Chapter 13 #4
I set the flowers on the counter, my fingers lingering on the stems as I stared at them, unexpectedly moved.
I couldn’t remember the last time a man had given me flowers – let alone ones that felt like they meant something.
The gesture tugged at something in me, something I thought I’d tucked away.
But even as my heart fluttered, a voice in the back of my mind whispered a quiet reminder: this was probably just part of the service.
A carefully crafted charm. Nothing personal … or at least, it wasn’t supposed to be.
‘Thank you, Theo, that’s really kind of you to say, and I love how you’ve gone all out with Marks and Sparks too! You’re determined to show off tonight, huh?’
Theo took off the backpack he was wearing, staring at me the whole time he did this, as if toying with his food before devouring it.
‘In more ways than one, if I play my cards right,’ he answered.
After laying out the spread of snacks he’d bought on the coffee table – croissants, chocolate chip cookies, mango bites, Percy Pigs and a couple of fruit juices – I decided to show him around the place.
I made sure to give it my best Beyoncé saunter as I strutted around the flat, twisting my hips to and fro to accentuate my curves. Remember, you’re in control, always.
‘OK, so obviously this is the living room,’ I started, entering tour guide mode, again trying to keep my voice steady, rocking my hips as I walked alongside him.
His gaze – his intimidating, sexy, steady gaze – threw me off-guard every time.
‘This is where I spend most of my time when I’m not out being a social butterfly and stuff. ’
‘Mmmhmm. I like what you’ve done with the place – nice decor.’ He playfully stroked his chin as if admiring a Banksy painting.
‘And if you follow me and look down to your right, you’ll see the bathroom. For all your peeing and shitting needs,’ I added, as he broke out in a chuckle.
‘On your left, you’ll see a storage cupboard.
It contains suitcases, ironing boards, irons, a washing machine and other home admin and cleaning supplies, and just far ahead …
’ I trailed off as we reached my bedroom at the far end of the corridor.
I took a deep breath as Theo began to rub his hands together in mock anticipation.
‘We have my bedroom. This is where absolutely no magic happens, I fear.’ I slowly opened the door and guided him inside where Toby – who had been sleeping soundly on my bed – woke up, stretched and hopped off the bed to rub himself against Theo’s leg.
‘Ah. And this is the man of the house, Toby! Apologies for him, he’s just sussing you out, you know …
making sure you’re kosher and all that.’ Theo bent over, picked Toby up and whisked him into the air, making cooing noises as he did so.
‘Ahh! I love cats so much, I grew up with a couple! He is a very distinguished gentleman, isn’t he?
’ He set Toby back down and gently stroked him behind the ears.
Much to my delight, Toby purred and gently butted his head against Theo’s leg, essentially giving his seal of approval.
‘He likes you! That’s a first,’ I said, as Theo watched Toby hop onto the end of my bed and curl back to sleep. ‘Let’s go back to the living room, shall we? I’m a little thirsty.’
‘Of course. You have a cute place, by the way – I dig it. It’s …
it’s earthy,’ replied Theo, still looking at the artwork on my walls as I led him down the corridor and back into the living room.
After pouring us both a glass of Whispering Angel, I joined him on the sofa and clinked our glasses before taking a sip.
Upon that first sip, I felt my entire body relax, and could tell that Theo’s did too.
He leaned back into the sofa, exhaling as he did so.
‘Um, did you hurt yourself earlier, by the way? You were walking a little funny. Are you in pain?’ Theo said, taking a sip of his glass, his eyes full of concern.
Panic hit me like a rogue brick. Oh no. My sultry ‘I’m-a-sexy-goddess’ strut? More like ‘I just rolled out of bed with arthritis.’
‘What? Oh, no!’ I stammered, waving my hands almost erratically.
I could feel myself beginning to panic already out of sheer embarrassment.
‘I was … haha … no, I was … it’s just how I walk when I’m at home.
’ I mumbled the last bit like a guilty confession and downed a long gulp of wine to wash away the embarrassment.
Mortified didn’t even begin to cover it.
He probably thought I was a total nutcase.
Theo waved a hand, a small grin tugging at his lips.
‘Heh – I see. I didn’t mind the walk at all – it was …
kind of charming.’ I felt the tension drain out of me in a slow, satisfying whoosh.
A sigh escaped me before I even realised I’d been holding my breath.
OK, Cassie, I mentally told myself, relax.
Be normal. Maybe you don’t need to be some walking, talking sex goddess 24/7.
Just … exist. Smile. Don’t trip over your own feet.
Sip your wine like a semi-competent human.
For the first time in what felt like hours, I let myself genuinely smile, letting the nerves loosen just enough to remember that Theo was, thankfully, more human than I’d feared. Maybe I could just be myself.
‘So. How has your week been? What have you been up to, outside of talking to me?’ Theo asked, thankfully changing the subject, taking another sip.
I’d noticed that he’d put his phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ and laid it face-down on the table.
I loved that for me; I’d be getting all of his attention tonight.
‘Work’s been cool, thanks. Just your run-of-the-mill operation; booking appointments, having meetings with doctors, that kind of thing,’ I replied, wanting to change the subject swiftly as the image of me alone with Jeff in his car popped up in my head.
Definitely didn’t need to be thinking about him right now.
‘Nice! I’m glad to hear you’re not totally run off your feet,’ he said with a smile. ‘So … did you have anything in mind for how you wanted tonight to go?’
As he said this, he moved closer to me on the sofa, his cologne wrapping around me in warm notes of amber, sandalwood and oud.
The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, offering a teasing glimpse of his sculpted chest. I nearly drooled; I felt completely under his spell and wanted nothing more than to lean in for a kiss, but – the night was young.
‘Well, I figured we could talk a bit more, I’d then order us something to eat and then … we could play games,’ I said coyly, taking a sip from my wine glass while staring at him seductively.
‘Games, huh? I see. I’m always up for that,’ he replied. After we’d downed our drinks, we quickly discussed dinner options and settled on me ordering in some Japanese food – the last thing I needed was anything that would have been too aggressive on my stomach.
As we waited for the food to arrive, we spent the time getting into some wholesome chatter to pass the time.
I talked a little about Sade and how I’d set her up with Kofi at work.
I shared a bit about my family too – my mum’s upcoming wedding, and how my brother was preparing to become a dad.
There was something comforting about it, being able to open up like that.
I didn’t usually share much outside of my close circle, and honestly, aside from Sade, there weren’t many people I talked to on that kind of level.
But with Theo, it felt natural. Safe, even.
As I spoke, he listened intently, cocking his head to the side, his gaze unflinching.
Every now and again he’d slowly look me up and down and give a little smile, as if surveying me.
If it had been anyone else I would have called them out for objectifying me, but with Theo?
It was hot. I moved closer to him, mirroring his gaze.
‘Enough about me, I actually had a question for you – something I’ve been curious about ever since you started following me on Instagram.’ I straightened up, suddenly remembering the question I’d wanted to ask.
‘Oh? Shoot for it,’ he said.
‘Um, so your username has 1996 at the end of it. Is that your birth year?’
If Theo was in any way taken aback, he didn’t show it. He continued staring at me, his smile fixed and unchanging. I noticed his jaws clench slightly as he continued to sit there in silence, completely still. He then started blinking rapidly, before finally facing away and exhaling.
So he had lied about his age.
‘So … are you really twenty-eight or not?’ I said eventually, breaking the awkward silence.
I hadn’t really made up my mind about whether I should have been annoyed about it or not.
Sure, he wasn’t a child, but a six-year age gap wasn’t exactly tiny.
I didn’t want to feel like I was grooming the guy.
Theo shifted in his seat slightly as he exhaled. His gaze broke away from mine as he sat his wine glass down and again turned towards me. This was all a little bit dramatic, to be honest. It didn’t need to be that much of a big deal.
‘I’m sorry, Cassie. I’m twenty-eight, yeah.
I’m sorry for lying to you. I put thirty-four on my OuiMeet profile to try and show up more on the results page for prospective clients I suppose.
You’d be surprised, us young ones aren’t really all that popular on the app.
The clients sometimes consider us “inexperienced” for some reason.
’ He scoffed at that last part, and to be honest, his reasoning made sense; it was a strategic business decision, more or less. No wonder he looked so bloody young.
‘I’m not necessarily upset per se, I can definitely understand the reasoning, I guess. It’s just a bit weird now because you’re essentially a child. Also, were you ever going to tell me?’