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Chapter 43
I wokeup the next morning to Ty's phone blaring out some country song and Cody's leg pressing into my aching knee. As gently as I could, I moved out from under her, then slipped off the bed, limping across the room in nothing but my underwear toward the bathroom. I was almost there when Ty groaned and swiped at his phone. Cody? She didn't stir.
It took a little too long for my dick to work. I wasn't really used to having people spend the night with me. Hell, I rarely ever let anyone in my room, truth be told, although I let the guys think so. When I was done and limped back out, Ty was standing there with my vape in one hand and a bottle of Advil in the other. Both of us were just in our underwear. The lights were still out and the curtains still drawn, even though I had a feeling it was closer to noon than sunrise.
"She's sleeping," he told me. "Doesn't really take her long to get ready, but I need to shave."
I lifted the vape pen to make him look at it. "You ever need this, feel free. Same for her. I'll keep it filled up, and Doc will write a script if we just ask."
Ty nodded. "Not until after I ride. I tend to be sluggish for a few hours. I have a feeling it'll hit her even harder."
"Yeah." But I wasn't ready to keep moving. "Hey, Ty, about last night..."
"You're right," he said, dropping his shoulder against the wall to hold him up. "Renato and I had a few threesomes, but I didn't want her to think I'm trying to make her a sex toy, ok? Jesus, J.D., you heard how those guys talked to her. I'm fine with this. You wanna fuck her in front of me, fine. Just don't be shocked when I'm willing to do the same. C'mon, we've all had a quickie in a bar booth or a blow job under a table. Banging a buckle bunny behind the chutes? Not even worth caring about, but that's the thing. With Cody? I actually care."
"And she's probably only fucked missionary," I hissed. "If we want her to not be ashamed of what she wants to do, then we need to make it clear that we're down for it too. Kiss her when she's with me, and vice versa. Don't try to fuck her, though. Not unless you're alone, because I'm pretty sure she won't go there. Man, she's been with one guy, and I'm getting the feeling it didn't last that long. Now, she ain't a prude, but damn. There's a difference between being willing and not being a little nervous about it."
"Yeah," he agreed. "No, that's a good point. And by the way, thanks for helping me pull my head out of my ass. I'm prolly gonna need it again."
"Only if you promise to keep mine from crawling up my own backside," I told him. "But I'm gonna get outta here. Figure she'll be a little less weirded out if she's just got one of us to deal with, ya know?"
Ty just offered his hand. "She shines when you push her, man. Just so you know."
I pressed my palm against his, sealing this strange deal we had going on. Damned if I wasn't starting to like Ty McBride too. I'd always thought he was some arrogant, self-righteous prick, but I'd been wrong. He was controlled, but that was just what made him so damned good. He was also a pretty decent guy, and too fucking sexy for his own good. That he didn't even care about neither of us being dressed? Yeah, I was going to have to think about that a bit.
Although now that things were settled between us, there was still Cody to worry about. I just had a feeling that she'd do better alone with Ty this morning than she would with me. She always kinda seemed like she did something, and then thought about it too much afterwards. Maybe if it was just Ty, she'd let him talk her down. Besides, the last thing we needed were any rumors, so I pulled on my clothes, grabbed one of those Dr. Peppers Ty got for her, and snuck out of their room before she'd even begun to stir.
The drink was my excuse if anyone saw me. A few more doors down was the vending machine. Luckily, no one was in the halls before I'd made it back to my room, although the moment I stepped in, I realized it was just a little too quiet. For a few years now, I'd been perfectly happy keeping things shallow. If I didn't make any close friends, then I couldn't get dragged into the shit they did. Unfortunately, I'd done plenty of my own. Now, all I wanted to do was prove to a pretty little thing from Missouri that I could be a good man.
I wasn't. I'd never been close to what anyone called good, and I was ok with that too. I did what needed to be done, and if that took care of Cody, well, I'd keep on crossing all the lines I needed to. It was just that she looked at me like a person, not some checkbook to make her life a little easier. I liked that, and I just liked her.
I liked that girl enough that I pulled my phone out, powered it up to see the four percent of battery I had left, and plugged it in. While that charged, I went to get a shower, clean up my own face so that girl would like what she saw, and picked out the best pair of jeans I had. I may have slipped on a soft brace under it, but at least now I could walk without looking like an old man.
Then I picked up my phone - still plugged in - and pressed the first icon listed. It only rang twice.
"Hola?"the woman answered on the other end.
"Hey, Mama," I told her.
"José!"she said, excited enough that I had to pull the phone from my ear. Then she went on in Spanish. "You aren't hurt are you? Tell me you aren't in trouble again, mijo."
"No, Mama," I promised, speaking English. "No, I met someone."
She laughed, but gave in and changed to English as well, even though her accent was thick. "What? Tell me it isn't so. My big man found some floozie at a show? Never!"
I groaned. "Not like that, Mama. Cody rides the bulls too. Blonde, beautiful, and kinda amazing. We just met each other in Tulsa, so last week, but this is definitely feeling like something. I figured I'd tell you so you can watch the show tonight?"
"How will I know which one?" she asked.
"A girl, Mama. She's wearing pink. The only girl in the PBR."
"A girl?" she asked.
I just sighed. "Yes, Mama. I didn't stutter. That's also why I wanted to tell you in English, so you can't say you didn't understand. I met a girl. I just... Mama, she likes who I am, I think."
"Then I'll watch," she promised. "But you tell her, José. Don't you wait too long, or you'll regret it, ok?"
"Am I gonna scare her off?" I asked.
"If you do, then she wasn't worth chasing," my mother promised. "Promise me, mijo. You tell her this weekend. Not next, not the one after, but this weekend, ok? Promise me!"
"I promise," I said. "But I still gotta get dressed and checked in. Just watch, ok? And you can tell Isabella. My battery's low or I'd text her, and I need to charge it before I head out."
"Ok," she agreed. "Now make me proud, José. I don't want to see one of those animals step on you again."
"That was last night," I teased. While true, her reaction always made me feel a little better about it.
Right on cue, my mother began some mix of cursing and praying. She even slipped in a threat about beating me with her shoe, but I just listened with a grin on my face. That was exactly what I'd needed.
"I gotta go, Mama. Kiss Isabella for me, and you can rant more next time. Love you. Bye."
When I hung up my phone, my room felt a little less like a prison. Still, I needed to get moving. I hit my vape again, knowing it would wear off long before I rode, and leaving it here meant I wouldn't be able to use it as a crutch. Then I began checking over my gear. I had three ropes in my bag, an extra left-handed rope, just in case someone decided to dick with Cody again, a collection of gloves, some rosin, a little extra rosin, and three pairs of spurs.
All I needed was my vest and chaps. Hooking my arm through those, I grabbed my key and carried the whole mess out. Jake was ahead of me in the halls, burdened just like I was with his gear. When he reached the elevator, I called out for him to hold it. He did, lifting his hand once like he was about to let the doors close, and the fool laughed like that was a great joke. Then I stepped in beside him.
"How'd your rookie take getting bucked off yesterday?" he asked.
"What?" I looked over to check and make sure his head was still attached. "Same way the rest of us did. We only had five scoring rides all day yesterday."
"Yeah," Jake said, "but some newbies can't handle their first buck-off. Austin has a pool going to see if she comes back today."
I grumbled under my breath. "Tell me you're not betting against her."
"I put a hundred on her staying till finals." Then he made a noise like he'd just thought of something else. "Yeah, and, um, seems one of the bullfighters is gay."
This time, I didn't try to stop when the groan came out. "That dumb fucking shiteater!"
"The bullfighter or Austin?" Jake asked, proving exactly who'd started spreading the rumor.
"Austin." I paused when our door opened, then gimped my way out. "Tanner took the kick for me in the arena yesterday. Well, when Anthony was working my knee, I about crawled out of the chair, and he kept me from punching the guy. Austin walked in to see Tanner holding my shoulder. It wasn't a gay thing."
"Yeah, well, Austin said it wasn't the first time. Said the idiot had a death wish for hitting on you, but that he'd caught this bullfighter - and he didn't give us a name - sneaking a guy out of his room last year, and that the others said it wasn't what he thought."
"Prolly wasn't. I mean, Jorge's married, Isaac's all over the buckle bunnies, and Tanner has a thing for Cody. So, pretty sure gay is out of the question."
But I couldn't stop thinking about how Tanner had been looking at Ty Wednesday night almost as much as Cody. Not that I'd say anything to Jake. Oh no, being anything but a good, straight, white, Christian boy in the PBR was asking for it. Change up any of those variables, and a guy was asking for it - or girl. Granted, the Brazilians had come in with such force that they'd beat back the problem with being not white easily enough, and Cody was proving that male also wasn't as big of a deal as they hoped it would be. The rest?
The question was if Austin might actually be right. Could Tanner be into guys? There was no way he'd admit it, not without a damned good reason. Still, he and Cody were friends, or at least friendly. I was pretty sure she wouldn't want to see him getting hell from the guys, which meant I should stick my nose in. After all, I didn't exactly tolerate that hazing shit, and this wasn't much different.
"Yeah," I told Jake before we reached the door, "you might also want to mention that fucking with the bullfighters? Bad idea. If Austin wants to keep spreading his stories, you let me know. I'll let them know. Doesn't matter if one of them is a complete queen, he's still the guy that's keeping our asses in one piece. He can tear up his own however he wants to."
Jake just laughed and shook his head. "You scare me, J.D. I don't wanna get in the middle of that shit, and I sure hope we don't have any faggots on tour with us, but I'll make sure you know. Just tell me if I should be careful who I'm alone with in the restrooms, ok?"
My jaw clenched hard. "Sure," I agreed, but only because I wanted that information.
And now, I also wanted to punch Jake in the face.
