Something Else

Chapter 4 - First Date

That evening the Britannia Bar was half empty.
Only a few regulars took up their usual seats, most of them having been there since leaving work late afternoon.
It was a quarter to 8 when Lee looked up at the clock. He was sitting in the corner beside the jukebox, feet up on the chair opposite, browsing the sports pages in the newspaper.
'What time did you knock off today?' asked Paul, seeing that Lee had been home and changed already.

'Half three,' he replied. He looked up, closing the paper before handing it back to Steve, noticing Jimmy come bouncing in through the door. About time, too, he thought.

As soon as Jimmy saw Lee, he nodded towards the toilets with a wink.

'Looks like Jimmy's got the gear,' remarked Billy.

Paul nodded, getting up from his seat looking at Billy's empty glass. 'Same again?' he asked.
Giving Paul the thumbs up, Billy followed Lee and Jimmy into the toilets to see what they'd got.
'E's and Wizz,' said Jimmy, pulling out his days trading.
'Nice one!' said Billy with a smile. He let the door swing shut behind him, examining the bag over Lee's shoulder. 'Black Sid?' he then asked.

'Who else?' replied Jim. He then turned his attention to Lee, looking him up and down. 'You're a bit dressed up for a Monday night, aren't you? You going somewhere?'
Lee tilted his head down in front of the mirror to examine his dark roots. 'Yeah.'
Jimmy immediately knew a female was involved.
'Anyone we know?' he enquired.
'Nah,' he replied with a grin.

Lee sat himself up on the side of the basins appearing quite at peace with the world. 'Just some bird I picked up in the cab this morning.'
Billy was all ears. 'Tell us more,' he encouraged, with a nudge.
'Not a lot to tell,' he said, uninterested in going into details. 'Thirty-one – thirty-two ...'
The idea of an older woman appealed to Billy, and he homed in for more information. 'Any spare mates?' he wanted to know.
Lee shot him a look. 'No chance, not for the likes of you, you deviant!'

'How did you manage to pull that one, then?' he insisted on knowing.
Lee shrugged with confidence. 'Sounds like her old man's a bit of a bastard.'
'Married, too!' exclaimed Billy.
'Sounds like he's a bit slap-happy, you know the kind, down the pub every night, gets pissed, comes home and knocks her about a bit?'
'Shit, you've done your homework! How did you get all that kind of info out of a five-minute taxi ride?'

'Matter of having to,' said Lee. 'This one looked too good to escape!'
'Poor bitch,' sympathised Jimmy, 'another broken heart this time next week!'
Lee grinned.
'I don't know how you do it,' admitted Billy, shaking his head.
'Easy, mate,' said Lee, smiling. 'A bit of chat, help her in with the bags – cuppa tea and Bob's yer uncle! All the problems come out; give a shoulder to cry on and wham, you're in!'

Billy shook his head again and laughed. 'Right, that's definitely it this time. I'm coming up for a job at your place tomorrow!'
Lee glanced at his watch, knowing he hadn't got time to hang around chatting.
'Listen,' he said, turning his attention back to Jimmy and his stash.
' ... Give us a couple of grams. I'm going to need to get going. I'll fix you up round Bob's place later.'

Stacey made her way along Carr Street and looked at the time. It was just one minute to eight.
In front of her was the dimly lit bus shelter with, to her relief, not a soul in sight.
She went and sat down feeling sick with nerves, wondering what the hell she was letting herself in for.
All day long she had been wondering if she was doing the right thing, going through with this. But here she was, dot on time, waiting for the guy she knew she shouldn't be seeing.
Somewhere a clock struck eight, and Stacey's stomach tensed even more. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and listened as the traffic ran up and down neighbouring streets.
Each time a car approached, her stomach did another turn.
A minute passed – it seemed longer.
Just then, a car turned into the street from the right. She listened to hear if it was slowing down, not sure now if she was actually hoping that he wouldn't show up – But he had. He pulled up outside the bus shelter and flung the passenger side door open as she came out of the shadows.