Despite the pain she was in, Maria's eyes shot open so wide that her eyebrows nearly hit her hairline. "I..." She didn't know what to say. She'd never had a boyfriend before. Well, she'd never had an anything before. Albie had been understanding about her... condition the entire time they'd been seeing each other, and even when they were kids in school, but nearly no one ever wanted to put up with it.
"Um." She worried her bottom lip. "Did you want to be?" She wasn't sure if was only asking because of that stupid gossip post, and to be honest, she wasn't entirely sure of her own thoughts and feelings on the subject. Would it change things? Maria had never been beholden to anyone - her father had taught her that young, and had even behaved that way himself, hell, even with his own son, Maria's older brother. She looked up into his face feeling vulnerable and small and weirdly worried that this was moment he finally rejected her, like people inevitably did.