Chapter 13 #3
I felt awkward, and weird. Weird because in the back of my head I wondered if I weren’t so emotionally invested in Theo, would I have stayed in Jeff’s car?
And if so, would I have wanted anything to happen?
Also, was I unknowingly giving off signs that I’d wanted anything to happen between us?
I didn’t think so? Sure, he was nice to look at, but that was as far as it went. What an odd thing for him to do.
Hmm. Questions that needed answers.
I didn’t have the time to contemplate what had just happened. I needed to compartmentalise the interaction for now – just for tonight, while I dealt with my upcoming date; I would cross that Jeff-sized bridge tomorrow.
After making sure Toby was watered, played with, cuddled and fed, I sent Sade a quick text, briefly letting her know about tonight’s date for security reasons. Theo was a lovely guy, but so was Ted Bundy, and as a single woman living alone, you could never be too careful.
Hey sis! I hope you’re having a great day. FYI; Jericho/Theo coming round to mine tonight for the first time. Letting you know for security reasons. If I end up missing, make sure the news use that pic of me when I had the red curly hair at your birthday party last year, that’s a cute one xxx
Tonight definitely called for an ‘everything’ shower – the kind that felt like a full reset.
Although Jeff didn’t actually kiss me, I still felt as if I needed to wash away his aura – his essence, so to speak – and feel brand new.
For me, that meant co-washing my braids, doing a full-body shave – paying particular attention to my nether regions – indulging in a deep scrub, a thorough wash, layering on an in-shower body oil, and topping it all off with a face mask.
By the time I stepped out, I was glistening and slippery, feeling like a dolphin.
I then reached for my shea butter moisturiser and lathered my body in it, before going over everything with a cocoa butter body oil to seal in the moisture.
I still had three-and-a-bit-hours before Theo’s arrival, so I decided to use the time to pick out what I was going to wear.
If all things went well tonight, I’d already decided on a burgundy mini chemise that I’d picked up from Ann Summers a few years ago.
It still had a good amount of mileage left, and made my boobs look amazing.
I’d wear that with my dressing robe on top to lounge in afterwards.
For my main outfit, I needed something that didn’t come off as too ‘try-hard’, yet I didn’t want it to be super casual and basic either.
After rooting around for twenty minutes, I finally decided on wearing an Elomi push-up bra underneath a plain white fitted cropped tee.
I paired the tee with a patterned silk maxi skirt from Whistles – also known as my ‘good luck’ skirt.
Somehow, every time I wore it, something good seemed to happen.
I was wearing it the day I got a pay rise at work.
The second time, I had two unexpectedly great dates …
with two different guys. And the third? During a hospital strike, I ended up with an unexpected three days off.
Coincidence? Maybe. But I wasn’t taking any chances.
I gave everything a good iron and laid the outfit out on the bed like a proud stylist prepping for a red carpet moment. I also decided to take another swig of Gaviscon, just to be safe. My stomach had mostly chilled out, but I wasn’t about to let indigestion crash the party. Not tonight.
I went out into the living room and gave it a last-minute clean, and popped a bottle of Whispering Angel I’d been given a few months ago into the fridge to chill.
Fast forward the next couple of hours and the dishes were washed, a plethora of scented candles had been lit, my bedding had been changed and Toby’s cat hair had been meticulously scraped off the sofa.
I’d changed into my outfit and, by my own standards, I looked fucking hot – if I did say so myself.
I had that effortless, cool-girl energy going on, with just the right touch of sex appeal thanks to the push-up bra and the way the fitted tee hugged my curves, cinching in at the waist and giving my hips that extra hourglass drama.
I loved to see it, and I hoped that Theo would too.
It was twenty-or-so minutes until I was due to expect him, so after a healthy spritz of my evening fragrance (Cairo by Penhaligons, if you were wondering), I sat down on the sofa and tried to relax myself.
I hadn’t had sex in nearly six months; I was practically a virgin again.
If the worst came to the worst, Theo could always take the lead anyway.
I checked my phone for any last-minute updates; Sade had eventually texted back:
OOOWEEEE I know that’s right! Wishing you the best of luck tonight, sis – we will debrief in the morning and, yes, I agree the red hair pic is v nice. Will keep in mind if you get murdered or anything xx
Theo had also sent me a message; this time on Instagram:
Looking forward to seeing your gorgeous self soon, lady. I’m on my way. Anything I can pick up along the way? :)
I smiled as I read his message; he was too sweet. I texted back:
Looking forward to seeing you too! And the only thing you’ll need to bring tonight is your A-game. Can’t wait for all the board games we’ll play tonight xx
I gave myself one final glance-over in the mirror and a final spritz of perfume before surveying the living room to make sure everything was in order.
As I exhaled, a bubbling of nerves began to fill my stomach.
Or was that just my upset stomach playing up?
At this point, I couldn’t tell and was hoping that it was indeed just nerves, but decided to swig a quick dose of some Pepto-Bismol I had in my kitchen cupboard, just to be on the safe side.
At the end of the day, Theo was here for me, not the other way round – HE should be the nervous one.
I glanced at myself one final time in the mirror, mouthing affirmations in a bid to hype myself up.
‘You’ve got this, Cass.’
‘You’re in control. Always in control.’
‘You’re a beautiful, confident, hot piece of ass. He’s lucky to be spending time with you.’
I needed to stay in control. I wanted Theo to see me as some untouchable sex goddess about to lead him straight into Wonderland.
Part of me even toyed with the idea of slipping fully into character – seductress extraordinaire, dripping with confidence, all velvet and mystery.
Really, it was just smoke and mirrors, a performance to distract from the inconvenient truth: inside I was absolutely shitting a brick. Thankfully, only metaphorically.
As I stared at myself in the mirror, it hit me – I’d completely forgotten to use my trusty fanny wipes.
Not exactly dermatologist-approved for daily use, sure, but they’re absolute lifesavers on those spontaneous shag nights.
You know, when there’s a chance someone might go spelunking in the southern hemisphere and you want things to feel a bit more ‘spring meadow’ and a bit less ‘forgotten laundry hamper’.
I raced to the bathroom and took care of business using the wipes – splashing it with a bit of water beforehand to get rid of the harsh fragrance of the wipes; there was smelling neutral and then smelling like a ‘tropical paradise’, whatever that was supposed to mean.
No sooner had I cleaned up than I heard my intercom ring – Theo was early – ten minutes early, to be exact.
Just treat it like a normal sleepover with a friend, I mentally told myself on the way to the intercom.
Except I would probably be smashing my ‘friend’ to smithereens by the end of the night. Go figure.
I looked at the video screen attached to the intercom. Theo was standing there, looking directly into the camera wearing a slight smug smile on his face. His arms appeared to be full with a few things. Toys, perhaps? Tools? No, no, I couldn’t let my mind go there – not just yet.
‘Hello?’ I answered, picking up the receiver and attempting to sound as husky and as sexy as possible. ‘Who is this?’
Theo smiled more broadly into the camera this time, his dark eyes twinkling through the grainy video footage. ‘It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you – and I brought snacks,’ he replied, laughing.
I buzzed him up and did a final once-over of the living room.
I’d brought an extra blanket out and had arranged it nonchalantly on the sofa like I’d seen on all those hygge interior Instagram accounts.
The flat smelled warm, sweet and earthy due to the candles, and I’d put on Clairo’s lo-fi Charm album to set the mood. I was ready.
A moment later and there’s a knock at the door.
I opened it to find Theo, all six-foot-and-a-bit inches of him, taking up the entire frame of my doorway, both in height and width.
‘Hey there,’ he said in his deep voice that made my insides quiver.
He knew exactly what he was doing. In his hands were a bouquet of hydrangeas – which were actually my favourite flowers – alongside a Marks we had all night, after all.
‘Thanks. You look gorgeous, if you don’t mind me saying. These are for you—’ he presented me with the bouquet ‘—and these are just a few things I picked up to snack on just in case.’