Random Green Man [Medium]

Dreadlocks hid Jake’s face from dirty looks as he pushed his way to the front of the cinema queue.

There was a young girl in an expensive coat just in front of him. He got hold of her arm and turned her around.

‘What on earth are you wearing?’ she said.

‘This is my special top,’ he grinned. ‘I’ve had it for years, every time I wear it something weird happens.’

Charlotte was not impressed, she just saw the holes.

With a large Celtic knot and scrawled writing printed on a white square background, the t-shirt looked like a bootleg.

‘What is it anyway?’ she said.

‘New Model Army.’

‘Never heard of them.’

Jake did his best not to look disgusted. He’d intended to compliment her on the way she looked, but he was already late for their first date and she’d already managed to piss him off.

They hugged, each taking an awkward step backwards as they finished.

Jake thought she had a pretty face beneath all the freckles.

Charlotte wore a long ash-grey coat with a little black label on the outside of the collar to show that it was in season. The Cashmere sweater underneath hugged her body all the way down to her knees. He was sure breasts figured in there somewhere.

‘I saved you a place,’ she said, but Jake wasn’t sure whether that was for his benefit or for the crowd who were watching.

Silent through most of the film, each stayed more aware of the other’s movements than those of the characters on screen.

They rehearsed holding hands and gave up on the idea, each convinced that the other had been sweating.

It was a British art film in Japanese with subtitles and lots of nudity.

Charlotte mouthed the dialogue as she read each scene.

Jake drummed his fingers on his knee, still annoyed at having paid a fiver to get in.

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