Chapter 6

            Nick had to admit the wings were great. They quickly chatted about the town council meeting the sheriff had to attend earlier that day. The DJ came on to the mic.

            “Hey folks, we’re just a few minutes away from Garvey’s Annual Wet Nightie Contest,” the DJ said.

            Men whistled and hollered.

            “But, first we have a special treat. We have another Garvey girl in our midst. Give a big howdy a doo to Gabriella,” the DJ said.

            Everyone applauded as the lights dimmed and Gabriella appeared on stage. The girl could actually sing. Nick enjoyed it and Goldman definitely did.

            She gyrated and grinded to the beat.

            The sheriff looked down at his plate.

            “What’s wrong?” Nick asked over the music.

            “It’s a little uncomfortable for me to watch a young lady who’s going to be related to me gyrating on a stage half naked,” the sheriff answered and drank the rest of his beer.

            “I understand,” Nick said.

            Sandy came back to the table with three more beers. “Ready for a refill?”

            “Sure,” Goldman said as he continued to watch Gabriella on stage.

Sandy set the fresh beer down and picked up the empty beer mugs. “You boys got two more shots left. Drink up.”

            “Nah, I’m pretty relaxed, now. Is Jodi still in the back?” the sheriff asked.

            “Yeah, she’s . . . making sure that everything is running smoothly. She’ll be out sooner than you can say, hey,” Sandy said.

            Something’s up, Nick thought. Why wouldn’t Jodi come out for five minutes to say hello to him? Unless they haven’t told her the sheriff was here.

            “Just take a little sip. We want you feeling good when Jodi comes out,” she said.

            Gabriella’s song ended.

            “One more, General. You and me. You’re not driven’,” Goldman said.

            “All right, but that’s it,” the sheriff said.

            Nick watched them as they downed the liquid. Sandy walked away without saying a word. Everyone applauded and hollered for Gabriella.

            “Thank you. Now we’re going to do the raffle for the contest. We’re going to select the numbers of five gentlemen to hose our contestants down!” she said with excitement.

The men went crazy with catcalls and cheers. Goldman pulled his raffle tickets out of his pocket. Lance got on stage with a fishbowl full of blue raffle tickets.  Gabriella pulled out each ticket and announced the numbers. The guys that were selected went crazy. Another bouncer, Nick didn’t know, handed them large seltzer bottles.

            She pulled out the final ticket. “009355,” she said.

            “Shit!” Goldman shouted in disappointment while another man cheered at the bar.

            It was Jesse, the moonshiner. Nick could see Jesse’s bald head bebopping to the front of the stage. Jesse was handed a seltzer bottle.

            The sheriff laughed. “I should have known Lady Luck wasn’t going to leave Jesse out of this.”

            “Oh, well,” Goldman slurred. “At least we’ll enjoy the show.”

            Six bouncers stood behind the men with the bottles.

            “All right, here are the rules. Fellas, you’re allowed to spray any contestant anywhere to get her drip and wet,” the DJ said. “No grabbing or trying to touch the contestants unless they make it very clear that they want you to. After all the contestants show their stuff, the winners will be determined by crowd applause and cheers. First prize $700, second prize $500, and third prize $200. Don’t worry about running out of water guys. We got plenty of bottles.”

            Everyone cheered, including the women.

“Before we get the official contest underway, we got a warm-up act. Our five chosen sprayers will get to practice their aim on her,” Gabriella said on the mic. 

            The men with the bottles cheered.

            “You boys better enjoy this because she’ll be a married woman soon,” Gabriella announced.

            Goldman and Nick slowly looked at the sheriff.

The sheriff froze with a celery stick in his hand. He glared at the stage.

            “Garvey’s own, Jodi!” Gabriella announced.

            The crowd yelled. The music kicked in. Jodi sprung on stage wearing a white nightie. Gabriella and the DJ started a duet. Jodi presented herself to the sprayers. She started turning around as they began to douse her with liquid.

“Damn it!” the sheriff yelled as he shot up from his seat and slapped the celery stick in the basket.

Nick made sure the cuffs of his shirt were rolled up tight over his muscles because he knew all hell was about to break loose.

“General, you’re not going to get to her in this crowd,” Goldman slurred, trying to get the sheriff to see reason.

Fire was in the sheriff’s eyes. “You want a bet?” he said and headed for the stage.

“Come on. We might have to stop him from knocking out one of those guys with the bottles,” Nick said and got up.

Goldman stood. “He can only do so much damage. He’s staggering already.”

Nick and Goldman wedged through the crowd to follow their leader. Goldman was right. The sheriff got half way to the stage and had to stop for a second. However, his fuzzy head didn’t discourage his pursuit.

“I’m too buzzed for this shit!” Goldman yelled over the music.

The crowd started chanting Jodi’s name.

The sheriff made it to the stage. Goldman and Nick were right behind him. The men with the seltzer bottles recognized the sheriff and stopped spraying. Jodi had her back turned as she shook her booty on stage.

“Hey, cuz, look who came to enjoy the show,” Gabriella said on the mic.

Jodi turned around and saw her fiancé staring at her with his arms crossed. She froze.

They didn’t tell her he was here. The staff tried to get him drunk so he wouldn’t be that mad. Then again, it isn’t entirely their fault. Why does Jodi do things like this? She knows how possessive he is about her.

            Jodi slowly gyrated closer to him with her fingertip in her mouth. It looked like the sheriff was going to grab her, but she was too fast for him. Jodi grabbed his black Stetson, backed up, and placed it on her head.

            Everyone laughed and cheered.

            “You gotta be faster than that,” Gabriella goaded on the mic.

            The sheriff’s motor functions were not at their peak. He wasn’t drunk, but he wasn’t feeling any pain either.

Jodi strutted around the stage in clear heels as she looked at the sheriff. 

            “Ride em’ cowgirl,” Gabriella cheered on the mic.

            The sheer white cloth exposed her body. Her nipples were dark and hard. She wore a white thong. Jodi was soaked from head to toe.

            “Jesus,” Goldman mumbled as he stared at her.

The sheriff had enough. He crocked his finger for her to come to him. Jodi slowly strolled to him. He gathered his faculties enough to grab Jodi and take his hat back in one move. He put his hat back on as he holstered Jodi over his shoulder.

The crowd laughed, cheered, and applauded.

            He turned to his deputies and said, “I’ll catch up with you boys, later. Enjoy the rest of the show.” He walked away.

            Men whistled.

            Jodi looked up and waved goodbye to everyone.

            “I know he’s going to have a good night!” a man yelled.

            The men cheered and whistled again.

As the sheriff carted Jodi off, a sultry voice came on the mic. “That’s what I call the long arm of the law.”

            The crowd cheered and catcalled again.

Nick and Goldman turned around to face the stage.