I shoved my thoughts away and pulled a smile. “Except for the fact you’re an innocent prude,” I teased.
I expected him to protest, like before, but instead he said quietly, “I suppose I am a bit shy about this stuff.”
“Why?” I asked. “Are you religious?”
“You already asked me that, remember?”
“Right. But you went to a catholic school.”
“Yeah. I mean, they did teach us about abstinence and no sex before marriage, but that didn’t stop any of my classmates. My parents didn’t care about that stuff at all — they had me and got married when I was three. I attended the wedding.”
“Did you wear a mini suit and everything?”
“Yeah, and I threw confetti.”
“You have to show me photos.
“If you ever visit my mum or dad’s, I will,” Leo said. “I think they only sent me to a catholic school because the only other school nearby was super sketchy. I mean, the school still taught us about STIs and contraceptives and consent, probably because it’s mandatory for them to teach us. My classmates made jokes the whole time we did sex ed.”
“It was the same at my school,” I said. “I think all boys are like that. Bravado and all that.”
Leo was frowning.
“Why, were you not like that?” I asked.
He shook his head. “The whole time, I felt so…awkward. And clueless. I’d never even watched…y’know, before. And there were guys in my class, bragging about rooting a chick from the girls’ school down the road or talking about how they trimmed their pubic hair, and I was just…” He looked ill. “I felt like I had a fever.”
“I’m sure there were others who felt like you did,” I said. “They probably just hid it better.”
He shrugged. “Maybe, but I’m still shy about this stuff. Most people here are super liberal and sex-positive and all that, but…I don’t know, I’m just…” he trailed off.
“Everyone’s different,” I said. “Growing up, my family never talked about sex or anything. They didn’t even have ‘the talk’ with me. They just bought me this kid's book that explained it all. For the longest time, I thought babies came from a ‘special hug’.”
Leo chuckled softly. “Same. Not the book thing, but my parents didn’t give me the talk either. I guess they didn’t need to.”
“Honestly, now I don’t mind the fact my parents never talked about it. It would freak me out if they suddenly asked if I was using condoms and being safe and all that stuff. But I think everything was bottled up in me as a teenager, so once I came to uni, I went crazy. That’s probably why I was so obsessed with sex. I’m still obsessed with sex, to be honest. The comforting thing is, most people are.”
Leo nodded slightly at that. I wasn’t sure if I’d successfully reassured him.
“Are you still…you know?” he asked quietly.
“Hooking up with strangers?” I asked.
He nodded. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
I shook my head. “I’m not. I’m committed to the find-a-boyfriend mission.” I yawned and covered my mouth.
His timidness was immediately replaced with concern. “Are you tired?” he asked.
“Just a bit.”
“You can sleep here if you want.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. You came here to help me. The least I can do is offer my bed. It’s a double, so there should be enough space for both of us.”
A voice in my brain that sounded suspiciously like my mum said I should decline out of politeness. Another voice, which sounded like Rome, said sharing a bed with a straight man wasn’t a good idea. But I was exhausted and Leo had offered.
