The Sun, The Moon and The Ocean

chapter five

Noah nodded to his sister and grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter and spun them on his finger while he waited for Addie to slip on her shoes. I suggested that Cooper and I tag along but Addie struck me down immediately. "No, no," she insisted, waving her hand back and forth. "Someone needs to babysit the disabled man, make sure he doesn't slam into the walls."

Cooper just shook his head and laughed and then the siblings were out the door. Addie sent a secretive wink my way. It was just me, Sydney and Cooper.

It was silent for awhile until we started to small talk about the day. "Yeah, I haven't surfed in a while so it felt good to finally get out there," I bubbled, bringing my knees into my chest as I sat on the sofa. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, it was pretty fun for me too," Cooper replied.

I smiled but questioned, "You never even touched the water, though. Even when Noah went in for a bit." Cooper's cheery expression faded slowly, "Yeah,um. The ocean isn't really my thing."

I wondered why my inquiry caused the energy of the room to decline so much. It didn't feel comfortable anymore and I felt like I was to blame for it.

"Hey, uh, Sophia?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Can I touch your face please?"

I blinked my eyes a couple times before letting out a confused groan out of my mouth. "I know, I know," Cooper began, "But I would like to get an idea of what you look like if our friendship continues so, if its alright with you.."

It took me a few seconds to accept the idea but I sat next to him, facing his body. He thanked me and smiled softly. He also shifted towards me, our knees leaning against one another. His face was parallel to mine but his eyes still searched above my skull. He raised his palms hesitantly up to his chin then slowly towards my cheeks. I tensed a little, readying myself for his fingers on my soft skin.

Fingertips made contact with my cheeks and Cooper smiled at me and I smiled back. He then started to gently move his hands out to the side of my face and down my jawline and continued that motion a few times. He nodded to himself, "You have a very soft and rounded face." I hummed in response. His hands started roaming once more, this time gliding to my nose and he snickered, "Of course you have a button nose, you're even cuter than I thought."

I was sure he could feel the heat beneath his hands.

Cooper continued his search, he smoothed my eyebrows then lightly closed my eye lids and made his way down to my chin. The tip of his finger tapped my plump bottom lip, "Is this okay?"

"Yes."

Cooper's finger soothingly rubbed side to side upon my lip then up to my bow tie and outlined my mouth. Finally, he made a full circle on my countenance, retracing his steps around my face. His hands pulled away and rested in his lap. He appeared very content, the corner of his mouth tugged upwards and some smile wrinkles I never noticed before emerged. In fact, I'd never been this close to Cooper.

He had a couple freckles along his dark cheeks and no facial hair, not even some fuzz. His lips were thin but his upper lip was more formed than mine was. His gray eyes were large and almond shaped and despite their cloudiness, his eyes were charming in a weird way. They looked like a thunderstorm in his iris with black surrounding it; so mysterious, so alluring.

"I usually offer people to touch my face afterwards, so if you would like to," Cooper offered while he laughed. I giggled along, "Oh, why yes, I'd love to." Even though I tried to act cool and jokingly, I felt my heart soften as my hands rested upon Cooper's face. I felt him smile and my heart bounced.

Then the door opened, Noah and Addie entered the room. Addie raised the pack of beer high in her arm and grinned largely but Noah was different. He laid his eyes upon me and Cooper sitting on the couch, my hands caressing his face. Noah stood up straighter and his eyebrows furrowed. Before anything could be said, Cooper patted my knee twice before getting up from the cushion and slowly walking to the kitchen.

Noah and I locked gazes for a couple seconds before he blurted, "Sophia, can I talk to you in the hallway?" Cooper and Addie's facial expressions were just as puzzled as mine was. "It's about work," Noah assured. I swallowed gently before nodding and standing up, "Of course."

In silence, the two of us exited into the hallway and Noah closed the door behind him, which made me uneasy. "Is everything alright, No-"

I was cut off. My body was pushed against the wallpaper and Noah's angry eyes were staring into mine.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

woohoo! we're on time this week! hope you're starting your week off with a smile (i'm not lol school is so draining) and maybe this update might cheer you up a little! we got an intimate but intense chapter for ya.

remember to comment and vote! i love you guys so much, we're almost to 150 reads and thats just crazy. thanks you guys!

♡ nicole robinson