“You’ll vanish, and he’ll think of me straight away,” she hissed, eyes flashing. “So do me a favourdisappear properly, or else”
“What are you pointing at me for?” he snapped, the tension in his voice cutting like a cold wind.
“What does any girl expect from a night out at the pictures with a bloke?”
The answer, of course, depends on how far a girl is willing to push the boundaries. Some are ready not just to invite their date over after the film, but to let the chemistry spill over in the dark rows of the cinema itself. Others keep it modesthandinhand during the reel, a gentle kiss, then a proper goodbye at the doorstep of her flat.
Either way, the very fact that Poppy Hughes agreed to see a film at the invitation of Max Parker meant she was, at least in his eyes, his girl. And that the slot beside him had been vacantso there should have been no drama like the one that erupted with Claire earlier, when a stranger swooped into the lobby, clutched Maxs arm, and demanded, “Max, whos that? Why are you holding her hand? Ive been losing sleep, worrying youve disappeared!”
Anyone else would have flushed, trotted off, perhaps shouted, “Youre a cheat, seeing two at once!”hurling the freshly bought flowers back at him and storming out, heels clicking like gunfire. Claire belonged to the more primal type, but she never got the chance to react. Max, brow furrowed, snarled at the intruder, “I told you to get lost. If you think its over, then its over. Come on, Poppy.”
He grabbed her elbow and dragged her toward the right screen. To Poppy it seemed settledMax wasnt seeing anyone else. Hed dumped her, right? At least thats what Max claimed. How true that was, only time would tell.
Poppy kept the conversation for after the film; she didnt want a showdown in front of strangers. Max had paid for the tickets£12 eachso theyd make the most of the evening, not waste it on interrogations.
When the lights finally rose and they stepped onto the lamplit street outside the Prince Charles Cinema, heading toward the park that edged Poppys block in Camden, the topic slipped in.
“Hope you didnt read too much into it,” Max said, his tone apologetic. “I dont collect lunatics. My friends and family are solid; this one just turned up, a bit of a mess.”
Poppys previous relationship had crumbled when her exs mother and sister refused to accept him, so any hint of odd company prickled her nerves.
“So what exactly happened?” she asked, the curiosity in her voice barely masking the hurt.
“We were seeing each other, I thought. You know, the sort of thing where we walk together, hold hands, kiss, and she calls me sweetheart or kitty in front of her mates,” Max replied.
“Sounds logical enough,” Poppy admitted.
“And you know what else is logical?” Max continued, a halfsmile playing on his lips. “If a girl asks you over to fix her computer and then says the computers been taken to the country by her brother, but still offers you a DVD night?”
“Pity anyone still uses DVDs,” Poppy laughed, then steadied herself. “If a girl lures you in with a flimsy excuse and then wants you to stay alone in her flat, you can bet theres more than a film on the agenda.”
“Add transparent lace, fishnet stockings, heartshaped candlesten of themwine, snacks, and a film thats clearly rated 18+,” Max said, his voice dropping. “All the usual romanticthriller tropes.”
“Poppy could feel the wind shift,” the narrator whispered. “She knew exactly where this was heading.”
“So I sat on the couch, the mood set, she landed beside me, I pulled her close, started kissing” Maxs story trailed off. “I reached for her lace, and she slapped me hard, screaming, What are you doing? Im not like that!”
“Shed have walked out then,” Poppy thought, the image of the slap vivid. “And thats what I did. I packed my shoes, heard her say Its over, and left.”
The next morning Max texted, Hey, she called like nothing happened, asked why I wasnt calling back.
“And you?” Poppy asked, eyes narrowed.
“I ignored her. I dont need crazy drama. I wasnt looking for a rebound, not that Im a player,” Max replied.
“Theyre just hoping youll chase them,” Poppy muttered. “Shes expecting me to keep sending gifts, waiting for some grand gesture. In this day and age, thats nonsenseanyone who persists risks a breach of the law.”
Poppy and Max agreed: no games, no maybe or maybe not. Yes meant yes, no meant no, no strings attached.
A few weeks later, as Poppy was heading home from university, a familiar voice called out.
Hey, Poppy, said Claire, an old acquaintance, her tone edged with accusation. You were terrible to him. He was free, and you snatched him away.
Max told me hes single, Claire. Ive told you to stay out of it, Poppy shot back.
Claire sneered, You think you can just disappear and hell remember me?
My dads a police captain, darling, Max interjected, stepping forward in his crisp uniform. And Id suggest you leave before things get messy.
The threat hung heavy, the kind of cheap intimidation that made Claires shoulders slump. She muttered curses about the wrong sort of people and fled, leaving Maxs phone buzzing with his old accounts. He told Poppy, a week later, that Claire had finally stopped pestering.
Poppy listened, the anger simmering but the scene already fading into the nights cold. The drama had been stark, the characters cut from the same rough clothjust another story of love, betrayal, and a desperate plea to vanish before the curtain falls.
