Author's Note: When Mia wants to know about something she asks Letty

Chapter 18

"Letty?"

The girl in question looked up from her magazine article about the evolution of the engine and glanced across Mia's bedroom at her friend.

"Hmm?"

Mia fidgeted a moment where she sat in front of her desk. She eyed the closed door then scooted her chair closer to the bed where Letty was sprawled.

"How did you know that you were ready?" She asked.

Letty looked at her blanky. "What?"

"You know," Mia dropped her voice to a whisper. "To have… sex?"

"Why are you whispering?" Letty laughed. "The door is closed and no one else is even home."

"I don't know it just feels like something you're not supposed to talk about," Mia said.

"That's probably why so many people are having bad sex."

"Oh my god," Mia said. "You can be bad at it?" She looked worried.

"Who do you want to have sex with?" Letty asked her, then held her hands up at Mia's look. "I swear I won't tell your brother."

"Yeah right you tell him everything," Mia mumbled but smiled. "Well the thing is I'm not really sure if I want to do it. How do you know?"

"I mean it's pretty obvious. Your body gives you plenty of signals. As for if you want to listen to that it's up to each person. For some people that's enough. I think maybe you should be sure you trust and care about the other person…"

Mia took a moment to absorb that advice, nodding slowly. "What about like… protection?"

"You can get on birth control if you go to the clinic downtown and its pretty cheap. But you should make this guy use a condom too. You don't know where he's been."

Mia put her hand over her face, embarrassed. "I don't think he's as slutty as my brother was."

"That's not a good measuring stick," Letty replied. "You still should. At least at first."

"How do you know all this?" Mia complained. "We're the same age. We took the same Sex Ed class."

"That class was shit. They just wanted you to be too scared to ever have sex. But you shouldn't be. It's great."

Mia pulled a face, momentarily wishing she could ask someone who wasn't sleeping with her brother.

"Anyway," Letty said. "I know this cause my mom took me there after she caught me and your brother making out in his car one night. A rare lucid moment for her." She rolled her eyes. "Letitcia I'll be damned if you end up another pregnant teenager in this neighborhood."

"Oh God there are a few," Mia agreed.

"And since I definitely didn't want that either I listened to her."

"But how did you know what to… do?"

Letty sighed at her. "Mia if you're not seeing a guy you can communicate with I think maybe you should wait.."

"You mean you asked Dom?" She cringed.

"Your body knows what to do. To a point. But you gotta say what you like and ask what he likes. Otherwise what's the point?" Letty shrugged. "Besides trust me, they like it when you do that. Its hot."

Mia frowned over that information, then moved to flop on the bed beside Letty. She was grateful to have someone to ask these questions of. Her mother had died years back now. She would be damned if she was having that discussion with her father. How embarrassing.

"Will you come with me?" She asked after a beat. "To the clinic?"

"Sure," Letty said. "But honestly, who is this guy?"