"Will do, Cole."
She took the menus, flashed another toothy smile, strutting to the kitchen. Mara heard her placing the order before the door swung shut behind her. "Three Chef specials, the works. You've got a virgin."
Mara bridled slightly. She wasn't the most experienced woman in the world, but she was by no means a virgin. How dare Cole assume? She was about to protest when another piece of music started. Too loud for her to be heard, she sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. The music ended and the band left the stage to take a break. Mara's frown had deepened to the point where her brows almost met. Red glanced at her, then over at his friend. Cole was distracted ordering another round of drinks and didn't notice her growing anger.
Red tugged his sleeve. "Uh, bro? I think you offended the lady."
"I what?" Cole looked genuinely surprised. "I'm sorry. What did I do?"
"Virgin?" She tried to keep her voice from rising to a screech, not wanting to attract attention. "How dare you assume!"
Cole laughed, throwing his head back unashamedly. "No, you misunderstood." He giggled. "It's the food order...." Shaking his head, he couldn't speak anymore.
Red was in no better shape. It wasn't until Candy brought the food out that she got an explanation. She looked back and forth between the two men who squirmed with ill concealed mirth. Rolling her eyes, Candy explained.
"The Chef Special," she said with a voice that was tinged with a strong Brooklyn accent, "is curry. We do it all, beef, chicken, seafood, fruit, you name it. Some folks aren't used to it, they've got to have sweet, not hot. So the joke is," she jabbed Cole sharply in the ribs, "to tell Chef that he's got a virgin. In other words, he makes one not so hot."
"Ooh!" Mara laughed as Candy served their meals.
"Okay," Candy stood proudly, pointing to the various foods. "This is curried chicken with white wine. That's curried beef with ginger. This here is Chef's seafood melange with shrimp, crab and lobster. That is to die for. In the middle of the table, there are toppings to enhance your curry experience." She pointed to bowls of fresh fruit, diced cooked apples, chopped nuts, raisins and more.
"Why's it called Cabana del Sol if it specializes in curry? Wouldn't it make more sense to have an Indian name?"
"Probably," Red told her. "But the place has changed hands a lot over the years. Each new owner hires a new chef, so the specialty changes. They have to keep the name though, it's in the contract with every sale. Besides, they're well known, and people who eat here like to experiment. Next month they may be doing Italian, if Chef Brady gets forced to fix meatloaf too many more times."
Mara surprised herself by eating most of the food she'd been served. Back home, she was notorious for taking the rest home. Patting her stomach contentedly, she leaned back in her chair.
"If I keep eating like that, I'll gain a hundred pounds!"
"A little weight looks good on a woman," Red told her. "Most of you big city ladies don't have enough meat. You buy into that whole Vogue and Cosmo thing of having to be Calvin Klein models."
Mara was proud of her trim figure, and worked hard at the gym to maintain it. She was healthy slim, not skeletal. "I beg your pardon? Not all of us big city women are anorexic!"
"Oops! My turn to offend the lady," Red said comfortably. "Open mouth, insert foot and chew. I'm used to the taste of shoe leather. I do that at least ten times a day."
Mara found herself laughing again. "It's impossible to stay angry with you two!"
"I wouldn't say that," Cole told her with a completely straight face. "My sister manages well to stay pissed at both of us, pretty much all of the time."
"She tells me that Cole's leading me down the road to perdition," Red contributed calmly. "She blames him, when she should really be blaming me."
"Yeah," Cole jerked his thumb at Red. "He's the instigator, I just mindlessly go along with him."
"How long have you two been friends?"
The men glanced at each other, unconsciously matching expressions. "Thirty years," they said in unison.
"Since kindergarten," Cole told her. "He was standing in the corner crying and I was lying on the floor looking up the girls' dresses. He stepped on me."
"Been great friends ever since!"
"Yeah, I taught him the finer points of looking up dresses. He stopped crying right away."
"We're opening the floor to requests again," the front man for the band said over the microphone. He looked right at Mara when he said it.
Flustered, she hardly knew what to say. "Do you know Linger by the Cranberries?"
"Yeah, we know it. I don't sound like Dolores O'Riordan, but we muddle through."
The soft melody wound up and around, tugging at Mara's heart. She loved the sad ballad. Cole stood, holding out his hand to her.
"Dance with me?"
Mara nodded, taking his hand. He swung her into a firm embrace, carrying her easily across the dance floor. His hips swayed, brushing against hers. She could feel his strong, muscular thighs through the thin fabric of her dress. He gazed into her eyes, and for the first time she noticed the astonishing color of them. They were jade green in the center, with a darker green around the edge. He smiled, slowing as the song faded away.
©2021 Dellani Oakes
To Buy Dellani's Books https://www.amazon.com/Dellani-Oakes/e/B007ZQCW3A/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
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