Matching Shirt and Tie

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The car park was gradually emptying out; a stream of cars taking the working people of Cardiff off home after another hard day at their desks. The seagulls cried overhead and Craig stood by the wall at the entrance, staring intently down the path that transformed pedestrians into drivers. With his left hand he adjusted his tie which was the same navy blue as his shirt. His right hand clutched the single red rose, tastefully wrapped in paper which matched his shirt and tie combo perfectly. Smile, she’ll be here soon, he told himself as he shifted his weight from one foot to another, smile. People were coming up the pavement, there was no sign of Lizzie, but her car was still in the car park, and Craig would wait and wait until she came. 

He’d got it all planned out. He was going to give her the rose and say sorry. She was going to say  I  love you  and they would kiss passionately and then go home together and fuck like rabbits until the morning. Okay, so she wasn’t answering his calls and the last time they’d spoken she’d told him to fuck off, but Craig knew that as soon as she saw his face she’d realise just how sorry he was and that she was making a big mistake.

Lizzie felt the strong fingers intertwined with hers. She smiled. It was a good feeling. Luke liked holding hands, that was a first. Bloody hell, Craig hated it. He’d do anything he could to release the grip, but Luke was the one who would always search out her hand.

This was their third date, before it had just been drinks, but today they’d agreed to go for a pub dinner and tonight she was going to ask Luke if he wanted to stay at hers. The time was right, she was moving on.

Only she wasn’t, she wasn’t moving anywhere. She stopped in her tracks as soon as she turned the corner. Luke pulled at her, but Lizzie was like a disobedient dog. She’d recognise that blue tie and blue shirt combination anywhere. What the fuck was he doing here?

“Let’s go?” Lizzie turned and walked away.

“What’s wrong?” Luke said, trotting to keep up with her. Lizzie didn’t answer. “Where are we going? Lizzie!” Luke’s voice didn’t stop her marching away. “What is it?”

“It’s bloody Craig, he’s outside the bloody car park.” Lizzie said, there were tears in her voice. “Why won’t he leave me alone?”

“Hey, you’re with me now.” Luke said. “He can’t harm you. Come on, I’ll protect you.”

And there it was, in a nutshell. The difference between men and women, for men it’s all sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you. Luke was bigger and stronger than Craig so he thought he could protect her, but Luke didn’t understand. Craig being there, with the same rose that he’d given her on the first date, with tears in his eyes, it was mind games, and Lizzie would prefer the sticks and stones, because she knew  the wounds would heel but his words would cut deep.