Sunshine, Sea Spray, and Surprises - Part 2

Posted on Fri Aug 20th, 2021 @ 7:05pm by First Lieutenant Bethany Harrison & Captain Jonathon Harrison
Edited on on Fri Aug 20th, 2021 @ 7:05pm

Mission: The Factions
Location: Miami, Florida
Timeline: Present Day

The hostess left them the menus, and after a short time an attractive waiter arrived at their table with their drinks. His smile was all for Bethany as he asked them if they were ready to order. He looked to be slightly older than Beth, but definitely closer to her age than Jon’s, an attractive Cuban young man with perfect hair, skin, and teeth.

Bethany seemed oblivious to any flirtatious behavior from the young man, and she didn’t even bat an eye at the attractive waiter. She offered him that same practiced, polite smile, asking, “Do you have any recommendations? I don’t really know much about Cuban food.”

“We have chicken, pork, beef, and seafood,” the young man said. “Lots of tropical flavors. Some seasoning traditions from Spain, Africa, and the Caribbean. Can I start you with an appetizer?” he asked.

The young woman’s brow furrowed slightly as she looked back to the appetizers. She glanced at the waiter, then across the table at Jon. “Um, I don’t know what a calamari is,” Bethany admitted, blushing slightly in embarrassment. “Or a lot of what’s on here. Like, um, picadillo. What is a plantain?”

Jon smiled. “Calamari is squid,” he told Bethany. “The tentacles are little rings of muscle. They fry it up and you dip it in the marinara. It’s quite good, actually. Picadillo is a kind of ground beef mix. And a plantain is…” He paused. “It’s like a tofu banana. It’s textured like a banana, but it’s kind of...tasteless. It absorbs the flavor from the sauce and the dish it’s in.”

Bethany listened to Jon intently, laughing softly at his description of the plantain. After a moment of thought, she looked up at the young man that was patiently standing there. “Let’s go with the calamari. Not so sure I’m up for the tofu banana.”

The young man smiled. “Excellent choice,” he said. “I will be back shortly.”

Jon smiled across the table at Bethany. “So you okay, luv?” he asked, sipping his iced tea.

Bethany shrugged slightly. “You know me and crowds,” she said, smiling at Jon. “And not knowing what things are is kind of embarrassing.” She blushed again, chuckling at her own lack of knowledge. “I swear I’m never going to catch up.”

Jon smiled. “You think I knew when I was your age?” he asked Bethany. “And part of this is to help you get used to crowds,” he said, taking her hand in his. “I know you’ve checked the exits. I know you’ve probably run a threat assessment on everyone sitting in this room. None of them are a threat. So relax and enjoy.”

The green-eyed brawler took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, giving his hand a squeeze. She knew that she couldn’t exactly hide things from Jon very well. Not that she tried too hard to do that anymore. Their soul bond kind of demanded open communication, and made them suffer when they tried to hold back.

“You’re right,” she admitted nodding. She smiled at him, gazing into his beautiful blue eyes. “I’m on edge. I’ve had a lot on my mind, though. I’ve never liked feeling like a target. But I’ll try to relax. I promise.”

Jon smiled. “Besides, I’m watching your back,” he added. “It’s Miami. It’s a good neighborhood. The worst that is going to happen will be indigestion from overeating,” he teased her. “Tomorrow we’ll go to Miami Beach with all the spring breakers. Then you can be uncomfortable.” He gave her a wink.

Bethany paused at sipping her drink, then chuckled softly as she finished and set it down. The last time that Jon had taken her on a similar excursion had been for her eighteenth birthday. It had been fun, up to a point, but then things had gone pear-shaped when Lorde had sent her an old sniper rifle as a gift. And when her sister Eva put in an appearance and had tried to force them into killing each other.

“What could possibly go wrong?” she teased with a mischievous smile, and a soft laugh that seemed more relaxed, as she tried to live up to her promise.

Jon smiled. “No one could possibly know we’re here except Dyami,” he reminded. “So no surprises.”

“We don’t need for anyone to know where we are to find trouble,” Bethany said, shifting in her chair.

It took surprisingly little time for their waiter to bring the appetizers. A larger plate was set between them, and he set a smaller, empty plate down in front of each of them. As he served each of them their first small helping of fried squid rings, he was still all smiles for Bethany.

Bethany looked a little surprised when it clicked that the attractive man was being a bit flirty with her. She blushed and smiled, but it was more out of the confusion that she always had to fight down when it came to men than being flattered by the attention, though only one person would have known that. When the man walked away, she looked over at Jon. “Um, he’s...friendly.”

“He’s flirting with you,” Jon said with amusement. “You can flirt back, if you want, luv.”

The color in Bethany’s face rose a bit and she blinked at Jon. Her voice lowered, and she said, “I don’t know how to do that. I barely know how to flirt with you.” After an expert deflection, she picked up one of the fried rings, inspecting it curiously. “Besides, I don’t like how it feels when you flirt with other women, so why would I want to do that to you?”

“I wouldn’t suggest it if I thought you’d be serious about it,” Jon said with a chuckle. “I kind of have insider information on who you’re going home with tonight,” he pointed out. “Besides, it’s good for you to hang out with kids your own age.” He dipped a calamari into the marinara sauce and popped it into his mouth.

“I’m not a kid anymore, Jon. Yes, I’m still clueless about a lot of things, but I’m not a kid,” she said, arching an eyebrow at him. She seemed a bit perturbed about that, but she hid it well, opting to nibble at the fried fish without the sauce, just to get an idea of what it really tasted like.

“I know,” Jon acknowledged. “I’m just old.” He smiled at her.

“You’re older, but not old,” Bethany said, flatly defiant about the very idea. “You’re a healthy, gorgeous man, and it’s more than obvious that a vast majority of women would agree with me.” She gave a pointed glance to a woman that had been burning a hole in the back of Jon’s head. She wiggled her fingers at her, then chuckled when the woman turned a shade of red that could have rivaled Fractal’s own color changes, and hurriedly looked back to her plate.

Jon demurred with a smile. “Should have known me when I was your age,” he said. “Couldn’t keep the girls off me.”

Bethany laughed, shaking her head as she dipped the next ring of squid into the marinara. “You can’t keep them off of you now,” she teased, glancing towards the hostess that was busily seating tables, but still finding time to give him a few long looks.

As they munched at the appetizer, their waiter returned to ask them if they had decided on an entree. Bethany quickly swallowed her bit of squid and took up the menu. She pointed to the Zarzuela De Mariscos, and even did a passable job at pronouncing it.

Jon ordered the paella Versailles. “Taking advantage of the seafood,” he noted for Bethany.

“Both are excellent choices,” the handsome waiter said. “I will put this in immediately, and return with fresh drinks.”

The green-eyed young woman offered him a genuine smile for the first time since being seated, which seemed to brighten the smile on his face. She watched as he walked away, shaking her head. “Why does he make me think of you as a waiter?” she asked, her gaze turning back to Jon with that happy, easy smile on her full lips. “Though the packaging is kind of similar. Suave, flirty, foreign.”

“Foreign?” Jon laughed. “I suppose. He’s got more the Antonio Banderas vibe than the Daniel Craig that I have.”

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TBC
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