Putting on my jacket, I turned to them with a smug smile.
"Not me—we're going, Curly." As I turned toward the door, I added loud enough for them to hear, "Last one to arrive pays the bill!"
"I hate it when he says that."
"We're in trouble."
"I've got a feeling this night is going to be very long."
Grinning at Demir, Bora, and Rüzgar's protests, I opened the door and saw Efe standing there with his keys in hand, staring at me in confusion. My grin widened.
"Don't bother going inside. You're coming with us." He frowned slightly, confused.
"Am I?" I nodded with the same grin and jerked my thumb behind me.
"But for your own good, get in Bora's car."
With my final words confusing him even more, I gave him a light tap on the shoulder and walked over to my parked car. Once inside, the first thing I did was cancel the food order I'd placed before leaving, while watching my friends get into their cars through the rearview mirror. When I saw Efe take my advice and get into Bora's car, I smiled in satisfaction and called Bora.
"Yes, Adonis?"
"Send me the address of where the girls are going, Curly."
"Got it."
After hanging up, I looked at the message that came in a few seconds later and remembered where the bar was. Considering that everyone except Bora had been drinking, I mapped out a route that wouldn't get us into trouble and sent it to the others. Knowing they'd do the same, I put in my earbuds, placed my phone in its mount, and added everyone to a conference call before starting the engine.
"Ready, gentlemen?"
"Always, brother."
"Ladies first."
"I'm not ready at all, baby. Can't we rethink this?"
Laughing at Bora's anxious tone, I pulled out, with the others right behind me. When we left the main road and entered the side streets, all our speeds increased automatically. Using the advantage of his custom car setup, Rüzgar made a simple move and pulled ahead of me.
"You don't stand a chance, Dinçer. This is my game."
I smiled slyly at the arrogance in his voice, and when I saw the cemetery sign I'd been waiting for, I shifted gears quickly and, before even reaching the turn signal, made a sharp turn that put me ahead of him. Laughing at his curse, I replied,
"The tables have turned, Atahan. Tonight, every game is mine."
"So the devil is back among us… It was about time," Rüzgar said approvingly. Right after that, Demir snapped angrily,
"You've got the whole city on its feet—why the hell are you laying on the horn, idiot?"
"To tell you to get out of my way."
Shaking my head hopelessly while laughing at Bora's cheerful answer, I heard Efe's tense voice.
"Guys, I hate to interrupt your banter, but can someone remind me why I'm with you again?"
"To even out the number of players." After my simple answer, he continued hesitantly.
"I've got a feeling I don't want to know what the game is, so I'll trust my instincts and skip that part. The real question is—" As we all sped up when exiting the side street onto the asphalt road, he paused and continued in panic, "At this speed, what hell are we heading to?"
Amused by Efe's anxious state, Rüzgar answered him.
"Relax, 352. We're just going out to have fun."
"Great! Coming from you, that confirms we're definitely screwed."
While I grinned at Efe's unhappy grumbling, Demir cut in with an urgent warning.
"Split up. There's an incident on the next street. We'll meet in front of the bar."
With Demir's warning, the four of us immediately went in different directions. The bar was only two streets away anyway. Ten minutes later, I parked on the street next to the bar, grabbed my phone, and got out. Rüzgar arrived first, then Demir. I frowned and looked around.
"Where's Bora?"
"Normally I'd say he got lost, but not with Efe with him."
Despite our curiosity, Demir rubbed his face angrily and muttered,
"He probably went straight into the street with the incident, that pea-brained idiot."
Leaning against the car, I called them one by one, waiting for them to answer, and the three of us were starting to get impatient when Bora hurried over, with Efe right behind him, looking completely drained.
"Where the hell were you? Why weren't you answering your phones?"
As if waiting for me to ask, Bora excitedly started explaining the stabbing incident Demir had mentioned. While Demir raised an eyebrow and looked at us knowingly, Efe jumped in.
"This friend of yours is completely insane! The moment he heard Demir, he went straight into the street with the incident, learned every tiny detail from the cop waiting at the building entrance—I still don't know how he managed that—then, when that wasn't enough, he actually went and bought sunflower seeds from the corner store and sat with one of the neighbors to watch the suspects get arrested."
As Bora listened proudly to his own exploits, Demir snapped,
"Damn it, Frizzy—I keep telling myself not to say it, but you really are an idiot!"
"That's not even the worst part. While they were cracking seeds, they got into such intense neighborhood gossip that when the conversation got good, the lady got excited and invited us in for tea. If I hadn't dragged him away by the arm, we'd be sitting in her apartment right now, listening to how Mrs. Ayla's stepdaughter from the fifth floor ran off to get married." Bora spoke while shooting Efe a dissatisfied look.
"And what would've been so bad about listening to the heartbreaking story of how İsmet tricked Bahar and left her pregnant, all while enjoying my dear Mahmure's fresh spinach pastries? Apparently the grocer's son Cemil is in love with Bahar too. Maybe he confessed and accepted the child. I noticed while he was handing me the seeds—he looked like a decent kid. Hopefully they got married. Remind me to stop by sometime and give gold to their baby. Helping young people is a good deed."
Despite Bora's determined attitude, we all exchanged hopeless looks and headed toward the bar, with Bora still talking about the baby.
When the men waiting at the door stepped aside without saying a word, I turned to the others.
"Try not to be seen by anyone. I don't want them knowing we're here until the time comes."