‘Got a fan for life there,’ Daniel said. He stopped her before they reached the house, and turned her around so that she was leaning against the wall, and he kissed her, holding her face between his two hands, and she closed her eyes, felt a liquid heat low down in her belly and thought, Oh God, oh God, oh God. She had no idea what to do with the desire she felt for him: no idea at all. But anyway, they were in the back yard, his dad was in the shed, his mum was in the kitchen, so all that happened was he drew away from her and said, with his mouth still very close to hers, ‘So, I’ve got a present for you, remember?’

She nodded. ‘Go on then, what is it?’

‘A mix tape,’ he said, and she sighed, smiled, shrugged, but he said, ‘No, no, a mix tape with a difference. Tailor-made for a tricky customer such as yourself.’

She laughed. ‘Oh, is that so?’

He led her back into the house and on a shelf in the kitchen there was a cassette in its box. The Best Last Two, it said, For Alison. There was no track list.

‘The best last two?’

‘Yep. You’ll get it when you play it.’