Minerva POV

"Martijn..... What's this?"

"Your car until you get one. Or until it doesn't work anymore. Your choice"

"No no no no. My choice is to give you your keys back and run away as fast as I can"

He grabs me kinda harshly to avoid me acting up my plan and kisses my forehead once more.

"Please, Miné..... It's here waiting for someone to drive it..."

"No, I can't....."

"Please... I have to insist"

Thinking about an evil plan, something pops up in my mind.

Keeping the car keys in my left hand, I slowly wrap my arms around his neck, causing his hands to lower on my butt.

He was leaning towards me for a kiss, but I place my right index on his lips.

"I'll drive this car only if you jump into the driver's seat and take this thing out of the building"

"Please Minerva.... Don't make me feel like shit. You know that I am not able to " he says.

Oh yeah. Damn, I forgot about what he told me.
"Oh shit. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad about yourself" I excuse myself rubbing his back with an hug.

"Thats ok...."

I need to make up for what I just said... And I think I know how to.

"Martijn, to be honest I am afraid to drive again too. But I know that I have to if I want to move on. Failing with a teacher doesn't mean that you are never going to be able to drive. Come on.... How many times have you ever submitted a track to some record label and no one ever answered. Does that mean that you are never going to be an amazing producer? I don't think so. That's kinda the same thing... "

He stays silent for a while and keeps his hands on my waist.
"Fuck, you and your wisdom...." he says before leaving a kiss on my neck, keeping his lips attached until I lean away.

I'm still in his arms, but as I try to walk away he lets me go almost immediately.
Pushing onto the car key's remote, I unlock the doors and walk to the passenger's side.

Looking back at Martijn, I see him with a worried face looking at me.

Pretending to ignore him, I open the car's door and sit onto the passenger seat, waiting until he does something.

He will either run away or join me in the car.

I'm looking at him cracking his knuckles through the rear view mirror.

At this point, I'm asking myself if I have been too harsh with him. After all, this is one of his worst fears.

I was just about to get out of the car, when I see him slowly walking to the driver's side.

He stops in front of the door and opens it, nervously smiling at me.

"Martijn, I'm sorry, I have been too harsh with you. It's ok if you don't want to do this"

"No, you are right. If I never start practicing, I will never be good at this"

He nervously takes place onto the driver's seat and closes the door.

His legs are snuggled, far away from the pedals, as if he was scared about them.

What did the mother fucking teacher do that time??? This is not normal for somebody who already tried to drive.

"Martijn, what's bothering you right now?"

"The fact that I am sitting here, with you by my side"

He's still so sweet to care about my life.....

"What did your teacher do the first time you took lessons? I realize that you are not comfortable... "

"He always glared at me, Martijn you are too slow, Martijn don't brake like this, Martijn this, Martijn that..."

"What was he expecting for a first timer??? God. By the way... Do you know what's the first thing that you have to do when you get into a car?" I ask looking at him.

He turns to me and points at the seat belt.

"Well, that motherfucker made some mistakes with you.

Let's start from the beginning. First of all, your seat and mirrors"

[...]

While explaining everything to my student, I make sure that he's calming down and, most important thing, that he actually trusts me.

He's now well seated, all ready.

"Now, let's start practicing.... Without the engine. Clutch.... When up the car moves, down... It simply disconnects the engine from the wheels"

"I know, but I can't believe that you are actually explaining this better than the teacher"

"I'm glad to hear that. Well, the brake.... Yep, you know that. And also accelerator, that today we won't use. Because, as you know, the car moves even without it"

He just nods at my statement. At least he knows that....

"Any questions?"

"Before we start.... Please, explain me how to brake without making us fall out of the windscreen"

"Sure! Remember, the only pedal that you always have to push down to the end is the clutch.
To brake correctly, you have to practice, but a slight push is enough in this situation. Is that OK?"

"So.... Even if I do like this...." he asks showing me finding the courage to place his feet onto the pedals and pretending to brake ".... The car will stop?"

"It will, you can go even slower today, since you are going to drive at the speed of a snail"

He laughs and removes his foot from the brake, waiting for directions.

"Do I need to tell you how to switch gears?"

"No, thank God. But I have to ask you how do I put into reverse....."

Every car is different, this is a licit question...

Once I figure out that you need to push down the gearshift to reverse, I explain it to him and.... I have to admit that this must be really comfortable to use.

"Martijn.... Do you think you can do this or..... You prefer not to?"

"At this point, I would like to do it with you....."