You Don't Know Me
She stared into the mirror, nervous, excited, hopeful. Inviting him to her party had been a spur of the moment decision. She'd thought perhaps in a group of people he didn't know he might gravitate toward her, might choose to stay close to her, see her in a different light. Less friend, more woman.
It was probably a foolish move. Most likely, he would bring Hathaway and even at her own party she would be a third wheel. There was nothing to do now. It was in the hands of fate.
She'd only caught glimpses of him throughout the night. He'd seemed incredibly uncomfortable. Each time she would try to go to him someone would stop her, holding her prisoner until she'd lost sight of him.
As she was blowing out the candles on her cake, he finally made his way to her. Her heart pounded, she wanted to think it was the excitement of the cake and too much booze. But she knew it was his proximity.
"Happy Birthday." He leaned in to kiss her check.
She leaned into him, pressing her lips to his cheek. Inhaling deeply, the smell of him filled her senses. It wasn't cologne, just him. Pulling away before she was overwhelmed and did something foolish she smiled up at him, "Thanks, Robbie. I didn't think you'd turn up. Are you having a nice time?"
He nodded, nonchalantly, "Yeah, considering…"
Panic filled her, had he figured out her real reason for inviting him, "Considering?"
He knew he'd upset her, "Well I'm out of practice with parties and such. And it's louder than expected."
She laughed, wondering what he'd expected when she invited him. "Well they were all medical students once upon a time." Raising her glass she smiled, "A couple of glasses of this stuff and they revert." Sensing his need for an exit, she blurted out, "Hey do you play cards?"
Unsure at her question, "A bit of cribbage with me granddad years ago." She made a face, and he found himself explaining, "But just for matches."
Knowing her gambit had failed, she pointed in the direction of one of the other rooms, "Some of the guys are organizing a late night poker session." He looked away and she added, "Probably not for matches."
Shaking his head, he didn't want to hurt her feelings. "Not my scene."
Desperate to keep him close for just a moment longer, "Where's James?"
"I have no idea."
They stared at one another each drinking deeply from their champagne flutes. Before she could stop herself, she was cupping his cheek. At his startled look she brushed her thumb over his cheek, removing the minute trace of her lipstick.
He stared down at her, as if he was indulging a child and she pulled her hand away. Hearing someone call her name, she smiled up at him. "Don't leave without telling me goodbye."
"You won't even notice I'm gone."
Trying not to sound like she was begging, she lightly touched his chest, "Promise me."
He looked down at her hand, surprised, but not displeased, by the touch. "OK, I promise."
She felt her mobile vibrate in her pocket. Looking at the screen, she saw it was Robbie. Pressing the button to answer, "Robbie?"
"Laura…" She stepped into the garden, to hear him better and saw the lights flashing across the road. "Listen, sorry to be party poopers, but something's come up." She heard James' voice in the background, "I'll call you tomorrow."
He was gone before she could say anything. She was left holding a phone with nothing but dead air. Tears filled her eyes, unbidden. She let them roll down her cheeks.
Anger built in her chest, why couldn't he see? It wasn't as if she was an enigma, most people thought she was pretty straight forward. What you get is what you see? But, somehow, Robbie Lewis was completely clueless. He would continue to break her heart, time and time again for as long as she let him.
She heard the door open, the noise of the party spilling into the garden, "Laura, here you are. I've got someone I want you to meet."
Wiping the tears off her face, she tucked her mobile into her pocket. Plastering a smile onto her face, after all it was her birthday party, she turned. "Well you've found me Ellen, it wasn't as if I was hiding."
Ellen motioned inside, waving to someone just out of sight. "I've wanted you two to meet for ages. Tonight seemed the perfect occasion." Laura fought a grimace, the last thing she needed right now was one of Ellen's notoriously bad set-ups. "Laura, I'd like you to meet Franco, he's only just moved to Oxford and needs someone to show him around."
You give your hand to me
And then you say hello
And I can hardly speak
My heart is beating so
And anyone can tell
You think you know me well
But you don't know me (no you don't know me)
No you don't know the one
Who dreams of you at night
And longs to kiss your lips
Longs to hold you tight
Oh I am just a friend
That's all I've ever been
Cause you don't know me (no you don't know me)
The song actually applies to the first part where Robbie is completely oblivious to her and the rather dismissive way he left. The last little bit is just Laura meeting Franco, talk about dishy. Franco might come up again in an AU way. Fair warning, the next few chapters will likely be angsty. I do like to make them suffer.
The song is You Don't Know Me. There are multiple versions but the version in my playlist is by Ray Charles. It is also one of my favorite songs to sing. In a former life (AKA my 20s) I was a wedding singer. This, surprisingly, was never a song I was asked to sing (noteworthy because I was asked to sing some TRULY inappropriate songs as first dance songs). But I also sat in with a nice little jazz band and I did get to sing it a lot with them.