Getting Tested for HIV/AIDS

I got tested for HIV/AIDS simply because I'd never been tested before. I don't have nor have I ever had unprotected sex, and I don't have sex outside of a relationship. I don't believe in one night stands or sex buddies because I feel that my body and my mind are way too important to bypass for some minutes of possible pleasure. After researching statistics on HIV/AIDS for my second novel, Round Trip, and finding out that approximately 69% of all newly diagnosed HIV-positive patients are African American women, the percentage for African American males is steadily rising, and married women were getting the disease in record numbers because they trusted that their mate was not cheating, it made me wonder about my own status. I'm not married, but I'd like to believe that the sexual relationships I've been in have been monogamous. However, there's no way I can prove that my partners were as conscientious as I am.

I had no idea how much it would cost to get tested, but I was pleasantly surprised to find various places in Chicago that would test for free. On my way to BEHIV (Better Existence with HIV) at 1244 W. Thorndale, I passed by a lady on the corner who was giving out wads of condoms from grocery bags and was a representative of BEHIV. She filled up my purse to capacity with them, and when I entered the church a few feet from her where BEHIV is located, my eyes immediately saw the dishes on every table. Everything from flavored condoms, fc female condoms, aloe vera lubricants, and various LifeStyle® condoms (non-lubricated, assorted colors, King XL, lubricated, and ribbed pleasure). The condoms come in many shades inside of these glass dishes, and from afar, they look like candy.