Wild Things

Contents Cover About the Author Title Page Copyright Contents Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Epilogue—New Year’s Day Acknowledgments Landmarks Cover Cover Title Page Contents Start Copyright Print Page List i v vi vii 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 
 
 
 
 
 Laura Kay
 Wild Things
 Laura Kay is the author of The Split and Tell Me Everything, both published by Quercus in the United Kingdom. Wild Things is her first novel published in the United States. She lives in East London.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A VINTAGE BOOKS ORIGINAL 2023
 Copyright © 2023 by Laura Kay
 All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Vintage Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York, and distributed in Canada by Penguin Random House Canada Limited, Toronto. Simultaneously published in hardcover in Great Britain by Quercus Publishing Ltd., a Hachette UK Company, London, in 2023.
 Vintage and colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 Names: Kay, Laura, [date] author.
 Title: Wild things / by Laura Kay.
 Description: New York : Vintage, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023.
 Identifiers: LCCN 2022038301 (print) | LCCN 2022038302 (ebook) | ISBN 9780593470053 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780593470060 (ebook)
 Subjects: LCGFT: Romance fiction. | Novels.
 Classification: LCC PR6111.A936 K39 2023 (print) | LCC PR6111.A936 (ebook) | DDC 823/.92—dc23/eng/20220824
 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/​2022038301
 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/​2022038302
 Vintage Books Trade Paperback ISBN 9780593470053
 Ebook ISBN 9780593470060
 Cover design and illustration by Madeline Partner
 vintagebooks.com
 ep_prh_6.1_143550378_c0_r0
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 Cover
 About the Author
 Title Page
 Copyright
 Dedication
 
 
 Chapter One
 
 
 Chapter Two
 
 
 Chapter Three
 
 
 Chapter Four
 
 
 Chapter Five
 
 
 Chapter Six
 
 
 Chapter Seven
 
 
 Chapter Eight
 
 
 Chapter Nine
 
 
 Chapter Ten
 
 
 Chapter Eleven
 
 
 Chapter Twelve
 
 
 Chapter Thirteen
 
 
 Chapter Fourteen
 
 
 Chapter Fifteen
 
 
 Chapter Sixteen
 
 
 Chapter Seventeen
 
 
 Chapter Eighteen
 
 
 Epilogue—New Year’s Day
 
 
 Acknowledgments
 
 
 _143550378_
 
 
 
 For everyone I’ve ever had a crush on.
 Thanks for all the material.
 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER ONE
 I look down at my phone and watch with relief as the ticks turn blue. She’s typing. In the moments before her reply appears, I reflect on how profoundly tragic it is to be seeking company on WhatsApp in this situation. Truly a dark moment, even for me.
 I’ve forgotten to switch my phone to silent mode and cringe at the loud message alert tone. I don’t know the etiquette in this situation—perhaps it is like being at the cinema? No one appears to notice the disturbance.
 What do you mean you feel like a spare part?! Just get involved! Put yourself out there!
 I glance up briefly at the scene unfolding in front of me and then back at my phone. That’s easy for her to say. Ray is an extrovert. She loves getting involved. I’ve never really been a “group activity” kind of gal.
 I literally am a spare part, Ray. It was fine at first but then I just sort of became surplus to requirement.
 So what are you doing?
 Messaging you! I’m just…watching?
 Oh god, El! I mean cool if that’s what you’re into.
 I’m not into it! I don’t want to just watch. I wanted to get involved. This is my wild year! I’m being wild!
 I place my phone down on the desk at which I’m sitting, a statement which, under the circumstances, feels very bleak indeed. I notice a framed, faded photograph of a man crouching down, his arms wrapped