Thanksgiving break is nearly over. Life in her tiny home town isn't all bad, but nonetheless Dana can't wait to get back to school. It's been a week since she last got laid, and a girl has needs. Randy gets an enjoyable surprise, and Dana discovers a new admirer...
CHAPTER TWENTY
Dana glanced up from her phone as everyone in the sanctuary stood. She hastily dropped it in her purse and stood, picking up the hymnal by her side. She opened it to a random page and pretended to sing along with the rest of the congregation. Fortunately, only a handful of other young people were in the balcony with her, unlikely to notice and certain not to care that she wasn't paying attention.
Her mother wasn't giving her the evil eye. That was something. From her place at the piano at the front of the sanctuary, she was ideally situated to keep an eye on goings-on up in the balcony. Probably best to leave the phone in her purse.
There was nothing to see on it anyhow. Service was spotty at best in her one-horse home town. She'd been scrolling through old text messages, especially the ones from Randy. She really ought to delete some of them. Her mother's reaction to seeing some of them didn't bear thinking about.
The song came to an end. Dana smoothed her skirt as she sat, grateful that the service was half over. She hadn't missed wearing church clothes at all. Especially pantyhose. Or the stifling long-sleeved blouse.
Dana paid no attention to the minister's sermon, choosing instead to calculate how much longer she'd be trapped here. Another half hour or so and the service would be over. Thank god.
Then the short trip back home, and she could change into casual clothes before lunch. With luck, she could be on the road back to school by two. Then she'd be able to breathe again, even facing four hours on the road. Maybe four and a half.
Her Thanksgiving break hadn't felt much like a break. More like going undercover in hostile territory. She glanced down, smiling to herself, thinking about the deepest, darkest, most explosive secret she possessed.
* * *
"Zoe, do you know anyone with a car we could borrow?" Dana had dithered over the question for several minutes before asking it.
After cleaning up from their mutual masturbation session, Zoe and Dana had settled in to do some overdue studying. Zoe was still powering through her reading assignments, but Dana's attention had flagged, and she'd begun surfing the internet. Idly, at first, but soon with purpose.
Zoe looked up from her laptop. She blinked a couple of times and Dana could practically
see
her shifting mental gears. "A car?"
Dana gestured at her laptop. "I—I've been exploring my options. For birth control, I mean. I can make an appointment for Monday afternoon. With...a clinic."
Zoe had urged her more than once to consider some kind of birth control besides condoms. Dana had been fascinated by the variety of options Zoe had mentioned, most of which she knew little about if she'd heard of them at all. While Zoe had continued studying, Dana had continued researching on her options.
"Why a car?" Zoe asked. "The student health center provides birth control."
"I know." That had been the first place Dana investigated. "But...they only provide birth control pills."
"And you don't want pills?"
"God, no!"
Zoe smiled. "Well, that's definite. I suspect I know why. Privacy?"
Dana nodded. "I don't even want to think about how my mom would react if she found out I was taking birth control."
"I understand. Well, if that's a serious concern, that takes a lot of options off the table. What did you decide on?"
"You made a good case for an IUD," Dana replied. She'd studied the subject intently. Birth control pills were not an option. For the same reason—the possibility of her mother discovering them—neither was a diaphragm, cervical cap, sponge or spermicide. Nor was she willing to risk a patch or implant. That didn't leave a lot of options.
"It's true, I like my IUD," Zoe said. "But keeping it a secret from your mom shouldn't be the only reason you get one."
"It's not," Dana said, perhaps a bit sharply. "I mean, I've thought about it a lot since we talked. I want something very reliable, and something I don't have to mess with before I have sex. So most of the things I'd have to worry about keeping hidden from my mom are things I wouldn't want anyway."
Dana shifted in her chair, mildly uncomfortable about revealing her thought process. Still, she was able to have the conversation with Zoe. "Also, I want something I don't even have to think about. An IUD would be good for years and it's always there. I like that."
"Okay," Zoe said, "it sounds like you've thought it through. And you made an appointment to get one?" Dana nodded. "Where?"
Dana told her, a clinic in Hampton, about forty minutes away. "I haven't made the appointment yet, but if I can get there, I can get it done Monday after classes." Tuesday was the last day of classes in the coming week. Thanksgiving break began on Wednesday.
"Okay," Zoe said. "I think I know someone who could help."
"And..." Dana hesitated, abruptly anxious about asking for help, for imposing on Zoe. She forced herself to speak. "And...would you come with me? To the clinic?"
Zoe gave her a sympathetic look. "Of course, Dana. I'd be happy to provide moral support." She brightened. "Besides, if I'm going to ask to borrow someone's car, I'm going to be the one driving it."
Dana grinned, unreasonably relieved by Zoe's support. She hadn't really thought Zoe would say no, but asking for help with something so personal was still sometimes difficult. "If you insist."
"I insist," Zoe said, matching her grin. "Besides, you may be happy to have someone else do the driving on the way home. It's not a painless procedure, you know?"
Dana nodded slowly. She'd read up on it. It was pretty quick, and if not painless, not awful either. Still, she'd probably want to take it easy afterward. "Yeah, I know. I really appreciate you doing this, Zoe."
Zoe waved off her thanks, picking up her cell phone. "Don't thank me yet," she said. "If I can't borrow a car, we're not going anywhere."