My jaw clenched tighter. Was it this easy? Did people really talk like this? In middle school, one of my friends and I would watch porn on Starz after her parents went to bed. We were curious about sex, how it worked, how two seemingly sane, rational people ended up clawing at one another like animals, moaning and grunting. We were interested in the act, sure, but we also wanted to know about what led to it: Were there code words? Did the innuendo just pile up until you knew when to touch each other? Clara and this man reminded me of the scripts of those movies. The woman approaching the auto mechanic in his shop, letting him know she wanted him to do more than service her car. A raised eyebrow, a turned foot, a bitten lip, and in minutes they were all over one another, the woman’s body smeared with black grease.

“Here’s my friend Rob now. Wait till he gets a look at you two; he’ll wish he cashed in his chips half an hour ago.”

The two men could have been brothers: Rob was a little taller than the first man, but with the same large stomach taut against his T-shirt. He wore a black visor and his frequent player’s card was attached to his belt with a neon lanyard. He nodded at us, not asking our names.

He surveyed the empty glasses and water-ringed napkins spread in front of us. “Looks like I’ve got some catching up to do.” I wondered if we weren’t worth a handshake, if he only wanted to touch us the way men felt permitted to touch girls in bars: at the smalls of their backs when pushing through a crowd, a squeeze on the arm for emphasis.

“Why don’t you sit on the other side of Lily? She’s bored by herself,” Clara said. I kicked the leg of her stool.

“Don’t mind if I do.” I wasn’t so sure he was right about catching up. Up close he smelled like rum.

“What’s a girl like you drinking? Let me guess, vodka soda? That’s what women drink to keep their weight down and still have a good time. My guess from the looks of you is that you like to do both.” He ordered one for me, and a mai tai for himself. I was already too far gone: The lights of the slot machines beyond the bar started to blur.