Wednesday night. It was a Wednesday night, a slow night in the bar business, and so Inez had turned The Saloon over to Mary Travis for one of her benefits. A DJ was hired that played a variety of music, from country to top forty to light rap, Inez tended bar, and the members of Denver ATF Team Seven acted as waiters and servers.The night was a success, raising over $20,000 for a local children's charity but it wore out the men working the benefit. Inez treated the exhausted men to a round of beers while the DJ spun a few extra rounds and began to pack up his discs.
The men sank into their normal chairs with Mary sitting between Chris and Vin. Mary's hand rested comfortably on Chris' thigh as the group lifted their beer bottles and happily recounted various events that had occurred that night. The men joked and teased, with the normal banter occurring between Buck and JD.
Vin sat back quietly with his beer, smiling at the laughter. His toe began to tap as the DJ put on one last disc before finishing for the night, a tune Vin had heard many times coming from boom boxes in Purgatorio, a modern song with a strong country beat. Only a few notes had gone by before Vin was pushing his chair back and standing suddenly, turning to Mary and taking her free hand.
"Hey Cowboy, I'm borrowing your lady," he told Chris as he helped Mary to her feet and led her to a small area that had been cleared that night for dancing. As they hit the dance area Vin moved Mary into several twirls, then began to move as the words to Uncle Kracker's 'Follow Me' began.
Mary looked stunned at first as Vin led her into a complicated series of country swing steps, which she was able to follow with ease. Vin leaned in and quietly sang into her ear.
"You're feelin guilty and I'm well aware but you don't look ashamed and I'm not scared."
As they continued through the moves her look of surprise turned in to one of pleasure as she began to enjoy the dance, flowing from swing steps to two-step with ease and grace. Vin would send her out to arm length, then real her in to encircle her with gentle arms or lead her into a two step with the two of them facing the same direction, then twirl her out again. The two moved as if the dance had been choreographed, the steps and spins fitting into the beat of the song and seeming a natural action for the pair.
"Follow me everything is all right. I'll be the one to tuck you in at night. And if you want to leave I can guarantee you won't find nobody else like me."
As the final notes came to an end, Vin gave Mary a final twirl, then took her hand and gently kissed her fingers, thanking her for the dance, and walked over to Inez to grab two cold beers. Inez happily handed him the bottles, smiling the whole time. Vin handed Mary her bottle as he took his seat and looked at his friends.
Chris sat with one eyebrow lifted up in question and a smirk on his face. Josiah chuckled to himself and shook his head. Nathan lifted his beer in a toast. Buck reached over and slapped Vin on the shoulder, smiling. JD sat with eyes wide. And Ezra, well for once Ezra was speechless, his beer bottle suspended halfway to his lips as he stared at Vin in disbelief.
"What's the matter with y'all. Cain't a guy ask a girl ta dance?" Vin asked as he took a long pull on his beer, doing his best to suppress a smile at having once more caught his teammates by surprise.
END