"One last thing before we leave... I got you this. It looks like things are getting serious between you and Ava. If you invite her over and it gets to that point, I want you to be prepared."
*
His father's words replayed in his head over and over as he looked at the packaged condom in the palm of his hand. He didn't know what to think about this...neither him or Ava had even said "I love you" or anything similar to each other yet. He'd caught himself imagining the pillows were her a few times though...sometimes he just got horny and had to hump something, which was normal. He'd been doing that since he was around fourteen. Now he was nineteen. A legal adult. He could totally take that girl to bed if he wanted.
She was the daughter of a wealthy business couple, and was one year older than him. They'd met long ago at a hotel in Icirrus in Unova, her parents used to own it. A few years ago, the hotel was sold, and Ava's parents now worked with Team Galactic in the space energy business. The boss wasn't trying to create new universes anymore. Took awhile for the public to start trusting the team.
Merc, short for Mercury, was the son of two Galactic admins. He didn't know if he'd ever become a full admin and get his space name now. But he was used to just Merc. It'd be an odd change.
A wet dog nose nudged his hand. He smiled and patted the arcanine's fuzzy head. "This isn't a treat, boy." Rex looked disappointed. "Do you want a bone?" The arcanine wagged his tail.
A beef soup bone was retrieved from the fridge. Rex took it and curled up in the corner of the room, munching. Merc's phone buzzed on the table. He had a text...from Ava.
"I beat your score", said the text. Attached was a screenshot of an Angry Birds game in which level 9 was completed. Merc blinked at it. Took him a week to beat level 8! Damn, that girl had talent...
"My dad bet your dad I couldn't, and now he owes him 100 bucks."
"What?"
"GOTCHA!"
Ava liked to trick him like that. It seemed to work a lot. A lot more than he would've liked.
"Well losing 100 bucks wouldn't be that bad for your dad lol."
"Lol yeah."
A brief pause, then: "Anything going on? I'm bored over here."
Apparently her parents were also at the meeting his were at. His mind went back to where it was before. Should he? His dad had pretty much said go for it...but he had to be cool about it. Something needed to break the ice...Netflix. Netflix and chill. Didn't that usually work? He had no idea.
"I think I saw Guardians on the Netflix list if you want to come watch it." His finger shook as he pressed send. This was kind of nerve wracking...he hadn't said "Netflix and chill", but he was still inviting a girl over and hoping it would lead to romance...
"That movie with the space zigzagoon and the tree man?"
"Yeah. Guardians of the Galaxy. And their names are Rocket and Groot. You said you thought it looked good?"
"Okay, why not? Be there in a few."
Merc snapped back into reality. Now he was thinking with the head between his shoulders, but he wasn't sure if he ever WAS thinking with the one between his legs. He just didn't know. Maybe he was a little...but why? She'd been over lots of times. Just not when it was just them...alone. Alone. That was the key word. Alone and his dad had left him with some...birth control, like he expected him to give in to his raging hormones today. He wished he'd asked him more about girls and love. How was he supposed to know if she was starting to see him as more than a friend? How would he even go about this? What if she rejected him?
His dad had apparently gotten his mom pregnant on their first time and they weren't even married yet. How did he find the courage to make a move there? It was all so confusing. He knew how he felt about her. She was smart, cute, and funny at times...maybe his dad felt the same way toward his mom back then. He had to.
The doorbell rang. He got up from the couch and let Ava in. She took off her coat and put it down. She was dressed for cold weather: long sleeved shirt and windbreaker pants, along with some boots. Merc blinked at her. "Is it really that cold?"
"It's below freezing." She showed him the temperature on her phone. 30 F. He shrugged. "Yeah, looks like it is, but just barely."
"Not that you'd care. You'd live in an igloo if you could." She smirked at him.
"I don't think igloos have electricity in them."
She shrugged. "Yeah, or plumbing...I'd hate having to use a freezing outhouse, and then how would one bathe or shower?" Rex drummed his tail on the ground. Ava walked over and petted him. "Hi, Rex! I'm sorry, I forgot to bring Vixi. I'll bring her next time. Promise." Vixi was Ava's glaceon. She was mostly a pet, but did battle occasionally. Rex and Vixi had bonded, just like their owners.
"There's popcorn or something in the kitchen, right?"
"In the cupboard by the fridge."