Page 118 of We Are Just Us

“Fine.”

“You’re vibrating.”

“I’m fine.”

Rory put his hand on Kieran’s knee, stilling it. “Breathe.”

“I am breathing.”

“Deeper,” Rory said.

Kieran took a deliberate breath, in through his nose, out through his mouth, and his shoulders dropped.

“Better,” Rory said.

A few minutes later, a nurse appeared in the doorway, a man in his thirties with kind eyes and a name tag that read “David.”

“Kieran Doyle?”

Kieran stood. “That’s me.”

“Come on back. I’m David.”

Kieran glanced at Rory, who gave him an encouraging nod.

He followed David down a short hallway into a small exam room that smelled like latex gloves and industrial cleaner.

“Have a seat,” David said, gesturing to the exam table.

Kieran sat, hands gripping the edge of the table.

David washed his hands and pulled on gloves. “So you’re here for STD screening today?”

“Yeah.”

“Great. We’ll do a full panel. HIV, syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis B and C. Sound good?”

“Sure.”

David pulled up a stool and sat down with Kieran’s intake form. “I see you listed one sexual partner in the last twelve months. Are you currently in a relationship with this person?”

“Yeah. We’re…” Kieran hesitated. “We’re together.”

“And are you practicing safer sex? Condoms, barriers, that sort of thing?”

“We have been. That’s why we’re here. We want to stop using condoms, so we’re both getting tested to make sure we’re clean first.”

David smiled. “That’s great. Responsible. And just to confirm…you’re only having sex with each other? No other partners?”

“Correct.”

“Good. And have you had any symptoms? Discharge, sores, burning when you urinate, anything like that?”

“No. Nothing.”

“Perfect. One more thing…are you currently on PrEP?”

“No.”