The right key

Unexpected support

Fighting back tears, I pedal my mountain bike as hard as I can. On a scale from best day ever to just kill me now, this is easily one of the shittiest days of my life. The muscles in my thighs are burning, but I don’t slow down until I turn onto a familiar street.

With a dad who’s a psychiatrist and a mom who’s a social worker, I know better than to keep struggling with something like this on my own. Unfortunately, my parents are both at work right now. And while my twin brother is my very best friend, I don’t think his instinctive reaction to beat the hell out of the culprits is going to help me much. That’s why I’m currently dumping my mountain bike in my sister’s backyard. Noelle has inherited our parents’ gift—not just for listening, but for always finding exactly the right words to say to make you leave feeling better than when you arrived.

The house is suspiciously quiet, though, when I step through the back door. No one’s in the living room or the kitchen. Without hesitating, I head for the stairs in the hallway.

“Noelle?” I call hopefully, but all I get in response is a deafening silence.

Disappointed, I turn around. But just as I’m heading back toward the door to the backyard, I hear noises coming from the annex building.

Noelle always leaves her real estate job early on Wednesday afternoons to pick up Sienna, her boyfriend Geovani Laterza’s daughter. Perhaps she’s helping him with something for his catering company, Italaterza?

I cautiously peek around the doorway, but only one person is working in the professional catering kitchen.

“Jonas!” Gio says cheerfully.

He doesn’t seem surprised to see me. Ever since Noelle moved in with him and Sienna, we’ve all started treating this place like our second home. They even put extra beds in the guest room so we can stay over whenever we end up hanging out too late in the evening.

“Hey, Gio,” I greet him, stepping inside. “Do you happen to know where Noelle is?”

“She took Sienna to the petting zoo with two other kids from Child Compass Expert Center and their parents,” Gio replies.

Sienna has autism and a developmental delay—an outside-average child, as Noelle likes to call her—but she’s also absolutely adorable. We’ve all basically adopted her as our niece, although she’s definitely the most attached to Mike, the little traitor.

“Any idea when they’ll be back?”

“No clue. I assume they’ll be back in time for dinner. You’re welcome to wait,” he says, shooting me a quick glance while somehow juggling five pots and pans at once.

“Oh... yeah, okay.” I can’t quite hide my disappointment.

“If you’re looking for something to do in the meantime, you’re welcome to wash the tomatoes and basil for the Caprese salad,” he adds with a wink.

“Sure,” I say with a tiny smile.

Mom and I often cook together on weekends these days, so I’m not completely useless in the kitchen. Besides, Gio looks like he could use an extra pair of hands.

After washing my hands, I carefully get started on the task he’s given me. Before long, the repetitive work lets my mind wander back to this afternoon, and another painful knot twists in my stomach.

“You okay, Jonas?” Gio asks out of nowhere.

The lump in my throat is too big for me to trust my voice. I shrug halfheartedly, keeping my eyes fixed on the tomatoes.

“I’m no Noelle, obviously, but if you want to talk...” he offers.

A nervous flutter runs through me. Gio knows I’m into guys, but we’ve never really talked about it. I have no idea how he feels about it, and today has made it painfully clear that I’m terrible at judging that kind of thing. Only when Gio clears his throat do I realize my hands have stopped moving.

“Those tomatoes aren’t going to wash themselves, you know,” he jokes with a wink. “But people are allowed to talk while they cook in my kitchen.”

The corners of my mouth lift automatically as I reach for the last of the tomatoes.

“I’ve had a pretty crappy day at school,” I admit.

“What happened?”

With a sigh, I set the clean tomatoes aside and pull the bowl of fresh basil leaves toward me.

“Let’s just say everyone knows I’m gay now,” I say bitterly.

The silence that follows lasts long enough for me to glance nervously over my shoulder. Gio is staring thoughtfully down into one of his pots while slowly stirring a creamy pesto sauce.

“I’m sorry,” he says quickly when he notices me looking. “I actually thought that was kind of common knowledge,” he adds apologetically. “I’m pretty sure you told me the very first time I came over to your house.”

“Yeah, because you’re my sister’s boyfriend, and Noelle had already told us you two were serious,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Everyone at home has known forever. Dad already had a rainbow sticker on his work bag before I even knew what homosexuality was, so that made the whole coming-out thing a whole lot easier. Three days after I told them, every single one of them had some kind of rainbow item.”

“Excuse me?” Gio asks, surprised.

“Mom wears a wristband, Noelle has a keychain, about half of the stuff Pippa owned was rainbows and unicorns anyway, and Mike hung up a Pride flag in his room.”

“I’ve noticed Noelle’s keychain,” Gio says, sounding slightly embarrassed. “I guess I just didn’t realize that’s what it was for.”

I shrug. “It’s nice when people openly show you’re safe to be yourself around them. Otherwise, you never really know for sure.”

“Is that something you encounter a lot?” Gio asks tentatively.

“Not too often, but that’s mostly because I don’t go around telling everyone. I just don’t feel like dealing with all the bullshit at school,” I explain. “A couple of years ago, there was a girl at school who was two grades ahead of me. She came out as bisexual, and people called her a slut right up until graduation. Because, you know, apparently she didn’t care who she was screwing around with.”

I let out a bitter snort. “Which was complete bullshit, because for the majority of that time, she was in a committed relationship with a girl who went to a different school.”

“Didn’t the school ever do anything about it?” Gio asks with a hint of indignation in his voice that affects me more than I’d expected.

“Not much. Nobody ever got in trouble for it, anyway,” I sigh. “Exactly two of our teachers have a rainbow in their classrooms. The others just don’t talk about it.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the others have a problem with it, right?”

“No, but you can’t say for sure that they don’t, either,” I counter. A sour taste rises in my mouth again. “Sometimes people you’d never expect turn out to be homophobes.”

“Jonas?” Gio asks softly. His voice is full of concern. “What happened today?”

With a sigh, I place the washed basil leaves back in the bowl and turn to face him. Resting against the sink, I fold my arms across my chest.

“I’ve been hanging out a lot lately with this guy at school named Eric. We’ve never really had any classes together, but during the school hockey tournament before Christmas break, we were assigned to the same team, and we just... clicked. We laughed a lot, and we talked about a bunch of things. I thought...”

I stare awkwardly at my feet, my cheeks growing warm. “I thought maybe he liked me. Turns out I was wrong.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because he literally told me so,” I scoff, trying to hide my embarrassment.

“What happened exactly?”

“We had a free period together, and the two of us were sitting in the study booths next to the music room. Nobody else was around, but Eric sat in the seat beside me. Our legs kept brushing against each other, and his hand kept bumping into mine as well. I honestly thought he liked me.”

“Sounds understandable,” Gio says with a frown. He turns the heat down and faces me completely, giving me his full attention. “Then what?”

Embarrassed, I stare back down at my feet. Tears sting behind my eyes.

“When he got up to refill his water bottle, I stood up too and tried to kiss him. But he shoved me away so hard I fell to the floor, then called me a fucking faggot,” I say quietly. “He yelled that I needed to keep my filthy hands off him, right as a few other guys came walking over. They all immediately started laughing at me and shouting stuff, and now the entire school knows I’m gay.”

I dig my nails into my palms to keep my tears from falling. It’s not that I’m ashamed of being gay, but nobody enjoys being humiliated like that. And of course it had to be Wesley and Steven who had witnessed the whole thing. By lunchtime, they’d practically told the entire school.

To my surprise, I suddenly feel two arms wrap around me. Without the slightest hesitation, Gio pulls me into a hug.

“Man... that’s awful,” he sighs. “What a stronzo!”

“Italians really do have better swear words than we do,” I mumble with a faint smile.

“I’ll teach you as many as you want, as long as you don’t tell your parents you heard them from me,” he says with a wink. He gives the back of my neck an affectionate squeeze before gesturing toward the tomatoes I’ve just washed. “So, what do you think? Up for slicing them too and arranging the Caprese platters?”

“You sure?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “According to Noelle, she’s never allowed to do anything more complicated than boil water in your kitchen—and even that only under strict supervision.”

“Your sister has truly mastered the art of exaggeration,” Gio chuckles, setting a sharp chef’s knife and a cutting board in front of me. “But I have complete faith in your knife skills. That casserole you made with Betty last Sunday was delicious, and those zucchini slices were clearly a work of precision.”

“Thanks,” I say, both surprised and touched.

“Alternate a slice of tomato and a slice of mozzarella on those four large platters,” Gio instructs. “The basil leaves go in last, but I can always do those myself once you’re finished.”

We work in silence after that—me on the Caprese salad, Gio on what looks like seven different dishes simultaneously. But it’s a comfortable silence. Although it hadn’t even crossed my mind to pour my heart out to Gio, I’m glad I did. His support means more to me than he realizes.

It’s almost as if he can read my mind, because he suddenly clears his throat.

“If there’s ever anything I can do to support you, all you have to do is ask. You know that, right?”

“Oh yeah?” I tease. “You’ll join me at the next Pride wearing a tight pink dress?”

Gio bursts out laughing. “If that makes you feel supported, why the hell not?”

“Sure...” I chuckle, convinced he’s joking.

But Gio simply shrugs. “As long as you don’t ask me to cheat on your sister in any way, I’m in.”

“You’d really do that?” I glance over my shoulder, half amused and half astonished. The completely serious expression on Gio’s face tells me he means every word.

“We’re family, aren’t we?”

To my surprise, I hear a trace of uncertainty in his voice. I know Gio doesn’t have any family left and spent a long time raising Sienna on his own. Apparently, he needs reassurance just as much as I do.

“Yeah, dude. Absolutely,” I say without hesitation. I smirk at him. “You’ll make a whole lot of guys very happy if you actually tag along like that.”

Gio laughs and playfully wiggles his ass as he transfers the contents of the pots into a row of storage containers. Chuckling, I turn my attention back to the Caprese.

Just then, the side door to the catering kitchen opens, and a guy walks in. I glance over automatically, but before my eyes can return to the Caprese, I blink and do a double take. My heart involuntarily skips a beat. I don’t know if love and relationships just happen to be on my mind because of my conversation with Gio, but holy crap... this guy is ridiculously hot.

We’re about the same height, but he’s broader than I am. His windswept blond hair and bright blue eyes give him an effortlessly vibrant look, while his wide nose, with its slightly upturned tip, adds just the right amount of mischief. Then he smiles at me, revealing a sexy dimple in his cheek, and suddenly my stomach does a little flip.

Okay... wow. Yep. Seriously hot.

“Hey, Casper. I’m almost done,” Gio greets him.

“No rush. I’m early anyway,” the blond guy says. He slips his hands casually into his pockets and looks at me with curious interest. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. What year are you in?”

“Me? Oh, uh... senior year of high school,” I stammer. I quickly look away before my face turns as red as the tomato I’m holding.

“So is this, like, a trial internship before you start next year?” he asks kindly.

“A trial internship?” I repeat in confusion.

Behind me, Gio starts chuckling.

“Jonas isn’t going to culinary school. He’ll go to college next year, studying law.”

“Seriously?” The blond guy raises his eyebrows. “And you’re still letting him work in your kitchen, while you won’t let the rest of us do anything besides deliveries and setting up at events? If you’ll tell me you’ve given him your secret cannoli recipe too, I’m going to start thinking you don’t like me, Laterza,” he jokes.

“That secret’s locked up safely in here.” Grinning, Gio taps the side of his head with one finger. “Come on, help me seal these containers so we can load everything into the van.”

I subtly shift my position so I have a better view of them loading everything up. My eyes drift toward Casper several times while I work. Even though Gio only started his catering business recently, it’s obvious they’ve done this together plenty of times already. Casper quickly stacks the correct food containers and carries them to the Italaterza van with ease. They’re clearly a well-oiled team, because within a few minutes, everything’s loaded.

“All that’s left is the Caprese,” Gio says as he and Casper walk over to the worktable where I’ve just finished arranging the last platter.

Casper raises his eyebrows and lets out a low whistle.

“Okay, fair enough. I get why Gio put you in charge of presentation. You’ve definitely got an eye for it.”

“Oh, uh... thanks, I think?” I reply, blushing as I awkwardly stare at the geometric pattern I arranged instead of the usual straight rows.

“Very nice, Jonas,” Gio agrees with an approving nod.

He and Casper cover the platters and carry them out to the van with the rest of the food. Afterward, Casper gives us a quick wave before heading off. I don’t even realize I’m watching him leave until Gio clears his throat and walks over, drying his hands on a towel.

“Casper actually has a point. How would you feel about making a little extra money by helping me out after school every now and then?”

“Wouldn’t the culinary students be way better suited for that?” I ask with a frown.

“I don’t need help often enough to offer them regular hours—not the way I do with deliveries,” Gio says with a smile. “This would just be every once in a while. An extra pair of hands on the days with big jobs or a lot of orders. Only when I really need it.”

“If you’re ever in a bind, I’d be happy to help,” I say with a shrug. “But you don’t have to pay me. Family helps each other.”

However, Gio shakes his head firmly.

“Not like this, they don’t. This is work, and honest work deserves honest pay. We pay Pippa as well when we ask her to babysit Sienna.”

I think it over for a moment before shrugging again. Earning a little extra cash now and then certainly wouldn’t hurt. Besides, I definitely wouldn’t mind running into Casper again. Not that I expect anything will ever happen between us, but hey... there’s no harm in looking, right?

“Deal,” I say.