"Hey, you put that creep into my favourite outfit!" Knox exclaimed. He was standing in the doorway of what was probably his bedroom, dressed very much the same.

"Why not? It suits him", Vivian retorted.

"I'm warning you. Don't fall for him." It wasn't only mock jealousy; he spotted that easy enough.

"What if I do?" she answered, teasing him.

Again he considered looking at the carpet a wise reaction.

"You don't", Knox growled.

"You needn't worry", she replied in a silky, very seductive tone that sent a pleasant shiver down his spine, even though she wasn't addressing him.

"That's fine then", Knox purred back, walking over to her and embracing her. As the two of them kissed, he turned away. It was none of his business.

But somehow he wished Vivian was kissing him instead of Knox.

Earlier in his life, he had got enough kisses. His parents had always kissed him good-night back in those days when he had still been a small, sorrowless child. Later, when he had come to live at the orphanage, he had from time to time got a kiss from one of the nuns. But they had stopped that when he had started to grow up. Occasionally he got a hug, but no kisses.

But he had never been kissed by a girl yet.

Jake and Graham didn't have a girlfriend, either. Kenny was also single, though he had had one some years ago. But Dan and Mart… Mart even visited his girlfriend in her dormitory. Dan had done that too, once, and so had Kenny, he believed. Jake could often be found flirting. And Graham never had any difficulty to find a girl which would dance with him, even if there where hardly any girls and a great lot of boys.

Only he himself, he was a loner.

What about Kid? He didn't know. But Kid was probably interested in other things than love. Kid was more into movies and football and anything on wheels.

"Right, Anthony", Knox's voice interrupted his stream of thought. "Let's get going, shall we?"

"And take that notepad with you", Vivian added.

He picked it up from the table, along with the pen, and followed the others out once more.

They led him down to the garage. "I learned you can drive", Knox said.

To this he nodded eagerly. Now that was something he really could.

There were four cars now altogether, the two he had seen before, Vivian's and another one, the one Knox had probably arrived in, a sleek, black one that spoke to him in an alluring tone.

"This one", said Knox, pointing to a gleaming Ferrari and tossing him the key. "You're driving."

Grinning, he got into the car, tossing the notepad onto the backseat, and examined it with rapt passion. Wow. Never before had he tried such a splendid car. Must have cost an enormous amount of money.

He realized that Knox and Vivian were watching him expectantly. Probably they wanted to see if he could handle it.

Of course he could! And they should see how! He brought the driver seat into a position that suited him and fastened his seatbelt, just like he had been taught when he had learned to drive. Then, kicking the clutch down, he started the engine. Its drone sent vibrations of pleasure through his body. Controls flashed before him and faded again. The car was ready, at his command.

"Drive it out", Knox commanded. "We'll get in outside."

Right. He put in the backwards gear, glad that this one was easier to put in than the one on the driving school car, where he had first had to figure out how to get it working. Now don't forget the indicator. So, perfect. And now… He gently, lovingly touched the gas, listening to the whine of the engine climb up slightly. Right. Let the clutch go… carefully… yes, this was the point. He let the pedal go just a tiny bit more… and the car moved backwards smoothly. He steered it in an elegant curve back towards the wall so that he could drive it out straight. Then he kicked the clutch again. First gear. The indicator lever snapped back on its own. Good. And now… forward.

When he headed out of the garage, he knew that his driving teacher would be proud of him now. Definitely. But more important was that he had shown Knox he was up to driving his car, even if he saw it for the first time.

He stopped in front of the garage and waited for Knox and Vivian to get in. Knox took the seat beside him; Vivian climbed onto the backseat and almost sat on the notepad. He waited for them to settle in comfortably, his left foot planted firmly on the clutch pedal. Letting it slip now would be… well, embarrassing. Travelling off with a violent jump wasn't what impressed employers.

"Right", said Knox. "Now listen, buddy. I'm telling you where to go, you just go there. You do whatever I say. Understand?"

He answered with a nod. Well, that couldn't be that hard. Switching on the lights, he awaited Knox's further instructions.

Knox directed him down the hill, urging him to go fast. Even though he loved speed, he didn't feel too well about that. It was dark, after all. If someone jumped from the side of the road into his way, it might be too late already. But he did Knox's bidding. Knox shouldn't think he was afraid of going faster than he normally would.

Concerning the gears, he did quite well. Changing from the first into the second had always been his least favourite gear change, but it was much better than it had been sometimes. Very often there had been a little jerk when he trod on the clutch and released it again. This time, he managed to do it so smoothly that he himself wouldn't have noticed he had changed the gear hadn't he known he had just done it.

This was better than running down steep slopes, and definitely better than cooking. Or taking his clothes off with Vivian watching.

Or binding a tie knot. He suppressed a sigh.

The car was an open one, so he enjoyed the wind whipping at his hair. As Knox announced they would be taking the highway, he couldn't hide a joyful grin. Wind in his hair and the rush of adrenaline as he made use of the gas pedal… exactly what he liked.

"You just turn right over there", Knox instructed him.

Very well. Time to change the lane, then. He checked what was behind him in the mirrors and then cast a glance over his shoulder. Indicator. Whoops, wrong one. Stupid. He hurried to correct his mistake. But Knox didn't even notice.

As soon as they were on the highway, Knox said: "Listen here. This is a four-lane highway, so I don't want you to go and try the crawler lane. Never mind speed limits. The leftmost lane is where you go, right?"

He couldn't but nod. Sounded like fun, he told himself. Only he had never gone that fast.

However, this time he did, and Knox was beaming like a child. Silly fellow. He ignored him, enjoying the high speed instead, all bad feelings of merely minutes ago forgotten.

Vivian leaned forward. "Are you boys having a good time?" she teased them.

"You bet", Knox grinned.

He didn't say anything, but grinned just as well.

All too soon Knox told him to get off the highway, then directed him through some little village. Before some tavern a bit away from the houses he told him to park the car.

Oh dear. Parking. He didn't like that at all. It had been his weak spot at driving school. But again he managed to pull it off perfectly.

"Good", Knox commented. "You seem to be a fine driver. Just answer me one question: What do you need a seatbelt for?"

Frowning, he fished the notepad from the backseat, pulled the pen from his pocket and wrote: Flying through the windscreen is not actually my concept of having fun in a car.

"Right. But don't you like the risk?"

Sure I do, he wrote. But not that way.

Knox shrugged. Really, what did that guy want, he thought with some annoyance. Even car racers had seatbelts, so what? Besides, it just belonged to the ritual.

Changing the topic, Knox asked: "ever been in a tavern brawl?"

He considered this for a moment, then wrote: Does a tavern swordfight count?

Knox looked at Vivian, who nodded. "I watched him. He did quite well."

"Did he take on all of the drinkers in there single-handedly?"

"No. There was just one opponent."

And that guy was hard enough, he thought, trying to keep his face straight. Vivian made it sound as if it had been nothing at all.

"I'll pick you a nice real tavern brawl", Knox promised, grinning.