A Straight Tequila Night
By:  Mary
Copyright July 2002

       The clearest of blue eyes scanned the crowd as entering the bar.  No one really stuck out to him.  Most were regulars and the few that weren't just seemed to be enjoying an after work drink before heading home on this Friday night.  Joseph McIntyre ran another quick look before deciding to sit at the bar.  The bartender looked in his direction and he ordered a beer.  A million things flowing through his mind as he waited on his drink, Joe tried to tune most of them out.  This weekend was supposed to be about forgetting past memories and past mistakes.  He was going to accomplish this task if it took every ounce of willpower he possessed. 

       Two hours later and a good six beers later, Joe overheard the guys next to him talking.

       "She's drinking white wine tonight," one of them said.

       The other one nodded his reply.  "Maybe I'll ask her to dance in a little while."
      
       "Just don't order her tequila," his friend smiled.

       The other man chuckled.  "Not a chance."

       Joe couldn't make heads or tails out of their conversation and so he decided to tone them out.  It had nothing to do with him anyway.  He picked up his beer bottle and walked across the room to the jukebox.  He'd been listening to someone else's choices for too long.  He wanted to add some taste to this bar's music quality.  He scanned the titles for a few minutes.  There wasn't really much to choose from.  Most of the songs were a few years old.  Not that they weren't good songs.  They were but most of them would make a man want to cry in his beer mug.   Joe finally made 4 choices.  A12, D08, I11 and K13.  As he walked away from the jukebox, Joe wondered if they ever had a karaoke night. 

       The first song started up as Joe approached the bar again.  His seat he'd once occupied was now taken but he found another one next to a pretty brunette.  He didn't mind losing his seat.  He smiled at her as he sat down and ordered another beer.  The first few notes of the song started up.  Then Reba McEntire's voice filled the bar with her song "Invisible".  He thought he heard the woman next to him mumble "just great" under her voice but if she did she hide her reaction well when he looked at her.

       The bartendered brough Joe another beer and the woman next to him ordered a tequila shot.

       The bartender looked at her.  "Are you sure you want tequila, Austin?"

       She looked up at him with a defiant look in her bright green eyes.  Joe almost found himself turned on.  "Just bring me the drink, John, please."

       The older man nodded with a disapproving look on his face.  He got her the drink and handed it to her.

       Austin downed the drink with one turn of her wrist and sat the glass down.  Joe looked at her in awe.  He hadn't seen anyone down a shot that quickly in a long time.  Her green eyes landed on Joe's face.

       "Can I help you?" she asked.  Her eyes were filled with something Joe thought he recognized well.  She had the same look in her eyes that he had in his.  The look of pain going so deep it cut into your very soul.

       Joe then realized he'd been staring at her.  He shook his head no.  "No, I'm sorry I didn't mean to stare at you."

       She nodded shortly. 

       Joe turned back to nurse his beer and listen to his choices from the jukebox.  A few moments later he thought he heard her crying next to him.  He looked over his shoulder at her trying not to seem like he was looking right at her.  Not an easy task.  She was crying. 

       "Are you okay?" Joe asked her.

       She nodded, "I'm fine."

       He thought about shutting up then and leaving her alone but he couldn't.  "Are you sure?"

       "Look I don't need some guy trying to get a quickie in a bar giving me sympathy.  Just leave me alone."

       Joe opened his mouth up to say something to her but shut it.  He didn't want to cause a scene and she already had a few people looking in their direction.  He picked up his beer bottle and smiled at her.

       "Have a nice night, Austin."  He walked away from the bar and over to a table in the back of the bar.  It was getting later and a few of the regulars had headed for home and so it was emptying out some.

       Joe settled back into his booth and listened as the jukebox played his last selection.  K13.  He hadn't heard this song in a while.  It made him smile to hear it.  He had never been a big country music fan but this song seemed to cheer him up.  The song came to an end and Joe waited to see what the next one would be.  His song started up again.  Joe shrugged his shoulders.  Someone else probably had chosen it too.  He didn't mind.  The song was picking up his mood from the bad week he'd had. 

       A few moments later Joe felt someone standing next to him.  He looked up into some familar green eyes.  Austin was standing next to him.  He gave her a questioning look.

       "I wanted to appologize to you for yelling at you earlier.  It wasn't your fault and so I'm sorry.  I haven't had the best week and I took that out on you."

       "It's okay," Joe told her.  "I understand about bad weeks.  I had one myself this past week."

       "I also wanted to tell you that you have good taste in music," she smiled at him.

       Joe grinned.  "Thanks."

       "Would you dance with me?" she asked him.

       Joe looked around the bar.  There were a few couples dancing on the dance floor.  "Sure," he answered.

       They stepped out on the dance floor and Joe put his arm around her.  The slow song playing was the same one Joe had picked out over fourty minutes ago.

       "I think the jukebox is broken.  I picked out that song a while ago and it's still playing."

       She smiled.  "The jukebox always sticks on this song until someone pays to hear something else."

       "Oh really?"

       She nodded as the words of the song played on. 

"But she sees herself as more than what the mirror shows and why that's so important heaven only knows when the important part for her is souls and hearts..." ***

       The bartender walked over to the two men Joe had been sitting next to when he had first come in the bar. 

       "Looks like we're not gonna be having any more straight tequila nights for a while."

       The two men looked in the direction their friend was.  They both grinned.  "It'll do her some good.  I liked that looks of that kid from the moment he stepped inside here tonight."

       The other man patted his friend on the back.  "So you're gonna take credit for this huh?"

       "Well, yeah, I mean I took his seat and so he had to move next to Austin to stay seated at the bar."

       The other men laughed at his logic while watching the couple on the dance floor.

"K13 is her favorite song.. if you play it you might have a chance....." **

The End
________________
** Straight Tequila Night - John Anderson
*** Dreams - Kenny Chesney

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