Their second date had been drinks at a pub outside town and the third, a home-cooked dinner at Alix’s house. He had not left until the following morning.
‘Tell her I’m looking forward to it too,’ Charlie replied to Andrew. He wished that he had been but the reality was that he was completely indifferent.
‘You could tell her yourself if you bought a bloody phone that didn’t need winding up to work.’
‘I’m anti-technology …’
‘Yet you counsel clients through a virtual-reality headset and an avatar.’
As Charlie approached the car door, he took in the driverless cab.
‘Ready for a big sesh?’ Milo asked and patted both hands on his friend’s shoulders. But Charlie hesitated.
‘I thought we’d booked one with a driver?’ he asked.
‘It’s all they had and it was cheaper.’
‘I’d have paid the difference.’
‘Come on, lads!’ yelled a voice from inside the car.
Milo continued to walk but Charlie had stopped. ‘Everything all right?’ Milo asked.
‘Yeah, fine. Look, I’ll meet you boys in town.’
‘Don’t be daft, get in.’
‘No, I fancy some air. I’ll see you at the pub.’
‘Nobody needs air before a pub crawl.’
‘They do tonight,’ he said. ‘Besides, I don’t trust them.’
‘What, the lads?’
‘No, driverless cars.’
‘Here we go again with your Neo-Luddite nonsense,’ Milo teased. ‘You know they’re safe now, don’t you?’
‘And so are lifts but you have an irrational hatred of them. You always take the stairs.’
‘Don’t change the subject. Cars can’t be hacked again if that’s what you’re worried about?’
But Charlie knew different. He held back from revealing that there were at least two more root access vulnerability points that hackers could exploit. The government was aware of the flaws but not even its highest-ranking programmers had found a way to seal them shut and maintain a successful operating network. ‘It’s just a preference,’ he added.
Milo turned and approached him. ‘Mate, seriously, what’s the problem?’
‘Nothing’s the problem.’
‘You can tell me. My offer stands, I’m here if you ever need someone to talk to.’
‘Honestly, it’s all good. Go, or you’ll make everyone late.’
Charlie waved as the cab exited the street, leaving him alone. Milo was the most perceptive of them all but following his suggestion that Charlie might be self-harming, Charlie wanted to place a little distance between them. However, working together and sharing the same friends made it difficult. Sometimes in the office or when they were all out together, Charlie sensed Milo’s eyes drilling into him as if trying to gain insight into who he’d been before arriving in Manchester. But for what purpose? Was he being a friend or was Milo attracted to him? Milo didn’t label his sexuality and his body language and micro-expressions suggested it might go either way.
As Charlie began his thirty-minute walk into the city centre, memories of his former friends inside an autonomous taxi dominated his thoughts. More than three years had passed and he could still remember every moment about that day. It had been the first time in months Charlie had gathered them all together and he’d booked adriverless people carrier to take them to a Portsmouth football match, playing away at neighbouring Southampton.
Anxious for the day to run smoothly, he’d started drinking early to calm himself. But his nerves made way for irritation once the others arrived at his house. They were less interested in reacquainting themselves with him and more concerned with their mobile devices and a terrorist attack being broadcast across social media. It took the lure of tequila shots and the arrival of the taxi to prise them from their screens as he shepherded them into the vehicle. Finally, as they laughed and joked, his anxiety evaporated and it didn’t matter that they’d forgotten it was his birthday; they were together again, just like old times.
