Note: both the characters in this story are over 18 years old.
*****
June 18th, 1994
"I'm nervous as hell," Jed said. Jasmine could swear the geeky and scrawny black teen boy with short hair was shivering, and it was not just because he had gotten undressed.
The black teen girl with brown eyes, long, curly, dark brown hair on pigtails and a pear-shaped athletic body sat by the edge of the bed of her room, likewise undressed. The two were in Jasmine's parents' bedroom, the only place in the house with a proper stereo set and Jasmine's father's classical music collection, one CD of which was now quietly playing on the background.
"Don't worry, Jed," Jasmine said. "I'm kinda nervous too, though I'm so sure nothing bad will happen."
"Are you sure your parents won't crash us?"
"They called three hours ago from the hotel. It'd still take a whole day for them to drive back."
"And, um..." Jed pointed at the bed.
"My mum told me it's my turn to do laundry, especially if I'm keeping the house while they're on the holiday. Will wash our bedsheets tomorrow."
"Okay! Look, Jasmine, this might be a bad time to mention this, but, um..."
"What is it?"
Jed groaned. "I, um, I couldn't go to the store. I chickened out."
"Okay," Jasmine said. "I understand."
"I mean, I know nobody cares, but what if my parents find out?"
Jasmine smiled. "I have a condom in my wallet, but--"
"Don't bother," Jed said. "It's probably ruined. You're not supposed to keep them there."
"Well, we can always just, you know... not use a condom," Jasmine said. "I'm on pill. Nobody knows about that."
Jasmine hoped her general nervousness - and the nervousness of both of them - would mask her most troubling source of nervousness: just straight up lying. Because if she actually was on pill, her parents would totally find about that, too, much more likely than Jed's parents finding out he'd been buying condoms.
"You're really horny then," Max said with a laugh.
"Yep. Aren't you?" Jasmine said and smiled.
Over the past month, Jasmine must had spent a few full days total in the library, reading books about fertility. She was fairly sure this was the perfect time not to get pregnant from unprotected sex.
"Right," Jed said. "I swear I'm a virgin, in case it's not obvious. Would be pretty weird to catch any diseases from me."
"I trust you, didn't I tell you?" Jasmine said and smiled. "And I'm totally a virgin too. And my mum will never find my dildo."
Right, Jasmine thought. The vibrator. The one that she had put a condom on for longest time because she was afraid of where it might have been, despite it being brand new when she got it. But if she had managed to stop doing that, maybe...
"Right. So just so we're clear, you're REALLY sure you want me to go bareback?"
Jasmine didn't know what was more jarring: The fact that Jed was obviously stalling, or that this was a really, really damn big question.
"I'm SO sure I want you in me totally bare, Jed."
... ~~~ ...
It had all changed a month earlier. She had told his father that she was going to use the computer late in the night to do her homework. Her father had a fast modem, but she had still needed a whole hour to download the video file off the Internet. With no previews around, it was always a surprise what was in the video files.
And she had watched an amateur sex video in all of its matchbox-sized glory. The sound quality was terrible, but she didn't need much to tell that the woman was genuinely enjoying it, and it turned her on. But most of all, she was very conflicted about the ending: After the climax, without advance warning, the man pulled out, and Jasmine saw all the sperm seeping out of her. She was a bit disgusted by that display... but at the same time there was a tiny, nagging idea in her head: The woman in the video could enjoy that, and so could she. Somehow.
And the next day, Jasmine went out to see her good friend Cassandra, whom she knew had been dating one of Jed's friends for a while. After a bit, they got around to talk about sex. Jasmine asked if they had had sex without condom.
"Oh yeah," Cassandra had said.
"Is it really better than with condom?" Jasmine had asked.
"Dunno if it feels better. But it's about hundred times more thrilling."
... ~~~ ...
And so the time for stalling was over, and Jasmine was sure this would get a lot more thrilling.
"Don't be nervous," Jasmine said. "It's going to be okay."