Chapter 2

It had been 2 weeks since the bonfire. 2 long weeks at work. It was now early September and the weather was starting to cool down. I talked to Becky a few times since then, mostly at Smokey’s. Those were nights I really enjoyed. Nights when the only thing that mattered was her. We would joke and laugh, talk shit and swap stories but nothing of any real consequence.

I had just walked back into the operations shack at work when my phone buzzed. One long buzz, it was a text. The operations shack was just that. A shack. Actually it was 2 sea containers that had been pushed together and had their joining walls removed to make it one big container. I sat down at my desk, turned my radio down and pulled out my phone.

From Becky:
I have a date tonight!!!

To Becky:
With who?

From Becky:
With you. Be at Smokey’s at 8!

To Becky:
What if I have to work tomorrow?

From Becky:
I know you don’t. You told me you start vacation tomorrow remember?

She was right. I did start vacation tomorrow. It was 2 weeks of not being at work, of just laying around and relaxing.

To Becky:
Smokey’s at 8? Done.

I got home at 5:34. Plenty of time to shower and relax a bit. After a quick shower to wash the smell of work off of me, I put on some jeans and a black shirt and sat down on the couch.

My phone buzzed again. I pulled it out of my pocket and checked it.

From Carl:
Heard u have a date tonight…

To Carl:
Yea, I’m pretty excited actually. U got plans tonight?

From Carl:
Get wasted and fuck someone’s daughter

To Carl:
This is why I always have to bail you out of bad spots

From Carl:
It was one time, and I could have taken him. Enjoy ur date. I’ll see u at Smokey’s.

I didn’t reply. There was no need. I watched TV for another half hour or so, then I got dressed. As I looked through my closet I realized I had no idea what she was planning. Was it formal? Casual? Somewhere in between? I thought about texting her, but decided to just bring a few shirts with me to change on the fly if needed.

I grabbed my truck keys and looked at the clock on the stove on my way out the door. 7:38, plenty of time to get there.

When I arrived, Becky was sitting in her truck, rocking out to music. I know she didn’t notice me because the music was so loud I could clearly hear it from outside. It was a song I knew, Slipknot’s nomadic. It’s a good song, but like all good things, it had to come to n end.

After about a minute into her jamfest, I walked to the back of her truck and started rocking it up and down, using the bumper as leverage. I could see the back of her head as she looked for the source of the motion, finally she saw me from her rear view mirror.

She turned off her truck and got out. My heart skipped at least 2 beats when I saw her. She had a grey zip up sweater which was unzipped, showing a white shirt underneath. Her shirt was accentuated more due to the curves of her chest. She was at least a c cup, maybe larger. She had faded and ripped blue jeans and her cowboy boots. My god, she was beautiful.

She walked over to me and gave me a hug. I couldn’t be sure, but I think she was drawing it out longer than normal. She had to stand on her tip toes to reach around my neck.

“So, whats the plan?” I asked after she let me go.

“We are going to the county line bar, its just over in Marshal county.”

“I’ve heard of it but never been.”

“Good,” she said with a grin. “Then you won’t know what my plan is!” She chuckled a bit which kinda made me nervous to tell you the truth.

“OK. You drive or I drive?”

“You drive. I love your truck.”

We walked back to my truck and I opened her door for her. She smiled and climbed in. We made a left out of the parking lot and headed toward Marshal county.

We bantered back and forth for a bit, then she hit me with a question that I wasn’t expecting.

“Can you sing?”

“Can I? Yes. Do I sound good? No.”

She gave a small laugh and left it at that. I’ve never been comfortable talking in front of crowds and now I have a feeling I’ll be singing in front of them. This will be interesting.

We reached the county line bar at around 9. The place wasn’t totally dead, but it was slow. We ordered beers and she wanted to do shots. I can’t let a lady drink alone so I took a few with her. She began talking to the bartender and I took an opportunity to really get a feel for the place.

It was much like an average bar. Groups of people sitting at tables, some in the few booths that were against the far wall. We sat at the bar against the right hand wall from the entrance, and just opposite us was a stage. It was actually a rather large stage for such a small bar, probably for local bands to perform. The air smelled of smoke, sweat and liquor. This was home for a Marine like me. Just as I was turning back around I saw it, sitting at the corner of the stage. A karaoke machine. Fan-fucking-tastic.

I turned back to Becky and she gave me a knowing grin. Her plan had been discovered. I smiled back as honestly as I could and ordered us another round. We both drank them and ordered another beer. If I was going to sing, I would need it.

Around 11 my phone buzzed. I checked it, figuring it must be Carl.

From Carl:
What happened to coming to Smokey’s?

To Carl:
Went elsewhere. See you later.

From Carl:
Probably taking a girl home tonight, just FYI

To Carl:
Thanks, at least one of us is.

From Carl:
u never know…

I left it at that. I set my phone to silent and put it away. Just then, Becky grabbed my arm, again hitting the scars from the explosion. I winced in pain, which she clearly saw. She pulled her hand away and looked nervous.

“It’s OK. Old wounds. Docs say it will probably never fully heal.” I said loud enough to be heard over the cacophony of the bar.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you”. Her apology was genuine. She really looked worried.

“So why did we come here exactly?” I asked, trying to change the subject. Her smile returned almost instantly. She pointed to the karaoke machine.

“Sing with me!” She had to almost yell for me to hear her. The bar was packed by now.

I must have had a look of displeasure on me because she gave me the pouty lip and puppy dog eyes. How could I say no to her.

“OK OK. Let’s go”. She almost yanked me out of the bar stool. Who knew she was so strong. She went over toward the DJ booth and flipped through the songs they had. She picked one for her to sing, then she picked the duet we would sing. She pulled me down close to her and whispered, though whispering was more like regular volume at that point, ” sing something for me.”

A chill ran down my spine. What should I pick? Rock? I could do some rock song to impress her, or I could do something more slow and meaningful. Decisions decisions. I told her to go put in an order for 2 beers so we could have them when we were done, more to get her to leave so I could pick something special. She walked off and I made my selection.

When she returned, the DJ made the announcement that Becky was going to sing. She got up on stage and sat in the stool. She grabbed the mic and introduced herself and the song she was going to sing. All American Girl by Carrie Underwood. The music came on and shortly afterwards the room was filled with her beautiful voice. She sounded just like an angel. I hung onto every note, every word. Each one more perfect than the last.

When the song ended, she stood and took a bow to a big round of applause. She then motioned for me to join her. I walked up on stage, pulling up the other stool. She looked at me and mouthed “are you ready?” I nodded to her, then to the DJ. He started the next song. I recognized the tune right away and I could only smile at her. I didn’t need lyrics on screen to tell me the words. I began, as best I could.

“I wanna drink that shot of whiskey
I wanna smoke that cigarette
I wanna smell that sweet addiction on my breath
I wanna ride across West Virginia in the backseat of a Cadillac
You know some cowboys like me go out like that
So I need you”

“Like a needle needs a vein
Like my Uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs the rain
I need you
Like a lighthouse on the coast
Like the father and the son need the holy ghost
I need you”

She saw me singing. Not to the audience, but to her. As far as I was concerned, the audience didn’t exist. She was the only person in that room during that song, and I was content with that. Without looking at the screen, and never taking her beautiful blue eyes off me, she began her part in the song.

“I wanna get lost in some corner booth
Cantina Mexico
I wanna dance to the static of an A.M. radio
I wanna wrap the moon around us and lay beside you skin on skin
Make love ’til the sun comes up, ’til the sun goes down again
‘Cause I need you”

We sang the second chorus together. Like nobody else existed in the whole world.

“Like a needle needs a vein
Like my Uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs the rain
I need you
Like a lighthouse on the coast
Like the father and the son need the holy ghost
I need you”

“Oh, I need you”

“I wanna drink that shot of whiskey
I wanna smoke that cigarette
You know some cowboys like me go out like that
So I need you,
Oh, I need you
I need you, I need you, I need you, I need you”

“Oh, I need you, I need you, I need you, I need you, I need you, I need you, I need you, too”

When we finished the song, we got a roaring applause. Hell, some people stood up and yelled. I was floored. The last time I had done karaoke was at the USO in Germany on our way back from Iraq. It was just drunken fun then, now it was something else entirely.

Becky stood to walk off stage, but I caught her before she left. I turned her to face me, looked her dead in those bright blue eyes and said.

“Don’t you dare leave me up here Missy. You got me in this and your gonna be here when it ends.” I gave her a wink and offered her a stool. She sat and waited while the DJ hunted for the next song. After a minute he motioned me over.

“I can’t find it. They must have changed machines and not updated the book. Sorry man.”

“Do you have a way to hook my phone up to the speakers?”

“Sure. Don’t need lyrics?”

“Not for her.”

I found the song and had it on standby. He plugged it in and I walked up on stage again. I gave him a nod and he hit play. While the beat was playing, I pointed to Becky and mouthed “for you.”

I began to sing, again.

“That water tower’s got the sun going down behind it
If there’s a good time in this town girl we’re gonna find it 
You looked so damn good climbing up in my Chevy
Tried to play it cool but I knew already
By the way you looked in the dashboard lights
It was gonna be one of those nights”

“Got the Kenwoods banging that rock n’ roll
Whisper to me baby where you wanna go
I can ride you ‘round town or drive you down some ol’ back road 
I love the way you lean that seat back, steal my ball cap
Pull it down over your blue eyes
Watchin’ your hair fly out the window 
Just lettin’ the night roll
And I can’t wait to see where it goes”

I was lost in the music. She had me under her spell and she knew it. I finished the song and got quite the applause for what I figured had to be me trying way too hard. She smiled and grabbed my hand, joining me in taking a bow. We walked off stage and back to the bar where the bartender was pouring our beers.

I sat there for a few minutes drinking and chatting with Becky and several other patrons who came to congratulate us on a wonderful performance. I looked at the clock behind the bar, 1:30 AM. Last call would be soon but Becky looked exhausted.

“You wanna go? You seen pretty tired.” I asked over the music.

“We can go but I’m far from tired.” She gave me a wink. Between the buzz I had going and the late hour it could have meant anything so I pushed the thought from my mind.

We stood and I paid the tab, which by that point was close to $100. It was worth it. We went out to my truck and climbed in. We were in a parking spot facing the road so I threw it in drive and drove straight off the curb. It was more for the convenience of not having to back this rather long truck out than anything else.

We headed back to Smokey’s so she could get her truck. The drive was uneventful, except for her hand drifting to mine. Her skin was so soft, her touch was light as a feather. I looked over once to see her smiling at me. It was a smile full of comfort, like there was nowhere else she would rather be in that moment. The feeling was mutual.

When we pulled into the parking lot of Smokey’s, her truck was the only one there. She looked at me with those eyes and said

“What are your plans for the rest of the night?”

“Go home, maybe watch a movie and just relax I guess.”

“Mind if I join you?”

I thought for a second. Carl had probably brought home a girl from the bar, which meant they were either fucking or asleep and I didn’t wanna be the guy in the other room alone. Hmmm..

“Sure, as long as you don’t fall asleep during the movie.” I said in jest.

She gave me a playful punch to the ribs “OK, but I pick the movie.”

“Fair enough. Follow me.”

She hopped in her truck and followed me back to my house. I replayed the nights events in my mind during the 10 minutes it took to get home. It had been a wonderful date, even with having to sing in front of the crowd. There was something about her that made it OK.

We pulled up to the house and both got out. There were 5 cars in front of the house. Becky walked over to me and we headed up the walkway to the front door.

“Whose cars are these? Is he having a party?” She asked looking from car to car.

“The ’86 Camaro and the GMC Sierra is Carl’s. The Honda must be whoever he brought home.”

“Oh. Does he do that often?”

“Occasionally. Usually though he goes with them.”

I unlocked the door and we went inside. I could hear the faint sounds of music coming from his room so I figured they were asleep.

“Wow, this is a nice place. Do you rent or own?” She asked looking around. The house wasn’t all that fancy. It was an old single story 4 bedroom, 2 bath ranch style home. The front yard was a lawn that Carl couldn’t help but keep in pristine condition, while the backyard had a swimming pool and a small garden with tomatoes, pumpkins and cucumbers growing.

“We own it. Both put down half of everything.”

“Wow, you two are like a couple then.” She gave me a playful grim and leaned over to bump into me.

I chuckled, “been best friends for 20 years, so yeah. Just like an old married couple.”

We both laughed as we headed for the living room. It was a bit sparse to say the least. An L shaped couch sat against the wall closest to the open entryway. Opposite that on the far wall was a 96″ TV, which was a bitch to hang I might add. There were several bookshelves below it full of movies as well as several more along the right-hand wall. The left wall opened to the back patio and in front of the couch was a small coffee table. On top of the bookshelves below the TV sat a PS4 and an Xbox one.

She walked over to the movies and sat down cross legged on the floor, reading each case to see what we were going to watch.

“Would you like something to drink, or eat?” I asked after making sure what little mess Carl had made was cleaned up.

“Do you have any whiskey?” She asked, not taking her eyes off the movies.

“Yeah. Jack, Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, or Jameson?”

“Maker’s Mark on the rocks please, and throw on some popcorn if you have any.”

“Coming right up ma’am” I said jokingly.

She giggled a bit and went back to searching. I put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and grabbed a large bowl and two glasses out of the cupboard. Once the drinks were poured I was waiting on the popcorn when she walked over with a movie.

“How about this one. I’ve never seen it but I heard its good.” She said setting the case down on the counter.

Just what I wanted to see. Taking Chance. For those who don’t know, Kevin Bacon plays a Marine officer who accompanies the body of a fallen Marine back to his home town for the funeral. It one of my favorite movies, but I always cry like a bitch when I watch it. I guess it hits a bit to close to home.

“Do you want to see me cry? Because this is how you make me cry.” I said with probably more seriousness than I would have liked to.

“You’ll be fine, besides I’m here for you to cry on.” She said patting her shoulder.

“OK, but don’t say I don’t warn you.”. This would be interesting

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