Beth had waited for him at the lift. “We should go somewhere,” she said. “Okay.” She’d been thinking about it. She couldn’t think of anywhere that was really safe except her place, and she’d resigned herself to taking him there. “I live two minutes away,” she said. He nodded. “But any shit. Any weird crap at all, and I call the police, then call security too.” He seemed surprised, but said, “Yeah, fair enough.” She took her laptop and her bag, and he offered to carry something but she said no, it wasn’t heavy. “Let me,” he said. “It’s fine.” He tried to take it, and she held up her hand, looked at him, annoyed. He shrugged, let it go. He tried to hold her hand in the lift, but she snatched it away. Tried again as they cut across the sports fields, but it there were still people around and she said, “Fucking stop it.” “I can’t believe how much you swear.” “Oh, fuck off.” The air smelled of cut grass and heat and summer. Dry still air, filled with the buzzing of cicadas.
