Chapter Seventeen

Blaze

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Galen had still been asleep when I’d woken up, and while it had been tempting to pull the covers down so I could wake him up with a morning blow job, I decided to let him sleep. He’d told me about his insomnia, so I figured it was best to let him get as much sleep as he could.

I pulled on a pair of cotton pajama pants and padded out of his room and down to the kitchen. His coffee machine was amazing. It could make any drink you could possibly imagine, hot or cold, and there was something so decadent about having a latte when you first wake up.

Fuck, a morning latte. Most mornings I was content with an extra big cup of whatever coffee was on sale at the supermarket, and now I was drinking lattes while standing shirtless in Galen’s kitchen.

After finishing my drink I decided to make my man breakfast. I had no idea how long he would sleep, but I was getting hungry after a night of fucking and eating nothing but raw fish and rice.

“This is nice.”

I felt Galen’s strong arms wrap around me as I stood at the stove, flipping an omelette.

“What, breakfast or me shirtless in your kitchen?” I asked cheekily as I turned my head for a kiss.

“Both. Definitely both.”

He trailed kisses from my jaw down my neck and then across my shoulder. I could feel his hard cock against my ass and groaned when he rubbed it against me.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you that you shouldn’t distract the cook?” I asked as I pressed my ass against him.

“I thought that was drivers?”

“Cooks too. Stoves are hot, and if you keep doing that I’m going to forget I’m cooking and probably end up burning your place down because I’ll be too busy fucking you to realize the food is burning.”

“I have insurance.” He gently bit where my neck and shoulder met, and I turned off the burner and pushed the pan onto a cold element.

“It’s going to get cold,” I warned as I turned in Galen’s arms so I could hold him.

“That’s what microwaves are for,” he said before gripping the back of my neck and dragging me down for a kiss.

I’d like to say it was sweet and gentle and filled with soft words and touches, but it wasn’t. After a few tugs on each other’s dicks Galen had grabbed the cooking oil I’d used for the eggs and poured enough on his fingers so he could prep himself while I continued to tease his cock. After only a few passes with his fingers Galen had spun himself around and planted his hands against the counter, and I hadn’t wasted a second before I’d slipped inside him.

I’d managed to go slow and give him a few shallow strokes to get him used to having me fill him. When he’d moved back, forcing me as deep inside him as I could get, I’d lost the last ounce of control I’d desperately clung to and had given myself over to the moment.

I’d wrapped my arms around Galen’s body, pulling him flush against my chest as he’d wrapped one arm behind me and the other back around my neck as he’d cried out to me.

It had been perfect, fucking perfect, and after getting him off I’d given into my own orgasm and filled him over and over again.

When we were able to move again, Galen had turned in my arms to kiss me before pulling up his pants and going to get a cloth to clean his cabinet. It had taken me a little longer to recover, but when my body and mind finally felt connected again I’d gone to the stove to continue cooking like nothing had happened.

I was getting a little too used to this domestic scene. Sex with Galen was incredible, the best I’d ever had, but it was these sorts of moments that really meant something to me. I’d never considered having a long term partner before, but now that I’d had a taste of what living with Galen could be like, I wanted it.

I wanted to cook breakfast for him, to see him off to work. I loved falling asleep with him, and even something as simple as sitting at the table sipping coffee in the middle of the afternoon felt right.

I was getting in over my head, and I was going to be heartbroken when things ended.

* * * * *

“Hey, babe?”

“Yeah?” I glanced over my shoulder to see Galen standing in the doorway to the kitchen holding his phone.

We’d ordered Greek food for dinner and I was just grabbing plates and cutlery to set the table. I’d planned on doing it while we’d waited for the delivery, but I’d gotten distracted and had ended up spending the time with Galen’s dick in my mouth.

“My brother just sent me an email.”

“What did he want?” I asked as he came into the kitchen and stopped in front of me.

“He got engaged.”

“Did you know he was seeing someone?”

“No. I had no idea.”

“So he emailed you to tell you about his engagement? That’s...nice?”

“He invited me to his engagement party.”

“Oh?” I felt bad only giving him a one word answer, but I didn’t know what to say. The last thing he’d told me about his family was how they never invited him to things unless they were trying to portray the lie that they were one big happy group.

“Yeah. And he put aside a plus one for me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I should probably go. It’s a cocktail thing.”

“What does that mean? In my world a cocktail is something you drink, not attend.”

“It means it’s an afternoon party with drinks and light food. No meal.” He smiled and brushed his thumb over my bottom lip.

I let my tongue dart out so I could swipe it over his thumb and had to fight my grin as he sucked in a breath. “Huh, makes sense, I guess.”

“You working next Saturday?”

“I’m on the late shift. Eight until close.”

“Want to meet my family?”

I froze at his words. He wanted me to meet his family? As his boyfriend?

“Are you sure?” I asked quietly, trying to fight my fears and insecurities as they came out in full force.

“One thing you should know about me is that I never do anything half-assed. You’re my boyfriend, so if I’m going anywhere that has a plus one, I want you with me.” Galen gently cupped my neck and rubbed my cheek with his thumb. “I’m in this all the way.”

“I am too.” I swallowed and leaned against his hand for a second, taking a moment to shove every negative feeling I had out of my mind. “Let’s do it.”

“Let’s do it.” He grinned and pulled me forward for a kiss. “Now, what do you say we actually eat a meal while it’s still hot and then it’s my turn to suck that perfect cock of yours?”

“You always say the sweetest things.”

Galen laughed and gave me a quick kiss before nodding to the pile of dishes I’d left on the far counter. I rolled my eyes as I turned to get them, and jumped when Galen gave my ass a quick slap.

If he kept up his teasing we’d never get around to eating.

* * * * *

The next five days flew by.

On Monday Galen had given me the codes to his private elevator, and his door. He’d also given me a card that would get me into the building if he wasn’t with me. It said a lot about how much he trusted me, and I didn’t spend much time at home after that.

His building wasn’t close to my work, and with my car still acting up I was forced to rely on him for drives, or take the bus when he was working. I didn’t mind the bus, I’d be doing it if I was at home and didn’t feel like walking, but it felt a little strange.

A part of me was freaking out over how serious things were getting, but only because it made it harder not to fall in love with him.

I was still afraid that he’d wake up one day and realize there were better men out there than me. Galen was everything any guy could want, and compared to him, I was nothing. When he finally saw the truth and ended things, I would be devastated, but that knowledge didn’t make me want to push him away. If anything it made me want to put everything I had into the relationship. My heart was going to be broken no matter what, I might as well experience everything while it lasted.

Galen spent most of the week in court or meetings, but he still picked me up every night, either from work or home, and we would stay at his place. He had no problem letting me stay during the day when I worked an afternoon shift, and had told me I was welcome to stay on my off day as well.

The previous Friday had been awesome for tips, but it had been a bag drive, and I was glad when this Friday was a little less busy. Rhys and I were behind the bar while Cody did dish runs and Zander was working with the kitchen to bring food out.

It was a different set up, but Evan had decided not to employ a wait staff. Customers ordered their drinks at the bar and their food at the kitchen. Since we were a bar and not a pub, we didn’t serve full meals, and no one seemed to have a problem with the way things were run.

“What’s up with you?” Rhys asked during a lull in orders. We were trying to tidy up and get ahead of the next rush.

“What do you mean?” I looked up from the glasses I was putting away.

“You’re distracted. Something wrong?”

“Just thinking.”

“About?” he prompted.

“Galen.”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“How’s it going with him?”

“Good. Amazing, actually.”

“So what’s got you all distracted.”

“He invited me to be his plus one to a family thing tomorrow. His brother got engaged and he has to make an appearance at the party.”

“What about that is freaking you out? Do you feel it’s too soon?”

“It’s not that.” I shook my head. “Galen’s never dated a man before.”

“He’s bi?”

“No, he’s gay.”

“Closeted?”

“No, he’s never dated anyone. Apparently his family is all about appearances and he’s not close with them, even though he wants their approval. He always brought women to these things even if he wasn’t with them.”

“Huh, that complicates things. Are you worried they won’t accept that he’s gay?”

“He said they would be fine with that. It’s just his family...” I sighed and leaned against the counter.

“What about them?”

“His dad is a doctor, his brother is a doctor, and his sisters married doctors.”

“You afraid of doctors or something?” Rhys gave me a confused look.

“I’m a former junkie who slings drinks for a living. I barely got my GED.”

“So?”

“So?” I looked up at him in surprise.

“My family sounds a lot like his. Who knows, they might be completely cool with him being gay and dating someone in a different profession, or they could be like mine and be dicks about everything.”

“What do I do if they’re dicks?”

“Don’t let them see that they’re affecting you. Keep your head up and remember that Galen chose you.”

“What if he doesn’t choose me? If his family doesn’t approve—”

“Then he’s a douche and not worth your time,” Rhys said firmly. “Anyone who would go with what his family says over taking the side of the man he’s with isn’t worth it. You’d be better off finding that out now and not later on.”

“You’re right. I know you are. I just can’t push the fear aside.” I sighed again and picked up a rag, just so I’d have something in my hands.

“You know why, right?”

“Because my family rejected me for what I am and I lost everything.”

“Exactly.” He moved beside me and gave me a one-armed hug, holding me against his chest for a moment. “You’re an amazing guy, Blaze. Never let anyone make you feel like you’re less than them just because they’ve lived a different life. Okay?”

“Okay.” I nodded against his shoulder and smiled as he dropped a friendly kiss on my forehead. “Thanks.”

“Anytime, kiddo.”

Rhys was only five years older than me, but he loved to tease me about being younger.

“Watch it, grandpa.” I gave him a hip check, laughing when he almost went sprawling.

Rhys caught himself on the bar and looked over his shoulder at me. “Oh, it’s game on, little one.”

I knew I was in for a night of getting towel snaps on my ass every chance he got, but it was so worth it for that moment.

* * * * *

“Relax, baby.” Galen wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck.

“I am relaxed.”

“Really?” He ran his hand over my chest in a comforting circle. “You look like you’re about to snap from standing so straight.”

“I’m just nervous,” I admitted, turning in his arms so I could wrap my arms around his waist. Partly because I wanted to feel more of him, but mostly because I needed an anchor.

“I get it, but it’ll be fine. My family might be stuffy and all about appearances, but they’re not assholes.”

“Really? They kind of sound like it from everything they’ve done to you.”

“Well...true,” he conceded. “But they’re not assholes to other people. So just relax and pick something to wear. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Galen gave me a quick but sweet kiss, and then turned me back to face the clothes we were standing in front of.

“You know, I never realized this, but there are a lot of perks to dating a guy,” he said teasingly, his breath tickling my ear.

“Other than orgasms and getting your dick sucked?”

He laughed and squeezed me tighter. “Yeah, those are definite perks, but straight guys get that too, if they’re doing it right.”

“So what other perks are you talking about?”

“Sharing clothes.”

I laughed and looked behind me. “Really? Sharing clothes? What are we, sorority sisters?”

“It’s a bonus,” he insisted. “Think of all the money we’ll save on clothes.”

“Considering you work in suits and I wear jeans at my job, how are we saving?”

“I guess it works better in theory.” He kissed my cheek and gave me one last squeeze. “Now pick something.”

“I have no idea. The last time I wore anything other than jeans or sweats was in church when I was fifteen.”

“Fine.” He rolled his eyes dramatically and stepped around me to examine his clothes. “I’ll play fashion consultant.”

It was cute watching him peruse his own clothing as he searched for something for me to wear to the engagement party. Since I didn’t own anything other than a few button up shirts and one really sad pair of dress pants, Galen had decided that I would wear something of his.

We were close to the same size. He was about an inch taller and I was a little broader, but I’d borrowed a few of his shirts when we’d been too lazy to do laundry and they’d fit fine so I assumed his pants would be okay too.

“Here.”

I looked at the shirt and pants he’d selected, reaching out to run my hands over the soft material of the slacks. They were butter soft even though they still held the crease from being pressed.

The shirt was a light baby blue, so light that it was almost white with a blueish hue to it, and the pants were black. It was simple but still looked nice when he held them together.

“Let me guess, there’s no polyester in these.” I grinned at him and dropped my hand.

“Only organic blends touch this body.”

“Can clothes be organic? That seems like a way to charge a lot more for something by adding a useless label to it.”

He laughed and handed me the pants.

“I guess I should have said natural blends.”

“That makes more sense.”

“As much as I’d love to keep you in only your underwear all day so I can stare at that ass, put them on and then pick a tie.”

“A tie? I have to wear a tie?”

“It’s a cocktail party.” He winked and pulled a shirt almost exactly like the one he’d picked for me, only it had a slight green hue to it, off the rung.

“And that means ties?”

I pulled the pants on and did them up. They seemed to fit. It was true they were a bit tight in the legs, but I figured that was just the style since all of Galen’s pants fit him the same way.

“That means ties.” He nodded solemnly.

“I don’t think I like this boyfriend stuff anymore. We’re going to have to break up.”

“Really? Damn. Too bad. I kinda like you.”

“Yeah. Sucks. I kinda like you too.” I pulled the shirt on and marvelled at how soft and light it felt against my skin.

“How about you put on the tie, and then tonight you can use it to tie me up?”

“I have to work tonight,” I pointed out.

“We’ll be home by six, you don’t work until eight...” he looked up from buttoning his shirt.

“Less than two hours? I don’t know if that’s enough time.”

“How about you use my tie too, like you did that night in your apartment.”

My adrenaline surged at the memory of blindfolding Galen while I teased him on my futon.

“Great, give me a stiffy when we can’t do anything about it.” I rolled my eyes teasingly as I tried to get my dick to calm the fuck down.

“So, is that a yes?”

“That’s a hell yes.”

Galen grinned and went to his overly-full tie rack and spun it around a few times. After a moment he pulled a black and a dark blue tie off the rack. He handed me the black one, and as I looked at it I saw it was actually black on black with a striped, almost plaid pattern inlaid in a slightly muted shade.

I watched Galen slip his tie around his neck and quickly tie it up so it sat at his throat in a slender knot.

“I had a cheater tie for church,” I admitted as I held up the tie. “Already done up.”

“I’ve got it.” Galen smiled and came to stand in front of me.

Up close I could see his tie was actually black and had small, closely spaced blue dots that made it look blue from far away and patterned close up.

“So, are we matching for a reason?” I asked as he looped the tie around my neck and set to doing it up for me.

“You caught that, huh.” He grinned and looked up from what he was doing. “It’s stupid, but I thought it would be fun.”

“It’s not stupid.” I caught his hands, holding them still for a moment so I could lean in for a kiss. “It’s sweet.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. I do.”

He gave me another quick kiss before pulling away so he could finish with my tie.

“There. All set.”

“How do I look?” I had yet to turn around and look in his full length mirror, so at this point I hoped I didn’t look as awkward as I felt.

“Incredible. You’ll be the hottest guy there.”

“Nah, I think that’ll be you.”

Galen put his arm around my waist and turned us so we could look in the mirror.

“Well fuck me,” I muttered as I stared at our reflection.

Galen looked incredible, mind you he always did whether he was in a suit or a pair of sweats, but I looked pretty good too. The color of the shirt set off my eyes and made them look greener than usual, and it contrasted well with my hair. The material was thick enough to cover my tattoos, and the tie pulled it all together. We made a pretty handsome couple.

“After work.” Galen gave my ass a quick slap, breaking my concentration. “After the party, you’re fucking me. Remember?”

“I couldn’t forget if I wanted to.”

“Good, because I sure as hell won’t.” He gave me one last kiss and pulled me away from the mirror.

“Do you think I should pull my hair back?” I asked as I slipped on a pair of his dress shoes. Galen and I weren’t exactly the same shoe size so they were a bit tight on me, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

“Why? I’ve never seen you do it before.”

“I don’t know. To look more respectable?”

“Just be yourself, babe. If you want to have a braid or a man-bun, or whatever you’re thinking, do it because you want to.”

“Yeah, not a braid kind of guy.” I laughed.

“Man-bun?”

“I have on occasion.”

“Ponytail?”

“When I need to keep my hair back for something.” I nodded.

“Hairband?”

“If you tell anyone, I’ll withhold sex for at least two weeks, but yes. I have worn a hairband in the past when I needed to.”

“I think it’s kinda sexy.” Galen stepped closer to me.

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. Now is it one of those cloth ones with a big flower on it? Or maybe a sparkly one with a bow?”

“That’s it, no sex for you.” I playfully pushed away from him and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Awww, come on now.” He stepped right up to me and grabbed me around the waist. “I think you’d look sexy in one of those bandana things, maybe in a bright pink.”

“Fuck you. I’d totally rock a pink bandana.” I slung my arms over his shoulders and pulled him so we were almost nose to nose.

“Yeah. You would,” he agreed, and I could feel his cock getting hard against mine.

“You think that would be sexy? Me in a pink bandana?”

“As long as it’s all you’re wearing, then it would be sexy as hell.”

“Fuck,” I moaned against his lips as he kissed me, my cock going from half-hard to rock solid the moment he slid his tongue between my lips. “You’re getting me all excited.”

“To be continued.” He gave me one last nipping kiss and stepped back.

“Tease.”

“You love it.” He grinned over his shoulder and winked before heading out of his room.

“Yeah, I do,” I said softly before following him.

* * * * *

I was nervous the entire drive to his parents’ house. It was only half an hour away, but it felt like the drive had both flown and crawled by. Galen kept up a steady stream of meaningless chatter, and I was grateful for the distraction.

When we pulled up in front of the house I was stunned. I’d known he came from money, but I hadn’t realized just how much.

We’d had to drive through an open gate and up a long double driveway to get to the house, which sat on a hill surrounded by perfectly manicured land. There was a full-sized fountain about one hundred yards from the house that broke the driveway up and made it circular, so you could drive up on one side and down on the other.

The house itself was massive. It was kind of plantation style, but had three full floors and multiple balconies. The pillars outside looked like they were made of marble and the entire house looked freshly painted.

It was by far the biggest house I’d ever seen in person, and to say I was intimidated was a fucking understatement.

I’d grown up in a decent sized house on a pretty nice plot of land, but it looked like a shoebox compared to Galen’s parents’ place.

We stopped behind a small lineup of cars, all as expensive and flashy as Galen’s convertible, and my jaw dropped when I saw a team of valets taking keys and driving the cars away as the owners went into the party.

“Valets? At a party?”

“It’s to keep things moving, and so people don’t have to walk up the property.”

“Where are they parking them?” I asked as I looked around. If his family had their own parking lot I was going to shit myself.

“The neighbors’ driveways. They trade off like that whenever someone is having a lot of guests over.”

“And you grew up here?”

“Yup. My room was on the third floor, in the western wing.” He pointed to the left side of the house. “Right in the corner there.”

“Your house had wings?”

“Just two.” He grinned, but when he turned and saw my expression, which I assumed looked horrified, he reached over and put his hand over mine. “Hey, relax. Okay? It’s a lot to take in at once, I know. But it’ll be fine.”

I nodded, unable to say anything. He kept his hand on mine as we made our way up the line until it was our turn to step out and give the car keys to a very young looking valet.

“Ready?” Galen whispered as he came around the car to meet me.

“As I’ll ever be.” I nodded.

I expected us to walk in side by side. The other people I’d seen had all walked the same way— with the woman holding onto the man’s arm as he led her into the house. That definitely wasn’t our style, plus I figured Galen wouldn’t want to draw attention to us right away.

I’d been wrong. As we’d started walking Galen had slipped his hand into mine and linked our fingers together as we made our way to the door.

“Name?” a man in an elegant suit asked when we reached the door.

“Galen Wells, and guest.”

“Welcome, Mr. Wells.” The man didn’t even blink as he checked something off on his clipboard and Galen tugged me inside.

“A bouncer?”

“More like an attendant. It’s to make sure everyone who comes is listed so my brother can send them a thank you for attending.”

“Wow. There really is a way to do everything, isn’t there.”

“There is. It’s all about etiquette and doing what you’re supposed to.”

I didn’t miss the way Galen’s voice dropped a little when he said that, and when I glanced at him I could see he was trying to fight off a wave of sadness.

“Hey, it’s okay.” I squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. “We’ve got this.”

Galen smiled, all trace of whatever had hit him gone. “Come on, let’s go find my brother so I can say congratulations.”

As we made our way through the house I tried not to stare. Everything matched and looked incredibly expensive. The entire house looked like it had been staged for a magazine shoot, and I there was no way I could miss the way people were looking at us.

I was no stranger to being stared at. I was a six-foot tall guy with tattoos and long hair so I stood out pretty much everywhere I went. I looked completely out of place with all the perfectly coiffed people around us, so that was most likely part of why they were staring.

The other part was definitely because Galen was still holding my hand.

Because I was openly gay I’d decided long ago that I would never hide who I was, consequences be damned. It was a policy that had almost gotten me killed a few times, but I wasn’t about to change it now, and I was glad Galen was being so open about our relationship.

We were stopped a few times by people who wanted to say hello to Galen, and he always introduced me as his boyfriend. A few of the couples had smiled and shaken my hand before asking Galen something about his job or his life, and a few of them had flat out refused to acknowledge I was even standing there.

One woman had actually stepped back from me like I had some sort of flu she would catch from being within a few feet of me, and one man had looked me up and down before making a noise of disgust and turning away from both of us.

I was used to that kind of crap, but Galen wasn’t and I worried how it was affecting him. He seemed cool and unflustered, but I had to wonder how much of that was an act.

We also got a few of the requisite ‘I know a gay person too!’ responses. The ones where someone would tell us about their gay co-worker, or neighbor or cousin.

I didn’t mind those reactions so much because at least people were trying to relate to us and put us at ease, but they were always awkward as fuck because I never knew what to say.

“Having fun yet?” Galen grabbed a champagne flute from a waiter walking past us with a full tray and took a sip. “I think we can find water or something around here.”

“I’m not thirsty, it’s fine,” I assured him. “Have you seen your brother?”

“No, but my sister Lauren is over there.” He pointed to our left.

I followed his finger and saw an attractive woman with the same dark hair as him standing next to a relatively handsome man. He was older than her by what looked like ten or fifteen years, and while he was talking to the group of men around him, she was standing and staring at some spot on the wall looking bored as all hell.

“Is that her husband?”

“Christopher. He’s an orthopedic surgeon.”

“A what now?”

“He’s a bone surgeon.”

“Oh. Like the ones who fix bad breaks?”

“The very ones.” He nodded and took a sip of his champagne.

“Should we say hi?” I asked. His sister looked like she could use a distraction.

“We will. We just need to find Devon first.”

“Etiquette?”

“Etiquette.” He nodded. “There’s my other sister, Jessica.”

I looked to where he was pointing and saw a tall, blonde woman standing next to a rail thin man with greying hair. They weren’t talking to anyone or even looking at each other.

“And her husband?”

“Kenneth. He’s a neurologist.”

“Brain doctor?”

Galen nodded.

“Is it just me, or do neither of your sisters look very happy to be here.”

“It’s not just you. Like I told you before. They did what they were supposed to do and married doctors. I don’t think either one of them is happy in the marriage, but it’s all about appearances.”

“Wow.”

“Oh, there’s Devon.” Galen shifted his drink to his left hand and reached down with his right to take mine before leading me through the crowd.

We stopped in front of an attractive couple and waited as they finished talking to the small group in front of them. The momentary pause gave me a chance to subtly check them out.

Devon didn’t look anything like Galen. He was taller, at least six-four, and blond. He was husky while Galen was lean, and he had a baby face that made it hard to place his age, but Galen had told me he was thirty-nine. The woman standing next to him was very pretty with long blonde hair, a petite frame and big blue eyes. She also didn’t look old enough to be drinking the champagne she was holding.

When Devon looked up and saw Galen, his eyes flicked to me for a moment, and he couldn’t hide the look of shock that passed through them.

“Devon, congratulations.” Galen stepped forward, his hand out.

“Thank you, Galen.” Devon shook his hand and nodded.

The entire thing seemed really formal, but hey, what did I know about etiquette.

“I’d like to introduce you to my fiancée, Charisma.”

“Charisma, nice to meet you.” Galen turned to the woman and politely shook her hand. “And congratulations.”

“You too, and thank you.” She smiled prettily and looked at me expectantly.

“I’d like to introduce you to my boyfriend, Blaze. Blaze, this is my brother Devon, and his fiancée.”

“Hi.” I shook Devon’s hand, feeling like a prize cow being appraised as he swept his eyes over me.

“It’s nice to meet you, Blaze,” he said cordially.

Charisma, on the other hand, wasn’t so subtle.

“You never told me your brother was gay. That’s so awesome!” She nudged Devon and eagerly shook my hand.

“I didn’t know he was,” Devon answered, his voice cool and collected as he stared at Galen.

“We’ll let you boys chat.” Charisma took my arm and pulled me to the side a bit. “I can’t tell you how awesome it is that you’re here. I’ve been trying to get Devon on board with helping with the wedding, but he’s all business all the time. It’s so nice to have someone to talk flowers and décor with!”

Great. This also wasn’t new to me. While it was nice to be welcomed and have someone be so friendly with me, I hated being pegged into stereotypes. Just because I was gay didn’t mean I knew the first thing about flowers or color schemes, and I had absolutely no interest in either.

“Oh, um. That’s not really my thing,” I said carefully before she could launch into some sort of discussion about what was the ‘in’ flower or color.

“Really? What about fashion? What’s hot in wedding dresses right now?”

“No idea. Sorry. I’m not really interested in fashion either.”

“Oh. Well, what are you interested in?”

“Music?”

“Perfect! I’m having the hardest time finding just the right song for our first dance. It needs to be romantic and pretty like the wedding, but still kind of edgy and fun. What would you pick?”

I sighed and glanced at Galen as he was deep in conversation with his brother. I had a feeling my kind of music wouldn’t be welcome at Charisma’s romantic and pretty wedding, and I racked my brain for a song that I could suggest that might fit.