Bad Habits

"John Cornelius O'Callaghan, wake up right now."

I opened my eyes to my mother standing over me, her arms crossed and her eyes furious.
"Fuck."
I mumbled, before sitting up from a half naked Kat.
"Katherine, get up."
She demanded, and I reached over and caressed her cheek. She opened her eyes, grabbing my hand and giving me a smile, until she realized my mother was standing over us. She screamed, then bolted up in bed, keeping the covers over her chest.

"See I fucking told you!"
She said, slapping my arm.
"What's going on?"
My mother demanded, and I ran my hand through my hair with a yawn.
"Nothing much, really, just being woken up for school."
"John, don't back talk me."
"Yes ma'am."
I mumbled, and Kat nervously chewed on her bottom lip.
"Kat, what happened last night?"
"I--I... Uh... I got undressed when we came up here and took John's clothes off and we fell asleep. Nothing happened."
"Kat--"
"Shut up."
Kat cut me off, glancing back at me, and I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck.

My mother sighed, then looked at me, shifting her body weight.
"John... Are you two... Sexually active?"
"Oh, my God, mom, I'm not--"
"Just answer the question, John."
I looked away from her, chewing on my bottom lip as I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Yes."
I mumbled, and my mother gave a small gasp.
"We only did it once! It was... A while ago. We had protection, and Kat's on birth control."
I said quickly, and she brought a hand to her necklace and ran her fingers along it, looking down with a sigh.
"You're never gonna leave us alone again, are you?"
I asked with a sigh, and she shrugged.
"Well, I guess... You're growing up... Just... Use condoms."
She said, and I laid back in bed, letting out a deep breath.
"You do have some, don't you?"
My mother asked, and my eyes got wide.
"No."
I mumbled, covering my face with my hand.
"What?"
"No. I don't."
"You used one the first time didn't you?"
"Yes."
I said, and she hurried downstairs, calling my fathers name.

"Holy shit, get dressed before my dad comes in here."
I said, looking over at Kat. She jumped up and grabbed her clothes off the floor, yanking them back on as I pulled on a pair of jeans. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into my chest, kissing her.
"This is gonna get pretty awkward knowing my dad, so you can leave if you want. I'll pick you up for school later. If it's late enough, we can go out for lunch before going in."
"Okay. I love you."
"I love you, too, babe."
I said, giving her another kiss, before she headed out.

After a minute, my father awkwardly walked in and I sighed.
"Um... Well, I guess I should say congra--"
"No. Mom told you to take me to the store, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's go."
I mumbled sitting up from my bed and going into my bathroom. I brushed my hair and teeth, then pulled on a shirt before spraying cologne on myself. I walked back into my room and pulled on my Vans, then followed my dad downstairs and out to his car.

We got in and headed down the road, my leg bouncing up and down nervously. I was a wreck. This is so awkward.
"So, uh, when exactly did this happen?"
My dad asked, and I sighed, leaning my head back.
"I really don't want to talk about it."
"Was it not... Good?"
"Dad!"
"What? Kat's a good looking girl, and she's sweet, she just seems innocent, so--"
"Dad, stop it."
"Just tell me how it was."
"It was fantastic."
I said, a smile creeping on my lips. My father glanced over at me, his own lips turning up into a smile as a chuckle rumbled in his chest.

***

I hurried back home, dodging Jenny's questions. As I opened the door, my father was getting ready to walk out for work.
"Hi, daddy. Love you, daddy. Have a great day at work, you're the best, daddy."
I said, smiling sweetly as I gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"How much do you want?"
He asked with a sigh as he reached for his wallet.
"Nothing! I can't tell my father how much I appreciate him once in awhile?"
I said, and he smiled after a moment, then kissed my head.
"Have a good day at school, sweetheart."

After he walked out, I closed the door and made a mad dash to the stairs.
"Oh, look, there she is. Katherine Johansen, get your butt downstairs!"
My mother called as I reached the top, and my heart started pounding in my chest. I clutched my purse, squeezing it to my body, before slowly making my way to the kitchen. My mother was all dressed and ready for work, and as I reached the kitchen, she hung up the phone and set it down, crossing her arms.

"'Hi daddy, love you, daddy.'"
She mocked me, and I chewed on the inside of my lip.
"Where's the 'Hi mommy!'s? Daddy doesn't know about you and John."
"What are you talking about?"
I asked nervously, and she gave a skeptical look.
"So when we're you gonna tell me you lost your virginity?"
"That's not something teens usually tell their parents."
"But you're supposed to tell me these things because I'm your best friend!"
She said, hugging me close to her, squishing our faces together.
"Mom, that's why I have Nicole."
"Did you tell her?"
"No."
"So it must have happened recently."
"Last week."
I mumbled, and she gave a little gasp.
"So...?"
"What do you mean 'So'?"
"How was it?"
"Mother!"
"Honey, you've been in love with John your entire life, and let's face it, tall boys have more to offer--"
"I'm leaving."
"Get back here."
"What?"
I whined as she pulled me back into the kitchen.

"Okay, would you do it again? With him."
"...Most definitely."
"So it was good."
"It was amazing."
I said, and she started laughing.
"What?"
I exclaimed, and she shook her head.
"Your face. You're so innocent looking, it's adorable. Anyway, now for the parenting part of this whole thing; did he use a condom."
"Yes."
"Okay, and Jenny told me John Senior was taking him to get some more condoms, which means it's time for me to get you some birth control."
"I'm on birth control."
"What?"
She almost yelled, and I pulled one of the packages out of my purse.

"In fact, it's time to take it."
I mumbled, popping out one of the pills. I walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, then stuck the pill in my mouth and took a couple gulps of the water.
"Well then. I guess this discussion is over. Nicole and Kennedy dropped by earlier, but when it got too close to the bell ringing, they left. If you hurry up and get ready, I'll give you a ride to school."
"No, it's okay. John's gonna come over and pick me up in a little bit."
"Alright, then I'm going to work."
"Okey doke, see ya later."
I said, giving her a hug.

"Oh, and mom?"
"Yes?"
"You're not gonna tell daddy, are you?"
I asked, and she laid a calming hand on my should, giving a warm, comforting smile.
"Of course I am."
She said, and I screamed, then stormed upstairs.

***

I was all ready for the day, sitting on my couch flipping through the channels, when John walked in. He walked right up to me, bent down as kissed me.
"Was it awkward?"
I asked, and he rolled his eyes.
"Extremely."
"Yeah, Jenny called my mom and told her so we had a nice little talk when I got home. It was fantastic, really."
"Sounds fantastic."
He chuckled with a smile as he sat next to me.
"You ready for school?"
"I don't wanna go in."
"Why not? We have to start on our project, and Alyssa doesn't know where either of us live."
I said, and he groaned, laying his head in my lap.

"Can't you text Nicole and tell her to give her directions?"
"John, we can't keep missing school."
I sighed, and he sat up, pushing me on my back.
"Would you rather go to school, or stay here and spend some alone time with your loving boyfriend?"
He asked, planting kisses from my lips down to my collar bone.
"...I'll text Nicole."
I mumbled as he looked into my eyes. I grabbed my phone off of the coffee table, opened a new text, typed in the message and sent it to Nicole, all while John was still holding himself above me. After sending the text, I set my phone back down, wrapped my arms around John's neck and kissed him. He put his hand on the small of my back, holding me up to him as he ran his lips down my jaw line.

He kissed a spot on my neck a couple times, before biting and sucking on it. I giggled and slapped him away, holding my neck. He smiled, then kissed my cheek, before pulling me up. We stood in the middle of my living room, and John put on some music, before wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling our bodies so close, they could have molded together. I smiled, looking up into his eyes as I locked my fingers together around his neck. He started to sway back and forth to the beat of the music, guiding my hips.
"I love you."
He whispered in my ear, and my smile grew bigger.
"I love you, too, John."
I said as I laid my head on his shoulder and running my fingers through the hair on the back of his head.