The feel of Oliver’s Bakery is modern, yet has some rustic charm at the same time.

Cafe tables are chic and almost everything is well varnished wooden, the marble tiled floor, the beige drapes and the elegant yet minimalist black chandeliers hanging elegantly at a few spots of the bakery. Noah snorts when he catches a painting with his best friend's signature in the corner–of freaking course.

The bakery is not excessively massive, but it’s pretty spacious that can contain a few racks and tables as well as couches for dining in. The display racks, though, are what caught his eyes. A single glance will have to leave anyone’s mouth water. From the chocolate drizzled cakes to Oliver’s lace pastries, the blueberry muffins, and steaming puffs. Noah breathes in mesmerised sighs as he remembers he has eaten nothing yet this morning.

If his mind doesn't been too preoccupied with what Taylor was hiding behind him, he should have headed to his office. His best friend has a secret relationship and Noah is just worried, or at least that is what he tried to convince himself; He just wants to make sure Oliver doesn’t mess around with Taylor.

The sweet scent and mouth-watering sight on the racks cause Noah's stomach growls, in that perfect time Oliver comes from inside the kitchen with 2 muffins that look still freshly hot from the oven and 2 mugs of hot drink. Noah perks with anticipation.

“What’s that?” Noah asks when Oliver puts the meal on the table. He knows what that looks like, obviously. He just wants to hear the chef’s explanation himself.

Oliver snorts as he notices Noah’s wide grin, looking like a child who just gets dessert for breakfast “Blueberry muffin and hot cocoa” Oliver sits in front of him as he digs his own muffin with a fork.

"I know that, I mean... didn't usually a chef would explain their food with the long, complicated, pastry-cal terms"

Oliver heeds Noah's ridiculous request, but the guy seems won't touch his muffin unless Oliver plays along, so he did. "Urgh...fine! this is a classic blueberry muffin with..ugh...$5 fresh-market blueberries with um...classic melted dark cocoa and Walmart's fresh milk?"

"You suck" Noah grimaces.

"You asked. " Oliver is not apologetic at all.

“What's up with the hospitality? Are you perhaps trying to bribe me to get my permission for dating my best friend?” Noah accuses whilst squinting his eyes.

Oliver lifts his head to give him a brief incredulous look before bringing his mug to his lips and savouring the sweetness of his drink “first of all, I don’t need your permission” he says and gaining Noah’s scowl “Second, I just being nice to ‘customer’ now what do you want from me?”

Oliver stares at him with an unbothered, distant gaze that sends a shiver down Noah’s spine. Noah squirms on his chair as he tries to avoid his gaze and cover his nervousness by taking a bite of the muffin.

Noah almost groans at the magnificent taste. Oliver is watching him with a satisfied smirk at the sight of Noah's furrowed eyebrows when the muffin melted in his mouth.

“What’s going on between you and Taylor?” Noah manages to ask before taking another bite.

Why does it have to be this delicious? Fuck. Noah doesn’t want to mask off his intimidating facade, but it’s impossible to not smile after eating this damn muffin.

/What's Oliver put in this? Some spell of enchantment?/

If the pastry chef purposely serves this muffin to smoothen their conversation, he's nailed it.

“What's going on between us? I thought it was already obvious. A lover? Boyfriend? Partner? Whatever you called it,” Oliver shrugs, playing his fork over his half-eaten muffin.

“You know he's already engaged to someone, right?” Noah looks at him with a serious look this time, piercing his gaze straight to Oliver’s eyes.

Oliver looks at him with the same seriousness, “I know”

“You know who his fiancee is? He is not just a random dude you can meet on the subway or someone who can visit your bakery anytime. It’s Jackson Lewis, the sole heir of the Lewis group. He owned half of all the buildings in this city, probably the ground where you build your bakery now is his! No, no, no… this building definitely his! Because I checked some buildings around here before I bought my current office, I avoided to bought from Lewis group since I couldn’t stand his cockiness, anyway…my point is, if he found out about your secret relationship, knowing that guy’s temperament, I’m pretty much sure, the problem won’t solve just by kicking you out from here, it could be much worse than that” Noah warns him, reminding Oliver of some facts that he probably forgets due to love drunk state he was in. Oliver just listened to him, unwavering, not even a single blink.

“Are you implying that I don’t deserve him? That I’m not rich and influential enough so we can’t love each other, then as his best friend, you suggest I should just let him marry someone he doesn’t like? Like what his mother always told him, is that what your intention is to meet me? To tell me that?” he blurts out, leaning closer so he can stare right into Noah’s soul. Noah doesn’t mean that, well maybe he does, but not that blunt. He is just worried, and he is a realist who knows well how powerful Jackson’s family is. Oliver is clearly not Lewis' family's equal opponent. But that aside, something bothers his mind.

“You guys love each other?” Noah asks hesitantly. A ridiculous question to be asked after what Noah witnessed that night. They wouldn’t share such a passionate kiss if they didn’t love each other, but somehow, Noah needs to confirm it and hear directly from Oliver. Somehow, deep inside his selfish desire, he wishes his judgement was wrong so that he maybe have a chance to pursue the guy before him.

Noah searches at Oliver’s eyes. Isn’t sure what he was searching for, maybe just a little trace of hesitation could greatly satisfy him.

“I can’t answer on behalf of someone else feeling but if you ask me; yes, I love him,” he answers without a glint of doubt flashing in his eyes

Noah gulps. He never understands how love can make Romeo drink the poison, or why Persephone forgives Hades for taking her into the sunless world. Love is strange, weird, dumb, anything that Noah fails to understand. Is Oliver really sacrificing his career, his dream, his life in the name of what?

Love?

Noah can never relate.

Noah knows it’s not the right time for him to dwell on his own feeling, but Noah can’t help but thinks about how it feels to have someone that will sacrifice something for pursuing him, he always be the one who set aside his own feeling after all.

“I know Taylor forever,” Noah starts. His plate is empty now. “His family hired my father as their family driver when I was a child and I knew him since then. We became best friends and...pretty much inseparable. His parents were rarely at home, so he used to play with me and my father. He visited our humble home like his own. My father’s cooks were his favourite meals and my routine was also his routine. I love him like my own brother.” Noah sips his hot cocoa and lets the marshmallow melt in his mouth. “Other than that, I owed his family a lot of things. They paid my tuition until I got my chemistry degree and paid for my perfume academy in France. I can be here, in this position because of them-“

“You got what you have now, none other because yourself,” Oliver interjects him abruptly.

Noah blinks before shaking his head. “That’s not what my point is here. I need to tell you they mean a lot to me, so you better not mess around with him. I can’t let you hurt him, he deserves a lot”

Oliver’s face still holds the same seriousness, he listens to him attentively as he understands how important this is for Noah “He is. I won’t let something bad happen to him”

Noah nods, satisfied. “And stop looking at me like that” he chides, pointing his fork to the pastry chef Oliver raises his eyebrows “Like what?”

Noah shrugs “Like you pity me or something”

Oliver smiles at him, not the obnoxious smirk he usually pulled up, this time more genuine. “I do not pity you. It’s amazing you can get your dream regardless of everything. Why should I pity the CEO of a famous perfume company?”

Hearing such an unexpected compliment, Noah can feel his cheeks go warm. He curses himself for blushing at an inappropriate time, but he can never imagine the sour-tongue pastry chef also able to spew a genuine compliment. He lost his words. Although he gives himself a mental nudge to not take the compliment to heart. He reminds himself he shouldn’t feel this way.

For fuck's sake this is his best friend’s lover. He can’t flatter himself over his sweet words.

Noah grabs the mug and emptied the whole dark liquid on it before clearing his throat. “You are not bad yourself” he shrugs.