Hew watched mesmerized how Dolores jumped out of Jane's cabriolet. The crazy girl had jumped out of the running car and cartwheeled through the parking. She waved to them, ignored the small door to the garden and jumped over the one-meter-high hedge as if it would be nothing.

Is this the same girl that hid in the broom closet and refused to come out to sing? Or was that only theatre?

He watched her again, trying to see what was so special with her. She was rather average, not a beauty. She had a nimble, athletic body, not too much muscle on it, but well formed. There were moments when she looked gorgeous. For instance, when she sang, not now. Now she looked rather like... like Pipi Longstocking or something. He sighed. To be fair, she still looked good.

“Hi, guys!” - yelled Dolores waving at them, visibly happy to see them, then came and shook their hands. A thing most girls don't do. Not like this. She patted him on the back and watched him with a raised brow:

“I've heard you want to buy a bike?”

Her inquiring eyes were locked into his. He tried to smile, shaking his head in denial:

“Ahm. No. Who told you that?"

He bit his lip. He was here with his friends and could not lie. He bowed his head and continued: "Mother does not want me to drive a bike.”

That was hard to admit. Damn, he didn't want to look like this: a boy controlled by his mother. He looked at her and rolled his eyes: "She thinks it's too dangerous."

“Kate told me.” - she shrugged - “Sorry to hear that, Hew. I guess your mother wants only the best for you! Sometimes they are overprotective. When I asked my mother about bikes, she started to explain to me that most organ donors are bikers, you know? I did not even dare mention that I was interested in bikes; I only talked generalities...”

Was this condescending? Ahm, no, it did not sound like that. He breathed. Mike was surprised to hear that:

“So, how could you finally convince your mother?” - he said, wondering.

For a moment, he thought he saw incertitude in her eyes.

“Shhht!” - she answered with a guilty face - “She does not know about it.” - she shrugged and added - “She would not even allow me to ride a bicycle outside, so that's it.” - she turned back at Hew and grinned - “See, you have it better. You at least can drive your jeep with parental blessing!”

He nodded.

“Yeah!”

It was as if she would try to accommodate him.

“And aren't you afraid she would find out?” - said Tom.

She turned at him:

“Of course I am. Stop mentioning that, will you?” - her face turned sad - “She would get disappointed and sad.”

“Then why do you do it?”

She shrugged, but her face became red.

“Because it's fun and... " - her eyes locked on him with a slightly furrowed brow - "Hey guys, you're worse than Clara; if you keep bothering me, I'll punch you! It's not funny!”

“They are only teasing you, don't bother!” - said Matt putting a hand on her shoulder. That seemed to calm her. He added: - “Would you like to join us for a late breakfast?”

“Late breakfast? This is brunch!” - said Tom from his place with fork and knife in his hands.

Dolores's eyes went round, and a wide grin appeared on her face, her burgeoning anger forgotten:

“Sure! What do you have? Oh, those delicious sausages! Cheese, cucumbers, ham and eggs with mayo! Did your mom decorate them so?”

“No, those come directly from the shop; Hew and Mike did the shopping for today's brunch.”

They sat at the table and started to eat. Hew wondered: how did Matt make it to grab this girl? She was too good for him! Were they really a pair or not?

He watched her eating: not the best eating manners; she was rather fast and efficient. She had a healthy appetite. He sighed: she would probably get fat soon. Four eggs? Now really! He had seen his sister putting five kilos on in one year, and he had seen how difficult it had been for her to get rid of those kilograms. Well, it was her perfect body that she was ruining. A pity.

The coffee was cold, and he watched, surprised at how she spun the coffee with a finger in her cup. He saw how her eyes met Matt's. Was this some kind of a secret sign between the two? She rolled her eyes and took a spoon in her hand, whirling the coffee absentmindedly.

He chuckled.

She put the spoon on the table, and it stuck to the plastic. She then took it fast in her hand and winced. Was it so hot? His coffee was cold; where did she get that hot coffee from?

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Oh dear, did she rip Jane's plastic tablecloth? That would anger Jane!

“Hew?”

He raised surprised his head and saw Jane talking to him.

“Tea or coffee?” - she asked

“Oh, the coffee is cold, can I...”

“Let me bring you another cup. You don't warm up coffee; it will not be good.” - said Jane, and Hew wanted to roll his eyes but abstained. He knew Jane was bleeding at the idea of having to make more coffee, even if it was from the beans that Mike had brought.

He saw Dolores was keeping a hand over the hole she had made in the plastic tablecloth.

He sighed. Cheap plastic tablecloth, but he knew Matt's mother had financial difficulties and would be angered by that hole.

He raised his head. What were they talking about? Oh, Tom was talking about karate. He was a brown belt and very proud of it.

As bad things are prone to happen, Jane came with a fresh pitcher full of hot coffee, tripped over Tom's bag that was left somewhere in the middle of the way and almost fell over, spilling the coffee. Most of the hot coffee was not lost as it landed on Dolores' back.

With a surprised yelp, Dolores jumped on her feet and undressed the blouse in one movement.

"Huch, that was hot!" - she chuckled.

The boys were staring while Jane was sweating and excusing herself profusely. Matt was the first one to react:

"Are you alright? Did you burn yourself?"

She stood sheepishly there, clad only in her trousers, trying to dry her back with a paper towel.

"No, it's ok, it was not so hot!"

Finally, she became aware of their stares and covered her breasts with her left hand with a roll of her eyes.

“I'm so sorry about this. You should go inside and take one of Matt's blouses!” - said Jane in a panic about her faux pas - “I'll have your blouse washed and cleaned before you go home!”

“No need to hurry; it is actually Matt's blouse.” - said Dolores with a shrug, trying to calm her down.

"Oh, and your trousers too, there is coffee over them!" - said Jane, having not yet processed the girl's answer.

“Matt's blouse?” - Hew wondered, sincerely confused. He thought she just took it shortly before. He didn't mean to ask that, but he had stupidly spoken his thoughts aloud. He bit his lips after having said that, but her answer was even more dim-witted. She shouldn't have answered him; she did not have to.

“Yep, he gave it to me last night; my dress was a mess.” - was her inconsiderate answer with a shrug.

Only now did Jane react. She turned to look at Dolores instantly then she looked furtively at Matt.

“Let me show you where the bathroom is." - said Matt stepping forward, trying to ignore the conversation while Jane followed them.

"Put everything in the washing machine; they'll be dry in less than two hours." - said Jane from behind them.

Judging by how she was now looking at Matt, Hew got goosebumps.

Oh dear, there will be some interesting follow-up conversation! He would very much like to be a fly on the wall for that.

He wondered why did Matt say nothing happened last night when he came back early in the morning? Why did he not brag about it?

After Dolores went into the bathroom with a new blouse in her hand, Jane grabbed Matt's hand and pulled him into a room.

“Tell me that she was not here last night!” - said Jane with a dark look in her eyes.

Matt shook his head but spoke with a guilty face:

“No, she was not here.”

She rolled her eyes: “Don't lie to me, boy! God had made me spill that coffee so that I could see what lies beneath that character!”

Matt sighed. He wanted to comment about seeing what lay beneath the blouse but didn't dare. Instead, he told her:

“She was not here. I was at her place.”

Jane looked at him, weighing his words and found him wanting:

“And you took a spare t-shirt with you to give her? Have you seen how she stood there naked? She had no problem showing them her boobs! Is this what you expect from a potential future wife? She's a floozy, a tramp! I've told you several times, don't bring women into my house! Did you do it in front of your friends, or did you share her with them?”

“Ma! Please don't talk like this! We haven't done anything!”

“Don't you dare tell me how to talk in my house, and don't lie to me, boy! I can see through your lies!”

When Dolores came back, she was dressed in one of his blouses, barefooted and wearing a pair of his shorts. Her socks, trousers and blouse were tumbling in the washing machine, and she hated to wear tennis shoes without socks.

She looked around:

“Where's Matt?”

Mike rolled his eyes.

“Inside. He's getting dressed down by his mother...”

“Uh, the poor bloke!” - said Tom

Dolores wondered: “Is it always like this?”

Hew nodded and grinned: “Yup. Let's go to my place!”

Dolores raised a brow: “Your place?”

“My parents have a cabin in the woods, not far away. It is isolated, and we do not disturb anybody!”

“Yep! As soon as Matt comes out, we'll move. Look, he comes!”

“Hey, wait, it's a pity for all the food! I need to finish these eggs and the sausages!!”

Mike shrugged: “Pack the food if you're still hungry.”