Jisoo had given Lisa directions to her favorite honky-tonk. It was forty minutes outside of Rosemary. Not exactly surprising. The only country in Rosemary was the country club and that wasn't anything close to what we were walking into.
The bar was large and completely made out of what looked like wood planks. Apparently, it was famous. Probably because there weren't many of these kind of places in this area. Bright florescent beer signs graced the walls outside and inside. Miranda Lambert's "Gun Powder and Lead" was pumping out of the stereo when we walked inside.
"They have live music in about thirty minutes. That's the best time to dance. We have plenty of time to find a good spot and drink us some tequila shots first," Jisoo yelled over the noise.
I had never had tequila shots. I hadn't even had beer. Tonight that would change. I was going to be free. Enjoy the night. Lisa moved in behind me and his hand settled on my lower back. This was not a friendly position... was it?
I decided against correcting him in here since I'd have to yell over the music. Lisa led us over to an empty booth that was further back from the dance floor. He stood back and let me slide in. Jisoo slid in across from me and Lisa sat down beside me. Jisoo shot him a frown.
"What do you want to drink?" Lisa asked, leaning down to my ear so he wouldn't have to yell.
"I'm not sure," I replied, looking at Jisoo for guidance. "What do I drink?"
Jisoo's eyes went wide and then she laughed. "You haven't been drinking before?"
I shook my head. "I'm not old enough to buy my own alcohol. Are you?" She clapped her hands. "This is gonna be so much fun. And yes, I'm twenty-one or at least my ID says I am." She cut her eyes to Lisa. "You need to let her out. I'm taking her to the bar."
Lisa didn't budge. He looked back at me, "You've never had alcohol?"
"Nope. But I intend to remedy that tonight," I assured him.
"Then you need to go slow. You won't have a very high tolerance." He reached out and grabbed a waitress' arm. "We need a menu."
Jisoo put her hands on her hips. "Why are you ordering food? We're here to drink and dance with cowboys. Not eat."
Lisa turned his head toward her so I couldn't see his face but I could tell his shoulders had gotten stiff. "She's never drunk before. She needs to eat first or she'll be bent over puking her guts out and cursing you in two hours time."
Oh. I didn't like to throw up. Not at all.
Jisoo rolled her eyes and waved her hand in front of her face as if Lisa was an idiot. "Whatever, daddy Lisa. I'm going to get me somethin' to drink and I'm getting her something too. So feed her fast."
The waitress was back with a menu before Jisoo was done talking. Lisa took it and turned back to me opening it up. "Pick something. No matter what diva the drunk says you need to eat first."
I nodded. I didn't want to get sick.
"The cheesy fries look good."
Lisa held up the menu and the waitress came running back.
"Cheesy fries. Two orders and a tall glass of water."
Once the waitress nodded and walked off, Lisa leaned back and tilted his head to look over at me. "So you're at a honky-tonk. Was it everything you hoped it would be? Because I'll be real honest, this music is painful."
Smiling, I shrugged and looked around. There were guys in cowboy hats and then those that just had on regular clothes. Some had large belt buckles but for the most part they looked like people in my hometown.
