Wow... do they have mutual friends?

Why is he hanging out there so much these days?

So he can just roll home!

Always handy to have a friend working at your favourite pub!

Everyone has a favourite...

Of course she knows where the pub is!

Normally we use "close" with other words like "close to the city centre", but if we talk about something being "close to here" we use "close by" :)

The plot thickens... why did he move from Brighton?

She is just prompting him to give her more information about himself...

Great! This gives Mike the opportunity to explain a little about himself...