‘Truce?’ he asked, holding up his chocolate-covered hands.
‘Truce,’ I agreed, though we both ended up flinging tiny smears of chocolate at each other anyway, laughing so hard we drew curious glances from other diners. The way he laughed, teased, and somehow made the chaos feel intimate and light, made my heart flutter. By the time we finally settled back, sticky fingers and all, I realised that I might just be falling for him anyway. Just a little bit, perhaps.
‘You know, you’re a lot more laid-back than your profile implies,’ Jericho said as we made our way to leave. True to form, he helped me slip into my jacket, and I used that small window of closeness to lean in just a little, letting my arms brush against him as I threaded them through the sleeves. For a brief moment, I was enveloped in his cologne again, and for some weird reason, I felt safe.
‘Is that so?’ I replied, feigning shock, though I’d known it for hours. There had been a part of me that wanted to maintain the top-tier, snooty elegance myOuiMeetprofile promised – a brooding, mysterious, slightly unattainable persona designed to make him chase me. But all of that had crumbled the second he made me laugh at the coffee shop earlier. With him, I didn’t need to perform or pretend; I could just be me. And somehow, that ease between us made my chest tighten in a way I wasn’t prepared for.
‘You know,’ I added, letting a teasing smile curl at my lips, ‘you’re dangerously good at making me forget how to be intimidating.’
He leaned slightly closer, and I felt a little thrill of daring. ‘Oh? Maybe I should keep doing that, then,’ he said softly, his voice low enough to make my heartbeat spike. In my head, I ran through my preferences again, matching Jericho against them:
A man(tick)
Live/grew up in London(tick)
Preferably South London(unfortunately not, but God bless the London Overground)
At least six foot two(six foot four! We have a winner)
No preference on weight or build(built like a stallion – tick)
Nice teeth and lips(tick)
Nice eyes(beautiful ones, tick)
Well spoken(we love an eloquent babe – tick)
Tattoos(on the neck! THE NECK!! Swoon. Tick)
Educated [university level and beyond](tick!)
University must be one of the top 20 best universities in the UK(tick!!)
Earning at least £50k a year(haven’t asked, but would assume so based on what he said about his savings)
A stable, steady job that isn’t so demanding that it takes time away from moi(mmm. I’d need to revisit this; on one hand …)
Should either have hair, or be completely bald with a full/long beard(sexy low fade – tick)
Dick size at least six inches and thick in girth; preferably circumcised(Let’s pray I get to find out)
Kind, generous, sensitive, fun blah blah blah(seems to be so far – tick)
Must have own car and live alone. No flatmates(another win – double tick!)
No red pill/Alpha male beliefs(so far so good – tick)
Must ABSOLUTELY NOT listen to any male podcasts(I absolutely fucking hope not)
Must not be a super active user of Facebook or Instagram(remains to be seen)
Must not have more Instagram followers than me(wouldn’t be surprised if he did – he’s gorge)
Must not be any kind of social media influencer(tick, I think)
Non-cigarette smoker [weed’s OK on occasion](tick)
Must not invest in or have anything to do with Crypto currency or ‘stocks’(tick – we thank God)
