The blonde quickly pulled her dress down, her cheeks flushing red as she stepped back from me. I straightened up, my jaw clenched as I faced the woman pointing her finger at us. Her face was twisted in disgust, her voice echoing through the alley.
"Listen, lady," I started, my voice low and dangerous.
"Don't you 'listen lady' me! I have been forced to sit here and listen to the two of you for the last five minutes and I've had enough! What is wrong with you people? You are in a public place surrounded by people," she continued, her voice rising with each word. She poked the person next to her, a young guy who looked just as uncomfortable as I felt. "Can you please tell them that we can hear everything and that we'd appreciate it if they would shut the hell up. Or leave."
The guy looked between us, clearly unsure of what to do. I sighed, feeling the frustration bubbling up inside me. This was the last thing I needed tonight.
"Alright, alright," I said, holding up my hands in mock surrender. "We get it. We'll leave."
The woman crossed her arms, clearly not satisfied with my response. But I didn't care. I grabbed the blonde's hand and pulled her along, walking away from the scene without another word. As we rounded the corner, I could still hear the woman's angry muttering behind us.
"Sorry about that," the blonde said, her voice shaky. "I didn't mean to cause a scene."
"Don't worry about it," I replied, not really in the mood for apologies. "Let's just find somewhere else."
We wandered for a while, the excitement from earlier fading into an uncomfortable silence. Eventually, we ended up back at my apartment, where things picked up again, but my mind wasn't in it anymore. I kept thinking about the woman in the alley, her words cutting deeper than I'd like to admit.
After she left, I sat alone in the darkness, staring at the ceiling. I thought about the choices I'd made, the paths I'd taken. People like the woman in the alley saw me as a problem, a disruption. Maybe they were right. But what did it matter? I was Terry Snacker, the guy who lived for the moment, who didn't care about consequences.
But as I lay there, I couldn't help but wonder if there was more to life than this. More than the fleeting thrills and temporary highs. I thought about Hannah Walker, the way she looked at me with disdain but also with something else, something I couldn't quite put my finger on.
Maybe it was time to find out what that something was.