Chapter 23
Hollywood
“So, where are we going for this date?” I asked as I buckled into Tex’s pickup truck.
“That’s a surprise.” A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “But you’ll find out soon enough.”
Nervous flutters tickled my stomach. I wasn’t sure why I was so jittery. It wasn’t as if we hadn’t had drinks together dozens of times before. Of course, never as a couple. Never where people could see us. Never on a date.
A Johnny Cash song came through the truck’s speakers. I leaned forward to turn it up. “Ooh, I love this.”
As the lyrics filtered out, I matched my voice to his drawl, dropping it a register, stretching it out a bit, adding some rasp.
Tex raised an eyebrow at me, but his eyes warmed as they always did when he caught me singing.
I’d been a little embarrassed the first time he’d walked in to find me belting out Elvis while mopping the kitchen floor, Ruby clapping her hands and singing along off-key while absolutely murdering the lyrics.
She had good rhythm, though, and enthusiasm that couldn’t be matched.
Tex had laughed, eyes bright, and then taken a seat and told me to continue. My body had flushed hot, and I’d barely been able to look at him, but Ruby wanted to keep singing, so we did. We sang Elvis and Sinatra—even some Wiggles that afternoon, when Ruby wanted to take the lead.
“I didn’t know you liked country,” Tex said.
“Johnny Cash isn’t really country,” I said. “He blends genres. So does Elvis. I guess I just appreciate good music, regardless of genre. I love a lot of different things.”
He smirked at me. “You look more like a member of a boy band, but then you start singing Sinatra or something, and…” He clicked his tongue. “Ol’ Blue Eyes had nothing on you.”
My cheeks heated as I laughed. “Oh, that’s really sweet, Tex, but so untrue.”
He slid his hand onto my thigh. “Well, to my untrained ear, it’s very true. You’ve got a great voice.”
My chest warmed. Who doesn’t like a compliment, even if it’s vastly exaggerated?
I glanced out the window and recognized the building to our right. “Glitter Balls? You’re taking me to a drag show?”
It was surprising. Not what I’d have guessed for Tex’s idea of a good date. But I really didn’t care where he took me. We could go to a drag show, a hole-in-the-wall bar, a fast-food diner, or a fancy restaurant. It was all the same to me, as long as we were together.
“It’s not a drag night. I have something else in mind.”
“Like what?”
“You’ll see.”
Damn. He was still being cagey.
Tex swung the pickup into a parking spot and killed the engine. I opened my door and hopped out. Tex jogged around the truck, meeting me by my door.
“You ruined my attempt to be a gentleman.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to find another way to impress me.”
He pushed my door shut, then pressed me against it and kissed me. My body heated as his tongue traced over my bottom lip. I opened for a deeper kiss—and he pulled back, the October evening wind cool against my heated skin.
“Impressed?” he asked, a teasing smile quirking his lips.
“Hmm. I don’t know. I think you better try again.”
He laughed and glanced over his shoulder, as if checking for any onlookers. He caught me watching him. “Sorry. Old habits.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Public displays of affections aren’t for everyone.”
“Fuck that.” He leaned in and kissed me again, this time giving me more heat. My hand curled over his shoulder, holding on for the ride. When Tex wanted to make a point, he made it very well.
When we broke apart, we were both breathing hard.
Tex brushed his thumb over my bottom lip. “We better go in before I skip the date and take you in my truck.”
I shivered a little. Fall had swept in, with a bit of winter nipping at its heels. But I wasn’t sure the temperature had anything to do with my reaction.
Tex had dressed for our date in pale blue jeans and a tight denim shirt that hugged his frame beautifully.
His shirt was unbuttoned just enough to show a tuft of chest hair, which kept drawing my eyes like a magnet.
He’d rolled the sleeves up, exposing strong, corded forearms, too.
My mouth watered, just looking at him. But the biggest change from his day-to-day look was that he’d left the ball cap at home and styled his hair a little.
It was thick and fell over his forehead, and every time I looked at him I remembered the last time we’d been in bed and he’d pinned my shoulders down, eyes intense as he sank deep inside me.
Yeah, the shiver had nothing to do with the weather.
Tex took hold of my hand and tugged me gently away from the truck. I let him lead me toward the club, hyperaware that he was still holding my hand. We’d never really done that before.
He threaded our fingers and squeezed once. “I hope you like this. I almost just took you to the Silver Spoon. But I talked to the guys and—”
My heart skipped. “You talked to the guys?”
We’d gotten Kelly to keep Ruby overnight, so Tex could have kept the date to himself.
“Yeah, they recommended I do something that showed what I appreciated about you.”
I stopped at the door, turning toward him. “You told them, then? About us?”
“Shit, I’m sorry. Did you want to do that together? I just wanted to get this date right for you.”
My heart swelled. Tex had taken me to a gay club. Here, we were in a safe, queer space with no one the wiser. It was a good step forward, but it wasn’t exactly jumping out of the closet. But telling our closest friends? That was a big deal. That made it real.
“Are you kidding, Tex? That’s so fucking sweet. That means so much to me.” I squeezed his hand so tightly it probably hurt. “The date is perfect.”
He grinned. “You haven’t even seen it yet.”
I held his gaze. “I’ve seen enough.”
We stood, gazing at each other like goofs, until the door opened and we had to break apart to let the sheriff and his boyfriend squeeze out between us.
“Excuse us,” Sheriff Harvey said, tipping his hat. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
His boyfriend, a guy with a tumble of dirty blond hair who looked like a hellion, grinned. “I’m not sorry. Go ahead and kiss. Don’t mind us.”
The sheriff shoved him forward. “Ignore Axel. He just likes to rile people up.” He wrapped a handful of hair around his fingers and tugged it as they walked away. “C’mon, trouble. I’ll handcuff you if you don’t quit it.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
I laughed as I turned back to Tex. “Never a dull moment, huh?”
“Guess not.” He grinned as he opened the door and waved me inside. “Okay, let’s break the seal on this date.”
I stepped into the dim lighting of the nightclub and let my eyes adjust. Someone was on the stage, but it wasn’t a drag queen.
A big guy in a hoodie was holding the microphone like he was the next star on The Voice, belting out the lyrics to “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey.
He wasn’t terrible. Wasn’t terribly good, either.
We headed for an empty table and took our seats. I glanced toward the stage uncertainly. “Karaoke, huh?”
Tex shrugged a shoulder, looking a little bashful. “You love to sing, and I love it when you do. It’s something I appreciate about you.”
“Really? My ex kind of hated it.”
“Carrie’s got no taste, then.”
“Not Carrie. I didn’t sing much back then. Too consumed with work and stress, I guess. Uh…this was Derek. We met right after I got to Riverton. He always said it gave him a headache.”
Tex’s eyes hardened. “What an asshole.”
I laughed a little. “Yeah, I guess he was.” I shrugged. “It wasn’t a love connection.”
Tex picked up the drink menu. “Good.”
“Good?”
He leaned in, eyes fixed on mine. “Well, if Derek had any brains, he’d have snapped you up, but then I wouldn’t get to be here with you right now. So good, I’m glad he was an idiot.”
I smiled. “I had such bad luck I almost gave up on men. But you’re a hard man to give up on, Tex.”
His brow furrowed. “I’m so damn sorry for pushing you away. I had my head up my ass for too long. But I’m here now, and I’m all in, Hendrix.”
Whenever Tex used my real name, I knew he was serious. I’d had so many doubts about his intentions once Ruby didn’t need him anymore. But he was erasing them, one by one.
The server arrived, a perky Asian guy named Cam. He was adorable, with floppy hair highlighted with red tones, skimpy shorts and a tight low-cut tank that showed off defined pecs.
It might be karaoke night, but Glitter Balls was still very much a gay club. The crowd was a mix, though, of queer and straight couples. There was a rowdy table of women all wearing penis hats, so I was guessing a bachelorette party had stopped in.
“Hey, guys,” Cam said. “What can I get you tonight? And please, gawd, tell me one of you is a better singer than the bride up on stage.”
The song had changed to “Sweet Caroline”—always a crowd-pleaser—but the blonde belting it out was seriously drunk and about as off-key as Ruby had been in our kitchen.
Tex grinned. “My boyfriend has a great voice. He’ll be going up in a few minutes.”
Cam turned appraising eyes on me. “Well, I look forward to that. He’s not hard on the eyes either, is he?”
“He’s sure not,” Tex agreed with an appreciative smile. “But don’t get any ideas.”
“Meow.” Cam laughed. “I love a possessive man. What can I get you to drink tonight? We’ve got some great specials. The Pink Banana—”
“Just a Bud for me. I think we’ll take an order of the Orgasmic Load?” Tex showed me the menu. “That sound good, darlin’?”
“Uh, yeah.” I glanced at the list of IPAs and selected one of my favorites, but my mind wasn’t fully engaged. I was still stuck on what Tex had said about the karaoke.
Cam tapped our order into a tablet he held. When he took his perky ass across the room, I looked at Tex. “What did you mean, I’d be going up there in a few minutes?”
“I signed you up online.”
My stomach somersaulted. “You didn’t.”
“Well, yeah. You love to sing. That’s why I brought you here for the date.”
“Tex! I like to sing at home, alone. I sing in the shower or while I clean. I don’t…” I waved a hand toward the stage. “Perform.”