Love Flavored Latte

Chapter 25 - Let it Out, Let it Go

"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?"