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MYA: What was the first?
ME: Sending me those pictures.
Tossing my jacket and shirt on the back of her desk chair, I climb back into Mya's bed and lean against the headboard to wait. A few minutes turns into ten, then thirty. I'm about to text her when I hear footsteps outside her door. Grinning from ear to ear, I pop the top button on my jeans.
My smile falls when I realize it's not Mya walking through her bedroom door.
"Um, hi," I say when her eyes land on mine. Scrambling off the bed, I grab my t-shirt and pull it over my head.
"What are you doing in here?" she asks.
"I was going to ask you the same thing. Last I checked, this wasn't your room."
Scarlet twists her hands in front of her as she looks at the carpet beneath her feet, the open door, back to the carpet, before finally making eye contact with me. Well, sort of. She's looking at me, but I'm pretty sure she's staring at my forehead instead of my eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I was just going to borrow a shirt from Mya."
"Then why do you look like you've been caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar?"
She opens her mouth to reply but closes it just as quickly. Her second attempt fails, as does her third. That's when I realize she's attempting to come up with a lie.
"Be honest with me, Scarlet. Why are you in here?"
"Promise not to tell Mya?"
"As long as you promise not to tell anyone you found me in here waiting for her. She's not ready for anyone to know yet."
Scarlet nods, walks across the room, and opens Mya's bedside table drawer. She pulls out a strip of condoms, tears one off, and slips it in her back pocket after showing me.
Apparently my girl stocked up since the last time I was here. Not that we put them to use tonight.
"You know you can buy those at the store down the road, right?"
"No, I can't. I tried."
I don't know much about Scarlet. She's not shy, but she doesn't have a bold personality like a lot of the other girls in the house. Basically, they outshine her. But I've seen her at a few of the parties, dancing with her friends. Dressed to kill. She's a tiny thing, smaller than Mya. She might be five-foot-tall if she's lucky.
"You realize they don't card you when you buy condoms. That's reserved for tobacco and alcohol."
"I know, I still can't seem to buy them. It feels..."
"Wrong?"
"Yeah."
"Can I ask you something?" Her head bobs up and down, so I continue. "Why isn't he buying them?"
"I just, you know, want to be prepared, in case he's not."
Taking a step in her direction, Scarlet stares at me as I approach. Placing a hand on each shoulder, I hold her gaze for a moment.
"He should always be prepared. If he's not, he's not worth it."
