"J.D. and Tanner?" I asked, making sure I was keeping up.
She nodded. "Yeah. It's been a long time coming, and I don't want to fuck it up."
"Then we'll make sure you didn't," I promised. "And we'll make sure you show J.D. up on your bull."
"Shit," she said around a little laugh. "Jake, he drew Speed Bump."
A sigh fell out before I could stop it. "Ok, which means I'm not winning tonight."
"He needs to," she said. "He may also need some backup, because this could go bad."
"I definitely have his back," I promised. "Cody, in full disclosure, I may have interrupted them Wednesday night. I was waiting to make sure they knew you'd had a lot to drink - "
"And to tell them I kissed you," she mumbled.
I rocked my head from side to side, neither agreeing nor negating that. "That was more so J.D. didn't kill me. Mostly, I wanted them to make sure you didn't slip in the shower or anything."
"I wasn't that drunk," she grumbled.
I had to glance away but the chuckle still slipped out. "No? Wellthat'sgood to know." But I rubbed her arm again. "So, still friends?"
"Yeah," she agreed.
"I can still pull for you when you need it? And maybe you'll return the favor for me?"
And a little smile appeared. "Yeah."
"Good." Then I jerked my head back to our gear. "Then let's get back, because I have one more thing to do before the opening ceremony."
"Yeah..." And she turned that way with me, but before we'd even made it a step, she asked, "Jake, maybe we can talk more tonight?"
"Any time you want," I assured her. "Hell, I already gave you my number, cowgirl. Try using it sometime."
"Hitting on my girl?" J.D. asked, clearly catching the end of that.
"Yours?" I asked, all too aware of his rant about that exact word the other night.
He lifted his chin, looking at me from under his black hat. "Today, we're at the PBR, Jake. Cody is my rookie.Mine, and that is not up for debate. What you do with her at a bar? That's a whole different thing."
"Gotcha," I said, but I was starting to figure this guy out. "And speaking of that, I need to talk to the sound guy. Make sure I have the right dance music for my bull." I smiled at Cody. "I'll be back. Keep an eye on my gear?"
"Always," she said.
Damned if that didn't make my guts do some stupid things. I wasn't sure if this counted as butterflies, but it was definitely hard to ignore. The way she'd said that was as if it had been a given. As if she really didn't regret what she'd done when drunk, and that?
It gave me hope.
But I'd shown up early to make sure I had my new sponsor stuff approved and ready to go. I'd drawn my bull, talked to Cody, and now I had one more thing I wanted to get done. Not had to, but wanted to, and yet I had a feeling this was going to be just as important.
I found the stairwell and hurried up it, whispering a prayer in my mind that Donald Merrill wouldn't be up here. When I came out at the top, I paused for a moment, thrilled to see it was just Clay and another guy in the production boot at the top.
"Hey, Clay," I said, heading that way.
Slowly, he turned his chair to face me. "What do you want this time, Jake?"
"Music," I said.
Which made him sigh heavily. "Again?" Another sigh followed that, then he looked over at the guy. "John? Are you heading downstairs any time soon? I am in real need of a coffee, and looks like I'm stuck for a bit now."
