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His hand slid over my leg again, softer this time, before pausing in the middle of my calf. "Me either, Cody. I just wanna make sure you know I'm your friend first, ok? No matter what, you and me? We're gonna stay friends. Even if you fall in love with Ty, or Tanner, or even someone else. We're still gonna be real good friends, and I'll still break the face of anyone who tries to chase you off the tour, ok?"
Leaning forward, I reached over to place my hand over his. "Best mentor ever, J.D. Promise, we're gonna always be friends."
"Good," he said. "Then that means when Tanner asks you on a date, you're gonna say yes, right?"
Letting go, I flopped back. "Fine!"
"That's like one of those good fines, yeah?"
That smile was taking over my lips again. "Maybe."
"It will be if you go out with Tanner," he promised. "And then you can tell me all about it, and maybe I'll get up the balls to ask him out myself."
"Promise?" I asked.
J.D. just nodded at the long road ahead of us. "Fuck yeah. If you can do it, then I'll have to do it better."
"No way," I shot back. "I might be the rookie here, but I'm better."
"Prove it," he taunted.
And just like that, he'd figured out how to make sure I didn't back out. Yeah, this was why J.D. and I worked so well together. He pushed me, and I couldn't help but prove to him that I could handle it all. Plus, the idea of dating the same guy as him? It was kinda hot. Kinda crazy.
In other words, it sounded like exactly the kind of bull rider I wanted to be.
Chapter2
Cody must've shavedher legs last night. Maybe this morning. I wasn't sure when she'd snuck that in, but damn, her legs felt good on me like this. I could feel the muscles in her calf each time I caressed it, and she sure as shit wasn't pulling away. She was, however, blushing, but I wouldn't call her out on it.
Naw, that was cute. This girl was really something else, and the more I got to know her, the more I felt this pull to her. I'd once given Ty shit for trying to be romantic about her, but I got it now. Seeing her all vulnerable and honest like this? Damned if it didn't punch me right in the heart.
"So," I said, feeling my lips curl as I kept my focus on the miles ahead of us, "you and me? We can talk guys, right?" I dared to look over only to find Cody with her head pressed up against the back of the passenger seat. Damn, she was cute. "Because my little sister isn't even sixteen, and she's the only one I got who'll talk about it with me."
Cody giggled. "Isabella?"
"Yup." Ok, it was sweet that she'd remembered my sister's name, even if she pronounced it wrong. Probably from my tattoos, but still. "I'm gonna buy her a car for her birthday. Mama says it can't be a new one, though, because she'd just wreck it, but she's not like that."
"Well..." Cody drawled, "if it's a year old, it's not new, right? But I bet Isabella would think it is."
"It's Ee-sa-bella," I told her. "Not Iz-a-bella. We grew up speaking Spanish, you know."
"Isabella," she corrected, saying it right this time.
"And now my mama will love ya," I teased. "But yeah, I like how you think. I figure I'll get her an SUV, though, so she can have something like a truck, but still haul all her friends around. Or do you think I should go for something else?"
"Is she a cowgirl?"
"Nope." I laughed. "Naw, my little sister is one of those popular girls. She does cheerleading and shit."
Cody just jerked her chin at me. "How old are you, J.D.?"
"Twenty-eight," I admitted. "Yeah, I know. That's a real long time between me and Isabella, right? Well, I was the reason my mama got married. Isabella was the attempt to save things, I think. Didn't work, but I took care of that."
Cody sat up a little. "How?"
I scoffed, pretty sure she was thinking the worst about me. "I bought them a house! Took almost a year to make enough, back when I was a rookie, which is why I get where you're comin' from. But don't worry - soon enough, you'll be making me chase you."
"You're the greatest bull rider in PBR history, though," she pointed out.
