Page 24

I have never been more uncomfortable than I am sitting in a Planned Parenthood lobby with Giovanna Quinn and her father between us.

Okay, that might not be true. Around an hour ago when he opened her bedroom door without knocking might take the cake.

“Did you know gonorrhea and chlamydia are the most common STIs among high schoolers, but HPV is the most common among college students?” Mr. Quinn asks, flipping through the pamphlet he’s reading.

“Please stop talking,” Giovanna groans.

“Hi there.” I look up to see a middle-aged nurse with a warm smile standing in front of us. “I hear we need to have a few tests done?”

“Yep!” Mr. Quinn says like he didn’t ruin my life today. “These two here need to get tested, and also a conversation about safe sex practices.”

“Da-ad,” Giovanna whines. “This isn’t necessary.”

Mr. Quinn starts flipping through the pamphlet again. “Here’s how this is going to go, Giovanna. You and Hunter are either going back with this nice nurse, or all three of us are going.”

“Dad!” I can hear Giovanna’s embarrassment somehow.

“Alright, guess we’re all going,” he says, getting to his feet.

Giovanna and I are on our feet immediately. “No, no we’ll go,” she says sheepishly.

Mr. Quinn sits back down. “That’s what I thought.”

We trail behind the nurse as she walks us back to the examination rooms. “Do you think he’s going to tell my grandparents?” I ask Giovanna, finally verbalizing what has my stomach in knots.

She’s silent for a moment before speaking. “I don’t know what he’s going to do.”

“Do you regret it?” I can’t stop myself before I ask.

She meets my gaze for the first time since her dad came into her room. Then she grins wickedly, and I feel myself blush from the tips of my toes to the roots of my curls.

“Never.”