“Miranda, our girl has had to get her feet back on the ground. You’ve got to give her a chance. She’s not out on sleepovers,” Clark, her father, said.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Hey, honey, so I’ve been hearing a rumor.”
It would appear her night for cringing was going to be tonight. “What kind of rumor?”
“The kind you don’t want associated with your girl. I hear you’ve been with a young man. Drew Reynolds.”
“Oh, Raven, he’s a good catch, sweetie.”
“Miranda, enough. He’s a bad boy with a bad reputation.”
“A bad man can change.”
“Give me one good example.”
Why was she even listening to this conversation? They were arguing about themselves, and she was simply a pawn caught in the middle.
“You!”
That made her pay attention. Her father was silent.
“Who was a bad boy?” Raven asked.
“Your father. He had a very bad reputation.”
“Miranda.”
“Don’t ‘Miranda’ me. I knew your reputation, and you were damn lucky that I didn’t take that into account when I started dating you.”
“This is different. This is our daughter.”
“And I was someone’s daughter. Honey, take my advice, make him earn it. Let Drew show you that he wants you before you give him the cherry pie.”
“Ugh, Mom, please. Dad’s on the phone, and I really don’t want to be having this conversation right now.”
“Cherry pie, seriously, Miranda. That’s our little girl, and you think I’m going to let some man corrupt—”
“I let you corrupt me. I was someone’s sweet little girl. Men, they’re all the same, thinking they can keep their girls safe and virginal. Guess what? You can’t. Look at us being all modern. I will so have to tell Deli about this.”
Closing her eyes, Raven shook her head.
“Do you know what a condom is, Raven?” her mother asked.
“Yes, I know what a condom is. I also know about sex. Please, will you stop?”
“I can’t hear this. My sweet girl knowing about sex and condoms. It’s too much for an old man to deal with.”
“We’ll see how much of an old man you are tonight,” Miranda said, making Raven once again cringe. How did she survive puberty with these people?
“Mom, please don’t go into any more detail. I know more than enough about what you two get up to without you going into the whole ins and outs of it.”
“No problem. My lips are sealed. Your father was only going to give you a hard time about Drew. I’ve heard the rumors about him, so you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“I think so. I like him. I’ve always liked him.”
“The thing is, Raven, his reputation with the ladies, it’s not going to be easy.”