Latte Love

XII

They had become quite familiar with each other by now. All these weeks led to the start of a great friendship. But as Penny stared at the brown eyed boy, she hoped it would blossom into something more.

"It's a bit too much sometimes, but it still makes me happy." He finished off with a small smile.

When silence greeted them Penny quickly broke out of her stupid stupor, blinking rapidly as she tried but failed to think about what they had been conversing about.

When Cade realized she hadn't been listening, he let his lips curve into a gentle grin. "Am I boring you?" He asked teasingly.

"No-" Her voice came out scratchy, so she quickly cleared her throat and said it more clearly. "No. I just have a lot on my mind." Yeah, and that grin wasn't exactly helping. She let her gaze drop to his lips for a few seconds, before forcing them back to his eyes.

His eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Really?"

"Yeah, just continue." She said, trying to change the subject quickly.

He smiled at her teasingly for a few more seconds before continuing nonetheless.

"We do receive a lot of assignments, but it can be fun." He said trying to be convincing. Penelope had no idea what he was talking about, but she didn't care. "Sometimes." He quickly added with a laugh.

"All the classes are in the morning, so I don't really have anything to do during the afternoon. That's why me and Olivia decided to come to the cafe everyday."

Penny quickly sensed the drop in his mood. How his smile faltered for a second as he said her name. How his eyes seemed to become dull as he remembered those days. And she felt her heart ache for the boy that had his heart broken by his first love.

Cade looked down at his empty cup, before meeting her eyes again. When he saw the recognition in her eyes, he knew Penny was quick to realize who he was talking about.

She knew who he was talking about, but still wanted to know what really happened. She knew it was wrong to pry but she was too curious for her own good. So she hesitantly asked.

"If you don't mind me asking. What really happened?"

As silence greeted her, she felt like she had made a mistake. Maybe she took a step further. And she was just about to apologize for being too nosy, when he answered.

"She fell in love." His voice was a mere whisper and he looked at her sadly.

Looking into his eyes, she felt bad for asking. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It was wrong of me."

He looked at her and shrugged. "It's alright. You must have been wondering where she was, considering she would usually show up with me."

She watched him look out the window, observing those who walk by. Penny gulped silently and asked the one thing that had been gnawing at the back of her mind.

"Do you still lover her?"

His eyes snapped to hers, and he was quiet for a long time mulling over her words. He wanted to ask her how she knew that he loved Olivia. But he stopped himself when he realized that she might have been able to tell by the way he acted around her.

So with uncertainty seeping into his voice, he replied.

"I don't know."