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Love Flavored Latte - Chapter 25
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“Matt, can I… tell you something?”
It’s time, the thought flashed through Matt’s mind as he turned over to his boyfriend, pretending that he had no idea what the other was going to say.
“Sure, Ray. What is it?”
As expected, Ray was silent for a while, fiddling with his fingers nervously as he kept his gaze fixated on the blanket. Matt couldn’t blame him, to be honest, so he patiently waited for an answer. Besides, he had already guessed what Ray wanted to talk about.
Ever since yesterday, it had been clear as day that Ray was troubled by something, and it took Matt no time to figure out what it was. It was obviously his encounter with that aggressive auburn-haired man, someone who seemed to have left him with unpleasant memories. For the whole day, Ray didn’t look like he was at ease at all, as he looked very drained and constantly spaced out. In fact, he was so haunted by it that he woke up panting heavily just now, which probably pushed him to finally show his doubts.
A few minutes had gone by, yet Ray still said nothing, seemingly insecured about his decision. His hands were shaking again, and Matt took those hands into his, which snapped Ray out of his thoughts.
“Ray, remember what I told you a few months ago, when we were on our spring vacation?” Matt spoke with a small but firm voice as he pressed his forehead to Ray’s. “Tell me everything you want to say. You don’t have say it right now if you’re not ready, but just know I’ll always be there to lend an ear.”
There was almost no light around them, the midnight sky outside a deep dark color, yet Ray’s eyes were still as bright and beautiful as ever. Even though there was still a little bit of uncertainty in them, they no longer held any fear, signaling that Ray had calmed down. He sighed and wrapped his arms around Matt before murmuring.
“Promise me that… you won’t judge…”
Matt returned the hug, his hands lightly patting the other’s back. “Why would I?”
After they had pulled apart, Matt reached his hand over to the lamp on the nightstand to turn it on. As its dim light illuminated the room, Ray took a deep breath and began, his voice quiet and shaking slightly.
“Remember that man who threatened me yesterday afternoon?”
“Yeah.” Matt nodded.
“He…” Ray paused for a few seconds to force his words to come out, “he’s Aaron, m-my ex…”
Aaron… Why did this name sound so familiar to Matt?
“He cheated on me. Aaron cheated on me.”
Those words came crashing down, striking Matt like lightning. He remembered now-this name had appeared in the story Isaac had told him.
This name… belonged to the man who cheated on Ray.
After the realization hit him, Matt was silent, trying to hold in his anger. So, this man not only cheated on Ray, but he also threatened Ray and forced him to get back together with him. Matt absolutely could not understand the reason behind his actions because they were utterly ridiculous. If Aaron cheated on Ray, it meant he was no longer interested in his partner. But now, he suddenly wanted Ray back, even after he himself had abandoned the latter? Moreover, when he failed to convince Ray to forgive him, he resorted to violence. It seemed to Matt that this man just kept getting worse and worse.
“Your ex?” Matt acted as if he knew nothing about Aaron and the awful things he had done. “So you two broke up and he wanted to start things over. But you refused, so he had to use force?”
“I wish it was that simple.” Ray knitted his eyebrows as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “You see, things are… much more complicated.”
Matt sat there silently, waiting for him to continue.
“This mess all started eleven years ago, when I was still a high school senior…”
…__________…
“Ah!”
Ray yelped as he collided into someone, his notebooks falling down and scattering across the floor. In the moment of panic, he made a mental note to himself-never run when turning corners on the school’s hallways. His senior year just started literally four days ago and he had already embarrassed himself, which he yelled at himself for. Of course, some girls would have said they would be more than happy if he bumped into them, but he still felt abashed nontheless. It was even worse when the awkward air was beginning to surround him and the person he had just collided into.
Readying himself, he planned his moves in a specific order: apologize, pick up his notebooks and run. That might make him look even more awkward, but it was better than just idling there like an idiot.
“I-I’m so sorry! Are you okay-“
All of a sudden, everything about his escape plan vanished into thin air. Time seemed to have frozen and the students on the hallways seemed to have stopped walking. All that he knew existed was the taller boy in front of him, the one who was also looking at him with a curious gaze. And before he knew it, his heart had already started to race, a light red shade of blush tinting his cheeks as his eyes were fixated on the other boy. The pair of eyes in front of him was truly gorgeous. They were almond-shaped and their amber color was fiery and fierce, making them absolutely captivating. Ray’s blue ones were stuck to them, unable to look away until the other spoke.
“Hey, you okay?”
His deep voice was what snapped Ray out of his thoughts, pulling his mind back to the situation at hand. That was also when Ray finally realized the handsome guy before him was staring at him quite intensely as well, and the auburn-haired boy had somehow shortened the distance between them without him knowing. Ray’s face burned up as he panicked.
“Ah, uh, I-I’m fine! I’m fine! I’ve got to go now, bye!”
And with that, he knelt down, picked up his notebooks and fled, darting away without a single glance back. That was, by far, one of his most mortifying moments ever. He internally screamed at himself, asking what the heck was wrong with him. He could have just apologized and walked away like a normal human being. But no, he had to stand there like a rock and glue his eyes to the taller boy, embarrassing himself even more.
But then again, could he really blame himself for something he had no control over? Just a moment ago, it was like he was hypnotized by those beautiful eyes. He was in a daze, completely oblivious to the world around him. Not only that, but his heart started to increase its speed as well, his face heating up. That man, his charm was really something. It was bewitching, and Ray couldn’t find a better word to describe it.
…__________…
“Turned out that he was a transfer student who had quickly become popular.”
“He must have something special then,” Matt added, though he still couldn’t help getting a little mad. No matter how popular he is, he’s still a bad person, that was what he thought.
“Yeah, you can say that…” Ray held his head as he closed his eyes, thinking to himself. “Honestly, I don’t know what was wrong with me that day. I don’t even know how I got into a relationship with him in the first place. It just… happened.”
…__________…
Only after Ray had overheard countless conversations that he realized there was a special student who just transferred to his school, and his name was Aaron Lewis.
During the past month, Aaron had been the whole school’s most popular topic, which was why Ray could hear people talking about him almost all the time. It was said that Aaron quickly became well-known across the school in the span of a single day. The moment he walked through the main entrance for the first time, all eyes were on him because of his unique and captivating appearance. His auburn locks were soft and swayed with each step he took. His amber eyes had a bright glow to them, in contrast to his cold and deep gaze. Such perfect combination was what infatuated the girls from the very first second he appeared in front of them.
Now Ray was sure that he had, indeed, bumped into the famous Aaron Lewis the other day. Even though he hadn’t checked the color of his hair, just the blazing gleam in his eyes was enough to confirm who he was.
Ray blushed as he groaned into his hand. He had really embarrassed himself in front of a popular student and he hated himself for it.
Taking a deep breath, he decided to brush it off and went about his day. He couldn’t do anything about it, and it wasn’t like he was going to see Aaron that often anyway.
Well, at least he hoped so. Just two weeks ago, Ray was almost scared to death when he found Aaron attending the same chemistry class as him. He didn’t look like he was even interested in this subject in the first place, so Ray started to suspect Aaron was there for someone, though he didn’t dare think that person was him. Since then, Ray had been seeing Aaron more often, and he desperately asked what he had done to deserve this punishment. Aaron’s sight was absolutely torturous to him because it continuously distracted him.
The last bell soon rung, signaling the end of another day at school. Unlike most of the students, Ray had to stay a little longer because he still had some questions about that day’s lesson. When he was done talking to his teacher, almost every student had already left, and he hurriedly went to get his backpack. Isaac must be waiting for him right now so he shouldn’t make him wait for too long.
After reaching his locker, he unlocked it and was surprised to find something else other than his belongings-a red paper heart. Instead of feeling curious, nervous or excited, he just sighed at the sight of it. Although it had been four long years since his first relationship ended, he couldn’t help feeling hurt every time he saw romantic gifts like this.
As he gently held the paper heart up to his face, the memories of those good old days flashed through his mind. He remembered the exciting yet nerve-wracking feelings of finally being in his first relationship. He recalled the loving words he had received every day, as well as the restless nights he had spent texting his other half. Up until now, he was still appalled by the fact that it had all been a lie. Every sweet things his ex had done for him had all been an act, something to lure him further into the trap. All that guy ever cared for was his boyfriend’s fame, nothing more. He was the reason Ray had been hesitant to enter another relationship no matter how much he wanted to.
He flipped the heart and expected to see a detailed love confession written on the other side, but he was wrong this time. What he found instead was just two words, and they were…
“Aaron Lewis…?”
“Yes?”
Startled by the sudden voice, his body jolted as he let out a yelp. When he turned around, he was frozen on the spot. Standing behind him was the owner of the name, Aaron himself, and on his face was a smirk. Where did he even come from, Ray had no idea, but he definitely looked amused at Ray’s bewildered face.
“What?” Aaron chuckled. “You called my name, so it’s only natural that I answer. Why are you so surprised?”
“Th-That’s not the point here!” Ray stumbled over his words. “Wh-Where did you pop out of? And more importantly, how did you know where my locker is?”
“How did I find your locker? Are you that clueless?” Aaron asked as he inched closer to the other’s face, ignoring the first question. “You’re popular and have lots of admirers, so I could easily find out where it is just by asking around for a while.”
His explanation was logical so Ray couldn’t really argue with it. Standing there idly, he kept his eyes on the floor, feeling the awkwardness slowly destroying him on the inside. After having gathered up his courage, he looked up and saw those amber eyes boring into his, which made his face redden and his heartbeat quicken. He really wanted to run away so badly but his feet somehow stayed still. It was as if his body was disobeying his mind, refusing to move an inch. Feeling helpless, he spoke to break the silence.
“Is this yours?”
“Yeah,” Aaron answered nonchalantly as if it was something easy to admit.
“Wh-Why did you put it into my locker?” Ray shyly asked, his voice small.
“Don’t you like it?”
That question struck Ray like lightning. To be honest, he would be lying if he said he didn’t like it, to his dismay. The moment he saw the other boy’s name written on it, he was sure that his heart had skipped a beat. And now that Aaron himself was standing before him and talking to him, butterflies started to flutter in his stomach. He did not understand himself, causing him to wonder what this guy was doing to him.
“I…” he mumbled, desperately trying to stop himself from saying that he liked this little surprise. But before he could utter his answer, two hands were suddenly placed on both sides of his head, snapping him out of his thoughts. Aaron’s face was even closer now, which made Ray take a step backward. The moment his back hit his locker was when he realized he had been pinned there.
“You’re so easy to fluster. I’ve just teased you a bit and you’re already blushing.”
Ray cursed himself when he finally became aware of the heat in his cheeks.
“You’re very cute, don’t you know that?” Aaron whispered into Ray’s ears, his low voice making the brunet shudder. “I like that about you.”
“Qu-Quit joking around,” Ray stuttered as he put his hands on Aaron’s chest. He initially wanted to lightly push the other away, but he found no strength to do so. Instead, his cheeks burned up even more when he realized he could feel Aaron’s toned body through his shirt.
“I’m not joking.” A playful grin was clearly seen on Aaron’s face. “Ever since the day you bumped into me, I’ve had my eye on you. You’re very different from others.”
Aaron was driving Ray crazy, which was why the latter silently begged him to stop. Ray was certain that his face was now as red as a cherry, and he wondered how much more this guy’s charm could affect him. His body felt weak, his beat was beating rapidly and his mind was a mess. But then, a part of him… enjoyed this moment. Being noticed by a handsome popular student, it made him feel happy and special in a way.
Aaron suddenly removed his hands and reached into his jacket’s pocket, pulling out a small piece of paper which he then gave to Ray. Feeling confused, Ray read the paper to find a phone number written on it.
“That’s my number. Give me a call or text me when you have the answer.”
Aaron said as he turned on his heels, ready to walk away before he was stopped by Ray’s voice.
“W-Wait! Wh-What answer?”
“Answer to my confession, of course.”
Aaron’s confident and quick reply dumbfounded Ray, who found himself at a loss for words.
“Are you saying that… you’re serious about this?” Ray asked as he gripped the paper heart tightly. “You weren’t just messing with me?”
“I told you, I wasn’t joking.” Aaron shot a dazzling smile at Ray. “Well, I’ve got to go now. I’ll see you around, Ray Angevine.”
Ray wasn’t surprised by the fact that he knew his full name. Just like how he knew the location of Ray’s locker, he just needed to ask a few people to find out about it. But how he emphasized his name made his heart beat madly. Ray’s eyes followed the other’s steps until he was out of sight. After Aaron had left, the hallway was silent with Ray standing there all by himself, pondering what had just happened over and over again.
Looking down at the paper heart, Ray gently brushed his hand over the name written on it and found himself staring at it for a while. For some reason, he could feel that Aaron wasn’t just flirting with him for fun. He seemed like he wasn’t lying to him and actually wanted to ask him out. Just that thought alone was enough to make him feel tingling all over as he held the paper heart close to his chest.
…__________…
“I ended up saying yes,” Ray said with his hands covering his face, looking like he was regretting it. “I agreed to date him on a whim and I still can’t believe it.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Ray.” Matt gently patted Ray’s back. “So, two popular students started dating each other… The whole school must’ve talked a lot about it, right?”
“Yeah.” Ray let out a small laugh. “As soon as Aaron revealed our relationship on his social media, literally everyone went crazy over it, and I got millions of questions thrown at me. Isaac soon caught on, and he seemed quite shocked as well.”
The sad look returned to Ray’s face once more as he lowered his eyes. “Why couldn’t I see what Issac saw?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… He didn’t tell me to break up with Aaron, but he did look uneasy…”
Ray trailed off as he recalled his best friend’s words.
“I’m happy for you, but… never mind.”
“Maybe he wanted to tell me to be careful. Maybe he wanted to tell me he had a bad feeling about my relationship with Aaron,” Ray continued. “Whatever he wanted to say, he’d probably never trusted Aaron from the beginning, but he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to upset me.”
It seemed that Issac had been able to spot the red flags early on.
“Our relationship did work out for a while, until everything went wrong, that is.” Ray sighed. “The reason it ended was exactly the thing that’s haunted me all these years.”
…__________…
“A-Aaron, w-wait…”
Ray muttered before letting out a small yelp as Aaron bit his neck. Breathing heavily, Ray asked himself how they ended up here in this situation.
They had been dating for two months, and tonight appeared to be just like any other night with Aaron inviting Ray over to his house for a nice date. Aaron’s parents weren’t home so they had the house all to themselves, as well as some private time together. Ray learned that Aaron loved playing video games just like many teenagers their age, and while the Ray wasn’t really good at it himself, he did enjoy his boyfriend’s company. It always made him feel happy inside to see Aaron’s excited face and enthusiastic energy.
Though tonight, Aaron seemed to have another plan when he said that they would be watching a new movie together. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it, so Ray didn’t have any question. They watched the movie while having some snacks, doing the typical things couples did, until an hour passed.
As the closing credits rolled, Ray was startled when Aaron’s hand started to play with the hem of his shirt. Before he could protest, the other boy had already gone in for a kiss, stopping him from uttering a single word. He tried to convince himself that this was just a passionate kiss, nothing more, until Aaron’s hand went under his shirt and up his chest. Aaron even went for his neck and nibble on it, and that was when the alarm sounded urgently in Ray’s mind. He gathered every ounce of courage he had got to forcefully push his boyfriend away.
“S-Stop!” He panted. “Wh-What are you d- doing?”
“What do you think this is?” Annoyance could be found in Aaron’s tone. “Don’t ruin the mood like this.”
“This, this is…” Ray was unable to finish his sentence, the blush on his face a dark shade of red. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest, but it wasn’t because of excitement. It was rather due to the nervousness building up inside him. “I’m, I’m not… I’m not ready yet…”
He had no choice but to be honest. Aaron’s look of dissatisfaction wasn’t something one wished to see, but Ray didn’t know what else to do. This was the situation where you would bear great consequences if you were dishonest. In this case, the one who would regret it afterward would have been Ray if he had agreed to do it that night.
Despite feeling discontent, Aaron let Ray go home untouched, but it didn’t mean that it had ended there. Ever since that night, Ray had been feeling extremely worried whenever he was alone with his boyfriend. He knew he wasn’t just paranoid for no reason at all because Aaron had constantly shown signs that he hadn’t given up yet. In fact, he was so troubled by it that he brought it up at the dinner table.
“Mom, dad, can I… ask you something?”
“Sure, honey,” his mom replied. “What is it?”
He was silent for while, thinking carefully about his choice of words. “Well, a friend of mine said her boyfriend wants to… do it, but she’s not ready yet, so her boyfriend’s been pestering her about it lately. She asked me what she should do.”
“Punch him in the face.”
His younger sister’s answer silenced the whole family, and everyone stared at her while she nonchalantly continued eating.
“What?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’?” His sister raised an eyebrow at him. “If she’s not ready, then her boyfriend’s wrong for forcing her to do it. That’s toxic, you know.”
“Well, Riley was a little blunt, but she’s right,” his mom said. “It looks like your friend’s in a very unhealthy relationship right now, so maybe it’s better to end it.”
Unhealthy relationship… Ray repeated his mom’s words over and over again in his mind before he secretly sighed. He wished he could be as straightfoward as his sister, because Aaron’s actions had been concerning him these days. He always dropped hints of sex whenever he had a chance, and he even tried to touch Ray at inappropriate places. Even so, Ray ignored it and pretended that he knew nothing about what Aaron was implying. No matter what Aaron did, it wouldn’t change the fact that Ray didn’t want to do it.
He didn’t hate Aaron. He simply wasn’t prepared yet, and he wished his partner could have understood it, but it appeared that his wish was never granted.
Two weeks soon passed, and it was on a Friday afternoon that everything came to an end once and for all. Having finished helping his teacher with some work, Ray got ready to go home for the day. He had already told Issac not to wait for him so there was no need for him to hurry.
Going through the main entrance and exiting the school building, he looked up at the sky and sighed. Aaron had been seeing him less these days, saying that he was busy with things. Ray shook his head as he began walking forward, wondering why he was thinking so much about it. It was probably because Aaron had never been this occupied before, but still, he probably shouldn’t overthink it. He decided to brush it off in the end.
Suddenly, he spotted a familiar figure from the corner of his eye. Driven by curiosity, he carefully approached that person and indeed, it was Aaron that he saw. However, the sight before him sent a wave of shock through him. Aaron wasn’t alone like he had thought. He was with another girl, but that wasn’t all-he was kissing her, pinning her to a tree and gripping her wrists tightly to keep her still.
The girl was breathless after the kiss and asked in small voice. “Aaron… Don’t you have a boyfriend?”
“I don’t care,” Aaron answered without any hesitation. “He’s boring to date anyway. He refuses to do anything exciting and insists on keeping the relationship ‘pure and innocent’. I’m sick of it.”
“What if he finds out?”
“Does that really matter right now?” Aaron had a playful smirk on his face as he held the girl’s chin. “Today’s Friday, so we should focus on having fun instead.”
Aaron’s indifferent words were like thousands of knives stabbing Ray’s heart non-stop. Even if it was already bleeding, they were still ruthless, determined to destroy it, make it fall apart so that it was unable to heal again. Tears threatened to roll down his face as he gripped the tree he was hiding behind, his body shaking and his legs about to give out. He begged that this was just a nightmare that would soon end. He refused to believe what was happening before his eyes, but he was forced to. This was his reality-Aaron cheated on him and expressed how he had gotten bored of him.
No longer able to look at this sight, he fled, his eyes watery and his steps quick. There was no need to hold the tears back anymore, just like how there was no more reasons for him to be in this relationship. He swore that he would immediately break up with this awful person the next time they met, and when he did, he would make sure he told Aaron how much he hated him.
…__________…
Only when Matt wiped Ray’s tears away did the latter realize he was crying.
“S-Sorry…” Ray chuckled and tried to hide the sadness in his tone. “Every time I think about it, I can’t hold back the tears…”
“It’s fine,” Matt spoke in a soft voice as he wrapped his arms around Ray. “You’ve gone through so much as it is. But I’m here with you now, so just let the past go…”
Ray was quiet before hugging Matt back, sighing in relief. He couldn’t believe that he had managed to let all that out and told his current boyfriend about his painful past relationship. He realized that for once, his life had made his wish come true. Everything that had happened, it had all ended. The nightmare had gone away and he had woken up with Matt by his side. This amazing person, he had listened to the end of his story without judging, and now he was comforting him, reassuring him that everything was alright. The thought of it made him smile as he gave the other a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you, Matt,” he said and looked into Matt’s eyes lovingly. “I feel better now. I’m so glad to have such an understanding and supportive person in my life.”
“As long as you feel at ease, I’m happy.” Matt had on a smile as he caressed Ray’s hair. “You should get some rest now. You have work tomorrow morning, don’t you?”
“You’re right.” Ray glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand to see that it was almost one in the morning. “I’m sorry, Matt. I shouldn’t have woken you up.”
“I told you, it’s not your fault.” Matt replied before glancing away, thinking about something. “I’m actually glad that you did. If you hadn’t, then you would’ve kept those doubts all to yourself, and it’s not good for your health.”
“Sorry, I won’t hide important things like that from you again, I promise.” Ray smiled as he lied down along with Matt. “Let’s get back to sleep. It’s late.”
“Goodnight.” Matt gave him a kiss on the forehead before drifting into a deep slumber with the other’s arms wrapped around him.