Coffee & Criminals

16. Observations

"Do you remember that night in the coffee shop, when I came by to confront you for going to the cops?" Wolfe asked, almost breathlessly. "Because I do. Oh boy, do I remember every fucking detail about that night. I'll admit, you had me fooled. I don't think you understand just how influential you can be, Florence. But that night, you were terrified. You wanted to run for the damn hills. That did piss me off for a moment, that you'd think I'd hurt you in any way. But then again, what was I supposed to expect? Your hostility towards me is pretty clear and you have every right to be. After all, I'm not exactly the nicest guy in the world."

"You can say that again." I added unnecessarily.

His glare was enough to shut me up for the next few minutes. "But there was something else that night. A look in your eyes." Wolfe continued softly. "I've been trying to figure out what that look meant every since that night. When I ran into you today, crying your eyes out, I saw the same look flash by and I realized what it was."

I was afraid to ask. "What?"

"Hope." He answered. "You hoped. Now, I'm going to assume that the kid sitting on those steps is the one who's the cause of your troubles today, right? And I'm also going to assume that there is more than one side to this friendship of yours that you both share. You don't want a guy like that, do you Florence? No excitement. A bland, vanilla relationship." Amusement entered his tone even though I could find nothing funny. "There's no white picket fence in the future for you, is there? You want excitement. You want to fight. You love the fight, just as much as I do. But you'll never ask for one, unless someone else initiates it. Someone who can bring your desires to the surface, show the world that you're not such a good girl after all."

I was afraid to breathe. To what extent he was accurate in his observations, I had no idea. But I wasn't going to show Wolfe that he did get anything right in the first place. Keeping a passive expression on my face, I stifled in the silence of his pauses and the weight of his words.

"There are bad people in the world. I'm one of them myself. But you're not a bad person, Florence. You just want-" Wolfe paused, changing the structure of his next sentence before they left his mouth. "You're not as innocent as everyone thinks. I'm surprised you fooled everyone. Even me, at some point. I can admit that. You are a mystery."

He was quiet for a second, and then continued. "Tonight, I want you to do something for me, okay? Tonight, I want you to stand in front of your mirror. Take a good look at those pretty red lips and those bright green eyes, and then decide if you want to keep this nice, sheltered life you have going on here or if you want something more, something that these ethical, law-abiding citizens can't give you, least of all that goody-two shoed kid waiting for you so he can give you some bullshit explanation as to why he purposely stood you up this morning. And then come pay me a visit when you make up your mind. Have a good day, Florence."

Wolfe unlocked the doors.

I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Muttering a thanks, I opened the door and stepped out, right into a puddle. At this point I could barely tell the color of my own shoes so it didn't matter. Without looking back, I made a beeline for the sidewalk and towards Ade, who finally noticed me when I was close enough to be seen. Wolfe's words were fluttering around my head, trying to form themselves in a way I could comprehend. You don't take offers from wolves. Flustered, exhausted, and dignity torn, I stomped my way up the steps and to the apartment door where Ade was waiting. 

"I can explain-"

"I almost died."

"Listen, something came up and I think you need to- wait, what?" Ade stopped, confused. "Really?"

"No!" I smacked his chest angrily. "But I could have!"

"Oh, Florence." Ade sighed. "Really, I am sorry. I got held up in university today. Everyone did. There was a drug search on campus today."