"You forget how hard it is to ignore someone who looks the way you do," He replied smoothly, taking advantage of the close proximity between the two of us.
Running his large hands slowly down my arms before looping them around my waist possessively...
Living with Matío was like walking on eggshells in a minefield. Every conversation felt like a sparring match, but it was the silences that drove me insane. He was always either coming or going, his phone glued to his ear or his focus on some spreadsheet or file that looked like it belonged in a Fortune 500 office.
And I hated him for it.
Not because he was rude or dismissive. No, Matío was annoyingly polite— stoic, even. Like the weight of the world was on his shoulders and my presence was just a mild inconvenience in his busy schedule.
What I hated most was that he was impossible to figure out. He kept his walls so high that even after knowing him my whole life, I didn't have a single clue what went on inside his head. But he could read me like a book. How is that possible?
Like this morning, for example.
I was perched at the small kitchen table with my laptop, sipping on a cup of coffee I'd made myself because Matío's fancy espresso machine was basically a spaceship with buttons I didn't dare touch. You'd think I would be an expert considering I'm literally a barista at a damn coffee shop— but no.
I was casually scrolling through apartment listing because of course, I had to in order to get my shit together. He walked in, hair damn from the shower, dressed in that annoyingly put-together way he always was; crisp button up sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black slacks that probably cost more than my rent— well my old rent.
"Morning," He muttered, his voice low and gravelly, like he hadn't used it much yet today.
I didn't look up from my computer, "Morning."
He moved around the kitchen like he owned the place—which, of course, he did— grabbing a mug and pouring himself a cup of coffee. I kept my eyes on my laptop, pretending not to notice the way he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, like he was checking to see if I was still there.
"Work today?" He asked finally.
"Yep," I replied, keeping my answers clipped. I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of a full conversation unless he earned it.
