Rory looked over his shoulder on his way to the kitchen, staring Rig down. “Et tu, Rigatoni? Thanks for the help, man. You got your number handy?”
“Hey, you’re walking out of camera range,” David grumbled, grabbing his plate to follow.
“No, I don’t have my number,” Rig answered easily. “I’m not into keeping score. Anyway our generation isn’t stingy with sex. I don’t think anyone in our age bracket could really answer it without—”
“Ten.” David’s lips curved as he passed them on the way to the kitchen. “My first was right before I moved here for senior year. Tragically romantic goodbye. Very short and disappointing, which she wasted no time telling me before seeing me off. Four of them during my first semester of college, which was just as bad as it sounds. I went to one too many frat parties and those girls were aggressive with potential pledges.”
“How did I not know he was practically a virgin?” Rig gasped dramatically, hand to his heart. “I don’t know whether to applaud or cry or wish I’d gone to his fancy school with its aggressive women instead of our frat-less community college.”
Rory couldn’t help but smile when David bowed. “Applause, please. Though any man with a mother and sister like mine would think my number was shamefully high and that counting as a rule is disrespectful. I’ve told you how many marches against misogyny I went to before I hit puberty and became part of the problem, right?”
Rory felt his shoulders relax as he realized they weren’t really going to make him answer. There was no way he could put a positive spin on that conversation. “Still sounds more fun than the drills Elder had my brothers practicing in the yard after school. I swear I wasn’t sure if that man was rooting for a family football team or a good Armageddon.”
He’d only been forced to suffer through the tail end of those, being the youngest. But Elder was a creative son of a bitch who always found ways to keep him in line. A truth he’d never shared with anyone. Not even his closest friends.
“You got another question?” Rig asked as he put the plates in the dishwasher. “I’ll answer this time so we can spare our shy introvert over there.”
Rory gave him the finger while David walked back to the couch, pulled laminated square out of the pack and…choked. Rory noticed the back of his neck turn red and he knew. David doesn’t want to read that card. Since Rory didn’t want to play the game in the first place, that sounded good to him.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about football instead?” He sent them both his charm school smile. “Asking each other these kind of questions is like—” My new wet dream? Too arousing for my mental health?
“None of us know anything about football.” Rig straightened up and wiped his hands on the dishrag before heading back toward the living room. “I know food, David knows sci-fi, and you know Jack…”
“Wait for it,” Rory muttered loud enough for David to hear.
“At least, you know Jack’s cock.”
“You really can’t help yourself, can you?” Rory pretended to be offended as David’s shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. “So being an emergency responder and saving lives isn’t as important a skill to mention as my sexual stats? I hope you don’t choke on your foodie bona fides, buddy. No Heimlich for you.” They laughed at him as he added, “Plus, I do actually know about football. Obsessed father. Older brothers on the team. High school mascot. Any of that ringing a bell?”
“I remember.” David snorted, then looked down again. “I also remember you hiding books like contraband and wanting to be a librarian before you joined the ambulance brigade.”
“Thank you.” Rory grinned at the memory. “But you’re missing a few details. I wanted to start my career as an adventure librarian after I’d won a few gold medals in gymnastics and written the greatest novel in the known universe.” He chuckled. “Alas, my family is doomed to wander the streets of the city, fighting crime, rescuing kittens and getting curious hands out of…things you couldn’t even imagine.”
Rig stretched before sitting down again, his flexing muscles a distraction. “Not doomed forever though, right? Your brother resigned from the force after his leave. I was really upset to hear about that. I felt safer knowing I could use your name to get out of a sticky situation. And Brady’s doing that super hacking hero thing with his fiancé.”
“Which brother resigned?” David’s brow furrowed.
“Younger,” Rory said, not wanting to bring that up. “We still have two firemen and a detective, but no more chief of police. I’m sure that burns the old man’s bacon.”
“You don’t know?”
He avoided David’s look. “You should pick another card.”