"I'm going." He stood up from the table, "You should hurry on inside as well."

"Yeah, now I'm actually kinda excited." I smiled back, "See you in my room, then."

"Mhm." He nodded.

And with that, we both entered the house together, though we split up at the entrance to make the final preparations on both ends. Right, we both made sure to take a shower, I'm wearing the best striped panties I have in my closet for good luck, and as far as we're concerned everyone is accounted for in terms of whereabouts. Disregarding dad because, well, even if does show up in the house somehow, we'll have locked the door to my room. Ah, but this does raise an important question...

"Should I strip now, or wait for him?" I thought as I sat on my bed, "Mn, it's kinda cold inside the house... Maybe it'd be way too sudden if he saw me standing my room completely naked. Plus, it'd be a waste of my panties."

Oh, but then again, he'll definitely be surprised, since he wouldn't expect it. It'd be funny, but then what if he's thinking of doing the same thing? Geez, if a naked Lemmy burst through my door and went to jump at me, I'd probably shriek and punch him... No, he's not stupid. He's probably taking this super seriously, so I should at the very least return the favor and just wait patiently here like a good girl.

"Still, just sitting like this is kinda boring..." I pouted before readjusting, "Maybe if I spread my legs invitingly? N-No, that's way too perverse! Erm, lie down on my back? That's something, but my bed isn't facing the door, so it'll just look like I'm sleeping when he enters. Oh, I could spook him! No, I guess just sitting normally is the best way..."

Geez, I said this wasn't anything serious, but I sure am overthinking it. I guess I'll just change into my nightgown. It makes the most sense, after all. Ah, at the very least I should make sure to close the blinds. We're on the second floor, but you'd be surprised by how much shadows cast from candlelight can give away. Oh crap, the candles! Since we're supposed to be sleeping, I forgot I bought candles to let us actually see without turning the lights off! Ah, where're the matches...?

"Shit, can't find them anywhere...!" I ran all around the room in search for them, "A-ha! There!"

Knock knock, said the doors. The quiet taps from the other side scared me stiff, but I knew who to expect, so I wasn't that worried. Looking at the clock, it's 12:01. We missed the mark slightly, but I guess it makes sense, since we were both taking our sweet time with the preparations.

"Come on." I hastily sat back down on the bed.

"....." The doors returned a deathly silence.

"You can come in!" I tried to be just a tad louder just in case he didn't hear me.

".........."

He's not entering. I didn't lock the door just yet, and even if I did, he would've at least tried to open it. Lem's planning something, but I don't get what. Ugh, don't tell me he's actually standing around naked out there?! Dammit, what if someone saw you, you idiot?! Fuck, if he makes us mess up now of all times...!

"Just come inside, dude, the hell's your...!" My Eyes shriveled as I saw a woman's figure instead of his, "pro...blem...?"

"Quite the change of heart you've experienced in just a single day, Nel." Mama smirked as she let herself in, "Just yesterday you kept reminding everyone not to let Lemmy inside your room at all costs, but now you invite him in such skimpy wear? What ever is my daughter planning?"

"Skimpy wear?" I looked down to see all the buttons on my sleepwear undone, "Ack, I-I was in the middle of changing, so...!"

"Nel, have a seat." She patted spot on the bed next to where she herself sat, "Let's talk a bit."

...She knows, it's so over. But how, how did she find out!? Gah, did she somehow overhear us!? Or maybe she noticed us entering the house at the same time...!? No wait, maybe she saw me close the blinds just now, or saw Lem approach my room! But wait, that can't be, he isn't anywhere to be seen out in the hallway!

"He's having a heartfelt chat of his own in his room, no use turning back to look at him for help." Mama noticed me looking behind my shoulder, "Now please, let's have a chat of our own. Just you and me."

"M-Mama..." I stood petrified in place, unsure of whether to listen to her or just run away, "A-Am I in trouble?"

"Pfft!" She burst out laughing, "Trouble she says! Geez, I don't remember ever teaching you to be afraid of us, Nel."

"T-Then...?"

"Have a seat." She smiled, "I want to talk to you, and when I say talk, I mean it. You're not in trouble, and I'm not your enemy. A parent is only worthwhile to have if you trust them, that's what I believe."

"...Okay." I nodded, slowly and carefully making my way to sit next to her, my body shaking from whatever she was gonna do to me at any moment.

Is she gonna shout at me? Is she gonna slap me? What part of my body do I brace? And how? All these questions, all these worries are accumulating in my head, and I can't even focus on sitting down properly because of it. I'm practically sitting in a fetal position, what with me hugging my legs so close to my chest. I closed my Eyes, unsure of what awaits me, when all of a sudden.

"There, there." She patted me on the head, "You're rushing things, that's all I wanted to say."

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***

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"This situation, I might not know the exact details, and I certainly don't know what all must be going on through that head of yours." She spoke calmly and quietly, "But I do know that I was your age once too. The age where boys and girls realize some stuff about their bodies that really makes them curious."

Gods, she's trying to explain the birds and the bees to me... Isn't it a bit late for that, ma!? I mean your child was moments away from actually doing just that, so what makes you think I don't know it already?

"You know, I had my first time when I was 19." She suddenly said.

"I didn't wanna know that!" I hid my face away.

"Mhm, but your auntie Anna had her first time at around 16." She continued.

"Again, I don't wanna know, mama!"

"Yet Othelia told me her first time was at around 17." She continued, "The very moment she turned legal, she said. That was the one prerequisite she had before her and Issei could reach that step."

"I get it mama, I made a mistake and you caught me." I tried to end the conversation as quickly as possible, "I won't do it again, so you can leave now and-"

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Zip it!" She suddenly yelled.

And it was quite the sharp shout too. The kind that makes your heart drop, and your Pupils shrink. I never twitched so hard in my life than when I heard this worried mother's desperate shriek. Finally looking at her face, it seems she was crying the entire time, I just didn't have the courage to look at her.

"My point is..." She continued, though even slower than before, "There isn't a set age for one to start doing these type of things. Obviously, your father and I expect you to get into it eventually, it's only natural."

"...."

"But it's important to understand who you're doing it with, as well as the ramifications of such acts." She continued as she looked at the direction of Lem's room, "You said he's just a friend?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'd do it with just anyone, you know." I quietly said as I shrunk back into myself, "He's... Lem is special, I guess."

"And what are his views on this?" She asked, hiding away almost innocent sounding giggles.

"He thinks the same, I guess." I shrugged, "If there's anyone he trusts to this degree that's around his age, then it's gotta be me. Just friends helping each other out."

"Mn, so you'd call those—friends with benefits?" She cracked up just from saying it.

"I don't..." I stopped to think about it, "Y-Yeah, I guess that's technically it. But we only planned to do it once."

"Nel." She was full on laughing at this point.

This woman's mocking is annoying me...! What? What's so funny!?

"Right before I had my first time with your father, I told him the same thing." She smiled, "Just once, to try it out, right? To satisfy a certain curiosity?"

"...Mama, psht!" I found myself laughing with her, "Bahahahaha, so you do get it! Ahahahaha!"

Laughing and laughing, we could hardly even see from the tears at this point. What's going on? This bizarre situation, I'm laughing with my mom about her first time after she caught me almost having my own! This can't be real! A dream, it must be! Bahahahaha!

"So what? You think this won't be the final time?!" I asked through tears.

"Almost certain." She composed herself after a while to answer, "It's how it goes, you know? First you try and hold yourself back from asking him a second time, then he eventually can't take it and asks you, then you make a deal to only do it once a month, then once a week, and finally..."

"Finally?"

"You trick yourselves into dating, then marriage, then raising children..." She gave me a wry grin, "It's the longest and funnest con in the world."

Ehh? I guess that's true. It's a possibility, just like any other, but I don't think we're like that.

"Both Lem and I only see each other as friends." I reassured her, "I get it, you're supposed to save your first time for someone special, but I really don't get what the big deal is."

"Don't get the big deal?" She gave me a deer in the headlights look, "Just to be clear, we're talking about sex here, right?"

"Yes mama, that's what we're talking about..." I groaned, "I'm just asking if it really has to mean anything. Like, it's just a verb, at the end of the day. It's neither a magical spell nor ritual that binds two souls together forever, so why does everyone treat it as such?"

"...Wow, umm, okay." She looked surprised to hear this take, "I mean, what're they teaching you in that university, geez... Okay look, you're right that it's physically just an act, but I guess, mentally it's more than that?"

"Mentally?" I snorted.

"Man, I forgot that teens are like this." She looked at a distant spot in space.

"Like what?" I frowned.

"You guys think you know everything, huh?" She looked back, "Adults are all just bozos who think they're hot stuff, but they don't see the simple truth that you do."

"Cause it's true."

"Hah, of course it is..." She patted me on the head once more, "And yet you didn't see the most obvious fact of all—Lem loves you, silly."

"Sigh, this again... I'm telling you, we're just friends!"

"Hmm, then, a story." She started all of a sudden, "A boy meets a cute girl in university, and they get along really well there."

Gee, I wonder who this is about...

"The boy, at some point, begins to harbour feelings for the girl, but understands his confession would fail the moment he would say it, so he devises a plan."

"A plan? Now it's actually starting to sound like him." I joked.

"When she goes to visit her family, he joins in to make the best first impression he can in order to raise his stocks. Explains the situation to her father, gives her mother a fancy gift, offers his unique skillset to help out around the house, and becomes the perfect older brother to her own brother. Anything to make the family love him."

"Mhm, definitely sounds familiar..."

"In the end, he hopes, when he goes back, the girl will get bugged by her family to invite him over again." She smiled, "After all, a person only considers someone else a potential partner when everyone around them starts calling them a good pair. Back in my day, they called that shipping."

"We still use shipping, mama, but that's only for fictional characters..." I blushed, "Using it for real people is just cringe."

"I'm gonna pretend I know that last word and move on." She nodded, "Either way, the girl suddenly surprises him with a jab of her own—Let's sleep together once! Since we're friends, we won't feel weird about it after!"

"I do not sound like that!"

"The boy, overcome with desire, obliges. They plan everything out, hiding it from the adults and all that..." She flicked my head, "But surprise surprise, they both totally forgot her uncle can read minds and told her parents a long time ago! Boom, bad ending! Plans ruined!"

"Ack! I knew it was that stupid uncle!" I crossed my arms, "But that still doesn't prove anything about Lem liking me."

"Doesn't it?" She stood up, "Cause any normal boy his age knows that there's no turning back after this."

"Huh?"

"Nel, I don't mind you two experimenting or whatever the hell you call it, but be aware of these two things first." She said right before leaving, "One—You won't ever be just friends again if you go through with this. And two—Please at least do it with someone you're dating first."

Slam! The door shut, leaving me alone in my room again. Leaving me with no room to argue, she had calmly and decisively shut down our entire plan just like that. As soon as the door closed, the draft of wind said motion produced even managed to blow out the candle, leaving me, quite literally, with no other option than to call it a night. Tch, start dating first, she says...!