CHAPTER 4
During the next few weeks, we fell into a normal routine. Brandon had us working most nights together, so we were able to look out for one another.
"Can we count on you girls for the charity softball game?" Cole asked.
"This is the first I'm hearing about it," I said, filling an order.
"Oh, Brandon probably forgot to mention it. We play every year for March of Dimes."
"That's cool. Who plays?"
"Everybody downtown. All of the businesses get their own teams; we won last year. That's the trophy," he said, pointing at a huge trophy sitting atop the liquor case.
"Will we be able to play?" Not that I was too good to sit the bench, but practicing and sitting in the hot sun for hours on end didn't seem like a good time unless I was gonna see some action.
"Yeah. There's only like ten of us that even play." He shrugged.
"Sounds fun. We're in." I volunteered for Stephanie and Nicole. I knew the girls wouldn't mind. We didn't know that many people in town, so it would be a good place to meet new people that worked in the same area of Dallas.
I hadn't been at the bar even an hour on Saturday night when I noticed two guys walk in. Now normally, I didn't continue to check the dudes out, but they looked so mismatched that I was curious. One of the guys was a total cowboy. He was about six-foot-five, one of the tallest guys I had ever seen. His body looked so strong and muscular he looked as though he could've been one of those fighters you see on TV. His shirt was a blue plaid button up, and he had the sleeves rolled halfway up his arms. Damn. Look at those forearms! His forearms were killer. I loved strong forearms and his were calling my name. I could tell by looking at him that he was one of the good guys. He had that sweet smile that looked so genuine.
His friend was the total opposite. He was tall as well, maybe six foot, but that's where the similarities ended. This dude looked like a total badass. He was completely covered in tattoos, and he had his dark hair cut in a buzz cut. He had really small plugs in his ears opposed to the larger ones, so that told me that maybe he wasn't as far out there as I had initially thought. He was wearing a plain black T-shirt and dark jeans with black biker boots. Obviously, he rode a motorcycle. He didn't smile and barely talked to the cowboy guy. They sat in a booth close to the back.
"Piper... " Cole was laughing at me. "Hello, you there?"
"What? Sorry." I turned back toward the bar.
"I'm not gonna get pissed 'cause I get my fill too." He winked at me.
"I wasn't checking them out. They're an odd pair is all."
"They're not gay, Pipe." He laughed at his own joke. "The cowboy is Moye McKenzie." He nodded his head toward them.
"Moye?"
"Yeah, Moye. It's a family name. Anyway, he owns one of the largest ranches in this area."
"Who's the other dude?"
"That's Corey Tate. He works on the ranch with Moye. I've been friends with them forever. We went to school together—they're cool."
"Oh, well, he seems quiet." I'd kept an eye on them as Cole and I talked, watching Moye shake hands with quite a few people. Corey mostly just nodded at them.
"He's cool. Corey just does his own thing, ya know?"
I nodded my head and kept working. I could feel the cowboy looking at me about half-way through the night. When I would glance over, he would smile. I hadn't had a drop of alcohol, so I couldn't blame beer goggles. He wasn't my norm, but there was something so genuine about him. I didn't feel cheap with him checking me out. He wasn't leering at me. It was like he was drinking me in from top to bottom, appreciating me.
By the end of the night, I was intrigued. I'd watched him for hours, and not once did he talk to a girl. Maybe he has a girlfriend?
"Umm, sweetheart, you're gonna rub a hole in the wood." Cole chuckled.
"What? Oh." I looked down, and I was still in the same spot. "I was just—" I had nothing. I felt off balance, which confused me.
"Checking Moye out."
"So what? He's hot." I shrugged. I figured I'd just own it. No point in trying to cover it up.
"That's what all the girls say."
"Does he have a girlfriend?"
"Nope. He used to, but they've been broken up for a while now."
"Shit! He's coming over here," I whispered. Why was I getting nervous? I didn't get nervous; Nicole got nervous.
"Hey, Cole. How's it going, man?"
"Everything's cool. I haven't seen you in a couple of weeks. What's up?"
"Eh, we've been busy on the ranch. This is our first day off in a while," he said, bringing a beer up to his mouth to take a sip.
"That sucks, man. Working like that will make you an old man fast. You want another beer?"
"Nah, I'm good. I really just came over so you could introduce me to your beautiful, new coworker," he said, nodding at me.
I had just taken a drink of water, and the whole thing almost came spurting out of my mouth. His voice, though. It was soft, but deep. It was like he was telling Cole a secret, but allowing me to listen. I felt like it was wrapping itself around me as he spoke. I liked that he was so blunt about wanting to meet me.
Cole laughed. "Sure, no problem." He walked over beside me, and Moye followed him on the outside of the bar. "Piper, this is one of my buddies, Moye McKenzie."
Moye took my hand in a firm hand shake, and if I wasn't mistaken, rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand, "Piper? That's a unique name."
"Really?" I laughed. "You're the first to say that. Most people think my mom was on drugs when she came up with it."
"I like it. It's beautiful, like you."
Why am I blushing at this guy? Usually, I could see past all the bullshit when it came to guys because I knew all the sentiments were just the pre-game warm up. But this dude looked and sounded authentic.
"Thanks. I like your name too. Original." I smiled at him.
"How long have you worked here, Piper?"
"Two weeks."
"Figured. I would've remembered seeing you before."
I smiled again, and took off my apron, feeling a little bare. I wasn't shy by any means, but as the bartender, my uniform was different than Nicole's and Stephanie's. They wore tight baby doll shirts with the bar logo on the right corner pocket. They could either wear shorts or a skirt and whatever shoes they wanted. I had to wear a strapless corset looking thing. I got it, they wanted more people at the bar to make more money, but now with the way he was looking at me, I felt exposed. It didn't feel perverted. I just felt like with him seeing so much of my skin, maybe he was able to see inside of me.
"It's nice to meet you, Moye. I better go get my girls and head home," I said, sliding around the bar.
"Yeah, you too. Maybe one night after work I could buy you dinner."
He wasn't shy I'd give him that. I could already tell from past relationships, he wasn't like anyone else—definitely out of my comfort zone.
"Sure, sounds great. I'll see ya 'round, cowboy." I winked as I walked off, leaving him chuckling.
"Who the hell was that?" Stephanie asked as we walked out into the night.
"That was a cowboy who just asked me out to dinner." I smiled, remembering how old fashioned he seemed.
"Dinner? That's awesome, Pipe!"
"He's super cute, too," Nic gushed.
"I know. I mean, a cowboy? I've never even looked twice at them. You guys know those Wranglers are a total turn-off for me."
"So, what's different about him?" Steph asked.
"That's just it. I can't explain it. He is so hot, I didn't really care about what he was wearing. It all looked good to me."
"It looked good to me too," Nic said.
"You got a crush on my cowboy?" I teased her.
"No, I was just saying he's cute."
"What about the guy he was with? He almost looked dangerous, but hot damn he was fine," Steph added.
"His name is Corey Tate. He works with Moye on a ranch."
"How do you know, did you talk to him?"
"No, Cole told me. He's friends with them. He said Corey is really quiet."
"Yeah, they were in my section. They both seemed nice enough, but Corey didn't talk much. He just nodded a lot," Nic said as we entered our apartment.
"Man, I've got to open a checking account. The tips at this place are sick," I said, getting something to drink.
"No crap, your new man left me a fifty dollar tip on a forty dollar tab."
"Maybe they'll start coming in more, now that he's got his eye on Pipe," Steph teased.
"Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes.
"You said you thought he was cute," Nic said.
"He a'ight," I responded, trying to sound cool. They both laughed at me.
"Hope Floats, anyone?" Steph asked pulling the DVD out of the cabinet.
"You tryin' to get me riled up, Steph?" I asked, sipping my drink.
"Are you already plugging Moye into Harry Connick Jr.'s role?" She snickered.
"Now that you mention it." I tilted my head.
We settled in on the couch together, piling pillows on each other's legs. I spent most of the movie actually thinking about Moye in Harry Connick Jr.'s role and ended up getting pissed at Stephanie in my head for it. I didn't voice this though because it was ridiculous. At the end of the movie, Nic called me out on my scowl.
"What's wrong, Pipe?"
"Nothing. I'm going to bed now that y'all ruined my night with that sappiness." I groaned.
"You know you loved it!" Steph said and Nic giggled.
"Goodnight, girls," I said, making my way to my bed. I lay down, wondering why I was so intrigued with him. He was just a guy at a bar. No big deal. Even though I wanted to believe what I was thinking, I couldn't help but feel optimistic. My gut was telling me that he was the real deal. Maybe a date with a cowboy would be cool.