~SCARLETT.
Emily cocked her head slightly, genuinely confused. "Is it a place? Or, like… a type of medication?"
Lily's jaw dropped. "Oh my God."
I choked on a laugh that bubbled up too fast, smothering it behind my hand. "No, no, it's not—"
"Wait," Lily interrupted me, holding up a finger with a kind of dramatic panic. "Don't G****e it."
Emily's hand, already halfway to her phone, paused in midair. "Why not?" she asked, wide-eyed.
"Because," Lily said, struggling not to laugh, "you'll end up on a list. Or traumatized. Or both."
Emily's eyes went even wider. "Is it dangerous?"
Shaking my head, I tried to rein in the chaos. "Not dangerous. Not if it's done right. It's just… complicated."
"It's like…" Lily gestured vaguely in the air, as if trying to mold the concept with invisible clay. "A grown-up thing."
Emily squinted at her. "Everything's a grown-up thing around here."
Touché.
I sat up straighter. "Okay. Listen. BDSM is… a form of intimacy. With different rule
