First Date Boogie
I take her on a date like you take a match into a dry forest carefully pretending not to notice how ready everything is
We sit across from each other table small as a confession Candles tremble as if they know they won’t live long Her smile is polite stitched light at the corners
I order wine Something red enough to pass for warmth She watches my hands the way prey watches the weather not afraid yet just really fucking attentive
Outside the city listens Every window is an eye Every alley has a memory it hasn’t decided to share I tell a joke it lends between us and doesn’t move
She laughs anyway That’s the darkest part
When I lean in I can hear her pulse a soft knock from the other side of the door I wonder how many knocks before it becomes permission She wonders something else entirely
The check comes and I insist Control seems romantic if you dim the lights enough Our reflections blur in the glass two people almost real almost safe
I walk her home the streetlights flicker like they’re reconsidering At her door, we pause balanced on the edge of what we’ll tell ourselves later
She says goodnight I say her name like it’s a promise I haven’t decided how to keep
When I turn away the night closes in behind me pleased patient already planning the second date