Chapter 4
Jericho’s face lit up the screen, every bit as ruggedly handsome as his profile had promised.
His chiselled features were bathed in a soft glow, accentuating the striking light brown of his eyes that practically sparkled with mischief.
His wide grin revealed perfect teeth, while the corners of his eyes crinkled into delicate, dark-brown specks that added warmth to his megawatt smile.
Despite his rugged demeanour, there was a slight boyish charm to him that made him seem far younger than his years.
I couldn’t help but make a mental note to ask him about his skincare routine later – whatever he was doing was clearly working wonders.
I was slightly taken aback to see how incredibly FINE this man was.
But, I could get through it. I’d look at it as an interview. Nothing more, nothing less.
‘Hey Cassie! It’s lovely to meet you,’ Jericho said, his deep voice penetrating my ears like a low, velvety hum that wrapped around me, stirring something deep within me.
For a moment, my heart betrayed me – thumping hard against my ribs, each beat a tiny jolt of anticipation I could feel all the way down my spine.
A warm flush crept up my neck and in that moment I was thankful that my melanin meant he couldn’t see me getting hot and bashful as hell.
I knew I had to get it together and keep myself composed instead of acting like a giggly teenager.
I had to be as cool and confident as I sounded in my OuiMeet profile.
I took a small breath and replied. ‘Jericho, it’s lovely to meet you too!
I’ll be honest, this is my first time doing anything like this so I apologise in advance if there are any awkward silences or anything.
’ I mentally kicked myself over saying this – I didn’t need to apologise about anything, he was a professional!
Jericho chuckled sweetly and waved his hand at the screen nonchalantly. ‘Don’t worry about it, sweetheart – from the sound of your profile, I don’t believe there’s anything awkward about you. So, can I ask what brought you here? Tell me a bit about you.’
Oh. Diving straight in then. A part of me wanted to tell the truth, but another part of me wanted to lean into the facade of this super-confident persona I’d made on OuiMeet.
I wanted to be someone else, if only for a few minutes.
‘Haha, well!’ I started, seductively tucking a stray loose braid behind my ear and looking up at the screen from below my eyelashes – Princess Diana-style.
‘I don’t know about yourself, but dating in London for me has been such a drag; a series of terrible experiences after another, and after a while racking up a plethora of shit dates, I just felt like I needed a bit of a change, you know?
I wanted to be daring and try something new. ’
Jericho listened intently, nodding in all the appropriate places and issuing a small smile when I’d mentioned that I’d wanted to try something different.
He rubbed his chin enticingly and stared into the screen.
‘Well, I can definitely try and help with that, Cassie,’ he said in that low, seductive voice.
There was something about the way he said my name at the end of his sentences that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge; it was so … sexy.
‘I’m hoping so too,’ I replied, as coy as I could muster in a bid to match his seductive energy.
Even through the video call, his eye contact was incredible; I could feel myself growing more shy as the minutes went on; minutes I had to keep an eye on as the call would only last thirty-eight more minutes.
‘So, erm,’ I continued, hoping to retain his attention, ‘as you know my name’s Cassie, I’m based in South West London and I work at a hospital.
I absolutely love my job, and I live on my own with my little baby boy.
His name’s Toby!’ I gently picked up Toby – who had been dozing lazily in my arms – and pointed him towards the camera before sitting him back down in my lap.
Toby stirred briefly, gave me a dirty look, and hopped off my lap to use his litter tray in the kitchen.
His aggressively flat ears were proof enough of his anger for waking him from his slumber. I knew he’d make me pay later.
‘Awww! You have a cat!’ Jericho suddenly exclaimed, a boyish twinkle in his eyes as his face cracked open into a huge smile.
‘I love cats myself; there’s an aloofness to them that I find charming.
They just don’t give any shits about anything and I respect that so much,’ Jericho responded, his laughter warm and unguarded with a rich, deep timbre that vibrated through the air.
Every move this man made was electrifying.
‘I agree!’ I replied, beaming. This was a good start.
‘He’s a cutie … I’ve had him since he was a baby and he’s very high maintenance, but I don’t mind – he practically considers me staff at this point.
But anyway, more on why I’m here. Essentially, I want to have some fun with a kind, enigmatic, intelligent guy, you know?
I want to have good conversation, and to be treated like the Queen I believe I am, if just for once in my life.
I believe I deserve that for myself at the very least.’ I smiled, cheekily.
At that, Jericho cocked his head to the side and stared at me intently, as if peering into my soul.
What I thought would be a casual, light-hearted conversation slowly began to feel more like a deep therapy session.
I hadn’t intended to share so much – at least, not yet.
But there was something about the way he looked at me that stirred … something inexplicable inside me.
There was a safeness and a kindness in his eyes that made me feel as if I could talk to him about anything, which when you looked at the bigger picture was horrifying. I could hear my mum’s voice in the back of my head now: ‘Cassie, after God, fear men!’
‘Cassie, two things,’ Jericho responded, still staring intently at me.
I straightened up as he spoke, as if suddenly having a serious conversation with a headteacher.
‘One, I love how you mentioned that “you deserved” to be the recipient of these experiences. I’ve met a lot of women who come to these apps and have really bad confidence and self-esteem issues, which I get.
But you’re a breath of fresh air.’ At this, he smiled, which instantly made me smile, the charmer.
‘Two,’ he continued, still maintaining eye contact, which I dared not break.
‘I find it really hard to believe that you’ve had unsuccessful dates.
I mean, I know dating in London fucking sucks at the moment, but you mean to tell me that not one of the dudes in this city has had the nerve to treat you well?
That’s fucking wild to me, man. You’re beautiful, and you seem really cool. ’
It took everything in me not to turn the camera off and kick my feet up in the air while squealing.
Is this why people paid for escorts? Because if so, I’d take out a subscription.
I could feel my cheeks slowly burn hot as I briefly looked away from him, before the realisation hit me like a ton of bricks.
That was the whole point, wasn’t it? I was paying him to be nice to me.
I looked back at the camera and smiled softly.
I’m sure there were rules to this whole thing, and I had to be careful not to get too ahead of myself.
‘Why, Jericho, you’re super kind, but I guess that’s why you probably earn the big bucks on here, huh?’ I scoffed playfully. ‘I bet you say that to all the girls who swing by your page.’
Jericho performatively raised his hand to his chest in mock hurt.
‘Me? Absolutely not! I mean, sure, compliments are part and parcel of this whole experience at times, but I’ll be honest, I don’t tend to get a lot of phone calls, it’s more so a case of, doing the do and going the go, so with you, I genuinely mean it. ’
‘Doing the do and going the go?’ I replied, keeping an eye on the clock. I liked where this conversation was going and was wary that our time was drawing near. ‘As in …’
‘As in,’ he finished my sentence, ‘an evening or overnight experience that’s purely physical, and I’d leave the next day. See? No time for compliments, so with you, I’m being genuine!’
‘So about that,’ I replied. Now I wanted to know more about him but, more so, I didn’t want this conversation to end – I was having fun. ‘Do you tend to get those types of requests often? The overnight ones? I’d love to know more about you and how you got into this.’
Jericho stared directly into the camera yet again and pursed his lips slightly, ending with a small, disarming smirk.
I wondered if he had to do some kind of ‘Art of Seduction’ OuiMeet course before getting his account validated on the app, because he was brilliant at it, whatever his tricks were.
I was hot and flustered by this point, but I was proud of myself for still being able to keep it together.
‘Well,’ he started, leaning closer to the camera, drawing me into an intimacy so compelling that I found myself leaning in too.
‘No, Jericho isn’t my real name; I try to leave personal details like that off these kinds of sites if I can help it.
I already stress about my work being recognised, and if the worst were to happen, at least I could claim plausible deniability – just a case of mistaken identity or a catfish situation, haha. ’