Listening as Derrick shared that old tale, Gerald couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile. After all, Gerald had done plenty of similar things for others, so he didn’t particularly view saving Derrick as anything special.

Regardless, it was almost an hour and a half later when they finally finished their meal. By that point, Derrick had already drunk most of the white wine, and his reddened cheek was now pressed against Gerald’s thigh as he continued mumbling about that year’s incident…