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Hell, I loved it.
The truth was, something about J.D. made me feel like I could take anything. He had my back. He knew what I didn't. He wasn't trying to make me into some little sideshow to get him off. This man...
My mind jumped right back to him in my bed. The way his eyes had held mine. How he'd let me in. The most dangerous man in this entire sport, and I seemed to be the only person who wasn't scared of him at all. Even Tanner walked carefully around him with a few things. But with me? He was where I wanted to lean.
So if I could tame him a little, then what did I have to worry about? I could handle J.D. Adkins. It didn't matter if anyone else knew that. I did. I could keep up with the best of the best - in more than one way - so I wasn't about to let anything else intimidate me.
Squaring my shoulders, I marched into the main waiting area to see staff with headsets lining up cowboys in the order of our world rankings. I caught when eyes looked over, measuring us. I noticed how most looked away just as quickly.
I was here. I was going to stay. I was...
My eyes landed on Ty and my feet slowed. He was turned away, talking to someone else as if he didn't miss me at all. The pit of my stomach twisted, but I pushed through it.
"Cody?" J.D. asked, following my eyes.
"I'm here to ride," I said, softly enough so only he could hear. "Not to be ridden."
"Yeah ya are," he agreed. "Don't mean some things don't suck."
So I looked over, peeling my eyes from Ty's broad shoulders and amazing ass. "I am sick and tired of men wanting to use me, control me, or thinking I can't take it. I'm not here to be a toy, J.D."
"Then why are ya?" he asked.
The curl that claimed my lips felt devious, maybe even a little wild. Crazy, possibly. "I'm here to win."
He slapped my shoulder and pointed at the middle of the pack. "Then go line up, cowgirl. Ain't no one gonna fuck with my rookie. They're too scared of her."
"Or they will be," I decided, peeling away from him to take my place.
Chapter15
For us,a PBR event lasted three days. For the people in the stands, they bought a ticket for the night and didn't really care about the rest. Still, Friday evenings always started out the same way: with the introduction. When the time came, the lights went out in the seating area and the music turned up.
The sound was loud, playing hard-hitting and quick-paced stuff: AC/DC, Metallica, and plenty of country. The announcer broke in to talk about the sport, catching up any new fans who might be out there. I heard bangs that proved there were some impressive pyrotechnics, but back behind the chutes, we were all lined up nice and pretty.
Then it was time. The staff began gesturing for us to go out, spacing the riders enough so the cameras could catch our faces and put them on the big screen at either end while the announcer called our names and hometowns. Starting at the bottom, in thirty-fifth place, we were all marched out in order.
I was currently in sixteenth place. Not bad for the new kid, I thought. Unfortunately, Ty wasn't too far behind me. Glancing back, I counted, finding him in eleventh overall. The bigger problem - he saw me.
Our eyes met for a moment, but I quickly turned back around so I could shuffle forward. He didn't say anything. Then again, what could he say? That I'd looked? For all he knew, it had been an accident, right? Ok, probably not.
I just didn't want him to think I was either desperate or missing him. Nope, he'd fucked up. He'd moved on. He was more interested in picking up buckle bunnies than the mess I'd gotten myself into with Tanner and J.D. Hell, maybe he wanted me to choose, but if so, I clearly hadn't chosen him!
I'd picked me. I would always pick me.
So while I moved closer and closer to the black curtain, I decided I was going to enjoy this. I wasn't so new that I didn't know what was coming. Even better, I was pretty sure my father was watching the event at home. I needed to give him a call before I rode, and that was a much better thing to worry about than some guy five spots behind me.
Then it was my turn. The guy with the clipboard nodded. I pushed through the thick black curtain, and a spotlight immediately landed on me. Smiling, I made sure to look up, right into the camera that was pointed at me.
"And from Spring Creek, Missouri, currently sitting at sixteen in the world rankings, we have our first woman on the PBR's Tough Enough series! Let's give it up for Cody Jennings!"
I lifted my hat and made a production of waving it at the crowd. The best part was how quite a few people cheered. Not all of them were women! Not that I could see much with the light in my eyes, but from down here it sounded good.
I didn't stop walking, though. Following the guy before me, I kept going until I reached the semicircle we were supposed to make. Between us and the bull chutes, the letters P, B, and R were still burning, like someone had poured lighter fluid on the sand and put a match to it. On the screens, clips of us riding this year were flipping through, and the announcer was still calling out names.
I heard Ty's name. Then, with the last few guys, they paused and made a bigger deal out of it. The top five riders in the world rankings were all guided up to the bullpen, to stand on top of it. They skipped number three, though, which meant Renato Viera wasn't here this week.
J.D. was the last. He walked out and stopped, letting the light take him in. "Ranked number one, completing his ninth year with the PBR, we have a legend here among us. This is J.D. Adkins, the top rider in PBR history! Once again, he's leading the pack. Let's see if he can keep it up here in Des Moines!"
