Chapter 4 #2
“Nah, not in the mood for tequila.” A half truth.
I’ll never admit that it’s mostly because the wine is so much cheaper, with the upcoming medical bills at the forefront of my mind.
I could have not come and saved the money on the wine altogether, obviously, but this is sorely needed.
The touch of soreness from my exam makes me wince as I shift in my seat.
In the hopes Gage didn’t see, I raise my glass in a salute to him and take a sip of the crisp wine.
It’s not too dry, and the pear in it gives it just enough sweetness.
I hum a little with pleasure as the flavors hit my tongue.
Gage is watching my every move carefully, wanting a reaction to the wine, but there’s also a hint of concern in his face.
“Is everything ok, Celeste?” he asks gently. I wave him off.
“Totally fine, thanks. The wine is delicious.”
It doesn’t seem like he quite believes me about being fine, but he only slowly nods with a little smile.
“Ok, I’ll be back to check on you in a bit. Want me to put in any food for you?”
“Absolutely. I’m in dire need of arepas, please and thank you.”
“You got it,” he says with a rap of his knuckles on the bar as he goes to check on the other customers.
Part of me wants to sigh at watching his ass as he walks away, he really does fill out his jeans so perfectly.
It’s not long before he’s back with the arepas.
He watches as I take a bite, and the flavors almost make me moan.
I close my eyes and let the explosion of flavor roll through me.
The soft corn cake, fall apart tender pork, queso fresco, and pickled jalapeno are complete perfection.
“Gage, these are seriously the most delicious things I have ever tasted. I’ll never get over it.”
He beams with pride.
“My abuela would pinch your cheeks and squeeze you she’d be so happy to hear that,” he says with a laugh.
“This is her recipe?” He nods with such a warm gleam in his eyes, the chocolate brown of them turning to a shiny mahogany.
“She worked on it for so long back in Colombia, and brought it here. It’s what helped make this place a success.
The key was her getting the dough for the corn cake just right, and the seasoning mix for the pork.
I could watch her make them forever while she told me stories.
She started cooking here when my dad first opened this place, and then carefully trained the cook we still have now when she needed to retire.
She passed a few years ago.” My chest tightens painfully at the grief in his voice.
“Sorry never seems to cut it, but I’m so sorry,” I say lamely. “So she really helped build this place?”
“She did,” he affirms. “Without her there would be no El Abrevadero. When she passed we were a little lost, like the entire skeleton of this place was missing, but we worked our way through it.”
“This place is her legacy.” I don’t say it as a question. He nods.
“It’s everything to my family. My dad still owns it, I’m the manager, my brother runs the financial aspects, and my cousin helps manage when I’m not here. We want to make sure she lives on here for as long as we can.”
There’s a burn behind my ribcage and a stinging in my eyes.
I can’t even come close to fathoming having a family like his, that works together to build something so wonderful and carry on the legacy of the beloved matriarch.
The ache and longing to have something like that seers through me, and it must show on my face because Gage looks concerned.
“What’s wrong, Celeste?” he asks quietly, leaning a little toward me to search my face.
“Nothing! It’s just very moving what your family has built. This place is incredible, and I love learning the story behind it.”
He nods slowly, still clearly not believing me. The urge to get back to our usual flirty banter, to hide my vulnerable underbelly is strong. It’s unnerving how he can so easily soften me.
Gage eyes me speculatively, like he’s concentrating hard on solving a difficult puzzle. I look down to finish polishing off my food and take a big swig of my wine. Then he turns to the other bartender near him and says, “Iggy, I’m taking a break. You’ll be ok?”
Iggy gives him an easy smile and says, “Sure, Gage!”
“Holler if you need anything,” Gage tells him.
Iggy salutes and turns to take care of a newcomer that just took a seat a few down from me.
Gage then comes out from behind the bar toward me, stopping next to my chair.
He holds out his hand like he’s a regency era man about to help me out of a carriage.
“Want to come throw some darts with me?” he asks a little shyly.
I love playing darts, and before my mind can catch up with my body, I’m taking his hand to hop down from my high back chair. It’s wonderfully warm and slightly calloused as his thumb makes a quick pass across my knuckles, waking up my nerve endings to send electric currents all through my body.
As I slide off the chair, I get close enough to smell a heady mix of tequila, citrus, and wood smoke from him. The bizarre urge to lick his throat bolts through me, but I quickly tamp it down. Getting my mind out of the gutter, I grab my wine and purse with my free hand to bring them with me.
“I didn’t even know you had darts here,” I say, my voice slightly strained from my reaction to his scent and his hand still engulfing mine as he guides me to the right of the bar.
“It’s in this back hallway. There’s also a hallway to the left of the bar that leads to the restrooms and the back office,” he informs me.
The hallway is well lit with the same blue overhead fixtures as over the bar.
I must have never noticed it my handful of times here since I’ve mostly stuck to sitting at the bar or occasionally getting out onto the dance floor.
The black walls have splotches of colored paint on them in between movie posters of what must be old Colombian films. A narrow red side table sits along the right side, where I quickly put down my glass and stow my purse.
At the very end hangs the dartboard next to a chalkboard scoreboard.
The silence is finally too much as he watches me take it all in.
I’m not sure why I’m back here with him, and I’m also realizing a little too late that I’m in a back hallway alone with a man I don’t know all that well.
Kicking myself for being so stupid about my safety, I watch Gage warily.
There have been plenty of predatory men that have taken advantage of me in my life, and none of them have ever been like him.
We’ve become friends, and I like talking with him.
Apparently I trust him enough to take his hand immediately when he offered it.
That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be cautious.
“What made you ask me to play darts?” I blurt out. He shrugs like he’s all nonchalant, but he’s looking at me intently.
“I don’t know. You look like you have a lot on your mind, and throwing pointy things in a controlled setting seems like a good way to work it out. I know it helps me sometimes if I’m having a rough night here.”
My lips part in surprise, both at how well he’s reading me, and the knowledge that he needs to work out his own feelings like this.
I’ve never seen him act anything less than completely composed and charming as anything.
He somehow knows the perfect way to get me out of my head, and also not feel so vulnerable being back here with him by giving me that small vulnerable piece of his own.
“I’m not going to go easy on you just because you’re being nice,” I warn him.
The flash of understanding in his eyes says that he also seems to get my subtext that I won’t go easy on him if he tries anything funny. It makes me relax just a hair.
“Never, ever, go easy on me, Celeste,” he says with a sly grin.
The low rasp of his voice as he says my name rakes through my midsection, as if he’s unearthing the parts of me I always keep hidden.
My heart gives an alarming kick, then breaks into a sprint.
Trying to mask it, I lift my chin in challenge.
“Then prepare to get your ass kicked.”