Given Time

♡36♡

As soon as we make it back to the house, I abandon Tanner with my dad to get the luggage out of the back of the car as I head to the kitchen in search of some Tylenol to help get rid of my persistent headache.

My mom soon walks in the room to prep food for the barbecue later on with Tanner's family and starts dicing lettuce.

As I pop back the two pills and chug some water down with it, my mom pauses with the knife in mid-air and looks over at me. "So, how serious are you and Tanner?"

I dribble some water from my mouth and quickly run my hand over my chin to clear away the remnants. I gently place the glass into the sink and brace my hands behind me on the counter.

"Um, kind of serious, I guess."

"Do you love him?" she asks brazenly as she cuts the lettuce again.

I scoff. "We haven't said it to each other yet, so I'm not going to answer that."

The frown on her face tells me she's not entirely pleased with my response.

"Hmm. I had an inkling something was going on when we were on the yacht. You both were so jumpy and acting strangely towards each other, but I decided to keep my observations to myself.

"Your dad was clueless, by the way. When I told him about the pair of you after we ended our call, he asked if I was talking about a different Tanner."

She chuckles briefly before placing the knife back down on the counter, and a serious expression crosses her face. "Now, I know you're an adult now and are off leading your own life, but as a mother, I feel that I need to have a serious talk with you."

Oh no! Please not the sex talk.

"Mom, do we have to? You already spoke to me about this when I was with Shawn."

She holds her free hand up to stop me. "I know, but I feel like I should mention it again.

"I get that you don't want to talk about it with me seeing as I'm your mom, and believe me, it's just as awkward for myself, but I need to know that you're being careful.

"It's all well exploring your relationship with Tanner, but teenage pregnancy is on the rise in this country, and I don't want you to fall victim to it because you act before you think."

Someone shoot me.

My fingers clench on the counter behind my back, eliciting a sharp pain.

"Mom! Seriously you don't have to worry about that. I haven't even, um, you know...," I trail off, keeping my eyes firmly to the ceiling, feeling too embarrassed to look at my mom directly.

Especially since I'm going to tell Tanner that I want to have sex with him.

She breathes a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good. But just because you aren't sexually active right now, it doesn't mean that you won't be in the future.

"There are a few different contraception's available that you can choose from. Condoms are the best option as it'll protect you from catching anything.

"But as long as you both are clean, there's always the pill."

Please make it stop!

"You also shouldn't feel pressured to do things you don't want to do. No matter how old you are or how long you've been with the person. Consent is important," she says firmly.

Okay, I can see her side of things for wanting to talk to me about that.

"I know, Mom. Tanner's not like that. He'd never force me to do something I don't want to do." I look longingly at the door on the other side of the kitchen, wanting to escape. "Can I go now?"