10. Chapter Ten
The neon sign of Big Joe’s comes into view along the quiet county road. Its red glow fills the dark road.
The parking lot is already getting full despite the band not coming on for another hour. Big Joe has a country fried steak special every Saturday that brings in a big crowd. It’s one of my favorite comfort meals.
“So this is Big Joe’s?” Viktor takes in the outside of the old building.
I can only imagine what he thinks from the beaten exterior on the old wooden barn. It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but when you get inside it’s a whole new world.
“Just wait until you get inside. You’ll be shocked. I think Joe keeps this place looking rough to keep out the yuppies from Houston looking for a real Texas experience. Only the locals really know what this gem is. ”
He parks his brand new Tahoe next to the row of old Chevys, sticking out like a sore thumb against the dust coated and dented ranch trucks.
“Guess I’m about to get my crash course in being a real cowboy.” His smile is blinding.
He’s truly excited to meet my family and spend the night line dancing with us. Thad only ever came when he could get his buddies to come too. In the end I think he ended up enjoying it, but not with me. With her.
“Well come on then, cowboy. Let’s see whatchu got!” I hop out of the truck and wait for him to walk around before lacing my hand with his as we walk to the door.
We go around the side of the barn where the large barn doors are open. From the entrance you can see the old wide planks that cover the floor, the high top tables that surround the middle space where the dance floor is, and the tables in each back corner.
The bar is lit up with LED lights around the bottles, and coolers are filled with amber glass bottles. The Lone Star beer taps shine under the lights. A beacon to all the cowboys wanting to drown out a long day on the ranch.
The bartenders are constantly running back and forth, filling orders and talking to clients.
“Wow. This is certainly different from TRNDZ,” he chuckles as his eyes move around the space .
I laugh at his reaction, Big Joe’s is definitely a different vibe from most of Houston’s bar scene, even the honky tonks in Houston are swankier. But you can’t beat Big Joe. His food is by far some of the best I’ve ever had, and I love the local bands he hires. The vibes are definitely good.
“Calliope!” Mom is calling us over.
We walk over to the table where everyone else is already sitting.
“Mmm, Calliope Miller, you have upgraded in men.” Catherine takes in Viktor’s body.
“Catherine.” Franklin, her husband and Joy’s dad, shakes his head at her antics. He pretends to be annoyed by her but deep down he loves her no matter what.
“It’s okay, Franklin. I happen to agree.” I lean into Viktor before he pulls my seat out for me. “Everyone, this is Viktor Karlsen.” I start pointing at everyone surrounding the table, “This is my mom, Betsy, dad, Carl, Joy’s mom, Catherine, and her dad, Franklin.”
They all exchange hellos and then the waiter comes over to take our orders.
As our food comes, Franklin and Dad have moved over to be next to Viktor. They’re all talking sports, and it’s safe to say he’s won both of them over.
“Uh, Joy, is that Callen?” I angle my head toward the door where her millionaire boss stands in his suit .
“Ugh. I swear he got IT to access my calendar! What is he doing here?”
“Only one way to find out, babe. Go talk to him!” I urge her.
“No way! I didn’t invite him here. Besides, he might be on a date.”
“Joy Baker!” Catherine admonishes her. “This is not how I raised you. Go get that man and see if he has company waiting for him. If he doesn’t you will bring him back to this table.”
“Ugh, Mama,” Joy whines, but her mom doesn’t back down. “Finnneeee. I’ll go get him.” She huffs and pushes her chair back, sulking over to Callen.
The three of us watch as his grin ticks up watching Joy come over to him, but as soon as she’s close to him, his smile drops and in place once again is the grumpy boss we all hear about.
“So do you think he really hacked into her calendar?” Mom asks.
“Oh, yeah. That man has it bad.” Catherine answers while staring at her daughter and her grumpy boss trying to keep his grin under wraps.
“Oh shit.” I mutter under my breath, staring at the bar.
“What?” Mom looks around. “What are we looking at?”
“Thad.” I point subtly to the bar, right in the direction that I can see him. Funny because I always had to fight for him to come. Guess it was just for him to come with me and not the place in general.
Right as Catherine and Mom turn to look, he makes eye contact with all of us. A smirk snakes across his face. The smarmy grin, the one he makes right as he’s about to fuck a client over and make it sound like it’s all the best idea they’ve ever had.
“Oop, he’s coming.” Mom turns back to us.
“I think Frank and I need to go dance.” Catherine grabs Frank, and Mom follows suit. Both of them leaving me to deal with Thad alone. What great moms they are.
“Well, Calliope, it’s nice to see you’ve healed from your… mishap.” He reaches out to touch the small scar on my forehead.
I flinch backward, refusing to let him touch me. “What do you want, Thad?”
“Can’t I just come say hi? I mean, your outfit screams desperate for attention. Don’t you think that dress is a little much for someone of your stature?” His nose scrunches as he takes in my light pink, eyelet lace babydoll dress.
But none of that disgust seems to stop him from stepping closer.
“I don’t think-”
“Get the fuck away from her. Now.” Large, warm hands come to rest on my shoulders, and a familiar scent envelops me. Immediately I feel better .
Thad’s laugh is loud and high pitched. “Holy shit. It’s fucking true. The boys all said that had to be you in Viktor’s photo, but I didn’t believe it.”
Viktor steps between Thad and I. “Didn’t I warn you to get the fuck away once? This is the second. Don’t let me get to the third.”
“I’d be careful with her man, she doesn’t actually care who she’s with, just wants to jump from one fat wallet to the next.”
“Please! I never once needed your damn money. I make plenty of my own. My only mistake was believing all the lies you sold me. Including the one about Amber just being the boss’ daughter you couldn’t stand. Where is she now?” I stand up behind Viktor, ready to step forward, but he won’t let me by, so I just poke my head out around his shoulder.
“Oh feeling tough now, C? You think you can-”
Before he can finish, Viktor reaches out, grabbing him by the throat with one hand, pushing him backwards toward the door. Thad doesn’t stand a chance against him but as he pushes him further, I notice all the cowboys behind Viktor.
“Get the fuck out.” Viktor declares pushing him one last time through the door.
“And don’t fucking come back, asshole.” Big Joe yells out the door before coming back to me.
“My girl, are you okay? I never liked that asshole.” Joe sits next to me. “He’s not welcome back here again. I don’t tolerate men who speak to women that way.”
“I’m okay Joe. He’s just a jerk with his words.” Viktor comes back to stand behind me. “Joe, this is my boyfriend -”
He stares up with wide eyes, “Viktor Karlsen.” He reaches out his hand. “Nice to meet you. Big fan! Thanks for your help getting that guy out of here.”
Viktor reaches his hand out. “Nice to meet you, too. Thanks for the support. It’s good to know you’ve got an eye on my girl here.”
“Always. Calliope is one of my favorite girls.”
He gets called back to the bar and leaves us with a hug for me and another handshake for Viktor.
“Are you ok, Skatten Min?” Viktor cups my cheek, placing a sweet kiss to my lips.
“I’m fine. It’s not the first time he’s said those things to me.” I shrug off Thad’s comments.
“You are fine. You’re strong for standing up to him, and this dress looks absolutely fucking stunning on you.” He pulls me up. “Come on, let’s go. Teach me how to line dance.”
We go join everyone on the dance floor, including Joy & Callen, as the band starts to play Copperhead Road . We choose a spot behind them so we’re in the back corner of the dance floor where I can teach him.
“Ok this is a simple sixteen count dance.” I smile up at him .
“Nothing about this has looked simple.” He grimaces as everyone starts dancing. Trying to figure out how everyone is moving.
His feet are moving, completely uncoordinated. This is such a stark difference to his normal hockey moves. He’s so graceful and coordinated on the ice.
I laugh at him as his feet get tangled up and he struggles to figure out the next moves. Each time he’s starting to get it the steps change up and he’s back to figuring out how to move his feet. His lips are sucked in and his tongue sticks out a bit as he concentrates. Seeing him like this is adorable. He’s trying so hard to be a part of something I enjoy. Something Thad never did.
As the song finishes up, he has a sheen of sweat on his forehead. “That is not a fucking simple sixteen count. You are amazing, it was a pleasure to watch you.”
He pulls me into him, and I can feel what a pleasure it was for him. Strawberry Wine begins to play and he starts to sway with me across the dance floor. He’s much better at slow dancing than he is at line dancing.
“Oh my gosh! Look who it is!” I nod in the direction I want him to look.
“Is that Miss Daisy with the grumpy rancher from this morning? ”
“Sure is. Looks like he’s not so grumpy with her.” We watch them as they laugh and he swings her around.
“So, how much longer,” he nuzzles into my neck, “do we need to stay here?”
“I think we can leave,” I whisper.
He whisks me off the dance floor as I wave goodbye to our group.
In a flash we are in the truck, heading home. And I can’t fucking wait.