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"And I know my place," Tanner shot back. "It's why I'm the only one in this room with a girl. If Cody's gonna leave me for Ty, then being stupid about it won't stop her. Just means I've fucked up. If I trust her, well..." He flashed me a smile. "Then maybe I'll get an invite back to her room."
"And you know Ty will fuck anything," Kaleb pointed out.
"Still takes two to tango," Tanner told him. "Here's a little tip, boy. Women are more impressed with trust than possession. Cody isn't a toy. She's not here to amuse me. I can chase Ty off all I want - or I can accept that he's Cody's friend."
"Who wants to fuck her," Kaleb said.
Tanner shrugged. "So does half the PBR. Now stop and think about that for a second. Then you tell me how happy she'll be if I'm saying she can't talk to J.D., Ty, you, the fans..." He lifted a brow.
"That!" I said, pointing at Tanner. "That's why I said yes."
"And I'll make sure you don't regret it," Tanner told me before stealing a quick kiss. "But go see Dr. Stephens real fast. He said something about birth control and traveling."
I sucked in a breath because that hadn't even crossed my mind. "Shit, yes!"
"And I'll get her to the bar," J.D. promised. "I'll also watch your shit, Cody."
"Ok." I patted J.D.'s back, snagged one more kiss from Tanner - since that was allowed - and then hurried out of the room.
The halls were twisting and easy to get lost in, but the walk gave me a chance to text my dad that I was ok. He sent back that I'd had a good ride, then told me to go out and have fun with my new boyfriend. In other words, he'd seen Tanner's kiss too.
On the concrete walls around me, the banners for the PBR were hung everywhere. I was pretty sure that was for when the cameras followed someone behind the chutes, which happened to the guys quite a bit. Thankfully, there were also little arrows pointing to sports medicine. I followed those.
When I finally reached the right place, Djalu Fox, one of the few Australian riders, almost opened the door into my face. I gasped, he was startled, and then the man moved out of the way and held the door for me to pass through. I tipped my head in thanks, he did the same, and that was that.
But inside, the front room was filled with what looked like large recliners. All of them hummed softly with a whooshing sound. Cowboys filled them. Most of the guys had their shirts off. Some had their pants off. From the packs around their joints, it didn't take much to realize they were all having injuries iced down. The lack of clothing was a little awkward, though.
"Doc's with someone." That was a voice I recognized, so I turned to see Jake with his riding arm wrapped in ice - and his entire chest exposed.
"I really feel like I should be covering my eyes," I admitted.
He playfully flexed his pecs, one after the other. "Oh, baby," he teased.
Yep, I slapped my hand over my face, which made someone else laugh, but it was enough to get me noticed. A giant of a man walked out of a room at the side. Stormed out was more like it, right up until he saw me. That was enough to make him relax and offer me a hand.
"Anthony, physical therapy," he introduced himself.
I took it, aware that not only did his hand dwarf mine, but his skin was beautifully dark. It may have been stupid, but I hadn't expected to see a Black man working with the PBR. Not because I thought he couldn't do it, but in my experience, certain aspects of country culture were very sexist, and often racist.
"I'm Cody Jennings," I told him. "I was told Dr. Stephens wanted to see me."
"Ah," he breathed. "Right."
"Didn't even fall off a bull and already needing to get fixed up?" one of the guys taunted.
I turned back to find a rider I didn't recognize. That meant he wasn't in the top twenty, but I didn't care. "Look, you worry about how little your dick is, and I'll worry about taking care of myself, hm?"
"Shut it, Casey," Anthony told him. Then he gestured for me to follow him. "I have a room at the back for you."
"Oh, just for me?" I asked, walking in when he held the door.
"Not just," Anthony admitted as he followed me in. "If someone's hurt too bad, we give them private space. You, on the other hand, will get it when you come in."
"I'm really not trying to get special treatment," I assured him.
Anthony just pointed at a chair. "The most common injuries to bull riders are elbows and knees. Sometimes abdomen, if you get stepped on. All of those mean getting undressed, and half of these boys are barely out of high school," he told me.
"And you?" I asked.
