He watched the digital numbers on his PADD roll over from 1259 hours to 1300. He really hadn't been counting, but that made it 149 hours since he last spoke with Amanda Grayson. He had no expectation of frequent communication with her, but her abrupt lack of contact following her birthday concerned him.

Had he inadvertently offended her? Weeks of working at Cary Cartographic and casually observing human interaction had revealed a pattern of lying and avoidance in an attempt to evade conflict. He reviewed all the instances in which he might have caused offense but without the benefit of a human thought process, he couldn't be sure what might have upset her.

The human thought process: what was it really like? His mind returned to the Vulcan district of the city, where he first gave credence to the idea of abandoning logic. Curiosity tickled the back of his consciousness. He glanced around and deciding he was in the privacy of his own home, he wandered to the long mirror behind the door.

He knew what he wanted to do but wasn't certain he had the courage to do it. But why not? He'd felt emotions before. All Vulcans did, even if few would ever admit it aloud. He sighed and straightened his posture, knowing that the occasional emotion slipping past his logical defenses was quite different than deliberately allowing himself to feel something.

He pondered different topics that often caused him emotional difficulty. His father was a natural place to start, immediately followed by T'Rea. He thought and thought, but he did not feel. Intentionally trying to elicit emotion after decades of avoiding it seemed about as difficult and unnatural as intentionally voiding his bladder where he stood. It should be possible but training and instinct refused to permit it.

He closed his eyes and set his mind adrift. His father's face formed in the void, bringing with it the usual flashes of anger and pain. Rather than suppressing the feelings as he normally did, he allowed them to persist but still could not bring himself to latch onto them and truly experience them.

He opened his eyes and exhaled a slow breath. If he was going to commit himself to feeling emotions, why had he chosen a theme such as his father, something he knew would bring distasteful sentiments? Wouldn't it be logical to start with something more pleasant? He shook his head at his own senselessness. There was no logic in emotion so how could there be logic in choosing which emotion to feel? Surely it was all a gamble.

Without consciously directing it to, his mind turned to T'Rea, the woman who had occupied so much of his thoughts in the past year. His heart quickened and his breath stalled in his throat. What a lovely creature she was to have loved him as she had. He recalled his last pon farr and how much he'd longed for her. His eyelids flickered shut again but much to his surprise, it was not T'Rea he pictured. Then his eyes snapped back open, confused by what he'd just seen. Amanda Grayson?

He was stunned and bewildered. His reflection stared back at him, observing his obvious conflict. He didn't dare think about her again but his mind refused to consider anything else. Amanda Grayson. His stomach flipped and he allowed the emotions to go where they wanted and almost immediately, he was overwhelmed by a sensation of giddiness.

His sensual dreams about her certainly hadn't abated but they had branched into motifs that transcended basic sexual intercourse. He pictured himself bonding with her, living with her, growing old with her. Still convinced he was simply lonely and his subconscious had latched onto Amanda as the most convenient companion, he'd taken to sleeping only every other night so as to reduce the number of inappropriate reveries.

During a moment of inattention his mind went back to the previous Saturday evening and the image of Amanda drifting to sleep on his couch. He saw himself lifting her delicate head to slide the pillow beneath it and catching the scent of her soft hair. A smile tore across his lips before he could stop it and his hand instinctively flew to his mouth to conceal this shocking outward expression. He turned from the mirror and attempted to regulate his breathing. He was embarrassed by such a display, then embarrassed by his embarrassment. Clearly a lifetime of suppressing emotion could be unlearned easily but the shame associated with it was a different matter.

How did Vedek manage to bear it? Then again, why would he consider Vedek a suitable role model for emulating emotional display? Did he want to become someone like Vedek?

Sarek decided that was probably quite enough feelings for one day. Desperate for anything familiar, his hands began the work of lighting meditation candles as if acting on their own accord. He slumped to his knees and quickly slipped into a meditative state, lulled by the familiar smell of the candles and the comforting routine of breathing techniques.

Just at the threshold of the pure serenity of nothingness, a pair of blue eyes blinked at him through the void and a plump pair of pink lips curved into a grin. He pushed away from it but the harder he struggled, the more recognizable the face became. Soon her voice joined the fray, posing questions about the electromagnetic spectrum. Apparently, even his best efforts at meditation were insufficient to strike her from his mind.

He slowly allowed the stale air in his lungs to escape through clenched teeth and just as he considered regrouping and taking a second pass at meditation, a soft ding of his PADD in the other room alerted him to a message.

Grayson, Amanda
Stardate 2229.41; Time 1337
Hey. What are you up to?

He willed himself to remain calm but a missive inquiring after his activities was most welcome. His pulse commenced the rapid, rhythmic drumming of nervous anticipation. He set his PADD down until he could calm his cardiopulmonary system into a tempo more appropriate of an adult Vulcan male at rest, then he considered how best to respond.

Sarek
Stardate 2229.41; Time 1340
I was meditating.

Grayson, Amanda
Stardate 2229.41; Time 1340
Oh. So sorry to bother you!

He was grateful for her courtesy but eager to convey any correspondence with her should never be considered a bother. He was also curious to know her motivation for contacting him.

Sarek
Stardate 2229.41; Time 1341
You have caused no inconvenience. Do you require tutoring?

Grayson, Amanda
Stardate 2229.41; Time 1342
I could always use tutoring but I don't want to take advantage of you. I was just wondering what you were doing. I want to get out of my room before Vedek and Mara come back and was curious to know if you wanted to go do something.

His heart threatened to begin racing once again but he managed to subdue it quickly this time. He dictated several responses, deleting each before finally settling on the most suitable reply he could contrive.

Sarek
Stardate 2229.41; Time 1345
What do you suggest?

Grayson, Amanda
Stardate 2229.41; Time 1346
Want to meet me at Pete's? Or the weather's really nice. We could meet at the park we went to the other day. It's up to you.

Sarek was already on his feet and heading for the door before he finished reading. Then he faltered, realizing he was acting most illogically because he didn't have sufficient information on how to proceed. When did she want to meet? She was offering him two choices of activity, but which was the better option?

The weather was cool but was tolerable enough. The park would have fewer people than the coffee vendor and if there was a lull in the conversation, they could both enjoy the rigor of a walk. But Pete's establishment would provide the opportunity for a mocha and it had been several days since Sarek had enjoyed his favorite Terran drink. In the midst of his deliberations, he received another message.

Grayson, Amanda
Stardate 2229.41; Time 1348
Or we don't have to. I know you said you were meditating and I don't want to make things weird.

Sarek
Stardate 2229.41; Time 1349
The park sounds agreeable. I am available for the rest of the afternoon.

Grayson, Amanda
Stardate 2229.41; Time 1350
I can meet you at the merry go round in twenty minutes. Does that sound okay?

Sarek
Stardate 2229.41; Time 1350
I will see you directly.

Sarek strode through the quiet residential streets, retracing the steps he'd taken with Amanda when they'd visited the park two weeks earlier. He used the twelve minutes it took to go from his door to the park's entrance to clear his mind—or try to, anyway—and consider what his sudden inability to eject Amanda Grayson from his thoughts meant.

He recalled nearly giggling in delight at the thought of her during his brief experiment to experience emotions, but quickly shoved that memory aside. Still convinced his subconscious was merely trying to communicate that he was eager for her company because he felt bereft and isolated on this cold, wet planet far away from everyone he knew, he strode into the park with confidence, pleased that he would soon be meeting his only friend on Earth.

The park was peaceful and largely empty, excepting two humans escorting two exuberant canines on leashes who passed him by at a trot. As he approached the digital community billboard and prepared to turned toward the merry-go-round, a pair of figures emerged from behind the hedgerow and turned onto the pavement from the dirt path, nearly colliding with him. They were Vulcan, dressed similarly to himself and wearing their hair in tribute to Surak.

Their right hands quickly rose from their sides and formed the ta'al; their mouths formed the traditional salutation urging him to live long and prosper. They spoke in his native tongue in a clear Shi'Kahran accent, prompting Sarek to return the greeting in Vuhlkansu. They were well-proportioned young men wearing demeanors that would widely be considered cold and severe, even by Vulcan standards.

The taller of the two folded his hands to his front, scanned Sarek from head to toe, and said, "You are a follower of Surak." He continued to speak in Vuhlkansu and his tone was caught somewhere between a question and a declaration, with a slight trace of accusation buried between the words.

Sarek paused a brief interval, wondering why they were interested in his private beliefs. He considered his emotional exercises in front of the mirror less than an hour earlier. Despite his doubts and the singular instance of experimenting with purposefully feeling emotions, he was hardly ready to abandon the philosophy that had guided his entire life and certainly unwilling to express his misgivings about the benefits of logic to two strangers in a park. Just as he opened his mouth to acknowledge that he was indeed an adherent of logic, the shorter of the pair barked, "Or are you a logic traitor?"

He stiffened, turning to the shorter man and squaring his frame to adopt a more authoritative stance. "Why do you consider my beliefs any of your concern?"

"Evangelizing the truth of logic is my concern," he insisted, straightening his posture just as Sarek had done. "Particularly in an illogical place such as Earth."

"This is Earth." Sarek conceded the point with a flatter than usual tone. "It is primarily populated by humans, a species whose reverence of emotion is well documented."

"My comrade is being overzealous," interjected the taller man, shooting the other man an icy look. "And you are correct: humans are a very illogical species. But so were we once, before Surak led us out of our folly."

Sarek's eyes darted back and forth between their faces before coming to rest on the bulletin board behind them. Someone had removed the graffiti that had once adorned the bright screen, promoting the motto of the terrorist organization Ask'era Ozhikersa.

"We believe humans can be taught to appreciate the tranquility of logic and that the Vulcan apostates currently residing on Earth can be convinced to return to the fold," the taller man continued.

"Logic traitors, you mean?" Sarek queried, turning his gaze back to the shorter statured man. His eyes were hard, cold, and unyielding.

"A Vulcan who has known logic and rejected it is a logic traitor," the shorter man maintained.

"Perhaps instead of selectively quoting Surak's teachings when they are convenient to your agenda, you should seek the truth that Surak revealed in the principle of Kol-ut-shan."

"It is easy to celebrate infinite diversity when it obeys a logical order." The biting tenor of the shorter man's voice was unmistakable.

"It can hardly be considered true diversity if everything is perfectly ordered and logical," Sarek countered. "There mere existence of logic implies the existence of a force that runs counter to it."

The taller man's lips formed into a thin slash. "But it does not mean that irrationality must be embraced and celebrated."

"I would argue that it ought to be appreciated, at least, because experiencing an illogical existence allows us to better appreciate a logical one."

The shorter man's voice dropped to an even more dangerous tone and he took a small step forward, a gesture clearly designed to invade Sarek's personal space. "A reckoning is coming. You would be wise to be on the right side of logic when it does."

"Are you threatening me?" Sarek asked, refusing to step backward and yield to intimidation.

The primitive part of his brain, the part he inherited from ancient plains-dwelling ancestors who scratched a living from nature and fought wild beasts in the night, began to awaken. His muscles twitched. Sounds became sharper and objects in the distance faded out of focus in favor of the immediate threat standing in front of him in the form of two fanatical Vulcans who were very likely to be members of Ask'era Ozhikersa.

The three men were at an impasse and Sarek marveled at how such a brief, chance meeting seemed on the verge of erupting into violence, particularly from a pair of men who claimed to revere logic so highly. There was no logic in any of this but he was prepared. That was until he saw the slim figure of Amanda Grayson coming up the path behind them and the entire equation changed.

The springy tension of his body preparing to engage a threat to himself morphed into a quivering mass of uncertainty and panic as the situation shifted to potentially needing to defend her. The logical part of his brain clashed with the primitive part, both sides demanding to be heard.

They could not be so foolish to attack him in broad daylight, or worse, to attack a human woman on Earth and start an interplanetary incident. But why not, if their comrades were content to assault temples on Vulcan? He wished she would just keep walking and avoid any association with him for her own safety, but when she was about five meters away she called, "Hey, Sarek!"

The interruption shattered the immediate tension and created a vacuum for worse things to unfold. The shorter man craned his neck to identify the woman behind him while the taller one kept his eyes focused on Sarek. He suddenly recognized they had been trained to work in tandem. If they were truly individuals who just happened to be walking together, both of them would have experienced a natural inclination to turn and see who was speaking, but without speaking to one another, they had divided their efforts to retain maximum visibility of all immediate potential threats.

She slowed about ten paces from the impromptu group, scanning each of their faces, clearly expecting some kind of introduction or explanation for the unexpected gathering. Before he could offer one, the shorter man said in Standard, "Hello."

Amanda, sensing she was being welcomed into the fold, smiled and replied, "Hi there. I'm Amanda. Are you friends of Sarek's?"

"They were just leaving," Sarek interrupted, walking between the two men to partially block their access to her.

She shot him a bewildered look but before she could respond to his curtness, the shorter man replied, "There's no reason to be rude, Sarek. Amanda was merely introducing herself."

He disliked hearing these men speak their names. "We are late for a meeting. Please, excuse us." Sarek took two long strides toward Amanda, forcing her to step back to maintain a comfortable radius of personal space. He looked straight into her gray-blue eyes, trying to convey a sense of danger. Slight creases formed on her brow and around her mouth and though he couldn't be certain she understood, she nodded and began to turn around.

He gently grabbed her elbow and steered her back the way they came. He trained his ears to the sounds behind them, glancing over his shoulder when he dared to ensure they were not being followed. Half a minute later, Amanda asked in a low voice, "What was that?"

"I…am not certain."

"Who were those guys?"

"I do not know."

"They seemed to know who you were."

"Only because they heard you use my name. You also told them yours."

He saw her looking at him out of the corner of his eye and he turned to see her face was growing pale despite the brisk pace they kept. She asked in a quavering voice, "What did they want?"

They were approaching the edge of the park but rather than continue straight into the residential neighborhood, he turned left to quickly obscure them behind a small shop. He glanced around the corner to survey the park but the men had disappeared.

"Sarek, what's going on? Is everything okay?"

The truth was, he wasn't sure how to answer her, nor was he sure what to do. He had strong reason to suspect they were logic extremists, but he had no proof. He did not even know their names, so how could he go to the authorities? He could attempt to report the incident, but given the paucity of the details, he doubted whether it would be given any real priority.

But they knew his name. Sarek was a relatively common name and the men had shared his sharp Shi'Kahran accent. It wouldn't take the trained ear of a dialectologist to recognize they all came from a similar region on Vulcan, and with those two facts alone, it wasn't entirely inconceivable that they could deduce he was S'chn T'gai Sarek, eldest son of an influential Vulcan diplomat. Or perhaps they had known all along.

His mind raced back to the moment they first met. Sarek had been surprised by the appearance of two Vulcan strangers emerging from behind the bushes. They had been considerably less startled. Had they been waiting for him? How could they have known he would be entering the park, how could—his hand fumbled for the PADD inside his wide breast pocket.

He had arranged to meet Amanda in the park by the merry-go-round thirteen minutes before encountering the men. His personal PADD was linked to a Terran network with adequate security, but any moderately skilled computer scientist could have hacked it. Securing all communications was the sort of thing his diplomat father took very seriously, but Sarek was a private citizen with no reason to suspect anyone would be interested in his mundane life.

Still...Ask'era Ozhikersa was notorious for kidnappings and as Skon's son, he would have made a very attractive kidnapping target. Spouses and children of influential federalists were occasionally abducted as leverage when important Federation politics was at stake, a phenomenon which was becoming more common in recent years. Unrealistic demands would be made, they would never be met to the extremists' satisfaction, and the abductee would be tortured, maimed, or killed.

He felt very exposed but his primary concern was Amanda. They knew her name and had said it. If they suspected he cared for her in any way, she was at risk by proxy. If they could not get to Sarek to hurt Skon, they would likely be just as satisfied to take Amanda and use her as leverage to get Sarek to comply with their demands. She was completely innocent and it would be a difficult thing to bear if anything should happen to her based solely on her association with him.

"Sarek?" She gripped his forearm with a light, shaking hand. "You're frightening me."

His chaotic trail of thoughts abruptly stopped. Her touch was intoxicating but he had other things to concern himself with. The last thing he wanted to do, aside from risk her safety, was upset her. Humans did rash and irrational things when they were upset. Rather than lie and say there was nothing to fear, he said, "Do not be afraid. They were only strangers who wished to speak to me about logic. I had no interest in hearing what they had to say. Let us walk."

They started off in no particular direction and he took several seconds to review his premises again, realizing they sounded extraordinary but weren't altogether implausible. There was no logic in paranoia, until there was. Or had his prolonged stay among humans and dalliance with emotion eroded his carefully ordered mind to the point of inventing far-fetched scenarios?

"Where are we going?" she asked, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

It was a valid question. He considered their options. If they really were being watched or followed, he had no desire to lead them back to his apartment or Amanda's dormitory. Then again, if they had hacked his PADD, they already knew or at least suspected where he lived. He decided if kidnapping really was a possibility, then it would be logical to seek out a public space with a large volume of traffic, to hide in the open with as many witnesses as possible. But what kind of witnesses? Humans were so unique in that they could observe everything but see nothing, often too engrossed in themselves to perceive much of the world around them.

"Sarek?" Her tone was bitter and apprehensive. "Where are we going? What's going on?"

"Have you ever been to Vulcan Village?" he asked.

The weather was nice and she was with a good friend, but Amanda would hardly say she was having a good time. Sarek, usually so dry and stoic, seemed agitated. Spooked, even. They were walking so fast that several times she'd had to beg him to slow down to avoid having to break into a trot to keep pace. He kept looking around and twice they'd doubled back or reversed course, like he was trying to lose a stalker.

She suspected it had something to do with the two men in the park, but they'd seemed pleasant enough. Friendly, even. What kind of trouble could he have gotten himself into? Were they private detectives? Old rivals of some kind? Relatives? She considered the strained relationship with his ambassador brother and figured it was a possibility.

She'd already tried asking him about the men in the park several times and each time he would simply say he did not know them. He wasn't the type to lie and he sounded sincere enough, and she was eager to avoid the same type of argument they'd had about his brother, so she decided to drop it. Still, she couldn't shake her curiosity.

Eventually they reached a part of the city where they began encountering the occasional Vulcan passersby. With each block, there were more and more of the elegant aliens with the pointed ears and she knew they'd reached Vulcan Village. It seemed so calm for a populated area and was surprisingly colorful.

Some of them dressed like humans while others donned clothing she suspected was more traditional garb. Sarek often wore subdued colors like black, gray, or navy, but many of the women wore elaborate multicolor gowns with large, ornate jewelry. Some of the men did as well. It would have been rude to stare but they all looked so beautiful.

"Do you come here a lot?" Amanda asked, desperate for any conversation and wondering if she could find a way to snap him out of his peculiar mood.

"I have been here once before," he replied as they came to a stop at an intersection.

"Well, since we decided to skip the park, what would you like to do?"

Sarek glanced around and took some time before replying, "Have you ever been to a Vulcan tea house?"

"I've never even been to Vulcan Village," she laughed. "But I do like tea."

She followed him across the street and past several shops to a dimly lit room that smelled of wonderful spices and otherworldly flavors. It was hard not to feel awkward and out of place, but she was relieved to see two other humans sitting at a low table by the window. The seats were backless and so low that they were really more like stools to squat on rather than chairs to sit in, but before she could sit down, Sarek directed her to the long counter by the back wall full of what looked to be dried herbs.

He spoke to a woman who gave him a small tray with a large decanter of hot water, two small, clear teapots, and two glasses that almost looked more like stumpy flower vases than tea cups. Then he escorted her to the counter. He removed the lid from one of the pots and extracted a glass cup in the center, then motioned to the rows of herbs.

"It is common for Vulcans to blend their own teas, depending on individual taste or specific health needs." He took a tiny spoonful of an herb and added it to the glass cup he'd removed from the pot. Each contained of leaves had signs clipped to them, but that did her no good since they were all written in Vulcan. He stole a quick glance toward the front door, scanned the street outside, and asked, "What sort of flavors do you prefer?"

Amanda swallowed. "I don't really know. I'm starting to understand how you must have felt the first night at the coffee shop though."

They walked together along the length of the counter, stopping frequently to smell different herbs. Some seemed familiar, touching on a buried piece of old nostalgia, while others were appropriately alien. She began selecting ones that reminded her of winter holidays, adding herbs that smelled of nutmeg and cloves.

When they were done, Amanda started to venture toward a free table by the window, but Sarek said he would prefer to sit in the back of the shop. She inched toward the seat next to the wall but he stopped her, asking if she wouldn't mind if he sat there instead. She teased, "You're being picky, you know."

"I merely prefer to sit separately from the rest of the patrons," he insisted.

They poured the boiling water into their tea cups and instantly, the water in Amanda's tea pot began to turn a dusky shade of orange. "How long do we have to wait until we can drink it?"

"Approximately four minutes," he replied, flicking his eyes in the direction of the door.

"This is a lot of fun and very elegant," she said, enjoying the ribbons of color spiraling out of the herbs and into the water. "I've never made tea before, at least not tea that didn't come from a replicator."

"Tea houses are common on Vulcan," he explained, glancing over her shoulder toward the door a second time.

"Are you waiting for someone?" she asked, twisting in her seat to see what was so interesting about the shop's entrance.

"I saw someone outside I thought I knew. I was mistaken."

"You're acting really weird. I wish you'd tell me what's going on."

"Nothing is the matter."

"Are you sure?" she asked. Then she stupidly blurted the thing that had been gnawing at her all week. "Is it me? Did I make things weird by staying over at your apartment last weekend?"

His demeanor changed slightly as he turned his attention back to her. "Not at all. You were most welcome. You are always welcome in my home."

She nodded and began to nibble at her lip to avoid smiling. "I hadn't heard from you all week and I started to think I'd offended you."

"I had not heard from you either and wondered if I had caused some offense. You left in such a hurry and said very little as you departed the following morning."

She could feel heat rising in her cheeks. "I hadn't planned to stay over. I don't even really remember falling asleep. Thank you for the blanket and pillow, by the way."

"You are welcome."

Sarek removed the glass tea strainer from the pot and poured some of the steaming liquid into his cup. Amanda nervously followed his example, grateful this mundane action could divert them away from an awkward conversation. The tea was still much too hot to drink, so she wrapped her hands around the cup and announced, "I actually passed my physics quiz yesterday, so thank you for that."

"I am glad to be of service."

"I'm still panicking about my last midterm and upcoming comprehensive final exam though."

"I asked if you required more tutoring."

"If I remember correctly, I said I could always use more tutoring but that I didn't want to take advantage of you."

"And if I remember correctly, we both agreed to terminate the transactional nature of our arrangement in favor of legitimate friendship. You are a friend in need and I am capable of assisting you."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite sure."

"Well, in that case, what do you know about wave optics?"

"As much as any other subject within the realm of physics, I suppose."

Amanda grinned and took a tiny sip of her tea, wincing as it scalded the roof of her mouth but marveling at a taste that reminded her of minty gingerbread. They began a conversation about things like interference, diffraction, and polarization, but it was difficult for her to grasp the concepts through discussion and without having her study materials present.

When they were nearly finished with their tea, Sarek recommended they return to his apartment and she readily agreed, partly because she had a weird feeling Vedek would still be in her room with Mara, but mostly because she wanted to spend time with him. It made her happy to see him beginning to finally relax and she was looking forward to another evening like last Saturday.

They ambled down the street together, walking closely enough to suggest friendship but maintaining enough distance between them to keep things from getting weird. It all felt perfectly natural, at least until they approached a large white building on the opposite side of the street that looked like some kind of church.

Slinking in through a side door were the two men she'd seen earlier that day at the park. She almost stopped dead in her tracks and began to point them out to Sarek, but he had already seen them and held up a hand to interrupt her, never once faltering his stride.

Just as she was on the verge of demanding to know what was going on and who those two men were, he turned and in a very serious and sincere voice asked, "Will you stay with me tonight?"

The human mind wasn't meant to switch gears so quickly and she ended up stammering and sputtering out an incoherent answer that went something like, "Who are what stay with you?" She cringed inwardly, cleared her throat, and asked, "W-why? Why do you want me to stay with you?"

He thought to himself for a brief instant, casting his eyes back toward the white building. "I know you are eager to avoid returning to your room, where my colleague very often visits."

He wasn't wrong. Vedek had already stayed over several nights that week and there was no reason to think he wouldn't be staying tonight. "I just—I don't—"

"You may use my bedroom and I will occupy the living room furniture, if that will make you more comfortable."

Amanda wasn't really sure what to say. "Can I ask—is there a reason you want me to stay over?"

"Companionship and the study of wave optics. I do not wish to imply anything untoward."

"So it's not like…a real date?"

"Nothing like that," he insisted, responding almost too quickly. "I have no interest in—it is merely that I—it would be convenient. I could help you study, we could make dinner, and we could share pleasant conversation as friends."

"All my stuff is back in my room," she shrugged, suddenly wondering why she was arguing with him. Hadn't she had a good time last Saturday? Wasn't her room currently occupied by a lusty and unwelcome Vulcan squatter too obsessed with her roommate for his own good?

"I will go with you to collect your things, if you wish."

She looked at him, really looked at him. His face was calm and neutral, but his eyes told a different story. He was unsettled, but why? Was he trying to ask her to his place for a real date and was just too shy to admit it? Or was he being friendly by offering his bedroom when he knew how unbearable her current living situation was and didn't want her reading too much into it? She decided that if she accepted, she would also be accepting the possibility that he was really thinking of this as a romantic evening and much to her surprise, that didn't bother her.

"I guess if you're sure it's no trouble," she mumbled, suddenly feeling the weight of awkward anticipation.

"Good," he replied, lengthening his stride to an almost breakneck walk, forcing Amanda to trot after him. "Let us go."