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  This was a whole different kind of beast with Fi. If she decided to she didn’t want to be with them, then they loss her as a talented engineer and girlfriend. With the competition on the horizon, Crawford worried they had all made a big mistake.

  It was too late not to retract anything that happened. Wasn’t it safer to have Fi around as a friend and co-worker instead of risking to lose her in their lives?

  He was having one of those moments of doubt that day when he saw her. The risk of losing everything weighed on him. He had to ask her about sexual harassment.

  He saw the look on her face. Asking her had hurt her. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. She immediately closed up to him. He’d done a stupid thing.

  She went straight to work. He stayed at the counter checking his emails on his laptop. As he stood there, hoping things would smooth over, a name he hadn’t seen in his inbox for a while popped up.

  A ball of shock collected in his throat.

  GIRLFRIENDCHANGE?

  The subject line was simple, “Hi.”

  What did she want with him now? It had been months! And she still had some of her shit there at the house.

  He stared at his inbox, trying to steady himself with all the emotions and feelings he had for Fi and GIRLFRIENDCHANGE.

  If Girlfriendchange was contacting him now after radio silence ever since the day she left, it was better off to leave things the way they were, right? He moved his mouse over the trash button. She had so much time to talk to him or at least end things on decent terms, but she’d left. The root of why she left was because she didn’t believe in Luv Maite.

  Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to delete the email. Even more, he couldn’t read it.

  He looked across to Fi as she sat at the table working and then back at the email from GIRLFRIENDCHANGE.

  He shut his laptop. He needed to be outside to think.

  Chapter 14

  Although Fi did nothing to dissuade him from thinking she truly cared about him, Adam couldn’t shake his negative thoughts. What would a hot girl like, Fi, want from him?

  Physically, he no longer resembled the scrawny black kid, who was terrible in team sports. It was true he still couldn’t throw a football any great length and he missed the basketball hoop by more than a few feet, but he found a sport he could excel at: capoeira.

  He found the hobby in college right as his body had rocketed into manhood. He saw a flyer for the school’s capoeira club. He’d seen an old nineties movie about it. Capoeira was an Afro-Brazilian martial art developed by enslaved Africans in Brazil. He would never be proficient in traditional American sports: football, basketball, baseball, but maybe he could do this.

  The capoeira members were a mish mash of people, who welcomed Adam heartily. He wasn’t the best capoeirista at first, but he found the sport to be fun, much more engaging to him than throwing a ball around had ever been. His diligence in practice paid off. By the time he graduated, he had become a mestre, a master.

  His development of capoeira as a sport blossomed at the same time his physical body did. He attributed his consequent emotional transformation from capoeira. It had provided him with a welcoming and supportive community while bolstering his self esteem.

  If only he had discovered the sport when he was much younger, he wouldn’t have felt so out of place as a black nerdy kid. His experience drove him to teach an after school capoeira class at his old high school in Oakland. He resented the perpetual message that black men could only raise themselves out of the hood through sports. He, himself, had done it by hitting the books. This path had been a lonely one. He wanted to provide an outlet for kids like him.

  The kids in his class were eager to learn. To them, capoeira looked like a form of acrobatic dance. Adam was eager to teach them. The kids became curious of Adam’s life outside of being their capoeira teacher. When the told them, he was a software engineer, the kids’ intrigue with their mestre grew.

  Adam gladly took on more responsibility. Not only did he teach a capoeira class once a week, he also started a coding class once a week, too. Working with the kids was rewarding to Adam. It was his personal gratitude to the universe for how far he had come.

  He invited Fi along to join him one afternoon. He was so proud of his kids. It was something he wanted to share with her.

  “You went to this high school?” Fi asked when they walked inside the school.

  “Sure did,” Adam answered. “The place hasn’t changed much.”

  They walked down the hall towards the gym. When he was an actual student there so many years ago, he never walked that hall with a girl before. During those years, he had a massive crush on Gina Truman. That girl had everything: looks and smarts. Her beauty combined with her stellar grades made her the most popular girl in school. Unlike the other popular kids, she was friendly to everyone, even Adam. He used to have fantasies that she had a crush on him, too, but she went out with Damian Hunter, who went on to play for the NFL.

  Walking down that hall at that moment with Fi, Adam was struck with a wave of insecurity. Fi could have anyone. What if she was only feigning to like him to spare his feelings? What if her only real interest was in Blaine and/or Crawford? And Adam was just a toss in, for fun?

  Suddenly, before they walked into the gym, Fi grabbed his hand. “Thanks for inviting me. This is really cool.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

  Adam shook his thoughts away, remembering where he was and that he no longer was an awkward teenager. “These kids are awesome. I wanted you to meet them.”

  Fi was great with the kids. Although she had never practiced capoeira before, she proved to be a natural. She was even able to perform the tombo-de-ladeira, a complicated move where one of the legs comes down as an axe kick.

  She tried the moves without fear and laughed when she fell on her ass. She tumbled down to the ground the first time she’d tried the tesoura de frente, a scissor kick.

  “Miss Fi! Are you all right?” Winnie, one of his students, asked, reaching down to help her up.

  Fi took the young student’s hand, a smile on her face. “Of course! Butt is a little bruised, but that’s okay. This is fun!”

  Fi kept trying and trying along with the kids. Adam observed her in awe. She was comfortable trying something completely new and wasn’t afraid of failing at it. Her tenacity, even in that first session shone through. Fi was a remarkable woman.

  Chapter 15

  Despite it being an activity that reminded him of his family and his childhood, Blaine loved sailing. He'd been on the sailing team in college. He wanted to get out on the water as much as possible, but recent developments with Luv Maite prevented him from going out as much.

  Fi had been working a lot of late hours for the company in preparation for Z_Combinator. He casually asked her if she'd like to join him out for a day of sailing.

  She was at the work table honed in on her laptop. Not glancing up, she asked, "Sure! Another investor meeting?"

  Blaine explained, "No. I just want to take you sailing."

  Fi stopped her typing, placing her hands in her lap. She looked chastened. "Really? A real date this time?"

  Blaine leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Yup. A real date."

  He took her out on his boat in the San Francisco Bay. He had prepared a picnic of cucumber sandwiches, cheese, fruit, and of course, a nice vintage white wine.

  Out on the water, Fi looked beautiful as the sunlight streamed through her flowing hair. He cupped her chin and kissed her lips.

  "I love this boat," Fi remarked.

  "It's my family's," Blaine said.

  "You never talk about your family."

  Blaine chuckled, pouring himself more wine. "There is a good reason for that."

  Fi shook her head. "Oh. I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry."

  Blaine looked at Fi's well meaning expression on her gorgeous face. There was no reason to be so closed off with her about his family.

  "My fami
ly and I don't see eye to eye when it comes to my career choices."

  "They don't support Luv Maite? I'm sure it's a disconnect between technology and their generation that's putting them off," Fi conjectured.

  Blaine shrugged, "Maybe? It's likely more to do with me doing anything but working in the family company."

  "Oh," Fi said softly. "That must be hard to not have your parents' approval. My parents support everything I do. I mean: they think I'm absolutely great at everything, but they're my parents. Parents are supposed to think that, you know?"

  Blaine shook his head. "Well, no. I don't know. My parents think I won't be successful in business without them. My father doubts I can stand on my own two feet."

  Fi clung to him, gripping his shoulders. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I am so lucky to have my family. I'm so sorry they would say that to you." She embraced him tightly. "I believe in you. Your parents probably do, too. They are likely trying to protect you.”

  Blaine felt Fi's warmth across his body and the scent of her laveder perfume. He felt comforted by her words. It felt genuine. Everything about Fi was infused with kindness and purity. She was so good for me. He needed a woman like her in his life.

  That was the very thing they terrified him. She was a real woman with dimension. She deserved more than the superficial qualities he so easily possessed: money, good looks and status. It seemed she didn’t even care about those things.

  She never once inquired about his family’s estate or how much money he, himself, was worth. When she asked about his family, she wanted to know about his relationship with them. None of the girls he went out with ever wanted to talk about that. No one ever asked.

  “What about your siblings? You have a sister, right?” Fi asked.

  His little sister, Suzie. He missed her. She had been the good kid and worked for the family business. “I haven’t talked to her in a long time,” Blaine said.

  “That must be hard,” Fi said. “My brother and I have our moments where we don’t talk for awhile, but we eventually come back together. Maybe it’s the same for you two?”

  Blaine considered this. His beef with his parents had little to do with Suzie. He had shut her out, when he really didn’t need to.

  He gave Fi a soft kiss on the lips. “Maybe. I should give her a call.”

  A tightness took root in his chest. Fi was a one in a million kind of girl. He never felt so invested in a woman before. It made him feel vulnerable. Too vulnerable.

  After a full day of cavorting out on the water, Blaine took Fi to the San Francisco Yacht Club. He hadn't been there in years. He avoided places like this, but today he yearned to be in his old element.

  Chapter 16

  It had been a lovely day. Fi had never been sailing before. She was quite impressed how proficient Blaine was out on the water. The boat was gorgeous. She felt right in the lap of luxury out in the ocean.

  She had wondered about Blaine's family and noticed he barely ever talked about them in comparison to Crawford and Adam, who seemed close to their parents. Since they were using one of Blaine's family's houses as an office, she was even more curious why he never talked about them.

  She sensed it was a sour subject, and her suspicious were confirmed. Blaine's cool and in charge exterior was a facade for how he felt inside. She looked at him in a new light. She could only guess how being estranged from her parents must feel like.

  When she called her parents to tell them about Luv Maite, they were not tech savvy people, but they were excited because she was. She supposed they could have expressed dismay at her decision to quit a solid company like Gipton, but they didn't. They were supportive, like they always were.

  She hoped that Blaine would let down his guard for her. She was encouraged that he opened up to her. After a day alone on the water, she felt more than ever their relationship had reached a new level.

  All of that changed when they went to the yacht club. As soon as they walked in, Blaine seemed to transform into a person she didn't recognize. He had always been charming and friendly, but he greeted the other members of the club with an added layer of schmooze.

  She managed to brush this behavior off until two women approached their table.

  "Blaine! Blaine! Oh my god! What are you doing here?" the beautiful blonde said.

  The gorgeous brunette added, "We haven't been graced by your hot presence in so long!"

  Blaine hopped up from the table. The women rushed to him and gave him kisses on the cheek. From where Fi sat, the kisses seemed friendly enough. She tried to stem her jealousy.

  "Please tell us what have you been so busy doing!" the blonde cooed, with her hand on his chest.

  Blaine flashed her his charming smile. "I've been working. Nothing too special."

  The brunette gave a slight hand motion to where Fi sat. "Nothing special, huh? I thought so."

  Fi couldn't be sure. Was she referring to her? What was happening?

  Blaine gave a chuckle. "Yup. Just work."

  Basking in the affection of these women, he seemed to forget Fi was even there. She continued to sit there awkwardly.

  Finally, Blaine stepped away from the women. "I should get back to my dinner."

  The women nodded like obedient pets.

  "Sure!"

  "Of course!"

  The brunette asked with a pout. "Will we be seeing more of you?" Fi noticed she emphasized the word, 'more.' At least, it felt like she did.

  Blaine sat back down, not once looking at Fi or acknowledging her there in front of the other women. "Of course. I'll make a point of it."

  When the women retreated, Blaine finally aroused from the glory of being in the women's affections. He simply said with a shrug, "Old friends."

  Fi gave him a half smile. "Obviously."

  Chapter 16

  When Crawford asked Fi to go on a hike with him, she assumed they were going out of the city. He took her to Funston Avenue and Presidio Boulevard.

  “I thought we were going on a hike?” Fi asked.

  “We are!” Crawford answered, taking her hand.

  A dense forest of eucalyptus, cypress, and pines trees lined the path to the left. Charming red bricked houses lined them on the right.

  “We are walking ‘Lover’s Lane,’ the oldest foot trail in the Presidio,” Crawford said with a smile.

  Lover’s Lane. Fi’s chest filled with warmth. She squeezed his hand. “I didn’t even know this existed!”

  Crawford stopped walking to give her a kiss on the lips. “Not a lot of people do. I wanted to be the first person to show you. I glad I am!”

  They continue to walk. Crawford pointed out to the red brick houses. “These all used to be military housing. Lover’s Lane was established in the 18th century as a shortcut used by Spanish soldiers and missionaries to get from the Main Post to Mission Dolores, which is about three miles south of here.”

  Fi inhaled deeply, savoring the eucalyptus trees’ fragrance that was thick in the air.

  Crawford continued, “This path got its name, Lover’s Lane, because the soldiers would take this path to see their sweethearts in town.”

  Fi looked at the path beneath her feet, thinking of the hundreds of soldiers traveling the same path to see their loves. “That is so romantic.”

  Crawford beamed. “I know, right? And today? I’m walking the path with my own sweetheart.”

  Fi’s body blushed all over. Before Crawford revealed his feelings for her, he had been closed off. Now, he was open with her and revealing a sweet vulnerable side of him. She would have never thought the gruff brash Aussie she met at the coffee shop for her interview with Luv Maite would turn out to be a sweetheart, who took her to Lover’s Lane.

  When they walked further into the trail, they came upon an opening in the eucalyptus trees. In the gap of the forest, logs of trees were carefully connected in one continuous curving line.

  Crawford pointed at the logs. “This is an art installation called Wood Line. Andy Go
ldsworthy, a British artist, created this. It’s made from felled trees and eucalyptus trunks collected from the reconstruction of Doyle Drive.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Fi commented.

  “What’s really cool about it is over time it will decompose and return to the Earth.”

  Fi said, “I like that.”

  Crawford squeezed his hand, “I do, too.”