Finding Home || bxb

21

"Nice hickies," Charlie commented the next day as I came down for breakfast.

"Shut up."

When I woke up this morning, I saw the destruction Roman had done to the right side of my neck. There were multiple purple bruise marks from where he had sucked and nipped at my skin. But after waking up and doing my business in the bathroom, I'd gone right back to bed to have a nap as I could still feel the lingering effects of a hangover. By the time I woke up again and came downstairs, I'd forgotten the marks were there. It was too late to do anything about it now as Charlie had seen and so very kindly commented on it in front of literally everyone in the family as we were all in the kitchen while Mike prepared lunch for us.

"I wasn't gonna say anything but damn, Roman did a number on ya," Emily said.

"Please shut up." Were they all going to have something to say?

"Alden, honey, we know you're at the age where you're being sexually active, and we're not the type of parents to try and stop it. We are the type of parents that heavily believe in being safe though. I know it's a little embarrassing, but you did use protection, right?" Carried asked from her seat at the dining table where the rest of us were sat.

I slumped my head down on the table in complete embarrassment. What a fucking way to start the year. Because why would anyone have anything better to talk about, except my love life?

"We didn't even do anything," I grumbled. I lifted my head off the table but hid behind my hands as I sat hunched and slumping down, so I didn't have to look at anyone.

"Okay," Carrie said. "Just make sure if you do happen to do more, that you use a condom. You might not be able to get pregnant, but you don't want to risk STDs."

"You can get STDs in more ways than just sex, like oral, so it's better to be safe and make sure you're getting tested," Mike so kindly added.

I was more than aware of all this information. I'd been with plenty of people and was always safe during that time. Since the last person I'd been with almost a year ago now, I'd made sure to go get tested when I'd sworn of boys until I was certain I wanted to be with one. Luckily everything came out negative.

"Thanks Mike. Thanks Carrie. Do you mind not bothering me for a few minutes while I shrivel up in embarrassment?" I said to both my foster parents.

It was extremely humiliating having this conversation, especially in front of my foster siblings as well, but at the same time there was a small smile on my lips as I hid my face away. It had been a while since anyone had really cared about me to say anything like this. I know my actual parents would have probably talked about it as freely as Carrie and Mike just had and it felt kind of nice to be cared about so much.

"Yeah, please don't bother me either for a bit until I stop feeling the extreme uncomfortableness you just caused," Charlie added feeling just as awkward as I did.

"Yeah, I could use a few minutes as well," Emily said including herself in the mental torment we kids were feeling at the moment.

"Ugh teenagers," Carrie said with a laugh as she got up from the table and joined her husband by the stove where he cooked some sort of mushroom pasta. She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"You know we would have been just the same when we were teens," Mike said to her.

"Oh, I know."

When lunch was served and neither my hickies nor anyone's sex life was brought up again, we all settled into some comfortable chatter as we talked about how all our new years had gone. Charlie had been at another party but apparently it was kind of boring. I couldn't really comment on how Keaton's party had been as I'd gotten pretty preoccupied with Roman and all the making out, but I did remember pres had been pretty fun. Emily had been allowed to go out with her friends for new years for the first time this year. Luckily, she didn't seem to have gotten too drunk, so Carrie and Mike said they were willing to go out more often to parties. She seemed pretty happy about that.