Brice was the first to break the stunned silence that followed. "Ooooh! Oh my God!" He squealed. His face displayed a mixture of shock and amusement, but mostly shock. I suppose not very many people had the courage to throw hot coffee into Wolfe Sterling's face. And yet, to make matters worse, Brice continued. "Florence! What've you done? Oh my God. Holy shit. Holy fuck. Holy mother of God. Hold on, I have to take a picture of this- oh, man! Jasper's gonna love this-"

Wolfe suddenly lunged towards me. I squawked with terror, thinking he was coming after me, and dashed out of the way. With a murderous look in his eyes, Wolfe snatched up the roll of paper towels I had been in front of and angrily ripped some out. "I'm going to kill you." He growled softly.

I didn't know whether he was talking to Brice or to me, but I was willing to bet it was me the threat was directed towards. Meanwhile, Brice was having the time of his life. He now had his phone out and was angling for the best shot of Wolfe drenched in coffee.

And what was I doing, you ask? What was I, the girl who just threw hot coffee into the face of one of the worst criminals in New York City, a well-known mobster, and the leader of a high-powered mafia that had Brooklyn on lockdown, the man behind the car chase that would go down in history, the one and only Wolfe Sterling, doing? Well, I was chewing on my bottom lip and trying to imagine what kind of coffin my parents would get for my upcoming funeral. Because, let's face it, I was going to die and I was going to die very soon.

As if this was not bad enough, some part of my brain decided to make it worse by talking. Nothing ever ended well when I opened my mouth. Not that this was going to end well either way, but whatever. I put down my now empty cup of coffee on the counter, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm sorry."

In the middle of wiping himself down, Wolfe paused just as the flash of a camera went off. Brice, still too amused by this whole situation to care, mumbled, "I'm going to put this on my Snapchat story." to himself. Wolfe glared at him but Brice had already ambled away, chuckling to himself. Now that Brice was gone, he turned his attention to me as I tried to fumble up an apology.

"Y'know-" I thought out loud. "-is was kind of your fault, Wolfe. If you really think about it. I mean, not the coffee part. I take full responsibility for that and I apologise. Actually, now that I think about it, it's not your fault. Sorry, I don't know where I'm going with this. You have a little-" I poked the collar of his shirt, which was staining from the coffee soaking in all over. "-something there-"

The look in Wolfe's eyes changed drastically from anger to even angrier anger. It was then I knew that I should take full advantage of my flight-or-fight instinct and get my sorry little butt out of there before Wolfe really did kill me.

Like an idiot, I darted out of the kitchen, nearly tripping over my own feet and panicking all at the same time. I was about to cry. "I'm sorry!" I squealed as the door swung shut. Not a moment later, it was pulled open as Wolfe ran after me, initiating a terrifying chase that I wanted no part of.

"Florence!" Wolfe growled. Footsteps followed almost immediately after mine. "You better fucking get back here before I-"

I didn't give him a chance to continue. Dashing madly around the tables and chairs like an idiot, I babbled on with my apologies. "I'm sorry, Wolfe! Really, what more do you want? I said I was sorry- ouch! I stubbed my toe! I stubbed my toe! Can we call like a time-out here or something? Oh, man-" I howled in pain, clutching my foot in one hand and hopping along with the other while still trying to get away from the big bad man chasing me. It was horrifying. There was nothing worse than being chased. And this was no ordinary fruitcake man either, this was an international serial killer.

There we were, running around the Espresso House, with Wolfe still holding a handful of paper towels and his face adorably crinkled with anger, and me, half-sobbing and half-pleading for my life in terror as Brice watched on with shock from behind the counter. I couldn't outrun Wolfe like this...but I could hide from him.

Ding! That's the sound of the lightbulb over my head turning on.

"That's not fair, you're faster than me!" I wailed frightfully as I made a mad dash towards the open basement door. It locked from the inside, I'd be safe there. Wolfe had paused to throw away the paper towels in a nearby trashcan. Realizing that I had an escape route now, Wolfe went back to chasing me. This time, he advanced quite quickly. Before I could slam the basement door shut behind me, a thick combat boot kicked it back open. Wolfe flung the door open. I squealed bloody murder and nearly fell down the rest of the basement steps from fright.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" I panicked as Wolfe came down the steps. I was at the bottom and he was catching up. Seeing no other choice, I went for the cellar door. To my utter relief, it was open. Flinging the door open, I slipped inside. Before I could lock it, however, Wolfe once again used his boot to keep the door open. He also flung this one open.

I was terrified out of my mind at this point. Standing still, Wolfe was harmless. It was the chasing that frightened me so badly. Things that chased me were not good things. Oh God, I hated things coming after me. I hadn't been chased very much except by dogs. (Once, I was chased up a tree by a pitbull but I fell out of the tree because I saw a cicada shell and it scared me and that is the story of why my nose is shifted one millimeter to the left.) For a man to do this, it gave off that very horrifying 'axe murderer out for blood' kind of feel. Which, to be honest, wasn't very far off from Wolfe Sterling.

"Florence!"

"Wolfe, I'm sorry!" I repeated for the tenth time. I was trying to close the door but he was pushing back at it. His strength was no match for mine and one panicked moment later, I gave up. Scrambling for the tunnels (I don't know why I was headed for the tunnels, they held a worse fate than what Wolfe could do. I guess I preferred the worse fate over him, though. I mean, come on. This was Wolfe Sterling we're talking about here.) I barely made two steps towards them when a hand clamped down on my wrist and yanked me back.

To my horror, I found myself pinned against the wall. His hands were on either side of the door, caging me in with no space to even move. I flailed wildly for a second, only coming to an abrupt stop when one of Wolfe's hands captured both of my own. He bent down and placed something on the floor beside my feet. I was too distracted to see what it was.

Seeing no escape route, I finally gave up.

Our close proximity was making me nervous, but Wolfe didn't look nervous at all. He kept my hands pinned and back against the wall, using his own body to keep me captive. My heart was pounding hard enough that I began to think Wolfe was going to hear it. Nerves clenched my stomach. When Wolfe dipped his head towards my shoulder, I nearly fainted. He smelled like coffee. Really good coffee. Like, really really really good coffee.

Suddenly, he snapped his head back up. I flinched, taken by surprise. A devilish smirk tugged up the corners of his mouth. "Florence." The way he said my name made butterflies clash in the core of my stomach. He didn't sound as angry as before, just...perceptive now. Like he was expecting something.

I faltered, not knowing what to do. Did I regret throwing the coffee in his face? Not really. Not after what he made my parents do. Of course, I could have come at this in a much better way. I was almost an adult now, I should be doing adult things like taxes and not dumping hot coffee over the heads of dangerous criminals. But I did regret the consequences that followed. Well, not really regret. More like...terrified of them.

I tried to squirm away but he merely just grabbed the sleeve of my sweater and pulled me back. The tiled wall of the cellar was cold against my skin and the heat coming from Wolfe's body wasn't really helping either. Clasping my hands behind my back, I gave Wolfe a cheerful grin. "Hi."

"You have no idea how hard I'm struggling not to kill you right now." Wolfe growled. "What the fuck was the point of doing that, Florence? First the coffee, and then you make me chase you around this entire place as if I don't have better things to do. I don't have time for this." He sighed heavily, his breath fanning across my cheek. He smelled like peppermint. Really good peppermint. Really really really good peppermint. Wolfe didn't move back or let me go. I was getting more and more uncomfortable by the second. He looked at me warily. "Apologize and I'll let you go."

I gave him an 'are you kidding me' look. I wasn't about to bow down to the great Wolfe Sterling. I had too much pride to do that. Besides, I didn't regret what I'd done. It was hilarious to see his reaction, and I'm glad I made Brice's day. "I appreciate the offer but no thank you. Besides, I already said I was sorry."

"I want a real apology." He demanded.

I frowned. "You're so conceited."

He shrugged, seeing as though I wasn't going to budge. Literally and figuratively. "Your choice."

"Yes, it is my choic- stop that." I interrupted myself as I felt Wolfe's fingers brush across my neck. Slapping his wandering hands away, I continued. "If we're going to be demanding apologies, I believe you have one for me. Or at least, for my parents. What kind of lunatic just barges in with a gun and- stop, Wolfe! What are you doing?"

Resting with one hand against the wall above my shoulder, he used his free one to touch the pendant of my necklace. Vexed now, I had to pull his fingers away and shove him back. It didn't work. The shoving part, anyways. He merely smirked and picked up my pendant with two nimble fingers, curious. The necklace was low-hanging and had been nestled into my sweater before Wolfe had pulled it out. Now, his fingers were very close to skin that I didn't want him to touch. He raised his eyes and met mine with merriment. "Cute necklace. Where did you get it?"

I had to stifle a chuckle at that. "Are you looking for gift recommendations-"

"No." Wolfe said loosely. "I just saw one like it at this store. You know, before we robbed it and set the place on fire."

"I think you might be missing that part of your body where you keep your soul. It may be called the soul hole, but I'm not sure-"

"Florence."

"What?"

"I'm asking you nicely."

"To apologize?" I sighed. It was obvious Wolfe wasn't going to let me go without getting one. He raised his eyebrows and waited patiently, clearly taken by this whole situation. He was loving it. That's because he was the one in control. I wish someone would knock Wolfe off his pedestal. Finally, I gave up. "Fine. Wolfe, I am deeply, truly, sincerely sorry about throwing coffee into your hideous face." I patted his cheek in reconciliation. "I didn't mean to do it. It was an instinct and I really should have considered the consequences to my reckless actions before I did them. You are a wonderful man and you did not deserve that. There. Are you happy?"

"Not quite-"

"Oh my God-"

"First-" Wolfe had a smirk on his face that made me think the worst. He was so...attractive, I wanted to punch him. Leaning closer, Wolfe turned his head and offered me the side of his face. "-give me a kiss."

Horrified (and also kinda turned on) I nearly slapped him out of fury. "No!" I snapped. "Are you kidding me? What kind of-" I choked on my own words when Wolfe suddenly whipped his head back, meeting my eyes with a challenging look of his own. There really was no getting out of this, was there? I myself was surprised at how easily my submission came. Sighing and groaning to voice my displeasure, I leaned up on tiptoes.

Just as I was about to brush my lips against his cheek, Wolfe moved back.

Quick as a wink, he reached down to pick up what he had placed on the floor earlier. I had forgotten it was there, not having seen what the object was earlier. Now, I realized exactly what it was and what Wolfe planned to do with it.

It was a cup of coffee.

"Wait, no!" I gasped, scrambling to get out of the way before it was too late. Wolfe only chuckled, the sound soft filled with amusement. When I couldn't slip past him, I panicked and tried to grab his wrists to stop the movement. But then, it was too late. Wolfe raised the cup of coffee over my head and slowly poured the hot liquid right over me like I had done to him.

I stood against the wall, my mouth agape and the coffee splashing all over me. In a matter of seconds, it had drenched over my hair and clothes. The stickiness was quick to follow. The coffee was only lukewarm, thank goodness. However, I couldn't get over the initial shock of what Wolfe had just done. I suppose, since I had done the same thing to him, I did deserve it.

"Aw, fuck you." I grumbled, wiping my face with the sleeve of my sweater. I loved the smell of coffee, sure, but not as perfume.

Dangling the cup from one finger, Wolfe moved back. He had the biggest smirk on his face. I wanted to kill him. He stepped towards the door and looked back once. The conceited, infuriating look on his face was enough to make me despise him even more. Wolfe laughed softly and gave a little mock salute. "I look forward to working with you, Florence."

"Fuck this."

"I love you, Florence."

"Fuck off."

"You're my angel, Florence."

"Fuck me."

"Gladly."