Jarek had been much more promising, and though he wasn’t quite everything she’d imagined, she was so determined to achieve her objective that she was willing to overlook his obvious flaws, including the fact that he stank of cigarettes and she didn’t really like kissing him on the mouth, or that he kept on pinching her really hard like that was a sexy thing. She knew that this moment was going to be magical, so magical it damn well would be, and that thought did as much for the moment as any actual attraction.

The fact that she was still in a decent state of mind to blurt “Do you have a condom?” was perhaps indicative of a certain gap between fantasy and reality, but she was still proud of herself that even in a dizzy of sexual delight, with a third-year student no less, she had a good head on her shoulders.

“What?”

Her confidence, so hard to muster, so brief to burn, flickered and died at his expression, his rigid form. “A . . . condom. Have you got a condom?”

Astonishment. She’d prepped herself for many things – for “But, babe, I prefer it more natural” – and was perfectly prepared to explain how it was her body, her choice, and yes, even call it off if he disrespected her opinion, magic or no. But surprise, an absolute, genuine incredulity . . . She had nothing ready for that, and was suddenly a naked girl in a room that smelled of drying laundry and boy sweat, her breasts flopping awkwardly to either side, her thighs aching, as sexually empowered as a poppadum.

For a moment, the two of them stayed locked there, each waiting for the other to crack first, to breach the gulf of understanding between them. Finally, Jarek cracked, “Don’t you have upgrades?”

“I . . . uh, I mean . . . ”

“Are you a naturalist?”

“What? No, I’ve got . . . I mean, I’ve got nanos . . . I’m not like . . . ”

“But you don’t have upgrades?”

“I . . . uh, no, I don’t, I mean, it’s just . . . I’ve got the basic but not . . . ”

With a grunt, he hauled himself off her and, muttering something she couldn’t hear, fumbled among the discarded clothes on the floor for his jeans, then his wallet, while her skin gently cooled and little goosebumps began to stand up on the outside of her arms.

He found a condom at the bottom of his wallet. He wasn’t sure how long it had been there, and fitted it awkwardly, not looking at her. The sex was more uncomfortable than she’d expected, and though it was, you know, kinda nice, and definitely informative, definitely woman-making, enlightening, she wasn’t sure if it was . . . but then she was still young and had a lot to learn, and next time she knew it would be much better.