Page 27 of The Ghost of You

“Man, I would pay to watch that.”

“Gross, dude.”

“So Mr. Brooding Cop, what’s going on with you and that girl?”

I look in the direction they went. “She’s my neighbor.”

Carson sips his beer. “Looks like you were a little jealous when Mason walked off with her.”

“No way. She’s too young for me. We just know each other from living next door.”

“But you want to know her better?”

“There isn’t anything there, man. We have awkward conversations and awkward moments. Nothing there.”

“What kind of awkward moments?”

I don’t feel like telling him, but I do anyway. He finds it amusing that we saw each other naked.

He grips his chin and stifles a laugh. “Yeah, man. That is awkward. But you sure it isn’t just you?” He nods toward the back of the room and I see Anna laughing with Mason, like they are old friends. “They don’t seem to be having an awkward conversation.”

“Mason could have a conversation with a tree.”

“You sure you’re not jealous?”

“Not at all.”

I finish my soda and throw it in the trash just as Carson’s girlfriend walks up to us, wrapping her arm around him. “You ready to go, babe?”

“Of course,” he answers, leaning down to kiss her briefly on the lips. He is head over heels for this girl. I think he is moving too fast as they’ve only been together for a year and they already live together, but the rest of my family just says I’m bitter because of Claire.

“You two kids have fun tonight. Don’t get into too much trouble,” I joke.

“Thanks, gramps,” Carson says as he claps me on the shoulder and heads out the door.

I decide to forego my rule of one beer and head to the back to grab one more. I had my first one hours ago when I first got here, not even sure why I am still here, so I know I’ll be fine having another.

Mason walks up to me as I throw my beer cap in the trash. “Breaking the rules? Drinking two beers? What’s happened to my brother?”

I ignore him.

“So that girl is interesting.”

That perks my ears up. “How so?”

He leans against the wall and sips a beer. “You don’t know anything about her?”

I shrug. “She’s my neighbor. She works at a bar and a yoga studio.”

“Wow, you are really good at getting to know someone.”

I drink my beer and glance over at Anna. “I don’t see a need to get to know her. She’s my neighbor. That’s it.”

“Yeah, but you want her to suck your dick.”

I look over at Mason. “Do you always have to be so offensive?”

“Says the guy that told me to get my dick sucked from a grandma.”

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