Page 34 of Unforeseen Love

The day drags, and by the time I’m finally back in the flat, I just want to veg out on the sofa, eating comfort food and reading my book with the TV on in the background.

Dressed in an oversized T-shirt, I pull on a pair of bed shorts and find my fluffiest socks. I pour myself a large glass of wine and cut myself a slice of Oreo cheesecake I made yesterday. I’ve been dreaming of this all day long. I bring the fork to my mouth and savour the taste.Delicious.

Sitting down in the living room, I get comfortable and take another bite when I hear the heavy pad of footsteps.

“It’s under control, Uncle Ewan,” Theo says.

I turn to peer over the back of the sofa, ready to ask him how the kittens are doing, but the words fall short as I see him walk into the kitchen in just a pair of grey jogging bottoms, hung precariously low. I raise an eyebrow. Got to love an open-plan kitchen and living area.

“Well, I’m just worried about you that’s all, son, with all these lockdown measures in place,” Ewan replies, and I realise he’s on FaceTime.

“I know, but you don’t need to, we’ve got it covered,” he replies and gives Ewan a sincere smile.

Theo reaches into the fridge and pulls out the plate with the cheesecake, and I see him contemplating his next move. Last time he ate something of mine without asking, we had a twenty-minute argument over it, so I’m interested to see what he will do next.

He chews on his lower lip and sighs, and for a brief moment, I wonder if he’s going to put it back, but he doesn’t. Instead, he shrugs.

“Fuck it,” he says, and I hear Meredith’s voice.

“Language, Teddy.”

I tuck my lips between my teeth as to not laugh and I carry on spying on him. I remember the last time I found myself spying on him, only this time, he’s completely oblivious to my presence. He hasn’t mentioned what happened and neither have I. But I think he’s just biding his time, like he does with everything when it comes to embarrassing me.

“Sorry, but you do know I’m an adult and it’s not illegal to swear,” he says, cutting into the cheesecake and bringing it to his lips. His eyes close when his mouth wraps around the spoon and I hear him hum. It’s hard to be annoyed with him stealing it when he seems to genuinely like how it tastes.

“How is Sienna getting on?” Ewan asks, and my ears perk up at his question.

Theo licks his lips, leaning back on the counter, holding his phone out in front of him.

“Yeah, yeah, Morticia is perfectly fine,” he grumbles with a shrug, and I swear he rolls his eyes.

“What’s that, Teddy?”

Ewan says something to Meredith about him calling me Morticia and Meredith’s laugh fills the speakers.

“Oh, Teddy, you used to have such a crush on Morticia Addams when you were a boy. Don’t you remember, Ewan? He even had a poster of her on the back of his bedroom door. Something tells me your naming of that kitten isn’t just a coincidence either.”

Theo’s jaw drops open as he tries to splutter a response, but it’s drowned out by Ewan’s laughter.

“I can’t believe I forgot about that,” Ewan says. “That kind of makes more sense now I come to think about it.”

Theo scrubs his palm over his short beard and grumbles under his breath.

“And on that note, I’m going.”

“Oh, don’t go, we’re only teasing,” Meredith says, but Theo shakes his head.

“Love you, bye,” he says, swiping the screen and dropping his phone onto the counter.

I shift in my seat and the fork clatters against the plate, alerting him to my presence. His eyes spring to mine, his lips rising in a smirk.

Embarrassed, I face the other way and reach for the remote and turn on the TV.

The sofa dips next to me, and I say nothing as his annoyingly familiar scent fills my senses.

I flick through the channels until I land on Dexter and place the remote beside me and pick up my plate, trying in vain to ignore Theo.

“You know it’s not nice to eavesdrop,” he says.

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