“Fine” he says, wiping his fingers on a thick napkin and taking a drink of his beer. “Thinking about asking Laura out again.”
“Laura Fischer? The woman from the bank who started planning your wedding after the first date?”
Camden laughs. “Yeah, well, she was nice.”
“She told you she wanted you in a navy suit for your wedding,” I reply, deadpanned.
“At least she was on board with you being my best man,” he jokes, taking another drink of beer before diving into the wing.
“Well, that’s a given,” I reply, tossing my bone into the bowl sitting between us and wiping my hands on the napkin. “Bros before, well, you know the saying.”
He holds out his knuckles for a fist bump. “Absolutely.”
“You just remember that. Collin and Cade have each other, so that leaves you and me,” I tell him, diving into another wing. “So, are you serious about Laura?”
He shrugs. “She’s nice. Maybe I judged her a little too quickly last time.”
I turn and stare at my best friend until he looks my way. “She started using your last name.”
He shakes his head. “That was a joke.”
“If you say so,” I mutter, not sure I’m convinced, but whatever. Lauraisa nice woman and they seemed to have a good time when they went out. So much so it spilled over into her bedroom and lasted until the next morning, if you know what I mean.
“Anyway, let’s find you a date.”
I groan, and not because of the spicy barbecue sauce burning my lips. “I don’t need a date.”
“You do,” he insists. “It’s gotta be pretty old playing with your own dick.”
I roll my eyes and focus on the baseball game. I have no idea what’s happening there, but I maintain my vision on the screen as if I were truly following along. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine,” he replies. “It’s time to, you know…move on.”
“I have.” Lies. I’m still as hung up on Charli Miller as I was years ago.
“Don’t lie to me,” he insists, tossing a bone in the bowl and wiping off his hands.
I scoff, but I don’t say a word. Anything I say he’ll use against me or as fuel for an argument.
After several seconds of silence, he asks, “You know it’s not gonna happen, right? I’m not trying to be mean, but…maybe it’s time to move on. She doesn’t look at you like that, and I just hate for you to not live your life because you’re crushing on the wrong woman.”
I know what he’s referring to. Camden knows all about my adoration for his older sister. He’s well aware of my crush that’s spanned more years than not. He gives me shit for it, but he’s never come out and said it.
“I’m good, man. Promise.”
He sets his beer down on the end table and turns to face me. “I don’t want to get all up in your feels, but, like, what is your game plan? I mean, what do you want for your life?”
I open my mouth, ready to let a little sarcasm fly, but that’s not what comes out. “You’d think that with my parents being, well, the way they were, I’d steer clear of any sort of relationship, but honestly, that’s not what I want. I didn’t have the best examples growing up, but I saw your parents. They worked hard at it, and even though I’m sure it wasn’t all sunshine and roses, they make it look easy, you know?”
“Yeah, I know,” Camden replies. “Have you seen either of them lately? Your parents, not mine.”
“Ran into my dad at the grocery store a few weeks ago. It was…weird.”
“I bet it was,” my friend replies. He’s the only one who really knows the crap I lived with when I was younger. Well, him and his parents. “He still with…?” He leaves his question open.
“Oh, yeah. He talked about her nonstop,” I confirm.
Dear ol’ dad is on wife number five. That’s right, five wives including my mom. Staci, the latest one, was a classmate of mine in high school. You heard that right, someone I went to school with. She’s twenty-five, doesn’t work, and lost custody of her two kids because of the lifestyle she used to live. Her mom has her two kids, though Staci gets weekly visitation. However, even though she seems to have kicked the drug habit she once had, thanks to rehab and maybe even because she married my dad, she seems content to just live her life and let her mom care for her kids full time.
