"So I'm not a pervert, right?" Roman set down his coffee on the table. To his surprise, it was the first time that he had drank anything caffeinated in a long while. Neo sat perched on the countertop with a bag of bagels in her lap, listening intently.
Neo shrugged. "I don't think so. I mean, you stopped when she told you to, right?"
"Yes, but I didn't even consider to ask first-she's 15 for fuck's sake."
"You've only ever dated girls who had experience."
"Dated," Roman scoffed, taking another sip of his coffee.
"My point is that you're not used to taking things slow in a relationship-or relationships, for that matter. You're not a pig for expecting something you usually get to expect."
Roman sighed. "If it were you, how would you have wanted me to handle it?"
"You know how I lost my virginity, and you know my perspective doesn't mean shit in this situation."
"Either way, your bet would be better than mine," Roman growled. Neo's right. The only reason she felt apprehension about her first time was because she didn't tell the guy to be even remotely gentle.
Neo tilted her head back and thought about her answer. She raised her palms and signed, "I can tell this girl's worth it. She's the first person to show that she gives a fuck about you that you haven't pushed away. If I were you, I'd wait."
His bangs fell in his face as Roman tilted his head down. "How frustrating," he groaned. "I'm dating a fifteen year old girl and I'm the one who doesn't have experience."
Turning another page in her notebook, Ruby struggled to push the thought of Roman out of her head. Not that it was new to her, but that her feelings towards him were mixed startled Ruby. She wanted nothing more than to pretend last night never happened and that she didn't sneak out of his apartment before he woke up and didn't leave a note to say she was leaving to go to school. Ruby wanted to go back and talk to him, to explain herself, but Roman was probably busy with whatever work showed up at his door yesterday.
What bothered her less was how Roman's associates came to meet with him in his apartment and forced her to hide in the closet. Completely ironic how Ruby was less afraid of the people who want to hurt her rather than the one person she trusted not to. She wasn't even sure that she could look him in the eye, but she still wanted to run right back to him and tell him that he didn't do anything wrong-the clichéed "It's not you, it's me" talk. Though, Ruby's last intention was to break up with Roman even though she's not entirely sure if she could call whatever she has with him a "relationship".
Okay, allow me to give some context.
The original plan for this story was to discuss themes about sexual harassment (or more specifically, Roman would have acted differently). But then again, that was a year ago, and the story went in a different direction.
But to make a long story short, consent is key, and I wanted this relationship to be in no way abusive. Mostly because I don't feel like getting pinned to the wall for a problematic plot pitfall. It'll be a little while before I get more time to write, but until then, I hope you enjoyed this (ultra-short) chapter. Au revoir!