What to Expect

It was a Friday night with nothing else going on, and Amy was hanging out at her friend Jill's house.

"Now that we're in the home stretch here, we should let loose a little," Amy said. They were both admitted to college, and sure to graduate high school.

"You mean like have affairs with older Casanova's?" Jill teased.

Amy laughed. Jill knew that Alonso, who had been her Spanish tutor, had become something more. Amy told Jill one version of it, anyway.

"I meant maybe we should raid your dad's liquor cabinet," Amy said.

"I can't," Jill said quickly.

When she didn't elaborate, Amy asked, "Not in the mood for a drink?"

A longer pause. Then Jill explained quietly, "I'm pregnant."

"What??" Amy's world came to a screeching halt.

Sure, this kind of thing happened to other girls sometimes, but that was other girls. Not girls like Amy. She'd had it drilled into her all her life that there was a narrow path to success in this world, and not a lot of room for error. And a teenage pregnancy would definitely count as an error. And an unforced error at that. It wasn't that Amy was ashamed of sex or didn't enjoy it herself, but...

"All you had to do is take precautions," Amy said. "It's so simple. How could you?"

Jill was supposed to be one of the good ones, like her. Sure, she'd been hooking up with Dave, but how could she be so stupid? Amy felt dizzy and nauseous herself.

"What the fuck?" Amy said, finding herself shouting.

"'What the fuck' is right," Jill said, blinking away tears. "I know it's a surprise, but this isn't something happening to you."

"Not happening to me? I'm losing my best friend!" Amy said, getting up off the floor. She couldn't sit still, not while this was happening.

"Maybe you are," Jill said. "I...I think you should go."

Amy rushed out, not because she needed permission or needed to be told, but because she didn't know how to handle this.

It was a mile walk home, which helped her unwind, but didn't really clear her head. If Jill was going to get an abortion, then maybe it wasn't that big a deal. But if she wasn't willing to drink, that meant she had other plans. Plans she must have been hiding from her. Amy wondered how long this situation had already been going on. How long Jill had kept it a secret from her already. She didn't think Jill looked pregnant yet, but now she wasn't so sure. She wasn't sure of anything. It had rattled her whole worldview.

When she went to school the next day, and it seemed like pregnancy was everywhere she looked. There were a couple girls with rounded bellies that stood out in the hallway. For girls that had already given birth, there was even a lactation room for them to use, repurposed from a supply closet. She saw a couple girls queuing outside it, waiting for their turn.

She had kind of taken it for granted that this kind of thing happened. But now it was hitting close to home, and it seemed almost like an epidemic that was catching. Amy had heard of "baby fever" where spending time around pregnant women made you more fertile. She started to fear that at some point the school as a whole would reach a tipping point, where there'd be no stopping the trend.

"What's your next story going to be?" Barb, the head of the school paper asked her, in school the next day. "Amy?"

"Oh. Right," Amy said, trying to refocus. "Have any of you noticed how many girls in our school get pregnant?"

"Sure," her classmate Bill said. "It happens, and we're a large school with a slightly higher than average rate of teen pregnancy, so there's definitely a few around."

"I...I just don't understand it," Amy said with frustration. She felt guilty about how she reacted to Jill's news, but Jill was avoiding her today, and Amy wasn't ready to make up yet. She realized she needed to work on herself first. "Like, how could you let that happen to you?"

"Not everyone 'lets it happen'," Maria said across the table.

"I know that rape is a problem, but most of the pregnancies around here aren't from that, or we'd see more boys getting charged."

"You can't know that for sure," Maria said. "It often goes unreported."

"I don't think it's as simple as you think," Bill said.

"Well I think it is," Amy said, trying not to get too wound up. "So I want to understand why it happens. I'm thinking, an interview series with girls who are pregnant or have been in the past."

Bard said, "Okay. It's a touchy subject, so tread carefully. I look forward to reading your piece when it's done."

After school, Amy went over to Alonso's house. He had been tutoring her in Spanish, up until she aced the AP exam and then finally gave herself permission to kiss him. That ended their tutoring relationship, and started the relationship they had now.

He answered the door in a bathrobe, and brought her in quickly. She'd been eighteen when they first kissed, but he was still self-conscious about being seen with her. And it wasn't like Amy was going to introduce him to her mother or anything. What they had was raw and physical. Except for the "raw" part.

In his bedroom, she took off her shirt, and he embraced her from behind, kissing her on the back of her neck as his hands reached around for her breasts. It made her breath catch every time.

He undid her pants as she leaned back, melting into him. She could feel his cock pressing against her from behind. She climbed onto the bed and paused on all fours, and asked, "Is this how you want me?"

"No foreplay?" he asked.

"I'm in a wild mood today," she said.

"Training wheels on or off?" he asked.

She reached down and fished a twenty dollar bill out of her pocket, and put it on the nightstand. This was part of their arrangement from the start.

He knew she was a virgin while he was...the exact opposite. He considered sex with a condom to be just practice for the real thing. And while he had enjoyed tutoring her, he wasn't going to tutor her for free. So when she wanted him to use a condom, she had to pay. She could hardly complain about the education he was giving her, but it was becoming harder to find the money.

Now when she felt him pressing into her from behind, she asked to double check, "Is it on?"

Alonso chuckled softly to himself. "Let's consider this a teachable moment. I want you to focus on how it feels, and see if you can tell for yourself."

After all thinking about Jill and seeing all the other pregnant girls at school that day, and thinking about her assignment, Amy wanted to be certain. She resented being denied that, but for the moment she played along.

She focused on where they were in contact, his flared cock head pressing into the opening of her vagina. Even just that little bit of him was an intense pressure inside of her; sometimes she couldn't take the full length of him. It felt so, so good, and made her hunger to feel him push deeper into her. Of course that would be a mistake if he wasn't wearing protection. She wanted to push her hips back against him; it took all her resolve not to. Not yet. But even when she tried to analyze everything she was feeling down there, she couldn't tell. It felt like it always did, although concentrating on it made it more intense.

Would he really penetrate her bareback? She didn't think so, not when she was paying him, but she couldn't be entirely sure. Guys pulled this kind of trick all the time, and she couldn't count on Alonso being better than them. Which meant that even this contact of his tip to her hole was dangerous. Her heart was starting to race.

"I don't know, okay?" she said, feeling defeated and inadequate.

"It's okay," he said soothingly. "You don't have any basis of comparison. Someday you will. We can try that whenever you're ready."

She didn't like the fact that she couldn't tell. It worried her, even now, that he could slip it off and she might not even know.

"Okay," she said. "Show me."

She felt feverish and tense. She almost jumped when she felt him nudge against her again. Just the tip, barely inside of her, and he stopped there, letting her feel it.

He felt bigger, if she wasn't fooling herself. And the friction between them was...different. She could feel more of the flare of his cock's head.

"More," she said.

He slid more of his shaft into her. She was incredibly wet, fitting him in more easily than usual, even though he definitely felt bigger without a condom on. And then he stopped there, letting her savor the sensations. This was different, and she was relieved that she could tell the difference so clearly. Even so, it made her aware of what she'd been missing out on all this time. She knew she was lucky he wasn't actively fucking her, because she wasn't sure she'd want to stop.

His cock pulsed inside her, and Amy recognized that. Whenever she was sucking or jacking him off, his cock would do that sometimes, and a drip of precum would glide down from the top. Feeling that happen inside her was a reminder that this wasn't safe. She had already gotten carried away, but she had to stop it there. She pulled away, and even the feeling of his shaft on its way out of her was delicious.

"You want the condom back on?" he asked. "Or another blind test?"

"Back on, please," she said, desperate now for relief.

When he slid into her again, she could tell he had the condom on again. It paled in comparison, but for better or worse, it got her mind off the risks involved. Though as they fucked, she kept thinking with disbelief that she'd actually let him put it in her bare. What if that was all it took?

She was worked up already, and fast approaching her climax. But Alonso reached his first, maybe worked up by their little transgression. Amy could feel it when he filled up the reservoir tip inside her; she wondered how that part would feel without the condom, but that would definitely be going too far. A surefire recipe for baby batter.

Knowing she was close, he kept thrusting into her, and she didn't want to stop, but she kept thinking about what would happen if the condom slipped off now. If that happened, it would be too late by the time either of them realized what happened.

"I can't. I can't," she said, pulling herself off his cock. To her relief, the condom was still on and still holding all of his load, as far as she could tell anyway.

"Not a problem," he said. "You lie down, I'll take care of the rest."

He spread her legs and brought his mouth to her crotch. Soon she writhed and whimpered, but it was bittersweet. It wasn't the kind of climax she wanted most.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked afterwards. "Why you're so paranoid about this today?"

She explained about Jill, and her story for the paper, and all the other pregnant girls, and how she worried it might be catching, but also saw no excuse for not taking simple precautions.

"So what?" Alonso said. "Women get pregnant all the time. It's not right or wrong. It's a natural process. It just happens sometimes."

"Well, not to me, if I can help it," she said. Alonso laughed at that. "What's so funny?"

"It's just," he gestured to her form, up and down. "Look at you. Thick thighs. Wide hips. Plump breasts. You're built for it. It's going to happen, sooner or later."

The way he was looking at her made her feel sexy, but what he was saying scared her. And she worried he might get carried away if they continued down this train of thought. They both might get carried away.

"I've got to go," she said, getting dressed.

"Don't be ashamed. It's what I'm attracted to," he said.

At lunch the next day, Amy sat down next to Helen, who was gorging herself on peanut butter. Helen's dowdy clothes did little to hide the almost spherical bulge underneath.

"It's Helen, right?" Amy said. "I'm doing a story on the teen moms in our school. I wondered if you might share how you ended up...uh...pregnant." It sounded more awkward out loud.

"Glad to talk about it!" Helen said. "I'm just so proud to be bringing this little one into the world. It's the best thing I've ever done."

Her attitude was utterly foreign to Amy. "So you got pregnant on purpose?"

"Well of course! I would only ever have sex for the sake of procreation," Helen said. "The only sin involved here is that Zeke and I consummated our marriage a little early."

"Oh, congratulations! When did you get engaged?" Amy asked.

She was getting the sense that this conversation wasn't going to do anything to help her understand what goes into an accidental pregnancy, and thought Helen wouldn't want to get into the juicy details anyway.

Helen blushed. "Funny story, we did get engaged before we conceived, but...well...it was a matter of seconds."

Her words painted a clear picture in Amy's mind. Helen and Zeke, conjoined and about to knowingly make a baby, and committing to marriage in that moment. She couldn't picture herself doing that, but it did have a certain allure. Maybe someday, with the right guy.

That Friday, Amy turned her room upside down looking for cash. She had to have a twenty here somewhere. She couldn't be dead broke, could she? She couldn't keep asking her mom for cash without explaining where it was going. Otherwise maybe it was time to get a job. But not in time to meet up with Alonso that afternoon.

As she went to Alonso's place, she reasoned that there were plenty of other things they could do, rather than risk it. But even after he ate her out, she found herself wanting more.

"Come on, can't we just skip the twenty dollars?" she asked. "Or you could spot me. I'll have it soon."

He ran a finger close to her nipple, keeping her aroused. "If you go into debt with me, the conditions might be more than you're expecting."

He was right. The glint in his eye made it clear that he would use her how he wanted if she gave him that opportunity. And then all her money spent on condoms would be effectively down the drain. It scared her, but she also felt her hips shift of their own accord, eager for that punishment.

"How about this. We could play a round of roulette for free. Fifty-fifty odds. What do you think?"

Oh god, he had her on edge, and he was asking her to leave her fate entirely to chance. Better than nothing, she supposed. She felt her pussy becoming absolutely soaked.

"You know that letting you ejaculate inside me is something I can't afford. That would cost me a lot more than twenty dollars."

"What do you mean, 'let me'? When I ejaculate inside you, it'll be your choice as much as mine."

There was a lot to unpack there. 'When'? Like it was inevitably going to happen? And Amy wasn't so sure it'd be intentional. It could be accidental for them both.

He got up and handed her a blindfold. Funny, how he had that handy. "We can stop whenever you want."

So she could take the fifty-fifty odds, and if she could tell that he wasn't wearing a condom, she could call it off.

"Fine, I'll play your game," she said, tying on the blindfold. "Will you warn me when you're about to cum?"

"That would be cheating, would it not?" he replied. "Trust your instincts. You know what my tells are by now."

Lying on her back on the bed, she heard a coin flip, and if he was tearing open a condom wrapper, she didn't hear him do it. Soon she felt the bed shift as he joined her on it, and she reached out, finding him by touch. It was a new thrill, discovering the shape of his body all over again like this.

He kissed her shoulder, her collarbone. It was like he was everywhere at once, she couldn't predict where he'd kiss her next. The heat was radiating from him as he loomed over her, close enough that she could feel the thin line of hair down past his belly button. And then there was the pressure, aimed perfectly true, pressing her open for him.

As he crossed that threshold again, she remembered what it felt like before--both of the ways it felt--and she was pretty sure this time he was wearing a condom. He pressed into her depths, to where she had to stretch to accommodate him. The air left her lungs and she felt like she was never going to get it back.

"Mm, I can't believe we waited this long to do it this way," he muttered in her ear. She could hear the smile.

"You mean blindfolded?" she asked.

"I mean raw. Unprotected. I always knew it was going to happen eventually," he said.

Her rational mind was repulsed at the thought, and all that came along with it. But it also gave her an unexpected thrill. But...he had to be psyching her out, right? She was pretty sure he was wearing protection...unless that was just wishful thinking.

"Hang on," she said, and he stopped thrusting into her, but he was still there, tantalizing her. "You are wearing a condom, right?"

Inside her, his cock spasmed as if in response. It would be weeping precum, which could be carrying a few of his sperm.

"Amy, I can't tell you that," he said.

She was almost sure she could feel the ring of latex at the bottom of the condom. Almost.

"I know you are. I guessed correctly, so now there's no harm in confirming it," she said.

"Oh? That's your guess?" he asked. "We can stop anytime you like. Heck, you can take off the blindfold anytime you like. Either way, it's game over."

"Come on, that's not fair," she said.

"Fair? I've played by your rules for months. This is a compromise," he said.

If he wasn't playing by her rules, did that mean he was breaking them? He started moving in her again, and it was a struggle to hang on to conscious thought.

"But you're trying to get me to believe you're not wearing a condom right now. If I that's true, we have to stop. Are you trying to convince me to stop?"

"No, I want you to be honest with yourself when you decide not to. Someday soon you're going to willingly give up your silly little precautions and accept the inevitable. You're going to get yourself knocked up, and you're going to know exactly what you're doing when you do it."

"No..." she objected, but his words, combined with his cock probing her depths, his entire body wrapped around hers, teasing her with every touch, all of that screamed otherwise. He had to be wrong about her, she thought. She just wasn't sure how to prove that, when she was arching her back into his embrace, gasping in his ear.

When she said no, he stopped moving, but that wasn't what she meant or what she wanted. "Don't stop!" she pleaded. She was so close.

He didn't tell her he was cumming, but he was right that she could tell when it was about to happen. He pushed harder into her. She wondered, if she were smaller or less sturdy, whether she might break under the strain. She could feel the muscles in his arms tensing. He swelled up inside her, and she prayed that she was right about there being a condom between them.

Then after one more long pulse, their bodies as tightly coupled as they could physically be, she felt the warmth of his ejaculate. When it stayed put and didn't spread, she felt a conflicted twinge of disappointment and relief. No catastrophe today. But it was still enough to push her over the edge. Her orgasm rolled through her hard enough that she wondered if her vaginal muscles might pull the condom right off him anyhow, the way they clenched down on him.

The next week, Amy managed to track down Carmen for her interview series. Carmen wasn't so far along, but everybody knew she was pregnant, for now at least.

"First question. Are you planning to carry it to term?" Amy asked, getting her laptop out.

"Hm, I don't know yet, to be honest. It would have been simpler to get an abortion earlier on, but...maybe this is weird...it's been kind of a turn on." She rubbed her belly suggestively.

Carmen was a thin, with a pixie-ish bowl cut of fading green hair. Amy wondered if Carmen was flirting with her, not that she was interested.

"So you might keep it?"

"Yeah, maybe. It's not that big a deal. I could put the baby up for adoption if I have to. But also, like, I've got a support network. It'll be fine."