I mulled over his answers as he took a bite of his pastry.Sixty-four?He’d also slept with a famous person? Also, fair do’s on the personal stuff; I supposed this line of work was the kind of thing people wanted to keep separate from their personal lives. I had follow-up questions; I wanted to know the gist, but didn’t want to scare him off.
‘I feel you on your second answer. I mean, given the way you look and the amount of women you must meet on a weekly basis, whoever you end up with would probably need to have nerves of steel and the confidence of Beyoncé.’
Jericho laughed at this, his eyes twinkling in the diffused afternoon sunlight. I simply couldn’t get over how pretty and young he looked. I stared at him – transfixed.
‘I mean, it would probably be like that at first, but it would depend on how much money I’ve been able to store by the time that special lady comes into my life,’ he replied. ‘If I’ve been able to pack away a significant amount, then maybe I won’t need to continue with these shenanigans any more. But we’ll see!’
I imagined myself as being the woman who had to share him with a harem of different women each week – it couldn’t be me; I was way too possessive.
‘That’s fair enough,’ I replied, finishing the dregs of my coffee. ‘How much are you looking to save overall? AND ALSO, what was sleeping with a sixty-four-year-old like? Don’t try and gloss over that part – you thought I forgot. AND ALSO … who’s the famous person you slept with?’
‘Oh, Cassie.’ Jericho’s voice had an authority to it that drove me crazy. He knew exactly what he was doing. ‘You’re annoying, you know; nothing super personal, remember! I low-key like your confidence, though.’
‘Why, thank you. I’m a curious little pixie, like you said – now make with the answers, Jerry.’
At my impromptu nickname, he cocked his brow.
‘Erm, WELL, I’d like to be able to buy a house soon – a really nice house, like … a “four-bedroom townhouse in Zone 2 London” nice – so let’s just say that I’ve been making some really good progress in that department. I’d probably say that I’d only need to keep doing this for another couple of months or so before I have a healthy deposit. As for sleeping with older women, it’s not really that much different from sleeping with women our age, I suppose – there’s a sexual confidence that comes with maturity that I definitely find to be a turn-on, but sexual confidence can be found in women of all ages really. There’s nothing sexier than a woman who knows what she wants and is willing to teach along the way, too. And as for thefamous person, don’t you worry your pretty head about that.’
‘Mmm, I see. Well, thanks for answering my questions; I’ll try not to nag you any more,’ I said, somewhat satisfied with his answers. There was something really refreshing about the brutal honesty of it; I wanted to know more but equally, I didn’t want to fly too close to the sun. His ‘don’t you worry your pretty head about that’ carried enough finality to warn me off.
‘You’re not nagging me, actually,’ he replied, finishing up the dregs of his drink. ‘You amuse me more than anything; I like your questions and I like your vibe so far. And your perfume is so … interesting. Strong and vibrant, like you.’
Oh, for God’s sake. I’d hoped the oud would tame the vinegary nightmare of my first fragrance, but thanks to scent blindness, I had zero idea what I actually smelled like. Had he been silently waving for fresh air this whole time?
‘Oh! Erm … yeah, I may have gone a little overboard this morning,’ I blurted, crossing and uncrossing my legs like a nervous metronome. ‘I love perfumes … sometimes I get a bit … enthusiastic. Hopefully it’s not too strong?’
Jericho gave me a slow, calculating wink. ‘No, no … not at all. I mean, it’s strong … in a heroic “call the fire brigade” kind of way. But I can handle it.’
‘Heroic?’ I squeaked. ‘Like Superman or more like Godzilla?’
‘Hmm,’ he said, leaning in slightly, clearly enjoying this. ‘A bit of both. Definitely unforgettable.’
I gulped. ‘Unforgettable … that’s comforting. Or terrifying. I can never tell with men.’
‘Oh, trust me,’ he said, grinning, ‘I’m more “memorably charming” than “tragedy in a bottle”. But don’t worry, if anyone else faints from the scent, I’ll heroically save them from their oud-infested prison.’
I blinked, half amused, half impressed. ‘Well, if I survive my own perfume apocalypse, maybe I’ll get a medal too.’
‘Deal,’ he said, winking again. ‘Medal ceremony immediately after dinner.’
So this is what falling in love felt like, huh?
In true hopeless-romantic fashion, I let out a soft sigh and smiled at absolutely nothing. He was perfect. We spent the next few moments asking each other random questions before setting off on our next venture. So far, I’d found out the following about him:
Jericho was left-handed
He lived in East London(ugh)
His family were St Lucian
He had a degree in Architecture(a smart one!)
He owned a car(an Audi, very fancy)
Due to his work schedule, most of his escorting activities were now either online or over the phone – he limited in-person meetups to weekend occasions once or twice a month.
We also discovered we had a lot in common – same taste in TV shows, same music, a shared obsession with Japanese food, and, best of all, a soft spot for video games.
