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“Don’t worry. He’s a nice guy, Lio,” was what Gueira had told Lio when he’d shared his solution to Lio’s problem with Lio.
Lio was skeptical of the plan, and his skepticism seemed to prove valid when he first met Galo Thymos.
Galo was a tall, broad-shouldered and tanned man who was about the same age as Lio. Check, check and check. His parents wouldn’t have anything to object to there.
But the blue mohawk might be a problem.
Nonetheless, it was too late to make any other arrangements. Lio’s only other option would be to turn up to the engagement alone. Just the thought of the look his mother would give him left him feeling nauseous. She wouldn’t say anything, but “Is there something wrong with my son?” would be written all over her face.
No, Lio needed a date. Meis or Gueira weren’t options as his parents had already met them and knew they were dating each other.
“Hi. I’m Galo Thymos.” Galo’s handshake was firm and enthusiastic.
“Lio Fotia,” Lio said stiffly.
Gueira smiled brightly at both of them. Meis stood beside him, one arm slung around his shoulders.
“Relax, Lio. It’s just your family,” Gueira said. “How bad could it be?”
Lio gave him a look that clearly said Gueira had no idea just how bad it could get.
Gueira had ensured that, while Galo’s hair didn’t exactly match the dress code, his outfit did. Galo wore a sharp black suit with a navy blue tie. Lio couldn’t fault his clothes, at least.
After Meis and Gueira wished them luck, Lio and Galo drove the forty-five minutes to Lio’s parents’ house. Lio was of the opinion that it was far too close to his own residence. The opposite side of the world would still have seemed too close for him.
During the drive, Lio discovered that Galo was a firefighter, and he’d met Gueira and Meis very recently at the pizza place near his apartment. Lio also found out that Galo had no pets, lived alone, and was essentially married to his job. In fact, Galo’s job comprised most of their conversation, which suited Lio fine since talking about anything other than himself helped ease his nerves about the upcoming engagement.
“Wow, your parents are loaded, huh?”
Galo looked impressed as Lio parked the car.
Lio sighed as he locked the car and joined Galo. “Yeah, they are,” he said. There wasn’t much else he could say about it. His parents owned a massive house that Lio privately thought was too big for them. They had a pool that they never used, and luscious native gardens, the care of which they left to the staff. Lio was confident that his parents had no idea what plants or flowers grew on the grounds.
Lio’s mother, a short woman in her mid-forties, greeted Lio at the door with a kiss on his cheek.
“I’m so glad you came, Lio. You don’t come by often enough. Your father and I miss you.”
“We talked on the phone three nights ago, Mother,” Lio pointed out.
“Andrew calls his mother every night, Lio,” his mother responded admonishingly as Galo stood next to Lio, looking decidedly uncomfortable.
It was on the tip of his tongue to say that his cousin was a Mama’s boy (which was true) but Lio bit his tongue, accepting the criticism with a small nod. Of course, it wouldn’t change his behaviour in the slightest.
“And who’s this?”
Mrs. Fotia’s violet eyes turned to Galo with a predatory gleam.
“This is Galo, Mother. I mentioned him during our last call,” Lio said.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Fotia,” Galo dutifully said. “Lio talks about you all the time.”
An outright lie, of course, but a good one. Lio approved. He hoped his mother would too.
Lio’s mother smiled, and some of Lio’s tension eased. So far, so good.
“Well, he hasn’t said nearly as much about you, but that’s normal for Lio,” Mrs. Fotia said. “Come in. I think Andrew and Sarah are in the kitchen.”
Andrew, Lio’s cousin, and his fiancee Sarah were the reason for the family gathering. They’d recently gotten engaged and it was tradition for the family to host a party for them. Lio would swear, however, that the purpose of the party was to shame him for not being engaged or married yet.
“We’ll go say hello, then.”
Lio mentally ran the calculations as he led a wide-eyed Galo through the halls of his childhood home. Lio barely noticed the familiar paintings or furniture as they passed, but Galo stared with awe at the expensive furnishings.
They’d have to stay for a minimum of two hours, Lio decided. After that, he could come up with some sort of excuse to leave.
“Did you really grow up here?” Galo asked as Lio caught sight of an uncle he’d really like to avoid.
Silently cursing, Lio grabbed Galo’s arm and pulled him into an open doorway before the uncle could see him.
Galo let out a yelp but quieted when Lio glared at him.
“Shh. If Uncle Christos catches us alone, we’ll be in for it,” Lio warned. “He’s… well, let’s just say that he’s never been able to deal with the fact that I’m gay. He thinks that he can somehow change my mind by lecturing me about it. I really don’t want to deal with that.”
“Got it.” Galo nodded in solemn understanding.
Lio peeked out around the doorframe into the hall as Galo wandered around the room. He poked at the leaf of a potted plant.
“Hey, it’s fake,” he said.
“Yeah.” Lio leaned against the wall, relieved that his uncle appeared to have moved on down the perpendicular hall. He didn’t want to step out into the open just yet, though. “My mother thinks that real plants are messy and shouldn’t be inside.”
“Wow! This is you!”
Galo pointed to the wall, and Lio walked over, curious. A photo hung there in a wooden frame. Lio’s childish face stared back at him. His hair had been very short back then, and he was wearing his elementary school uniform. That had been during a piano recital, Lio recalled.
He also recalled that he hated the piano.
“You look so cute!” Galo exclaimed. “But, honestly, I like your hair the way it is now.”
Galo’s stare had transferred from the photo to Lio himself, and Lio felt his cheeks turn pink. This was a fake relationship, right? Galo wasn’t attracted to him. Gueira hadn’t been setting them up on a blind date. This was just a one-time deal to keep Lio’s parents off his back.
So why was Galo giving Lio the same look he’d given the Fotias’ house when he’d first seen it?
Lio’s blush spread down his face and his neck, to creep beneath his collar. Suddenly his tie felt as if it were attempting to strangle him.
“Um, thanks,” he said, losing all of his eloquence in his embarrassment. “Yours is… pretty cool, too.”
Galo grinned back at him as if he were a dog and his owner had just patted him on the head.
Fuck, Lio thought to himself. He had to pull it together. For all he knew, Galo was already in a relationship and just being nice—or he wasn’t even gay.
Lio wasn’t looking for a relationship. That was the whole reason for this farce, wasn’t it?