“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” muttered Gabby for the eighth time. She pulled her New York driver’s license out of her bag and handed it to the bouncer at the door.
Wes was unfazed. “Relax, it won’t be that painful,” he laughed as he stepped ahead of her into the bar.
“Easy for you to say. You’re not being set up.”
“You’re not being set up – that was last week. This is just…. follow through.”
“Follow through to what? The Gates of Hell?” Gabby shuddered as she walked through the door and looked around the dimly lit bar. A bright neon green sign advertising a cheap beer hung on the wall behind the bar, along with an odd assortment of license plates and horse shoes. Gabby couldn’t help herself and shuddered again, a movement not lost on Wes.
“Be nice,” he chided. “Wyatt is looking forward to this. Besides, by all accounts you looked like you were into him last week.”
“By all accounts I was slightly past tipsy last week. It was the only way to get through that damn party. And now you throw this at me? Can’t you just torture me with your country music and leave it at that? You have to add disco, too? I’m surprised people in the boondocks even know what disco is.”
Wes shook his head. “For the hundredth time, I do not live in the ‘boondocks’ just because we don’t have a Starbucks nearby. Anyway, where’s your sense of adventure? It’s Disco Cowboy Night. I bet you’ve never even been to a Country Disco bar before.”
“Yeah, and there’s a reason for that. I don’t do country, and I feel the same way about disco as I do about herpes.”
“You could have just said ‘no.’”
“I tried, remember? You threatened to hide my bags if I didn’t come, and I can’t very well fly home without them.”
“Yeah well remember, I can still hide them if you don’t play nice.” Wes side-stepped Gabby just as she moved to punch him in the arm. She caught him looking just past her and turned around as he shouted out “Wyatt, you made it!”
“Hey, y’all” Wyatt nodded a greeting at Wes. “Gabby,” he nodded at Gabby as he tipped his hat, holding his gaze on her a few seconds longer than she would have cared for. Gabby smiled politely in return. “So, Wyatt, is this where all the lonely people go?” she asked as she gestured toward the bar. Gabby couldn’t help smirking just a little as Wes frowned a warning at her. Wyatt, however, was new to her sarcasm.
“What? No,” Wyatt replied. “They go down to The Broken Road. It’s a sad little hole in the wall, though fitting for its name, I suppose. Here, everyone is just full of life – partying at the bar, riding the mechanical bull or boot-scootin’ on the dance floor. Come on, I’ll show you,” Wyatt explained as he grabbed Gabby’s hand and pulled her along to the main room before she had a chance to object. Now it was Wes’ turn to smirk as he followed close behind, making damn sure he didn’t miss whatever was going to happen next.
They all stopped just inside the room, where the dance floor was nearly packed. Gabby had heard of line-dancing, of course, but she’d never actually seen people doing it. On this first occasion for her, she had the misfortune to witness the odd synchronized dancing amidst a cringe-worthy array of polyester and sequins, giant belt buckles and black felt hats. It was like a train wreck that you couldn’t tear your eyes from. Wyatt mistook her shock for interest.
“You wanna dance, too? Let’s go get down,” he tried to take Gabby’s hand again. “That is NOT the way I get down!” she stated emphatically as she jerked her arm away and took two steps back, only to back up against Wes. Wes chuckled as he blocked her getaway. “Oh, no you don’t,” he whispered in her ear before giving her a gentle shove forward. He knew he’d regret it later, but he made sure to put just enough ‘oompf’ into his push to propel her into Wyatt. Awkwardly, Wyatt grabbed at Gabby to prevent her from falling down. Wes seized on the opportunity. “Have fun you two!” he shouted gleefully. Gabby shot him a death glare as Wyatt release his grip from around her waist, but firmly held onto her hand.
“I don’t have the patience for this shit,” Gabby mumbled under her breath as Wyatt led her out onto the dance floor to the strains of honkey-tonk disco.
*
© Dahlia Ramone: March 29, 2015
This was written for a Blogophilia writing challenge, and I combined two topics:
Blogophilia Week 6.8 Topic: All the Lonely People
Prompt: Incorporate a lyric from a Linkin Park song
“That is not the way I get down” from the song “Lies Greed Misery”
Blogophilia 7.7 Topic: Slightly Past Tipsy
Prompt: Quote Hunter Thompson
(“I feel the same way about disco as I do about herpes”)
Dahlia Ramone 