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Love Flavored Latte - Chapter 9
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“It’s from Professor Angevine.”
That one simple sentence had the whole group stunned, except for the one who said it. As for the two girls, they looked at Ethan, then at Matt, and the whole process repeated until Matt broke the silence.
“Excuse me, but what?”
“You heard me.” Ethan grinned. “Professor Angevine gave it to you himself.”
“W-Wait—What—But—Hold on—” Chloe was incapable of deciding how she should word her confusion, constantly pausing and holding her finger up, doing all kind of poses with her hands. “How?”
Really, all that struggling just for a “how”, Matt thought that, but a part of him couldn’t blame her. In fact, he admired her for still being able to talk, as Matt himself was speechless right now. He chose to stay quiet and hear Ethan’s side of the story.
“You remember when I said a professor greeted me before Matt fainted? That’s him, Professor Angevine,” Ethan said. “He absolutely panicked when he saw Matt passing out.”
“And…?” Chloe raised an eyebrow, clearly not liking it when Ethan paused for too long.
“And after telling me to bring Matt home, he touched Matt’s forehead, took off his own scarf and wrapped it around Matt’s neck, saying that he needed to stay warm.”
The person who was given the scarf had his mouth agape. “A-Are you sure you’re not making this up?”
“If you don’t believe me, ask him yourself.”
Ethan’s grin became even wider as he was sure that was enough to convince Matt, who then slowly brought up his hand to touch his forehead, feeling the unfamiliar but pleasant warmth of it. He blushed at the thought of that elegant hand making skin contact with him.
“This is so surreal,” Matt mumbled quietly, not knowing what else to say as he buried his face deep into his palm.
“God, you’re such a teacher’s pet, Matt.”
Chloe teased, forcing Matt to look up and spout out nonsense as he tried to deny it. He didn’t know when they had become so good at poking him at the exact right spot like this. Or maybe, they had always been like this but had no chance to truly show their skills until now. He had to endure it either way.
…__________…
When he walked into Professor Agevine’s class a few days later, his hand were tightly gripping his messenger bag as they sweated.
He kept his eyes on the floor the whole time, not daring to look straight at those beautiful ocean blue eyes that he loved, the pair of eyes that he was usually unafraid to stare into as long as their owner didn’t turn his head and catch him in the act. He really didn’t know why he was acting this way because it just seemed so unnecessary. All he got was a scarf that was meant to keep him warm, and yet he was feeling embarrassed just because of it. He hadn’t done anything wrong, he had done nothing that could upset Professor Angevine, the man whose gaze Matt could feel on him from the first second he stepped foot into the classroom.
To be completely honest, even though Matt hadn’t done anything blamable, his professor’s worried look made him feel like he had. Sitting idly in his seat, he tried his best to properly hold his pen, the object that brought back memories. It was strange, really strange, about how he had confidently showed Professor Angevine how to twirl a pen, but was now ashamed by the fact that he had received an innocent scarf from the said professor.
There was some kind of conflict in his mind, he was sure of it, although that wasn’t important right now. He probably should worry about his professor’s expression instead, because things weren’t looking really good at the moment.
Professor Angevine always had on that calm and positive attitude as he passionately taught his students what he knew and loved. But today, Matt could truly feel like something was missing, and he quickly pin-pointed that it was the professor’s enthusiasm. His classmates didn’t seem to be able to notice it, but he did. He could tell the drastic difference between today and the usual, which made worries build up inside him. Again, why he was feeling so afraid, he did not know. But he knew for sure that it was having quite a negative effect on Professor Angevine, though the reason he also did not know.
The bell soon rang, which he was extremely grateful of, as the suspense was killing him on the inside ever so slowly. One hour of class had never felt so long to him until now.
His friends, like the damn teases that they were, had already knew what to do as soon as class ended, and it was to get out of the room and let Matt do his own thing. Every one of them had that stupid grin glued to their faces as they jollily walked out of the room. It seemed that they knew nothing about the tension currently looming around Matt, though he couldn’t really blame them. This was his problem now, and he himself should deal with it.
To his surprise, no one was occupying the space around his professor’s podium today, and he wasted no time to take this rare opportunity. Gathering all the courage he had got, he walked up to Professor Angevine with slow but sure steps, his gaze courageous. The professor didn’t look like he had noticed his student yet because he was busy putting away his papers and books, but he looked up as soon as he heard footsteps approaching him.
“Matthew?” He asked with his voice filled with surprise. “Is there anything you’d like to ask me?”
Matt gulped, hand reaching into his bag to pull out the thing that was the reason he had decided to walk up to the older man. After reminding himself stay calm in his mind, he shyly put it out in display between them, eyes staring at it as he tried his best to talk clearly.
“Professor, I-I want to return… this.”
The scarf had suddenly become his newfound interest and he could not take his eyes off it. Or, it was simply because he was too nervous to look anywhere else. He could feel it again, feel that gaze on him, but this time it was different. He could feel relief and care in it, filling his heart with its warmth and making his worries vanish.
When the scarf was taken from his hands, he finally had the courage to look up, and it was totally worth it. He saw the pair of eyes that were lovingly looking down at him, as well as that gorgeous smile that he could never get enough of. This reminded him once again of how much he loved these small but precious interactions of theirs, along with how much he had fallen for this man. He had always thought he could never love his professor more, but every one of their encounter, every smile of his proved him wrong every time.
“Thank you, Matthew. Is this why you’ve been afraid to talk to me?”
“M-Maybe…” Matt replied, scratching the back of his head. “I’m sorry for making you worried.”
“It’s really okay, Matthew.” Professor Angevine leaned down a little as he spoke. “The most important thing now is whether or not you’re feeling well.”
He might or might not have intended to close the already short distance between them, and for a second, Matt’s breath hitched upon realizing how their faces were literally just inches away. Matt could observe every inch of beauty in those attractive eyes that held the calming blue shades of the spring sky and the sparkles on the sea’s surface in the early morning. He would have gotten lost in those eyes forever if his mind hadn’t yelled at him to say something.
“I, uh, I’m much better now! Thank you for asking, professor.”
He stumbled over his words, not ignoring the way those blue eyes had widened in surprise before moving away from him. His words was probably what had made his professor realize how close both of them were, which was the result of his unconcious action. Professor Angevine looked as if he was having a hard time collecting himself. He coughed into his hand, seemingly as a way—a very traditional one—to buy some time to think of something to say, or to steer their attention to another direction in order not to get caught up in what had just happened.
“That’s good to hear then.” Professor Angevine had a nervous smile on his face. “You got me real worried when you fainted the other day, but I can see that things are okay now.”
Not knowing what to say, Matt just chuckled quietly before things fell into silence, which no one asked for, ever. But luckily, his professor came to the rescue by speaking up.
“You know, I’ve been thinking about something lately…”
Well, now Matt didn’t know if those words really came to the rescue because they piqued his curiosity, making his eyes light up. He was eager to hear what the other had to say. “What is it, professor?”
The professor in question averted his gaze for a few seconds before he returned his attention back to Matt. “Never mind.”
Matt had to pause for a few seconds before he could find his voice.
“Professor!” Matt definitely wasn’t fond of the way his professor could just brush it off like nothing, as if he hadn’t just succeeded in catching his student’s attention and interest. “It’s not fair!”
“How is it not fair, may I ask?” Judging by the way Professor Angevine chuckled, he was definitely amused despite the oblivious look in his eyes. It made Matt felt like a kid being teased by adults, which he wasn’t a fan of.
“You can’t just reel me in and then leave me on a cliffhanger like that.” Matt pouted. “Come on, professor! You’ve got to tell me—”
Matt was cut off when something touched him in a way that was as light as a feather. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was Professor’s Angevine’s hand that was on his head, rubbing it and running his beautiful fingers through his locks of hair. The contact was definitely unexpected, but it wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, it felt like heaven, making his heart beat rapidly. He could hear it drum loudly in his ears, blocking out any other sound beside their breathing and his professor’s small laugh in the big and empty room.
Matt could feel blood rushing to his cheeks, tinting it with a dark shade of red as Professor Angevine leaned closer to him again, this time more surely with warmth and adoration in those drop-dead gorgeous eyes. His lips formed a smile, a big and genuine smile, as he said fondly.
“No need to get impatient, Matthew.” His mellow voice filled the room with its softness. “I’ll tell you when the time’s right.”
The bitterness in Matt had completely vanished without his knowledge and was replaced by a dumbfounded look on his face. He did his best to find his voice, which he was difficult with that gentle gaze completely on him.
“Promise?”
Matt asked, and that chuckle sounded again. Matt could feel his limbs go weak when he once again caught that stunning smile.
“Promise.”