âHey Billie Jean you sweet thang. How âbout another Shiner over here. Iâm so dry Iâm spittinâ cotton.â The man at the end of the bar was dressed in dirty faded jeans with a hole in one knee and a ratty assed lookinâ red plaid lumberjack shirt with no elbows over an old insulated underwear top. He had a gimme cap pushed back on his head that said âGOAT ROPERS NEED LOVE TOOâ. His dirty blonde hair was in need of a good trim and he hadnât shaved in about three days. Billie Jean was flirtinâ with a young cowboy at the other end of the bar and really didnât appreciate being interrupted. âJim Bob, you donât need another damn Shiner. You can barely see now.â
Jim Bob was trying his best to focus but he didnât have much of a chance of pulling it off. When he drank his left eye got kinda lazy and crossed in a good bit and right then he was having a hard time finding Billie Jean to set her straight. He squinted in her general direction and said, âBy God, I guess I know when I need another damn Shiner and when I donât. Tryinâ to tell me I donât need another Shiner. Hells bells woman, if I wanted somebody tellinâ me what I did and didnât need I couldaâ gone over to Mommaâs and listened to her bitch all night.â Billie Jean straightened up, crushed out her cigarette and went to stand right in front of Jim Bob so heâd have a better chance of seeing her. âNow see Jim Bob, arguinâ with me just proves that you donât need another beer. Hell, everybody in town knows that Iâm always right so you just pay up and go home like a good little boy âfore I turn you over my knee and spank your little bottom.â
Nobody knew how old Billie Jean was and nobody that ever met her had the nerve to ask. Her two and a half pack a day habit and a lifetime in the sun had left her deeply lined and in possession of a voice that could make a Marine drill sergeant wet his pants. She stood 5â8â and there wasnât an ounce of fat on her, which was amazing in itself. Billie Jean could eat a double chicken fried steak with French fries, a bowl of pintos, three big chunks of cornbread drippinâ butter and a bowl of peach cobbler with a couple of scoops of Bluebell Homemade Vanilla ice cream, belch once, fart twice and never gain an ounce. She could bend a bottle cap in half between her thumb and index finger and she never saw the need to hire a bouncer.
Billie Jean leaned down to make contact with at least one of Jim Bobâs eyes and said, âDid you hear me, Jim Bob? Hike your bony little butt up off of that stool and go home. You ainât gettinâ another Shiner tonight.â Once he realized that he wasnât going to get anything else to drink Jim Bob started fishing around in his pocket for some cash. âYou know you ainât gettinâ no tip tonight. No mam. You canât treat me like this and âspect to get no damned tip!â Billie Jean snorted smoke from a Marlboro Light through her nose and said, âJim Bob, if I had saved all the tips you gave me in the last five years I couldnât get a decent meal at Taco Bell. Now gimme three dollars for that last beer and get your raggedy ass out of here.â
Jim Bob pulled a torn five from a grubby wad of bills and dropped it on the bar and then leaned over and smiled what he was pretty sure was his sexiest smile and asked, âSo when are you and me gonna go out and have a little fun Billie Jean? You know I could show you a really good time if youâd just gimme a chance.â He reached down and grabbed his crotch in a suggestive way and said, âYeah baby, you just need to let me introduce you to âRussell the Love Muscleâ. Then you wouldnât be payinâ so much damned attention to those young punk cowboys youâre always hanginâ around with.â
Billie Jean snorted another cloud of smoke and said, âJim Bob, youâre forgettinâ that you used to be engaged to my best friend. Sheâs done told me about that little bitty weenie of yours and we both know you drink so damn much you canât get it up half the time any way. Now get your ass up and take âRussell the Love Muscleâ outta here before I slap a big ole skillet full of crap outta you.â
Jim Bobâs driverâs license had been suspended after his second DWI so he started walking the eight blocks to his home. It would have been easier to walk down the middle of the road but there seemed to be a bunch of cars runninâ up and down it so he ran the obstacle course these assholes around here called a sidewalk. âSidewalk my assâ, he thought. âHotdamn lumpy assed excuse for a sidewalk.â He fell down three times, knocked over two trash cans, ran into four trees and at least that many mailboxes and puked once. A personal best for him. Once he got home and managed to get his door opened he dug around in the fridge and found another Shiner. âHardheaded damn woman! Tellinâ me I didnât need another Shiner. Shit, I guess I know when I need another damn Shiner and when I donât. Shit. And bringinâ up that shit âbout me beinâ engaged to her best friend. Shit!â
He didnât really want to think about his ex-fiance. He never really wanted to think about his ex-fiance but sometimes when he had a load on and came home alone she just popped right into his brain. Damn but she was one sexy lady. Maybe the sexiest lady in the whole world. And theyâd still be together if it hadnât been for her fucked up family.
The first time he ever laid eyes on her he was sittinâ on his favorite stool at Billie Jeanâs sippinâ a cold Shiner and hopinâ heâd get lucky. It had been weeks since heâd had any action other than a late night date with his own right hand, some Sheddâs Spread Country Crock margarine and a well worn Penthouse. Billie Jean was leaninâ half way across the bar gabbinâ with a damn fine lookinâ blonde. They were gigglinâ and squealinâ and heâd swear they were lookinâ right at him while they were doing it. Even though he was sittinâ down he still checked to make sure that his fly wasnât open. When the blonde walked over and sat down next to him he damn near had a stroke.