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Dalton turned her to face him "Because tellin’ your mama that I’m takin’ you to Deadwood, when she knows I’ve been a professional gaonna be" He kissed her "It’s late and I woke you up pretty early this o"

She cut the loaf of bread in half and handed it to hi your precious purinned "I think you’re beginning to like me a little"

"Maybe just a little"

He chuckled "Was that hard to ad"

Dalton wasn’t looking forward to his old friend Reggie’s bachelor party Maybe it made him pussy whipped, but he’d much rather be with Rory

In the last week he and Rory had found common interests besides their sexual co fro They’d also done h they ell beyondin Dalton’s rocery shopping, which they quickly learned they both hated One night they’d gone out to listen to a band at the Twin Pines They’d danced, had a few drinks and had run into a million people they both knew No one seeether His old pals were more surprised they hadn’t seen hi in the Montana wilderness, where he’d purposely isolated himself, he realized he couldn’t do that all the time in his hometown Now that they’d seen hi buddies had been pestering hihteous refor days were behind hiie had asked him to stop by his bachelor party

He plastered on a smile as he entered the private back rooratulate his buddy on his upco, offer to buy him a shot and then bail

He’d crashed bachelor and bachelorette parties over the years in this room Odd to think the last one he’d attended here had been his own Talk about tame No strippers No porn No open bar Dalton didn’t recall ht--not because he’d drank to excess He’d ended up sitting in the corner with Leif West--who’d tagged along to the party as Chet and Re Since Leif lived in Vegas, he had a co, which Dalton had found fascinating

So the big whoop-de-do for the last single McKay had fizzled out by eleven pm

"Dalton! Over here"

He turned to see Lee Anderson waving at him As he crossed the room, he accepted a drink from the tiniest cocktail waitress he’d ever seen She was the size of a twelve-year-old girl--the top of her head barely reached his sternum--and he wondered how in the hell she didn’t tip over with herher top half Since she was scantily dressed in sparkly green, she reain and looked up When he looked down to excuse himself, she’d vanished

Lee clapped him on the back "Glad you couldto think you didn’t want nothin’ to do with us no more, bein’s you’ve been back in town for a while and we haven’t heard from you"

Dalton knocked back a s of booze "Aw, I didn’t know you missed s"

"Fuck off" Lee grinned "But I’ed a whole lot in the past few years"

And there it was The reason he hadn’t wanted to coed-a-bit bullshit "Where is Busby?"

"Hell if I know So whatcha been up to? We heard you were living on the streets in Vegas after you lost that poker game on TV," Tick said

Dalton rolled his eyes "Who’d you hear that from?"

"Don’t remember now But you ain’t been back forever You kno theht"

"I’ll set the record straight now" He gave the bare bones version of his life A few ing on Dalton fortheir ten-year reunion Busby showed up with twotits the size of basketballs, collagen lips and vacant eyes The roolass never dipped below the half-fullsubjected to a speech about the horrors of ht tips by Busby’s friends

All eyes were on the e As soon as the strippers had finished torturing Reggie, other guys pulled out their wallets to get in on the action

Dalton didn’t move

Truman slipped in beside him and rested his elbows on the table "I’m surprised you’re not in line for a lap dance, McKay Strippers used to be your thing"

"They used to be your thing too, Tru anymore"