It was brilliant of Stacy and I to make these plans ahead of time in order to clear our schedules because Thursday, Maddie went home sick and there was no way she was going to be able to be in the bakery on Saturday morning to prep, but I was able to make arrangements with Kathy to do the morning prep since I figured the last thing I’d want to do at 5:00 am tomorrow morning is wake up.

There is no such thing as an Uber in Harlington or Valley View, but what we do have are friendly people I’ve gotten to know over the past year and a half since moving here. A few phone calls later and we were able to get a place to crash overnight in Valley View so we can drive home later in the morning. Small town hospitality is great!

Stacy: Hey! I’m going to be there in about fifteen minutes, be ready, I’m not waiting for you.

Stacy: Yay! Bring cookies.

Stacy: Maybe, see you soon!

I toss my phone back on my bed and laugh at her message. Stacy claims that she doesn’t have a sweet tooth, but now all she wants are the desserts that I make. Either she was lying about her affinity for sweets or the things I make are just that darn good. I guess it is a toss up on which one it really is.

I finish straightening my hair and getting the perfect eyebrow shape and the very last thing I do is slip on a royal blue strapless dress that is tight up top but flows out at the waist. I do a little twirl in the full-length mirror and I am ready to go! I slip on some cowboy boots, grab my overnight bag, and head downstairs to meet up with Stacy. She pulls into the back alleyway right as I come out of the stairwell.

“Oh, you look good!” Stacy says as I open the passenger side door.

“Thank you, you’re not looking so bad yourself.” Stacy is very a short denim skirt with a red plaid shirt tied up showing a bit of skin. She did her hair up in a high, curly ponytail.

We get to the Watering Hole and find a table on the second level. It is super busy tonight, but that isn’t unexpected. For this time of year on the weekends, the Watering Hole is the place to be.. There are a bunch of ranches in the area and the ranchers always like to come out to the bar on the weekends. The guys order some food and a couple of beers and just trade stories from the week. They also like to find a hookup or two, the flirting is all around this neighborhood bar.

“So wait, she wanted red velvet, but green?” Stacy commented as I tell her about my latest bride.

“Yeah, I tried a test batch, oh my gosh you should have seen what it looked like.” I made a cringy face.

‘Green is not really an appealing color for dessert. Especially not dark green.”

“No, no it isn’t.” I agree with her.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I saved a few of the test batch to show her and I guess she’ll decide.”

Stacy shakes her head, “Weird. Why are people so weird?”

I shake my head back at her, “I don’t know. That’s the million-dollar question, huh?”

We order another round of beers and decide to head down to the dance floor. We are almost to the dance floor when my boot hits something wet on the floor and I go flying forward right into a hard surface. A pair of big, muscular arms wrap around me and pull me back to my feet.

“Whoa cowgirl, you okay?”

I look up and see the guy, Wes, from the coffee shop last week. I’m stunned and embarrassed for falling right into him. In an attempt to lessen my level of embarrassment I take a few steps back, trying to play off the entire situation. Instead, I end up making it worse by stepping back and running right into somebody holding a pitcher of beer. The beer dumps onto me, going all the way down the front and back of my dress.

“Oh god, oh god that’s cold!” I cry as the beer drips over my entire body.

“Shit, are you okay?” Wes takes one step forward to me, holding his arms out.

I look at Wes and I’m so embarrassed at my complete klutziness right in front of him. I shake my head and dart to the back of the bar where the restroom is. I hear Stacy calling for me through the crowded bar, but I don’t stop until I get into the bathroom. I duck into the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. I’m a total mess, beer-drenched all the way down my back. The door flings open and Stacy comes running in and gasps.

“Oh my god, are you okay?”

I start to cry while gesturing with my hands, “Did you see that? Not only did I make a fool of myself in front of that guy, but then I made a double fool! Everybody in this stupid bar is going to be laughing at me now.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Stacy tries to comfort me, “shit like that happens all the time at bars”

“Really? Is this how you try to make me feel better?” She gives me a sad frown and begins to pull paper towels from the dispenser and starts blotting my dress.

“I’m going to smell so bad.”

Stacy raises her eyebrow, “Going to?”

I finally let out a small laugh, “Shut up.”

“I’m not going to get this dried off. Do you want me to go get your bag from the car?”

“Maybe we should just go.” I lean against the countertop. “Even if I change into my clothes for tomorrow, this whole night feels like a bust.”

“No, we said we were going to go out, we aren’t letting a little beer incident stop that.”

I sigh and look at my back in the mirror again. “Okay fine, I’ll get dressed in some new clothes and go back out there, but only because after all of that I need another drink.”

“Yes!” Stacy puts her first up towards me and I bump it like we’re in some sort of agreement now.

I stay in the bathroom while Stacy runs out to the truck to get my bag. When she gets back, I go into one of the stalls and change. I wasn’t expecting to do anything tomorrow so the clothes I picked out are just a pair of jeans with a green, John Deere, tank top. Stacy stands behind me and uses one of her hair bands to pull the tank top up, showing off my midriff a little bit.

I pull my hair back into a bun and stuff my beer clothes in my bag, sling it over my shoulder, and head back out into the bar. We see two spots open at the end of the bar closest to the bathroom, so we head over there. I am just about the sit down when a hand wraps around my arm. I quickly turn around almost expecting to punch somebody from trying to grab at me, when I see that it is Wes.”

“Oh….hi,” I say after unclenching my fist.

Wes looks down at my small fist and smiles. I bet it looks silly, what could I possibly do to him? “Are you okay?” He asks, with sincerity in his voice.

“I’m fine. Were you, uh, waiting for me?”

He tucks his hands in his pockets and looks away a bit and then back to me. “Yeah, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. Wasn’t sure if you got hurt or anything.”

“Just embarrassed, a hurt ego, but I’ll be okay.”

He chuckles a low deep laugh, “I don’t think you need to be embarrassed. I’m sure half the people here have ended up with beer on their clothes once before.”

“Maybe yeah I guess, just it was in front of you and…..,” I let your voice trail off

“What about me?” He gives a little smirk.

“I’m Holly.” I put out my hand and he shakes it. I completely ignore the question he asked me, hoping that he takes the hint.

“Hi, Holly. I’m Wes. I saw you at the coffee shop the other day.” He says matter of factly.

“You did.”

He leans in a little closer to me, “Would you like to dance, Holly?”

I just nod and let him take my hand. I don’t think I have the will to fight against him. Not that I would, even if I could. I look back at the bar while I’m walking away and Stacy has both her thumbs up with the cheesiest grin. Girls Night is taking a very interesting turn.