Teagan tilted her head to the side as she looked at Thalia. "At that party, I was terrified. I didn't hide it. With you around, I was relaxed and knew you wouldn't let anything happen. If something did, you'd intervene. You're my friend; I trust you." She paused, taking a deep breath. "When you had to go do your thing, I thought I'd be just as scared or more so, but since I was with John, I wasn't. I got lost in John and I got comforted by the fact of how he smells - all masculine and safe and warm. I wasn't scared because he was there with me. Like you, he wouldn't have let anything happen to me if anything had gone awry."
"The only doubt I really have is with John. It's not really doubt either. It's certainty and it's just making sure what I do is worth the risk, can be explained without telling myself I knew better. That's it. If I'd slept with him first and then became his friend, things would be different. There'd be no risk," she said, repeating herself from before. "And anyway, I don't think I've ever had a guy that I liked and wanted so much that I knew without a doubt he was worth the risk. Maybe because I trust him to be who he says he is, and to not just leave after."