22. Theo Fairview
For the first time in weeks, I slept like a fucking baby.
There was no room for Samwell to haunt my every waking moment because my mind was filled to the brim with memories of warm vanilla, sharp, well-manicured nails, and soft, beautiful moans.
Every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was Cassandra’s gorgeous face tossed back in the most enchanting display of ecstasy I’ve ever seen on a woman’s face.
All I wanted to do was make her look like that over and over and over again.
And it seemed like I would have the chance.
She’d asked me to move in with her.
Well… asked was a bit of a stretch. It had been more of an order. But I sure as fuck wasn’t complaining.
That woman could literally step on my face, and I would probably thank her for it.
Even Jerry could tell something was different when I showed up for coffee the following day.
“Yuh either took my advice and went to therapy, or yuh got laid,” he muttered as I slid into my usual seat at our table. I put down the iced triple long I’d already ordered for Cass in case she showed up.
Eyeing him, I took a sip of my own coffee in an attempt to mask the permanent smirk that I couldn’t seem to wipe off my face.
“I went to therapy all right.” I chuckled, and Jerry rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
“As long as you’re not hungover, I don’t care what you’re doing to cope, kid.
Now, we need to talk about your fight with DeLuca.
It’s in two weeks, and you need to really set the tone in the first round.
She’s quick. Quicker even than you, and if you don’t nail this, you can kiss your dreams of taking on the Russian goodbye.
No way I’m letting you fight that beast of a woman if you can’t take out DeLuca in the first round. ”
I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m really not worried. I’ve fought DeLuca before. She’s good, but I’m still better.”
Jerry grunted, giving me another wary look.
“You are when your head’s in the game.”
‘You are when you’re not wasted,’ is what he was really saying.
I scoffed, giving him a lazy shrug.
“Told you not to worry about that. It was a one-time slip. It won’t happen again.”
And I meant it, too.
The last thing I wanted to do right now was drink.
Not when I was heading home later to pack up my very few belongings so I could move in with Cassandra.
Who needed vodka when you had a goddess like Cassandra Walker looking to you to help guide her through her queer awakening?
Not to mention we were literally getting married in a week.
Fake married… but still.
Butterflies erupted in my stomach at the thought of her wearing my ring.
It might be fake to her, but to the rest of the world, it would be real.
To the rest of the world, Cassandra Walker would be my wife.
My. Wife.
My god… I was so. Fucking. In love with her….
She was going to break my damn heart.
Knowing she was going to shatter me into pieces once she was done with me was doing literally nothing to deter me from following through with this.
I’d never planned on being around long anyway. I was honestly a little surprised I’d already made it past thirty.
The plan had always been to fight in this seedy, underground ring until my luck ran out and someone finally put me out of my misery.
Might as well spend what time I did have on this earth wrapped up in the most gorgeous, bad ass, and surprisingly hilarious woman I’d ever met.
As if my thoughts had summoned the goddess herself, Jerry glanced over my shoulder and chuckled, nodding his head to the sweating iced latte sitting on the table.
“Your girl’s here. Go give her the damn coffee so you can focus.”
I beamed at him.
My girl.
Fuck me sideways.
I was swooning so hard right now.
It took everything in me not to whip around in excitement.
Instead, I winked at my coach and snatched up Cassandra’s latte before making my way through the morning crowd to get to her.
It wasn’t as busy today as it usually was at this hour, and Cass was already almost at the counter by the time I was able to intercept.
“Morning, baby,” I hummed, leaning in close enough to her ear that I knew she could feel my breath on her throat.
She didn’t seem surprised to see me.
What was even better was that she didn’t seem angry that I was here, either.
Instead of spitting her usual sharp venom at me, she gave me a sultry smile that made my heart melt.
“Morning. I was wondering if I would see you here.”
“Wouldn’t miss my daily dose of Cass.” I grinned, handing her the coffee I’d already gotten for her.
She frowned, glancing down in surprise.
“What? No, it’s okay. You drink it. I’m almost at the counter already.”
I chuckled, rolling my eyes.
“I got it for you, baby girl. I don’t actually drink oat milk. I don’t really do any milk in my coffee, if I’m being honest.”
Her eyebrows raised in surprise.
“But the other day you gave me your coffee, and it was–”
“Exactly what you order?”
Her mouth parted, and her cheeks turned pink as she connected the dots.
“Uhm… Wow, Theo. Thank–”
“Hi, Theo! Back for another one of the same?”
Whatever Cassandra was going to say was interrupted by bubbly little Maria, who waved at me shyly.
I grinned at her.
“Hey, pretty girl. Nah. I’m actually all set. Was just delivering a drink to my friend here. Sorry. We’ll get out of your way so you can help the next customer.”
“O-oh okay! No problem! Have a great day, Theo!” Maria squeaked. She blushed furiously as I winked at her before tugging Cassandra out of the way so the barista could help the next people in line.
Turning back to Cass, I faltered slightly when I found that she wasn’t smiling at me anymore. She looked pissed.
What the fuck had happened in the last two seconds to piss her off so much?
“Everything alright?” I asked her cautiously as I took in her stony expression. She was tense now, and the air around her felt several degrees hotter than it had a few seconds ago.
She was seething, and I didn’t know why.
She didn’t answer right away, and I could almost see the wheels turning in her mind as she tried to decide how to reply.
Her gaze flicked over my shoulder to bouncy little Maria as she cheerfully helped the next customers in line, and I frowned.
Next thing I knew, Cass was gripping my jaw firmly enough that it almost hurt. She yanked my face back toward her, and she released one of her adorable little growls before slamming her lips into mine.
My eyes widened in surprise as she used her strong fingers to literally pry my mouth open so she could shove her tongue down my throat.
I let out an embarrassing mmmphhh before my brain caught up to what was happening.
Once I’d processed that Cassandra was kissing me… again… in public!!!! It was like whatever puppet master usually controlled my body cut all my strings.
I melted into her, and my hands immediately rose to cup her face so I could hold her as I kissed her back.
She didn’t seem to care that her iced coffee was pressed between us and sweating all over her cream silk blouse.
She didn’t seem to care that there were probably twenty-odd strangers in here to witness this surprising but very welcome public display of affection.
She only seemed to care about how weak she could make me feel with each sensual lick of her tongue.
Jesus fucking Christ.
I couldn’t believe I was going to get to marry this woman…
I was still drowning in the scent of vanilla when she abruptly broke the kiss and pulled away.
She didn’t let go of my jaw. Instead, she held me firmly in place, her brown eyes hard and full of something that almost looked like a threat.
A sexy threat, but still a threat.
It was hostile, and intense, and so, so fucking hot.
“I expect you to be waiting for me when I get home from work, Theodora,” she hummed softly.
I could do nothing but stare at her, wide-eyed and still panting from the intensity of the kiss she’d just blessed me with.
“Tell me you understand.”
I nodded as much as I could while my face was being held hostage between her fingers.
“Use your words.”
Well, it was officially Niagara fucking Falls in my damn pants. Holy fucking shit.
“Y-yes. I’ll be there when you get home.”
The corner of her lipstick–smudged mouth tilted up in satisfaction, and her grip on my chin softened enough to give my jaw a gentle stroke before she dropped one more chaste kiss on my lips.
“Good girl. I should be home by seven at the latest. Call me if there are any issues with the movers.”
Then she released me and ran her thumb under her bottom lip, seeming to instinctively know exactly where her lipstick had smudged and how to fix it. She maintained eye contact as she slid her thumb into her mouth and sucked the lipstick off.
My jaw was literally on the floor.
She smirked at me, tossed her hair over her shoulder, shot Maria a glare for some reason, then stalked out of the cafe like nothing had happened.
I stood there, staring after her for so long that Jerry had to come up and get me.
“Sorry…” I muttered to him as he chuckled, leading me like the love-sick buffoon I was back to our table.
“Don’t be sorry, kid. I’m happy for yuh. You’ve been moonin’ after that one for a long time.”
“Yeah…” I grinned dreamily, touching my fingers to my lips, which were still slightly damp from being in Cassandra’s mouth.
“Alright, I need you to focus. Get yer head out of the clouds and back in the game. The faster you get through training, the faster you can get back to daydreaming about your spicy new girlfriend.”
“Fiancée,” I corrected him without thinking, and for a moment, he looked shocked.
“...Fiancé?” he asked, and I nodded, still unable to get that shit-eating grin off my face.
“Uh-huh. Getting married next week.”
Jerry just stared at me for a long beat, and I waited to see what he would say.
I half-expected him to tell me I was insane and making a mistake by rushing into something like this so quickly. Especially considering he didn’t know it was fake.
But to my surprise, he just snorted and shook his head.
“I’d better be invited.”
“Obviously, old man.” I laughed, and he smiled at me before snapping his fingers impatiently in my face.
“Alright now, focus. DeLuca. She’s got a mean left hook, so you’re gonna need to be prepared for that.”
I nodded, leaning forward so I could study the fight plan he’d mapped out for my upcoming match.
I did my best to focus, but it was hard.
All I wanted to do was go home and pack so I could get to Cassandra’s apartment as quickly as possible and show her just how good a girl I could be.
You have no fucking idea, baby.
You have no. Fucking. Idea.