hair. Blushing and grinning I walked out to find Sammie standing alone.

“The Dean said he has to put up with this from his wife. But not from a student.” She laughed. “Come on…” Sammie held out her hand. “We’re off to his office. By the way…” She grinned wryly at me. “I don’t suppose you’ve solved it yet.”

Taking her hand and letting her lead me, I smiled and giggled.

“Not yet… I need a few more minutes.”

“You’re disgusting.” Sammie snorted and chuckled.

“What…? I washed my hands.” I pouted.

But Sammie just laughed.

“So baby girl… What do you think? You think you’d like living here?”

“Yeah…! Seriously…? Yeah…! We could eat lunch together every day.”

“That’s not what I meant.” She shook her head and smiled.

“Oh… You mean going to school here? Yeah… That would be awesome. But I’d have to wait till next semester…at least.”

“Maybe not… We’re only eight weeks into this one and the Dean wants to give you some tests in the basic areas. It’s mostly math and physics so you should be good on that. You already have the basic standard courses required of everybody. And we will give you the texts you’ll need to catch up on the puter languages.”

“So what…? I just transfer schools and that’s that?”

There was no way it could be that easy.

“Yeah… For someone with your skills…? Yes…it’s that easy.” Sammie stopped and gazed at me. “When someone has a uniquely special skill set, and those skills are needed, there truly are no barriers except the ones you create yourself.”

That kind of booped my nose…so to speak…? I never regarded myself as being ‘special’ and hated the label…as I hated all labels. Except for special cases like the slut and the bitch…!

Sammie pulled me past the receptionist, who was busily at work, into the Dean’s office. He seemed to be quite busy with something on his puter. He spoke without looking at us.

“So…do you wish to try that problem?”

“Ummm…? Sure…” I grinned. “But I don’t have a pen.”

He gazed up at me.

“You know that’s a take home.” He stared at me.

“Really…?” I was kind of surprised. “I just need a few minutes. It’ll be quick. I promise.”

My whining voice must have done it. It was the very typoe of puzzle I simply couldn’t resist. The Dean and Sammie glanced at each other. Sammie simply smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders. The Dean handed me a pen and Sammie pointed to the conference table. As Sammie sat down by the Dean’s desk, I began to work on the solution.

They were speaking to one another but I paid no attention at all. It was valuable ‘white noise’ as far as I was concerned. Logic is simple. One has twenty-eight symbols; each representing a process such as + or -. When you throw in values such as letters…or numbers, you create an equation. An equation is simply a statement…like a sentence or something?

Now some people have an ‘ear’ for languages…or music. Others have an ‘eye’ for shape, form, and color. Everyone has a ‘gift’ or one sort or another. Mine just happens to be for symbols instead of letters, and the ability to pick up the vocabularies necessary for dealing with the symbols. That doesn’t mean I’m smart. I still need to put in the work. But…I get it! I can figure it out…except for stats.

“Okay…” I beamed. “I’m done. This one was a little tricky.” I giggled.

They gazed at each other…again…and then at me.

“Well…” The Dean sounded…weird? “Put your name on it and I’ll see it gets to the proper professor. I’m sure he’ll be delighted you solved it so quickly. That went up on the board today.”

“I would like to get her started.” Sammie said softly as she glanced at the Dean. “Let’s start with Basic. She should walk through that. I would like to give her C++ 17, Java and Python as well. I think she’ll eat that up.”

Those words meant nothing to me. But they sure would over the weeks to come.

“Also give her comp engineering and comp science for dummies.” The Dean added.

“For dummies…?” Asked I.

“Those are the basic text books for the undergrads.” Sammie grinned. “You’re going to have homework like you won’t believe.” She laughed.

“What about my stats class?” Queried I.

“Yeah… You should finish that class and go for stats two. You should take the entire range. But I promise you it will become easier once you get away from the basics.”

“Meh…”

“You’ll need it for the algorithms.” Sammie turned on her serious face. “We’re working on AI. You know what that is?”

“Yeah…” I lilted.

“Well… It’s all algorithms based on statistical sampling…about twenty or more gigs of info…metadata files. So you’ll need to be able to interpret the data and write up an application.”

“Okay…” I truly did understand. A light bulb went off in my head. “Does this mean I get to work for you?” Grinned I sheepishly.

“Indeed you do.” Laughing as she spoke. “But I would like to think of it as working with you.”

“You’re a rather usual young woman Emmie.” Said the Dean. “I’ve met you twice and spent some time with you and I can tell you that you are the most interesting student I’ve encountered in quite some time.”

Staring at the Dean in surprise, I shrugged my shoulders and grinned.

“You haven’t referenced your phone once during that time. You’ll fit in perfectly with the other women going to our school.” Grinned he.

We left with five huge textbooks, the accompanying syllabus for each course, and a list of the professors with their contact information. The Dean also gave me a temporary puter login so I could do the assignments. The good news was that I could go to school with Sammie and the only course I would need to keep taking was stats…of course.

As we walked back to Sammie’s, we spoke of nothing but how amazing going to school would be. Suddenly the sharp pang of extreme hunger overtook me. I hadn’t eaten at all since last night. And knowing myself a little bit, the first thing I’d need to do after entering the door was grab a block of cheese and start catching up. Thankfully Sammie came to the rescue.

“Listen…” She growled.

I knew that growl.

“I’m starving.” Moaned she. “Let’s get the car and go somewhere for lunch. Maybe Titanic…?”

“Yes…!” Said I with more than a wee bit of enthusiasm.

So…between a cup of soup, teriyaki chicken wings, onion rings, and fries…of course…I began to leaf through the book on basic. Between the soup and the bread, I realized that I knew many of the symbols already. The book simply gave the ‘reading lessons’ in construction.

It’s kind of like spelling and grammar in a sentence. When we got back, I spent the rest of the day working on the Basic whilst Sammie went to the gym. And when she returned I was well versed enough to be at my puter writing a simple program. Sammie was amazed.

“You’re almost half way through that book?” She shook her head. “I can’t believe my girlfriend is smarter than I am.” Sammie chuckled. “It’s like…what’s her next trick going to be? What’s she going to do next…part the seas…or walk on water?”

“Well it’s kind of interesting stuff.” I smiled. “Can we go back to the school? I’m writing this stuff out but I won’t know if it works or not.” Frowned I.

“No…!” Sammie held up her palms. “There’s no way in hell I’m bringing you there now. You’ll be up all night playing with that crap.” She laughed. “But I’ll take you there tomorrow morning if you think you’re ready.”

I grinned and nodded my head.

“Is Lei here?” Sammie asked as she removed her perspiration drenched teen shirt.

“Yeah… She blew in just after you dropped me off and went straight to her room.” I shook my head. “I feel bad for her. She looked like she was the party…rude boys and all.”

“Well don’t. She can afford it. Or at least her family can. You and I are amongst the select few who actually belong in a university. The rest are either here for vocational schooling or to kill time partying whilst picking up some useless degree.”

Sammie actually sounded a little bitter. But I could understand why. Like me, she got through school by getting red-hot grades and doing the work. School was just like a job to her…and to me as well. If you did excellent work, you not only got to stay, but you’d get extra incentives like books, room and board, and other goodies. But I also knew that students like my roomies and Lei were the ones who got salaries paid for those professors not on grant money.

“So…” Sammie grinned lewdly. “Want to take a shower?”

“Sure…” I giggled.

After picking up her very damp clothes as she shed them, I followed Sammie into the bedroom. Whilst she readied the shower, I dumped her clothes into the hamper and shed my own. This was indeed a kind of blessing. I had Sammie for one more day than otherwise. It was one more opportunity to be naked with her. Our bodies would touch and I would feel really connected to her…and with her.

Sammie was already soaped up when I stepped into the shower. She immediately grabbed me and began to rub her body against mine. What a novel way of soaping up whilst conserving the resources. And I assisted willingly of course. Turning my back to Sammie, I spooned up against her and she did all the work.

The sound of Sammie giggling was sweet music to my ears. Pleasing her was such a joy! And I did please her. When I turned back around we kissed. With one arm around me, Sammie cupped my boy bits with her other. I, in turn, cupped her…what are they called…girl bits? Anyway…I slipped my middle finger between her folds and elicited a moan of pleasure.

And so we danced; our lips wrestling, our bodies touching, our arms embracing, and our hands tantalizing one another. We slowly twirled and let the water cascade down upon us as we moaned into each other’s mouth. I felt pure rapture to have such a sacred moment in time with Sammie. Could life, my life, actually be this amazing? This was too good to be true.

But those moments pass all too quickly and we couldn’t stay in the shower forever. I had to gather my things and get ready to leave for the evening. I dreaded this time of the day. And Sammie did as well. I could feel what she felt and she could feel what I felt. It’s that emptiness that occurs when those sacred moments in time evaporate like the early morning dew.

Meanwhile…back at the dorm…Sammie’s hand in mine…

“Samma…!” Pat shrieked.

What a way to return to the mundane.

“You’ll never guess what we found out.” Jeanie smirked.

“The slut’s pregnant!” Pat laughed.

“I guess fertility isn’t an issue with her.” Jeanie snickered.

They both were bouncing on their toes. Sammie and I glanced at one another and burst out laughing. The slut being pregnant wasn’t humorous. Indeed it was quite sad. But the fact that this was the existence I was leaving proved to be hilarious.

“How do you know this anyway?” I felt obligated to ask. “I mean…you guys weren’t exactly on speaking terms when she split.”

“One of her sorority sisters blabbed it and now the news is all over the dorm.” Pat chuckled. “It was bound to happen anyway. Word is that she came here to find a suitable sucker to marry. One that would put up with her shit…?”

“Oh…why am I not surprised? But preggers…? Seriously….?” I really wasn’t surprised. “Do you think she did it intentionally?” I took Sammie’s hand and pulled her to the couch to sit down with me. “I think that’s a little bit rad. Don’t you?”

“Maybe…? But if it gets her what she wants…who’s to say what rad is?” Pat sat down as well.

For the first time I noticed that they both had their phones in hand. They always had their phones in hand. Maybe the Dean was right? Maybe I was indeed nerdy enough to fit in that school perfectly.

“By the way…” I grinned. “I’m switching majors.”

“No…! Really…?” Jeanie gawked.

“Let me guess.” Pat smirked. “You’re now an engineering major?”

“How did you guess?”

“Duh…” Pat stared at Sammie.

“Oh my God…! When are you two moving in together?” Jeanie gawked…again…wide-eyed and all.

“Jeanie…!” Pat whined. “That’s like asking ‘when are you getting pregnant’ or something.”

The conversation became even more banal after that.

“Well…” Sammie had enough. “I need to get going.”

She stood up and I got up with her. Sammie wished them a good night and I went back downstairs with her.

“Don’t forget to be downstairs at seven thirty.” She said with a smile. “Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life…literally.” Sammie chuckled.

We kissed and she walked out of the dorm. I always hated that feeling of being alone when she left. A tear or two came to my eyes and, not having a tissue, I wiped them away with my palm before going back upstairs. Of course I was met with yet another barrage of insipid questions. And of course I had the perfect stopper.

“Hey… Why do you guys always have your phones in hand? And…” The real stopper… “Why do girls always take ‘selfies’? I mean…don’t they know what they look like?”

There were so many things I didn’t understand. Why ‘Instagram’, ‘Facebook’, and…whatever…? Sammie explained it to me. I should have known…but those things never interested me? There was too much work involved with social media. I always seemed to have better things to do with that time. Sammie’s the same way. At least she had some GA keeping her pages up to date for her.

Validation is such an amazing word. None of the synonyms quite fit the bill. People seek validation through social media…and ‘selfies’…and all the rest. Validation is getting texts from everyone you ever knew. Validation is the number of subscribers…the number of ‘loves’…the number of comments. But I can’t figure out what the duck-lipped face thingy was all about other than to show lip?

So what’s all the validation about? Well…in Sammie’s case, if anyone’s looking for a Phd. with heavy robotics research, her name will pop up along with everyone else in the world with the same creds. In a very real sense, that would be heavy validation if she really cared. That’s not to say she doesn’t seek it or get it. Every tiny success in the lab is incredible validation for her. Every workout she does is heavy validation.

By her own admission, holding and kissing me and sleeping with me, was validation. And the same held true for me. Everything we did together…to…get…her…hmmm…was amazing validation. We were alive and important, at least to each other.

Our lives felt real and our reality and vision, and our ideas, were real. We are truly alive and the people we want to be interested in us are deeply interested; the truly important ones…the people that matter in our lives.

The next day I was so late getting myself together that Sammie had to come up and wait. I overslept; indeed a rarity. I was up most of the night reading the comp. science and comp. engineering for dummies books. Though interesting, there approach required more than a simple glance through. But I so desperately wanted to catch up so I could begin attending the classes.

We went directly to the Dean’s office. The Dean got up from his desk to greet us. He was shocked to learn that over the weekend I’d gotten more than half way through the Basic book. He was even more startled that I’d read the first three chapters in each of the puter books and even did a few of the exercises.

“I think it’s time for the trial by fire.” The Dean arched both brows. “Let’s get you into a class.”

He began to lead us out of his office and past the receptionist. We walked down the hallway; Sammie was holding my hand. Every so often she’d give me a gentle squeeze to let me know it was all right; everything was all right.

We walked into one of the lecture rooms. There were only twenty-four other students. The silence was deafening. They were all hunched over sheets of paper. We followed the Dean down to the front of the room where the professor sat.

“I have a new student for you.” The Dean whispered and grinned. “I think you’ll find her to be quite interesting.”

“Well…” The professor scratched his head. “I’m giving the mid-term exam now.”

“I know that. Give her a copy of it and let her take it.”

“Has she taken some Basic before?”

“No…?” The Dean grinned. “But she’s read the book.”

He arched both brows and smiled weakly. Handing me the paper, the professor glanced at his watch.

“I’m afraid you only have forty minutes to complete this.”

“Okay…” I smiled meekly. “Thanks for letting me do this.” I turned to Sammie. “Do you have a pen I could borrow?”

“We generally use pencils for this.” The professor chuckled.

“Here Emmie…”

Sammie handed me her drafting pencil.

“When you’re done, come back to my office.” The Dean said.

As they both left, I found a seat in the center of the first row. I glanced around quickly as I settled into the seat. Looking at the exam I suddenly realized how far past this stuff I was. Giggling two or three times as I did the exam, the professor was obviously becoming annoyed with me.

Was this some kind of a joke? I could have been spending the time testing the small program I wrote. So I notated it at the bottom of the answer sheet. I wanted to know if it was correct. Finishing the exam, I didn’t want to be the first to hand it in. I was so hated for being…well…being a good student all through my schooling. So…I was the third one?

“Are you sure you don’t want to have a second look?” The professor was truly stunned.

“I did.” My giggling didn’t help. “Oh… I was working on this and if you have the time…” I pointed to my writing at the bottom. “I’m pretty sure it’s okay? But I really want to be sure?”

“Well…” He gazed at me steadily. “I think I can find the time.” He smiled. “I believe I will find you interesting…‘Emmie’…is it?”

“Yeah…” I snickered and nodded my head.

“Do you know your way back to the Dean’s office?”

“Oh yeah… I remember the way.” Giggled I.

Grabbing my bag, I scrambled up the steps to the door. The first two finished were outside in the hall discussing the exam. I smiled and they invited me over.

“Hi…” The cute black guy said. “I’m ‘BAM’…that’s short for Brent Arthur McCann. And this potato head is Stephie.”

“Hi… I’m Emma…Emmie.”

“How was the exam?” He asked with a grin.

“Ummm…” I knew ‘it was a joke’ wasn’t the way to go. “It wasn’t too bad.”

“Yeah… We think we did well on it.” Stephie grinned. “Where did you come from?”

“Ummm… Fort Lauderdale…?”

“No…?” She smirked. “What school are you in?”

“Oh…” I laughed. “I’m such a derp sometimes. I was in the social science school?”

They stared at one another.

“And you just decided to come to learn Basic?” BAM asked.

“Well…? Not exactly… I just switched majors. I was a psych major but Sammie…Samantha Evans…convinced me to come here. So now I’m doing comp. sci., and comp. engineering.”

“As a double…?” Brent asked as he gawked at me. “Doctor Evans…? She asked you?”

“Yeppers…”

“You mean she kind of recruited you?” Stephie gawked as well.

“Well…? Yeah… I never would have thought of it like that.” I rolled my eyes and giggled. “But she and the Dean kind talked to me about it? I mean you guys have amazing toys to play with.”

“The Dean talked to you about it?” Stephie repeated. She was…well…in Gawkland?

“Yeah… We had dinner at his house…” I smiled and closed my eyes as I recalled the memory. “His wife is amazing. Anyway…” They stared as if waiting on…bated breath? “Sammie had this logic problem? It was a triple-tree thingy? So I found the error and completed it.”

“Did you get it right?” BAM was mesmerized.

“I got the equation right. But if the first statement is incorrect, than it’s wrong. I had to assume that it was okay. Otherwise…why bother to solve it?” I snickered. “And Sammie...ummm...Doctor Evans wants me to work in her lab? I think that’s so epic!”

“She wants you in her lab?” BAM looked truly stunned.

“Listen… We have this study group?” Stephie giggled. “We meet at least once a week to review this stuff. Would you like to join us?”

“Yeah… You would be great to have in our group.” BAM added.

“Excellent…” I arched my brows and smiled. “That would be seriously epic.”

We spoke for a few more minutes. But I had to break it off to go meet with Sammie and the Dean. They were nice enough to walk me to the office. They walked onto their next class. But not before we all swapped phone numbers.

“What took you so long?” Sammie chuckled.

“Oh… I was speaking with two of the others who finished the exam. I’m in a study group.” I snickered.

“Sit down sweetie. I want to go over your schedule. The Dean was nice enough to fit you into early classes. You should be done between twelve and one. Afterward, I want you to come to my lab. Let’s see if we can’t find you something to do.” Sammie grinned slyly.

“Every day…?” Now that truly was exciting.

“Every day…” Sammie smiled. “We’re just waiting for the clearance to come through.”

After spending the better part of the afternoon in the library…the one at the engineering school…I needed a serious break. Sammie was kind enough to provide just that. We went to the Rat for dinner and a much needed beer.

I’d been going through the books for dummies and was nearly caught up with the engineering stuff. Sometime between eating a caramelized onion and sipping Sammie’s beer my phone went off.

“Oh my God…!” I stared up at Sammie. “It’s my dad.”

He never called during the day.

“Hi daddy…”

Sammie chuckled. Yeah…I know…‘daddy’?

“Hi baby… What are you doing?”

He sounded too serious.

“Well…? I’m eating with Sammie?”

“No sweet heart… Why do you need security clearance?”

“Ummm… I don’t know. I switched majors this week. How do you know I need…whatever?”

“Your name doesn’t ring any bells. But my name rings all of them. I got a call from…some people. They wanted to know about you.”

Sammie must have seen the color drain from my face.

“What’s up baby girl?” Sammie whispered.

“It’s about my clearance?”

Sammie reached for my phone and I let her have it.

“Hi Mister Collins… Emma is going to be interning in my lab. I guess it’s my work that’s requiring the security clearance.”

“I haven’t had a chance to look at what you’re doing. I thought I’d call Emmie first. Give me just a moment.”

“For you sir…? Two moments…at least...” She chuckled.

The few moments seemed like an hour! But Sammie just sat there grinning as she devoured her fries. My dad must have come back on as she handed the phone to me.

“Hi daddy…”

‘Daddy’ Sammie mouthed, rolled her eyes, and snickered.

“Why are you changing your major? I thought you were in love with the subject area.”

“Well…? I think working with Sammie will be more fun?”

My dad broke into laughter verging on…hysteria?

“You don’t like the idea?” I’m such a ‘daddy’s girl’.

“Listen baby… I’m your biggest fan and anything you really want to do gets me hard.”

Sailors…and their weird analogies…! As if I even knew what ‘hard’ meant…!

“I should have known this ran in our blood.” He chuckled. “You’ll be in my backyard…so to speak. Comp science and engineering… I expect you’ll be teaching me in a year or two.”

“Awww…daddy…!” As if ever…! Truly…!

“But I don’t want any red-line phone calls to pull you off the ceiling.” He was seriously serious. “I don’t want any panicked calls from Sam. Just don’t get sidetracked with math…again. You know how you can get.”

“Yes daddy… I won’t.”

“Now listen carefully baby…” His voice was always so soothing when he wanted to be soothing…and that was almost all the time. “You realize that you will have a license to lie…when it comes to what you’re doing with Sam.”

Staring at Sammie, I was kind of shocked? I mean I really shouldn’t have been. What with the heavy doors and special keypad lock… I don’t think even the Dean knew the code. This took me a long moment to digest.

“Yes daddy… I understand.”

“I’m going to speed this up and bring it down to you. You’ll need to get four passport-sized photos taken. No makeup at all… Then get them to me ‘asap’. Understand sweet heart? I’ll also need a full set of your finger prints ‘asap’. You get me those and you’ll be up on point by Saturday.”

“Yes daddy… When do you think you’ll be down?” I loved seeing him.

“Oh…” I could hear him sigh. “Probably by…Friday… If we did this through the normal channels…this would take weeks. There’ll be one or two days of back and forth with couriers. But I’m fairly sure I can get it done by then.”

“Okay daddy…!” I was excited. “That’ll be so great!”

After saying my goodbye…tear laced of course…Sammie spoke.

“Your dad is coming down here?” Sammie seemed…shocked? “Why…?”

“Oh who cares? He’s coming here. That will be so…epic!”

“When…?”

“Maybe Friday…? I hope he can stay the weekend. He said something about paperwork and clearance…or something?” I sighed. “I wish he could stay with us. Oh yeah… I need to get some passport pictures taken? And finger prints…? Then we need to FedEx them I guess?”

We were in the midst of discussing his impending visit when suddenly my phone went off again.

“Hi daddy…” I giggled and curled up on my chair.

Sammie simply looked, shook her head, rolled her eyes, and chuckled.

“Listen baby… I just called a friend and he’ll arrange to have all that done tomorrow morning. You’ll need to be at the Justice Department building bright and early. That way I should have what I need by tomorrow night. Do you know where that is?”

“Downtown…?” Not totally clueless…

“When you go into the building…just give them your name and they’ll tell you where to go. And do bring your passport for identification.”

“Okay daddy…” I grinned.

Once told of what needed to get done, and where, Sammie insisted on going with me. And I’m so very glad she did! Taking the Metro during rush hour…and at the crack of dawn mind you…is not my idea of fun. Although we had breathing room and the A/C function…speaking of minor miracles…the odor of humanity in all its shapes, functions, and forms, was thick in the air.

We took an Uber to the address and arrived at a super imposing, totally tasteless in design, building. Oh sure I know that it’s meant to look big and scary. After all…we’re talking Federal Justice here. No blind woman holding scales… More like…Thor (not to be confused with any Hemsworth brother) ready to pound that freaking hammer…on whomever…for whatever...!!!

The receptionist suddenly became quite amenable once I identified myself. To our surprise, he also seemed to be expecting Sammie who flashed her security card I guess. And I was thankful. I hated to think of my Sammie having to ‘get lost’ for an hour or whatever. We even got an escort up to where we had to go. The woman who escorted us seemed a bit surprised that I was being photographed and printed.

And printed I was…actually…we were. Our fingers, palms, whole hands and everything were done on a thingy that looked like a copier. She then took us into the next room where our photos were taken. Though it didn’t take all that long, the woman was very cordial toward us and kept offering coffee or some other drink.

“How long do I need to wait for these?” Asked I sheepishly…

“Wait…? Why…?” She replied curiously.

“Well… My dad needs these.” Grinned I…again sheepishly.

“I don’t know where these are going…or why.” She smiled softly. “But they may already be at their destination. The computer age you know.” She giggled. “Anyway…those questions are way above my pay grade. Everything I do is by case number so everything remains anonymous.”

Upon leaving the building…and not a moment too soon for my taste…Sammie took me to a place nearby for breakfast to go. Sammie insisted I get the smoked salmon Benedict and she got Cajun shrimp Benedict. With our breakfasts and coffees in hand, she led me to Bayfront Park. We easily found a lovely spot to sit, eat, and enjoy the beautiful view of the harbor as a mild breeze blew in our faces.

“I don’t understand something.” Sammie muttered between bites. “I already have government clearance. Why did I need to do this again?”

Shrugging my shoulders, I shook my head.

“My dad works in mysterious ways.”

“But you do trust him?”

It was more of a statement than a question. And I couldn’t believe she actually asked me that.

“Completely…! Without hesitation…! I can tell him anything.” What was she really asking? “He wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. Although he might kill you…and your cat…” I snickered.

“Well…” Sammie gazed at me and I could read the worry in her. “Nobody gives you anything for nothing. Everybody wants something in return. I already have baseline clearance…which I never had to use until today. I just don’t…” She never finished her thought.

“Oh mama bear…” I lilted. “You’ll meet him and decide for yourself. He’s a real DILF.” I snickered.

“A DILF…? What the fuck is a DILF?”

“Well…” I giggled. “It’s like a MILF…only with a ‘D’. When he would go to the 'U' School…all the women teachers and staff couldn’t stop looking at him…or coming on to him. But…” I paused for a moment. “He’s kind of like the ultimate Alpha type male and doesn’t mess around. He’s very directed…and forceful…but in a good way.”

“Hmmm… Meeting him should be interesting. I think I’m kind of an Alpha female…in my own way.”

“Yeah…” I smirked. “That’s why you’re so hot! It kind of turns me on you know.”

“So I’ve noticed.” Sammie laughed.

“You’re very much like him. Kind of…no nonsense…? And you know what?”

Sammie shook her head.

“Daughters usually marry their fathers and sons usually marry their mothers. And if the role models are good, things usually work out okay.”

“Oh God…” Sammie sighed. “You’re definitely not my mother…or my father for that matter.”

“Well…” I laughed. “There are exceptions to every rule you know.”

Getting back to the campus around noon, Sammie went straight to her lab and I went to my room. The girls were out and I was able to put in a few solid hours of studying my new majors. The enormity of my dad’s impending visit didn’t hit me until around three in the afternoon. And then, suddenly my mind turned into a bag of very upset cats!

Anticipation runs very closely toward anxiety. I hadn’t seen my dad in months and I suddenly needed to see him so very much. He’s always been my ‘sea-anchor’…steadying me and keeping me on course through the squalls and storms of life. And believe me…there have been some very epic storms!

Add to this the fact that two very Alpha types would be in the very same room together… Visions of the ninth level of hell danced across my mind. What if he hated her? What is she hated him? What if they hated each other? And what would I do in the worst case scenario? I could never give up my mama bear. But I could never disappoint my dad either? And what about Bob…? Ummm… Forget Bob!

Thankfully my whirling drive into psychosis was interrupted by a text from BAM. Stephie and he were having trouble with something and wanted to know if I could help them. They were in the library but agreed to meet me outside the coffee shop. At least the open air and the view would be calming. When I arrived, they had staked out a table and grinned when they saw me coming.

“Don’t you go to class?” Stephie asked.

“Ummm…” I didn’t know how to answer. “I had to do something with…” I corrected myself before I said it. “…Doctor Evans. For work I guess…?”

“I can’t believe you’re in her lab.” BAM said softly.

“Yeah…” I sighed. “The Dean thought it was a good idea.”

“The Dean…?” They chanted. “I only met him once…and that was at orientation.” BAM whined.

“I don’t know!” I blurted out. “I only live here. It’s like everybody has plans for me but nobody’s saying crap about what they are.”

The stress of everything was beginning to build again.

“I’m just a kid…you know? And all these adults are making plans. I just wish I knew what was going on?” My shoulders slumped.

“Listen…” Stephie placed her hand atop mine. “If now isn’t good for you…”

“Nopers…” I insisted. “I could use a break from being myself.”

After spending about an hour and a half with them, the cats stopped screaming and confined themselves to simply chewing and clawing at the bag. At least I was able to provide Stephie and BAM with palpable help. As we were finishing up, I made up my mind that tonight was going to be a Sammie night. I would walk over to the Village and ask Lei if it was okay with her.

Just then Sammie called.

“Hey baby girl… How are you doing?”

“Hi…” I hesitated, glancing quickly at my stud buds.

“You okay…?” My Sammie heard the tension in my voice.

“I’d really like to see you tonight.” I kind of whispered…almost.

Sammie sighed. I knew the issue and she knew that I knew.

“Where are you now?”

“Outside the coffee shop...”

Deafening silence for the longest moment…

“I have about another five minutes here and then I’ll be over. Okay baby girl…?”

“Great…” I withheld the ‘mama bear’.

“Well…” BAM chuckled. “I guess you joining us at the Rat is out.”

“Sorry…” I cowered.

“I know this is really none of my business…”

Why is it whenever anybody says that, whatever it is suddenly becomes their business? And what’s worse…? I knew what Stephie was going to ask!

“Is it…”

“Yeah…” I sighed.

“Wait… What…?” BAM looked confused. He stared at me and then at Stephie…and then back at me. “You mean Doctor…?”

“Shut up BAM…!” Stephie elbowed him.

“You’re gay?” He seemed stunned.

“BAM…!” Another flying elbow…harder this time. “Shut the fuck up!”

“You’re family?” Some people…! “Can we meet her? I mean we see her around but she never seems to have time to speak to anyone other than the Dean.” He turned to Stephie. “Don’t you want to meet her?”

“Look guys…” I had to put a stop to this. “I met Doctor Evans when I was on the other side of the campus. I was in the social sciences school. She helped me with my stats and we just…well…we just hit it off I guess.”

“It’s all over the schools. You and Doctor Evans...and the Dean…” BAM said solemnly.

“But it’s not what you think.” Stephie quickly added in a hushed voice. “It’s like…you’re the new super brain and that you’re Doctor Evans’ protégé?”

“After all, we are basically geeks and that means all fun and no work. It other words…all puters...the fun part... and no sex. And you should have been in class today. You aced that test by fourteen points! The Doc was shocked.”

“I wonder if he looked at the program I wrote. I put it on the exam.”

“Forget it.” BAM laughed. “He never saw the exams. That’s what you have GAs for.”

We spoke for a while and I felt assured that ‘Samma’ was safe. One thing about nerds…we just don’t have the time or interest to dabble in weird gossip…or social media to spread gossip. My soul breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Sammie approach us.

“Hi…” Sam was nearly breathless. “I got hung up at the lab.” She gazed at my stud buds. “Your study group I take it?”

“Yeah… This is Stephie and BAM.”

Sammie smiled at them and shook hands with each.

“It’s really great to meet you Doctor Evans.”

BAM was so excited to meet Sammie I thought he might pee!

“Totally…” Echoed Stephie... “We’ve kind of heard so much about you and your lab.”

Sammie pulled out a chair and sat down. It’s not exactly what I wanted but she waved the other two to take a seat.

“So…” Sammie chuckled. “What’s the latest gossip about my lab?”

And so they related everything…EVERYTHING!!! From new super weapons to new disposable toilets…! Sammie snickered at some of the guesses that circulated around the school.

“I mean your lab is a total mystery.” BAM chuckled. “You have PHds with several disciplines and mechanical engineer…also with a PHd….and everybody’s listed as an instructor. But they don’t teach…or even have GAs to teach for them.”

“Well…” Sammie exhaled with a huge grin. “I guess our project security is still good.” She turned toward me. “Every so often I’ll ask someone what they hear. But disposable toilets…?” She burst into laughter. “That’s a first for me.”

“So…” Stephie smiled wryly. “How can I get a job in your lab?”

Gag me with a pitch fork! I couldn’t believe she actually asked that question. But Sammie simply laughed.

“Although my regular staff comes from top grad schools, the degree is the least important. Always remember this. It doesn’t matter where you go. It only matters what you do. Aside from brilliance, my people…” Sammie grinned at me. “…except for one…have shown initiative, the ability to improvise, and a masochistic desire to work way beyond the call of duty.”

“How do you show those three things?” BAM leaned in toward Sammie.

“Take Emmie here for example. How often have you passed by the main bulletin board?”

“We pass it every day a few times.” Stephie said.

“Have you every picked up the featured problem and tried to solve it?”

“Not really…” BAM said softly.

“Emmie picked up the problem as we were on the way to the Dean’s office. By the time she got there, she already had the answer formulated. What chapter are you on in your Basic text?”

“We just finished struggling through the seventh.” BAM said. “And that’s with Emmie’s help.”

“Emmie’s just about finished the entire book.” Sammie grinned at me. “She’s going to be working full time with me one of these days.” Sammie sighed and smiled softly. “Both of you are capable of doing great things. You’re studying engineering or science…or both. You obviously have a gift. The only question is when you will discover it.”

Oh my God…! Did my Sammie just quote me?

“And when you do discover it…perhaps it will be something I can use.”

All hope was lost expressions appeared on their faces. And Sammie…being Sammie…let it sink in.

“But…!” Sammie announced filled with mirth. “I currently have two undergrad students who will be gone in December. If either…or both of you…can show me something between now and then…I’ll give it some thought.”

‘That’s my Sammie’ I thought as she got up. I gathered the last few things with a smile. She was a realist…but not a bully. And even though their chances were nil…BAM and Stephie left with smiles as well. As we walked in an opposite direction from my stud buds, Sammie put her arm around my waist.

“So… What’s going on with you baby girl? You’re trembling like a leaf.”

Shaking my head and sighing, I stepped in closer to Sammie’s side.

“Maybe later…?” She put her arm around my shoulders holding me closer.

Nodding agreement, we continued to her apartment. After stopping to collect her mail, we went up in the elevator. Sammie opened the door to the view of Lei, headphones on and game controller in hand, deeply ensconced in some fantasy game.

“Hey…” Sammie said in greeting.

But Lei was so completely absorbed that she didn’t even know we were there. Sammie crumpled up one of the ad flyers and threw it at Lei popping her directly on her head.

“Aiii… Bumbleclot…!” She suddenly turned to see us as she threw the controller to the floor. “I just lost my kingdom!”

“We need to talk.” Sammie spoke firmly.

“Sure honey…”

Lei stood up, removed her headphones, and came toward us. Suddenly her hands flew to her cheeks and she looked at me …in shock?

“Honey child…” She cried. “What is the devil in you? You tremble like a leaf.”

Was I that obvious? How could I not be? Lei reached out and took my hands. She pulled me to one of the bucket chairs and sat me down.

“You just wait child. Lei will fix you a cup of her special tea.”

As she scurried off into her room, Sammie came and sat on the coffee table. She took my hands in hers and smiled softly. Her gaze was comforting.

“I make no claims for whatever she puts in her ‘special tea’. But it seems to do the trick for her.” She smiled gently.

So…as Lei went to work in the kitchen, Sam leaned in and hugged me. I felt so depressed and the anxiety switched into…hopelessness? My emotions were so totally out of my control. Numbness and impending doom were all I felt. Of course tears fell...

“Here you go darling girl…”

Lei gave me a mug full of steaming liquid. I could smell the aroma of chamomile and rum. Sipping the tea slowly, I savored the unusual flavors. There was a hint of orange in the taste. Lei smiled.

“This will ease your spirits and sooth the bowel.”

What a unique way to put it. 'Sooth the bowel'... But Lei was right. My stomach was in knots. And though I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, I truly had no appetite. As Lei started for her room, Sammie stopped her.

“One minute Lei…” Sammie got up and took my free hand. “Come baby girl… Let’s get you into my room so you can get comfy and relax a little.”

Sammie thankfully assisted me into her bedroom. She made sure I was settled atop her bed and left, closing the door behind her, to speak with Lei. Slowly sipping the tea, I knew what they were speaking about. Me…!

Sammie knew I was needy and I knew that the last thing a lesbian needed was a needy BGFF. I tried telling myself that this wasn’t the same thing. But in my present state of mind…I failed…miserably. I settled back into the task at hand; drinking the tea. And I had to admit it was calming me down. By the time Sammie came back in, I was actually smiling and giggling.

“Well…” She grinned. “That was easy. You’re here as long as you need to be. I think she likes you.”

As Sammie crossed the room, she kicked off her sneakers and hopped onto her side of the bed. She reached out her hand.

“Give me your tea and come over here.” She smiled slyly as she sat up in bed.

Kicking off my sandals, I hopped over to her and nestled against Sammie’s side. Sammie sniffed at the cup and chuckled.

“You know…? Lei must really like you.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because the rum in this…? It’s from her pipe.”

“Her what…?” Clueless…

“She smokes her dope through a water pipe? And this is what’s in it instead of water.” Sammie snickered. “It’s the part she loves the best. All that pot resin floating in rum…? It’s an extra high.”

“Oh my God…!” O-M-G!!! “I should stop drinking it then.”

Minor league panic... I was feeling too good for a major league one.

“Nopers… Finish it. It won’t hurt you and it seems to be doing just what she said it would. So…now that you’re…as the poet said…comfortably numb…what’s going on baby girl?”

“Oh God…” I sighed.

“Let me take a wild guess. Daddy issues…?”

Ka-boom…! Ba-da-boom…!

“How’d you know?” I was shocked.

“Oh baby girl…” Sammie sighed and kissed my forehead. “You have daddy’s girl written all over you. So you’re afraid of upsetting him…or something? And I’m reasonably sure that his impending visit has something to do with it.”

“Yeah…” I stared into the remains of the tea.

“So… You want to tell me or what?”

“Well… What if he doesn’t like you or you don’t like him or you both don’t like each other? Then what am I supposed to do?” I sighed and gazed up at her. “It’s not like I’m going to leave you or anything. I can’t do that.”

“Okay… Let’s assume he hates me.” Sammie paused for a moment. “Does he love you?”

“Yeah…”

“Then he’ll get over it. Count yourself as lucky. Mine hates me. My mom and my sibs won’t even talk to me. And if I brought you to meet them…they’d hate you too. So trust me... He’ll get over it.”

“And if you don’t like him?”

“Oh I’ll like him alright. Just from speaking with him on the phone I know I’ll like him. But…” She grinned wryly. “…I’ll need to be careful with him. He’s smart. He must have gotten that from you.” She chuckled.

It’s funny how you can know something’s right logically…but inside you still worry about it.

“I think I’m stoned.” I giggled.

“I’d be shocked if you weren’t.” Sammie laughed.

“I’m starving but I don’t want to move.”

“Pizza…in bed…! And I must like you a lot to let you eat in bed.” She snickered as she dialed up for pizza. “Let me check with Lei. Maybe she would like something.”

As much as I hated Sammie getting up and leaving the room, it gave me the impetus to change out of my clothes and into a sleeping tee. As I washed my face with cold water, I had to admit I looked like poopie shit. It wears…the stress...you know...?

NetFlix and pizza my dad said? That’s exacted what we did. I set the coffee table with plates, knives and forks, napkins, glasses, a bottle of red wine…a Jessie hold over, and the boxes of course. The ladies let me pick the flick. ‘Avatar’ turned out to be the perfect choice. Lei had never seen it and, in spite of her avid gaming, never even heard of it.

Sandwiched as I was between two large women was quite comforting. The warmth of their bodies felt so very good. And Lei’s reaction to the visuals proved to be…interesting? It’s my fave ‘feel good’ movie and Sammie certainly didn’t object. She’d seen it a few times before. I think her only problem was keeping her hands off of me. What a giggle…

After the flick and dinner, Sammie went into the bedroom as I cleaned up and stowed the left overs away. Lei was making me another cup of her ‘special’ tea. Only this time she included some kind of herb for sleep.

I hugged her. The sensation of being snugged against her huge boobs and full tummy was all encompassing. I mean it’s not like I had a thing for her. It was more of like what a mother might feel like?

The scene was set when I walked into the bedroom. Sammie had the soft music playing. Scented candles were lit. The lighting was dim…and intimate. And Sammie…my Sammie…was already naked and waiting for me so that we might shower together. To…get…her…!

“Lei made you another cup of her tea?”

“Yeah…” I grinned. “She is into her herbs. She said there’s something in it to help me sleep.” I snickered. “But I won’t need it.”

“Why not…?” Sammie kind of leered at me?

“Because I have my mama bear snuggly…” I chuckled.

And snuggle we did. Sammie was feeling a wee bit amorous but I simply couldn’t get into it. I mean I had no problem with playing a little. But I was too depleted from all the self-induced stress to relax enough. She understood and let me have my gentle way with her. I never had to leave her arms at all. Sleep came easily to both of us.

Thursday was ridiculous. Attempting to go to classes proved futile. I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than my dad coming in the next day. He did call in the afternoon whilst I was sitting beneath our tree. Sammie wanted us to pick him up at the airport.

But no…not my dad…! Instead of coming into Miami Airport like a normal person, he was hitching a ride out of Norfolk Naval Air Station and landing in Homestead! Then he was checking into a motel across from the school. After that he would meet us on campus.

I could have screamed! Faaahhhk…! I was a mess again and I spent yet another night with my Sammie. After two cups of special tea, she could pull me down off the ceiling.

We were in Sammie’s lab when the call came to come to the Dean’s office. Evidently Sammie was invited as well. I was still getting my bearings and only remembered the office was somewhere on the second floor of one of the buildings. So much for a Rear Admiral’s daughter plotting a course. Sammie knew the way blindfolded.

My heart was racing. I could feel the blood pulsing in my temples. Anxiety and panic were fighting anticipation for first place. It was like an out of body experience as Sammie tugged me along. I saw familiar things but they just didn’t register. I was so not in the moment that before I realized it, we were in the Dean’s outer office. I suddenly pulled away from Sammie and burst through the Dean’s door.