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 racedto 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-fiCharmalbum 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 favouriteflowers – alongside a Marks & Spencer Food carrier bag.
‘Please, come in,’ I replied, trying to stop my voice from quivering as I posed awkwardly on the door frame. I wanted to jump his bones there and then but the night was young; 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.’
I set the flowers on the counter, my fingers lingering on the stems as I stared at them, unexpectedly moved. I couldn’t remember the last time a man had given me flowers – let alone ones that felt like theymeantsomething. The gesture tugged at something in me, something I thought I’d tucked away. But even as my heart fluttered, a voice in the back of my mind whispered a quiet reminder: this was probably just part of the service. A carefully crafted charm. Nothing personal … or at least, it wasn’t supposed to be.
‘Thank you, Theo, that’s really kind of you to say, and I love how you’ve gone all out with Marks and Sparks too! You’re determined to show off tonight, huh?’
Theo took off the backpack he was wearing, staring at me the whole time he did this, as if toying with his food before devouring it. ‘In more ways than one, if I play my cards right,’ he answered. After laying out the spread of snacks he’d bought on the coffee table – croissants, chocolate chip cookies, mango bites, Percy Pigs and a couple of fruit juices – I decided to show him around the place. I made sure to give it my best Beyoncé saunter as I strutted around the flat, twisting my hips to and fro to accentuate my curves.Remember, you’re in control, always.
‘OK, so obviously this is the living room,’ I started, entering tour guide mode, again trying to keep my voice steady, rocking my hips as I walked alongside him. His gaze – his intimidating, sexy, steady gaze – threw me off-guard every time. ‘This iswhere I spend most of my time when I’m not out being a social butterfly and stuff.’
‘Mmmhmm. I like what you’ve done with the place – nice decor.’ He playfully stroked his chin as if admiring a Banksy painting.
‘And if you follow me and look down to your right, you’ll see the bathroom. For all your peeing and shitting needs,’ I added, as he broke out in a chuckle.
‘On your left, you’ll see a storage cupboard. It contains suitcases, ironing boards, irons, a washing machine and other home admin and cleaning supplies, and just far ahead …’ I trailed off as we reached my bedroom at the far end of the corridor. I took a deep breath as Theo began to rub his hands together in mock anticipation. ‘We have my bedroom. This is where absolutely no magic happens, I fear.’ I slowly opened the door and guided him inside where Toby – who had been sleeping soundly on my bed – woke up, stretched and hopped off the bed to rub himself against Theo’s leg.
‘Ah. And this is the man of the house, Toby! Apologies for him, he’s just sussing you out, you know … making sure you’re kosher and all that.’ Theo bent over, picked Toby up and whisked him into the air, making cooing noises as he did so. ‘Ahh! I love cats so much, I grew up with a couple! He is a very distinguished gentleman, isn’t he?’ He set Toby back down and gently stroked him behind the ears. Much to my delight, Toby purred and gently butted his head against Theo’s leg, essentially giving his seal of approval.
‘He likes you! That’s a first,’ I said, as Theo watched Toby hop onto the end of my bed and curl back to sleep. ‘Let’s go back to the living room, shall we? I’m a little thirsty.’
‘Of course. You have a cute place, by the way – I dig it. It’s … it’s earthy,’ replied Theo, still looking at the artwork on my walls as I led him down the corridor and back intothe living room. After pouring us both a glass of Whispering Angel, I joined him on the sofa and clinked our glasses before taking a sip. Upon that first sip, I felt my entire body relax, and could tell that Theo’s did too. He leaned back into the sofa, exhaling as he did so.
‘Um, did you hurt yourself earlier, by the way? You were walking a little funny. Are you in pain?’ Theo said, taking a sip of his glass, his eyes full of concern.
Panic hit me like a rogue brick.Oh no. My sultry ‘I’m-a-sexy-goddess’ strut? More like ‘I just rolled out of bed with arthritis.’
