Perhaps it was the events of yesterday. Or maybe it was the fact that my sleep had been short and restless. Or maybe I was just going insane. Whatever it was, I felt as if someone was following me, and they had been for the past twenty minutes.

Travis had given me a pager to press in case I was in danger. I did not want to have to use it the first day. Besides, I didn't think that my step-Dad would send someone else to do his dirty work. He would be coming after me himself.

Unsure of what to do, I turned down a sidewalk that I would normally not have to see if I would still be followed. Perhaps it was just a coincidence? I realized that it was no coincidence, when five minutes later, the guy followed me into a boarded up building that was being remodeled. Feeling the pager on the inside of my jeans, I pushed the one button that would both send Travis running and alert David and Nanci that I was in danger. Breaking into a full sprint, I found my way out of the building and into the bright sunlight where I could be seen quite easily.

I heard Travis take the guy down behind me. I turned around to face my stalker—prepared to speak a few words of my mind.

Travis had an interesting look on his face, more interesting than the shock of the young, graduate student who was now in his strong grasp.

"Jaidyn, this is Clayton. Clayton… Jaidyn. Apparently Clayton wants to know where you work and what your last name is. He thinks, and here I paraphrase, 'that you are cute.' He would like to get to know you better."

My jaw dropped into typical shock position as my lips formed a soft "oh."

Clayton looked to me and then to Travis.

"Is she famous or something?"

I nearly laughed out loud, while Travis answered for me.

"She writes children's books for five year-olds and where said five year-olds are concerned, she is quite famous."

I tried not to look shocked. Travis and I were going to have to have a long conversation about him prying into my personal life. Travis seemed to sense that I needed some time alone. I was feeling more comfortable, and Clayton looked ready to pee his pants. After Travis took about ten steps back, I sat down on a nearby concrete flower bed, motioning for Clayton to join me.

"Look… I am sorry about following you. I thought it would be… romantic… or something. I didn't realize—"

"You know what, let's just forget about it. In fact, let's pretend like we are starting over. Here—" I picked up his hand and shook it—"Introduce yourself to me."

Clayton offered a cheesy grin and complied with the introductions. Small talk began quite easily, and within minutes we were lost in conversation.

In fact, before I knew it, David was walking straight toward us.

I ignored the fact that he currently looked ready to throttle me and continued my conversation with my new found friend.

David, however, was not fooled. Grabbing me by the elbow, despite my protests, he led me to his car. Opening the door to the front seat, he sat me down quite hard, shut the door, and walked over to the driver's side. Once inside, he put the car in gear and began driving.

"David! What are you doing? I was having a nice conversation and you just interrupted. I will probably never see that guy again… we didn't even exchange phone numbers."

"Good. That is all for the better."

"David, what are you talking about?"

"Listen, Jaidyn… I know that you are knew to this whole security thing, but you can't just talk to anyone you want to."

"It wasn't just anyone—he likes me, David! I don't know about you, but to me that is special. And besides, Travis said it was okay." I paused, looking over at David's stern expression. "Why do I get the feeling that you are not listening to a word I'm saying?"

David checked the review mirror in order to change lanes. "Because I'm not."

"David, I promise… I won't involve a lapse in security."

He reached over and squeezed my hand.

Easing into a parking lot, David maneuvered quickly into a parking spot and sat staring out the window for a few minutes.

"Iunderstand that you are new to the whole security thing, but we need to set up some basic ground rules. Number one, no going anywhere without either me or Travis by your side. Number two, you will listen and obey Travis and me no matter what. Do first, ask questions later. Understand?"

I nodded, like a little girl who was in trouble, tears in my eyes.

Sighing, David continued. "I didn't mean to scare you… it's just that there are certain things that are allowed, and certain things that aren't."

"I know… But, did you even talk to Travis, David? He gave me permission to talk with Clayton."

"Yeah, I know. I was just so caught up in the moment. I am sorry."

"S'okay. Can we go back now?"

David answered by putting the car back in gear and pulling out on the highway. When we got back to school, Clayton and Travis were chatting together. David immediately got out and apologized.

Clayton seemed to understand, oddly enough. Turning to me, he asked if I could go out with him on Friday night. I looked to David and Travis. David responded by saying that we could have dinner at his house, that rounding up more than one security guard on such short notice and on a weekend might be a problem. Both Clayton and I were okay with that, so David felt free to leave, but not before planting a kiss on my forehead and tousling my hair. I blushed a bit, and waved a small goodbye. Again, Clayton didn't ask questions and Travis disappeared somewhere into the background.

After a few seconds of silence, I said good-bye and told Clayton to pick me up in front of the student center at 4:30 Friday afternoon. Clayton nodded his agreement, too shocked from the occurrences of the past hour to say much of anything.

Walking away, I prayed that he would actually be there on Friday.