I was met there by Toby, who greeted me with a hiss as I went to go and pet him.
‘Baby, I’m sorry!’ I pleaded, filling up his bowl with dry food. ‘Mama needed some time to herself last night. She needed her back broken, thoroughly – I hope you can understand.’
After brushing my teeth, I crept back to the bedroom – Theo was out like a light, looking beautiful against the soft glow of my bedside lamp. Last night was everything I could have hoped for and more. I even appreciated the awkward giggles and small talk throughout – it had made me feel closer to him – connected somehow. But equally, I knew what this was – he was just doing what I’d paid for him to do, but a small part of me feared that I’d want more.
I texted Sade a couple of hours later.
Sade. Girl. You know that whole ‘THROUGH THE MATTRESS’ thing? I’m joining the club. Last night was a movie; I’ll fill you in later. xxx
I needed to fully debrief the events of last night, as well as hear some reassuring advice on what I should do moving forward.
If I slipped back into bed with him and tried to initiate sex again, would he charge me for it separately? What about oral stuff? Before I had time to overthink any more, I turned around to see Theo standing in the hallway in nothing but his boxers, looking down at me, smirking.
‘Coffee?’ I said, making my way to the kitchen.
‘Please,’ he replied, joining me as I headed towards the coffee machine. Then, in one smooth motion, he stepped behind me, wrapped me in his arms, and spun me around. Before I could even process what was happening, he somehow lifted me up and set me down on the counter like it was nothing.
Were we in a damn movie? What was even happening right now?
He stepped in close, eyes locked on mine, and kissed me deeply, hungrily – while the coffee maker gurgled behind us like background music to the chaos of whatever this magical, steamy moment was turning into. The pain I’d felt in my pelvis suddenly disappeared into the abyss as his hands slowly crept up my thighs, grabbing onto my bum.
‘Wait, stop – do I need to pay separately for this?’ I murmured, not wanting him to stop, but also thinking about my ever decreasing savings account. Theo broke from kissing my neck and smiled.
‘This is on the house.’ His fingers gently made their way towards my clit as I exhaled sharply.
‘Your coffee,’ I breathed, not giving a solid fuck about the coffee in question.
‘It can wait,’ he replied. He crouched down as he made his way towards my thighs, inching his way slowly towards my labia. What the heck was happening?
Fifteen minutes and a broken coffee mug later (me having an orgasmic spasm on the countertop clearly not helping things) and I was absolutely exhausted again, drinking my now cooled coffee on my sofa in my dressing robe; all orgasmed out and loving life. After getting dressed, Theo waded into the living room, wearing a very self-satisfied smile.
‘I trust you’ve had a good few hours then?’ he said, grinning slyly as he swung on his backpack.
‘I’ve had the best time; thank you. The service was absolutely out of this world and I’ll definitely make sure to leave positive feedback on your profile thingy.’ I sniggered as I stood up to see him out. As we walked to the door, I could feel the heat, still hot, still lingering between us. The last few hours had surpassed my expectations completely; Theo had been the perfect gentleman throughout, treating me with the care and attention I deserved, and as for the sex? Mind blowing. I hadn’t been taken care of like that for a long time; it had been long overdue, and I felt incredible. Empowered, even.
‘I loved spending time with you, Cassie,’ said Theo as he turned to face me at the door. ‘Getting to know you more over the last few hours has certainly been special. And before you say anything—’ he added, no doubt catching the very slight grimace on my face at his remark ‘—I genuinely mean it. This has nothing to do with you booking me or anything like that. You’re just – you exude this really calm, yet confident energy that I vibe with. Yeah … I had a really great time with you, so thank you.’
‘I should be the one thanking you, I had a wonderful timeand err … yeah! Not really sure what happens now, but I guess I’ll hopefully catch you soon? Thank you for your service – I mean … thanks for everything.’
Could Ibeany more awkward? Honestly, I had no idea how these things were supposed to go. One-night stands, I could handle – those had a script. But this? This felt different. A little more … formal? Like there should’ve been a sign-off or something. I tried to remedy it by leaning in for a hug, which he returned. When we broke away, he gave me a kiss on the forehead.
I exhaled. This guy.
‘I hope I get to see you again, Cassie,’ he said, as he turned on his heel and left.
‘We shall see about that – give a girl a discount next time though!’ I shouted behind him as he finally departed.
I spent most of that Saturday in bed, replaying the last twenty-four hours over and over in my mind. With the exception of that awkward encounter with Jeff earlier, it had been everything I’d hoped for, and then some. And while part of me couldn’t help but quietly resent the fact that I had to pay to access that kind of experience, another part – the confident, empowered, unapologetic part whose back and pelvis were currently sore from the workout – absolutely loved it. The next few hours were spent in an almost catatonic, post-coitus bliss.
I’d caught up with Sade earlier and spilled all the tea (‘I know that’s right, sis! I hope you destroyed each other – in the best possible way, of course.’) and managed to dodge a few calls from my dad who instead, kept sending me a flurry of texts (‘Have you spoken to your mum? Do you know when the wedding is? Can you ask her to call me please? Sorry to bother you xxx) which I then relayed to Steven:
Cassie: Bro, does Dad keep calling you too?
Steve: Yeah man. I’m ignoring it at the moment. He hasn’t even checked in on how me and Bianca are doing you know? We think she’s due any day now.
Cassie: Oh bless you! Let me know as soon as she’s in labour and I’ll come down. I’m sorry Dad’s being a bit of a dickhead at the moment – but yeah, I don’t plan on telling him the date or venue of Mum’s wedding.
Steve: DON’T do that. I bet you anything he’ll crash the wedding. He seems the type. It’s giving ‘Stalker Ex’ vibes at the moment.
