Love Flavored Latte

Chapter 15 - Morning Glory

To Matt, starting off in the morning with a cup of coffee was never a bad thing. Everyday, he would sit at the table and have breakfast while chatting happily with whoever was awake at the same time as him. And sometimes, he would be startled upon hearing the sound of the bedroom door being slammed open, followed by the panicking voice of one of his friends who was apparently late for something. In short, his dorm was never really quiet in the morning, though he didn't really mind it. He enjoyed the atmosphere of a typical college life.

However, today was different. Everything around him was peaceful and he could hear the birds chirping outside. Under the sunlight that was coming in through the windows, the brunet sitting next to him on the bed seemed to glow even more brightly than ever, his blue eyes the color of the sky outside. Even his smile was shining more magnificently than the sunlight itself. Matt sipped on his coffee in an attempt to distract himself from the man's beauty, though his effort was in vain.

"Thank you for this, professor..."

Matt said shyly as he stared down at his coffee mug. But when he received no reply, he quickly got a strange feeling. His professor was never one to stay quiet and stop the flow of a conversation like that, especially not after a thank you. Looking up, he saw his professor staring at him as if he was expecting something else. After wondering what the other man could possibly want from him, he carefully thought about what he had just said and figured it out right away.

"Oh, I, I mean, R-Ray..."

"I'll call you Matt if you call me Ray", that was what his boyfriend had told him yesterday, the day their hearts became one.

"I'm glad you remember." Ray's smile returned and he patted Matt's head. Matt couldn't hold in his smile as butterflies fluttered in his stomach. Calling this handsome man by his first name was such a simple thing, yet it brought such a magical feeling, making him tingle all over. It was probably because he had always used his formal title ever since the first day they met in class. And similar to that, today was the first day he heard his nickname coming from his professor after such a long time. Ray called him Matt when he just stepped into the room a while ago, but at that time, Matt was too deep in the pit of hopelessness that he didn't have a chance to cherish the moment. Thinking back about it made him a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Ray..." he mumbled. "This is the very first morning we're offically a couple, and yet I greeted you by saying that our relationship can't exist."

Ray gave him a gaze of sympathy before leaning in for a hug, putting his mug onto the nightstand beforehand. Matt's heart skipped a beat at the bodily contact. It was a hug that showed how unafraid his boyfriend was when giving his partner affection.

"I completely understand that feeling, Matt. I was the same." Ray smiled. "This morning, I thought I would just wake up alone like usual, but then I saw a beautiful person sleeping soundly next to me."

Matt's heart raced as his face reddened, his hands gripping his mug tightly as an attempt to control himself.

"How you fill in that empty spot on my bed is just like how you fill in the hole in my heart. At first, I was in disbelief as well. I thought that you were just a figment of my imagination. But upon feeling your hair and hearing every small breath you let out, I knew you were real." Ray stroked Matt's hair as he continued, his voice quiet and sentimental. "I... I can't believe it, Matt. You're finally mine..."

After the emotional moment had come to an end, they just stayed like that, Matt silent as Ray's embrace filled him with warmth. In those minutes, Matt realized how alike they were.