21 - Sophie
21
Sophie
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Not only was Eli in the same bar as me, on the opposite side of town from where I normally saw him, but he was playing the guitar.
And he was playing Britney goddamn Spears .
I ran into the other room, where Liz was texting on her phone. She glanced up and said, “Where are the drinks?”
Wordlessly, I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the booth. She protested, but I led her into the next room and pointed at the stage.
“Huh. I thought that was Britney,” she said. “Never heard this kind of cover. I kind of like it. He has a good voice.”
“Yes, he does,” I said pointedly. “He sounds totally different from when we’ve both spoken to him.
She squinted. “Wait a minute. Is that the hunk that’s been hitting on you at Billy Bob’s? Johnny’s friend?”
“His frenemy, yes,” I confirmed. “Eli Hawkshaw.”
“He’s really good!” she said excitedly. “I wouldn’t have taken him for a guitar player.”
“Drinks are up, Sophie,” the bartender called to us.
I hurried over to the bar. “Winston. How’d you book this guy?”
“That’s the thing: I didn’t,” he answered. “He just walked up there and started playing.”
“And you let him?”
“This ain’t Billy Bob’s,” he said bluntly. “I usually have to pay musicians to play here. If he wants to do it for free, I’m sure as hell not going to stop him. At least not until the scheduled band plays in an hour. Besides, the crowd is into it.”
The crowd was into it, every head turned in his direction and nodding along to the music. But Eli’s gaze was permanently locked onto me as he sang.
“ With a taste of your lips, I’m on a ride.
You’re toxic, I’m slippin’ under.
With a taste of a poison paradise.
I’m addicted to you.
Don’t you know that you’re toxic?”
“I think he’s serenading you,” Liz whispered.
She wasn’t wrong. It felt like there was nobody else in the bar except me and Eli, and he was singing only for me.
As I listened, I stopped wondering how the hell he had gotten here, to the bar where Liz and I happened to be at. I was totally entranced by him. Eli’s fingers moved with effortless confidence while strumming the weathered guitar, each chord ringing warm and true. His voice was deep and rich, like whiskey poured over old vinyl—smooth, but with an edge that made every lyric hit just right . Near the end of the song, he lowered his eyes to the guitar, lost in the music, a smirk teasing the crowd between lines.
He finished the song to a roar of applause, an excited ripple passing through the room. And when he tipped his cap to the crowd, his smoldering gaze locked onto me again.
“I ain’t supposed to be up here,” he announced as the bar patrons begged him to play more. “Just wanted to stretch my fingers a bit.”
Eli stepped down from the stage and made his way toward us, deflecting all the TCU girls who immediately converged on him like a pack of dogs. When he reached us, he tipped his cap in greeting.
“Funny seeing y’all here.”
“It is funny,” I said dryly. “Almost like someone planned it this way.”
He grinned. “Almost.”
I glanced sideways at Liz, who immediately showed her palms. “I had nothing to do with this. I swear. This was supposed to be a girl’s night.”
“Guess our paths were meant to cross, then,” Eli said.
Winston came out from behind the bar with a pint of beer. “This is for you. You earned it. And if you’re interested in playing a full set, let me know.”
“Mighty kind of you.” Eli tipped his hat and accepted the beer. “I’ll give it a think.” He turned back to me and Liz. “Ladies. I’ll let you get back to your girl’s night.”
“You should join us!” Liz blurted out.
I gave her a look, but she ignored me.
“We’ve got a booth in the next room. Sophie wanted to stay out later, but I have to get home soon. You can keep her company.”
Eli’s eyes swung back to me. “I wouldn’t want to impose. Especially on your night off.”
“I wouldn’t mind,” I found myself saying. “Come keep us company.”
“Well, all right then,” he said with a grin. “Lead the way.”
We returned to our booth; Eli slid in next to me, but left a respectable amount of space between us. He placed his cowboy hat on the table, took a long pull from his beer, and sighed happily. “This is a cool place.”
“We came here to get away from the rodeo crowd,” I said.
“Ah. Well, I’m sorry to ruin the vibe, darlin’.”
“It’s all right. You’re not the kind of rodeo people we hate,” I said.
“I’m not?” Eli asked, surprised. “I’m in town for three weeks and I’ve playfully hit on you every chance I’ve had.”
“Yeah, but you’re cute,” Liz said. “Which is why Sophie hasn’t minded.”
Eli raised an eyebrow at me. “Interesting.”
“You’re kind of cute,” I admitted.
He nodded to himself. “I’ll take it.”
“But yes, you’re far from the worst kind of customer we see in there. Most are… more aggressive.”
“Lots of guys try to stuff money into our cleavage,” Liz said with disgust. “And when we’re out waitressing, rather than serving at the bar, we get our asses grabbed every five minutes.”
“More like every two minutes,” I muttered.
Eli’s face grew serious. “If that happens and I’m nearby, just holler and I’ll come help.”
“That’s nice of you to offer, but I can take care of myself,” I replied.
“You’ve got I can take care of myself written all over you, darlin’,” Eli said. “But everyone needs some backup now and then.”
“Where’d you learn to play guitar?” I asked.
“Well, I was in the band in high school,” Eli explained. “But I didn’t play guitar. My mom made me learn the clarinet. Now, I don’t know if you lovely ladies know this, but clarinet is the least cool instrument a man can play. Even less cool than the tuba. So I taught myself to play the guitar on the side. I’d be better if I had real training.”
“I thought you sounded amazing,” I said.
He nodded. “Appreciate the compliment, but my guitar playin’ isn’t anything to write home about. I make up for it with my voice, which is mighty fine, if I do say so myself.”
“You could make a living singing Britney covers,” Liz suggested.
Eli chuckled. “Nah, that’s not the path for me. I only play for fun. I don’t want to turn my hobby into a career, even if I was good enough.”
“So you taught yourself how to play the guitar as a way to impress women?” I teased.
“Eh. Partly.” Eli paused to sip his beer. “The real reason is it gave me a distraction when I was a teenager. My parents were always fightin’. As soon as they came home from work, they were at each other’s throats. Every damn day. So I’d lock myself in my room, put on a pair of headphones, and practice my chords.”
Liz’s eyes immediately cut to me.
“Sounds like my house growing up,” I chimed in. “My parents hated each other. I think they were trying to keep the family together until I graduated high school, but they didn’t make it. They got divorced my senior year.”
Eli’s smile was bitter for a change. “Wish mine would’ve done that. They were too stubborn to tear up their marriage license, and kept on hatin’ with all their hearts until Dad passed away last year.”
“Ah, I’m sorry,” I said.
He shrugged. “I’m not. He wasn’t much of a father, beyond putting a roof over my head and food on the table. The only time I’d see him was when he walked through the front door. Then he’d pour himself a drink and go straight to the living room to watch TV.” He flashed a boyish grin. “I’ll tell you one thing, though. He showed me what not to do.”
“Cheers to that,” I said, tapping my glass to his.
“Your parents are still around?” Eli asked.
I nodded. “Mom lives in Burleson, a twenty minute drive south of here. After the divorce, Dad moved to Milwaukee. Said he was sick of the heat down here.”
“Can’t blame him. Texas summers are somethin’ else,” Eli said. “Hell, even the spring can be rough. A few years back, at the Houston Rodeo, the temperature hit triple digits. And that was in March!”
“Welcome to Texas,” Liz said, raising her glass. “Come for the barbecue, and stay because it’s too hot to leave the air conditioning.”
Music began playing in the other room. Eli perked up and said, “I’m gonna get a closer listen to this guy. Maybe pick up a few pointers. You two can go back to your girl’s night without this rude cowboy interruptin’.”
He slid out of the booth, put on his cowboy hat, and then tipped it toward us. “Have a fine night, ladies.”
Both of us watched him go.
“That’s actually my cue,” Liz said, glancing at her watch. “Travis will be done with his game by now, and I intend to try to get at least half as many orgasms as you did last night.”
I followed her out of the booth and into the next room, then hugged her goodbye at the door. But rather than leave, I lingered. Eli was easy to spot standing near the back of the crowd; he was several inches taller than anyone else in the room, and that cowboy hat was like a giant neon sign pointing me toward him.
“He’s good,” I said, joining Eli in the crowd. “But you were better.”
He smirked over at me, first because he was surprised to see me, but then in response to my comment. “Mighty kind of you to say so. What happened to girl’s night?”
“Liz had to get back to her husband. They’re trying to have kids, and she’s ovulating, so…”
“Ahh,” Eli mused. “Nothin’ sexier than scheduled romance.”
I laughed. “Right?”
Eli pointed to the stage. “Gonna disagree with what you said, though. This fella’s good. Look at that fingerwork.”
I tried to think of a joke about fingerwork, but everything I came up with was too dirty. I didn’t want to give Eli the wrong idea about my intentions.
What are my intentions? I wondered. What do I want to happen tonight?
I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that I was enjoying my time with the brunette cowboy, and didn’t want to go home yet.
There was a laugh over by the front door, and a man and woman walked in. I did a double-take when I saw them, then groaned.
“What’s goin’ on?” Eli asked.
I leaned close to whisper to him over the music. “The man who just walked in? With the bimbo on his arm? That’s Ted Salmon. He’s—”
“Billionaire asshole,” Eli finished for me, scowling in his direction.
“Oh? You know him?”
“I know of him. He’s always hangin’ around the rodeo. Chattin’ us up, especially Chris Appleton. Those two are thick as thieves. What’s he doin’ in a bar like this?”
“Probably looking for a new wife,” I muttered, glancing around at all the TCU girls in the bar.
Eli barked a laugh so loudly it drew several glances. “So that was his wife I saw with him the other day. I thought it was his granddaughter.”
“If only.”
Eli chuckled to himself. “He came waltzing into the locker room after the Bronc Riding event, dragging his wife alongside him. I’d just gotten out of the shower, dick hangin’ out for everyone to see. He walked right past me and congratulated Chris Appleton.”
“Doesn’t feel right, the biggest rodeo donor playing grab-ass with one of the competitors,” I said.
Eli shook his head slowly. “No ma’am, it does not. But Chrissy Appleshit is good for business. They’ve been using him for all the marketing this year.” He glanced sideways at me. “If I were a more conspiracy-minded man, I’d say that’s how he got the best score yesterday.”
I thought about that as Salmon ordered a drink from the bar, then walked over to a standing table without paying. I didn’t think they were actually cheating to give Chris Appleton a better score than he deserved, but the relationship between those two raised a lot of eyebrows. It wasn’t a good look.
“Fortunately,” Eli said cheerfully, “I’m just a friendly rodeo cowboy who doesn’t stick his nose in the business of others.” He shook his head. “No ma’am.”
The musician finished his country song, and the crowd clapped. But it was a muted response compared to how they’d reacted to Eli’s single song.
“I think I’ve had my fill for one night, though,” he said, still staring daggers in Salmon’s direction. “I’d better head home before I do something I’d regret later.”
“Like what?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
Eli grinned mischievously. “Oh, I don’t know. Like walkin’ up to Mr. Salmonella and tellin’ him he has the prettiest granddaughter in the whole state of Texas, and asking for her number.”
I had to cover my mouth from laughing so hard. “I’d pay a lot of money to see that. But he’d probably have you murdered and buried in the middle of the desert.”
“All the more reason to avoid such a confrontation. Besides, I need my beauty sleep. Steer Wrestling is my weakest event, so I’ve gotta spend the next few days practicing. G’night, darlin’.”
Eli leaned in and planted a kiss on my cheek like a perfect gentleman. I blinked in surprise.
He gave me a wink, and then left the bar before I could react to what had happened.