Welcome back to Cilantro and Sage! We’re back at the bar with Alex and girl trouble. Enjoy!
That’s the Way the Story Goes
Alex never thought he’d like a woman with purple bangs, but this one. There was something about her. Especially after his brief involvement with psycho nice girl, Kelsey. When she ordered a Negroni? Be still his beating heart.
Until she said, “Er. Just a tad more vermouth.”
He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Really?”
She grinned, displaying a dimple. “Humor me. The sweet vermouth cuts the bitterness of the Campari.”
“Why not just order gin and vermouth?”
“Ah, now that’s a question for the ages. I do like vermouth and gin. Nice drink. The Campari complicates it and I’m all about complications.”
Great, Alex thought—sarcastically.
“So, tell me about these New Orleans Barbecued Shrimp.”
He really looked at her. Her tailored gray suit, starched white blouse. But he came back to her purple bangs. One thing was not like the other. Her brown eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. Maybe she could do messy BBQ shrimp.
He placed the Negroni in front of her and watched while she sipped. She nodded and grinned. “Perfect blend.”
“Thanks.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Don’t take it personally. I’m a bartender, dude. I know how I like my drinks.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Burlington, Vermont. A little place off Lake Champlain,” she said. “So, the shrimp?”
“They’re real New Orleans. Not barbecue like you’d think of barbecue. They’re saucy and messy, buttery.”
“I think you just described me.”
He laughed. “Yeah?”
“Messy definitely. Saucy sometimes.” With her elbow balanced on the bar, she leaned her chin in her palm. “Spicy?”
“Yep. And seriously. Kate does not fool around on the spice. If the menu says spicy, it’s spicy.”
“Cool,” she said. “Does it come with crusty bread?”
“In house baked.”
She grinned again, and that damn dimple almost derailed him. “Oh, yes, please.”
“Put your order in?”
She nodded, grinned, and then sipped her Negroni her way.
He put her order in and filled bar orders but was still very aware of her, sipping her drink, eyes darting around the bar, her body constantly moving. She was hypnotizing. He wondered whether her body would be as active elsewhere.
And then a beautiful blonde, the epitome of curvaceous, sashayed up to the bar. She and purple bangs, laughed, kissed on the lips, a deep kiss, tongue, he was certain. The blonde settled onto the adjacent barstool. Their fingers intertwined. He nodded, laughed to himself. He’d come very close to making a fool of himself again. As he poured a pinot noir, he wondered if there wasn’t a lesson to be learned in all of this.
end
Ah, I’ve tried none of these. The only time I tried campari, I was not a fan. Maybe in a negroni it’s lovely?
Negroni Recipe:
New Orleans BBQ Shrimp recipes. The following recipes are quite different. The one thing in common: they’re messy. So finger-licking good might come into the situation.
Negroni–unexpected. Plot–unexpected. Woo-hoo! (story must have occurred post-social distancing)
Thanks, Maggie! 🙂