I shake my head. “I’m not madatyou. I’m madforyou. That’s fucking awful, Darcy. For someone you love to treat you like that, it just really pisses me off. But I’m glad you got out. It’s hard to do.”
“Sure is,” she agrees. “But with what happened between us in the bathroom . . .” She heaves a sigh.
“Were you not ready?” I ask.
She weighs that, tossing her head. “Partially that, but there’s also a chance that I . . . have herpes. Rob had it but didn’t have a flare-up when we were together. It can still get passed on, though. It’s just less likely.”
I was not quite thinking that’s where this was going. I stand silent with my gaze trained somewhere between us. My first instinct is mild panic. No one likes having to deal with the possibility of an STI. Yet, people do it all the time. I mentally revisit some of my pre-med coursework and go through the list in my head of STIs you can’t get rid of: HIV, Hepatitis B, and herpes. It’s not fatal. It’s not ideal either, but tons of people live with it. It’s manageable.
“So when you put your fingers in your mouth, I got scared. I haven’t been tested since my physical last year.”
The corner of my mouth lifts. “That all?”
“All? Jake, it’s one of the kinds that doesn’t go away.”
I nod. “I know. But it’s also not life-threatening.”
“I hear it’s pretty painful,” she winces.
“Yeah, but survivable.”
She holds Stormy closer in her lap. “I’m just trying to keep you from getting it. This is my first time being on the market since him and?—”
Fuck, it’s a really vulnerable situation for her, and I’m just writing it off. I round the counter and put my hands on her shoulders. “Hey. Thank you for telling me. For trusting me. My last serious girlfriend was a while ago, and my tests have been negative since. But they make condoms for this kind of thing.”
“Right, but,” Darcy says, “there’s oral sex too. Any contact is a risk.”
I nod, leaning a hip against the counter. “But you decided at some point that you were cool with the risk for him? I assume you didn’t always use full protection.”
“Yeah. We used condoms or avoided sex for a while if he got another illness or got super stressed out, because sometimes that can cause a recurrence. We just stayed open about it.”
All of this makes sense. People’s lives don’t stop just because they get herpes. I know a lot of people get it, and I could have easily had a partner with it at some point and just not known. “And you never tested positive or felt like you got sick from it?”
“Nope. But I haven’t been checked since . . . everything.” She chews the inside of her lip. “So, now you know. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before we were in the bathroom. That was all very unexpected.”
I smirk, peeking down into the pot. “It was hot.”
Darcy’s cheeks flush. I settle beside her, drawing in a breath.
“I’ll take some time to think about it, but I think I’d be okay with the risk. Worst case, there’s medication to treat it. If you want to use protection until you get tested, that’s cool too.”
She finally cracks a smile. “Who said you’re getting a piece of this?”
I cough out a laugh, wiggling her shoulder. “Just somebody who wanted a hand earlier.”
She acts offended and points at me. “You offered! You committed mail fraud to make the offer.”
“Lightmail fraud,” I object. “I didn’t open it all the way.”
“Now I know you have ulterior motives with all this caretaking. You’re just doing all this so I’ll sit on your cock,” she says.
“I mean, I could leave if you take issue with my intentions,” I say, hooking a thumb over my shoulder.
“Oh, quit,” she sighs.
I open the box of pasta and dump it in the boiling water, then lean back against the kitchen sink.
Darcy looks around all innocent-like. “What was her name?”
