Number Neighbors - Emma Hart Page 0,37
said.
“Technically no,” I replied. “We had a date.”
“That’s dating to me,” Lil in the leather trousers replied, sipping on a gin. “Where’s Maya?” she directed to Mason.
“Drinking milk from a brown paper bag under a bridge somewhere unknown,” he replied.
“Are you sassin’ me, boy?”
“No, ma’am.”
I hid a laugh as my phone buzzed. “Excuse me. I have to take this.” I glanced at Mason in the hope he knew it was Hannah calling.
I edged my way out of the bar and away from the group of smokers at the door. “Hey.”
“Hey? Freakin’ hey?” she replied. “What do you mean my grandma and her friends are at a bar? Where are you?”
“I’m at Pete’s with Mason. I ran into him earlier—we came to get something to eat and a beer. Then we saw your grandma and her friends and they look a little drunk.”
“Goddamn it! Pete’s you said?”
“Yep.”
“I’m coming. Are they still able to stand?”
“Yes, but who knows for how long?”
“Isaac, this isn’t making me feel better. They’re banned from bars and they know it!”
“Banned from bars? How do you ban elderly people from bars?”
“Quite easily. You tell them they can’t go to bars.” There was the sound of a door slamming on her end of the line. “The last time they were drunk in public, they flashed absolutely everyone. Grandma has been inspired to buy weird kinky underwear from eBay, and trust me when I say that absolutely fucking nobody needs to see her in a lace bra with holes for the nipples cut out.”
Yep.
I was with her on that.
“Okay, then. Should we keep them amused until you get here?”
“Yes. Don’t let them out of your sight. That place has a mechanical bull, and I don’t want to spend all night in the emergency room because one of those crazy old ladies decided to ride it.”
“Understood. We’ve got it, don’t worry. See you soon.”
“Yeah, bye.” She hung up quickly, and I tucked my phone into my pocket and headed back inside.
Thankfully, everyone was still sitting at the table. I slipped back into my chair as the ladies were all trying to convince Mason to propose to Immy.
“Don’t you think he should?” Kathleen directed at me.
“I really don’t know enough about their relationship to comment,” I said, immediately hiding behind my beer.
“You’re smart.” Jen pointed at me. “You can marry my other granddaughter.”
I blinked at her. “We’ve had one date. But if we decide to get married, I assure you you’ll be the first to know.”
She nodded. “Acceptable. But you’ll marry her. I know these things.”
I shared a look with Mason. The one he returned was one that said to just roll with it, so that was exactly what I was going to do.
“I want to dance!” Evelyn announced, swaying in her seat.
“This is a sports bar, Evelyn,” Lil replied. “You don’t dance here. You yell profanities at the TV screens.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong.
“You don’t watch hockey,” Kathleen said to her.
“True, but I did once date a hockey player so I know how the rules work,” she replied, staring at the TV. “You no-good motherfucker!” she yelled at it.
A cheer came up from our surrounding tables.
“See?” she said smugly. “There’s really nothing to it.”
Shit, I hoped Hannah would be here soon. They were getting all kinds of excited, and I wasn’t sure how long we could keep them under control.
“What are you reading this week?” Mason asked.
All four women’s eyes lit up.
Ah-ha.
Talk about books with them.
“Seducing the Duke!” Jen answered. “It’s not dirty at all. It was all because of Evelyn’s stupid reading challenge.”
“Oh, you asshole!” Lil yelled at the TV.
I peered at her out of the corner of my eye. For someone who apparently didn’t know the rules of hockey, she was really getting into it.
“It is not a stupid challenge,” Evelyn huffs. “We need to diversify!”
Kathleen raised her eyebrows. “Well, Bettina at the bingo is Mexican. Think she’d join us?”
Jen rolled her eyes. “She means diversify our reading, not our friendship group, you plum.”
“Are they always like this?” I asked Mason quietly.
With a grimace, he nodded. “And then some.”
“My challenge is fine,” Evelyn protested. “It’s diverse and inclusive of all genres of romance!”
“Now you just sound like The Twitter.” Jen sipped her whiskey.
“It’s just Twitter,” Mason said. “Not The Twitter.”
“Are you sassin’ me, boy?”
“I’m gonna if one of you asks me that damn question again.”
I bit back a laugh right as the door to the bar opened and Hannah stepped in. Her eyes scanned the room back and forth until