Fiction: The Date

Theo first saw Charlene at a café downtown on Saturday. It was a ritzy café, one opened by an apparel retailer in Yorkville serving mediocre coffee, with a dizzying array of milk substitutes atop gold and green furniture with marble accents. Standing out between the girls in oversized puffer boots topped with oversized puffer jackets and the ones in wool trenches supported by leather heels, she was wearing combat boots, tights, a lace skirt, and a motocross jacket. Her alabaster skin and crimson lips were accentuated by her jet-black eyes, hair, and outfit. She was like a magnet that picked up Theo’s gaze and took it with her.

His eyes were still with her when she finished picked up her coffee and swiveled on one thick platformed boot, searching for a spot to sit. She looked at the empty seat across from him, and before he could tear his eyes away, hers snapped to his, meeting them and matching them in intensity. She strode over, her steps light on the tiny tiles that made up the floor of the café.

“Can I sit here?” she asked, gesturing at the seat.

“It’s not taken,” said Theo.

“So that’s a yes then?” she said, still standing upright.

“Sure.”

Theo tried to continue reading his book, but every time his eyes flipped to the top of a page, they caught hers staring back at him. After four pages, he put down the book and took the hint. He realized that she wasn’t doing anything except drinking her coffee.

“What were you reading?” she asked.

“Oh, it’s some book about some kid who gets expelled from school, and then loses his team’s fencing equipment,” he said, pushing the red book over to her, “it’s a classic.”

“Do you like reading?” she asked again.

“Not really. It goes well with my morning coffee though.”

“I like reading. But I don’t like coffee.”

“No? What are you doing here then?”

“To meet people.”

Theo paused as he looked over at the girl who smiled for the first time that day. Her teeth were whiter than her skin, almost translucent in their brilliance.

“What’s your name?” he managed.

“Charlene. Would you like my number too?” she said, and before he could say anything else, she whipped out an eyeliner pencil and wrote it onto a napkin. She gave him one last smile before standing up and walking out of the café, leaving him and her unfinished coffee at the table.

He would have believed it to be love at first sight if he was at an age when people believed in love. No, he had experienced far too many disappointing endings and near-misses so he planned everything to the dot. Everything had been meticulously arranged, down to the open seat across from him in the otherwise completely crowded café. Of course, this particular girl had been a bit easier than he was accustomed to, but the results were nothing out of the ordinary. Over the course of the afternoon, three more girls gave him their number. He had a quota to reach after all.

“Hey Charlene, it’s Theo from the café,” he texted later that evening.

“Hi Theo,” came the instant reply, “are you free tonight?”

Theo paused. Perhaps he had misjudged this girl after all; not a manic pixie dream girl, but another serial dater. At any rate, he wasn’t prepared to meet her tonight.

“Whoa,” he texted back, “buy a boy some dinner first”

“Funny.”

“How about Enoteca Sociale in Ossington tomorrow night?”

“No thanks.

I don’t eat Italian, and even if I did, I wouldn’t be caught dead there.

Let’s go for a walk after dinner tomorrow.”

“How will I know you’re not a serial killer :p” Theo replied.

“You can pick the place if you’re so worried.”

“Haha ok want to do High Park tomorrow?”

“See you then.”

What a strange girl: cold, using periods while texting, and not interested in a chance of a free dinner, Theo thought to himself. It didn’t matter really. It was just a numbers game, and she was as interesting as she looked. He went down to the garage to clean out his car. He might have a passenger tomorrow.

Theo pulled off a glove to check the time again. Two minutes to eight. His breath formed a white cloud of smoke in the air as he huffed near the Bloor Street entrance. It had been a bit of a trek from the parking lot, and he didn’t want to be late. Then she emerged out of thin air, dressed the exact same way she had been the day before.

“Hi!” Charlene said with a thin smile.

“Hey,” Theo replied, “where did you come from?”

“Oh, I just took the TTC.”

“The bus?”

“No, the subway,” she said, and leaned in for a hug.

It was a firm hug for the beginning of the date, and things carried on as Theo had expected: completely unexpectedly. Conversation was stilted, but Charlene didn’t seem to notice. Silences were long, but not uncomfortable. Theo could feel that her bare hands were ice cold through his gloves, but she didn’t shiver a bit. Her outfit really accentuated her willowy figure. Whenever Charles sneaked a glance, he noticed her looking at him too, a slight smile playing on her lips. Things were going well.

They arrived at the south side of the park, close to where he parked.

“Are you not cold?” Theo asked.

“Oh, I’m used to it,” she replied.

“I’m freezing,” said Theo, chucking, “want to warm up a bit in my car?”

“Sure,” said Charlene, laughing shrilly.

“Give me a second to clean up a bit,” Theo said.

He moved the driver’s seat towards the front, leaving more space in the back for the two of them. He also quickly shoved the rope under the passenger seat. He then got out of the car, and opened the door for Charlene.

“Can I come in?” she asked?

“Please, do,” he said with mock formality, going so far as to put his arm over the top of the entrance so she didn’t bump her head.

Once they were in the car, they were all over each other. She was so cold that her lips were cold, and her tongue felt cold too, but she was slowly warming up. They shifted and she was on his lap, moving against him as he caressed her. He slowly reached under the seat for the rope, and quickly slipped it over her throat.

“You like it rough hm?” she asked.

“Yeah baby,” he said, slowly tightening the rope.

This was his favourite part, squeezing the life out of these women, and watching them the moment they realized that he wasn’t playing. Very soon now, she would start telling him to stop, start clawing at the rope. All women were the same at the end. He snaked his head around her neck to look into the rearview mirror to catch her expression. Except he couldn’t see her. The only thing that was visible was his own hungry look.

He loosened his grip momentarily, but saw that she was still on his lap. He looked in the mirror and she definitely wasn’t there.

“What the fuck,” he uttered.

“What’s wrong, Theo?”

Charlene’s head had swiveled impossibly on her neck, a full hundred-and-eighty degrees so that she was now facing him. He saw that she was smiling, now with all her teeth visible. Theo strained to tighten the rope around her neck, but was only met with resistance as she laughed that terrifying laugh again. The last thing he saw were a pair of long sharp canines protruding from her gums as she moved her mouth towards his throat