Page 33 of Devil's Marker

A server brought two red woven plastic baskets of tacos nestled into tissue paper.

Win picked his basket up and breathed in. “Damn. Sure wish I could breathe.”

R.C. narrowed her eyes. “I said I…”

“Yeah. Yeah. I know. No more apologies. Doesn’t mean I can’t needle you about it though. After all, I am the one who can’t breathe.”

“You’re doin’ okay.”

“And you notice there’re no little children in here. Probably ‘cause I scared them all away.”

She laughed as she was crunching down on the end of her taco. The salsa juices spurted out onto the breast of her flawless cream silk shirt.

“Shit!” she said a little louder than intended. Win laughed, actually liking the fact that he had an excuse to stare at her breast. He handed her his napkin, which she used to dab at the red greasy stain. “Great. Just look at this.”

He was already looking. “I’ve seen worse.”

“No doubt.”

With a smirk, he said, “Enjoy the rest of your tacos. They’re not the best I’ve ever had, but they’re pretty good. Right?”

“Like you said, not the best I’ve ever had, but pretty good.”

“So name the place where you got the best tacos you ever had.”

After thinking it over, she said, “There’s a place a couple of blocks off the river in San Antonio. Gerson’s. Incredible.”

“Chicken. Beef. Fish. Shrimp?”

“I like ground beef in my crispy tacos and fajita meat in my soft tacos. Now, if we’re talkin’ puffy tacos, that would be El Chicos.”

“I say Café Adobe in Houston for best tacos. How about nachos?”

“Chuy’s for bean and cheese nachos with jalapenos. I can make a meal of ‘em. And somethin’ else about bean and cheese nachos. They never attack your shirt.”

“True. I gotta agree about Chuy’s for nachos. I like El Fenix for cheese enchiladas.”

“Guadalajara Grill for chicken enchiladas.”

“Ninfas for chips and salsa.”

“On the Border for chips and salsa.”

“Shame you don’t like Mexican. That might be somethin’ we have in common.”

Her face transformed from friendly to icy. “We have nothing in common, Garrett. Nothing.”

“Why do you say that, Arcy?”

“Like I said, I’m not interested in you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, for one thing, because I’m not doin’ indiscriminate dating.”

He couldn’t help but be pleased by that pronouncement. He loved the idea that she wasn’t doing ‘indiscriminate dating’. He hoped she wasn’t dating at all. “Did I ask you out on a date?”

She looked around. “I could make a case that takin’ me out to lunch is a date.”

---