joandkemp as Haley 'Hales' Mack

The door of the dive bar jingles open and Haley's head shoots up to smile at the customers. "Hey y'all." She greets, setting cardboard coasters in front of the patrons. "Welcome to Redneck Alley. What can I get for all y'all?"

"Just a shot of whiskey for me, ma'am, thank you." The taller brunette says, returning the kind smile. She grabs a bottle of whiskey from the shelf behind her then pours a shot.

"And you?" She asks the dark haired girl next to him.

"Vodka Cranberry for me, please." She smiles brightly. "Thank you."

She makes small talk with the couple throughout their stay, quickly creating a bond with them. "You're from California and you're from Mississippi? How'd y'all meet then?"

"Mutual friend, right?" Michael says, looking over at Caleigh, who is already nodding. "Ole Miss." They share a smile. "Where are you from?"

"Lynchburg, Tennessee; born and raised." She says, leaning over the bar to set a drink down in front of an older man.

Michael's phone starts ringing and he excuses himself to answer it then shortly returns. "Morgan's on his way." He tells his girlfriend. "We should get goin'."

"Have a great night! Nice meetin' y'all!" She says, taking their empty drinks off the counter.

"Bye, Haley." Caleigh waves, grinning her beautiful smile as the two make their way to the parking lot. Haley smiles to herself as she flips her honey waves over her shoulder, serving drinks and appetizers to her customers.

***

The following night, Haley is behind the bar again. "Hey, girl!" Caleigh shouts as the couple returns to same spot from the night before. She smiles at the brunette boy following behind Michael. "Oh, this is Morgan. Morgan, this is Haley."

"Hi." She grins.

He blushes slightly. "Hey."

"What can I getcha?" She asks, scrunching her nose up a little.

"Dealer's choice." He responds, politely taking his ball cap off. She chuckles, making him an old fashioned, sliding a shot of whiskey to Michael then setting a vodka cranberry down in front of Caleigh.

"How long you been workin' here?" Morgan asks, tapping the bar for another drink.

"Two years, I think." She shrugs, drying off a glass after making him another drink. "You from Nashville?"

"Nah." He looks down at the liquid in the glass. "I'm from outside of Knoxville." She nods and reaches up to set the glass on a shelf. "Here to record a couple demos."

"You a singer?"

"Yes ma'am, tryna be." He says with a big grin. "Hardy and I write songs and I sing 'em."

"Well, maybe I'll see y'all on Saturday for the karaoke contest." Haley nods to the stage in the corner of the bar. "It gets real rowdy, it's a lot of fun."

"You wanna?" He asks the other man.

"Oh, I'm not singin'-"

"Oh, c'mon, Michael!" Caleigh laughs.

"Yeah, c'mon, Michael!" Haley joins in, giggling with the tall girl.

"Fine." He huff, elbowing Morgan. "We gotta sign up?"

"You betcha." She snags a clipboard off the wall and hands it to Michael. "Name, time, and what song you're singin'."

"Do you sing?" Morgan asks, scribbling down his information.

"Occasionally, depends on who's singin'." She sends him a pretty smile as she turns to hang the clipboard up. "Friday's we have live music- y'know bands and shit- too."

"Really?" She nods. "Maybe we'll have to do that, huh Hardy?"

"You can." He shoots back, making the girls laugh.

"Y'all should definitely do that. I'll be cheering you on from back here." Morgan laughs, running his eyes over the bartender in front of him; she's crazy pretty. Her blue eyes flutter to his, matching smiles making their way onto their lips.

"So, uh-"

"Haley, c'mon! Them tables ain't gon' clean 'emselves!" Her boss, Randy, shouts at her.

She rolls her eyes before she steps away. "Excuse me." She picks up a spray bottle and a rag then starts on the tables. Morgan watches her walk away.

"Dude." Michael pokes him in the arm. "Hey, Wallen."

"Uh-huh." He mumbles, his eyes trained on the pretty dirty blonde as she chats with another patron. "That's funny."

"You should give her your number!" Caleigh squeals, digging through her purse for a pen. "Here."

"Oh- I just-"

"What? Morgan Wallen's shy?" Michael teases.

"Shut up." He blushes. "She's just so, y'know..." Morgan downs the rest of his drink before snagging the pen from the black haired girl, scrawling his name and number with a cute note down on a napkin before slipping a ten in it. "Ready?"

The three stand and make their way to the door. "See y'all later!" Haley calls after them, giving Morgan a flirty smile with a wink.

"See you Saturday." He grins back, his hand groping the door for the handle as he keeps his eyes on he blonde. Michael opens the door for them, elbowing Morgan out of his way with a laugh.

Haley clutches the rag to her chest, blushing as she watches the brunette boy disappear down the street.

***

"Dude, you- you gotta help me with this. I can't finish this fuckin' melody or chorus and it's drivin' me crazy!" Morgan rushes out when he bursts through the door of his best friends house.

"Boots off!" Caleigh scolds from the kitchen.

Morgan huffs, hopping on one foot to yank the Dan Post boots off, dropping them to the wood floor. "Ugh!" He clamors up the steps, swinging the music room door open. "Dude!"

Michael jumps, almost dropping his guitar. "What the hell, man!?"

"I can't get this melody outta my head!" He tosses him his notebook and drops himself on the couch across from his best friend.

"Somebody's problem's about to be mine?" He reads the lyrics out loud and a shit eating grin breaks out across his face. "This is about that bartender, ain't it? Oh man, I knew somethin' was gon' happen!" Michael laughs, actually giggling as he sets the notebook down. "You gotta sing this in front of her next Friday, sign up for a slot."

"Man, I ain't gonna be in town next week! I leave Sunday."

"Then sign up for this week. I saw the sheet- there was a few open times."

"Can you work on this while I'm gone? I gotta sign up!" He races down the staircase to the side door and grabs his boots. He stomps into them and heads out to his shitbox truck then he's on his was back to the bar.

***

"Shit- I'm sorry, ma'am." Morgan says, grabbing the girl he just bumped into's arm. He chuckles when she grabs his bicep. "Haley?"

"Morgan, right?" She asks, gripping the strap of her cross body bag. "Where's Michael and Caleigh?"

"They're at his house. I'm- I'm signin' up for a slot on Friday." Haley leans over the bar, grabbing the clipboard off the wall. "Any left?"

"Yeah, the one an hour before close, last one." She looks up at him. "Sick mullet."

"Thanks." He takes the clipboard from her and scribbles his name down. "How many- how long is the set?"

"Half hour, I think." She reads over the top of the sheet. "Yeah, you gotta bring your own equipment but you get a free drink after your set."

"I'm sold." She chuckles, hanging the clipboard back up. "So whatcha doin' tonight?"

"Just pickin' up my paycheck. I've got a bottle of wine waiting for me back at my place so I shan't be long."

"You, uh, wanna grab some dinner or somethin'?" He shoves his hands in his jean pockets.

She giggles to herself. "Are you askin' me out?"

"Tryin' to."

She licks her lips as she looks around. "Sure."