Classes at Triola University were done for the summer. Grant had put most of his belongings in storage and was prepared to head back home to Northern California. His Maternal Uncle Lain Ogden had invited him and his parents for a little family gathering at their mansion in The Hills.

Grant had been anticipating this event. It had been a long time since he had seen his cousins Sophia and Franklin, who used to play with him when they were children.

Monty Chung, Grant's roommate and best friend at the university had already left for Korea to visit family there. Frankie, who Grant had gotten much closer with since their finding of the Taiping treasure, had gotten himself into a relationship with a girl in his field of study.

"Life is good," Frankie had told him shortly before leaving for home. "She's from my hometown too. Isn't that crazy?"

The year for Grant had ended on a rather somber note however. He and his girlfriend Makenna Nellis had decided to separate on good terms. Her paternal grandmother had just been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and with her uncle also struggling with Alzheimer's, the family had decided to move back to Colorado to help take care of the ill family members.

"I will write to you when I can," Makenna said to him before leaving for the airport. "I won't ever forget what we had."

"Me too," Grant told her.

Teary eyed, Makenna gave him a kiss and as he watched her taxi leave he felt close to crying himself.

With the campus emptied out leaving Grant one of only a handful of students that still hadn't moved out for the summer. With nothing to do but meander for his flight the next day, Grant decided to spend his last day of the school year exercising and walking around. It was nice having the entire gym all to himself. After and hour of leg, chest, and arm workouts, Grant returned to his dorm building to shower. The smooth scent of his almond milk body scrub keeping him relaxed and pleasantly stimulated in the hot shower. The the entire floor empty the usual sounds laughter and wrestling in the shower room were absent.

"What should I watch?" grant thought to himself as he browsed his personal movie collection.

After rewatching Gladiator for the 12th time, Grant was feeling restless. Video games weren't much fun without Monty to play with or watch him play. Unable to get any sleep and having exhausted the entertainment options found within his room, Grant decided to go out for a night walk.

Feeling hungry, Grant made his way to the local diner, a cozy little place that was known for its burgers and pancakes. It opened until three in the morning as well.

"One Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes please," said Grant to the waitress behind the counter. "And be generous with the gravy."

"You'll love our Salisbury steak," said the waitress, smiling as she collected his menu. "It's one of our most popular items."

"I'm sure it is," said Grant, sipping his water.

The place was quite devoid of customers. An elderly couple could be seen enjoying their pot pies together and a man in biking gear was watching the television set with a beer in hand.

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At the counter there was only one other customer besides Grant, a woman with short bright blonde hair sitting two seats over to his right. He thought her short white lace dress looked out of place in a casual diner but Grant wasn't one to judge too harshly. What caught his attention about her wasn't her clothing however but the way she absentmindedly stirred her milkshake.

"Long day?" Grant asked.

The lady's head shot up and looked toward him.

"Yeah I guess you could say that," she said, brushing her hair. "My boyfriend just dumped me today."

"Really?" said Grant, smiling gently. "Seems like we are in the same boat. You see I just separated with my girlfriend recently. But we parted on good terms. She moved away for family."

"Ah well lucky you," she said slightly bitterly. "Everything was as usual then suddenly he tells me there is no spark anymore. I'm not even sure if I know what he means."

"Sorry to hear that," said Grant. "Well nothing like a good milkshake to sweeten things right?"

The pun seemed to cheer her up a little and she cracked a small smile. "You live around here?"

"I'm a student at Triola University actually," said Grant. "I'm from Nor Cal."

"Ah. Well I'm a local. Names Tiffany."

"Grant," said Grant, moving over to sit next to her. "What do you do for a living? Or are you a student too?"

"Nah I graduated a year ago actually. Not from Triola though, never even applied. Can't remember why."

The Salisbury Seak arrived a few minutes after Grant had introduced himself to Tiffany. He enjoyed talking to her and felt truly alive for the first time since the school year ended on a bittersweet note.

"That looks good," said Tiffany. "I should have ordered a proper meal. My milkshakes melted already."

"We can share if you like," said Grant.

Tiffany smiled even more brightly than before and played with her hair. "Yeah I'd like that."

The steak was Grant's ideal comfort food. The ground beef was cooked to perfection and the gravy made Grant's eyes roll up. The minced garlic added to the side of steamed broccoli took the aromas of the dish to a whole different level.

"Wow I am definitely going to order this next time," said Tiffany.

"You got any plans for the rest of the night?"

"Not really," said Tiffany. "Probably going to brood in my apartment.

"Would you rather brood in my dorm? I got movies and junk food."

Tiffany, licked a bit of mashed potato off her fork slowly. "That sounds perfect."

Ten minutes after returning to his dorm with Tiffany no movies had been started and no snacks had been brought out. Grant lay on the bed watching Tiffany as she bobbed up and down on him, her small but firm breasts hovering above to admire.

"What was your boyfriend's name?" Grant asked.

"Connor," said Tiffany breathlessly.

"Do you like it with me or Connor better?"

Tiffany lowered her body down and whispered into his ear. "You're the best I've ever had."

"If I could take you back home with me I would," said Grant, smiling.

"You're going to miss this aren't you?" said Tiffany, her back arching with pleasure.

"One hundred percent," said Grant.

A moment later he spent his fluids inside. Tiffany dropped down on him softly, clearly exhausted. Her slender body felt so light, soft, and delicate against him. Grant pulled the covers over them both and drifted off into some much needed sleep.

The next morning Tiffany drove Grant off to the airport in her red Honda. The smell of gas from the numerous cars bustling about and the putrid liquids spilled on the sidewalk filled Grant's nose as he stepped out of the vehicle.

"Call me," said Tiffany, handing him a small plastic bag. He looked inside to find a pair of dark red panties.

"I wrote my number there," said Tiffany.

"Be seeing you then," said Grant, pulling his luggage onto the drop off.

"Enjoy your family visit," said Tiffany as she pulled away.

Grant shook his head and chuckled as he pulled his suitcase along and made his way to the baggage check in.