Porcelain I

Porcelain

They were walking along Southern Beach’s coast, kicking around the tins tourists worth millions had left after an all-day-long sunbathing. While Zac was wondering whether the waiters from the diner across the road had to hurry much to manage serving the Coke ice-cold, Rory said: “You know, I’m pretty sure.”
He smiled. “Sure of what?”
“It will be like a bullet. A quick, black bullet hitting me right away with full power and blowing away my mind. Crawling deep inside me, really deep. It won’t be more than a second, but never recoverable.”
She started watching the sand moving between her toes, and added: “That’s my idea of love.”
He smiled again, but didn’t response.
Some footsteps in the sand further she went on:“I wonder whether I shall ever forget the day that happens to me.”
“I wonder whether you shall ever remember it”, said he and took her hand as they walked on.

“Panta rhei!”, Mr. G seemed to be extraordinarily delighted by this phrase pronounced by Heraclitus a few thousand years ago, or, how he added, smiling brightly at the class, by one of his students. “It means everything is in a state of flux. Things always change, they never stay the same. One situation flows right into another, without a border or a crossing line.”
While he went on about Socratic theories, Rory received a letter which said: That’s my idea of love.
She smiled, but didn’t response.
Once upon a time

Aurora was sitting on a desk alone at her first day in the new school. She had pictured this scenery before, but in reality the pain it was causing itched much more than in her imagination. It had been the same at nursery and her former school: Her name was just too difficult. The other kids forgot it after seconds or, if they read it on her sign, they didn’t dare talking to her, being afraid of mispronouncing it. So she sat there, wearing the little blue Prada-dress her mum had selected for the great day, wondering whether the patent-leather Y-3-shoes of the other kids also made their feet sweating like hers.
Just when she started unpacking her breakfast-cupcake, she heard a gentle voice calling her name. To her surprise it wasn’t the shy, low voice of a front-row swot, but the one of a self-confidently sounding boy who, when she wringed her neck, turned out to be a sweet-faced suit-wearer with dark hair. He brightly smiled at her, showing off his brace. Aurora liked braces and had never been able to resist a pleasant smile. So she returned it and suddenly understood the saying A smile is the shortest way between two people.
“I like your name”, said the dark-haired boy, pointing at her sign. “It means dawn, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, right”, she answered and sneaked a look at his sign, on which Zacharias was written.
Even though she thought this was quite exotic and didn’t see the slightest chance of ever being able to pronounce these letters in a row, she instantly said: “I like yours too. It’s very – special.” He smiled again.
“May I?”, he put his Gucci-backpack on the seat beside her.
“Of course!”, she cried, dipping her fingers excitedly into the frosting of her cupcake.
“What does your name mean?”, she asked while he unpacked a cream cheese bagel.
“To remember God”, he responded flatly.
“Oh”, said she and took a bite off her cupcake.

It didn’t take Rory and Zac, how they were soon called, a long time to make friends with their also Dior suit and Prada dress wearing classmates. Nevertheless, it took them even less time to discover that half a bagel and half a cupcake were the very best way to survive school until lunchtime. They also found out that afternoons spent separately in their parents’ estates weren’t at least as pleasant as the ones spent together anywhere.
Once, in their favourite season, which occurred to be summer, when they were lying at their favourite place, a meadow at the nearby river, eating their favourite fruit, which were red cherries, Rory said: “I wonder whether anyone in the world leaves their window open at night to let Peter Pan in.”
Zac turned over and looked at her. “Do you leave your window open?”
“Sometimes”, said Rory calmly, but her cheeks went as red as her cherry-coloured lips.
When Zac grinned, the sun reflected in his brace. “When I was younger, I was terribly in love with Cinderella”, he then said and added: “And sometimes I feel like I’m still not over her.”
Rory smiled briefly. “But Peter’s the worst kind of man”, she continued seriously. “He comes and goes whenever he wants too, never keeps promises...”, she suddenly broke up. Zac glanced at her and watched a tear slowly flowing down her reddened cheek.
“He isn’t a lot at home, is he?”
She shook her head, wiping off the tear with her palm. “I sometimes don’t even know if he exists.”
“My parents work a lot, too”, said Zac, leaning towards her. “That’s why we’re that free.”
“I hate freedom”, Rory muttered.
“Only free people are able to say that”. He handed over a double-cherry to her and, when she didn’t move, dropped it in her mouth.
“How did you get over Cinderella?”, she asked, chewing.
“I came across the Sleeping Beauty”, answered he, spitting out the cherry stones.
“In a far away land long ago lived a king and his fair queen. Many years had they longed for a child and finally their wish was granted. A daughter was born. They called her Aurora. Yes, they named her after the dawn for she filled their lives with sunshine.”
“You know it?”
“Of course I do. I think I knew every Disney fairy tale before I could walk.” He grinned, grabbing the last jointed cherries without hesitation.
“My mum loved this story so much that dad decided to call me after it.”
“Don’t you think that’s pretty cute?” He was still grinning.
Rory snorted. “If I’m his life’s sunshine then he’s constantly wearing sunglasses.”
“Never mind”, said Zac, separating the cherries, and dropped one of them into her mouth.

Kissing up

The problems began soon after Zac had got his braces off. Because this meant he was ready for the kissing market, like Rory’s friends Jane, Anna and Maggie informed her as he entered the classroom, brightly smiling like the worst advertising actor with bleeched white teeth. Rory was amused by the attention her friends suddenly paid to her constant companion, who still refused to stop wearing his teddy bear-pyjama when they had a video night together. But she was very pleased that all the others shared her good opinion of him and so she even encouraged her friends. Rory herself couldn’t complain about a lack of social attention too, for the boys didn’t only appreciate her pretty face, which was luckily without acne, but also liked her relaxed and pleasant manners. So it was Rory who was first confronted with what all girls in the middle of their puberty most fear and look forward to: the first kiss.
A real kiss, not only such a peck on the cheek while playing Truth or Dare or such a one you’re giving your best friend for getting you a perfect birthday present.
To Rory this historical happening occurred at a beach party, also the first in her life. She had been invited by Jane to come for a pre-party including styling and champaign. The latter was bought legally in a shop by the housemaid who received a generous tip in return. It seemed to be the evening of first times: it was also Rory’s first glass of an alcoholic drink. But she soon got over her restraints and had a second and a third one, later even a forth. So the two girls were already in a giggly mood when they entered the party at Selena Beach. Rory, not at her best balance anymore, was glad to see Zac first of their friends. He flashed his commercial-smile at her and offered one of his hands to hold on to, carrying a bottle in the other. This very beverage was soon emptied and exchanged for a new one. So was the girl hanging on his second arm: Rory dropped herself in a very comfortable armchair and before Zac realized she was gone, another, yet unknown girl had gotten control over his hand. Meanwhile Leo, a close friend of Zac, took the seat next to Rory and started chatting with her intensively. She was pleased by the gentleness he treated her with and astonished by his bright blue eyes, which she had never noticed till then. Suddenly, right in a conversation about skiing in the mountains, Leo leaned closer towards her and said quietly, nearly whispering: “Are you aware of the fact that you’re one of the prettiest girls in the whole county?”
Rory giggled, more aware of the fact he was just trying to toady to her. Nevertheless, maybe driven by the champaign bubbles tickling in her stomach, she cheekily answered:
“And I guess you think a pretty girl like me would fit perfectly to a guy so roughly flattering like you?”
She grinned. So did Leo.
“Do you want to accuse me to be rough?”
She just gave him a meaningful glance.
“Excuse me, Madam, you’re talking to a gentleman!”, he raised his voice comedian-like.
She grinned again. “So you’re – gentle?”
“More gentle than a man”, said he while moving even closer to her. Rory giggled until her lips were closed by his and Leo’s tongue started playing with hers.
Later Rory couldn’t remember how long they had been snogging before being interrupted by Jane who came stumbled through the sand calling out her name loudly. After a quick kiss of goodbye which lasted several minutes, Rory got up and ran over to her friend who leaded her towards the enormous bonfire where most people were dancing.
Jane giggled. “That's what I call last minute rescuing. I already saw you two heading to some motel room!”
Rory blushed and giggled too, but informed her that there had been no need of salvation at all. Jane raised her eyebrows, looking drowsy. Then she burst out of laughter and vanished in the crowd, gripping a drink off a table on the way. Facing the other side of the bonfire, Rory immediately recognised the head in the sand. Zac was lying on the ground beside a couch he had apparently fallen off. Though already dizzy of champaign and kissing she managed to lift him up and somehow got them into a taxi. Happy to be on the way home safely, Rory slightly started to feel her tiredness. She watched the city's night lights flying by, her unconscious friend on her lap, and closed her eyes.
When she awoke, the sun had already risen. The taxi driver had been driving trough the town for hours because she had missed to tell him their house numbers. When they finally got out at Zac’s, Rory paid with her dad’s Mastercard and gave him some extra recompense.
When Rory and Zac were lying side by side in his bed with quite a bad headache he asked her:
“So how was your evening?”
She smiled tiredly. “I‘ve explored the depths of Leo’s mouth”.
Zac grinned and yawned: “And I’ve explored the depths of a vodka bottle”.
They both chuckled for a moment and a few breathes later they were asleep, entirely asleep.

It was at a pyjama party some months later, when Jane, Maggie, Rory and Anna were eating fajitas while watching Pride&Prejudice for the twelfth time, as Anna rose her voice in a way very unusual for her. Known to have strong organ of speech, Anna now seemed to be hardly able to open her lips. Actually, she was overheard at first and it can only be thanked to a silent moment in Lizzy Bennet’s monologue that the three other girls noticed their friend was saying something. This something was “I’m going out with Zac”, followed by a scared gaze at Rory.
“I hope you don’t mind?”
For a brief moment, Rory returned her look, stunned with amazement. She asked herself whether Anna was joking. The true fright in her glance said no, definitely.
Then, for another brief moment, she waited for an itching pain somewhere in her breast that told her not to like Zac to be taken away from her, but there was nothing. Nothing but a girl’s excitement over one of her best friends’ latest date. Constantly grinning she assured Anna that there was absolutely no problem for her in the matter and that she desperately longed to hear everything about it. Secretly she was euphoric about the feeling of security that she felt when she thought about Zac. Rory knew that there wasn’t anything comparable to their friendship and that there never would be.
She soon realized, when thinking about that evening and the envy that hadn’t entered her heart later: they were so close to each other that there was just no space for jealousy. She quite enjoyed that thought. She felt like the connection between her and Zac was something too special for the others to understand and therefore they were unable to harm it in any way.
Anna now told them how she and Zac had met accidentally at the gym and then eaten some ice cream outside together. Rory remembered Zac mentioning this meeting by the way some time ago, not at least as romantically pictured as Anna presented it. The latter went on, telling they had fixed a date for dinner at a seafood restaurant he considered as especially recommendable. Anna giggled. Crying that it actually had been very special, she continued describing the evening in luminous colours, how they had chatted, eaten, found some kind of hook in her dish, argued with the waiter, left the place without paying and finally ended up at the Beach Diner ordering some triple cheese nachos. Her cheeks were glowing when she spoke of his kindness and patience, his wit and sovereignty. When she ended her speech after retelling their fourth date, her face resembled a full ripe tomato, but she still looked amazing. Rory couldn’t avert her sight from this freckled sweet face glooming beside her, this chocolate brown hair, this berry red mouth. To her, Anna had always been the perfect composure of fairy-like beauty and the-girl-next-door-appeal. But this impression of an innocent, breakable girl was destroyed the moment she opened her mouth. Her voice was strong and warm, such a one natural leaders are blessed with. At their first day at school Anna had, as she rose her hand for the class representative election, immediately caught Rory's eye. Right after Zac she was the first Rory set her sympathy on, without even knowing why – they hadn't exchanged a single word yet. But the way Anna's bracelets sang when she moved made Rory smile. Rory had been amongst Anna's most loyal voters and best friends ever since then. Secretly, Rory asked herself whether this going out thing was something exclusive, for Zac had been with so many girls lately that she lost overview. But even though she couldn't envisage that headstrong, brave girl in Zac's arms, the imagination of the two people probably most dear to her being in love made her smile like the sound of Anna's bracelets once did.

At first, Rory thought everything would be somekind of different now: her and Zac's daily afternoon meetings became four or five in a week, the girls club that had existed since infancy had to forego one of their members more and more often. To Rory having less time seemed to be a natural side effect of relationships and she tried not to take it personal. Actually, to her own surprise, Anna's almost constant absence bugged her more than Zac's. Every time she went sunbathing or eating cheese cake with the girls, she felt it wasn't the same anymore: the fab four had become the thrilling three. Thrilling in terms of restless. Though Anna had never been the wallflower of the group, her loss seemed to have freed an untameable curiosity to new experiences of any kind. It was not that Rory disliked this change, at least every time she was lying on someone's couch with Leo it didn't bother her at all, but sometimes at the Beach Café, when they were discussing which make-up was suitable for Alison's party, she missed the times when they were just laughing at people passing by. When they all just had vanilla milkshakes and she was the only one who saw Zac in his panties from time to time. Now Jane liked strawberry-papaya smoothies and Maggie tried something new every day because she was going out with the waiter. Rory herself felt more and more hooked on Lassis, though she had tried to stick to vanilla milkshakes as long as she could. But one day she had been simply unable to resist the smooth Indian yoghurt drink. It was the Sunday morning after John's birthday party which had – of course – lasted until the early morning hours. Rory walked along the promenade, one hand warmed by Leo's, the other deep in her pocket. While Maggie had found herself again a “cutie-pie with the most gorgeous upper arms she'd ever seen” and Jane had thrown up in the middle of the kitchen, Rory had watched Zac and Anna snogging until he had finally given up and come over to her.

He sat down next to Rory on the floor and leaned his head against her shoulder.
“We're disgusting, aren't we?”, he said calmly.
“Just a little”, replied Rory, smiling.
“Jeez!”, he sighed, walking around on Rory's knee with his fingers. “I... I can't explain what happened to me – I can't even understand it. I...”
“I can.”
“No, no you can't. Usually, I'm not the kind of person who snogs in public.”
“Correction: usually, you're not the kind of person who snogs in public excessively.”
“That's not true. No, common - “
“Oh please – shall I go and ask Susie or Ally or Cindy or Mandy or - “
“Hey smart ass, can't you think of any names without >Y<?”
“Why? Don't you like monotony?”, Rory laughed, but Zac's serious look made her become quiet. “I know that was long ago, honey-honey. All these girls and bottles...no, honestly, I know you really do care for Anna, you don't have to look at me like that”, she moaned, squeezing his cheeks. He laughed.
“But back to the subject - “, she continued.
“What subject?”, Zac cried “Snogging excessively?”
“Exactly.”
“Common, that was not excessive.”
“Zac, I'm sitting almost on the other side of the room, right next to the surround system – by the way, whoever choose the music has not the slightest faint of taste – and I could hear you. Clearly.”
Zac looked cloyed. “Rory, have I ever told you how much I hate you?”
He leaned against her shoulder again. Rory just munched loudly and he laughed.
“But seriously, for this, I'm not the one. I don't like snogging over there and holding hands and all this official stuff. That's not me”, he then said.
“Well, seriously, it's absolutely obvious that you dislike it”, Rory snorted.
“It's not that I dislike snogging her – I love snogging her. I mean, except the taste of her lipstick, which is insulting my tongue, but – I don't know how to explain it. It's not her. I just don't like all this relationship stuff in general.” He sighed.
“Poor little rich boy!”, Rory took a sip of her drink. “Common, Zac. Be once in your life content with what you have. You know Anna's great and you don't really wanna be without her – otherwise you'd already got yourself a new Kelly or Sally or whatever.” She grinned. “And if you want to have more freedom, take it. Tell her and take it”.
“How many of these have you already had?”, Zac asked, pointing at her drink.
“Like...six?”
“And how many will I need until I can tell Anna what I want?”
“Like...eight? Nine, if you wanna do it gently.” They both grinned.
“So where's the bar?” Zac got up on his feet.
“Just follow Jane's lovely gulping.” He laughed and walked away.

Though it was already dawning, Rory still felt dizzy when she walked down the promenade beside Leo. They had been talking for hours now and Rory had thought of the conversation with Zac again and again. To encourage him had been so easy, to motivate herself wasn't at all. She had told him to speak openly to Anna, to tell her what he wanted. She herself instead had have more than one chance to tell Leo everything she wanted, but never did. The main problem was that she didn't exactly know what she wanted. She was afraid of all this relationship stuff Zac had talked about, but also excited to experience it. Finally, she thought it was simply ridiculous to call Leo anything less than her boyfriend. On the other hand, not knowing what else to call it was a very bad reason for a relationship.
“Listen”, Leo removed her from her thoughts, “I'm sick of never knowing what to say when somebody asks me whether we're a couple or not. Honestly, I'd like to clear it out.”
He hadn't had more than eight drinks, Rory thought.
“Does that really matter to you? What the others consider us to be?”, she then asked.
“No, of course not.” He turned towards her. “For me, it doesn't change anything between us - whether the others consider us a couple or not. I mean, my feelings for you remain the same.”
Rory was flattened by this statement. “My feelings for you” sounded so serious. For a moment, she didn't know whether she had such feelings for him too, but then she kissed him and recognized she definitely did.
“But you know this isn't gonna be easy, do you?”, she said when they walked on. Their heights fitted each other perfectly, even with her high heels on they looked good walking next to each other. Rory smiled and moved closer to him.
“Oh yes, all that ice cream I'll have to carry to your beach towel, all these dark streets I'll have to pick you up from, all the jewellery I'll have to buy – for God's sake, all these expenses! Sorry, Mylady, but no, the answer is definitely no. I'm not going out with you.” He tightened his arm around her shoulder.
“Haha. No, seriously, in school it's gonna be something totally new, my parents are – I hope you'll never get to know them. And me! I mean, I'm kind of a jerk as well.”
He grinned. “A lovely jerk.”
She grinned too. “A lovely jerk or a lovely lovely jerk?”
“A lovely lovely lovely lovely lovely lovely lovely little jerk with earrings.”
“I beg you pardon? I'm tall for my age!”
“Really? How old are you? Eleven?”, he laughed and ran down into the sand. Rory chased him until they both lay in the sand with their fancy clothes. They laughed and kissed and lay on each other maybe for minutes or hours or years. Rory couldn't remember whenever she had been so entirely happy.

Against her expectations, having a relationship made things much easier. Though she spent a lot of time with Leo, there seemed to be more left for Zac and even Anna. The latter felt, how she let Rory know a few days later, closely bounded to her now there were “on the same level again”. Rory thought this was a stupid reason for spending more time together, but didn't mind it a lot. Whenever Anna called in the afternoons or sent her a note during the Spanish lesson, Rory realized how much she had missed her. They went jogging together, discussed what to wear at the next party, exchanged earrings from time to time and watched hopelessly romantic comedies together while the boys went to a basketball game. Another positive aspect was that Rory could spent more time with Zac for he was Leo's friend. Though not very interested in video games, poker or beer, she accompanied Leo to his buddies as often as she could because Zac was there too. They usually had a lot of fun, a lot of good conversation and a lot of popcorn all over their clothes. Further more, Rory got to know Tim, Zac's best male friend. He went to another school now, but Zac, Leo and Tim had been friends since infant school. So Rory thought, if she liked two of them much above average, the third couldn't be too bad either. But when she first saw him, Rory was surprised by his appearance: unlike Zac and Leo, who were both tall and athletic, Tim's stature was thin and quite small. He had brown hair, like Leo, and wore flashy scarf. She wanted to go and talk to him when she saw Zac was heading to him too. She caught his eye and began running, just like he did. Seconds later, they both yelled: “First!”, and laughed, breathing fast.
“Hey doot!”, Zac then said to the astonished Tim. “How are you?”
Tim grinned. “Desired, I guess.”
After Zac had introduced them, the boys started chatting and Rory watched them with great interest. The differences in their moves and gestures were amazing. Zac underlined his speaking with calm, friendly gestures and laughed cheerfully while Tim's hands flew trough the air, pointing here and there, twisting his scarf. Further more, Rory realized that he had dark brown eyes, fitting to his hair, but next to Zac's green ones they appeared a little plain. Then she noticed they were both looking at her. Her cheeks started to glow. “What?”
“Do you know whether Jane's here?”, Zac repeated.
“Ahm, no sorry, I don't know. I think she said she was planning to come, but then she got ill this week, so I don't know whether she's able to. Why?”
“What's wrong with her?”, Tim asked immediately.
“She was sick, I suppose.”
“Oh, that's a totally new experience to her, isn't it?”, Zac said, grinning. In Tim's face there wasn't even a slight faint of smirk, so Rory decided to change the subject.
“Have you been to the Beach Diner lately? I've heard it's got a new owner now.”
“No”, Zac responded. “Haven't been surfing for ages either.”
“I go there every day after work. I'm afraid I'm addicted to their Indian Lassis”, cried Tim.
Rory looked up with amazement. Neither she had any friend who worked, nor did anyone she knew love Lassis. “You work?”, she asked and interrupted herself. “Sorry, that was impolite. But – you work?”
“Yes, I do.” He smiled “I'm suffering from a photographic memory, so school doesn't challenge me a lot. And I've always been a passionate dancer, so I'm working as a dancing teacher. My uncle's got me the job.”
“A dancing teacher?” She was astonished. A boy who danced. Without being forced.
“Yeah, for classical dances like Foxtrot, Jive, Tango, but also Latin Dance and Hip Hop.”
“Wow!”, said Zac excitedly.
“You didn't know that?”, Rory asked, turning towards Zac.
“Of course I did. I just wanted to explain what you intended to tell him by your terrified look”, he answered. Rory boxed his arm. To Tim she said: “How do I explain him that I'm longing for a drink?”
“Try barking”, Tim said. Rory laughed and started barking.
“Your wish is my command”, Zac grinned and went over to the kitchen.
When he returned, he saw Rory and Tim chatting and laughing. Zac decided Rory didn't look thirsty enough to be disturbed. So he went over to the Nintendo station, where Leo and Bobby where battling at Mario Supreme.
Tim and Rory talked all evening long until Leo picked her up to go home. This evening she had found a constant partner for these boys' evenings because Tim didn't seem as much interested in football games or table soccer as the others were. For Rory it was nice to have someone to talk to when everyone else was sitting at the poker table, winning and losing money. She felt very comfortable with Tim, but wasn't torn to him at all. Somehow, though she liked him a lot, there was no excitement between them which would've outspread the boundaries of friendship. Sometimes she even thought he must be gay for he was so much more a female than a male friend to her. Actually, she felt quite sure about it and was already looking forward to the day he would reveal the big secret to her. But so many conversations passed by without even getting a little closer to the subject that Rory decided to ask him straightly. But still she wanted to lead the conversation to a specific background that would allow such a question. So she started talking about her own relationship with Leo, which went surprisingly good, and then changed to Zac and Anna, who seemed to be very happy too.
“Don't wanna seem rude, but isn't this some kind of strange for you? That your two best friends are dating and you don't?”, Rory asked, eating Häagen-Dasz Pralines Cream.
“It's not that bad”, was all Tim said. But Rory didn't want to let him go that quick.
“I mean, you don't have a girlfriend, right? I never asked, so maybe...”
He grinned. “No, I haven't.”
“Well then, why? Are you so picky? Or aren't you interested in relationships?”
“It's...I wanna wait for the right one, you know”, Tim then said.
Rory looked at him. He was serious. “So then, how should she be, the girl of your dreams?”, she asked, expecting to hear something like Actually, I'm not looking for a girl. I'm not so much into girls, you know.
Tim hesitated. “Can you keep a secret?”
“Of course!”, Rory answered, excited.
“I dare say I've already found her.”
“The girl of your dreams?”
“Yeah. It's...no, it's so ridiculous. I've been in love with her for ages, but...it's ridiculous, I'm ridiculous...ahm...she doesn't know. And she shall never know!”, he added with a warning tone in his voice.
“Who is it?”, Rory asked. Tim hesitated again.
“I am able to keep a secret, Tim. Who is it?”, she asked again, impatiently.
“Jane”, he sighed.
“What?”, Rory shouted.
“Quiet!” He looked around frightened.
“Sorry”, she whispered. “Jane? My friend Jane? The one that crashes every party and always ends up not knowing where she is? This Jane?”
“This Jane.” Tim sighed again.
“Jane...where do you know her from? Glenn's big party?”
Tim laughed. “No, no. She's attending one of my classes. Walz & Classical Dance.”
“What? Gosh, that's weird. And you never asked her out? I mean, you see her once a week then, don't you?”
“Twice, but...”, he started.
“Twice?”, Rory interrupted him. “What kind of dancing class is that?”
“It's an intensive course.”
“Uuuh...speaks for itself. No – why did you never ask her out?”
“I did. But not for a date like having dinner or something, just for an ice cream after lesson or sometimes a drink. But she never understood it as a serious date. Well, actually it wasn't, though. Whatever, she thought her teacher was just being nice.”
“How do you know that?” Rory was interested now.
“Well, I take her as a model most of the time when I teach new steps because she hasn't got a constant partner. You know, almost everyone attends these classes in couples, that's why I picked her in the first lesson, because she didn't have anyone. And then we talked and talked and I began to like her and soon I was her dancing partner, more or less. But she never got that I wanted more from her.”
“But, I mean, Jane's quite – easy going. Did the thought of telling her your feelings never pop into your mind, like, when you were drunk?”
“Yeah, it did. Actually, I did it.”
“What? I thought she doesn't know!”, Rory exclaimed confusedly.
“That's because she can't remember it.”
“You're kidding me, right?”
“No, seriously, she forgot it. It was at a party, I think it was Jeanne's or something, whatever – I had a few drinks and a few too much, and there was Jane, dancing at a table. She looked so – awesome and I was just like – Wow! Then she noticed me, jumped off the table and hugged me. She asked me to dance with her and I was embarrassed, but did it – and I liked it, of course. And then, somehow, I told her I love her”, he sighed again. Rory put her hand on his shoulder.
“And did she answer?”
“She said that I was cute. And after ten minutes or something she lost her conciousness, threw up, the whole program. At the next lesson, she couldn't even remember I had been there.”
“Oh Tim.”
“And I'm so in love with her. I – I just can't imagine any girl that – oh Jesus, I'm ridiculous. So ridiculous. And so in love. Fuck.”
“Hey, Cowboy! I'll help you, okay? We'll work it out!”
Tim didn't seem to be very optimistic. “Of course.”
“No, seriously, I'll do everything that's in my power. And”, she lowered her voice, “you may call me Aurora Almighty.” Tim laughed.

When Leo came over to her later, Rory was very tired, but in best mood.
“What time is it?”, she asked, tearing Leo towards her.
“Guess!”, he said, grinning.
“Ahm...eleven?”
“Later.” He started kissing her collar.
“Twelve?”
“Later.”
“What? It's already past midnight?” Rory tried to fix his eyes. She loved his eyes. Everytime she looked at them intensively, she felt like being soaked into them, diving in the endless depth of that blue sea.
“Mm-hm.”
“Ahm – one o'clock?”
“Sooner.” He grinned again and kissed her nose.
“Half past one?”
“Sooner.”
“Oh, common, just tell me!”, Rory shrieked, giggling. Leo fingers were now coursing around her hip bones.
“Guess, guess, guess!”
“Quarter past twelve?”
“Later.” Rory sighed.
“Twenty-five past twelve?”
“Not exactly”, he said, glancing at his watch. His lips went down to her collar again.
“Twenty-six past twelve?”
“Bravo! But, by the way, time to leave would've been an acceptable answer too.”
“Hey!”, Rory tried to box him, but he was too quick for her. “Damn basketball training! Why haven't I got a boyfriend with slower reactions?”
“Don't know, maybe they weren't quick enough to keep up with you.” She smiled.
“So, Mr. The Quickest, I guessed the time, here's my game for you. You're not gonna move for three minutes, okay?” She grinned and added: “No matter what happens.”
“If you were Gina Wild I'd be seriously concerned about the morality of your intentions.”
“Maybe I am Gina Wild?”
“Gosh, I'm afraid I know you much less than I thought I did.”
“Deal?”
“That isn't a request, is it?” Leo grinned.
So did Rory. “Of course not. Sit down.”She pulled out her Blackberry and set the timer. “Three minutes, starting from now.”
“May I still speak?”
“If you must”, Rory said amused.
“I'm all yours!”, Leo cried, slackening.
“Another move, another minute!”, Rory warned him and sat down on his lap.
Leo remained quiet, trying hard to avoid a grin, then burst out of laughter. “I feel like being your toy.”
“That was my plan”, Rory laughed, pulling off his T-Shirt.
“Uh, now it's getting interesting!”, exclaimed he, looking at her surprised.
Rory said nothing, but started adhering her lips tightly to his neck.
“Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! Stop it! Stop that right now or – ”, Leo began, being interrupted by Rory: “Are you seriously intending to move”, she paused, “me away?”, grinning brightly. Then she continued processing his neck.
“We've got a game on Saturday! Rory, common – “, Leo tried to defend his skin again.
“Oh, what a pity!”, she answered cheekily, moving further downwards.
After two minutes and forty seconds, Rory had left a dark trace of hickeys from Leo's neck over his chest down to his tummy. She smiled brightly as she kissed him and told him he was now released from his duty. Leo glanced at his watch, whispering: “Starting from now, you have exactly twenty seconds to race to the other side of earth and find a good hiding place where you can desperately hope that I will never find you.”
“Otherwise?”, Rory asked, still grinning.
“Believe me, you don't wanna know”, he answered, smirking.
“Oh, yes, I do!”, she said confidently.
“Just eight seconds left”, responded Leo. Rory shrieked and got up on her feet, hysterically running away. A moment later, Leo jumped up, chasing her. “You gonna pay for that!”
Rory just laughed, running outside into the warm night.
Rory hung up, breathing quickly.
Zac immediately returned her call, but she rejected it and turned off her phone. Then she started running home, as quickly as after they had broken Mr. Henson's favourite vase.