Dirty Little Bastard

49

I had managed to prepare a grilled chicken and vegetable lunch for us.

I had set the table and mentally prepared myself to see Theo. I had already gone through dozens of different versions of the conversation that we were to have.

I was texting Linda for support during my stressing, before the doorbell rang.

"You'll do fine, Scarlett," I told myself quietly as I began making my way out of the kitchen, "he's the one who should be worried, not you."

I smoothed down the front of my top and opened the door.

Theo stood there, giving me a small smile. He looked handsome, as always, but seemed tired on a certain level. I was instantly thinking of what his sleeping schedule has been like.

"Hi," he was the first to speak. I had missed his voice.

He was wearing black skinny jeans and a white shirt, very casual yet neat. I noticed he was also wearing the necklace I had bought him.

"Hey," my voice trailed off at the realisation of him carrying a small bouquet of roses, "wow."

"They're for you," he chuckled quietly and handed them to me. I accepted them and gave him a tightlipped smile.

"Thank you. Come in," I stepped aside to let him enter.

Frosty appeared from the living room. Instead of snarling or being rude to Theo, she walked up to him and cuddled up against his leg.

He glanced back at me while I closed the front door and observed the situation carefully.

"She's missed you," my eyes met his, a deeper meaning between my words.

"She doesn't hate me?" He replied, catching on.

"Hate is a strong word. She could never hate you," I shook my head gently, taking a step closer to him, "she's just confused and hurt."

"I don't want her to be."

I returned his intense gaze for a moment, before realising we'd just been standing in the entry way.

I cleared my throat and broke myself of just ogling at him.

"I've set the table, follow me..."

__

"Why did you leave?" Theo asked, the roses he'd got me in a vase on the table.

"I needed to get away."

"From me? If you weren't okay with me after I told you everything, why did we have sex?" He raised his brows at me, and I sighed after eating a piece of broccoli.

"I didn't want you to know I wasn't okay with you. It would have affected your playing in the final, and I... I didn't want to be a reason why you may have lost," I tried to explain, "it would have been unfair to you. Even if I'm not okay with you, I don't want to cause you harm."

He was quiet for a moment and just watched me.

"If you would have known, when we were dating, that I had had sex with someone else, there would never have been an 'us'," he pointed out, cutting up a piece of the chicken on his plate.

"I know. It's funny how you'd get all worked up over me just spending time with Tim, all while you had had sex with someone else. All when we were just dating."

He sighed and nodded, "it was unfair to you. I know I should have told you, but at the same time I didn't want whatever we had going on to end."