Our Family Tradition

Scarlett Sage is unwinding after her 18th birthday with family. She moves around the house putting things back in order when Nina Hartley, her step-grandmother, and Dee Williams, her step-mother, pause to watch her. Their eyes follow every step she takes. At first their stares are full of pride, then the air shifts, thick with something heavier. The women have waited for this moment since the day they knew she would turn eighteen, and the wait is finally done. They step close, draw her from her chores, and settle her between them on the couch. Nina reaches for her hair, fingers stroking behind her ear. The simple touch makes Scarlett lean in instead of pull away. Dee’s hand slides over her knee, warm and sure. They explain the gift they intend to give her, the one handed down from older woman to younger: they will teach her how to use her own body. Nina parts Scarlett’s knees with slow, deliberate pressure; Dee eases her top higher, baring skin inch by inch. Their mouths follow their hands—Nina sucking the soft slope of her breast while Dee’s tongue traces the inside of her thigh. Scarlett’s breathing breaks into short, needy gasps as she learns what her family has come to show her.