Page 11 of Sex Positive

“What about expanding media coverage?” Charlie suggests. “Do you know if Carolyn has other contacts aside from local news?” Carolyn Samson’s specific title is marketing manager, and she’s responsible for writing press releases about clinic news and advertising upcoming workshops and events on social media.

Victoria frowns. “She’s overworked as it is, Charlie. And you know our marketing budget is abysmal.”

Charlie presses her lips together. “How long do we have before they decide whether to sell?”

“They want to make the final decision by May.”

“Why?”

Victoria shrugs. “Money.”

That gives them less than six months.

Her goal of expanding the Sexual Health Outreach Program with the Peer Health Advocacy Group hasn’t panned out the way she wants, and she can’t lose the clinic, too. She can’t allow this place that provides essential care to the community—toher—to fall.

Charlie has come a long way from the sheltered and self-conscious eighteen-year-old who was ordered to save herself for marriage. And while she is still a virgin—something she plans to rectify—she knows that sex is something to enjoy and not feel ashamed about. This clinic is integral to her knowing that.

“Can you give me time to come up with a plan?” she says before she can think. “To raise the money?”

Victoria’s brows rise. “Charlie—”

“I’m the program director, remember? You hired me to come up with innovative ideas to work with the community.” She sits up straighter. “Despitemy lack of experience. And look what we’ve done! We have a whole new program in the works.”

“Charlie,” Victoria responds, “that’s forsex education, not funding an entire clinic—”

“Tell the board to wait.” She leans forward, pressing her palms against the edge of Victoria’s desk. “This clinic is so important. It’s changed my life more than you can imagine, and youknowI’m not the only one. I won’t let everything you’ve built here go to waste, Victoria.”

Victoria studies her with a mixture of skepticism, pity, and sadness.

“Fine.” She sighs, but her mouth twitches with the ghost of a smile. “I’ll delay them as long as I can. But the second you feel you can’t handle the pressure, you tell me. I won’t have you destroy yourself or let your grades slip. It’s not worth it.”

Charlie begs to differ, but she doesn’t voice this.

Instead, she grins. “Deal.”

Retreating from Victoria’s office a few minutes later, she ignores the weight of uncertainty pressing down on her.

Five

One silver liningof the overwhelming, all-encompassing threat to the place Charlie loves most is that she forgets about her little white lie and Wesley Quinn.

For approximately two days.

Too consumed by thoughts about how to save her clinic, she doesn’t even notice when he slides into line next to her while she waits for coffee at the student union café.

“Rogers, hey.”

She stumbles into the person in front of her and mutters a hasty apology before whirling around to face him.

She glares. “What?”

He’s wearing a green-and-white Archwood LAX T-shirt that brings out the color in his eyes, an irritating observation that she quickly strikes from her mind.

“Is that how you greet yourlover?” He draws out the last word, and she might actually die from the blaze it sets off on her skin.

“For fuck’s sake, goaway, Quinn,” she hisses, facing forward once more.

“Let me buy you coffee,” he says.