But then what? There were any number of unknown men between Steve's driveway and Paul's house -- neighbors, shopkeepers, taxi drivers, bus drivers, even people on the street! Any one of them could shrink him, or worse. Steve at least was a known quantity Paul thought as he watched Steve climbing out of the car. A 'known quantity'! What was he thinking? Steve was a great friend. Paul hooked his shoes on his fingers and closed the car door behind him. His pants were sagging down, so he hustled around to the far side of the car where Steve was waiting.
They walked up to the house together, Steve hanging close but trying to not stare or act uncomfortable. Paul discovered he liked the closeness, even though he knew it would deprive him of precious inches. Soon Steve had the door unlocked and they were inside. Paul heaved a sigh of relief and tossed his shoes down. Steve set his keys on the counter and said, "I'd better call someone."
Call someone? Paul had just been getting comfortable with the idea of hanging out with Giant Steve... why would he want to get anyone else involved? Steve just looked at Paul expectantly, and Paul knew he had to say something. "Uh.." what about his boy Don? How would the kid react to his shrinking father? There was also his brother Mike. Mike's gayness had been a source of tension between them, but today Paul was feeling a lot more sympathetic to his brother's attraction to men.