| Dance Hall Days |
| And so Saturday after dinner Bo and Luke got Jesse and Cooter stuffed into the back seat of the General Lee and the four of them headed off to Shelbyville. Jesse being Jesse, he had dressed up for the occasion, and much to the boys' surprise, so had Cooter. He matched Jesse's dress shirt and string tie, adding a leather vest over his best jeans. Bo and Luke had taken one look at him and wondered if they were underdressed, but decided that this was about bein' yourself, so they did just that. They were amazed at the number of folks milling around the Grand Ballroom of the Shelbyville Hotel. Cooter had been right � it was done up right fancy tonight, in an 'old west' sort of way. A bar was set up at one end of the room, and while Jesse found them a table, Cooter and the boys got them some drinks. As they sat down, Cooter had to laugh. "Bo, buddy, your eyes look like they're gonna pop right out of your head!" Bo just shook his head. "This is amazing. I never woulda thought there was this many gay men around these parts �" Cooter shrugged. "Most of 'em keep it pretty quiet, Bo. And besides, this is a BIG event; there's folks who come from out of state to be here!" Luke pointed off to the side at a group ladies in fancy old-time dresses. "Hey Cooter � I though you said no women was invited �" Cooter laughed. "They're the Dance Hall Girls. 'Cept, they ain't women �" Now it was Luke's turn to stare. "No �" Cooter nodded. "Some guys like playin' dress-up, Luke. You know that." Luke just shook his head. "I heard about it, I just ain't never seen it before �" Cooter chuckled. "You just get up close and personal like and see if you can tell � some of them are amazing." Jesse chuckled as Bo and Luke looked at each other and shook their heads. "Different strokes for different folks, I always said �" By this time, Jesse's one departure from that philosophy had been long since forgiven. Just then the music started up, a fiddle setting a lively pace. Cooter looked at Jesse. "Well?" Jesse grinned and stood up, offering his arm formally to his dance partner. "Will you join me?" "I do believe I will!" Cooter took his arm and let Jesse lead him off to the dance floor. Bo and Luke watched as the two of them twirled around the dance floor. Luke just shook his head. "Dang, Bo, when was the last time you saw Uncle Jesse havin' this much fun?" Bo laughed. "Tell me about it. And it don't look like Cooter's hatin' it, either." Luke nodded. "Them two is good for each other." Bo cocked his head to the side, trying to figure something out. "Luke, do you think they're in love?" "Nah." Luke shook his head. "Not like us, at least. But that's ok. I think they're happy with what they've got. They don't need it to be more. At least not right now." The boys watched a while as Jesse and Cooter danced up a storm. Bo's eyes wandered around the room, still amazed by the number of guys there. And by the diversity. Young and old, black and white, some in old-time costumes, some just dressed normal. But everybody seemed to be having a good time. Everybody except one. Bo noticed one guy sitting alone, off to the side. He was dressed in a black vest and tie over a white shirt, black jeans, and a big black hat which partially hid his face. Bo wondered what his story was. Was he just figuring it out, still afraid to fully admit what he wanted? There was something in his posture that cried out 'loneliness.' And maybe a bit of fear. Bo felt kind of bad for him, the only lonely person in a room full of happy people. Part of him wanted to go over and say hello, but he didn't want the guy to get the wrong idea. He wasn't interested in anything but friendship, and Cooter had warned them that here, it was all about making a different kind of connection. After three songs, the fiddler took a break, and Jesse and Cooter returned to the table, a bit breathless. "Dang, I ain't had that much fun in years!" Jesse wheezed as he sunk down into a chair. Cooter was laughing, equally out of breath. "I don't know if I'm gonna be able to keep up with you tonight, Jesse!" With the fiddler on break, they started playing some more modern songs on the record player. A lot of the younger guys replaced their elders on the dance floor. Luke looked at Bo. "Whaddaya say?" "Why not!" Luke stood up and offered Bo his arm just like Jesse had done, and Bo grinned as he took it. It took them a minute to sort out who was holdin' who, but they ended up with Bo's arms around Luke's neck, and Luke's around Bo's waist as they swayed slowly to a Kenny Rogers love song. Bo had to admit it felt kind of nice, holding Luke like this. The next song was a bit livelier, and they pulled apart, dancing just like they'd danced with girls a million times before. As they moved around the dance floor, Bo realized they were getting close to the lonely cowboy, as he'd started thinking of the man in black. Glancing around, he spotted him, and realized that there was something familiar about the guy. "Hey Luke. That guy sittin' over there all by himself? He remind you of anybody?" Just as Luke looked over, the man pushed up his hat, revealing his face. Luke stopped dead in his tracks. "Rosco?" Bo spun around, stunned by Luke's answer, but now that the hat wasn't in the way, it sure was Rosco P. Coltrane. Lookin' about as lonely and miserable as Bo had ever seen him. Luke was frowning. They'd always had sort of a friendly adversarial relationship with the Sheriff, but ever since he'd spied on them in their own home, Luke had taken a real serious dislike to the man. "Wonder what he's doin' here? Plannin' on bustin' up the party, I'd bet." Bo shook his head. "I don't know, Luke. Look at his face. He looks plum miserable." Luke sighed; one look at Rosco convinced him Bo was right. "You think we ought to go over and say something?" Bo just nodded, so they headed off the dance floor toward Rosco's table. Rosco was so wrapped up in his misery that he didn't notice them coming until he heard Bo's voice. "Rosco, what on earth are you doin' here?" "D'oo!" Probably the last people on earth Rosco wanted to see was the Duke boys. But there they were, lookin' down at him. "What business is it of yours?" Rosco's defensiveness rubbed Luke the wrong way; he couldn't help pushing just a little. "Well, we was afraid you might be out here undercover tryin' to bust up the party for the rest of us. After all, sneaky is your new game, ain't it?" There was a definite tinge of anger in Luke's voice. Which deep down, Rosco knew was justifiable. But he wasn't going to let Luke know that. "Now see here, Luke �" "Easy, Rosco, easy. That goes for you too, Luke." Bo stepped between them, acting the peacemaker. He turned to Rosco. "Actually, I saw you over here all by yourself, thought you could use a little company. Can we join ya?" The open honesty in Bo's eyes kind of got to ol' Rosco. And the Dukes was better than no company at all. So he nodded, and was rewarded by one of Bo's dazzling smiles. As Bo sat down, he looked at his cousin. "Luke, why don't you go get us a couple of beers?" Luke took the hint; they weren't going to get anything out of Rosco with Luke antagonizing him, so he nodded and headed off to the bar. As Luke left, Bo turned his attention back to Rosco. "So, Rosco? What ARE ya doin' here?" Rosco took a deep breath. He figured if anybody would understand, it would be the Dukes. "Actually, it's all your fault � " Bo blinked in surprise. "My fault? How �" "Well, not just you. You and Luke. If'n I hadn't seen you two goin' at it, I might never have known �" Bo raised his eyebrows. "Rosco? You sayin' you got all hot and bothered from spyin' on us? Good thing Luke's not here �" Embarrassed, Rosco hung his head. "You gotta understand, Bo. I didn't mean to spy on ya, I really didn't. It's just �" When he didn't continue, Bo prodded. "It's just what?" Rosco finished his beer before continuing. "I'd heard your Uncle Jesse and Cooter talkin' in the park that afternoon about you two. I just couldn't believe they meant what I thought they meant. I had to see for myself. I mean, I knew these sorts of things happened, but � well, it just did somethin' to me, inside. I had to know �" Rosco looked at him with such confusion and uncertainty in his eyes that Bo couldn't help feel sorry for him. He reached out and patted Rosco's hand. "I really wish you hadn't spied on us, Rosco, but it turned out ok after all, so I guess there ain't no hard feelin's." "Tell that to Luke." Bo sighed. "Rosco, you know Luke has always been the protector of the family. It's a little harder for him to let go. But he'll be ok. Right now I'm more worried about you. You looked like you'd lost Flash or something!" Luke returned with three beers and set them down on the table. "Listen, Rosco, I'm sorry I jumped on you. I guess I�m still a bit touchy �" Rosco shook his head. "No, Luke, you was right. I shouldn't have done what I did, and I'm sorry �" Luke looked at Bo, wondering what had been said while he was gone. Rosco apologizing? Maybe they ought to get him away from Boss more often. Bo jumped in. "So Rosco. What's goin' on? You're here, so that means �?" Rosco gulped at the beer Luke had brought. His neck was turning bright red. "There's a reason � besides Mama � why I never got married. I just couldn't admit it, even to myself, until I saw you two �" Bo nodded in sympathy. "So why are you sittin' over here all by yourself, Rosco? You ain't gonna meet nobody hiding here in the shadows!" Rosco just shook his head. When he didn't answer, Luke jumped in with another question that was on his mind. "Rosco? How'd you find out about this shindig, anyhow?" "Um, well, after the race, I got to thinkin' about things, and I really didn't have anybody I could talk to, so I went over to the library to see if I could find some books �" Bo chuckled. "Aimee found you, didn't she?" Rosco looked up, surprised. "Yeah. How'd you know?" Luke grinned. "Where do you think Bo went when he first started figuring this out?" Rosco's eyes got wide. "Bo? Went to the library? Now I know you're makin' fun of me!" Bo looked hurt, but he knew he had a bit of a reputation of having not been the town's best student in high school. "Yeah, why is that so hard for everybody to believe?" Luke just laughed. "Calm down, Bo. Besides, Rosco, he was dating Aimee at the time, so he had a good excuse." Rosco's face got all soft thinking about the librarian. "She's a sweet thing, ain't she?" Bo had to smile at that. "That she is, Rosco. And a good friend to men like us." Luke frowned. "Unlike her sister �" Bo cocked his head. "Yeah, what's up with Annabelle? I ain't seen her around lately?" A smile twitched at Rosco's lips. "I think I can clear that one up, fellas. When Lulu found out about what she'd done to you two, and how she came on to Boss, she paid Miss Annabelle a little visit and retrieved the money Boss paid her � at least as much as Annabelle hadn't spent yet. And told her she'd better not show her face around town for a while �" Luke grinned, glad that Annabelle had gotten her comeuppance after all. And it was even better that Boss hadn't gotten the money back himself. Bo suddenly put something together. "You know, Aimee told me that Lulu made an unpublicized donation to the Library right after that! I bet that was Annabelle's money!" Luke raised his glass. "To Lulu! You got one smart sister there, Rosco. How the heck did she end up marrying Boss?" Rosco's scowl just made Bo laugh. "Ease up, now, Rosco, you know he don't mean it." Rosco wasn't so sure of that, but he let it slide for now. He hated to admit it, but at the moment, he welcomed the Duke boys' company. Even Luke's gaze had softened up considerably from his original distrust. It almost felt like he was sittin' around with friends � Just then Cooter spotted them and headed in their direction, at first not recognizing who they were talking to. "Hey guys, we was wondering where you got off to � Lord Almighty, Rosco? What's �" Luke turned to Cooter, grinning. "Relax, Cooter, he's one of us. Believe it or not �" The mechanic just stood there, shocked. "No �" A big grin spread across his face. Rosco knew his days in Hazzard were numbered. "Y'all are going to spread this around, ain't you? Townsfolk might accept you two, but no way they'll accept a gay Sheriff �" "What're you talkin' about, Rosco? You know we'd never do something like that!" Bo actually looked insulted that Rosco would even think such a thing. "Yeah, Rosco, you been hanging around Boss way too much. You know the Dukes don't act that way," Cooter chimed in. "And neither do I. Although I'd appreciate you keepin' quiet about me, too, specially around Boss�" Rosco suddenly realized they were all in the same boat. He felt a strange sort of kinship with these men, something he really didn't understand. Surprised at himself, he nodded agreement. He nearly jumped through the roof when Cooter placed his hand on Rosco�s shoulder with a soft, �Thanks, Rosco.� Bo was watching him closely. �Rosco, can I ask you somethin�?� �I guess,� Rosco answered with narrowed eyes. �You here just to watch, or are you lookin� for someone?� Rosco made a face. �I don�t rightly know, Bo. I � I though I wanted to � but � oh, heck, even here nobody seems to want me! I thought � I mean, I know I�m not much to look at and all, but I thought somebody would want me! I ain�t never been good enough for a girl, but I thought maybe here �� Luke frowned. �Who says you ain�t good enough for a girl, Rosco?� �Why, Mama, of course �� Bo looked at him in surprise. �Rosco, are you sayin� you ain�t never even been with a girl?� Embarrassed beyond belief, Rosco hung his head in shame. "Go ahead. Laugh. Everybody thinks Enos is the oldest virgin in Hazzard, the way he pines after Daisy �� Even Luke couldn�t help feeling sorry for Rosco then. He reached out and laid his hand on Rosco�s back. �It�s ok, Rosco.� Rosco shook his head. �No it ain�t, Luke �I don�t know why I even came here. I shoulda stayed home with Flash. At least I know she loves me �� Bo caught Luke�s eyes and nodded towards the bar. Luke nodded his agreement. �Listen, Rosco, how about Bo and I go get us another round of drinks? We�ll be right back.� By this time, Rosco was so depressed again, he didn�t even care that his so-called �friends� were leaving him. He just nodded and stared into his empty beer glass as Bo, Luke and Cooter stepped away. But instead of heading to the bar, they just pulled up an unoccupied stretch of wall. �Luke, I�m gettin� an idea �� Bo started. Luke looked worried. He was usually the idea man. �Yeah?� �No wonder poor ol� Rosco is so confused. Between his mama and Lulu, that�s two what you�d call strong women telling him he�s no good. No wonder he never did get anywhere. He wants this, I could see it in his eyes when you were getting� the beers, Luke. It�s long past time that his mama should have thrown him out of the nest. If she won�t, maybe we can push him out. I think all he needs is a little self-confidence.� �And how is he gonna get that?� Bo grinned. �Us.� Luke figured he�d been right to be worried. �Us,� he echoed back, making it a question. �Sure, Luke! Look, he ain�t never been touched. Once he feels what it�s really like, and knows that he�s worth somebody�s attention, maybe he�ll get a little more aggressive about finding it for himself. And if not, then he�ll have one sweet memory to hold on to! Come on, what do you say?� Now, Luke would have never in a million years considered having sex with Rosco. Or even any sort of threesome. �Bo, I�m not sure I could �I love you. I just feel sorry for Rosco �� Bo flashed that radiant smile. �Of course you can! I�ll be there too, remember! Together we�ll show him the time of his life!� Luke was still frowning. �And just where do you suggest we do this?� he said, figuring that would put an end to the conversation. Cooter decided it was time to put his two cents worth in. �This sort of thing happens all the time here, guys. That�s why they like having it in the old hotel. All the rooms on the second floor are open so people can slip off for some �private� time, if you know what I mean.� Luke turned on Cooter. �Whose side are you on, anyway?� Cooter chuckled. �Nobody�s. Just tellin� you what the options are.� �Please, Luke!� Bo�s puppy-dog eyes were back. Luke thought about it. Bo was right about one thing; poor Rosco never had a chance when it came to women. He tried to imagine what it must have been like growing up with Mrs. Coltrane ruling the nest and Lulu as queen-in-training. When he thought about it, it actually explained a lot about Rosco. If Bo was right, maybe getting Rosco laid would give him some obviously needed self-confidence. And maybe even get him to lay off them a bit. But not too much; that would be a dead giveaway to Boss that something was up. And besides, half the fun they had was bein' chased by Rosco. But the thought of sharing what he and Bo had found with Rosco didn't sit quite right. What they had was special, not for others to see. Least of all someone like Rosco. Who had already seen them � And Bo seemed awfully excited about the idea. Luke suddenly realized why. He'd had other lovers before, male and female. But Luke was the only man Bo had ever touched, even though he knew he preferred men. He had to be curious what it was like with someone else. "All right," Luke finally gave in. "Let's do it!" Cooter laughed and rolled his eyes. "I'll let Jesse know not to look for you for a while �" Continue on to Ch 3 Send me some feedback Back to the dukeshome Back to Jade Palace Home Disclaimer: I don't own them, just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Ch 2 |