"And you wanna brag?" I guessed.
"Shit," J.D. grumbled. "I have a feeling Max already knows. Just wanna make sure whatever he's working on for Tanner's all handled, and that means signing shit."
The pair of them pulled out their phones. So, just to feel like I was joining in, I did the same. I didn't have anyone to call, though. Instead, I snapped a few pictures and sent them to my dad. I wanted to make sure he knew I was doing just fine, and I was pretty sure he'd never seen a place like this either.
Part of me wanted to jump on the couch or bed. It was stupid and childish, but people like me didn't get to stay in places like this. Never mind that we weren't even paying for it! Holy hell, Iwas going to need to do a lot of sucking up to Rhaven the next time I saw her.
"Yeah," Tanner was saying. "Room 3301." Then he chuckled. "Then come over!"
That made J.D. look up. "What?"
"They're across the hall," Tanner explained as he headed for the door. "Sounds like they got upgraded too."
"By my sponsor?" I asked, because that didn't make any sense at all.
J.D. just asked into his phone, "What did you do, Max?"
I could hear the man's laughter coming across the line. Then there was a murmur of conversation I couldn't make out, but Tanner was pulling open the door. The sound of familiar voices made me forget all about that, because there, right in front of me, were two men I'd missed a lot more than I'd expected.
"Matadors!" I called out.
"Bull riders!" Jorge yelled back.
"Cody!" Isaac said, rushing into the room to give me a hug. I was barely on my feet before he caught me up and swung me around. "You taking care of our boy?" he asked.
"Good care," J.D. said before ducking his head, clearly still talking to Max.
I just laughed. "So, is your place this nice?"
"Pretty much the mirror image," Jorge said, heading over to offer me a hug. "This is from Aubree, and she says 'you go, girl.'"
I gave him a quick hug, then waved them to the couches. "So, Deviant paid for your room too?"
"Yeah," Isaac said, sounding as confused about it as I felt. "Do you think that's who Max is making a deal with?"
"He's in the lobby, heading up," J.D. said, finally hanging up his phone. "And he said it's all a surprise. Told him I fuckin' hate surprises, but he just laughed at me."
"Well, worst case," Jorge said, "we get to hang out and watch all of you make a mess of the PBR."
"You see the strike last weekend?" Tanner asked.
"Oh yeah," Jorge assured him. "I was confused at first..." His words trailed off. "And fuck. Casey. Really?"
Tanner nodded slowly. "Yeah. His fucking suicide wrap got hung, he was halfway off the side, and just got battered. Between the bull and the wall..."
"Those idiots should've turned that bull the moment he fouled himself at the gate," Isaac grumbled.
"Even when Casey was coming off," Tanner said, "they still looked like they were lost. They don't feel the rides! They don't -"
A knock at the door made him stop hard. I looked that way, but it was J.D. who got up to answer it.
"That should be Max," he said.
"Your rep?" Isaac asked.
"About to be our rep," Tanner explained. "Max has been with J.D. from the start. He picked up Cody when he was still with Tillman, doing denim. Now he's independent and offering management services. So, getting us all the sponsors, basically."
"But what can he really do for us?" Jorge wanted to know.
