Page 19 of Reid
With the blanket over them both, I couldn’t tell if they were naked under there or not, but I didn’t see a pile of clothes anywhere.It wasn’t as if I could lecture my sister for spending the night with a guy she had just met.If she was feeling for him anywhere close to what I was for Reid, then I knew she was already halfway in love with Chance.
A very hot shower later, I was ready for work.I’d hoped the heat of the water would ease some of the discomfort in my core, but if anything, it had made it worse.I felt like I was on fire between my legs, and not in a fun way.That swollen feeling had increased too.And worst of all, I was itching in a place I could not scratch in public.
It was going to be a long day.
Mila was already at WomanLand when I arrived.She gave me a smirk as I walked into the boutique.“Morning, sunshine.How was your night?”
I tried to discreetly wiggle in search of a little relief from the burning and itching.Was this normal after a girl’s first time?Christ, it was intense.Maybe it wasn’t because of healing tissue…
Shaking that thought away, I joined her behind the counter.“It was good.Really, really good.Where do you need me?”
For most of the morning, we were kept busy with an on-and-off rush.A few college students, several groups of expectant mothers, and a few older women who blushed tomato-red as they ducked into the adults-only section.
WomanLand’s computer system was easy enough to learn, and Mila was a thorough teacher.I tried to stay busy in hopes of distracting myself from the discomfort going on south of my belly button, but it only escalated as the day wore on.
Mila noticed me squirming more than once but didn’t comment on it until I let out a small whimper.Her gray eyes scanned over me for a long moment.“Are you sure you’re okay?You look flushed.And not in the well-fucked kind of way, although you are definitely giving off that good-sex glow.”
Shifting from one foot to the other, I realized I was practically panting.The itching was getting more intense by the second.And the burning.It was too much.
“I have a personal question for you.”I glanced around, making sure the store was empty.
“Sure.Shoot.”
“Um…after your first time, did you…itch?”
She blinked down at me for several moments.“Define itch, Everly.”
“I’m itching and burning.A lot.As in this is what I imagine hell would be like.”Embarrassment heated my face.I’d never had issues talking about my body before.Not even when I got my first period.But this was different.This made me feel unclean and gross in the worst way.“It’s so bad, I am starting to feel nauseous.”
“That’s not normal, babe.”She grabbed her phone and started typing.“Not even a little.”
Panic began to set in, my stomach bottomed out, and suddenly, it was hard to breathe.Did Reid… Could he have… I didn’t even want to think about Reid with another person.It hurt too much.But I also had to be realistic.“Then what’s wrong with me?I-I don’t… He used protection, but… OMG, Mila, did Reid give me an STI?”
Her brows shot up, and I couldn’t blame her for being startled.I sounded—and felt—close to hysterical.
She grasped both my hands, giving them a reassuring squeeze.“Okay, deep breath, Everly.Slow and steady, yeah?I don’t think you have an STI.Reid isn’t like that.And even if that were the case, that kind of thing doesn’t show up overnight.It would take at least a few days before you felt anything off.”
“It’s on fire!”I whisper-shouted, nearly sobbing.
Concern darkening her face, she started texting again with one hand, while still holding mine with the other.“First time.Used protection.”She stared at her screen for a moment before typing again.I peeked at what she was doing, thinking she had Googled my symptoms, but she was texting with someone named Raven.“Do you have a latex allergy?”
“No.”I shook my head.“At least, not that I’m aware of.I’ve used latex gloves before without any issues.”
“Then it could be an allergy to the spermicide on the condom,” she informed me, her tone calm while I was shaking with panic—and the agony of a burning itch that was getting worse with each breath I took.
The front door opened, and a woman entered the store.I wanted to disappear, maybe lock myself in the bathroom and sit under the sink faucet in hopes of easing the burn.But I was there to work, not hide from customers.I blinked back my tears, trying to put on my customer-service veneer.
Mila lifted her attention from her phone and muttered a curse under her breath, shooting the newcomer an irritated glance.
“Now is not the time for you to be snooping around, Rory,” my boss complained.“Don’t you have better things to do?”
“Nope.I wanted to meet the girl my son is supposedly tripping over his feet for.I’ve had fifty people trying to tell me about her, but I don’t believe half of what they said.”
I froze.
No, no, no.
I could not meet the woman who’d given birth to the man responsible for my raging vagina.Not now, not like this.
