23. Tug

Eve retold the joke to Troy who smiled and nodded. He whispered something in her ear and Reg felt the change in her. His throat felt dry, and he took a swig of his beer. 

Troy made a comment to the table and all the women laughed. Eve beamed with pride and reached for Troy’s hand under the table.

Troy took her hand and began firing questions at Reginald, which Reginald figured out much later he asked to get an idea of what sort of man Reginald was. 

Troy felt Eve lean into him even more and knew that she was getting sleepy. Troy said goodbye to Reginald and stood.

The women all began to complain except for one who loudly exclaimed, “It’s about time you guys went home and shagged.”

Her voice carried across the table and other women snickered while others looked appalled. The sweet-faced, raspy-voiced blond shrugged and lit a cigarette.