"Well, I ain't on short supply for those," he admitted, flashing her a smile. He leaned his head back against the wall and hummed lowly, trying to pull one out from the depths of his memory.

"Alright, I got one. Even got some marines in it. So, we'd just finished Basic, and we were going to ship out the next day, when a bunch of us sailors thought it would be a good idea to challenge everyone in the bar to a drinkin' contest..."

Alex continued the story in his even drawl, the warmth having spread through every atom of him, his eyes fixed on a point across the other side of the room even as all his awareness (despite trying to ignore it) was on the weight against his shoulder.