The Talk

Lanie

“Video chatting?” Raven asked, dropping into a chair and settling into a cross-legged position.

“Huh?”

She nodded at the computer screen. Although I’d closed out the conversation box with Andrew, I’d neglected to shut down the entire video chat program.

“Uh, yeah.” I hastily clicked the program closed.

“Anyone interesting?”

The cheeky look on her face said she suspected I’d been talking to her dad. Embarrassment flooded me, and I looked for a way to dodge the question but then realized there was no point. I wanted to connect with Raven, to find out what was happening with her and Jason, but our relationship had gone beyond that of counselor-student. It was even beyond that of Dad’s New Girlfriend. If I wanted transparency from Raven, I needed to offer it myself.

“Just some hot guy,” I said.

Raven made a disgusted face. “Ew.”

“Sorry.” I laughed. “It’s true.”

“You can stop right there. I don’t need to hear any more.”

I leaned forward in my seat, resting my arms on my desk. “I had