Love Flavored Latte

Chapter 31 - Questions

Wow, he looks so thoughtful, the sales associate thought as she watched the way Ray was looking at the goods in the store. Rarely had she seen a man with such charisma like him. His pretty blue eyes were inspecting everything carefully, giving him a mysterious look that made him incredibly attractive. Not only that, but his calmness was also something special. The way he was just silently standing there while deep in his thoughts, it had the power to steal any woman's heart in a second.

Little did she know it was just how he looked on the outside, because on the inside, he was actually in panic mode.

How long he had been stand here, he had no idea, but he was sure he wouldn't be leaving any time soon, as it would take him at least half an hour more to make the final decision. He had gone window-shopping for a few days, yet he still wasn't sure what to buy. Who knew shopping this kind of thing would be so difficult, even after hours of research. There were so many factors to consider and it was seriously messing with his head.

Seemingly able to see his hesitance, the sales associate approached him when she had finished talking to other customers. "Hello, is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Ah, yes." Ray looked up and returned her smile. "If you don't mind, could you please give me some advice on what to buy?"

"Certainly, sir." She smiled once more as she slightly nodded her head. "May I ask who you're buying this for?"

"I'm buying this for my, uh, girlfriend." He decided to lie so that he wouldn't have to explain his sexuality and make the conversation complicated. He proceeded to tell her what occasion this item was for, and she beamed with excitement upon hearing what he had just said.

"I'm sure she'll be delighted. Now, to start off, do you know what her preference is?"

"Well, I believe she likes simple stuff," Ray replied as he held his chin, averting his gaze in the process. The reason he was able to give his answer so quickly was that he had already thought about it ahead of time. He knew his partner's preference would surely come into play, and in order to figure out what his boyfriend was usually drawn to, he had spent days thinking back about all the time they had spent together ever since they started dating.

Happy with his definite answer, the sales associate turned her body slightly as she gestured her hand to her right. "Then I'll take you to see the simple designs we have here. Please, follow me, sir."

__________

Ray was difficult to understand. He had always been difficult to understand and would forever be, but this was stressing Matt out more than he would like to acknowledge.

In the past week, Ray had been strangely secretive about what he did and where he went. Of course, Matt wasn't that type of crazy and obsessed man who demanded to know his boyfriend's every move. In fact, they both had always respected each other's privacy. However, what was beginning to drive Matt crazy, even though he was unwilling to admit it, was Ray's behaviors.

During the five years they had been together, never had Ray seemed so nervous whenever he came home and saw Matt greeting him at the door. Sometimes, when he was seen getting ready to go somewhere, he would appear to be very anxious while he normally had no problem telling Matt where he was heading. At first, Matt didn't think much about it until Ray started to act more and more skeptically. Literally just the night before, when Matt surprised him with a midnight snack while he was working, he could hear Ray panicking from the way he stuttered before telling him to come in. He almost looked suspicious, even though Matt had tried to convince himself that he was overreacting thousands of times already.