Tex (Dallas Winston)

Chapter Four

{A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to upload! I've been super busy with school and work but I should be putting out more chapters regularly! Get ready for some super cute interactions between Dally and Talia ;) 

Dallas Winston was a much more interesting character than Talia had imagined him to be. Sure, she knew that he wanted to get into her pants, but so did half of the guys at Buck's who had been staring at her from the moment she walked in.

The only difference between them and Dallas?

Dallas was actually making conversation with her, and wasn't completely objectifying her for the entire time. Completely.

"You do look really beautiful tonight though." He yelled over the chatter of the other bar patrons.

Talia chuckled, taking a sip of the third beer that Dallas had purchased for her. "Thank you, for the fourth time."

He beamed at her and downed his glass of whiskey like it was nothing.

"So, Tex, how ya liking Oklahoma?"

Talia stared at him, confused.

"Tex?"

He smirked at her; a coveted Dally smirk. "That's my new nickname for ya, givin' you're from Texas and all."

Talia smiled. "Well I wasn't born in Texas, but it is my favorite place that I've lived in so far."

"So I'm guessing that you don't like Oklahoma so far?"

Talia took another sip of her drink, looking at Dallas under the smoky haze illuminated by the lights.

"I like some parts of Oklahoma." She couldn't resist a smile as the words left her mouth.

Talia liked the sense of community in Tulsa. Community among the other outsiders, that is.

Originally, she had felt isolated from everyone, because of the socioeconomic divide in the city, but was now happier than ever, and arguably happier than when she lived in Texas.

The only thing she longed for now were actual girl friends. The entire gang was made up of guys, and while she had heard of Sodapop and Steve's girlfriends, she still hadn't ever met them.

"You'll meet some girls eventually," Dallas commented later in the night once Talia had confided in him that she missed her girl friends who were still living in Texas.

Most of the drunken patrons had cleared out of the bar by the time last call rolled around. Only the die-hard's were left, chattering away in various locations around the tavern.

Dallas, who had been eyeing the back room almost the entire night, hopped down from the barstool and beckoned Talia to follow him.

Inside the dimly lit backroom lay a billiard table, cues and balls scattered across the table, as if they had been abandoned mid-game.

"You play?" He asked, putting each individual ball into the rack.

Talia shrugged. "Haven't for a while."

Dallas smiled. "Then how about we make a bet? A wager, really."

Talia cocked her head, urging him to go on.

"I win, and you... Have to go on a date with me. You win and you... Have to go on a date with me. Deal?"

Talia burst out laughing, unable to contain her amusement.

"I don't think you're very good at betting." She replied, picking up a pool cue from the wall and rolling it over in her hands.

"I'm open to any other ideas you have." He said with a wink, causing Talia to roll her eyes.

"If you win, yes, I'll go on a date with you. But if I win..." Talia thought it over, making Dallas wait in agony to hear what she wanted if she won, "You have to let me drive your motorcycle."

Dallas stared at her in bewilderment. "No way. Absolutely not. That's my baby right there, if anything happens to her then-"

"Then no bet." Talia said with a sly grin, setting her cue on the table and raising her hands innocently.

He frowned at her, narrowing his eyes. "You drive a hard bargain, babycakes."

He moved his cue over to his left hand and stuck out his right hand, indicating that he was ready to make a deal.

Talia smiled sweetly and shook his hand gently.

"Let's play some pool."

-

"Miss!"

Dallas' sudden yell caused Talia to jump slightly whilst she took her shot, and narrowly missed sinking her final striped ball.

She turned around and glared at him, only to find a smug smile.

"Don't hate the player, sweetheart." He said, standing up from his chair and surveying the billiard table.

Talia's ball was positioned close to the hole she was trying to make it in, but Dallas still had two solid-colored balls positioned in precarious locations. Talia clearly had the upper hand, so he resorted to jumpscare tactics to make her miss.

"That was definitely cheating..." She muttered, rolling her eyes at him and taking a sip of a bottle of beer Buck had brought her.

"It's just strategy." He said with a grin, lining up his shot.

Talia smiled softly to herself, and nonchalantly stood up from her seat and positioned herself against the opposite wall, watching Dallas prepare himself to shoot. She watched him pull his cue back, ready to release it forward. She moved her body down the wall suddenly, flipping the lightswitch and causing the whole room to go dark.

"Dammit!" He yelled, and Talia moved her body back up to allow light into the room. Her plan had worked, and Dallas had fluffed it at the last second and overshot the cue ball, crashing it into her striped ball and sinking it into the pocket.

"That's sabotage." He said, spinning around and glaring at her.

Talia shrugged with a wide smile. "A wise man once said 'it's just strategy' and 'don't hate the player'."

She walked past him confidently and picked up her cue once more, ready to win the game.

"You're pretty hell-bent on winning this game, huh?" He asked, watching her walk into her position to shoot the ball.

"I really wanna go for a ride on that bike." She said, looking up at him to judge what sort of sabotage he was planning for her current turn.

She was surprised to see him at the end of the table, head in his hands, peering at her curiously.

She lined up her shot, and prepared to shoot, holding her breath in anticipation for what he would do to stop her from making it in.

Much to her surprise, he did absolutely nothing but watch the 8-ball zoom into the pocket and clack against the other balls that had been sunken.

"Congrats." He said, standing up from his squatted position and placing the cue on the rack.

Talia frowned. "Well, you're a sore loser, aren't you?"

Dallas shook his head. "I'm still a winner either way, kind of," he turned to look at her, "You aren't riding my bike without me on it, so we might as well call it a date."

Another frown ensued. "That wasn't part of the deal."

"Well that's the only way you're riding her."

Talia crossed her arms.

"Now who's the sore loser." Dallas taunted, sticking his tongue out at her playfully.

Dallas Winston, you're smarter than you appear.