'Hey. Can we talk?'

My stomach dropped as I saw the message come through on my smart watch. I thought about ignoring him, but then another text came in that made that impossible.

'I see you don't have your coffee yet. Just so happened to grab you one on my coffee run this morning.'

Shit. He was watching.

I closed my eyes and picked up my phone, grateful that my back was to his house and he couldn't see the expression on my face - which I was sure showcased all my regret and consternation.

'Coffee's brewing inside, but I won't say no to a ready cup,' I typed. 'Come on over. Gate's open.'

I rubbed my eyes and yawned before zipping up my sweatshirt. Of all the days I'd elected to come out braless, today had to be that day.

I'd barely finished when my gate popped open. There was no way he'd walked over that quickly - he must have been waiting nearby.

I mustered a smile. "Hey," I said, keeping my voice low. Six-twelve in the morning was way too early for this bullshit.

"Hey." He grinned, but it wasn't entirely genuine - his eyes stayed flat and dark. He came and sat in the chair beside me, handing me a large iced coffee.

"Thanks," I replied, taking it and swirling it around to mix up the sweetener and cream. "What's up?" No sense in delaying the inevitable.

He sighed and took a deep drink from his own cup. "I wanted to talk about last night."

I'd known, of course, but hearing those words still made my heart speed up. I drank some of my coffee to buy myself a minute.

"Ok," I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. "What about last night?"

His head whipped around to me. "What about last night?" He repeated, his voice incredulous and gaining some heat.

An uncomfortable tingling started at the base of my spine. This was not going well. I needed to defuse this situation, and do it quickly.

"I had a good time," I said. "I thought you did, too. What's wrong?" I forced myself to look over at him. I met his eyes and furrowed my brow. "You seem upset, and I'm not sure why."

"I like you," he said, his voice toneless. "I don't like how you behaved last night after…. A hug? Kicking me out?"

I closed my eyes and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose to stave off the impending headache. "I'm sorry you're upset," I replied. "That definitely wasn't my intention. I thought…." I trailed off. How the fuck could I explain the severe lack of judgment I'd exhibited last night? I forced my eyes open and looked back down at my cup. "I thought we were on the same page with where things stood."

"And where do things stand for you?" His voice still had an edge; I needed to be very careful.

"I thought - "

"I don't want to know what you thought," he snapped. "I want to know how you feel about me."

Oh fuck. Oh fuck fuck fuck.

"I like you," I started.

"You didn't act like it."

I forced myself to turn and look at him, keeping my gaze level. "Do you want me to actually answer your question or do you want to keep jumping down my throat?"

He raised his hands, putting a small smile on his face that again didn't quite reach his dark, flat eyes. "Sorry."

I gave a quick nod to acknowledge his apology before taking another sip of my coffee. This was going to end very, very badly.

"I like you," I started again, "but you and I…it's not a good idea. For a lot of reasons."

His fist clenched around his cup. "So why did you let me fuck you last night?" His voice was gaining volume. Not good.

"Please," I said, forcing myself to reach over and cover his hand with mine. "I get that you're upset, but please don't yell at me."

"I'm not yelling," he growled.

I forced myself to smile, pulling my hand back. "Sorry. It's so early. My sense of…everything…is a little off," I took a deep drink of coffee to cement my point.

"Why don't you think we're a good idea?" He asked after a long moment.

His fucking temper, for one. The fact that he had been watching me this morning - and who knew when else - for two. Either of those answers would lead to more yelling, and I so desperately wanted to avoid that.

"Our lives are way different," I said. "You're gone half the time, and when you're actually here I'm working. We wouldn't get any time together."

"I can be here more."

I shook my head. "I don't want you to change your life for me. If it's right…it should just work, you know?" I shrugged. "And this…you and me…it doesn't work."

What happened next illustrated absolutely every reason I was actually hesitant.

The coffee splashed back into my face as he stood and slammed his cup on the ground. I cried out, more startled than hurt, and brought my hands up to cover my face as my knees pulled up towards my torso. This made the chair become unbalanced - and that wasn't the only thing unbalanced in my backyard.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He hissed, turning towards me. The veins in his neck pulsed as his face turned dark red. "You think a perfect relationship should just materialize out of thin air? You think it doesn't take work? What fucking fairy tale are you living in?" He put his hands on the arms of my chair and lowered his face towards mine. "Grow up. Grow. The. Fuck. Up."

I tried to keep my voice even despite my numb lips and racing heart. "Cash. You're scaring me. Please back up."

He brought his face closer to mine, his eyes finally showing some signs of life as they glittered with malice. After a few seconds, he tilted his head. "Scaring you?" He asked, his voice low. He scoffed. "You really don't fucking know me at all." He slid his hands away from my chair and stood up, crossing his arms over his chest. "You aren't worth any more of my time."

I flinched as he reached towards me, but all he did was pull the coffee from my cupholder. Turning around, he made his way back out my gate, slamming it shut behind him. I waited a few minutes before letting out a shaky breath and standing on unsteady legs. I made my way to the back door as quickly as possible and shut it behind me. It took me a few tries to lock the door and pull the curtains closed.

I slid down to the floor and took a few deep breaths. It hadn't gone well. I had already known it wouldn't, but nothing could have prepared me for what just happened. I rested my head back against the wall.

Finally, a laugh bubbled up in my chest that I couldn't contain.

"He took my fucking coffee?" I asked through my giggles. "What the fuck. What the actual fuck. And he told me to grow up?!" My laughter died down a bit. "And he wonders why…." I shook my head, the smile fading from my face.

It had been bad from the jump. If anything, it should've just been a one-night thing. It should've stayed that way after how he acted the first time, ignoring me until someone else showed interest…and then showing way, way too much interest.

At least it was over. He might be an asshole for a few weeks, but eventually - if I kept to myself and ignored him - it would probably blow over.

I glanced down at my hoodie. Covered in coffee. Great. One more thing to deal with before I had to try to settle into work with shaking hands and sizzling nerves. Jesus, I hated the way he had made me feel. Dick.

I pulled myself to my feet and went into the basement, unzipping the hoodie and throwing it into the washer. I'd just gotten it started when my doorbell rang. I glanced at my watch. Six-forty-six. Probably not the postman.

I pulled my phone out and checked the front door camera. Cash, of course. As I watched, he ran his hands back through his dark hair and huffed "C'mon," before ringing the bell again.

I closed the app and put my phone back in my pocket. Not happening. Not until he'd had at least a day to calm down. I didn't believe he would hurt me, but I also didn't want to test that belief.

I made my way back up to the main floor as he rang the bell again. I kept quiet and stayed away from the windows - no small feat - as I made my way upstairs. My phone dinged in my pocket, and the message showed up on my watch.

'Please answer the door.'

I continued into the bathroom and studied myself in the mirror. Coffee in my hair. Probably needed to deal with that too.

My watch vibrated again.

'Don't ignore me.'

I was tempted as hell to ignore him, but I realized it might lead to another blow up - and who knew what he would do this time.

I pulled my phone out and had several false starts before crafting a message that I hoped wouldn't inflame him any further.

'I need to shower and get ready for work.' I removed a snarky comment about being covered in coffee. 'We'll talk later.'

The bell rang again downstairs a few seconds after my texts indicate that he read the message.

'We'll talk now.'

Fuck that. This one I left on read as I started the shower.

As I pulled the curtain closed behind me, for the first time I wondered if it was worth this.