My boyfriend Ronnie - the love of my life, was in jail. Probably for a very long time. The trial alone was expected to last another 6 months, and they had allowed no bail. I had skated on a technicality, but the prospect of a re-filing of charges was possible at anytime and if something stuck, I could be sitting in prison for twenty years.
Try living with that over your head. I was a bundle of anxiety. I really needed to have a little fun.
Everyone in my little town knew who I was and what was going on with my life. Everyone was watching me every time I went into public. I felt like I was suffocating under the spotlight of my infamy, and for just one night I wanted to get away to someplace where I wouldn't be the topic of conversation. And so I did.
My destination for the evening was the bar of the local Hilton, by far the nicest hotel in the area. It was a place where locals never went and weren't encouraged to go. It existed apart from the town and liked it that way. Even the clerks, maids and other workers seemed to be from somewhere else.
It wasn't a particularly nice hotel. Certainly nothing fancy like the hotels to be found in big cities. That didn't matter to me though. It was the unlikelihood of actually seeing anyone I knew was the attraction. I didn't want to be seen.
I was tired of local men, local morals, and all the bullshit that came with them. I just wanted to have a good time without being judged for it. I had plans for the evening and they included not ending it alone.
This all happened decades ago. I wasn't 21 yet, but it was a much simpler time and laws like that didn't mean as much in the farm towns of the heartland. In most places they didn't care how old you really were as you looked old enough, could pay your tab and behaved yourself.
I dressed in my prettiest dress. The lingerie beneath had never been farther from the bed than the floor. I walked through the lobby of hotel as if I owned the place, because if I didn't, they probably would have thrown my ass out.
The place was doing good business, but there was a seat at the bar. The bartender didn't seem as happy to see me as everyone else. He thought I was a hooker- I could tell. He stared me down trying to intimidate me at first, but I guess he decided I might be good for business. I got my drink, but there was tension there.
I looked around. There were men of every age, size and shape. They were all so nicely dressed. To me, a nice suit is like lingerie for guys. I loved to look at men in well-tailored suits.
I sat there for a while sipping my drink but no one hit on me. I wasn't prepared for that. In my little world, taverns were where you went to find other people to drink with, fight and fuck. Here everyone seemed to be keeping to themselves. I decided that if they wouldn't come to me, I'd go to them.
There were a two billiards tables in the back of the bar. I had been playing pool since I was tall enough to reach over the table, so I decided I'd rack'em up and see if anyone else wanted to play. I put a $10 on the bar and asked for a second drink. I got the drink, but no change, the bartender's way of letting me know I was barely being tolerated. I got the message.
I dug around in my purse for the quarters to play and made my way to one of the tables, but found there was no place to put in quarters in. The balls were just sitting there. You didn't have to pay to play. I had never seen a table like that.
I was (and still am) very good with a stick in my hand. Over the next few minutes I put on a show. Whether they were watching my shots as I dropped ball after ball into the pockets or were just watching my ass as I stretched over the table, I didn't know and didn't care. Either way, I had their attention.
By the time I lined up the final shot to clear the table, the whole place was quiet. There was a light round of applause as the 8 ball slid slowly into a side-pocket while the cue ball spun slowly to a stop mid-table.
Once the first rack was gone, two men grabbed the table next to me. They seemed at the time like something out of the movies. Dapper as shit in their manly suits with ties and shiny jewelry holding their cuffs shut. I'd really never seen a man dressed so well unless he was at his own wedding or funeral.
Beneath those suits I could tell were bodies that had been built and sculpted in expensive workout palaces with gleaming chrome covered weights and equipment like on TV. There were lots of guys with muscles in our town, but the muscle came from hard work on farms and ranches. It was like comparing racing thoroughbreds to plow horses. The way these men carried themselves gracefully was just so fucking hot.
There was small talk as we played our next sets, courteously getting out of each other's way while we were lining up shots. I was running my table, rack after rack. It was so much fun when you didn't have to pump quarters in to get the balls back. The pair next to me continued to knock their balls around but it was obvious they were not here for the game. I was enjoying their attention.
Finally, one of us suggested we should all play together.(I think it was me.) The patter of "nice shot" and "wow, you're really good" gave way to a more involved conversation.
"Where are you from" and "What brings you to town" are ready made conversation starters in a hotel, and my asking them the questions showed them that I was interested. Their answers were always brief and they returned with more open ended questions intended to draw me into the conversation, focusing their attention on me instead of themselves. It's a trait more men should learn. Farm boys in town were not nearly so sophisticated.
Finally I admitted I wasn't a guest. I was a townie. They seemed surprised. They asked questions about the town and the people, but not "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" I am sure that was a question on their minds. They were polite and let the conversation go wherever I wanted it to.
I finally answered the question for them. "I'm here because I am tired of the same old crowd." It seemed to be enough.
We played another round while chatting about their hometown, a city I recognized but could not place on a map. They talked of visits to far-away places and life beyond my little world.
I had talked to plenty of truckers who lived life on the road, but it wasn't the same. These men didn't just drive through these places - they had really experienced them.
Living in a small town, you see the same faces with the same stories every single day. Talking to these men was like going on an adventure.