He reached automatically to cover the mark and caught himself too late.Then he went straight on the offensive.“We made out.It’s not like that’s against the law.”
“Uh huh,” Jem said again.
Daniel’s face was annoyance, anger, the perpetual teenage bitterness at being treated unfairly.He let out a sound of disgust, adjusted the seatbelt, and said, “Can we go?”
“You don’t lie to me.I don’t lie to you.”
“I’m not lying!Why does everyone always think I’m lying?”
“Okay,” Jem said again, and he pulled away from the curb.
Silence.I-15 like black ice.And the orange lights of the city.
Halfway home, Daniel said, “I took them off because I didn’t want to wear them in the first place.I only put them on because I knew you and Tean would freak out if I didn’t.”
“Oh yeah,” Jem said.“Because we freak out so easily.”
“You do!”But he sank down in his seat.“Tean does.He gets this look in his eyes.”
That was actually spot on, and Jem was a little too familiar with that look, but all he said was “Tean has been really cool about everything.And I’ve been cool too.I get it—you’re trying out some new stuff, seeing what works.That’s great.You do you, Daniel.I don’t give two fucks, and yeah, maybe Tean gets surprised sometimes, but it’s not because he’s judging you or freaking out or anything.He’s known you since you were a baby.It’s a big adjustment for him too.I think he’s done a pretty good job, all things considered.”
It was another mile before Daniel said, “Yeah, I guess.”
“Do I need to buy you condoms?”
The air was suddenly so sharp it felt like it could turn in Jem’s hand and cut.
“We haven’t—” But the words collapsed into silence.The boy made himself smaller in his seat.And then he gave a tiny, one-shouldered shrug.He was almost whispering when he said, “They have them at Rainbow House.You can take them and nobody says anything.”
“Do you know what I mean when I say you need to be careful?”Jem asked.
The teenage defensiveness was back.“Yeah.”
“Consent.Protection.Nobody pressures you.”
“Okay, God.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Daniel shook his head.But he was starting to cry, and his tears were silver in the light from the dash.
Jem squeezed his shoulder.“Hey, nobody’s mad at you.It’s okay.If you like him, and you want to do it, that’s fine.You don’t have to feel bad about it.We just want you to be safe.”
The boy nodded and wiped his cheeks.But he kept crying, and the highway kept unrolling, and Jem kept his hand on the boy’s shoulder until he had to signal to exit.
Daniel was silent as they went inside, his eyes still puffy, and he answered Tean’s questions in monosyllables and focused on petting Scipio, who was gently head-butting Daniel in case the boy had forgotten he existed.
“Do you need anything?”Jem asked.
Daniel shook his head.
“Okay.You know where we are if you do.”
Back in their bedroom, Tean said, “What happened?Why’s he upset?”
“Teenage boy.Big emotions.And I think he’s still messed up over all the stuff with Ammon.”And then Jem told him about the conversation on the drive home.“It’s that boy Justin.I don’t know how far it’s gone, but we probably need to buy him some lube and make sure he knows he can ask if he has any questions.”
“Can we do that?It feels…I don’t know.Weird.Inappropriate.”
