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Chapter 44
I gotto the arena early, pulled into a parking spot close to the contestant entrance, and put it in park. Ty and Cody were already here, or at least Ty's truck was. So before I got out, I grabbed that bottle of Dr. Pepper I'd snagged from Ty's room and finally opened the top, thinking I should wash the dust from my mouth.
Murphy's Law kicked in. The whole thing fizzed, exploding right across my chest. I was quick enough to keep more than a few drops from splattering my jeans, but my shirt was fucked. The soda was quickly soaking in, and on a white shirt? I looked like I'd just been hit with a shit bomb.
I cursed, debated throwing the bottle out the window, then just sighed. It hadn't been my show shirt. I didn't put that on until I was signed in and warming up. This was just some t-shirt that was still clean. I also kinda wanted that drink. Taking a hit before I left had my mouth feeling like it was full of cotton. So I gave in, opened it out the window, sucked back half of the bottle, then threw it. Made me feel a little better. Working out the rage and all that.
But since I didn't want to be sticky, I pulled off the shirt and threw it in the back seat. I'd pull out my nice one when I was inside. Didn't need it coated in sweat if I wanted Cody to curl up beside me. And yeah, I was hoping she'd do exactly that.
The security guard at the back recognized me and lifted a brow at my bare chest. I just groaned. "Soda accident. I need to wash off the sugar."
"Halfway up the hall and on the left," he told me, waving me in.
Inside, I realized that this was a long-ass hall. Step by step, I kept going, feeling that annoying stickiness on my chest. I looked down, checking for what, I didn't know, but when I looked back up, Tanner was heading toward me. There was really no excuse for what I did next. Maybe it was the ache in my knee. Maybe it was that I really was just that much of a dick. Still, after the things I'd heard from Jake, when this guy's eyes hung on me just a little too intently, my damned mouth started moving before my brain kicked in.
"You just gonna eye-fuck me the whole way past, or you gonna at least get my number first?" I snapped at him.
"Whoa," Tanner said, tossing up his hands to step well out of my range. "Someone's in a bad mood."
"Yeah?" I asked. "Well, if I'm about to be covering for your ass, I just wanna know if I'm lying or telling the truth."
"What are you talking about?" he demanded.
"Austin says you like to fuck guys." I dropped my bag on the ground and gestured to my bare chest. "So let's be honest here, Tanner. Cody seems to think you're her friend. That means she'll want me to handle this. No, she don't know yet, but I'm gonna have to tell her. I just wanna know if I'm gonna be lying to my girl."
"Stay out of my shit," Tanner said, pushing right into my face.
Too bad for him, there was an alcove right behind me. It looked like the back entrance to a concession stand or something. Like one of those bending halls for public bathrooms, but it didn't go anywhere. It just bent off this long, desolate hallway, and it was the closest thing I had to privacy, so I decided it would do.
When Tanner got within striking distance, I grabbed his shirt, spun, and pushed him around the corner. It was so sudden that he didn't expect it, but that was how a little half-Mexican boy stayed alive in the ghetto. Move fast and never hesitate. I kept going until his back hit the wall, I was all up in his face, and the corner gave me enough cover to avoid one more fine.
"Truth time," I warned. "You like fucking men, Tanner?"
"Cody knows what she needs to," he said, but he was breathing a little too hard. He also wasn't pushing.
This close, I could see how his pupils had flared, how his lips were parted. That said enough, but that he wasn't hitting me? It said even more.
I also realized that he was waiting for me to hurt him. "Yeah? Well, then I guess that means we're on the same side."
"What?" he asked.
"I'm fucking bi, you idiot," I snarled. "Well, more like I'll try anything, but still. Why else do you think I noticed you checking out Ty instead of Cody?"
"You're..." He shook his head like he was trying to get rid of that thought. "I was checking out Cody. Well, and she caught me checking out you."
It felt like my hands went numb. I heard the words, but they were stuck somewhere before my brain could figure out what to do with them. Cody knew he liked men and hadn't told me? Of course not. She knew what it was like to get shit from the cowboys, and she would know that they'd have even less tolerance for anyone who wasn't straight. Then the last part finally made sense.
So I did the only thing that I could. I kissed him.
I felt Tanner gasp, but that opened his mouth, so my tongue took the chance. Yeah, he could be faking, but when he grabbed the waist of my jeans and pulled me closer, I knew he wasn't. His dick was hard as a rock, and pushing right up against mine. The moment he started to kiss back, I ground my cock along the length of his.
He tried to push me off, but it wasn't the serious kind. I still leaned back to check, to make sure I hadn't gone too far. That gave him enough space to roll me so my back was against the wall, and then Tanner proved that he was as fucking crazy as I was.
One of his hands landed on my throat, holding my face in place for his mouth to take mine. His other hand moved down, cupping my hard-on and stroking it. I damned near lost my shit in my jeans. When he did it again, I just gave up, letting him have his way with me.
"Oh," he breathed against my jaw. "Seems like you aren't so tough now. How the mighty have fallen."
"Fuck," I groaned. "Man, I got a girlfriend."
"What?"
"Kinda," I tried to explain, but there wasn't really a whole lot of blood left in my brain. Made thinking a little hard. Pun intended. "It's a behind-the-scenes kinda deal. You know, kinda like being into guys and a nationally recognized all-American boy."
"J.D.," Tanner told me, "you are so far from all-American that it ain't even funny."
"Yeah?" I eased his hand off my dick. "Someone's gotta do it. Just tell me Cody doesn't think you're straight?"
"She thinks I'm gay," he told me. "Wanna talk about killing your chances with a girl? Look at the wrong cowboy when he's coming out of the creek with a girl smart enough to pay attention sitting beside you."
"Aw, so you liked that, huh? Well, I'd been trying to impress her, but least someone appreciated my effort."
"J.D., I've been appreciating your effort for three fucking years." Then he ran his hand down my chest, making it clear he'd noticed the sticky spot. "Tell me that's not cum."
"Dr. Pepper," I assured him. "Won't bitch if you wanna lick it off, either." Then I laughed. "Damn, you're cute."
"I fucking hate that word," Tanner told me.
I palmed the side of his face. "Doesn't mean it doesn't fit. This little dimple?" Then I swept my thumb over his lips. "That adorable Southern smile?"
"Midwestern," he corrected.
"Whatever. Yeah, I'm gonna be thinking about you holding my hand in a whole different way now."
He leaned a little closer. "So, this thing with you and Cody exclusive? And if so, does Ty know yet? Because he's up by the chutes being all touchy feely. If not, does that mean I'm allowed to kiss you again?"
"Oh, be a bad boy for me," I breathed, pulling him right back against me.
Because he had a point. Cody and I weren't exclusive. Besides, I'd tell her. Hell, I'd promised my mama this morning that I'd tell her about me having a thing for guys. Supposedly who I'd fucked before wasn't just my business. Wasn't really sure how that worked, but I'd promised my mama and I couldn't go back on that. And besides, if Cody was going to run away screaming, well, at least I might have a chance with Tanner.
How had I never known that he was into guys? In three years, I hadn't suspected a thing, and I'd spent quite a few nights watching to see who hooked up with who, who went home alone, and which of the fans looked just a little too interested. Mostly because I had to be careful. So long as I drooled all over some bimbo at a bar, no one ever thought I was anything but another creepy cowboy.
And it made it easier to take the men home later. Tanner probably had his own system. If nothing else, I was dying to know how he'd kept it so damned quiet. Well, until now, although Austin didn't have shit on him.
Wait. Austin had shit on him! Real shit. The kind that could destroy his career, because while the PBR wouldn't fire him for being bisexual, pansexual, or whatever not-straight version he identified with, they could fire him for something else. Reckless behavior, conduct that didn't represent the PBR brand, or some other bullshit.
But I didn't want to talk about that right now. I wanted to kiss him a little deeper, get my hand inside his jersey, up against those hard muscles I'd gotten a nice look at yesterday. Tanner wasn't the kind of guy who normally went for me. But he was the kind I actually liked. Sweet, a little soft, but with a core of steel. Kinda like Cody, but the version with a dick.
And yeah, mine was protesting. It didn't want any of this playing around. It wanted to get used. I'd teased it enough last night making out with Cody, and now Tanner? Damn, but my balls were so fucking blue. I was just about to shove Tanner's hand down my pants when I heard something. The wrong something.
A foot stepping around the corner of our alcove. I wrenched my face away from Tanner and prepared to throw down, but the person gawking at the two of us wasn't someone I had any interest in pushing around. No, it was Cody.
She jerked her thumb back at the hall. "So, I saw your bag, and I was a little worried since you were babying that leg. Wanted to make sure you were still riding, and someone said you hadn't made it to check-in yet." Then she leaned against the corner. "But if you two wanna keep going, I'm just gonna, um, stand guard."
"Guard?" I asked. "Then you should be facing the other way, girl."
"Would miss the show, cowboy," she teased. "And I'm serious. That's the sexiest thing I've ever seen."
Tanner scoffed at that. "Never seen two men kiss before?"
"Nope." Then she smiled. "Let alone have one kissing on my boyfriend who's been trying real hard to corrupt me. J.D., consider me corrupted."
"Ah, fuck," I groaned. "And my dick is fucking killing me. Cody, can't you just look both ways down that hall so I can get it bent right?"
She gestured to Tanner. "Have a feeling he'll help."
"I am not fucking him in the middle of the PBR," I hissed. "Austin's already spreading rumors about him, and that can end his career! You can get your kinks out later, when we're all alone."
"What?" Tanner asked.
Cody just held up her hand. "Ok, so first, the hall is clear. Second, fix your dick. Third, I'm gonna need a bit to process that whole offer, ok? And fourth, you still need to check in, J.D. and draw a bull. Tanner, you got a tent going on." She pointed, but her arm disappeared around the corner, so I couldn't see where. "There's a restroom just across the hall and up. You two get your shit together - I got your gear, J.D. - and let me just think about this."
"About what?" Tanner asked.
She turned those pretty blue eyes on him. "I know what it's like to be the pariah. I got a front row seat to the kind of dangerous shit they'll do to you if this gets out. Both of you. I need to stop and think, because what you need, and fast, is..."
"A woman," I finished for her. "Cody, he needs to be seen with a woman, and I know a real good place to find one."
I pointed right at her.
