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The clank of the latch releasing was loud. The grunt as this animal took off was even louder. Fuck, but they hadn't been joking. He couldfly.
I felt like my guts had been left back on the ground as this bull took me straight up! All four of his feet were off the ground, but I had this. My legs were good. My weight was in my feet. He hadn't even rocked me forward.
Then we slammed back down to earth only to do it again. This time, Speed Bump added a little forward to the ordeal. I wanted to whoop, because this was a rush! It was like strapping myself to a roller coaster and praying it didn't go off the rails.
But when the flying didn't work, my bull decided to switch it up. He broke to the left, turning right into my hand, yet each lunge of his body was forward. As he turned, his hips whipped out, trying to shift my shoulders. I didn't give a shit. That wasn't where I kept my balance.
I just kept my hips with him. Locking my calves against his sides, I stuck to his back like a tick to a hound dog. The impacts were hard. The launches weren't really any better, yet when Speed Bump finally found his rhythm, I pulled my feet up and spurred the ever-loving shit out of him.
The crowd went wild. I could hear the men back at the chutes yelling for me to keep riding, keep spurring, and I loved it. This was my time. My fucking moment, and I wouldn't let anything take it from me.
Soon enough, lights began to flash across the arena floor as the special effects let everyone know I'd made it to a full eight. Looking up, I tried to check the clock, but all I could see was Tanner in his purple jersey waving his hands to let me know I'd done it.
A tug at the end of my rope got my hand free. The bull felt the rope slip around his waist and stopped trying so hard. That wasn't the same thing as giving up, though. One more hop, and I did my best to slip off the side just as Speed Bump decided to double back.
My feet hit the dirt. The bull kicked out. A hoof slapped me right between the shoulder blades, shoving me forward like a rag doll - directly into Tanner's chest. His arms caught me, pushing me behind him, and then the bullfighters rushed in.
"Ha!" Jorge yelled.
"Time to go, bad boy," Isaac added, spinning around the side.
I was backing away, not even needing to run, because the bull was already on his way out. This one hadn't put up much of a fuss at all. The only complaint I had was that he didn't drop my rope until he was almost at the bull gate.
Once the panel closed behind him, I headed that way, but Tanner snagged my rope from the dirt and jogged back.
"You good?" he asked, stopping me so he could pop the snaps on my helmet.
I pulled it off. "Yeah, I'm good. That was an amazing ride!"
"And the kick?" he asked.
"Right on the vest," I promised.
"Which means you'll feel it later." He smoothed my hair down. "Make J.D. take care of you." Then he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and started walking me back towards the exit gate.
Which was when the announcer called out, "Not too bad at all! Getting a qualified ride on the number two ranked bull in the PBR's Unleash the Beast competition, our little lady scored 82! Let's all give her a hand for simply staying up there!"
"What the fuck?!" Tanner yelled, spinning around to glare at the bullpen that protected the judges. "That's shit and you know it."
Inside, I saw a man stab a finger at him like it was a warning. But Tanner was right. That score was shit. I knew it, Tanner knew it, and from that one little gesture, I was starting to think the PBR judges knew it too.
"I'm not leaving!" I yelled back, throwing up my arms to get the crowd cheering again. "If you want me gone, you'll have to do a hell of a lot worse, because I'm gonna ride until you're giving me zeros!"
Then I snagged my rope from Tanner's shoulder, pressed a quick kiss on his cheek, and walked out, knowing that to the crowd it looked like I was just fine with all of this.
Yeah, fuck it. If they wanted to make me into a spectacle, then I'd spectacle the fuck out of this shit.
Chapter17
Cody's scorewas complete shit. Looking back at the scoreboard, I saw Speed Bump had earned an impressive 46.0 for his time out. That meant they'd scored Cody even lower than I'd realized, because adding her score to the bull score was how the final result was tallied.
"Fucking bullshit!" I snarled as I moved to the other set of chutes.
We were on a commercial break while the next batch of bulls were loaded and riders were strapped in. For us, that was called a chance to catch our breath. Sadly, it never seemed to be enough, but I lived for this. I loved the excitement and adrenaline. I also hated how the judges were fucking with my girlfriend!
Isaac moved up beside me. "You ok, Tanner?"
"Pissed," I admitted, "but still on the ball."
