Dear Prudence,
I’m a 34-year-old straight woman and I’ve had two sexual partners in my life, both within the context of an exclusive relationship. With both men, I planned ahead of time to talk about STIs and birth control before having sex, but I chickened out and had sex without any type of discussion beforehand. Luckily I never got pregnant and I get tested for STIs at my annual physical and the test results have never come back positive for anything. I’m single again and dating someone. We aren’t exclusive yet, but if we get to that point, what is the least awkward way to begin a discussion about STI testing and birth control? I know it was stupid of me to skip this conversation in the past, but I can’t seem to make the words come out of my mouth to have this talk. Maybe you have some words I could borrow instead of coming up with my own!