Page 20 of Shameless
“Nah.” I shook my head. It would be one thing if I’d spent months perfecting the cocktail, but I’d had less than an hour to come up with something. Of course, I wanted to win, though. No matter what, I’d make sure Club 24 After Dark added it to the bar menu.
Once the judges decided on a winner, the other contestants and I stepped forward and waited for their announcement.
“In third place, Pamela V. with her Cabo Head margarita.” Everyone clapped as she made her way to stand next to the judges. “And in second place, Kitt J. with his Howling at the Moon martini.” He joined Pamela near the judges’ table. “And our 2ndAnnual Dos Lobos Cocktail Competition winner is”—the judge paused as the anticipation built—“Blake M. with his creation, The Reacquainted Apple.”
Sarah and her friends cheered and everyone in the vicinity clapped as I joined the other winners. I was trying to take my victory in stride, but as I turned to peek at Sarah, she was smiling ear to ear. Her reaction made my insides warm and fuzzy, which wasn’t a feeling I was used to having except with one other woman.
After the other two contestants received their bottles of Mezcal, I stepped up to the judge’s table.
“Blake, your cocktail was what we assumed running through an apple orchard on a crisp autumn day would be like. It’s not common for us to have that kind of weather here in Cabo, nor know what an apple orchard is like, but it really felt like that to all of us. Perfect for the coming months,” the main female judge said.
“Thank you. I worked on an apple farm for a summer about ten years ago. Learned a lot about the fruit. And nothing beats apples and cinnamon.”
“You must tell us the recipe,” another judge stated.
I glanced at Sarah and each of her friends before turning back to the judges. “Only on one condition.”
“Okay,” the main female judge said. “What is that?”
“I’ll tell you all of the ingredients and measurements if you get me all of the ingredients so I can make it for my friends.” I pointed to my group.
The lady smiled. “I think that can be arranged.”
* * *
We carriedThe Reacquainted Apple ingredients to Sarah’s room and then I made one for each of the ladies and myself. “So?” I asked after each one had a taste, but I only cared about Sarah’s thoughts.
After her friends said they enjoyed it, Sarah added her opinion. “It’s …” She paused and took another sip. “It reminds me of Christmas on my aunt’s apple farm.”
I grinned, thinking of how Deb probably decorated the entire house and made it super festive, but then I realized Sarah wasn’t smiling and it looked as though she was on the verge of tears. “Is that bad?”
“No.” She shook her head and turned away from my stare. “Not at all. Just made me nostalgic is all.”
“That’s what I was going for,” I admitted. “Something that reminds me of when we first met.” I wrapped an arm across her shoulders and brought her to my side.
“I love it.”
“Really? Because—”
“Look what I found.” I turned my head to see Amanda holding up a deck of cards. “How about we order room service and play some poker?”
“Now you’re speaking my language.” I grabbed the cards from her. “Y’all know how to play Texas hold’em?”
“Of course, we do,” Sarah sassed.
When I’d decided to come to Mexico alone, I had been determined to make it a bachelor’s trip. At that moment, I realized my bachelor’s trip was turning into a girls’ trip. I was okay with that because the women were awesome and it meant I got to spend more time with Sarah and get to know her.
After a couple hands of poker while we waited for our dinner to arrive, it became clear that Sarah sucked at bluffing. Every time she tried, her cheeks would turn pink and she would stare down at her cards as though not making eye contact would allow her to trick us. Well, maybe she had fooled the others, but I was a seasoned Texas hold’em player and I could see right through her.
“All in,” she stated and pushed her coins to the center of the dining room table. Because we didn’t have any poker chips, we were using all the change we had scrounged up, including pesos we had acquired when we’d gone shopping in town.
I glanced at the pot, counting to see that she had gone all in with $2.54. I counted my money and had $3.72 and a few 2 peso coins. The flop had given us a king of spades, a four of diamonds, and a seven of clubs. In my hand, I had a king of clubs and a two of hearts. Normally, I would have folded my cards before the flop, but we were playing for pennies. Literally.
“I’m not calling.” Amanda tossed her cards down.
“Me either.” Taylor followed suit and folded.
“I only have a dollar left. I’m not going to chance it,” Josie said.
