Mila's Reckoning

Chapter 23

Mila

Gino and I could not believe our ears when the words "online final" came out of Professor Cash's mouth.
We had finished our last lab of the year on Tuesday, and Gino and I had both laughed about the fact that we had learned absolutely nothing in our 15 weeks of biology. Despite everything that had happened with the Jesse situation, we had managed to just get back to our relationship before of joking around and bombing the lab procedures.
We had completed what seemed like endless labs at this point, just following the instructions, and making it up as we go. But today, we were supposed to get our study guides for the final, and we had planned on cramming over the weekend.
Apparently, Professor Cash had a family emergency that he had to attend to in another state, and he wouldn't be back until the semester was over. He said he could have had a test proxy, but that he would rather just have us take it online so that it could be automatically graded.
I looked over at Gino, whose face was just as ecstatic as mine. Online at-home final meant one thing: OPEN BOOK!
When Professor Cash dismissed us, we almost didn't want to leave. Next Saturday was graduation, which meant that this was our last time to be in this classroom as undergraduates. I hated biology, but I will always be grateful because it is the reason that I met Gino.
On the drive home, there was an eerie silence between the two of us. With graduation in 8 days, there was this looming dread hanging over our relationship. I knew that I wanted Gino in my life, but I was unsure how that would work when he had to move back home. He already had so much on his plate, and with Cami moving in with him, I could only imagine how much more that would add.
The thought of not seeing Gino everyday terrified me. Not because I would miss him, or couldn't live without him; but because he could easily live without me. I'm sure there are plenty of girls back home who would willingly throw themselves at Gino if they had the chance, and what's to stop him from pursuing them?
I mean, it was obvious that he had certain needs that I wasn't meeting. He never once made me feel guilty about my convictions, but I had brought the guilt on myself. It wasn't that I didn't want to give in to Gino and satisfy him in the ways that he had been satisfying me, but I had no way to navigate the... disco stick, as Lady Gaga would call it.
But at 22, I knew that now would be the time to start figuring it out. And with a body like Gino's, I knew it wouldn't be hard to give myself over to the temptation I had been feeling since that first day I saw him running through the parking lot.
It was time. Not for Gino, but for myself.
After class, we went back to Gino's place to celebrate. Before the celebration could commence, Gino ran downstairs to handle something at the front desk, and I decided to use my alone time to call and check in on Lyn. After the fiasco, she had decided to go to southwest Missouri and stay with her mom for a while. Although I had told her that Gino had her place looking brand new, she was still very hesitant about stepping foot in there. I couldn't blame her, no matter how much I would miss her while she was gone.
I wanted to ask her how she was, but I also had something else on my mind.
"Hey girl," she said, answering the phone. She sounded controlled, so I assumed that her mother was around.
We got through the formal introductions and what not until she could slip away from her family and break the formality.
"MILA!"
"Okay, you're alone now," I asked, glancing toward the living room to make sure Gino hadn't snuck in on me.
"Yes, spill, girl!"
"Okay, so I've been thinking, and I've kind of been with Gino for four months now. He's literally the best boyfriend ever, and has been so patient, and I was just thinking that maybe..." I said, trailing off, unsure of how to transition that conversation.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh," Lyn exclaimed, "you wanna actually get down and dirty with the Italian stallion?"
I rolled my eyes. Although I had to admit that her nickname for him was adorable, it was also a total cliché. I tried arguing with her that I wasn't a complete prude since Gino had... ya know. But she wasn't having any of it. I mean, she was kind of right. Her level of excitement was alarming as ideas were spewing left and right. But once she was focused, she was very clear on what I should do.
"Okay, get a piece of paper, here's what you need to do."
After what felt like two hours of advice from Lyn on how to approach the situation, I heard the front door shut.
"Shoot, he's home. Bye, love you," I said, slamming the phone shut. There was no way I could trust her to not say something stupid to him over the phone.
I put on my best poker face, and walked out. I obviously needed more planning, but I could tell, I was ready.