Dream Girls: Piper

Dream Girls: Piper Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

During the next few weeks, we fell into a normal routine. Brandon had us working most nights together, so we were able to look out for one another.

"Can we count on you girls for the charity softball game?" Cole asked.

"This is the first I'm hearing about it," I said, filling an order.

"Oh, Brandon probably forgot to mention it. We play every year for March of Dimes."

"That's cool. Who plays?"

"Everybody downtown. All of the businesses get their own teams; we won last year. That's the trophy," he said, pointing at a huge trophy sitting atop the liquor case.

"Will we be able to play?" Not that I was too good to sit the bench, but practicing and sitting in the hot sun for hours on end didn't seem like a good time unless I was gonna see some action.

"Yeah. There's only like ten of us that even play." He shrugged.

"Sounds fun. We're in." I volunteered for Stephanie and Nicole. I knew the girls wouldn't mind. We didn't know that many people in town, so it would be a good place to meet new people that worked in the same area of Dallas.

I hadn't been at the bar even an hour on Saturday night when I noticed two guys walk in. Now normally, I didn't continue to check the dudes out, but they looked so mismatched that I was curious. One of the guys was a total cowboy. He was about six-foot-five, one of the tallest guys I had ever seen. His body looked so strong and muscular he looked as though he could've been one of those fighters you see on TV. His shirt was a blue plaid button up, and he had the sleeves rolled halfway up his arms. Damn. Look at those forearms! His forearms were killer. I loved strong forearms and his were calling my name. I could tell by looking at him that he was one of the good guys. He had that sweet smile that looked so genuine.

His friend was the total opposite. He was tall as well, maybe six foot, but that's where the similarities ended. This dude looked like a total badass. He was completely covered in tattoos, and he had his dark hair cut in a buzz cut. He had really small plugs in his ears opposed to the larger ones, so that told me that maybe he wasn't as far out there as I had initially thought. He was wearing a plain black T-shirt and dark jeans with black biker boots. Obviously, he rode a motorcycle. He didn't smile and barely talked to the cowboy guy. They sat in a booth close to the back.

"Piper... " Cole was laughing at me. "Hello, you there?"

"What? Sorry." I turned back toward the bar.

"I'm not gonna get pissed 'cause I get my fill too." He winked at me.

"I wasn't checking them out. They're an odd pair is all."

"They're not gay, Pipe." He laughed at his own joke. "The cowboy is Moye McKenzie." He nodded his head toward them.

"Moye?"

"Yeah, Moye. It's a family name. Anyway, he owns one of the largest ranches in this area."

"Who's the other dude?"

"That's Corey Tate. He works on the ranch with Moye. I've been friends with them forever. We went to school together—they're cool."

"Oh, well, he seems quiet." I'd kept an eye on them as Cole and I talked, watching Moye shake hands with quite a few people. Corey mostly just nodded at them.

"He's cool. Corey just does his own thing, ya know?"

I nodded my head and kept working. I could feel the cowboy looking at me about half-way through the night. When I would glance over, he would smile. I hadn't had a drop of alcohol, so I couldn't blame beer goggles. He wasn't my norm, but there was something so genuine about him. I didn't feel cheap with him checking me out. He wasn't leering at me. It was like he was drinking me in from top to bottom, appreciating me.