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Isaac asked me about my work, and by the time I was done telling him about the places I’d added to the GoWithFriends date night location list, we were parking and heading up to Uncle G and Don’s apartment. Uncle G must have been standing at the window because he had the door thrown open before we even knocked, a look of fake surprise on his face.
“Oh, it’s you two again.” He stepped outside and slugged Isaac in the shoulder. “You like bingo that much, huh?”
“Hanging out with you is the highlight of my weekend, Uncle G.”
“Sure. Sure.” Uncle G turned to me and leaned down to give me a hug. “Let me translate that for ya. What he means is you’re the highlight, doll.”
“Thanks, Uncle G.”
“Anytime.” He grinned at the two of us. “An-y-time. Care to rephrase, Isaac, my man?”
Isaac looked at me, his expression amused, before turning serious in a way that sent flutters through me. “Carmen, you are the highlight of my weekend. By far. Not Uncle G. He’s way farther down the list.”
Uncle G clutched his chest. “Oh, now the truth comes out.” He turned to holler into the apartment. “Hey, Don. You done puttin’ your shoes on yet?”
Isaac held my gaze, and I stared right back. “You’re the highlight for me, too.” I whispered.
I’d been lying to myself when I said I’d get used to being around all his attractiveness, that it could be ignored. It was never going to happen, because there was way more going on here than mere attraction.
“I’m coming,” Don called from inside. “Not all of us have been ready to go since lunchtime.”
“Just put your shoes on. They’re slip-ons, not calculus.”
Isaac stepped closer and pulled me into him while they squabbled back and forth, and I held on, reveling in the feel of his hands rubbing up and down my back. I gripped the sides of his jacket, not really knowing what was happening, or why it was happening at this particular moment with senior citizens yelling in the background. All I knew was I felt happy, and safe, and scared, all at the same time.
“I really thought friends forever was the way to go here,” I mumbled into the folds of his jacket.
Isaac rested his head on top of mine. “Have you ever considered that maybe what you’ve been looking for is friends first?”
Chapter 30 - Isaac
I was carpe-diem-ing all over this day. Carmen sat in the back of the van to keep Uncle G and Don from killing each other, but every few seconds she would look up and meet my eyes in the rearview mirror. Her gaze was curious and contemplative, with a little smile I was dying to know the meaning of.
A cold breeze wrapped around us when we got out, and after getting everyone huddled together and assigning people to carry in the bingo prizes, Carmen linked her arm with mine and snuggled in close.
“You cold?” I asked.
“I’m always cold. That’s why I wear layers.”
Under her jacket, she had on a green sweater with a little alligator embroidered or felted or whatever into the collar. I reached out and ran my finger over it. “Did you add this guy?”
“Yep. Winnie’s idea.”
“I like it.”
She looked up at me, as if those three words held extra meaning for her. “Thanks. Um, so after this, I think we should talk.”
I swallowed. “Okay.” And then I smiled. And she smiled. My play-it-cool-o-meter was broken. I had nothing but goofy smiling and a full-on circus going on inside my brain. Something was definitely different with us. I didn’t know what, but whatever it was, I was okay with it.
We stood together in the line to pay and get our bingo cards, and Edna greeted us with her usual list of rules. It didn’t matter that these people had been here every week for years. They needed to know there was no senior discount, no swapping bingo cards, no guarantee of winning, and no calling out and asking for a number to be repeated. That last one was a new rule. Harsh.
“Thank you, Miss Edna,” Carmen said sweetly.
“Of course, dear. Please wait for a moment. Titan has something he’d like to say to you.” She stood up and walked off, leaving the line of people standing there waiting.
Carmen grabbed a stack of bingo cards from the table. “If anyone asks, Uncle G did this.”
“Sure did,” he said, taking a bunch from her and handing them out to our group. They immediately started swapping, some of them taking two cards. They were rebels. The whole bunch.
