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Claire prepared a big lunch to celebrate Joseph's arrival in L.A. As they sat around her kitchen table, Max informed Joseph that he was going to skip all of his classes for the day to be with him.

"No, Max, you've missed one class already. You go on. I'll be waiting for you."

"Yeah, Max, your horny hormones can wait three hours." Jim said. "Besides, I can come back and keep him company until you get back."

"Okay then, you drop me off on campus, run your errands and be back at two-thirty to pick me up and drop me off at the hospital, and then you can come back and pick me up there at four."

Joseph agreed as he watched Max gather up his books. Max set aside the ones he'd need for his anatomy class. He didn't look forward to this day's session. He had to steel his mind because today they were going to be opening up their cats. God he hated the smell of formaldehyde. Although he'd never had one as a pet, Max thought that cats were fascinating creatures. He didn't like the idea of having to cut up one.

Joseph stood at the door waiting for him. He grinned as he lifted Max off the floor in a loving hug.

"Are you okay? You're very preoccupied this morning."

"Yeah, like I told you. Today is our first day of carving cats."

"You make it sound like an art class."

Max made a face, kissed Joseph on his chin and got kissed back fully on his lips. He pulled away breathlessly after a minute or so. "You're so going to get it this evening," he growled.

Joseph massaged two handfuls of Max's buns. "You promise?"

Max pecked him on his lips and wiggled to be put down. Ben later asked him after observing how Joseph picked him up that way to bring them face to face, if it didn't bother him being picked up like a child. Max had grinned and shook his head. "It's taken getting used to, but, nah, it doesn't bother me in the least. It's less awkward, and a whole lot more body contact than if he bent down to kiss me."

They waved to Claire as they got into the little red Miata with Joseph driving. As they backed out of the driveway, Joseph said, "I've got to go car shopping. I'm thinking of getting a Dodge 300."

"That's that blocky car with the chopped top we see everywhere these days?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Well, just don't get a black one. They look so sinister."

"I was thinking of maybe a silver one."

"That would be cool. Conservative."

"And boring?" Joseph asked, thinking of the matching little red Miata he'd left at home.

Max shrugged.

After dropping off Max, Joseph headed for the Von's grocery he'd seen along the way. This was something new to him and as he carried the last two bags of groceries up the stairs and dropped them on the island, he wondered if he'd over done it. He started putting things away when there was a knock on the door. Expecting it to be Claire, he was surprised to see Jim grinning at him through the door's peek-through window. He motioned for him to come on in.

"I've come back to keep you company like I promised."

Joseph grinned and said, "Welcome. Would you like something to drink?"

"Got something cold? I'm all coffeed out."

"Sure, got pop or cold water."

Jim glanced into the open fridge. "One of those Frescas looks good."

Joseph tossed him one and Jim perched on a stool. "So, what're you up to with Max in school all afternoon?"

"I'm going car shopping. Want to come with me?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Great." Joseph responded placing the two cans of corn on the cabinet shelf.

Jim followed Joseph in Max's car to the rental return, then let Joseph drive from there. Joseph had spent several minutes looking up the location of local car dealers, and then pinpointing them on his city map. Jim was impressed that Joseph knew exactly where he was going as they drove into Santa Monica. As they were passing the Lincoln-Ford dealer, Jim was saying how much he liked the little Ford Explorer pickup. Joseph yelled, "Holy shit. Look at that." He quickly pulled to the curb and parked. Jim wondered what he was so excited about as he followed Joseph into the showroom.

Joseph passed all the sleek new cars on the floor and headed for a black pickup that was up on showroom blocks. Jim looked at the sedate vehicle as Joseph caressed the side of the striped bed.

"A Lincoln pickup?" he asked.

"Hey, this isn't just a pickup. This is the Blackwood. It was shown as a concept back in '99. It wasn't until '02 that it was finally put into production. They only made them that one year."

"So this is a used vehicle on the floor with all these new cars?"

Joseph looked at him as though he were dense. "Yeah," he said. "They only produced somewhere between three and ten thousand of these babies."

At that moment, an older man stepped up and interrupted. "It is a beauty, isn't it?"

"It sure is. Tell me about it."

The salesman started spewing the facts about the pickup. "No," Joseph said, "tell me about the history of this particular pickup - how many miles, how much, etcetera."

"Oh. Well, it has only 14,746 miles on it. Apparently, the owner only drove it occasionally. It is in mint condition. And we are asking $27,500.00 for it."

"And if I pay cash for it, what is your best?"

Without blinking an eye the man answered, "Twenty-five."

"Draw up the papers."

Jim's mouth fell open. "You haven't even test driven it, Joe."

"I don't need to. That's less than half of what it sold for new… and I want it."

Jim nodded his head and then shook it, completely dismayed. The salesman turned on a heel and headed for his office. He was accustomed to young men with plenty of money - after all, this was Los Angeles.

Jim watched a couple of men remove the pickup from the showroom while Joseph filled out the paperwork with the salesman. As the man looked on, Joseph called Dave on his cell phone "Hey, Dave, I found the car I want. Actually, it's a pickup… a Lincoln Blackwood. … Yes, Sir, it is previously owned. And it's only 25 thousand. That's a steal. In ten years this vehicle will be worth more than it was brand new. … Well, ask Joe about it. He's the one that took me to the car show where we first saw it. … So, would you send the money to this location?" He proceeded to give Dave the bank information that the salesman had given him. "Thanks, Dave. I'll send you pictures of it. It is a real beauty." He closed his phone and looked at the salesman. "The money will be here within the hour." He glanced at his watch. "I have an appointment at two-thirty. I'll be back here to sign the papers by four."

They stood up and shook hands.

He found Jim outside, still checking out the pickup. "So what do you think, Jim?"

Jim turned and looked at him. "Are you sure this isn't brand new?"

"It sure looks like it, doesn't it?"

"Damn, I wish I'd seen it first. But then I wouldn't have known what I was looking at if I had."

Joseph grabbed Jim's arm pulling him away from the pickup. "Come on, we barely have time to get up to the campus to pick up Max."

Jim crawled into the tight back seat of the little Miata so Max could sit next to his lover. Joseph gave Max a discreet little squeeze on his bicep and put the car in gear. Max smiled at him, then turned to look back at Jim. "Okay," he said, "what have you two been up to? You both look like you swallowed a yellow bird."

Jim raised his eyebrows and shrugged in an attempt to look innocent. Max grimaced and looked at Joseph. "Give," he said.

Joseph grinned. "I found the vehicle I want."

Max thought a minute and raised an eyebrow. "A vehicle. Not a car."

"Not a car," Joseph repeated.

"A pickup?"

"Kind of."

"You're not a pickup kind of guy. What gives?"

Joseph sighed with great exaggeration. "You know me too well."

Max glanced back at Jim who was looking out the side window with a grin on his face. He turned back to Joseph. "So it's kind of a pickup."

"Yup."

"Explain."

"Nope. You're going to have to wait and see it."

"So what happened with the 300?"

"Never got there."

"So tell me what make it is."

Joseph grinned, "Sure… it's a Lincoln."

"Oh, God, tell me it's not one of those monstrous SUV Navigators."

"Nope, it's not one of those."

"Does Lincoln make a pickup?"

"Sure they do."

"But you said this is kind of a pickup."

"Yup." At that moment, Joseph pulled up in front of the hospital and grinned at Max.

"You know I'm going to get you back for this," Max said as he slid out of the car. Joseph gave him an air kiss, and Max headed into the hospital grinning to his self as he thought about the delight Joseph was taking in teasing him. 'God, I can hardly believe that he's giving up going to Harvard just to be with me.'

* * *

While Joseph walked inside to get the papers and keys, Jim strolled out to the side of the building where he'd already seen the Blackwood parked.

The doors were unlocked, so he opened the passenger side and slid onto the dark grey leather seat. It still smelled brand new. A young car salesman in a striped shirt and a gaudy floral tie walk up to him and said, "This pickup is sold."

Jim smiled at him, nodded and said, "I know."

"You need to get out of this vehicle. The owner will be here at any moment to take possession of it."

Jim smiled again, and said, "I know."

Joseph walked up behind the man just as he yelled, "Get the fuck out of this truck."

Joseph laid a hand on the man's shoulder. "Excuse me, is there some reason you're yelling at my buddy?"

The salesman jerked away from Joseph's touch and turned on him. "What's the matter with him? Can't he understand English? I told him to get out of the damned pickup, and all he does is smile at me."

"But why should he get out of it? I don't understand why you're upset."

At that moment, the sales manager walked up and asked what the problem was.

Joseph immediately answered, "This man is demanding that my friend get out of my pickup."

"Gene, explain yourself."

The salesman sputtered, and then apologized before walking off muttering to himself.

Joseph then told the sales manager that if the man hadn't been so rude, he'd have explained to the man that Jim was his friend.

"Don't worry about it. The dude is just frustrated because he lost a big sale earlier. I'll talk to him."

When Joseph parked the Blackwood in the driveway, Claire walked around it whistling to herself.

"So, what do you think of it?" Joseph asked.

Claire raised an eyebrow and commented, "It's the tuxedo of trucks."

Jim laughed and agreed. Joseph looked perplexed, then had to agree; it certainly wasn't a pickup for hauling a load of manure.

When Ben finished inspecting the sedate vehicle with an ice bucket between the rear seats, the Dutch doors on the rear of the carpeted bed and the LED lights down the brushed stainless steel insides of the bed, his comment was, "Joe, if you were straight, I'd say you've just bought yourself a pussy wagon." He looked Joseph in the eyes, and with a serious expression, said, "But you're not, Blanche. But you're not," then broke up laughing at his own joke. Jim and Joseph smiled while Claire closed her eyes and shook her head.

Joseph parked on the street near the hospital entrance, got out and leaned against the hood of his new pickup while he waited for Max. He noticed several people give him an admiring glance and wondered if it was the pickup or himself they were admiring.

When he saw Max exit the building, he waved to get his attention. Max ambled toward him, giving the Blackwood his attention. When he stopped in front of Joseph, he raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "I suppose I can ride in this, even if it is kind of a pickup."

Joseph grinned, ignoring the comment he opened the passenger door. Max paused as he started to get in, rubbed his hand over the leather seat, noting that it was dark grey - not black as he'd expected. "Nice," he said.

Once Max was seated, Joseph closed the door and headed around to the driver's side. He noted that Max was looking impressed as he checked out the interior.

Joseph had taken one of Max's favorite CDs and put it in the pickup's player. Once he was headed down the street he turned it on.

Max listened for a moment, then turned to him. "Sounds like we're in a concert hall. Nice."

Joseph grinned, turned the music down and asked, "So, do you like it?"

Max grinned. "I'll trade you my Miata for it."

Joseph laid his hand, palm up, on the center console. Max glanced at him before grasping it.

Joseph smiled and squeezed Max's hand. "No deal," he said. "But I'll let you drive it anytime you want to."