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“I haven’t even kissed a girl yet, so I think it will be a while before I need to worry about safe sex,” Faith tittered nervously. As she’d got to know Nathalie more, her dreams had increased. To where, for the first time in her life, Faith considered touching herself. Masturbation was a sin, after all, according to her parents. Faith remembered that discussion vividly. It was part of her mother’s “sex education” speech. Acting on desire didn’t come easily, no pun intended. But Faith was determined to push herself. Wanting a full and rich life wasn’t a sin.

“Everything happens in its own time, chica.”

“Is that something you want to do with Nathalie? Kiss her, I mean?” Carmen inquired, clearing her throat.

Faith nodded her head with certainty. “Nathalie is wonderful. She’s so pretty, and she makes me feel comfortable. We’ve been talking a lot. I filled her in a little about my parents, etcetera. Not once did she make me feel like a loser—”

“You’re not a loser, Faith, never think that.” The severity of Carmen’s voice was surprising. The intensity in her eyes was just as striking. “Don’t put yourself down like that. You’re amazing.”

“I second,” Mateo called.

“Third,” Enid added from behind her book.

“I… just feel like I have so much to learn. Nathalie has seen the world. How interested is she going to be when she learns that this is the first time I’ve ever been away from home? Or that…”

“She already knows that, right? You said you guys talked. Chica, don’t look for reasons it won’t work before you even try.” Mateo pointed at her.

“And,” Carmen interjected, “you two have been chatting non-stop since the party. If she wasn’t interested, she wouldn’t be investing her time. Nathalie is like Rita in that sense.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised you two didn’t share a kiss at the party,” Mateo mused.

“Well, we might have, if I didn’t have to stop you two from scaling the palm trees, whilst singing Cher’s ‘The Shoop Shoop Song.’”

“Oh shit,” Carmen mumbled.

“I do love that song,” Mateo remarked.

“You pair of tits stopped that young lady from getting her freak on,” Enid tutted.

“I wasn’t going to get my freak on,” Faith gasped.

“You could have. Now you’ll never know,” Enid replied, head still in her book.

“Oh damn, Faith, we clam-jammed you,” Mateo squealed.

“Alright,” Carmen barked, “As the adult lesbian in this vehicle, I am officially prohibiting any gay man or straight woman from saying things like ‘clam-jam’ or ‘dental dam.’ We are going to keep it strictly PG-13 in this car. Do you understand?”

“Ugh, you’re such a buzz kill,” Enid clucked.

“Fine,” Mateo whined.

The car’s GPS rang out. “We’re a few minutes away,” Carmen announced unnecessarily.

Rubbing sweaty palms down her thighs, Faith tried to calm her thoughts. No matter what happens, you have Carmen and Mateo. The car finally pulled up to a cute little bungalow, not too dissimilar to Carmen’s house. The wraparound porch housed two Adirondack chairs with a small table in between. The shutters, which adorned every window, were painted a delicate blue, which stood in contrast to the brilliant white of the building.

“Are you ready?” Carmen asked, placing her hand over Faith’s.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Together, Carmen and Faith climbed out of the car. The four of them decided along the way to keep the meeting to just Faith and Carmen.

Making their way up the path, Faith noticed a light shining from one window. The porch creaked as they stepped. “Okay, here goes.” Faith muttered, rapping her knuckles on the door.

Could time stop? That’s sure what it felt like. It was only when she heard faint footsteps Faith knew the world was still spinning and time was indeed marching forward. When the blue door opened, disappointment was at the forefront of Faith’s mind. The person standing in front of them was not Molly.

“Hi, can I help you?” Dressed in yoga pants and a tank top, the young woman smiled brightly at them both.

“Hi, sorry to disturb you. I’m… I was hoping Molly was in?”

“Ah, Molly doesn’t live here anymore. She moved to Phoenix about four months ago.”