AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 50
Tanner?The guy who was calling my girl hot the day after Tulsa? The one who'd been smiling at her too sweetly at the stacking party? The guy who'd pulled that smooth move helping her off the bull just yesterday?
He wasn't gay.
Maybe he was into guys. Maybe he'd been caught with one, but he wasn't gay. I didn't really care where he stuck his dick, but what made me ready to rip his head from his shoulders was the fact that Cody was so convinced of it. I had no idea what he'd told her, but here she was, thinking she was doing the right thing, and this prick? He'd been checking her out for damned near a week now.
If this was some fucking ploy to get her alone, get his hands on her without the right consent, or something else, well, I'd make him hurt. Gay or not, bi, pan, non-binary, or whatever he was, that didn't matter. I was pissed because he'd fucking lied to her. The problem was that I wouldn't get another chance to talk to him until after the event, so I was going to have to make sure she didn't either. Well, except when she was in the arena, and I couldn't really do much about that. The cameras pointed at them would keep her safe enough there.
Even worse, I'd just made a mess of this. I couldn't just tell Cody what I knew. She'd assume it was my jealous ass trying to chase him off. No, she deserved to know the truth - that the man she was about to be kissing on was into it - but she needed to hear it from him. It almost hurt to not say anything, but I wasn't dumb enough to go there. Not unless I wanted the good thing Cody and I had going on to crash and burn before it had even really started.
So I kept my mouth shut. I pasted on the best smile I could, and I tried hard to act like everything was normal. As we walked over to set up our gear, she asked me what was wrong. I blamed it on making our failed relationship believable. The worst part was that it came out a little too easily. I'd been lying to women for a long-ass time. This time, however, I hated myself for doing it.
When she snuck away to check that her dad was here, I quickly cornered J.D., all but hauling his ass away from the commotion behind the chute. He grumbled, but followed along, yet when we stopped, he was braced up before me. Yeah, that meant I was giving off way too many pissed vibes. Too bad.
"He's not gay," I muttered.
"What?" J.D. asked.
"Her boyfriend. He's not gay."
J.D. started to shake his head, then paused. "But she thinks he is?"
"Yeah. Look, I know he's into her, but she doesn't have a clue. I'm pretty sure that's some kind of consent problem, you know?" I lifted a brow, making sure he was following along. "I don't care who he's fucking. I'm not even that pissed about her kissing him. I'm pissed that she's doing it for a lie. Now, she said you know who he was with -"
"Ty," J.D. said, cutting me off. "He never told her that. He's into both."
Wait. What? "So why is she so convinced he's gay?" I asked.
J.D. just held up his hands and shook his head. "No fucking idea on that one. Maybe because girls get to be bi, but people only think about guys as straight or gay?"
"Really?" I paused to think about that and could actually see his point. "Man, you Americans are fucked up."
"No shit," J.D. agreed. "So you gonna tell her?"
I shook my head. "Nope. I'm gonna make him do it."
Then I turned and headed back for my gear, but J.D. wouldn't make it that easy. He grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop. "He really likes her, Ty. You need to get used to this guy."
"He needs to man up," I told him. "Look, one of us needs to make sure that he knows what she's thinking. If he steps up, then I'll think about it. If not?"
"Think about it?" J.D. asked. "Like you have some right to decide who she's with?"
I leaned right into J.D.'s face. "Yeah. We made a deal this morning, and I threw you in it. See, Cody and me? We've got a relationship. May not be a traditional one, but relationships aren't just about fucking. I like that girl and she likes me. She may like you too, and that's ok, but she agreed that if she's going to sleep with someone else, we'll talk about it first."
"Else?" J.D. asked.
"I mean besides you. I already know that's going to happen."
"You fucked her," J.D. realized. "Yeah. Ok. That explains the stupid you got going on today." And he sighed. "Damn, Ty, but you got a real hormonal problem. You know that, right?"
"Fuck off."
"You get your dick wet and it's like your fucking brain goes into beast mode. The truth is that none of us are going to get a word with him until after all the rides are over. So just sit your ass down, play the jilted lover - which you're doing a damned good job of, by the way - and wait it out. He's gonna make his move at the awards ceremony so it's on the big screen. Means we got time before that to talk to him, ok?"
I let out a heavy breath and tried to calm my shit. Damn, but if he hadn't told her he was gay, then it meant he might not be a bad guy. But was J.D. sure he hadn't? Not really. Clearly she'd talked to Tanner without either of us around at some point. And yeah, maybe I was a little overprotective, but someone had to be. Look at what had happened to her at Tulsa.
"C'mon," J.D. said, tugging me back toward our gear. "It's gonna work out, man. All we gotta worry about is the next ride, getting our check, and then how the fuck we're getting to Cheyenne."
I was walking beside him, not even thinking about it, when someone rounded the corner. We'd made it far enough that I wasn't worried about him having heard what we'd just talked about, but when Austin stepped in my face, I still knew this wouldn't be pretty. He looked at me, looked at J.D. and then smiled, the healing cut on the side of his face flexing awkwardly.
"Well, looky here. You two off making out or something?"
J.D. bowed up in his face. "Really, dumb-shit? You wanna go another round with me?"
"Yeah," Austin said, "because in here, there's enough cameras to prove I didn't slip on no beer."
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," J.D. promised.
Austin just looked over at me. "Nothing, Ty? Scared because I caught you sneaking around with the freak?"
"Look," I snarled, reaching out to grab his shirt. "I'm having a real bad day, ok? Pretty sure my girl just got stolen before I could make my move, so if you wanna be my punching bag? Yeah, I can take a few penalties, and I can afford the fine. You wanna go a few rounds?"
"What?" Austin asked. "You aren't fucking her?"
"Was trying," I said, making it sound just as crass as I could. "Seems she likes her men a little more dedicated. The kind who doesn't stick his dick in everything. Least that's what she threw in my face on the way over."
The strangest thing was that it worked. "I'm sorry, man. Beer's on me tonight?"
I scoffed at that. "I got whiskey in my room. Don't need your pity, Austin. Just need you to leave me the fuck alone and let me take this out on a bull."
He lifted both hands and stepped back. "You do that, Ty. I'm real sorry, man. She's a hot little piece of ass. Honestly thought you'd been tapping that already."
I balled up my fist and nearly used it, but the idiot stepped back before I had the chance. I wasn't about to waste my time following him. J.D. just grabbed my arm, tugging me back toward our gear. He was looking at me strangely, though. Kinda like how I used to look at him, as if he wasn't sure if I'd bite or not.
"Rope," he ordered when we reached our gear. "Rosin that up and let me worry about the rest."
I rolled my eyes, because I really wasn't that bad. Maybe I was. I just couldn't stop thinking about how Cody would feel if another man lied to get in her pants. Maybe not in her pants this time, but to at least get his hands on her. That was what Cole had done. He'd played the long game, she said once. He'd said whatever he had to so that she'd let her guard down, and now Tanner was about to do the exact same thing.
Thatwas why I was so pissed about this. Sure, maybe it was an honest mistake. Maybe it wasn't. I wouldn't really know until I talked to him. Still, Cody's trust was about to be betrayed, and that just wasn't right. So, if Tanner wouldn't say anything before the awards ceremony, then I would. I'd give him the chance - hell, I hoped he'd take it - but I would not let anyone else use her again.
"Ok," J.D. said. "You're sitting in third place. Cody's in fourth. I'm in fifth. First and second are the only two people this weekend to get two full rides, but neither one's much to worry about. If you can just stay on, Ty, you got this."
"Yeah," I breathed. "That's not happening."
He gave me the strangest look. "Man, this is not the time to give up on the showing off."
"Nah." I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my entry slip, then passed it over.
J.D. opened the paper, his eyes scanned down, and then his breath fell from his lungs. "She know you pulled Without Ado?"
"Nope."
J.D. nodded at that. "Ok. And I'm guessing you don't want her to know."
"Man, I didn't even notice at first. I'm so focused on this bullshit with her that I'm not even in my right mind. Think I should scratch?"
"Nope." He reached up and patted the side of my face. "I think you're gonna pull your head out of your ass one more time, get your shit together, and prove that you got this. Downside is that since we're riding back-to-back, we aren't going to be pulling ropes for each other. Where's Renato placed?"
"Two buck-offs," I told him. "He's sitting at like eighteenth."
"All right. Get your shit together, Ty. I'm gonna go ask if he'll help out, because I sure don't fucking trust those chute guys to get it right." He pressed his lips together, but didn't move away. Then he added, "I'm not telling her who you're on, but if you get hurt, I'm taking her to Cheyenne without you."
"Asshole," I grumbled.
Finally, that devious little grin of his made a reappearance. "Oh yeah I am. You just worry about your ride. I'll handle all the rest of this shit, and don't you dare think about leaving me alone with that girl, bro."
I heard what he'd said, but I also heard what he didn't. J.D. Adkins had just called me bro. From him, that wasn't a smart-ass comment. That wasn't smack. Nope, J.D. didn't really hand that title out to many people, so it was his way of saying he gave a damn. That he wanted me around? Yeah. It made me feel a whole hell of a lot better about the way today was going.
Now, I just had to keep my shit together long enough to not ruin it.
