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Chapter 52
I sawthe score pop up and cheered, pumping at the air with my fist. Beside me, Tanner wasn't quite as thrilled. Still, that meant I had a real chance at second place. It was also the best I'd ever earned. I saw no reason not to be happy about it.
"Cody," he said, walking with me back toward the gate. "You got screwed. That ride should've beaten Ty's score."
"Don't care," I told him. "It's my best score, and I'm ok with this."
"Yeah," he mumbled. "Hey, we're still on for the thing tonight?"
"Oh yeah," I promised, backing away. "We're a thing now, cowboy. Better make it good."
He just nodded, and there was something to the look on his face that made me feel like this was going to blow up on me. First Ty, now him? Hell, even J.D. was acting just a little off. They knew something I didn't, and I'd be damned if I could just ask. Those two were about to ride, just as soon as their bulls got in the chutes, and after that? It was going to be chaos. I had to put on a little makeup, because I was definitely in the top five right now. That meant my face was going to be on national television, and everyone back home was watching.
But I could make it through this. I had to make it through this, and once I knew Tanner wasn't about to be lynched by some homophobic bull riders, then I'd just explain it all to Ty, we'd go back to what we had last night, and all that would matter was chasing the next show. This was going to work out. It had to work out.
The truth was, it probably wouldn't. I'd known better than to think that these guys being ok with me dating all of them was going to work. That kind of crap never did. Still, I'd been through dating hell before, and the bull riders hadn't broken me back then, so they wouldn't break me now. If Ty went stupid, I still had J.D., and if he turned into an ass, then I had Tanner, and in just a few more shows, I could buy myself my own damned truck and drive my own damned self wherever I needed to be.
Because I might be a girl, but that didn't make me helpless. I'd dealt with worse shit than men changing their minds. Hell, these guys hadn't done a damned thing wrong to me. That it was going sideways after I'd slept with Ty? Well, I'd kinda expected it, hadn't I? If not, I should have. I knew he was a player. I knew he liked the chase more than what came after. None of this should really be a shock to me.
But damned if I hadn't hoped he was different. That both of them would actually work out.
Yeah, and I used to want a purple pony, too. Wishes and butterflies didn't exactly pay the bills. At some point in our lives, we girls had to outgrow the idea of a prince on a white horse who'd come save us. One day, we had to pull up our big girl panties and save ourselves. Well, I'd become a master of that. And if Ty McBride wanted to ride on this crazy merry-go-round with me, then he'd better keep up, because I wasn't about to fucking slow down.
J.D.? Well, he was my crew. No matter how that worked out, I was pretty damned sure that we'd end up as damned good friends at the very worst. On the upside? Well, was it that weird that I just wanted to watch? I made it up to the rail thinking about that. Watching Tanner down on the dirt below, I couldn't help but remember how he'd looked with his hand around J.D.'s throat. Hot, that was how.
Just then, the music died and the show started back up again, letting us all know that the next rider was almost ready. I looked over to see one of the Brazilians hauling on J.D.'s rope. Renato was on the next gate over, helping get Ty ready at the same time. As soon as J.D. was out of the chute, the third guy's helper would step over. We all had the system down. Now, I just wanted to see if I was going to move up at all.
Because my score had me solidly in third place. But I shouldn't be worse than fifth. If J.D. was right, the last two guys were running a total of about a hundred and forty right now. Their two scores added together. I had just over one-eighty, which was how I'd jumped up. I figured the judges were scoring us high because so few were making a full eight, but I'd take it. Made up for my ordeal on Without Ado.
Then I heard the gate clank. J.D.'s bull didn't come out clean. It started bucking in the chute - which was just about as dangerous as it got. The thing took three hops in there before lunging to the opening. Its hip crashed into the side, close enough that I couldn't be sure if J.D.'s knee had been caught up in that, and flags started dropping onto the dirt. Didn't matter how J.D. rode now. He'd already earned himself a re-ride, but would he be able to take it? With his leg bothering him so much, could he do two intense rides this close together?
He made a valiant effort, but the bull wasn't trying real hard. Its hind end was off, and he wouldn't get the height needed. With the clock around six seconds, J.D. pulled his rope and bailed. No, he wasn't thrown, he ejected himself, coming down on his good leg. Jorge and Isaac quickly rushed in between him and the bull, getting it off the dirt, but it didn't take a lot to see the way it favored that back leg.
I watched Tanner and an official make their way over. J.D. gestured back to the bull, then he moved his hand, making it clear that he'd felt the animal was off. In other words, he'd bailed so he wouldn't hurt the livestock. The same man who'd cut a guy's face with a broken beer bottle had just risked his paycheck for a bull.
Damn, but that was cute.
Ok, it was official, I didn't just like J.D. Adkins, I was crushing on him like some silly little girl. That man was my crazy little bad boy, and maybe he had his own way of judging morals, but I liked it. I loved how he pushed me, never acting like I was something fragile that might break. He made me feel so strong and in control, yet wildly out of control at the same time. Most of all, I just liked him.
And I liked Ty. The truth was that I also liked Tanner, but I barely knew him. Not that it mattered, but he was sexy in a way that shouldn't be allowed. All gay guys were, right? Well, not all, but enough that it seemed like some universal joke on straight women. And who knew, maybe he wasn't completely opposed to women?
Wait. I hadn't really asked him. I'd just assumed that since he was checking out J.D., he must be gay. But J.D. had been kissing on him, which meant he had to be at least bisexual. Fuck, we really needed to have that talk tonight. Never before had I regretted my lack of experience, but right now, I felt like some stupid little virgin trying to make sense of the pamphlets in sex-ed class. I might know about penises and vaginas, but the application was a whole lot different than the description!
And nope, I would never ever admit that out loud.
Eventually, J.D. limped his way back to the gate. The official headed back toward the bullpen. Tanner shifted into place for the next ride, and up on the monitor, it showed that J.D. had accepted the re-ride. That made me breathe a little easier, but Ty had been waiting.
As soon as he got the go, his gate burst open. He'd been waiting, and his bull was more than ready. The first few bucks were nice and clean, but they kept building. Ty had this. I knew he had this. Behind him, the clock was rolling, the numbers ticking ever closer to another set of points for him, and then something changed.
That was when I realized what bull he was on. This was Without Ado. It was the same bull who he'd damned near lost it over me riding. Well, that certainly explained his sullen mood all night, but now my heart was hanging in my chest, and Without Ado had no intention of disappointing.
The bull's head went down, his shoulder rolled, and Ty rocked back on his pockets. The instant he was out of place, the bull knew it. Jumping straight up, it shimmied in the air, unseating Ty even more, then came down hard with no bend in its knees. I watched as Ty's head snapped up, and saw all the bullfighters moving in.
They knew. Even before Ty was listing to the side, they knew his ride was over, but none of us expected him to get ejected. Another hard buck slipped Ty back to the bull's hips, a kick into the air gave him a little propulsion, and my cowboy went flying. He hit the dirt hard, tried to get up and staggered, but thankfully, Without Ado had slung him out of hooking range.
The bullfighters converged on the bull, acting like they were three bodies sharing one mind. I used to love watching them, but this was different. Ty was clearly dazed, and while he'd made it to his feet, they said Without Ado was known to come after the riders. Instead, he went after Jorge.
That bright red jersey must've stood out, because the bull dropped his head like something from Spain, and he charged. When Tanner slipped in between them, breaking the bull's aim, the animal actually dug at the dirt with his front hoof, just like in the cartoons. Then he charged Tanner.
This time, the guys were smart enough to run for the gate. From the back side of the arena, the catch rider was pushing in, swirling that lasso over his head, and when Tanner threw himself halfway up the side of the arena, Without Ado took the hint. He slung his head in defiance one last time, then sauntered slowly out of the arena.
And Ty had made it to his feet. When the sports medicine medic made his way over, Ty waved him off. A little grin flashed across his lips, proving he was honestly ok. Probably just got the wind knocked out of him. It happened. After all, he had hit the ground hard. The issue was that he hadn't made it to eight seconds.
Looking back at the scoreboard, I saw he'd dropped down into the teens. On top of everything else, he'd lost all of his progress this weekend, and maybe even a place or two in his overall ranking. Still, there were two more rides to go, and then J.D. got a re-ride. That meant he'd need someone to hold his rope, and those chutes would be on this side, so I could still see my competition.
It didn't dawn on me until I was down the stairs and crossing the alley that Ty's buck-off meant I was now sitting in second place. That wasn't really something I wanted to celebrate. But when he caught me around the waist, he didn't seem upset about it at all.
"Hey, cowgirl," he teased, pulling me against his side. "Act as my crutch for a minute. I got my bell rung hard."
"You ok?" I asked.
He nodded. "Just hit flat out. I'm fine. The one I'm worried about is J.D."
"In a better mood?" I asked.
He actually laughed. "Yeah, honestly. I didn't want to mention my bull, but... Yeah. I've been a little worried."
"And my boyfriend?"
He shrugged. "We'll see how that goes. Cody, I'm just worried he's using you."
"He is," I reminded him. "That's kinda the whole point. I'm good. J.D. is good. Are you good?"
"I will go along with whatever you want, just so long as he's honest with you, how's that? And if you wanna know what I'm talking about, then you need to ask him, because I have a feeling you don't have the whole story."
"But you don't feel right saying anything," I realized. "Ok. I can work with that. Besides, I have a couple of big, sexy bull riders taking care of me now who'll beat up my boyfriend if he gets out of line, right?"
"You have no idea," he promised. "Because you? You're our rookie now, Cody. J.D. can teach you to be wild, I'll teach you to be controlled, and this boyfriend? Well, I'm sure he'll teach you something, right?"
"Mhm, already has." I winked at him just as the next gate opened, and we both stopped to watch.
