I love Sam, I really do. But he wasn't the guy I thought he was. Things started a bit unorthodox, and in some ways that made him more interesting.

I was new in town, after being dragged from civilization to Bumfuck, North Carolina. Funny thing, I liked Bumfuck after being here for a very short time. Bumfuck (B.F. after this for those who chose to continue reading) is quiet, not too large so I could get to about any place on my bike. That's how I happened to meet Sam.

I was riding to the only pizza place in B.F. when someone came hurtling out of the cornfield that ran along side of the road. He slammed into my back tire and I came darn close to eating it on that lonely stretch of country road.

"Are you fucking nuts!?!"

"Sam. Nice to meet you," he said and grinned like some simpleton, then stuck his dirty hand out in greeting.

"Watch out next time." I started peddling away.

"Wait," he called, his clueless grin faltered a little. "Where are you going?"

My legs felt like rubber as I tried to pedal faster. "I'm going this way."

Now I could put money on the fact that Sam had never met anyone from the city before, because my flagrant sarcasm was lost on him.

"I came out here to talk to you."

"Maybe next time," I yelled over my shoulder.

Damned if the next time I rode past that cornfield Sam was sitting on the split rail fence waiting. He waved his hand and hopped down as I neared. "Remember me? Sam."

I nodded. "Not very likely to forget you."

"I didn't catch your name."

"Didn't throw it out there."

He threw his hands up in mock surrender. "I heard you were different." He smiled pleasantly as the breeze blew his yellow-white hair about. He was tall, a good seven inches taller than me. Upon closer inspection I saw a path of light brown freckles across the bridge of his nose. He was handsome in his own way.

"Who said I was different?"

"Doesn't really matter."

He kept smiling at me and I started to feel stupid for being so bitchy with him. I decided to relax. "I'm Jenny."

"That's pretty."

"What, my name?"

"Yes your name," he said, then looked away shyly. "And you too."

That was all it took to get me to fall for Sam. For the next few weeks I seemed to be riding my bike down that road for all kinds of reasons. Weird thing was, Sam was always there waiting.

Nobody seemed to know much about Sam. I asked around, and maybe in hindsight that should have struck me as odd, but when you're from the city where neighbors change like the seasons, it didn't.

I had come to love Sam. I had such a good time when we were together. I felt special and beautiful in a way I never had before. And Sam loved me too. I knew that for a fact. Sometimes we'd walk arm in arm through the cornfields. "This could all be yours," he said one moonlit night.

I let him pull me against him and I drew in the earthy smell of him. His eyes danced with anticipation as he bent to kiss me. I ran my fingers through his hair, feeling the bits of straw and debris that were tangled in it.

"Do you want that?" he said. His voice intoxicated me. His secret proposal made me weak in the knees. "Will you stay with me?"

"Yes," I said. I was breathless as he caressed my face with his hands, his fingertips rough. More straw and twigs fell from his hair.

"Forever, Jenny?"

Drunk with love, I nodded, eager to feel his kiss again. "Yes, Sam, oh God yes."

He kissed me again, at first gentle and soft, then it changed. I was suffocating. My lungs were being filled. It was like straw was being pushed down my throat. I opened my eyes, trying to push him away, and that's when I saw it. The pieces of straw weren't stuck in his hair, they were coming through his skin.

He held me tight, until the end. My Sam didn't kill me though, I know that's what you're thinking. No, Sam was true to his word. He gave me all that he promised.

We live in this cornfield together. He hangs atop his pole and I atop mine. And soon when we're both ready, we'll be wanting children.

Lucky for us, we live near a school. Lots of children there.