Page 20 of Bang Buddies With Benefits
8
Catalina
Once we were seated at Las Hermanas Restaurant and Distillery, Luciana Serrano came over to say hello, and I made introductions as she placed chips and salsa in the center of the table.
“Just wait until you try their whiskey,” I said to Zac. “They make a margarita with it that, as Penny says, will have you saying ‘tequila who?’”
Luciana beamed. “Ah, Penelope’s the best—she’s always sending business our way. She’s also the reason Bianca and I inked a deal with the new soccer stadium.”
“Bianca is Luciana’s sister, and they run the business together.” The mention of the soccer stadium illuminated a lightbulb over my head. “Zac owns the Drunken Kraken, this great bar downtown. You guys should all chat business sometime. It’d be a total match made in booze heaven.”
Ping, my gaze returned to Zac, leaving me feeling like a ball in the middle of a tennis match. “Las Hermanas whiskey is made from this certain type of Cacahuazintle corn that’s grown in Mexico. The kernels are bigger and used in dishes like pozole.” Realizing I might be stepping on her feet, I gestured to Luciana. “Sorry. You can give the spiel.”
“No es necesario. Estás haciendo un buen trabajo.”
“Aww, gracias.” I inclined my head to Zac. “She says I’m doing a great job. See how she listens and shit.”
Beneath the table, he pinched my side, and then we were both squirming in our seats, trying to get back at each other like we were in middle school. Something about him always brought out my immature side, which admittedly, was a nice break from having to be uber professional all the time.
Luciana took our food order and insisted on bringing us both shots of whiskey, along with two of their signature margaritas so Zac could do a proper taste test. Which meant we’d just committed to a longer lunch than I’d originally intended on taking. It was so unlike me, veering from the schedule.
Then again, returning to the office meant combing through reports and photos that’d evoke more agonizing memories.Cases like that are the entire reason you became a lawyer. Stop being such a baby.
Stop having emotions was what I meant. If Penny and Ellie were here, they’d spot my internal turmoil and cajole me into spilling my guts. I might be good at reading people and the body language of judges and jurors, but they were Catalina Mendes experts. They’d console me by telling me that I wasn’t a robot and that stifling my feelings wasn’t healthy, and then I’d disagree because the fewer emotions I allowed myself during my job, the better I could present a solid case filled with cold-hard facts instead of watery-outbursts.
“You’re trying to get me drunk, aren’t you?” Zac asked as he surveyed the tray with the two shots glasses filled to the tippy top and the margaritas that required both hands to lift without spilling.
I laughed and slid the two black drink straws toward me, licking the salty rim and sucking up the citrusy-sweet blend with a kick. “It’s called making connections. Plus, we’re both going to need to be a little tipsy to handle talk of monogamy, pretend or not.”
“Oh, for shizzle,” he said, and I laughed again.
“You’re such a nerd.” I’d never met anyone who could go so quickly from badass, tattooed biker dude to utter goofball.
“Pardon me, I forgot to whom I was speaking to-eth. Perhaps you’d prefer I adjust my monocle”—he lifted his finger and thumb in the shape of a circle, going all out as he fiddled with his non-existent eyepiece—“and say ‘indubitably, ma-dam.’”
The lightheartedness Zac brought to every situation served as yet another reason to procrastinate my return to the office. While I might not be able to live in the jovial place long-term, whenever I was around him, everything felt less serious. His low-key chillness was infectious and a trait I’d missed the past several months. By the third time I’d received a sock emoji reply instead of an eggplant, it’d stung my pride a bit. I’d wanted to press for an explanation on why he wasn’t ever D-T-F anymore, regardless of that going against our predetermined set of rules.
Since it was what I wanted and pushed for in our arrangement, it didn’t make sense for me to feel spurned or rejected.
Still, I was glad he was single again so we could get back to doing what we did best: casual sexy fun, where we could simply relax and enjoy each other’s bodies.
And company, I supposed. Over the past week and a half, we’d done more conversing than the previous four years combined, and while he still occasionally made me crazy, I found I didn’t hate it. I kinda sorta enjoyed getting to know him better.
Zac forewent the skinny black straws, wrapping his fist around the stem of his fishbowl of a margarita glass and gulping down the frothy liquid. “Mmm.No wonder you’re a fan. You’ve always been a sucker for all things orange-flavored and extra citrusy.”
In some ways, I was also discovering we knew more about each other than I’d previously thought. For instance, how much I’d misjudged him on his intentions that first night about the bar being a temporary gig. His dad passed about a year after that, and he’d taken the place that’d been in his family for generations and kept what was great about it, while putting his own unique stamp on it. Had I ever told him the rebranding, with the new, updated logo was genius? I’d have to work that into the convo sometime when it wouldn’t feel so out of left field.
“Yep, you nailed it—nailed me good,” I amended, doing that eyebrow waggle he ordinarily used on me, and he laughed.
“Well, you know what they say. Today is not just another day. It’s a new opportunity, another chance, to nail you better.”
“Cheers to that.” I lifted my shot of whiskey, and Zac mirrored me. We clinked glasses, and I tossed mine back in one quick motion.
Zac, on the other hand, paused to study the liquid as it rolled around the glass. “The clarity is great, and it’s got good legs—you and the whiskey have that in common.”
I rolled my eyes, but the goofy grin lifting the corners of my mouth meant it didn’t hold its usual peevishness. Although it crept closer as Zac sniffed the glass, his head cocking as a contemplative crinkle bisected his eyebrows.
I sighed, nice and loud. “Oh my God, just try it already.”
