I was a hundred miles from home, too tired for more than a fast food burger, and not tired enough to sleep. All I really wanted, that first night, was to find a place to sit down, have a couple beers, and do some serious people watching. Bars usually work pretty well for doing all three. I didn't know anything about The Sundowner, but the parking lot was half full when I drove by at eight, so I figured it must be popular. The name as well as the number of pickup trucks in the lot told me it was probably a country bar and that it was likely there would be a fair number of single women inside. Finding a partner for the night wasn't really my goal, but single women tend to dress to show off what they have, and I love looking when they dress that way.
The outside was pretty plain. There weren't any windows, and the neon sign over the door was pretty small. I really didn't care what the place looked like as long as it had stools and cold beer. A bunch of half-dressed girls would be a plus, but I didn't plan on taking one back to my hotel room. I was fifty-three, and most young girls in my favorite bar back home considered me one of two ways. I was either going through a late mid-life crisis and needed the ego boost of balling a girl young enough to be my daughter, or I was there for the thrill of watching since I couldn't get my cock hard enough to do anything else.
Neither was correct, but I hadn't tried to change their minds. The truth of the matter was that the young women I knew, those under thirty anyway, weren't mature enough hold a decent conversation. Well, maybe it was just that I'd lived too much of life to think which girl was fucking which guy was all that important. Their little skinny bodies didn't do anything for me anyway. I've been partial to hips and breasts since I can remember, and B cups and boy butts aren't my cup of tea.
It was one of those B cups who smiled at me just inside the door and told me the cover charge was five dollars. She smiled again when I handed her the bill, and then stamped my hand and turned and grinned at the young guy behind me.
There were a few stools at the bar that faced the little dance floor and the raised stage where I saw a drum set and several microphones. As I sat down on the stool with the best view of the dance floor, I hoped the band was getting paid. If they were, they'd probably be at least decent. If they were playing for tips, like they do in some bars in Nashville, the listening might get hard to do.
The soft voice pulled my eyes from the stage.
"What can I get for you?"
She was young, but she was a lot more woman than the other girls I'd seen so far. By saying she was a lot more woman, I don't mean she was overweight, because she wasn't at all. She just looked like a woman rather than a girl. Her breasts were round and full, and did wonders for the T-shirt she wore. Her short, brown hair framed a pretty face that did look young. I didn't see her ass until I'd told her which beer I wanted and she walked to the tub of ice on the other side of the bar. It wasn't wide and flabby, but it was an ass a man could hold on to.
She smiled when she set the dripping long neck on a napkin in front of me.
"Two seventy five."
I handed her three ones, and when she came back with my quarter, I dropped it and another single into her tip jar. She said "Thank you", and then walked down the bar to another guy.
The band was pretty good, and there were a couple older women dancing to the music that I'd have considered trying to meet if they hadn't been wearing rings and sitting with guys who looked about the same age. Since it was a Monday night, the bar was almost deserted. Only a couple young girls were out on the floor, and they were dressed to cover rather than display. I found myself watching the bartender more than the girls on the dance floor.
My beer was half-gone when a young guy with his ball cap on backwards took the stool beside me. The bartender came back to our place and asked him what he wanted. The guy told her and she walked back to the same tub of ice. The guy laughed.
"You're watching Toni's ass like you'd like some of it."
I chuckled.
"She's nice, but she's pretty young for me, I think."
The guy smiled.
"Wouldn't do you any good if she wasn't. That's there's the Ice Queen of The Sundowner. Lot o' guys tried to get in those panties, but they never even got close enough to smell it. I've never seen her act like it, but some of the guys think she plays on the other team. As many of us as she'd flipped the bird to, she might. That'd be one hell of a waste of some big titties and a nice ass if she is."
She plunked his beer on the bar, and her smile was more of a straight mouth than friendly.
"Two seventy five."
The guy handed her a five. She took it back to the register, and came back with his change. The guy dropped the quarter in her tip jar, and then waved the two singles.
"I'll put this in your jar if I can put something in you."
She held up her middle finger, and then walked away. The guy laughed.
"See? Coldest bitch in the place. Probably freeze your dick off if you did manage to get it in."
He headed off to prowl around the tables and dance floor. I went back to watching - Toni, he'd said her name was Toni -- I went back to watching Toni.
She was really a nice looking woman, and I didn't think she was really all that cold. The guy deserved her gesture. I don't have much respect for any man who doesn't respect women. The asshole had basically called Toni a two-dollar whore, so I wasn't surprised that she wasn't happy with him. The only thing that was a little surprising was that she hadn't picked up his longneck and hit him right between the eyes with it. That's what I'd have done.
When I thought about it a little more, I liked the fact she was mature enough to be satisfied to just let the asshole walk without saying anything or doing anything to him. In the long run, that would probably hurt him more than a black eye.
I watched Toni's breasts sway gently as she walked up to me. She smiled the same smile as before.
"Can I get you another?"
I said she could, and then watched the rise and fall of her great ass when she went to get it. I watched her breasts again when she walked back. Her smile this time was a little forced.
"Why are you watching me so much?'
I shrugged.
"Well, you're pretty nice to watch."
"Yeah, and the next thing you're gonna say is how you'd like to take me home and fuck me until I pass out."
I couldn't keep from chuckling.
"Well, besides the fact that I've never told a woman that in my life, it's likely I'd be the one passing out. In case you hadn't noticed, I have several years on you."
Her smile came back.
"Sorry, I just thought you were a friend of Jeremy's. That's the guy who was with you while ago."
"Nope, never saw him before."
"What'd he tell you about me?"
It's been my experience that women can be hurt by words almost as much as by being hit, and I think sometimes the pain is worse. I saw no reason to upset Toni over some jerk who didn't know how to wear a ball cap, much less how to treat a woman.
"Oh, nothing much. He did say your name is Toni. Is it?"
Toni smiled again.
"That's me."
"Well, Toni, I wouldn't worry to much about Jeremy. I think he likes to talk a lot about things he doesn't know anything about."
Toni's eyes narrowed.
"You sure he didn't say anything else about me?"
"Well, he might have. I wasn't really listening to him. I was too busy watching you."
I handed her a five and watched her all the way to the cash register and back. When she handed it to me, I dropped the quarter and both singles in her tip jar.
Toni frowned.
"Just because you didn't ask doesn't mean I'm gonna do that with you either."
I grinned.
"That's not why I did it. I just want to see you smile again.
She did, and then thanked me.
I finished my beer about ten, and waved to Toni as I left. She smiled and waved back.
The next day of my workshop was just as boring as the first. I treated myself that night to a pizza and then headed to The Sundowner for a couple of beers and maybe a little more conversation with Toni. She was interesting. Most women are interesting to me, but Toni was different. She could have had her pick of any guy in the bar, and yet she didn't go with any of them. If she came on like a cold fish to the guys she served, there had to be a reason. She had been a little distrustful with me, but she definitely didn't seem cold.
Toni had just finished dropping off a guy's change when she saw me sit down. I guess dropping isn't exactly the right word. It was more like she stood back and tossed it in his general direction. She was frowning when she walked up.
