Andi chuckled.
"If we get a dark booth we can snuggle in I could be tempted to give up grandiose ideas of slow dancing. Maybe." She
gave him a wink, putting one of the bones in the bag and reaching to start on another, long pale fingers covered
gleefully in sauce. "Do you suppose our waitress knows any good places?"
"I think we can arrange for a dark booth." He said with a chuckle, finishing his side of the collard greens and going for
another rib. He'd probably end up finishing hers, it was an acquired taste, but he'd wait until she at least tried it. He
glanced over at the waitress chatting at the podium and chuckled. "Yeah she probably does. Watch." He said, and
with his free hand drained his sweet tea, which, like magic, brought Jenny over with the pitcher of sweet tea. "Hey, you
know any jazz or blues clubs to go listen to some music?" He asked.
Jenny thought, then smiled. "Sure. Two miles down the road, Derek's. Live band tonight."
"That sounds nice." Andi offered and Jenny grinned. Even the different accents made them cute. She was already
coming up with a story in her head about how they'd met and fallen in love.
"It's a local place. Not as touristy." She stated. "Jeff's the owner. And he works the bar. Comes in here a lot. If you tell
him we sent you, he'll take good care of you."
Andi was noticing a pattern, at least in the places they'd visited so far. Everyone was referencing everyone else. The
man that had pointed them to the fishing shacks had called ahead so the owner would know he'd sent them. The
grocer in Hector's hometown had gently moved them on to Jo's bakery. And now the waitresses were offering their
names to drop at another local club. It was like a small town except it seemed to cover at least all of the state that
she'd seen so far.
"Thank you." She answered. "Do you go there often?"
"Sometimes." Jenny shrugged but she was smiling. Yep, you got fuzzy feelings just standing around these two. And
when they actually pulled you into their little world it was a nice place to be. She supposed it was too much to hope
they'd become regulars. "Me and some of the girls like to go over after work when we get off early enough. It's a nice
way to wind down."
"Mmm. And that's what we need. Winding down." He said with a smile. "We'll tell him you sent us." Cross promotion
never hurt a business after all. He knew that. He looked at Andi. "sound good?" He asked.
Jenny nearly melted. Wait till her roommates heard about this one! For once no stories of being pawed by sauce
covered hands connected to drunk bodies!
Andi's eyes softened as she looked up at him.
"Yeah." She answered, voice soft. "It sounds wonderful really." Somewhere nice and quiet with good music. And
Hector. It sounded lovely. Miles from the way tonight had started out and that was a good thing.
Jenny felt the world narrowing down around them again but she didn't mind. She liked the way their voices changed
and went gentler when they were addressing each other. If she could have been sure they'd ignore her she would
have stood there all night. But as it was, she'd just have to watch from across the room. Yep, shameless and she
didn't mind at all, she thought with a grin as she stopped by another of her tops to check on the customers there.
"We're so going to owe her a big tip." Hector said, knowing they were tuning out everyone else. But he didn't feel
guilty about it. And the plus side, all the places they were going were places her family wouldn't be caught dead in.
Decidedly blue collar, after all. The 'hired help.'
She chuckled softly, briefly resting her forehead against him since touching him with her sticky fingers was out for the
moment. Not that she wouldn't dare but she knew he'd retaliate and his hands were larger and possibly even faster
than hers.
"She's sweet." Andi offered with a smile. "And fast with the refills. Even more - she hasn't once hit on you. I think she
deserves a grand tip for that kind of self restraint." She gave him a smile and then shifted the plate of collard greens
over in front of her. There was quite a bit of making do with what you had where she'd grown up and what was in front
of her looked vaguely familiar. As if it might be in the same family of ideas. The smell was - interesting and she briefly
licked off her fingers before finding her fork. Hector had eaten it with apparent relish - which, now that she was
thinking about it, still wasn't saying much... She thought she'd give it a try anyway.
Between whatever the hell Cassie had said to her, then the ambush by her family, he wasn't sure he could get her to
relax tonight without some sort of chemical influence! But slowly she was. Not completely, he could see that, but she
was starting. Which made him relax, and worry a little less as she tried her collard greens.
"I swear, they're good." He said. "Even people without my cast iron stomach think so. Promise."
She shot him a look from the corners of her eyes but the edges of her lips curved upward. She tried them anyway.
It was an odd taste. A little bit boiled, a little bit bitter, a little bit green. After several bites with thoughtful chewing she
concluded:
"Well, I don't think I'll need to protect you by eating it all myself." Her eyes were laughing. "But it isn't bad either. Even
without the tobacco sauce."
Hector laughed. "Should try it with." He said. "I bet this place has a bottle around here somewhere. Seriously, I can't
believe you discount the power of tabasco." He stole a bite of her share of the greens (since his was gone) with his
fork.
She didn't contest the food stealing. In honesty, between the ribs she'd put down and the corn she'd been taking
snatches off and now the criminal vegetables she was actually starting to feel a bit full. Jenny came back and refilled
her lemonade with a grin and then moved on and Andi leaned into Hector a bit more as she paused to take another
drink.
It was interesting really. This place was busy and noisy and boisterous. But it was relaxing. And she thought it had to
do with the good food but also how friendly it felt. She didn't know if she'd find it quite so relaxing if she were here on
her own or with a group of girlfriends but now, here, with Hector keeping her tucked close and surrounding her with
his presence - it was.
"I happen to like being able to taste what I'm eating. Most of the time." She amended with a smile. "You keep your
horrid sauce on your side." She picked up another rib. "Do you suppose they bottle and sell their sauce here?" She
asked. Thinking how Da would love yet another bottle of something or other to play with at the next tribal dinner. She
was sure the ones Hector had sent him were long gone by now.
"They might." Hector said. "Next time Jenny comes around, we'll ask. If not, we might be able to con some out of her
anyway. I think she likes us, even if she's not hitting on me." He teased her and wiped his lips with his napkin before
pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
She chuckled. A quiet, content sound and exhaled a peaceful hum as he kissed her. Setting down the rib she'd
nibbled at because she'd been full before it but everything had tasted so good it had been a shame to stop. Finding
one of the handi-whipes she snuggled back into Hector and started the serious job of trying to clean her hands and
face.
"She's not hitting on you because she likes *us*." Andi answered with a smile. Realizing absently that she was going
to have to trim her nails. They'd gotten longer than she usually let them. "It’s a bit nice really to run into someone that
likes us as a couple. Maybe we should keep her." She grinned up at him and then glanced at the food that was left
over. Which wasn't as much as she'd thought there would be. "I'm not sure how well this will hold up while we while
away the night." She added reluctantly.
Jenny, seeing the hand cleaning that was going on, knew a sign when she saw it. Which was too bad. She could have
kept them all night. Cute AND not a hassle. Could a server ask for more? She went over with the bill but still asked:
"Is that all for y’all tonight or did you want some dessert?"
"Nah, we're good. Don't want her exploding all over the place." Hector teased, with a wink at Andi. This was the most
he'd ever seen her eat in one sitting, including the Italian restaurant. "We're good with the bill." He said as he
unwrapped a handi wipe for himself to do the fine tuning cleaning.
Jenny chuckled and handed it to him as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet.
"I got this one." He said. After all, they'd been able to trace her through her bank card. He took out his credit card and
gave it to Jenny along with the bill, who went off to bring back the slip. "Sure you're going to be awake for the music?"
Working at her nails, Andi chuckled.
"Are you offering to dance with me to keep me awake?" She teased, tipping her head back to give him a kiss. He
probably would. Not to keep her awake but if she hinted that she wanted to dance, he probably would for her. So she
wasn't going to ask. She was more than content to simply be in his arms tonight and sitting worked just as well for
that. But she was still going to tease. "Because if I fall asleep on the back of the motorcycle you'd have to turn around
and come back and get me wherever I've fallen off."
"You know, Sara got me a t-shirt once, it says on the back of it 'if you can read this, she fell off.'" He said with a laugh
as he pulled away just enough to sign the credit slip and include a generous tip. "Hey, Jenny. Do you guys sell the
barbeque sauce?"
"Oh yeah. Which ones do you want?" She asked. Also getting a bit extra in her check for every bottle she sold, as
commission.
"The one that was on this rack, and some of the hottest you've got." He said. "Have to out do the tabasco you know."
"I'll be right back." Jenny promised, taking his card again. Andi chuckled and, hands finally cleaned, settled into
Hector and shut her eyes for a moment, curling long fingers in the fabric of his shirt.
"Da always swore he only wanted daughters." She stated with a quiet chuckle. "You've probably made him change his
mind about that by now, you know."
"Yeah he says that now." Hector said with a chuckle. "Wait till he has a son in law, and has to realize all the corrupting
things I'm doing to you...hot food, cold tea, sleeping in...."
"Very true." Andi murmured against him with a smile. Opening her eyes to look up at him. "Spoiling me, being
protective of me, watching over me, making me laugh - I'm sure Da will be horrified."
No. Despite the fact they were sharing a bed, she didn't think Da would disapprove of Hector. Not before and not now.
She knew it mattered to him that she and her Mum be treated right. And Hector treated her as if she was a precious,
precious gift handed down straight from God. Of course, by having the wedding in Africa, something no one, herself
included in her family, would have even hoped for had to be enough to set Hector up for some kind of great medal
from her Da or something. It was why she wasn't going to tell them. It had been Hector's suggestion and she thought
he deserved the full impact of the joy he was going to bring her parents.
"Hey, don't discount that so soon." He said with a chuckle as Jenny returned with his card and a bag full of different
sauces, all in plastic bottles and capped tightly.
"Now, y'all come back, ya here?" She said, with the standard Southern 'good bye' delivered in the sugared accent,
with honesty behind it. Hector grinned.
"We will." He said. "One of the only places that I can leave without leaving hungry." He teased Andi, who liked to pick
on him for his appetite, and his food choosings, and anything else in that subject.
Andi laughed softly at him, slipping out of the booth after he did and making sure she remembered to take the bag
with their clothes in it with her. Her hand found his automatically and she gave Jenny a smile and a 'thank you' that
earned her a bright grin and a slightly wistful look too.
"If it keeps you full for even a little while than I think we should add this to our list of 'good places.'" She agreed,
slipping under his arm again as she looked up at him with a smile. "And we'll be sure to ask for you next time we come
back." She added, looking at their waitress. Who grinned brightly back.
"Good" Jenny nodded. "That way I won't have to fight one of the other girls for you." Cute, no hasslel, AND good
tippers. Yeah, she'd be more than happy to see them both again. Andi chuckled as she slipped her arm around
Hector's waist. Feeling - better. Inside where her soul needed to breath she felt better. This had been a nice place.
But it had been nice to have someone that didn't automatically hate either her or Hector for being with the other one
too.
"Have a good one." Hector said as he and Andi headed out of the eatery, and back to the first restaurant where his
bike was. They had clothes, left overs and sauce to stash after all. Would be a tight fit, but he was nothing if not a
good packer. Kinda had to be with his life.
He was fairly sure everyone was gone, her family that is, as they approached the restaurant. Didn't stop him from
going a bit of a long way or avoiding the windows though.
Her family didn't usually lay in wait. It was much more their style to come in like a flood and try to overwhelm you than
to sit patiently and ambush you a second time. That thought - Andi still wouldn't put it past Bea to attempt the
'conciliatory' route. Playing the part of the 'good one' trying to make things right and 'concerned' that Andi might have
'taken things wrong'. She was so good at that because - deep down - a part of Bea actually believed the role she'd
played for so long.
Andi was more than content to let Hector steer their course back to the bike. But she did pay attention to notice that,
if they'd kept the cars of earlier, those were long gone now. She wondered if they'd even stayed for dinner.
And she wondered what they'd do next.
Both thoughts she couldn't do anything about and she pushed them to the side. Edge of her lips curving as she
watched Hector somehow manage to fit everything into the saddlebags on the sides of his bike. Noting what very nice
arms he had...
"If we keep these evenings out up, Jo's not going to be able to tease you about not being romantic anymore." She
stated with a soft smile.
Hector noticed the cars that had been in his driveway were gone. Good. One less thing to worry about, and he could
always use one less thing to worry about as he packed the saddle bags, and gave her a grin at her comment.
"She'll just find something else." He said with a laugh. "She's good at that, in a good way. Believe me, she'll never run
out of things to tease me about. She says it keeps me honest. If so, I'm the most honest man in the world, because
she never stops."
He secured the last bag. "Okay, ready?" He said.
Andi liked what she knew about Jolanda so far. She was open and honest and she laughed and smiled a great deal.
Honestly. She accepted Hector for who he was and didn't try to make him anything else or push him too hard if he
didn't want to be open. She was protective of him too. And - even though she teased, she didn't seem to mind that
Hector and Andi were together. Which, Andi was starting to realize, everyone else seemed to on a rather pushy level.
She was what Andi would have labeled an honest friend. And Andi had decided that was all she was interested in
surrounding herself with at this point. She was done being nice and polite and taking hits she didn't deserve.
Looking up at Hector when he asked - he was worried about her and she could tell - she offered him a smile. She'd
be all right. She would have on her own but Hector was making the walk back to it so much easier and healthier. So
much sweeter. With a content exhale, she stepped back into his arms winding her own around him to hug him close.
"Yes." She answered. Giving him another soft smile as she lifted her face to his. "Though I might be too full to dance."
She offered, lips curving even more.
"And that's not such a bad thing." He said with a chuckle as he paused to kiss her like she should be kissed. There
was just something about kissing her thoroughly and completely in a public place where he already knew they were
being watched that just made it weird. And, sure, now, they were still in public, but no one was staring at them and
waving over friends to catch a gander either.
"Okay, let's go."
The smile she gave him was soft and complete and brought out the soft glow under her skin his touch always did. She
nodded, body relaxing against his for a moment more before she stepped back. Waiting until he got on the bike to
slide on behind him. Wrapping her arms around him and snuggling in against his back. The back of his neck got a
light kiss and then she rested her chin over his shoulder.
It was a short ride to the place Jenny had told them about by bike and the club wasn't the only place lit up for the
night and showing activity. Several small specialized shops were open, including one right next to Derek's that
appeared to be selling local artwork. Things were busy but in a relaxed way that indicated this was more a street that
the locals knew about than the tourists and Hector had no problem finding a place to park his bike. Andi slipped off
the bike first and then, with a muffled smile reached up and gently ran her fingers through Hector's hair to settle its
unruly waves into a vague semblance of order. She loved his hair short. But she loved it longer and waving the way it
was now too. She might just love his head even if he went bald but considering the pleasure she got from his thick
hair she hoped not.
"Can we peek in the art shop first?" She asked hopefully. Not interested in buying. Bringing a fully framed picture
home on the bike would be a work of art in itself. But - just to see. To catch glimpses of the city through eyes that
lived here from different angles. She wrapped both her hands around one of his, eyes teasing as she looked up at
him. "Promise - it’s not shopping."
He laughed. "Okay, as long as it's not shopping." He kidded her. Shopping would never be his favorite thing in the
world, and the prospect of spending a day like that might still throw him into a blind panic, but...then again...the same
might be said for her and the prospect of any more contact with either his family or her family. And he wouldn't blame
her a bit.
But browsing he could do. And if she wanted to shop, he'd probably do that too (without being trapped in an airport in
a country where he didn't speak the language... They headed into the store, it was moderately busy, not crowded, but
doing well for itself, filled with photographs, paintings, drawings and sculptures done by the local artists, whatever
their inspiration and genre.
He made a face at one of the modern art examples, looked like a piece of twisted metal to him, and was sure even
Marcella...maybe even Tyler! could do better. He looked at the inscription.
"Sunrise at the riverside." He said and looked at Andi. "Where'd they get that from?"
Andi chuckled, tucked against his side contently. She tipped her head and narrowed her eyes.
"Well," she suggested, "if you tilt your head and squint a bit - you can probably see how drunk he must have been
when he woke up on that river front at sunrise." She gave him a laugh and then moved on to the next display.
Andi loved art. She loved beautiful things. There wasn't much room for them in her world. Beautiful things didn't
usually pack well or travel light or fit into small rooms or tents. But her soul liked looking at them. Gentle she ran her
fingers down a silver collection of colored crystals and shells. Listening to the light chiming.
"We could have done a 'Beachside at Sunrise.'" She commented, looking at him from the corners of her laughing
eyes. "But I think that's more suited to a private collection."
Hector laughed. "I could buy a camcorder....if we were famous I'd worry about it ending up on the internet, but we're
not...worst could happen is it gets lost in some transatlantic luggage and someone like Mrs Johnson ends up with it...."
"Well, we should skip that anyway, would hate to have to critique my own performance, really trashes the ego."
Andi laughed and it was a low, soft, rich sound that was entirely feminine. She stopped walking in front of a display of
daily mundane scenes of life in the city the artist had painted in bright, warm, round colors that resonated with his
love for such simple things.
"I will be more than pleased to 'critique your performance' anytime." Andi stepped into Hector and rested her hands
on his chest, fingers trailing lightly. "Because if you think there's anything that would deflate your ego I'm apparently
not being vocal enough in my reviews."
"Yeah, I think Mrs Johnson didn't hear the last one." He joked. "Might have had her hearing aid out though. We
should tell her to keep it in." He laughed as he looked at the pictures. "Someone really likes their hamsters." He said
about loving portraits of hamsters in various poses and little hamster clothes.
Andi chuckled at the tiny button eyes and velvet looking ears of the tiny rodents as they went through various stages
of mischief in the pictures.
"I would think it perfect for a children's room but it might give them ideas." She grinned before moving on to the next
table of polished wood that ran everything from beautifully simple bowls that glowed with rich texture to delicate,
intricate carvings in tiny figurines. Having to touch the warm looking carving.
"And I suspect Mrs. Johnson is very well informed indeed about everything that goes on in her neighborhood." She
added with a grin as they moved on to miniature oil scenes of beach and swamp done in detail. "I suspect Paige isn't
even as aware of things as the wily widow is."
"Obviously not." Hector said with a chuckle. "Mrs. Johnson knows everything, I've long since accepted that fact."
Mrs. Johnson had lived in the neighborhood her whole life, knew all the families, and all the gossip. She was good
hearted though, not as manipulative as, say, Paige.
"Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll clue Paige in, then I won't have to deal with any more of her cookies."