we can't be friends

2

"Hazel..." It almost sounded like he was humming it. "I like it. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Mccann."

I was caught in such a trance that I jumped a bit when he brought my hand up to his lips to place a gentle kiss on the back of it.

My lips involuntarily parted slightly at the gesture, his gaze meeting mine again as I tried to ignore the pit forming in my stomach.

The playful smirk on his face gave me the impression that he was able to read me with ease in the moment that I stood dumbfounded in front of him. He had to be used to earning that reaction from people.

Ah, the mystery man.

I felt the sudden urge to leave him where I bumped into him once it clicked into place for me, brushing past him as I continued into the direction of the kitchen. I had to laugh at myself and started to shake the interaction off, instead letting myself get annoyed at how many different kinds of beer they were sure to have.

My hand only touched the handle of the fridge door when I realized that I had some company, turning to see Robert beside me with a much less playful expression on his face than earlier.

We just stared at each other in silence for a long time before I retreated over to the island in his kitchen, trying to ignore how much it put mine to shame and his lingering eyes on me.

Still nothing from him.

I huffed a bit at his silence, starting to get impatient with whatever Jedi mind tricks he was trying to use on me.

"Are you always this articulate?" I  

After a few moments, Robert let out a soft laugh as he made his way over to me at the island, now towering above me again as he stood in front of me.

The burning sensation returned to my cheeks when he took my face in his hands. I heard myself gasp underneath my breath when he tilted my head up a bit to force me to look him in the eyes.

All I could do was stare at him in silence as the thumping of the music faded around me, his eyes not leaving mine as he continued to gaze into them with an intensity that made me think he was trying to sear his soul into mine.

"What's the matter, little one? Cat got your tongue?", he said with a soft chuckle in his voice after what felt like an eternity of silence, still not dropping his gaze from mine.

I couldn't find the words to express how I felt in that moment that his eyes pierced so deeply into mine. My body moved quicker than my brain could even finish processing the thought as I made the spontaneous decision to let him know that it wasn't going to be so easy to get what he wanted.

I moved his hands from my face and backed him up against the refrigerator, pinning him there with my arm all in one swift motion. There appeared to be some genuine concern in his eyes, looking at me as if he'd just seen a ghost for an inkling of a second.

Just as quickly as his shock came though, it disappeared. He seemed amused, if not impressed by me and how I'd taken him so off guard.

He placed his hands on my shoulders with the lightest smirk as if his touch was enough to make me melt and release him, but it annoyed me more than anything. I shifted my weight against him a bit more, the intensity of my gaze never leaving his.

It wasn't long before the two of us had an audience, but I kept him pinned there with my arm. It felt as if Robert was secretly enjoying it just as much as I was.

I huffed quietly and kept myself in the same position, looking at him in the face while I leaned in just as dangerously close to him as he was to me earlier.