Free Somewhere Only We Know by Erin Lawless Page B

entire week’s food budget to eat out tonight.
    “Two Cowboy Martinis,” the waitress repeated, scribbling something intelligible on her dog-eared notepad. “Are you ready to order food?”
    “Yeah, I think I am going to go for the Jacob’s Ladder ribs,” Alex said.
    “Yes, I heard,” said the waitress, arching her eyebrow. “And, by the way, it’s just bog-standard beef. Nothing exotic. And no steroids.”
    Alex eyed the mountain of ribs that the people on the nearby table were barely managing to make a dent in. “No kidding.”
    “Okay, a full rack of the Jacob’s Ladder ribs, then, please, with the standard sides,” Nadia ordered with a smile.
    “Each?” asked the waitress, her pen poised over the paper. Alex snorted.
    “I think we’re okay to share,” Nadia laughed.
    “Ease me in gently, and all that,” Alex informed the waitress solemnly.

    “You’d better prep the doggy bag,” Nadia said in a stage whisper.
    “Two Cowboy Martinis, one Jacob’s Ladder to share,” the waitress ignored them, good-naturedly, slipping her pen into her apron pocket. “Your drinks will be over in a few minutes, guys, okay?”
    “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever had my entire restaurant order done for me,” Alex said, leaning over the table, closer to Nadia, as the waitress moved on. “Is this your idea of me living my own life? Not even getting a choice of food?”
    Nadia crinkled her nose in response to his teasing. “Tonight isn’t about the living-your-own-life thingy. Tonight is about a new experience.”
    Alex arched his eyebrow as he slid the laminated drinks menu back into its slot in the condiment holder, out of their way.
    “Beef for dinner,” he said, in a serious tone. “It’s a brave new world…” Nadia laughed.
    It was funny. She’d almost texted him to cancel yesterday. In the cold light of day – without swings and sunsets and Starbucks making things seem special – it was a bit of a mad idea. She was all for spontaneity usually, but this was a little over the top, even for her. She had enough on her plate at the moment, so she wasn’t quite sure why she seemed to be trying to adopt a socially inept twenty-something stranger. Besides, Matt had texted her a careful three days after date number one, to arrange date number two, with Thursday as one of the evenings he was free. She could have taken him to Bodeans after all.
    But this wasn’t really a date place; this was a friend place. It smelt like meat and vinegar, had ugly orange lighting and the leather of the booths was scratched and faded pale where thousands of arses had rubbed before hers. Alex seemed to have noticed the shabby state of the booths, too, and rubbed his palm over the seat.
    “Okay, so we know the meat isn’t anything exotic… but what do you think the leather is? Moose hide?” Alex clamped his mouth shut guiltily as the smirking waitress returned to their table holding a Martini glass in each hand, the rims dusted in fat white crystals of sugar. Nadia didn’t even wait for the drink to be put down on the table; she took it straight from the waitress as she thanked her. She bloody loved these cocktails.

    Alex looked a little more dubious. “Okay, so this is what, now?”
    “A Martini. Muddled with mint leaves. So, I guess it’s sort of a cross between a Martini and a Mojito.”
    “Okay. And what exactly makes a cross between a Martini and a Mojito Cowboy-y?”
    Nadia shrugged, taking a generous sip of the sharp liquid. “What exactly are you looking for here, spurs on the glass stem? Just drink it.”
    Alex laughed and took a small gulp. “Hmmm.” He swallowed and exaggeratedly pretended to consider the taste. “Not bad, actually. Still, I could do without the girly glass.” He gently flicked the slender stem of the Martini glass with the back of his finger.
    “Hey, if it’s manly enough for James Bond,” Nadia pointed out. “Besides, you could hardly drink it from a pint