Page 14 of Small Town Boy

5

NOEL

My brother is an asshole.

A big one.

That’s the only reason I can think of as to why we left a perfectly good game of Yahtzee partly played—one he was losing, by the way—on our dining room table, to haul over here and crash girls’ night. A place I know for damn sure we are not welcome. And in the process, ruining guys’ night.

A night that was going damn well.

Sure, Camden started us off a little awkward, blurting out a strange request, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle, once we got our laughing and ribbing out of the way. We’re guys, after all.

“I need you to teach me how to talk dirty,” Camden said, as if he was asking me to hand him a beer from the six-pack I was grabbing from the fridge.

“Excuse you?” Dustin asked, stopping mid shake of the dice.

“I need you to teach me how to talk dirty,” the shy, normally very reserved vet repeated, just as matter-of-fact as the first time.

“Like, in bed?”

“Yeah. I’m not very good at it, and I think Sylvie would enjoy…well, you follow.”

We did. Just like we also didn’t need to hear specifics about that area of his life. Sylvie is like a sister to us, and nobody wants the particulars of their sister’s sex life. Same reason Dustin keeps things generic about him and Kenzie.

“Hold on,” Nash piped up as Dustin tallied his four of a kind. “You mean to tell me that you’ve made it thirty plus years without talking dirty?”

“It’s never been a factor until now.”

Nash nodded, picking up the shaker, repeatedly opening his mouth, then closing it again, clearly at a loss for words. Which for him was surprising.

“Not every day you stun this one out of words,” I comment, laughing. “Nice job, doc.”

“Shut it,” my twin clapped back, giving me the middle finger. “I’m just trying to decide if such a thing can even be taught, rather than just coming naturally.”

“Well, if it’s based on natural ability, I don’t have much hope,” Camden laments.

“I’m sure you’re better than you think,” Dustin said. “Just go with the flow and see what pops out. It’s not like I plan the things I say to Kenz.”

“I was doing some research⁠—”

“You can’t research that kind of thing,” I added. “That’s why it feels forced.”

"So you just blurt out whatever you’re thinking at the moment?” he asked, looking at us incredulously. All three of us nodded. Camden scoffed, shaking his head. “Then I’ve definitely been doing this all wrong.”

Raucous laughter erupted from the table, none of us able to hold it back. Camden might be a new addition to the group, but he rounds us out perfectly.

We continued, the rest of the conversation flowing in a much more normal and natural direction—like the start of hunting season next month and whether or not we were going to be able to convince Camden to join in. Result—he’s still on the fence. The four of us munched on chips and nursed our beers like they were the only ones we were going to get all night. Everything was great. Friday night with my three best friends, hanging out, doing our thing.

Then Dustin changed the subject.

“Noel, how was the drive home yesterday?”

“Fine.”

“Just fine?”

“Fairly uneventful.”