Tex left.
Reggie cracked a peanut and tossed the shell onto the floor, where it joined thousands of others. “I guess I’m not seeing how you classify someone as a nerd.”
“It’s simple,” Mack explained. “Your love of eighties pop culture and all things nerd-related.”
Brad laughed. “Dude, relax. Nerd isn’t an insult. Look at all the successful ‘nerds’ out there. Tech giants, corporate millionaires, you…”
Reggie reluctantly agreed. “Fine. But you know, if you really want to talk nerds, have you seenRevenge of the Nerds?Released in 1984. Classic movie.”
Mack groaned. “I need more beer.”
“What? You don’t remember Ogre?” Brad grinned. “How about the Omega Mus?”
“You want to talk real movie magic, how aboutBeverly Hills Cop? Eddie Murphy is a genius.Big?Back to the Future?Beetlejuice?Ghostbusters?E.T.? I could go on.”
“Please don’t,” Mack muttered.
“No, do.” Brad leaned forward. “I know a lot of those. I didn’t know they all came out in the eighties though.”
“It’s a little before my time, but I love that decade.” Reggie beamed. Nowthishe could talk about. “And who could forget a classic Navy movie likeTop Gun? Those are my peeps.”
Mack huffed. “Who? Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise?”
“Ha! You know the actors. You saw it. Admit it.”
“Of course I saw it. It had jets in it and takes place at Miramar. That’s a Naval station and not an Air Force base, but jets, man. Who doesn’t love jets?”
Tex had returned with four bottles and stood behind them, staring. “Tom Cruise? What the hell did I miss?”
“And then you have eighties TV,” Reggie said, enthused. He could talk about this shit all day. “ALF,Magnum P.I.,Knight Rider.”
Mack nodded. “Okay, I’m with you onKnight Rider. It’s a car.That talks,” he said to the guys.
Knowing his fascination with wheels, Reggie let him have that one. “The A-Team.You know you’ve all seen that.”
“Well, yeah. Streaming the oldies,” Tex said as he sat. “I notice you didn’t mentionThe Dukes of Hazardthough.”
Mack shook his head. “You mean a series about Southern idiots who ride around in a hot rod with a cousin named Daisy who wore shorts up to her… Yeah, Reggie. You have to include that one.”
The guys laughed.
But as they soon segued into the Mariners’ chances for the playoffs if they continued the way they’d been playing, Reggie accepted that beyond his enjoyment in discussing ’80s pop culture and hanging with the guys, he couldn’t get Maggie and his upcoming date out of his mind.
His heart raced just thinking about it.
An hour later, they walked the seven plus blocks back to Mack’s, where they’d parked. There, they downed water and had a pull-up contest in Mack’s backyard.
Reggie and Brad were neck and neck, though Tex put in an impressive showing.
But to everyone’s surprise, Mack ended up winning, the guy a bit leaner and, hell, strong enough to edge out Reggie, the previous champ.
“Damn, son, who knew you had it in you?” Reggie gave Mack a congratulatory pat.
Mack, for dramatic effect, acted as if Reggie had knocked him out instead of giving the light pat to his shoulder. He sprawled on the ground as if dead. Tex was laughing. Brad sighed and leaned down to flip Mack onto his back.
The faker gasped and groaned. “Laid out by a squid. I’m so embarrassed.”
“And we’re back to Naval insults.” Reggie grimaced. How many years had they been friends? Yet the old service rivalries never faded. “Rich, coming from you.”
