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Date Night
by Lynsey May
EXCERPT
…
I spin the chunky gold ring around my thumb. The night wears on and I’m hungry. We’re out too late for men like him, for couples like us. The population of the streets skews young at this hour.
Finally, he appears and attempts to drape my coat in a most gallant fashion. He stumbles and I grip his forearm. He looks down, surprised. His pupils are huge and he’s made no effort to clear away the scurf around his lips and nostrils.
‘Come on,’ I say.
‘Your wish is my, etcetera etcetera, dear.’
He looks around for the car he didn’t order and begins to grumble. I remind him that we decided it would be unnecessary. He argues and I don’t bother to reply, start walking instead. He follows. He can’t help but follow, although he does it by making sure to hurry a few steps ahead every now and then. The gutter is speckled with shredded lettuce and hunks of barely charred lamb. A glut of chilli sauce marks the end of the display. I look away, disgusted.
We pass a group of young folk and he reaches for my elbow. I let him. He smells of sweat and money. Behind-the-counter cologne. A big, bloody steak with a side of wilted greens. Whisky. Gak cut with talc, such innocence.
He spies a taxi with its lights on and steps into the street. Not part of the plan. I unthread my arm and say to leave it, aren’t we having a nice walk? He ignores me and flags the car down. He gestures for me, and I raise an eyebrow. He moves towards me, reaches as though to take my arm. I step back. A mistake. The audience is alert. As I attempt to sell my date on the romance of a starlit walk and the taxi driver watches with annoyance, the bravest of the youths decide to intervene.
‘You alright?’ one says.
‘We’re grand,’ I throw over my shoulder.
‘Are you sure?’ He detaches himself from the group, as my date huffs and rolls his eyes and puts one hand on the roof of the car he’s successfully hunted.
‘We’re fine, thank you.’
…
… Read the complete story in our anthology Perfect Circle.
Lynsey May
Lynsey May is an Edinburgh writer whose debut novel, Weak Teeth, was published in 2023 and chosen as Waterstones Scottish Book of the Month for May 2024. Her new novel,Kin, is slated for publication early 2027.
