Love Flavored Latte

Chapter 21 - What He Concealed

"You're Ray's boyfriend, aren't you?"

Matt was frozen in place, unable to answer Isaac's question. How was he supposed to answer any question at all when he himself didn't even know what was happening at this moment? This dark-haired man just appeared out of nowhere, claimed that he knew Ray, stared at Matt, and now he was asking him if he was Ray's boyfriend? He couldn't do anything but give Isaac a very puzzled look. He knew nothing about this man or his relationship with Ray, so he had no idea if he should lie or tell the truth. Luckily, Ray came to his rescue.

"You're making him uncomfortable, Isaac." Ray lightly pushed Isaac away. "You haven't even introduced yourself yet, you know."

"Oh, right, sorry!" Isaac chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm Isaac Dawson, Ray's friend. Best friend, actually."

"R-Ray's best friend?" Matt said before realizing that he should greet this man properly. "I'm, I'm sorry if I was being rude! I'm Matthew Parker. N-Nice to meet you, Mr. Dawson."

Instead of saying something, Isaac just stared at him for a while before frowning like a child. "You call me Mr. Dawson while you call Ray by his first name. Isn't that a little unfair?"

Matt averted his gaze to avoid Isaac's sad puppy eyes, asking himself what was even the appropriate response in this case. "I, uh..."

"You're making me feel like an old man. Just call me Isaac!" The raven-haired man laughed and patted Matt's back. "Okay, now that the introduction's done, let's get back to the main topic."

Matt's heart skipped a beat when he realized what Isaac meant.

"Let me ask you one more time." Isaac grinned mischievously. "Are you Ray's boyfriend?"

This man sure is persistent, Matt thought as he desperately tried to come up with something to buy some more time. "Wh-What makes you think so?"

"It's very easy, Matthew." Isaac straightened up his back as he fixed his glasses, acting like a detective on duty. "You're the only one with Ray, and your appearance matches the description too."

"'Matches the description'?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Ray told me a lot about you." Isaac glanced over Ray, giving him a very cheeky look. "Let me see, he said you have, quote, 'golden blond hair, beautiful brown eyes and the brightest smile-'Ow, ow, ow!"

Isaac was suddenly interrupted, yelping in pain as Ray pinched his arm to shut him up.

"Don't mind what he said, Matt." Ray had on a very casual smile as he waved his hand in the air, completely ignoring his best friend, who was rubbing his arm where it stung. "You just need to know that he knows about you."

"Um, okay then..." Matt said before glancing over Isaac, secretly worrying for his arm. "So, when did you tell him about me?"

"Long, long ago!" Isaac returned to his cheerful self in a matter of seconds and startled the couple. "He called me as soon as-"

"I called him after a month we started dating," Ray answered instead, muffling Isaac's voice with his hand in the process.

They're indeed the best of friends, Matt thought as he sweated. They were two grown men, and here they were, acting like two high schoolers when one of them mentioned the other's crush.

"Alright, for real though..." Isaac's voice suddenly turned serious, catching the couple's attention. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Ray stared at him in disbelief before groaning into his palm. "Yes, he is. Can you stop asking that now? I swear if I hear that question one more time-"