‘What? Oh, no!’ I stammered, waving my hands almost erratically. I could feel myself beginning to panic already out of sheer embarrassment. ‘I was … haha … no, I was … it’s just how I walk when I’m at home.’ I mumbled the last bit like a guilty confession and downed a long gulp of wine to wash away the embarrassment. Mortified didn’t even begin to cover it. He probably thought I was a total nutcase.
Theo waved a hand, a small grin tugging at his lips. ‘Heh – I see. I didn’t mind the walk at all – it was … kind of charming.’ I felt the tension drain out of me in a slow, satisfying whoosh. A sigh escaped me before I even realised I’d been holding my breath.OK, Cassie,I mentally told myself,relax. Be normal. Maybe you don’t need to be some walking, talking sex goddess 24/7. Just … exist. Smile. Don’t trip over your own feet. Sip your wine like a semi-competent human.
For the first time in what felt like hours, I let myself genuinely smile, letting the nerves loosen just enough to remember that Theo was, thankfully, more human than I’d feared. Maybe I could just be myself.
‘So. How has your week been? What have you been up to, outside of talking to me?’ Theo asked, thankfully changing the subject, taking another sip. I’d noticed that he’d put his phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ and laid it face-down on the table. Iloved that for me; I’d be getting all of his attention tonight.
‘Work’s been cool, thanks. Just your run-of-the-mill operation; booking appointments, having meetings with doctors, that kind of thing,’ I replied, wanting to change the subject swiftly as the image of me alone with Jeff in his car popped up in my head. Definitely didn’t need to be thinking about him right now.
‘Nice! I’m glad to hear you’re not totally run off your feet,’ he said with a smile. ‘So … did you have anything in mind for how you wanted tonight to go?’
As he said this, he moved closer to me on the sofa, his cologne wrapping around me in warm notes of amber, sandalwood and oud. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, offering a teasing glimpse of his sculpted chest. I nearly drooled; I felt completely under his spell and wanted nothing more than to lean in for a kiss, but – the night was young.
‘Well, I figured we could talk a bit more, I’d then order us something to eat and then … we could play games,’ I said coyly, taking a sip from my wine glass while staring at him seductively.
‘Games, huh? I see. I’m always up for that,’ he replied. After we’d downed our drinks, we quickly discussed dinner options and settled on me ordering in some Japanese food – the last thing I needed was anything that would have been too aggressive on my stomach.
As we waited for the food to arrive, we spent the time getting into some wholesome chatter to pass the time. I talked a little about Sade and how I’d set her up with Kofi at work. I shared a bit about my family too – my mum’s upcoming wedding, and how my brother was preparing to become a dad. There was something comforting about it, being able to open up like that. I didn’t usually share much outside of my close circle, and honestly, aside from Sade, there weren’t many people I talked to on that kind of level. But with Theo, it felt natural.Safe, even. As I spoke, he listened intently, cocking his head to the side, his gaze unflinching. Every now and again he’d slowly look me up and down and give a little smile, as if surveying me. If it had been anyone else I would have called them out for objectifying me, but with Theo? It was hot. I moved closer to him, mirroring his gaze.
‘Enough about me, I actually had a question for you – something I’ve been curious about ever since you started following me on Instagram.’ I straightened up, suddenly remembering the question I’d wanted to ask.
‘Oh? Shoot for it,’ he said.
‘Um, so your username has 1996 at the end of it. Is that your birth year?’
If Theo was in any way taken aback, he didn’t show it. He continued staring at me, his smile fixed and unchanging. I noticed his jaws clench slightly as he continued to sit there in silence, completely still. He then started blinking rapidly, before finally facing away and exhaling.
So hehadlied about his age.
‘So … are you really twenty-eight or not?’ I said eventually, breaking the awkward silence. I hadn’t really made up my mind about whether I should have been annoyed about it or not. Sure, he wasn’t a child, but a six-year age gap wasn’t exactly tiny. I didn’t want to feel like I was grooming the guy.
Theo shifted in his seat slightly as he exhaled. His gaze broke away from mine as he sat his wine glass down and again turned towards me. This was all a little bit dramatic, to be honest. It didn’t need to be that much of a big deal.
‘I’m sorry, Cassie. I’m twenty-eight, yeah. I’m sorry for lying to you. I put thirty-four on myOuiMeetprofile to try and show up more on the results page for prospective clients I suppose. You’d be surprised, us young ones aren’t really all that popular on the app. The clients sometimes consider us “inexperienced”for some reason.’ He scoffed at that last part, and to be honest, his reasoning made sense; it was a strategic business decision, more or less. No wonder he looked so bloody young.
‘I’m not necessarily upset per se, I can definitely understand the reasoning, I guess. It’s just a bit weird now because you’re essentially achild.Also, were you ever going to tell me?’
Theo let out a low, melodic laugh that echoed through the living room, rich and contagious. I couldn’t help but laugh along with him.
‘Cassandra, up until you discovered my age, have I given you any reason to feel awkward or weird around me? Have I been giving off “childlike” vibes to you? And yes, I had planned to tell you at some point.’
I shifted in my seat, maintaining my eye contact with him. ‘I suppose you haven’t given me a reason to feel weird around you, no. Still though, I’d consider it something important to disclose, you know.’
‘I hear you,’ Theo said quietly, his head flopping down as if he were a cute dog who had just been punished. ‘Again, I’m really sorry for not saying anything. I guess some women find it empowering too, you know – the whole “younger guy” thing. Sometimes I play up to it if that’s what a client wants but, for the most part, I think I’m quite mature for my age. I handle myself like a grown man, and that’s all that matters.’
Whew. The authority in his voice when he said that made me shiver with pure lust. ‘OK, so since you’re bringing up other women while on the clock with me—’ I teased, edging even closer to him ‘—let’s talk about that some more. When did you start usingOuiMeetand would you say – I mean – how many “clients” would you say you see per week or per month? Do you have any favourites?’
I could see Theo getting slightly uncomfortable upon being practically bombarded with yet more nosy questions, but Ididn’t really see any other time to bring it up; I was still so fascinated by his world and genuinely wanted to know what a typical week or month looked like for him when it came to his clientele – not that I was jealous or anything … I didn’t think I was, at least.
At that exact moment, my intercom rang, signalling the arrival of our food. Saved by the bell, for now.
After dishing out the food, we both returned to the sofa. I’d decided to play it safe with a few Californian tuna rolls and tempura, while Theo had gone all out with his feast of sashimi and yaki udon noodles. After a few moments of silence as we enjoyed our food, it was time to get back to the matter at hand.
‘OK, OK, now back to my questions – you can’t avoid them forever I fear! If you feel like I’m overstepping, let me know, but you intrigue me, Theo.’
After a long, satisfied slurp of his noodles, Theo set his plate down on the coffee table and turned to me with that wolfish grin I’d grown to like more than I cared to admit. I was probably being a pain in the arse, but whatever – I was the one footing the bill for him to be here, after all, so why not?
‘Are you sure my answers won’t make you feel weird? I’ve had other clients ask me this same thing a few times in the past and, any time I discuss it, things either end awkwardly or I end up losing a client. I wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings in any way.’ He genuinely looked apologetic when he said it, forcing me to scoff. Did he think I would be jealous? I mean, I was still trying to grapple with how I felt about this whole thing myself, but for him to assume that was the case was bold.
