Lips Like Coffee

cup: 12

Norma

Pen didn't look happy, the scowl on his face was deeper than usual. He sat on the couch, hands folded together as he rested his chin on the inside of his thumbs. I had ever only seen him this concentrated when he was trying to cook (which he is so much better at now). Toeing my shoes off, I moved to stand in front of him then poked his shoulder.

"Yo," I said, and he looked up at me still with a hard scowl. "What's wrong?"

For a moment, he just stared at me until his expression softened and he smiled. Maybe there wasn't anything wrong, and he had just spaced out. He grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers through mine and I took a step back as he stood up. As if just realizing his actions, Pen slipped his hand from mine then covered his mouth as he walked to the kitchen. What was that? Don't just grab my hand then let it go like that! Get back here, I thought, I wanted to hold your hand.

Following behind him, I slid underneath his arm as he held them out on the counter. He blinked then stared at me with a grimace as I stood between his arms. There was something wrong, I saw it in his eyes.

"What happened," I asked, placing the tips of my fingers under his chin.

He hesitated to answer, then pushed away from the countertop as he turned his back to me once again. Taking his wrist in my hand, I pulled him back around to me and stood on the balls of my feet to meet his eyes. Although he was still looking down at me, it felt good to be eye level with him.

I saw a hint of a smile form on his lips, but he hid it by drawing the tip of his tongue over his bottom lip. Focus, I had to remind myself not to be distracted by him.

"You know you can talk to me," I said, taking his hand in mine and mimicking his actions earlier.

"Of course," he replied, then rubbed his thumb over mine.

"Then tell me what's wrong with you."

Pen sighed, bringing the heel of his palm to his forehead as he tilted his head back. When he looked at me again, I pulled the left side of my mouth back as I raised my eyebrows at him. He let himself smile this time, then pinched my cheek as he called me cute. This man, can get beat up if he don't stop squeezing my cheek.

"Stop playing, and tell me what's wrong," I huffed, and pushed his hand away.

"I'm sorry, it's just... I got a phonecall from someone today, and it wasn't anything good," he said, then combed strands of hair back from his eyes.

Was that so hard to say? I took a step closer to him, then wrapped my arms around his torso. The smell of smoke filled my nose instantly, and I wanted to bask in his scent for as long as possible.

"Who called," I said, eyes snapping open at my own frivolous thoughts.

"My sister," Pen said, and I lifted my head from his chest to stare at him. He had a sister? "She lives in Estonia, and just flew in this morning."

"What did she say?"

He paused, bringing his hand up to cover his face and I frowned at that. It had to have been something bad if this was his reaction.

"Our mother isn't doing well, and I have to go see her."

That was oddly vague, but I wasn't going to push him to explain to me. I was glad that he decided to confide in me at all, it was like taking a step forward in our friendship. Steadily, we were making progress toward a better relationship with each other. (I was naïve to things, like lying, when I was young. It was a prominent flaw I had, that I couldn't tell when someone was lying.)