“Okay,' I said quietly. 'I'll do whatever you say. Just remember not to talk down to me. I'm not your student anymore. I'm your equal now.'He glanced away from the side of the road just long enough to give me a surprised look. 'You've always been my equal, Roza.”

“You've always been my equal, Roza.”

“Dont worry, Roza, I'm not afraid. I'll take whatever heat they give me over being with you. It's worth it.”

“That's a dangerous look," said Dimitri, giving me a brief glance before returning his eyes to the road."What look?" I asked innocently."The one that says you just got some idea.""I didn't just get an idea. I got a great idea.”

“I opened my eyes and met his dark, earnest gaze. "It's okay," I said. "It's okay now. I'm here I'll always be here for you.”

“Do not do that again," he said stiffly."Don't kiss me back then," I retorted.He stared at me for what seemed like forever. "I don't give 'Zen lessons' to hear myself talk. I don't give them because you're another student. I'm doing this to teach you control.""You're doing a great job," I said bitterly.”

“Sometimes I do. Sometimes I look at him...and I remember how it was when I kissed him and felt that love. It makes me want that back. I want to feel it again. I want to return to it. Other times though...other times, I'm so scared. I listen to these guys...and to Jerome...and then the doubts gnaw at me. I can't get them out of my head. We've been sleeping together, you know. Literally. It hasn't been a problem so far, but sometimes I lie awake watching him, thinking this can't last. The longer it does...I feel like...like I'm standing on a high wire, with Seth at one end and me at the other. We're trying to reach each other, but one misstep, one breeze, one side-glance, and I'll fall over the edge. And keep falling and falling."Carter leaned toward me and brushed the hair away from the side of my face. "Don't look down then," he whispered.”