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"What are you doing?" I demanded.
He flashed me a cheerful grin before stepping across the chute to take the tail of the rope. "Renato's not here. Cody's not here. J.D. isn't here. Sounds to me like you need some help, Ty."
"Fuck off," I grumbled as I stepped into the chute.
"And I want to make sure your head's on straight," Jake went on as he pulled the tail tight. "You're off, Ty. We all know something went down - and I got a front row view."
I yanked my glove down the rope as hard as I could, wanting to watch this man tip forward. "I'm just focusing on my career."
Jake didn't budge. "Because of Cody?"
"Fuck that."
"I mean, since you were chasing her hard, you lost her, and now you're sulking like a baby," he went on, standing as fucking still as a statue no matter how hard I pulled.
So I shifted my focus to the handle. "She made me realize drinking and fucking aren't all this PBR shit's about," I said. "I'm here to ride."
Leaning in, Jake passed me the tail so I could wrap my hand. "Not get ridden, hm? Because that's what she always says."
My body stilled. "Leave her out of this."
"Focus on your bull," he countered, just as Disco Breakout decided to do a little jig, destroying all my hard work.
"Fuck!"
Jake just grabbed the tail and pulled again. Thankfully, Cletus was still going, which meant this break was gonna be one of the longer ones. "Ty, guys who go out with something else on their mind eat dirt."
"Yeah?" I looked up, glaring at him through my helmet. "Well, I got one thing on my mind. I'm gonna show her I can ride this fucker just as well as she did, if not better. That's it, so stop trying to jack with me."
"Good man," he praised before passing my rope over one more time.
This time, I got the wrap the way I wanted, but Disco Breakout wasn't exactly being friendly about it. Nope, he wanted to go, and I had to wait my turn. Looking up, I checked the board to see how bad the scores were just as the music faded out.
My bull shuffled a bit, but not enough to screw up my wrap. I was early, but I was ok with that. I had a feeling Disco Breakout was going to try to pull something else, just to set me back, but it didn't matter.
I needed to be right here, thinking about nothing but this ride. If I wanted Cody to notice me, I had to remind her why she had in the first place. I wasn't in the PBR to get drunk and get fucked. I was here to make sure people knew my name!
Yeah, and that was the problem. Maybe I'd believed that my first year out. Possibly even the second. Lately, I'd cared more about the big money in my pocket and the women willing to throw themselves at me.
Cody had been a wake-up call. She'd snapped me out of my bullshit, so now I had to show her I was a changed man. I needed to get this right. I had to ride this bull like I was meant to be here, not just some pretty face for the sponsors to show off.
I was more than the PBR's playboy. I was a fuckingbull rider,and this was the toughest sport on dirt. I could take it. I could show all these motherfuckers up if I tried.
So maybe it was time to start trying?
"And you're a go!" the chute guy called down to me, making it clear the break was over.
So I dropped down on Disco Breakout's back, shoved forward until my riding hand was pressed up against my balls, and then I nodded. No more messing around. No more playing it safe. No more half-assing it.
The latch to the gate clanked. Disco Breakout tossed his head up. The metal bars swung open, and the moment there was enough room for this monster's bulk to fit out, he exploded. With a massive lunge, the gigantic bull flew into the arena.
My upper body was thrown back, but I didn't let my ass move. Keeping my chin tucked, I rode just as hard as I could. This bad boy was big but quick, so the next buck came before I was really ready. That was ok. This was where I had the advantage.
Cranking down on the handle of my bull rope, I pulled myself back into place with the strength of my arm. With each bounce of this bull, I used my free hand to sling my upper body into position again. Too bad Disco Breakout wasn't about to make it easy. He should be setting up for his spins. He wasn't.
Instead, the fucker bucked backwards. Each time he kicked up his ass, he shoved so hard with his front legs that I leaned closer and closer to his head. Motherfucker! How the hell had Cody made this look so easy?
Somehow - by the grace of God - I managed to find center again, but my bull wasn't done. He launched himself into the air, kicking out in four different directions, it felt like. His back twisted. Thankfully, my legs were long enough to grip hard around his waist, and then we were down.
