On leaving the bookstore I made my way to Boots for my rendevous with Caroline. My confidence was a bit dented and my faith in the human race was running low after the newsagent manager incident. I was there ten minutes early so I just stood outside watching the people and shoppers coming and going. Two o'clock came, quarter past two came and at half past two I was still looking for Caroline's face in the crowd, hoping that she had been held back, but in my heart I knew she wasn't coming. It was a chance out of nothing and I had ended up with nothing. I waited another five minutes then headed back to my flat wondering if I would ever get to feel the delights of a woman's flesh again. It had been so long since I had sex that I was beginning to to think I imagined that I had actually had it. For some reason I was beginning to think no one in the whole world was having sex, that it no longer existed. Maybe it was just me subconsciously making myself feel better for my lack of it. Anyhow, I was back to square one - I didn't have a clue as to where my next passion session was coming from and for any eighteen year old boy, that's a problem and a worry he can well do without.

Extract from Courses For Non-Runners a Magnetto Influence novel