The Dancing Pony pickup line of the week is…
It all started during happy hour on Friday night with two young ladies who came in and sat at the bar. A vivacious redhead and a gorgeous, voluptuous blonde who reminded me of Grace when I’d first met her: shy and flighty.
She didn’t look around the club at all and the only person she made direct eye contact with was her friend.
They talked quietly for a while and then the redhead asked the bartender if there were any decent single men in the club who might like to dance with her friend. She placed special emphasis on the word “decent” and I understood what the redhead was asking.
The bartender said, “You’ve come to the right place. Two such beautiful ladies won’t have any trouble meeting someone. I might be able steer you in the right direction and I can point out the players you should probably avoid, as well.”
Just then three cowboys from one of Divine Creek Ranch’s neighboring ranches came in,
sat at the bar, and ordered beers. One of them is a young friend of mine named Kenny. He’s a shy but good-looking young man and has a good head on his shoulders so I asked the bartender to find a way to introduce him to the blonde.
The bartender got Kenny’s attention, pointed her out, and told him that she was in need of a dance partner and thought he might fit the bill. The bartender also said, “But go easy, she seems really shy.”
Kenny looked over and his eyebrows shot to the ceiling.
“As gorgeous as she is, she’s got no reason to be shy.”
He watched her for a few minutes, seeming to need a little time to get up his own courage and then walked up behind her and said, “Hi, I’m—”
Unfortunately, for both of them, he startled her. She twisted in her chair, gaped at him, and before he could even finish his offer of a dance, she murmured something in a breathless voice and then darted for the ladies’ room.
Her friend smiled in commiseration at Kenny and said,
“It’s not you, Cowboy. She’s a little hand-shy. We’ll be right back.” And then she hurried after her friend, muttering something about getting back on the horse.
A few minutes later they came out and the blonde approached Kenny with apology in her eyes. “I’m so sorry about that. I’d like to dance with you…if you still want to.”
Kenny gave her a friendly smile and nodded, not making any sudden movements, much like I’d seen him do when he worked with a new, skittish horse. “I’m sorry I startled you earlier. Why don’t we sit and talk first? You know, break the ice a little, and then we’ll have our dance. Would it be all right if I joined you?”
She nodded. “You don’t mind if my friend sits with us?”
Kenny said, “Of course not.”
They found three seats at the end of the bar away from other people. Kenny had eyes only for her and didn’t notice that his buddies were watching him in mild surprise.
Kenny is pretty shy himself but it looked as though finding someone even shyer than him had a way of opening him up.
The blonde said, “I’m Des—I mean my name is Courtney. Do you live in Divine, Kenny?”
“Yes, ma’am. Born and raised here. I’ve never seen you before. Are you visiting, or did you just move to town?”
Courtney gestured to her friend. “I’m staying with my friend, Maria, for now. I lived in Houston for a long time but needed—um, wanted to get out of the big city. Maria convinced me to come here.”
“I’m not much for the big city either.” He looked down at her hands, which were clenched together on the bar. He pointed at the twining vine tattoo around her ring finger. “You have a boyfriend—or husband—joining you here in Divine?”
Courtney glanced down at her hands and then covered the tattoo up with her fingertips. “No. Not at all. It’s not what you think. It’s nothing.”
Kenny clasped both of her hands with his and squeezed gently. “Sorry. I don’t need to know. I’m just glad to have the company of two beautiful ladies for the evening. Why don’t we dance?”
He was walking her back to their seats after dancing, when another man walked up, looking ripe to be cut off by the bar, and grabbed Courtney by the arm and yanked her against his chest. “My turn, Blondie.
Let’s heat up this dance floor and then, if you play your cards right, I’ll let you heat up my sheets.”
Courtney looked petrified.
Kenny didn’t hesitate. He knocked the guy halfway across the dance floor. I think he would’ve jumped on top of the asshole but Mike and Rogelio, the bouncers, held him off.
Mike slapped his back and said, “Good shot, Kenny, but from the looks of it he’s out cold. He don’t need no more. See to your lady and we’ll take it from here.”
Kenny turned back to Courtney, who looked shaken up, and took her hand. “Are you okay?”
She looked like she was holding back tears as he hugged her, and she said, “I’m sorry. You must think I’m a big, hysterical mess. I’m—”
Kenny placed a finger gently on her lips.
“I think you’re sweet, kind, and beautiful. If you don’t mind being seen with a ranch hand then I’d like to go out with you sometime.”
Her smile lit up the room as she nodded. “I think I’d go just about anywhere with you.”
She had her back turned so she missed it when Maria high-fived the bartender.
After overhearing all of this, I asked Dave the DJ to play “Anywhere With You” by Jake Owen. The couple turned back to the dance floor and I gave Dave a thumbs-up. Everything went back to normal, or at least as normal as it gets around here. I think we will see these two again. He’s one of the good guys and I hope eventually she tells him her real name. Only time will tell.
©Heather Rainier 2018
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Mood Music:
Aw, what a story!