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“And one who just might let a bull tromp on your skull if you don’t stop being such a dick,” Taylor said good-naturedly.
Shane smirked. He did not like Keith. At first, he was worried that it was because he was banging Abigail. But no, that wasn’t it. They deserved each other. Keith was a turd in a cigar box.
“I hate that we can’t smoke in here,” Ronnie’s wife Vanessa said.
“You can go outside,” Ronnie said.
“And miss all the fun?” Vanessa pouted.
Yeah, this was fun.
The waitress, bless her, handed him his drink and he knocked it back. It burned nicely. “It’s got a bigger bite than rum,” he told Becky. “I’ll have another,” he said to the waitress before she had moved away from the table. “But make this one with the dragon fruit this time.”
“It’s not like you to water down your drinks with mixers,” Abigail said, even as she swirled a swizzle stick around what was probably a Hendricks gin with lime and seltzer.
Shane wasn’t going to get into it with her. Handling Abigail with a slight smile and ignoring what she said was the best way to defuse the situation. Six months of marriage had taught him that there wasn’t anything she liked better than getting the last word in. It used to be his mission in life not to give in to that. Now, he just didn’t give a fuck.
Although, he still felt the sting of betrayal every now and then. She’d left him when he had needed her most. Would it have killed her to give it a little more time? Abigail had upped and left at the first sign of trouble. Their marriage was probably doomed from the start, but he would have liked to have ended it when they were both on equal footing. Instead, Shane had to wonder if he was still riding bulls if they’d be still together. He didn’t think so, but it niggled at him.
“You got it,” the waitress said. “What can I get y’all?”
“Now, don’t fill up on plantains and the rice and beans,” Nash said. “That’s a rookie mistake.”
“I think I should just get a salad,” Wendy said.
“You don’t come to a place like this for a salad,” Shane said. “You’ve got to try all the meat.”
“What if I can’t eat it all?” Wendy said.
“I’ll help,” Taylor said.
“To be fair,” Becky said. “That’s an epic-looking salad bar. I see shrimp and crab legs.”
“Well, in that case,” Shane said. “Let’s go check it out.”
Vanessa, Becky, and Wendy stood up with him. Abigail glared, and if she had been a cat, her tail would have been slamming down on the table.
Shane had to admit, he could have made a meal out of the spread at the salad bar but the servers walking around with slabs of tantalizing-smelling meats on vertical skewers had him selecting just a few pieces of seafood.
When he got back to the table, their waitress was explaining the process. She held up a coaster. “This is rodizio-style serving,” she said. “What that means is that if the gauchos see green”—she held up the coaster showing the green side—“they’re going to keep bringing over skewers of different meats to try until you tell them to stop by turning over to the red side. Now, you can change your mind after a quick break. Just turn it back to green and that will let them know you’re ready for round two.”
The gaucho behind her had a skewer of pink beef, just dripping with juice.
“What’s that?” Vanessa asked, shuddering dramatically.
“This is picanha,” the waitress said. “It comes from the top of the rump. It’s tender. You’ll love it. We season it with coarse salt and garlic.”
“Set us up,” Nash said.
“Enjoy.” The waitress left, and the gaucho sliced several chunks off from his skewer and served everyone.
Vanessa quickly turned her coaster to red.
They had barely enough time to finish that when the next gaucho handed out sausages, and another one right behind them sliced off some chicken wrapped in bacon. The picanha had melted in his mouth and he wanted more. But he was happy to sample the rest of the meats as well. Lamb followed and then beef ribs.
“What’s this one?” he asked the waitress as she served him his second drink, barely swallowing his mouthful.
“That’s fraldinha. It comes from the bottom of the sirloin, near the flank. We slice it thin against the grain and marinate it with soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, and spices.”
