Taylor looked at his phone for the nth time. Rain's 15 minutes late and he received no message from Rain so he's worried something happened to the boy. Just when he was about to call Rain, he saw him walk-ran to the entrance of the restaurant.
"I'm so sorry. River drives like a snail." a panting Rain said.
A frown creased Taylor's forehead, "She dropped you off? Why were you not driving?"
"I usually use the car but technically, the Vitara's a shared car." Rain explained.
Taylor nodded at this. "Let's order"
***
"..And so I told her I need the car today and she said she'll just drop me off because she will be home late and so she needed the car more...", Taylor watched Rain as he tells him about River's insistence on using the car and their argument about it animatedly. Taylor can listen to Rain all day and not get bored at all. Rain can talk about the weather for hours and Taylor suspects he will still like it.
"She drives so slow though, like 1 km per hour. She got me late despite us leaving early." Rain complained with a slight pout on his lips. This made Taylor look at those lips. He thought, that's one delicious looking pair of lips. Which instantly brought a wtf exclamation from his own brain.
'Wtf Taylor? Since when did you start liking men's lips? Not that it's an issue but when did this happen? Are you even aware you have this side? And an adjective like delicious seem inappropriate for lips, you have it bad dude.' Taylor's conversation with himself is confusing, chaotic and funny all at the same time. And yet this confusion does not seem to really faze him. In fact, he's happy about this self-discovery. For it seems like it's been decades since he has had time to think and figure out what he wants or like. He has always followed his mother's wishes and on the few times when his father noticed him, his father's directive on their business.
This self-revelation though confusing is also delightful. And though he will need time to decide and figure out what to do, he chose to defer that for a while and just enjoy his time with his boy. Yes, 'his boy', for whatever reason, he feels possessive about Rain.
"So, I have to look into some work. Want to come to the office with me?" Taylor asked Rain
Rain nodded in excitement, "Yes, that's perfect...I have like three hours to kill after this. Our parents will pick me up after they finished grocery shopping, but they have not left the house yet."
"Ok then" Taylor said
***
They were at the drop off area of the mall less than a minute when Rain saw this white Maserati approach the area. He was about to comment on how he would love to have a car like that when it stopped in front of them.
"Woah! Your car is a Maserati Levante?" Rain exclaimed as soon he saw Kuya Fred get off the white car in front of them.
Taylor nodded once as he motioned for Kuya Fred to get back into the driver's seat. Taylor then opened the rear door himself and gestured for Rain to come in first.
Rain rubbed the upholstery as he admired the light beige seats and black dash. "Ang gwapo!" (So handsome)
Taylor laughed a little. "If you behave and get a good grade on your next exam, I'm going to let you have a go at it."
"Ha! No going back on your word. If you must know, I'm a very good student. River sometimes gets reprimanded for low scores on exams, but I've never, and I mean NEVER, experienced that."
Taylor and Kuya Fred laughed at Rain's confidence.
***
Since it's Sunday, they arrived less than an hour from North Edsa to Makati. Taylor brought Rain at a high-end mall in Makati. Their biggest shop is located at the second floor of this mall and boast several glass display shelves showcasing their jewelries. The shop has its own security personnel stationed at the door and the shop itself is equipped with a sophisticated security system.
The security personnel opened the door for Taylor after greeting him. The sales representatives greeted him as well as Taylor walked directly to the back office with Rain in tow.
The back office is huge, and it's tastefully decorated with leather and wood. There's a seating area with a double sized sofa facing a coffee table and on the other side, a couple of single sized matching leather couches also faced the coffee table. After the seating area is a heavy looking wood table with a leather chair behind it. Rain inspected several display pieces on the shelves behind the single couches while Taylor went straight to the table and open the notebook computer atop it.
Rain followed Taylor after a couple of minutes and noticed a familiar box with an embossed E on the corner of the table. He opened it and saw a generic looking bottle inside. Taylor watched him as he retrieved the bottle and pulled out the stopper style cap and inhaled deeply.
"Very nice. I am guessing this is one of Ash Hidalgo's creation. He really is a genius when it comes to perfume." He commented which brought a surprised look from Taylor.
"You know Alexis Hidalgo?" Taylor confirmed
"Of course, I know him. Archer, his younger brother, is River's boyfriend. And Fallon Dela Fuente, Ash's boyfriend is River's best friend and also a close friend of mine. Fallon's also my teacher in any board related sports." Rain explained in detail.
"Anyway, why do you have a, I'm guessing unreleased, Essentiá perfume with you?" Rain questioned.
Taylor stayed quiet for a few moments before finally saying, "Well it's not top secret so I guess it's okay to tell you. Just don't go telling anyone you meet about it. Essentiá and Mendoza's Fine Jewelry's having a collaboration for Essentiá's 25th anniversary. That perfume will be given to VIP clients and several lucky consumers through a raffle. We are in charge of bottle design."
"Wow that's amazing!" Rain exclaimed and took another sniff at the perfume. "This perfume feels genderless to me. Appropriate for anybody. The tones smelled fresh yet somehow exciting. This will be a hit, I think." Rain predicted as he secured the bottle's cap and returned it inside the box.
Taylor looked at Rain and thought, maybe I'm destined to meet this boy. "Go sit by the sofa and give me an hour maybe. I'll just finish some work and then we can leave."
Rain nodded.
***
After a little more than an hour, Taylor looked up from his laptop to see what Rain's up to. He saw the boy with ear buds on and busy playing an online game. Taylor leaned back on the chair and relaxedly observed Rain.
"Ugh! What is wrong with you people? We are about to lose!...Shhii.." Rain started cursing when he remembered he's at Taylor's office. He looked up and saw Taylor observing him. He smiled sheepishly when he realized Taylor caught him mid curse. He removed his earbuds and decided to afk since this game is hopeless.
"You finished?" Rain asked Taylor.
Taylor nodded, shutdown and closed the laptop. He then stood up and walked over to Rain.
Taylor stood in front of the sitting Rain. Rain who's previously leaning forward with his elbows on his knees as he seats on the sofa, straightened up and leaned back a little. Taylor bent his upper body and moved closer still to Rain. Rain in turn retreated his whole body until his back hit the sofa's backrest. Taylor moved closer still, putting his right leg in the space between Rains legs. Taylor then bent a little closer and put his left hand at the sofa's backrest beside Rain's shoulder, forcing Rain to stretch his neck and look up into Taylor's face. Instead of being intimidated, the corner of Rain's lips turned up into a brighter smile.
"Are you trying to intimidate me, or you just want a chance to be more intimate?" Rain teasingly asked
Taylor smirked, "Well, it's definitely not the first option."
While it excites Rain, this move also surprised him, so he questioningly looked at Taylor. But Taylor just raised his left eyebrows and smiled gently at Rain.
"Well then, Imma consider this move as a confession." Rain waited for Taylor to deny this statement, but nothing came out of Taylor.
Rain tried once more, "And with that, I accept your confession." Rain laughingly said.
Weirdly, Taylor did not dispute the statement 😊
YOU ARE READING
If I Let You Go
Romance"So, Rain, baby, just let me do this." He then pulled Rain to stand. "I told you, you do not have to do anything, you do not even have to move." Taylor then stepped closer and caressed Rain's face as he observes every detail of Rain's face. "Just st...
