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Arden got up early the next morning and prepared mechanically for school. He was on his way out the door when his father caught up with him.

"So, you're skipping your driving test, then?" Mr. Halinen cocked an eyebrow comically.

"D- Oh, crap!" Arden waved his cell phone at Mark, who was parked and waiting in the driveway.

'Driving test today. Completely forgot,' he texted.

A few seconds later, the reply came. 'K.'

He closed his phone and stood in one spot for several seconds, staring groggily into empty space.

"Well, the test isn't for another hour... Coffee?" Mr. Halinen seemed very amused at Arden's state.

"That's actually a pretty good idea, Dad." He was never as hooked on coffee as most of his classmates, but perhaps it was time to start.

He went into the kitchen with his father and poured himself a cup - Mariano Roast, his mother's favorite coffee. It tasted like coal; but at least it would keep him awake. Soon, he gave up on drinking it black and added a ton of cream and sugar to the mix. The two seemed to dull the charred taste slightly, and the otter managed to drink it with relative ease.

"You'll get used to it." Mr. Halinen smiled at his son's contorted expression. "Once college hits, you'll be going through several cups each night. Speaking of; have you applied anywhere yet?"

"Almost." That was a pretty accurate description of things; he'd looked at pamphlets, filled out a couple of apps, but hadn't actually sent anything out. Between Mark and Sam's troubles, as well as his own, he really didn't have time to think much about college. He found contentment in the fact that nobody else seemed to have done much either; Mark had done about as much as he had, and Sam had just started looking through the mountain of pamphlets piled up in his closet.

"Well, you'd better get a move on. I hear American schools are pretty competitive."

"I will." He'd have to figure out where Mark was going first; and Sam. What if they decided to go to different schools? Almost unconsciously, he chose Mark... but would the wolf want to go to school with him? Would he actually decide to try an open relationship? He knew that this decision had to come soon; if they didn't decide to be open right away, things would just continue on the present course; hiding in the shadows, stealing kisses while nobody's looking...

Arden got so wrapped up in his daydream that the action of drinking coffee shifted into autopilot. His last sip proved to be too large; the burning sensation overwhelmed him, and he spat the liquid all over the kitchen table.

"You know, there's a reason people put warnings on coffee cups nowadays." Mr. Halinen shifted back to avoid the spill. "Coffee's hot."

"I know." Arden stood up and went to get some paper towels. "I was just... thinking."

"Look, Son; I didn't mean to rush you. You've still got time." He looked Arden in the eyes. "But let me just give you one piece of advice. Never pick your college based on friends or loved ones. Relationships die; and you do not want to go to a school you hate, just to be with your friends."

"Thanks, Dad." Somehow, his father knew exactly what he was thinking. He also offered up the only logical solution. Arden felt like he was falling into a black hole; at the event horizon, logic starts to dissolve; basic laws go out the window. Whenever he was around Mark, he could see the logical side of things, but it was somewhere far away... it didn't seem to carry any weight at all. Was that what love felt like? Was it dangerous to feel like this?

He remembered, again, the story of Romeo and Juliette; they were in love, but that love blinded them to reality so much that it killed them in the end.

They finished cleaning up the spilled coffee, watched some TV and, an hour later, made their way down to the driving school.

Sam was already there. He waved to them and smiled weakly as they pulled into the parking lot.

"I'm so not ready for this," he murmured. His usual liveliness and confidence were gone.

"Oh, don't be nervous." Arden patted him on the back. "I think we're the only two here who didn't sleep through the lectures. We'll be fine."

That part was definitely true; unlike regular school, the teachers at the Thomaston Driving Academy didn't seem to care whether or not the students actually paid any attention to what they were saying.

Arden's comment seemed to help things. Sam straightened up and smiled. "They're going in alphabetical order, so you'll be right after me."

"What about Jess Ferrier?"

"Crap! Forgot all about her." He bounced right back. "Well, at least we'll have time to talk about it before you have to go up. Maybe I could give you some tips or something."

"Sounds good." Arden wasn't sure what tips Sam could possibly give, but the otter's enthusiasm was just too good to ruin.

Once the head of the driving school arrived, things were finally set in motion.

The students were ushered into a familiar classroom and split into two groups. The inspectors that were administering the test soon arrived themselves. From the minute they walked through the door, Arden could tell that were polar opposites; one, who introduced himself as Mr. Mathews, was a large boar. He looked like he would rather be anywhere else in the world than at a driving school.

The other, a tall, stocky raccoon named Mr. Woodsorrel, seemed excited at the very prospect of administering a driving exam. He literally vibrated with excitement as he shook paws with each of the students and told them about the exam. "The route is pretty short." He pulled out a map of the town and hung it on the whiteboard. "We go two blocks down, around the corner and then two blocks back. Now, as for the groups..."

Jess Ferrier's existence did, indeed, turn out to be a good thing. The students counted off and Sam ended up in the same group as Arden - lead by Mr. Woodsorrel.

There were only two others ahead of Sam, and they both went through quickly; maybe too quickly.

Arden looked over at the other group; the presence there seemed to be a good deal less cheerful than it was in his own. Rumors circulated, and his assumption that the two instructors were completely opposite proved to be true. Mr. Matthews, as it turned out, was notorious for marking his students down for even the tiniest mistakes and all-out failing them for the bigger ones.

Mr. Woodsorrel, meanwhile, didn't even look at the grading rubric until the end of the test.

"You'd have to, literally, crash the car to fail," one of the kids behind him whispered.

Before Sam had a chance to get properly nervous again, the testing car pulled up in front of him and Ryan Ellis climbed out, wearing a triumphant grin on his muzzle. "This guy's cake," he whispered to Sam.

The statement seemed to hold. Just fifteen minutes later, Sam climbed out of the car, wearing a grin similar to Ryan's. He didn't say anything to Arden, but the grin was enough.

Arden climbed into the car with a good deal less apprehension than he would've had if Mr. Mathews had been in the passenger's seat.

"Hmm... Arden Halinen. Finnish, I presume?" Woodsorrel flipped to Arden's form.

"Yes, sir. I was born here, but my parents are both Finnish." Arden fastened his seat belt and went through the 'pre-driving' checklist in his head. He was pleasantly surprised to have remembered everything correctly.

"My mother's Finnish." Woodsorrel smiled. "Marja Raikkonen."

"That's awesome!" He felt an even stronger connection with the raccoon. "I'm actually going there this winter to visit family."

"I suppose I should think about going myself; I've never been there and I don't speak a word of Finnish... oh, whenever you're ready. Sorry I pulled us into that topic; I'm sure you want to get this over with as soon as possible."

"That's okay." Arden pulled out of the parking lot and signaled right to turn into the street.

Woodsorrel directed him down the block to a supermarket lot. There, he instructed Arden to park the car in a generously wide space between two orange cones; Arden did so with practiced ease.

"Should I park it in reverse?" He put the parking brake on and looking over at the raccoon.

"Nah. I'm sure you can do that just fine." Woodsorrel winked. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have asked me."

They pulled out of the parking lot and headed back towards the driving school. On the way, Woodsorrel guided him into a dead end and made him do a three-point turn to get out.

Once that was done, Arden relaxed completely. He drove the car down to the school and parked it in front of the line of waiting students.

"How'd I do?" He realized only then that he wasn't sure whether he was even allowed to ask a question like that.

"Full Marks!" Woodsorrel handed him a carbon-copy of the test sheet. "Take that to the DMV to get your license."

"Thank you so much!" He wanted to hug the raccoon, but settled instead for a friendly pawshake.

"You're very welcome. Good luck to you!" Woodsorrel waved to him as he got out of the car.

Sam was waiting for him when he got out. "Well, I'm guessing by the grin that you didn't fail." He hugged Arden. "Either that or you did fail and went crazy in the process."

Arden followed Sam off to the side and they stood around, chatting until Mr. Halinen came to pick them up. "Everybody pass?"

Both boys nodded happily.

"And before you ask, yes, we can go to the DMV today. We just have to hurry to get there before it closes. Arden, I have your documents in the car; we'll have to go to Sam's house to get his, though."

They dropped by Sam's house and then went to the DMV.

Arden wanted stop by his house to change into a nicer shirt for the photograph, but Mr. Halinen stopped him, explaining that they didn't have enough time.

They arrived at the DMV with a good deal of time to spare - which was fortunate because it took them another fifteen minutes to find a parking space.

Once they finally got inside, the three otters realized why the parking lot was so full. It seemed like everyone decided to come to the DMV at once (as it usually happens).

Arden saw a couple of kids from his driving school as well as a bunch of others he didn't know, standing in the 'New Driver's License' line.

Jess Ferrier the last person in line; she waved him and Sam over when she saw them.

"Wow, so you passed Matthews, huh?" Arden walked over to her and shook paws.

"Yeah, and I think I was the only one too!" She swelled her chest proudly at the fact. "He had me driving around down for about a half hour maybe more before finally giving up and passing me."

"Well, at least you passed." Sam smiled. "Besides, if you can pass with Matthews, you're probably good enough to get a racing license."

"If I get a license at all." She chuckled "This line hasn't moved much in the last half-hour that I've been here."

The line was, indeed, long and slow; it was made all the slower by the boys' excitement.

They chatted for a while, but then even that got old. The last fifteen minutes were spent simply trying not to look at the clock.

Finally, they were up; Arden went first this time. He handed his documents to the extremely overweight squirrel behind the desk and went to get his picture taken. The photo-room was much cooler and darker, giving him a nice reprieve from the stuffy, foul-smelling interior of the DMV.

The photographer, a petite mouse, who reminded Arden of Eggurd was sitting on a small stool behind the camera. He seemed to be the only one of the entire DMV staff that was actually excited about his job. He shook Arden's paw and congratulated him. "Oh, come on, smile; you just got your license!" he said when he saw the blank expression Arden made for the camera.

Arden smiled, the camera flashed, the printer whirred into motion and he had his license several minutes later. His picture came out worse than he would've liked, but he was never very photogenic, so he didn't mind.

Holding the license in his paw, he expected a wave of relief to come flowing over him.

The relief he experienced was markedly small, however. With all the stress of the year so far, the ordeal of getting his license had taken a back seat. He was happy only that it was over.

He shook paws with the mouse again and went back to the main lobby.

Sam was waiting for him at the door. "Lemme see it!" He grabbed the license from Arden's outstretched paws.

"I know, I know, it's terrible." Arden craned his neck to get another look at the photograph.

"Oh, please." Sam handed the license back to him. "Nothing beats my yearbook picture last year... and don't argue because you know it's true!"

"Samuel Fardin!" the squirrel behind the desk mumbled in a gruff masculine voice.

Not wanting to incur the squirrel's wrath, Sam went into the photo room quickly.

He came out just a short while later, wearing the same grin he probably wore for the picture.

"Wow, that photographer guy kinda ruins the whole DMV employee stereotype, huh?" he said, admiring his shiny, new license.

"Yeah, I wonder how he can stay so happy when he's surrounded by such downers all the time."

Mr. Halinen shrugged. "Crack?"

Such an unexpected comment caused the three of them to burst out laughing.

They pushed their way through the crowd that had gathered around the door and took grateful lungfulls of fresh air once they got outside.

For the first time since he got his permit, Arden didn't drive home. With his license in-paw, the novelty of driving quickly started to wear off.

They dropped Sam off and headed home.

Arden was glad he didn't offer to drive because he would have crashed into something at that point. A brand new SUV stood parked in the driveway with a bow on it.

"Now, we were going to wait until your birthday... but hell, I'm just too impatient." His father giggled.

Arden was speechless; he just nodded and stared at the new car... his new car.

His mother and Mikey came outside just as they were pulling into the driveway.

"Congratulations, hon." She gave him a big hug.

Mikey joined the hug."Dude, I'm so jealous right now!"

"Oh, you'll get yours, don't worry." Mr. Halinen assured him. "But make sure you keep your grades up; don't let videogames get in the way. Oh, go on! I'm sure both Mark and Sam are home."

Arden's impatient expression didn't hide much.

"Just drive safely, hon, and don't miss practice." Mrs. Halinen handed him the keys and kissed him again.

Slowly, he unlocked the car and got in, taking his time to just look around and inhale the new-car smell. After some fumbling with the keys, he started the car and backed cautiously out of the driveway.

Mikey ran after him, yelling something. Arden stopped the car and rolled down his window.

"That bow looks pretty and all." Mikey reached up to the roof and pulled off the giant bow. "But I don't think you should be driving around with it."

"Thanks." Arden waved to his parents one more time and rolled the window back up.

Driving on his own felt surreal; having his father or instructor in the driver's seat didn't seem like it would make much of a difference, but it did. He drove slowly, carefully following the posted speed limit until he got to Sam's house.

"Whew, I'm so glad I don't have to keep my muzzle shut about this anymore." Sam emerged when Arden honked the horn. "Your dad asked to keep the car at our house, and it took every bit of willpower I had not to tell you."

"I'm proud of you!" Arden adjusted the rear-view mirror for the umpteenth time. "I don't know if I would've been able to keep it a secret."

"Yeah." Sam powered on the GPS and started playing around with it. "Fortunately, my dad's no good at secrets; but we're going Friday to pick something out."

"Still going for something sporty?" Arden fumbled around his pocket for his cellphone.

"I'll certainly try." Sam powered off the GPS and fell silent for Arden to answer his phone.

"Hey!" It was Mark.

"I passed!" Arden pressed the phone closer to his ear. "I was actually going to drive over and surprise you, but you beat me to it."

"Well, I was actually calling about something else."

Somehow, he could tell that the wolf was smiling on the other end of the line.

"My dad's gone on another business trip... how about a sleepover?"

"Tonight?"

Sam smiled mischievously at him and made a kissy face.

"Yeah, we could... well... do stuff... and then maybe catch a late movie or something. Just swing by after practice... If you want," Mark added; his hesitation was adorable.

"Nah, I think I'd rather stay home and read." Arden winked at Sam.

"Oh... well... I-"

"I'm kidding." He cut the wolf off. "Do you really think I'd say no to that?"

"I don't know." Mark sighed. "We really haven't had a chance to spend too much time together... I thought you were mad at me for that or something."

"Don't get me wrong, I do wish we could spend more time together." Arden just didn't feel like lying then. "But I understand how school can prevent that from happening."

"So, I'll see you after swimming, then?"

"You bet!" He bid Mark good bye and hung up.

"So, how about you drive us to practice?" Sam offered.

"Sure. Go ahead and grab your stuff."

While Sam went off to pack for practice, Arden remembered that he hadn't called his parents to ask about the sleepover with Mark.

He watched Sam packing through the upstairs window as he pulled out his phone and dialed home.

As he counted off the rings, he hoped that his parents were home and that they'd be okay with the sleepover; the last thing he wanted to do was to call Mark back and cancel.

His Mom picked up.

"Hey, Mom..." He hesitated slightly. "Can I stay at Mark's tonight?"

Another moment of silence passed.

"Sure. Just stop by the house to grab your school stuff. And don't stay up too late," his mother said.

Arden heard the kitchen timer go off in the background.

"Whoops, fish is ready. I'll see you in a few, then." She hung up quickly, and Arden spent the rest of the time reading the car's manual.

Once Sam returned, they drove to Arden's house.

He packed his stuff quickly, kissed his mom goodbye and drove to practice.

Barken was back to his usual demeanor; in fact, even having witnessed the otter's kindness in person, Arden had trouble believing it had actually happened.

Over the course of practice, Barken found several excuses to yell at him; but nothing could ruin Arden's good mood. He got his license, a car, and he was about to spend some quality time with his boyfriend... not bad for a Tuesday.

After practice, Arden went to his habitual spot to wait for his dad, only to remember a few minutes later that he now had a car of his very own.

He found Sam standing by the pickup lane. "Need a ride?"

"No, thanks." Sam checked the time on his phone. "Dad's coming to pick me up. He wants to take me to dinner to celebrate me getting my license. He invited you too, but I didn't think you'd want to go; what, with Mark and all."

"Yeah." Arden threw his bag in the trunk and turned back around to face Sam. "Thanks for offering, though. Have fun!"

"You too!"

He got into the car and headed to Mark's house.

Driving at night was a little scary, but he got used to it quickly enough. If anything, he liked the fact that the roads were quieter and more serene.

He smiled to himself as Mark's house came into view, already imagining what he'd do once he got there. The thoughts alone made his sheath stir.

It was moments like this that made him the happiest - moments when he had something to look forward to rather than something to look back on.

He barely made it through the door before the wolf pulled him into a passionate kiss.

"Well, hello to you too," Arden paused to say before resuming the kiss.

Their kiss ended only when they got to the kitchen.

"Hungry?" Mark gestured to the leftover pizza on the counter.

"Yeah, but not for that." He put his arms around the wolf and they kissed again.

That feeling never got old; a flame that started in the chest, and spread through the entire body, igniting every cell with a hungry passion. All his worries about their future were temporarily forgotten; the strength of their passion assured him that they would make it through whatever troubles came their way. As long as the passion and love remained, everything else would take care of itself.

They parted the kiss just long enough to get down to Mark's bedroom.

Their clothes quickly wound up on the floor, and the two boys wound up in bed together.

"So, what would you like to do today?" Arden knew already what the answer was going to be.

"I think I'd like to sit in your lap." Mark licked his nose and reached into his bedside table.

He pulled out the familiar tube and rubbed Arden's fully-erect member with the slick, minty-smelling gel. The warming sensation combined with the wolf's soft paw was enough to send Arden over the edge; but he held on. He gathered all his remaining willpower because he knew that the pleasure he was feeling now was nothing compared to what he would experience in just a few short moments.

After (very) thoroughly lubricating Arden's maleness, Mark proceeded to sit in the otter's lap.

Once he was situated, his rear rubbing Arden's member alluringly, he braced himself on his boyfriend's shoulders and slowly lowered his bottom over the erection. They both gasped simultaneously - Mark from the slight stretching, and Arden from the incredible pleasure and warmth that enveloped him.

For a time, they just sat still, enjoying the respective sensations. Mark was the first to recover; he began rocking his hips up and down slowly, keeping his arms around Arden.

Arden took much longer to recover; each time he got used to the sensation, it heightened and made him moan softly. It left him feeling completely engulfed by the electrical new feelings.

Once he was sufficiently cognitive, he wrapped his paw around the wolf's swollen knot and stroked it softly. Mark seemed so absorbed in the whole activity that he had completely forgotten about his own needs. He moaned loudly when the otter squeezed his knot and began to pump faster. This, in turn, elicited a moan out of Arden as he picked up the speed of his stroking.

When the speed had picked up sufficiently, it only took them a few minutes to climax. This time, it was completely synchronized. They held onto each other and shared another kiss - the longest and most passionate of the day - right at the climax.

Arden was brought back to reality when the wolf stood up, carefully pulling himself free of the otter's slowly-shrinking member.

They embraced again and kissed for a good while longer before Mark ended the kiss and went over to his dresser. "So, how about those movies?" He got the usual scent-masker out and tossed it to Arden.

"Is anything good on?" Arden squeezed a bit of the cream out and applied it around his sheath.

"The Tourist." Mark took the cream and applied it around his own person liberally. "I've wanted to see it for a while now."

"Let's go, then." Arden pulled on his clothes and gave Mark another kiss.

Cleaned up and descented, the boys headed upstairs.

"I'll drive," Arden offered, when he saw Mark heading for his car.

"Ah, that's right, you got a car... I kinda forgot all about that when I saw you." Mark smiled sheepishly.

"I know the feeling." Arden unlocked the doors and they got in.

"Wow, this is cozy!" Mark sat down and began toying with the adjusting controls on his seat. "Even mine doesn't have lumbar support."

"Yeah, I still can't believe my folks got me a car, let alone one like this!" Arden took another look around the car... his car, one more time and started the engine.

He'd never driven to the theatre before, but he knew the route by heart from all the times he'd been there; the last of which was not that long ago...

Mark checked the showtimes on his phone as they were driving, and it turned out that they were just barely making the 11:15 showing.

The Cineplex parking lot was surprisingly empty when they got there; Arden parked the car quickly and they ran inside to get tickets. Fortunately, the theatre wasn't sold out and there wasn't much of a line. They sprinted into the auditorium just as the fire-safety speech concluded.

After sitting down, Arden habitually put his arm around Mark's chair. He withdrew it quickly and folded his ears. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Mark whispered.

Arden faced forward and tried to focus on the movie, ignoring both the slight pang of sadness and the slight pressure on his bladder. He'd made it halfway through the movie before the latter got the best of him.

Getting up slowly, he squeezed his way past Mark and out of the auditorium.

The bathroom on his floor was out of order, so the otter had to waddle up the stairs (doing his best not to make any fast movements) to try and find another one.

Fortunately, the second floor bathroom was open.

Arden was about to throw the door open and make a dash for the urinals when he heard a voice coming from inside.

"Hell, we better not get into any trouble."

He recognized Andy's voice.

"Don't try and sweet-talk me, you son of a bitch. I did exactly what you told me, and if we get arrested or something, you can bet I'll pull you down with us."

His bladder forgotten, Arden eased open the door and hid behind the wall that separated the sinks from the urinals.

"I don't care what you have do!" Andy yelled. "I'll call you back later; and don't think we're finished talking about this, either."

Arden heard the phone snap shut and swung the bathroom door open, making it look like he'd just come in.

Andy glared at him as he passed on the way to the sinks.

Arden took his time peeing to make sure the weasel was long gone by the time he finished.

As he got to the sinks to wash his paws, the otter saw Andy's phone sitting forgotten on the counter.

'Go on, you know you want to open it,' his inner voice tempted him.

Arden obeyed.