Page 63 of The Best Friend Power Play

"What did you and Chester talk about the night before they left?"

"I told you. He's been wanting to take up playing the sax."

She rolls her eyes. "I mean, specifically. I don't know where he's at with that. Oh. Unless he asked you not to tell me. I don't want you breaking bro code or anything."

"No bro code in play. He didn't say anything about not telling you, and I don't think he'd mind me speaking to you about it. He just needed a man's input into his, er, strategy."

"His…sex strategy?"

"Correct."

"Okay. Now you have to tell me."

I set aside my cutlery and say, "Well, he started by telling me he wanted to have sex while in Europe. I asked him if he'd had any experience in that area."

"What did he say?"

"He said no. That he'd basically been friend-zoned by any girl he was interested in at school."

Hannah nods as if she knows where this is going. "I think I know where this is going."

I say it anyway. "He said that while the majority of people are okay with his stutter, no girl wanted to date a 'dude who can't speak properly'—his words, not mine."

Hannah blows out a heavy breath. "I hate that so much."

"I hate that, too." I reach across the table and slide my palm over her hand. "But the thing about Chester is that no matter what challenge life throws at him, he finds a way to get through it."

"He does." That brightens her up a bit. "Okay. So back to this strategy."

"In a nutshell, he figures that since he'll be traveling through several non-English speaking countries, he can avoid talking, bypassing what he sees as a major barrier, thereby having a better chance at…you know, scoring."

"That's a little sad."

"I thought so, too. So I told him that his stutter shouldn't matter and that if a girl really liked him, she'd think so, too. But then I stopped myself."

"Why?"

"Because I thought about how it was coming across. Here I am, a dude without a stutter, telling a dude with a stutter how his life is. That's not cool. So, I put aside my own feelings—that he should be with a girl who wants to be with him for who he is—and imparted three pieces of advice to help him achieve his strategy."

"What were they?"

"Number one. Use Google Translate to understand three key phrases—is this okay, yes, and no in the language of whatever country he's in."

"That's good. Consent is vital."

"Absolutely. Number two. Always use protection."

"What did he say to that?"

"He already had it covered."

"Wait. He bought condoms from Doyle?"

I shake my head. "No. Doyle was his boss, so he was too embarrassed to buy them at the store. Besides, he didn't want half of Comfort Bay knowing."

"Half?"

"Okay, all of Comfort Bay. He went to see Doctor Kim at the pharmacy."

---