Ahead of his Time by Adrian Cousins (children's books read aloud .txt) 📕

the part he loved most. It was a pity she didn’t struggle just a little bit, rather than tugging her knickers aside and begging for it.

He inched his white Ford Capri’s long bonnet from its hiding place but quickly applied the clutch and brake as he spotted her. She’d left on her own and was now bounding down Brooks Road towards the estate. She was going to go through the alley – perfect. He reversed up, exited the car and lit a cigarette.

He followed her as she carried on down Brooks Road. Her long blonde hair bounced as it flowed over the collar of her Afghan coat, which covered her tight arse lingering underneath. She swung her suede tasselled handbag as if she didn’t have a care in the world. However, in a few minutes, he was going to change that. It was cold, and snow was in the air, but that didn’t matter as she was hot, and he was ready.

He’d started taking in the summer. His first was in that very same alley, and now his appetite for taking was growing. It was so much more satisfying taking it than some bird just offering it.

One last drag, he dropped the butt onto the wet pavement and followed her. Even though it was still early, not quite eight o’clock, the rush hour was over, and the street lay deserted. She would arrive at the alley entrance in less than a hundred yards, and she’d have to walk down it to get through to the Broxworth as there was no other way through.

He kept close to the bushes that overhung the terraced houses’ garden walls which stretched down the road’s left-hand side. He checked his balaclava in his coat pocket and felt the woollen fabric between his fingers. He’d slip it on as soon as she entered the alley, and she’d be all his to enjoy.

She didn’t even stop to look, not even a glance, just turned into the dark alley without a care in the world. Yes, this was fate tonight. Those traffic lights earlier were on red so he could see her going into the pub. It was meant to be, and now only a few seconds to go before he’d get what he wanted. The anticipation and excitement were a drug, an irresistible thirst that was building in him.

He reached the alleyway entrance, stopped, held his breath, and peered around the corner; there she was, only fifty yards ahead. Although pitch black, he could make out her movement as she marched through the alley in her knee-high white boots. He slipped on his balaclava but was disappointed he had his heavy boots on, so creeping up would be difficult. Keeping close to the wooden-panelled fence, he picked up his pace. He planned to grab her about halfway through, where the alley opened up behind the block of garages and was only visible from the allotments. Now slightly heady as his heart rate increased, a feeling which came just before he took them. The thrill was intoxicating.

~

Jess replayed the meeting with her father in her mind as she stepped into the alley. She was so chuffed her father had turned up tonight because, after sitting in the pub for over two hours on Tuesday, she’d feared he wouldn't show. Now she felt relieved and excited she had a ‘Father’.

Although initially it had been slightly awkward as neither knew what to say, the conversation did eventually start to flow. Jess replayed snippets of the conversation over and over, analysing the meeting. He looked younger than her mother and had a modern attitude which had surprised her. Maybe that was due to him having a young wife and small children. Tonight was the first step in getting to know him, and she decided she liked him.

Now she had her own flat, she had some stability and could prepare for her child’s birth, although it was grim and had been empty for five months after some druggy woman overdosed last year. The sadness of the child’s father not there for her was crushing, but she’d have to just get on with it.

Her father had wanted to know so much about her mother, which after twenty years of no contact was not a total surprise. How they were ever together, God knows. Her mother dressed like an old granny with her stuck up ‘I’m better than you’ attitude. She wondered what had happened to make her so old before her time, especially as her father, who was a similar age, acted and dressed so much younger. He’d even used the word cool a few times, which made her smile.

The alley was devoid of street lamps, but she knew it like the back of her hand and could confidently negotiate her way around the metal dustbins positioned by the back gates of the old flats. Fifty odd yards along the pathway, Jess jumped in surprise as a cat shot out in front of her. It meowed and then trotted back up the path into the darkness. Jess stopped and caught her breath as her hand shot to her stomach, performing that involuntary maternal act. She swivelled her head around to see it disappear. Jess hated cats, especially Merlyn.

Did she hear a scrape – was that a shoe scraping on the pavement?Jess stood still as she peered back up the alleyway. The light coming from the flats was too dim and, although her eyes had adjusted, she couldn’t see anything. Now her breathing became heavy as if she’d been running. The cat had disappeared, but Jess could still hear it meowing only a few feet away. All she could see were flakes of soft snow as they wisped down, the stillness of the air allowing the flakes to drop vertically to the pavement, laying on her coat sleeves and clinging to the fur cuffs. No, there was no one there, just that bloody cat meowing. Now feeling the cold, she turned and picked up