She answered politely, but I don’t know if I should be concerned that she didn’t say it would be wrong because he’d end up dead.
“Mental health reasons,” she says before giving Malakai a kind smile.
“Understood,” Malakai says through gritted teeth. He’s not happy about it, but he can’t force her either.
“Shall we?” Gramps asks me. “It’s getting late.”
“Past your bedtime?” Malakai asks my grandpa.
“Something like that,” Gramps says to him.
“I was hoping you’d stay and drink with me.”
“Betty would have my balls, Kai, and then she’d come for yours.”
Malakai slaps the table and chuckles. “I always liked her.”
I feel like there’s so much I don’t know about my grandparents at this point. I don’t think I ever will either. The fact that my grandmother knows Malakaiwell enough that he’s always liked her is intriguing and alarming at the same time. That doesn’t even take into account all my grandfather’s activity before and after prison. My family has a wild past, but hopefully it all stays buried because my generation doesn’t have a damn thing to do with it.
I move first, pushing my chair back and standing before helping Iris from her seat. “Ready?”
“More than ready,” she says, locking her eyes with mine as she climbs to her feet. “This was…”
“Yeah.” I have no words to fully explain the last handful of minutes, and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t either. “Thank you,” I say to Malakai as I turn my attention toward him.
“Be well,” Malakai replies like we didn’t just have a discussion about keeping my girlfriend alive for something her ex-fiancé did.
I slide my arm around Iris’s back, ushering her through the bar toward the exit. Iris glances over her shoulder, giving me a tight smile as I hold open the door for her.
“It’s all over?” she asks as we step into the frigid night air.
“It is,” I say, waiting for my grandpa to join us.
“Thank God,” she breathes, lifting her cupped hands to her mouth to keep them from freezing.
Gramps slides a hand over the side of his head, smoothing down his always-perfect hair. “Problem solved,” he says, glancing around the street like healways does. It’s like he expects the boogeyman to jump out of nowhere, but I guess in his past life, that was a very real possibility.
Iris throws her arms around my grandpa’s shoulders, burying her face in the crook of his neck. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Gramps raises his eyebrows for a second before his face softens, and he wraps his arms around her. “You’re welcome, sweetheart. It got the old blood pumping. I forgot how exciting that world can be.”
Iris pulls back, blinking at him. “What? That was insane.”
Gramps smiles at Iris, not the least bit upset about her comment. “Sometimes you need a little danger to remind yourself you’re still alive.”
I pull Iris next to me, securing her to my side. “Why don’t you go home and tell Grandma that?”
“She’s the most dangerous one of all.” His smile widens. “It’s going to be a good night, kiddo.” He slaps my back like he’s celebrating.
I do my best not to gag because I know he’s talking about what’s going to happen when he gets home.
My grandparents do not have sex. My grandparents do not have sex. I repeat the statement to myself as we climb into the car.
“Breathe,” Iris says with a laugh in her voice. “We’ll be old someday too.”
“Not helping,” I grumble.
“It may be a good night for you too,” she says, low enough that my grandpa doesn’t hear her.
