Let Us Speak

Eric, having already predicted that he had a higher chance of getting a date from hell. Rather than having one that was genuinely enjoyable, had decided to take his students along with him on the ride to misery town earlier in the day. He'd set a surprise quiz, and there had been many shocked gasps and anguished cries. 

The kids pleading with all of their might, for him to not be so cruel. But unfortunately for them misery-loved company, and knowing that his Friday was going to be awful. Eric had at least taken a small amount of joy in ruining a tiny bit of their day. No doubt by the time that his lesson had ended the students had already shrugged off the surprise quiz. Too busy planning what they would be doing over the weekend. 

It had been a harmless way for him to vent his aggression. At least that was what he had told himself, afterall the marks for the quiz would not even be used for anything. The only thing that they would be good for, would be for the students to use them to check their progress. That was all. They would not account for their final grade. It had just been a bit of harmless fun. Karma should have had no reason to come for him.

But as Eric sat across from his latest date, he could not help but feel as though he was being punished for trying to spread misery to his students instead of enduring it on his own.

His date was none other than a Miss-Foxy- Queen-of-pleasure-defender-of-life-and-the- cosmos. Her real name was Anne-Marie though, but that was what she insisted on being called.

"Anne-Marie is nothing more than a government construct made to try and control me. I will not be dragged to some underground lab all because someone called my birth code," Weird, very weird. Eric, unable to call her that with a straight face had quickly found ways to avoid it all together. Not addressing her directly and not using any pronouns or her name, simply saying things like, 'It is good to know 'you',' thank 'you','. What would 'you' like to order. Tell me a bit about 'yourself' likes, dislikes those sorts of things' words that carefully did not involve him directly mentioning her name. 

It was incredibly difficult to do, but the alternative was saying her name, which he was in no hurry to do, especially after one particular statement.

"Don't just say it, purr it," She'd told him, making Eric extremely uncomfortable. Especially when she had batted her eyelids at him. The slow glide of her tongue across her lips making him feel like prey that she had cornered. Then she had made him even more uncomfortable by beginning to eat.

With each far too long lick of the spoon that she had been eating with,( an action not as sexy as she seemed to think it was). Eric had been unable to shake the thought that he was being punished for the surprise quiz he had given his students. He had used their groans, and glares to cheer himself up. But karma had found his address almost instantly and he was paying for that.

With the way that she had been acting from the beginning. He should not have been all that surprised for his date to go south in such a spectacular fashion. His previous dates had been bad, but the level of bad in them had been something almost predictable, something to be expected.

Except for maybe the one with the roach. But no one ever planned for roaches, they just showed up. 

This particular date was bad not because the woman had brought insects with her. In fact it was bad because of what she had not brought, that being clothes. A fact that she revealed without any provocation whatsoever. When Miss Foxy had rocked up wearing a long coat. That had set Eric on edge, but when she had not started stealing things. He had breathed a sigh of relief... a big mistake. 

When he had suggested that she take off the coat after realizing she was not using it to hide stolen goods, she had declined. He should have known then that something was up. But he had just shrugged it off, taking her refusal to let go of the garment to be just an oddity of hers, an oddity that he could live with. At least that was what he had thought. But then as soon as the waiter had come in, with the menus. Anne-Marie had proceeded to lose it. Getting to her feet and jumping on top of the table. She had raged about how they were murderers supporting an institution that killed living beings, all so human beings could gorge themselves feeding on the bodies of innocent souls.

"Crabs are people, cows are people, the goats are people. You are eating the souls of your long dead loved ones. Free guns! Jail the cannibals!" Eric had not been able to gather much from her rant. That was rather difficult to do, especially when there was a woman standing on top of your table, chanting those words at the top of her lungs. Her volume had been enough to get all eyes on her. But Anne-Marie had decided that that was not enough because the next thing that Eric knew, she was unbuttoning her coat.

At first, he had not understood why. But the moment that she had shrugged it off, he realized why she had been so intent on keeping it on in the first place. Apart from her shoes, it was all that she had on. There was not a stitch of clothing beneath the coat. The only thing that offered her a little bit of modesty was the fact that Anne-Marie was covered in tattoo ink. 

The only places that were untouched by the needle were her neck upwards, as well as her wrists, going all the way to her fingertips, and that was it. The rest of her was like this huge canvas and Eric would not have minded getting to see the tattoos be unveiled one by one. But he definitely had something against the fact that she had just decided to strip naked in front of everyone. More than a few men were obviously drooling. Their dates looking offended. Looking up as Anne-Marie continued to shout about the rights of all of the living things that had been killed in order for people to eat their meals. Eric felt as though he were having some sort of fever dream.

He stared down at his phone and briefly contemplated taking a video to show to his sister. Just to let her see what she put him through each time that she set him up on a date, but he decided against it.

It seemed that that would have been exactly what Anne-Marie wanted though,( she was posing for everyone who had their phone aimed at her). Eric could not get behind that. The fact that she had come on a date with him to a restaurant where she knew they served meat.

That meant that she had been planning to do what she was currently doing the entire time. He had just been a convenient front. Shame pooled in his gut...and so too did worry. He had already been part of a few very regrettable incidents at Chardays. 

He was scared that her stunt would get him thrown out of the restaurant. He might not have had good dates there, but the food at Chardays was really good. He did not want to stop going there. 

With people watching the table he was seated at, and the staff trying to get Anne-Marie down. Eric felt like digging a hole and burying his head there.

Fortunately for him, he was not the only one having a bad date in the restaurant. Off key singing could be heard, the sound of a wailing man clashing horribly with Anne-Marie's chants. Whoever was making the horrible sounds was succeeding in getting some of the attention off Eric's table and he was glad for that. Chancing a look, he found that the other disturbance was coming from the lady in red's table. Her partner singing while she sat there, looking mortified. Clearly he was not the only one having a bad date. After Anne-Marie had been wrestled off the table and into her coat and then escorted out of the restaurant.

Eric, feeling ashamed, yet at the same time relieved that he had not been thrown out too had settled down and stared straight ahead. Not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. There was still singing, and sobbing going on, from the other loud person in the restaurant, but Eric did not care to look. Shock and shame had left him too numb to care.

Just as he was contemplating finding a way to turn himself to stone, Fred was suddenly there. A glass of whiskey, carefully balanced on a tray. 

"Here you go, sir," He said. And Eric looked up at him. 

"I did not order this," The young man merely shrugged. 

"You looked like you needed it," Was all that he said, before turning and heading back to converse with other customers.

Whiskey turned out to be just what Eric needed, and he drank it greedily. Watching with passive eyes as a crying man was escorted out, Eric called Fred over.

"Fred, mind bringing me another, this one I will pay for. In fact, bring the bottle," When the bottle arrived, he instantly poured some for himself, and downed the drink in one go. It was a bad idea to get drunk, but he felt like if he did not get drunk he would do something regrettable like maybe call his ex and tell her that he wanted them to get back together. That he could change and fit whatever mould she set out for him. That no matter how badly she treated him, he would stay because at least he was used to that.

In fact, even if he did not get drunk, there was a huge chance that he would do the same thing. The horrible dates that he had been having were really messing with him. Melissa had been no good for him and he never wanted to see her again. Eric was just thinking that when he heard somebody clearing their throat next to him. If he'd had the energy to care, he would have jumped a foot in the air. Instead, he slowly turned his head to the side, his eyes widening when he saw who it was. 

The lady in red.

"Mind if I sit?" She asked. Before he could even answer, she took a seat and in a show of very bad manners, she grabbed the wine glass and poured whiskey into it. But given that he'd just had his date strip naked in a room full of people, it barely registered.

"I believe that the two of us might be able to help each other out,"

Oh, this was going to be interesting...