FREEDOM

She was on time. Anxiety would have nibbled at her otherwise, worrying her date would get bored and leave before she had even arrived. His attention was a thread she held as lightly as she could, as though he were a creature who would startle and rear back from too firm a hold. She had played it cool. Let him decide on the bar, after he had dismissed her initial choice as too mainstream. She’d sent a few funny messages, containing a bit of suggestion, just the lightest pull on the thread, to draw his attention back. She didn’t want to seem like one of those girls, demanding everything go exactly to her plans.

It had worked. He had agreed to meet, here in this stripped-back place with its bare lightbulbs and confusing cocktails. She felt she had won a point, though the rules of the game were unclear. He was late, but she cushioned herself against that little disappointment by reading his last text to her: “See you there.” She checked his photo again. He was