15 Seconds

Chapter 3: Amber

Dedicatioooonsss: Obviously ml <3
and the two kids I cater to. (you know exactly who you are)

______________________

Amber

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, knowing exactly who the source of the voice was. It felt like my day couldn't go by without seeing him for at least a second. 

Bracing myself to come face-to-face with the man who had been cursing my day, I turned around to meet a set of the bluest eyes I'd seen. He didn't deserve such beauty. 

"Why do you ask, are you interested in me or something?" That was all I said before I turned my attention back to the book, flipping a page. I could feel his stare at me, clearly not expecting that response. 

"Careful, assumptions don't do any good." He remarked as I saw him cross his arms and lean sideways against the bookshelves from my peripheral vision. Is it wrong for me to hope the bookshelf breaks?  

Sighing, I flipped a page once again before I felt him coming closer, bringing a finger to my book and pushing it down. "Whatcha' reading there?" He asked, leaving me baffled. 

I moved the book away, still not moving my gaze from the book, although all I wanted to do was take another look at his breathtaking features. Huh? 

"What's it to you?" I inquired, not being able to focus on the page I was reading. 

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that. It was a harmless question." He said, my gaze finally meeting his smug ones. 

"Nothing's harmless with you, Woods." I muttered, shaking my head before I heard a fake gasp coming from him. That bastard was pretending to be hurt. 

"You wound me, my dear Pancake. I'm not that mean, especially not to you." He grieved, a hand on his heart, earning a blank stare from me, hating the sound of that nickname on his lips. 

"Okay, cut the crap. I know you didn't come here to read books nor ask me what I'm doing." I started, not in the mood for his comments, but then again, I never was. 

Straightening up, he cleared his throat. "I need a partner." He stated so blankly, I almost thought it was a joke. I stared at him for a second before shutting my book and scoffing. "I'm good." 

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Lopez. I'm asking you to be my partner for the project, not a life partner." He said, now earning a full-on frown on my face. 

"Wow, thank you for clarifying it. It doesn't make anything better, just so you know." I retorted, placing the book back on its shelf, ready to leave from there. 

"Wait. I'm serious." He said, trying to stop me. I stopped and turned to look at him, tight-lipped.

"Why me? Of all people. We hate each other." I tilted my head, genuinely wanting an answer. He scratched the back of his head, something I seldom saw him do. He opened his mouth to speak, only for him to rethink what he was going to say. 

"Well, compared to others, you're a little more tolerable than them." He finally answered. I scoffed, not folding at his request.

I looked down, regathering my thoughts before looking up at him and speaking up in a firm tone. "I'm truly flattered you think I'm a remotely tolerable partner in a project, but here's the thing," I walked closer to him. "I don't know about you, but I can't bear to be in a room with you for more than 5 minutes, so forgive me if I say no because I'd rather drink rat poison than partner up with you on this project." 

All while I said that he only looked at me with amusement as if he anticipated that response. He moved closer, our noses inches away, almost catching me off-guard as I stared into his ocean-blue eyes.