His angry gaze moves around the room, slowly assessing each of the guys before his gaze settles on me. He crosses the room in three strides, and I squeak in surprise when he grabs me under the arms, lifting me off Jagger’s lap and pulling me against him, my arms and legs wrapping around him on instinct as he uses one arm to support me under my ass.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Pete asks, jumping up as Elias carries me out of the room.
“You should be ashamed of yourselves. Debating who’s going to take her virginity… Did you even consider asking what Wren wants?”
I look over his shoulder to see Pete and Dex have the sense to look a little guilty as their eyes flick to mine.
“How did you even hear us? And where are you taking her?” Pete asks as they rush to keep up with us.
“You guys aren’t exactly quiet. I heard you all the way from my room. And I’m not going to just stand by and listen to you guys fuck this up for her. Is she even on birth control? Do you have condoms?”
Nobody answers as we enter the living room, and Elias finally stops moving as he gently sets me on the couch. Ifeel foolish for not thinking about any of that myself. He stands and turns to the others, acting as a protective wall between them and me, his arms crossed over his chest as he glares.
Sly moves around him, ignoring his glare as he comes to sit beside me and takes my hand, his voice gentle as he asks, “Would you like us to take you to a clinic? They can discuss birth control options with you, options less risky than condoms.”
“You wouldn’t mind?” I ask nervously.
He leans forward, pressing a kiss to my forehead before pulling back and reaching up to cup my cheek. “Of course not. Elias is right, we should have thought about this a while ago.”
“Sorry if we were talking around you back there,” Pete says as he shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels.
“That’s okay, I know you weren’t trying to be rude,” I tell him with a small smile.
Jagger snaps his fingers to get our attention, waves his phone at us, then signs,“There’s a clinic open ten minutes from here.”
“You want to go now? It’s seven o’clock at night,” I say in surprise.
“We can do it another day if you prefer?” Sly asks. I take a second to consider it. It wasn’t something I’d thought about, but it would be good to get it out of the way now. I’m tired of waiting to be closer to them.
“No, let’s get it over with,” I say as I stand up.
“I’m coming,” Dex says as he moves to slip his shoes on.
“We’re all coming,” Pete says as Sly guides me to the front door. He helps me into my leather jacket as I slip on myshoes, and ten minutes later, we’re sitting in the clinic waiting room.
“You can’t all go in with her,” Elias says, as he eyes all four of them.
“How many can go in?” I ask, feeling a little nervous.
“Either go on your own, or take one of them, if it makes you feel safer.”
I look at each of them, but once again, I’m struck with the worry of having to choose. I turn to Elias as I whisper, “I don’t know who to choose.”
He eyes the guys before gesturing to Jagger. “Take him, he won’t speak over you, but you can ask his opinion if you want it.”
A woman comes out and calls my name, and I take Elias’s advice, bringing Jagger in with me. It doesn’t take her long to lay out all the options. In the end, I go with an IUD, and she implants it on the spot, making me happy I took Jagger in with me as he holds my hand tight through the whole thing.
When it’s over, we leave silently, and once we’re in the car, Pete asks me how it went. I decide to tell them there, even though Elias is with us. He might not be my boyfriend, but he’s my friend and clearly cares about me. He was the only one who was smart enough to even think about contraceptives.
When we get back to the safe house, I start to grow nervous as I get ready for bed. When I come out of the bathroom, Sly is waiting for me.
“Come here.” He beckons me with his finger from where he’s seated alone at the side of the bed. I move closer, and he reaches out, grabbing my hips and pulling me to stand between his outstretched knees.
“Today has been a long day for all of us. And tomorrow isprobably going to be stressful. I can see you’re already growing anxious, and I don’t want your first time to be anything but perfect.”
“But I—” He presses his finger to my lips, silencing me.
“Let me get this out first, then you can respond.” I nod, and he continues. “I think it’s best we not make a plan for deepening our relationship. That goes for all of us. We were wrong to try to pick who will be your first. So instead, let’s just let it happen naturally, like we’ve been doing so far. If or when things progress with one of us, I don’t want you to worry that you’re choosing that person over the others. It’s your choice, and none of us will be upset about it. I already discussed it with them, and they agree.”
