Haven't Had Enough → Chenry

? Chapter Three

    Lyah came into the kitchen and poured herself a cup. "Morning-Henry, two. Charlotte, zero."

     I rolled my eyes, inadvertently pouting at her taunt. "I keep trying to be friendly to him, but he never gives it back. I'm beginning to think he's just a jerk."

Lyah cradled her cup in her palms and furrowed her eyebrows at me. "Hey, give him some credit. He's actually a good guy deep down, I swear."

She downed a gulp of coffee before gagging. "Okay, I tried, but this stuff is atrocious. Why don't we head over to Quincy's and get some coffee there? I have to start my shift soon, anyway."

I nodded eagerly, pouring the rest of my mug out into the sink. "Yes, please."

     We both retreated to our respective rooms to make ourselves presentable before going out. Before I left, I glanced at the photo of my parents that sat on my nightstand. I knew I shouldn't, but I missed them.

     "You coming?" Lyah called from the door. I gave my parents one last fleeting glance before grabbing my notebook and heading out the door.

     We stepped into the elevator and I watched as the doors closed. I could see our reflections in the shiny finish. Lyah leaned forward to examine herself and checked her teeth. She turned to me and asked, "I look okay, right?"

     "Of course," I assured her absentmindedly, not paying it much attention. However, when the elevator doors opened on the ground floor, I did notice the extra bounce in her step.

     "Hey, Charlotte," Jasper called when he caught sight of me. He smiled and waved from behind the front desk. When his eyes landed on Lyah, he sat up straighter. "Lyah! Hi."

     I watched as my cousin stopped in her tracks. "Hey, Jasper," she replied, smiling at him as she drew her shoulders into herself. "What's up?"

     He stood up and shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck and letting out a curt laugh. "Honestly, not much. Business at an apartment building's front desk tends to be pretty slow."

     Lyah nodded thoughtfully. "Well, if you ever get bored, you can always text me or something." Then, hastily, she added, "If you want!"

"Okay, yeah," Jasper agreed, returning her smile. "I will." The two of them stood just silently smiling at each other as if I wasn't even in the room. As endearing as the exchange was, I still hadn't had a proper dose of coffee, so I wasn't feeling nearly as rosy as they were.

"Alright, Lyah, we should get going," I reminded her, gently nudging her toward the door. "That coffee isn't going to make itself."

"Right!" She exclaimed as I continued to push her. "Bye, Jasp!"

Once the door closed behind us and we made it out of earshot, I elbowed Lyah with a knowing smile. She gave me a look in return. "Not now," She said firmly. "You can tease me later. I'm going into my workplace. I need to be professional."

I laughed at her silly excuse, but complied anyway. "Whatever you say."

     We went into Quincy's and Lyah turned to me. "Why don't you go find a seat and I'll bring you a coffee?" I nodded and she headed behind the register to clock in.