Page 9 of Who The Hell Are You?

@yourghostboy: What are you wearing?

I wait what feels like a lifetime before he pulls out his phone, glancing between it and a package of popcorn, before his attention fully snaps to his device. Discarding the food, his brows furrow together and he looks pissed. Something flutters in my chest. Why do I like getting that reaction out of him?

His fingers fly over his phone and a reply pops up on my end, causing the brightest cheshire cat smile to rage on my face.

@Cass.cowbells: Why do you want to know?

@yourghostboy: Boring. Play with me.

@Cass.cowbells: What part of fuck off do you not understand?

I scroll up through our conversation and smirk.

@yourghostboy: I’d understand it if you’d actually told me to. Say the word and I’ll stop.

He lets out a loud sigh that has a passing pensioner nearly flinching out of her skin. Scrambling to apologise, he helps her by reaching up to grab a bargain price set of Tupperware from the top shelf. I have to stifle my laugh into my jumper sleeve, watching as he helps her, before returning his intense glare on the phone screen. He starts to type something and I see the three little dots flutter on my own device, but then they stop. I think he deletes it, before looking up at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. He’s fighting against something inside of him, but if he could only release some of that tension crippling his shoulders right now, I think he at least muses this anonymous interaction.

I’m starting to get a burning in my calves that isn’t fun, so when Cass doesn’t reply, I send another message.

@yourghostboy: send me a photo of you.

Whipping my eyes upwards, I see the moment he receives the message because he starts to fidget and from here I can almost see his neck become a deep red colour under his tattoos that creep up his neckline. He lowers the phone and something inside me sinks, until I watch him swipe something on his phone, curse at himself before raising it slightly above him and take a picture of his tall frame standing in the grocery store. He awkwardly smiles, unsure what he’s doing, but I don’t miss the way the muscles flex in his arms and chest. His broad shoulders fill out as he takes the picture, before groaning and berating himself.

“Ugh, Casper ya’ fucking Eejit.” I hear him say, before he grabs onto his trolley and pushes it more urgently. I’m left with a giant grin on my face, so wide it almost hurts to do so. Nothing comes through via our online conversation, but I witnessed with my own eyes how despite the inner war with himself, he obeyed my command and took the picture.

I know there is something inside of Cass that is banging on its cages, wanting out and oh boy, it’s going to be so much fun picking the lock and letting it free.

Unable to hide my face behind a hood, because a certain sexy Scot still has my favourite hoodie, I wait a few minutes to give him time to scan his shop. Keeping behind the small group of customers leaving the store, I follow him around the back, to the car park and lean against the trolley dock like I’m innocently digging into my backpack. If he saw me here I could pretend to be entering the shop, the excuse becoming a little unrealistic as I hover next to cars, following him to a red Ford. He throws his groceries into the boot and then gets in his car, the roar of the engine coming to life as I hide a little behind the car next to his. I could pretend to be tying my lace or maybe pass this vehicle off as mine if he looks to the left and sees me out of the passenger side.

I don’t believe in a higher power, but something has to be working in my favour when the little voice in his car’s surround system belts out his address, after he requests to have the directions.

Bingo.

The fun has only just gotten started.

I waited a couple more minutes discreetly hanging around the car park until I see his car pass through the exit, before shamelessly following on foot. I just want a little peak at his actual home. I mean, I'd gotten it so wrong when I waited outside of Grace's window.

Heading back in the direction of where most of the students house the city, if my memory is correct–aswell as Google maps–he’s only a few blocks over. I can walk through the park which has a walking trail and fields, but it pops me out directly opposite his street.

It barely takes me ten minutes until I'm crouched behind his neighbour's bush, his car parked in the drive and I can see some movement through the front window. They don't have blinds, just curtains, so I stay where I am. I highly doubt I'd survive three rugby players if they found me lurking in their garden. My charm definitely would not save me. Here is a safer option because with an empty driveway, I can hope his neighbour is out. Either way, this needs to be quick and I just want confirmation he definitely lives here.

A light touch of chill is nipping under my collar, but god must be a horny devil too, because he blesses me with the man I’m desperate to see. Their front door opens and Cass steps out, as well as one of his housemates. He's tall, built like a viking actually and covered just as much in dark ink. His could be easily covered with a long sleeve though, whilst Cass has ink on his neck and tickling the skin on his hands.

“Em, if you leave, don't forget to lock the back door! I swear if we get home and it's open, I'm not giving you a lift to uni for a week.” Harris–I assume the tall guy is Harris because I stalked their social media after the cafe–shouts and Cass pushes him.

“Don't announce it to the street!”

The guys play push for a few seconds, before laughing and close the door, locking it with a set of keys.

“You know he's gonna leave it open.” Harris mumbles as they stretch outside their front gate. They then set off walking together, back towards the city. They're wearing work out gear, so I can only assume they're hitting the gym or will be on another run.

Pocketing the knowledge that their backdoor may-be my ticket inside, I follow them at a slower pace, but my long legs eat up the space easily. Neither notice me as we hit the neighborhood crawling with students and thank my lucky stars the cardio I do at the gym means I don’t lose them. Yeah my chest is heaving, but as we get closer to campus, they both head into the gym, which I’ll soon be signing up to. Mine may have a stupidly high leavers fee, but what's living off packets of chicken noodles for the rest of the month, if it means I can see him more. Cass laughs at something Harris says before they head inside and I can’t help the pang of jealousy that hits me square in the chest. I barely know this guy, but I know I could make him laugh like that. I want to. Hearing that sound knowing it was over something I provided him with…yeah I definitely want that. It justifies what I’m doing, because as I lean against the point of the alleyway wall across the street, adjusting my jumper as I watch them both start on the treadmills by the front windows, I realise everything I do from now on will all be in the best interest of catching this man. He might be the size of a wolf, but he’s going to be my little mouse in what I have planned for him.

Night flips Cass’s house into darkness and the low, warm glow from his living room window is the only light to fight off twilight. His housemates aren’t in and after I quietly tested out the back door, I can confirm it was unlocked. Oh you sweet, sweet, hot, husky fools. I have no idea what they’re putting in the water in that household, but all three men are very nice to look at. Admittedly though, it’s become very apparent that there's only one Scottish man for me. It’s Cass or no one; I’ve not even noticed other men since seeing him with Grace in the dive bar, when I leant her my book. Kind of feels like I’m chewing on grit thinking of her wanting to try out things in that particular book with him, but that’s not going to happen. I can see the cracks and hopefully he dumps her ass and realises she’s taking advantage of how fucking nice he is.

I don't go into his house, not whilst he’s downstairs, but I do return to the front of the house and linger in the bushes outside the living room window. Even without blinds they never close their curtains, so despite a rose bush thorn sticking right into my left butt cheek, I settle in to watch him. It sends a thrilling zap right down to my toes and I don’t even try to cover up how being this close to him, gets me fucking going.

When I walked home earlier, leaving Cass at the gym, I signed up to the free thirty day trial and formed a plan for my evening. Our first night really, because when we look back hopefully together, this will be the start of it all. I changed into warmer layers knowing I may be out here for a while and I even packed a flask of tea, with a few chocolate hobnobs. Yeah I might be exploring this new kink of mine–abort calling it stalking–but I want to at least be comfortable if I'm freezing my balls off.