‘But I only come to the youth club once a week,’ said Simone. Paul waited, holding his breath, knowing how critical it was to exercise patience. Move too fast and she might bolt. He watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye as he pretended to fiddle with his rucksack. He saw Simone frown before looking up at him.

Come on. Say it!

‘Unless we meet somewhere else?’ Simone suggested tentatively, and Paul allowed himself a split second of triumph.

‘Sure, can do,’ replied Paul, shrugging. ‘How about the twenty-four-hour coffee shop on Steeple Street around eight-ish? I could do Mondays, if that works, and Wednesdays at a pinch.’

There was a pause as Simone went through her phone and his earlier elation was replaced with a sliver of anxiety. Even to his own ears, he’d sounded too keen offering specific days. He should have told her he would check his availability.

‘Okay,’ replied Simone eventually putting her phone in her bag. ‘Thanks – I’ll see you then.’ And then she was walking away, her bag over her shoulder, a throwaway smile and a wave the only thing to remind Paul about the agreement. He waved back, the relief instantaneous, his own smile hidden as he turned away and began to pack up his things.

*

Paul walked home, his mind buzzing with possibility. He knew it was against the rules for volunteers at the youth club to meet up with the kids outside of the facility, which is why he had chosen Steeple Street. He’d met other girls there before and he knew it was unlikely he would bump into someone from the youth club, especially at that time of night. Anyway, he only had a few weeks to work on her.

He unlocked his front door, his mind still going over the various possibilities. It excited him. Made him feel that she was within his grasp. And Simone had the look he liked as well, part naivety, part gullibility. It was the hand-made friendship bracelet around her wrist, the Hello Kitty case covering her battered mobile phone and the ladybird earring studs she sometimes wore.

But more than that, it was the way she cocked her head to one side when listening to him, the concentration in her eyes as she focused on the test exam questions, and the eager way she looked at him to check if she had got it right. Yes, Simone was most definitely being added to his list.

*