"Do something gross?" I asked next.
"What are you getting at, Jake?"
So I told him my crazy thought. Surprisingly, he didn't hate it. He did, however, have some ideas about how to make sure we couldn't be ignored. And while the arena cleared out, Cletus told his closing jokes, and the bullfighters got into place for the closing ceremony, we worked out our devious plan.
Then we were up.
"And tonight!" the announcer bellowed. "In the PBR, it's rare for two riders to receive the same score, and yet these two managed to do it. Two different bulls. Two different men. In the end, we're proud to announce that tonight we have atiefor first place between Jake Cunningham and Ty McBride!"
One of the stewards pulled open the gate we were beside, and the pair of us walked out. The camera got all up in my face first,then moved over to focus on Ty beside me. I took off my hat, lifting it at the crowd. Ty didn't. He simply glared, not afraid to let his anger at the bullshit tonight be seen.
Then we jogged up the ramp set so we could get on top of the bullpen. There, Cletus was standing with a microphone. From the back side of the arena, a pair of buckle girls were making their way over in the skimpy attire their sponsor made them wear.
"Well, well, well," Cletus said, moving over to Ty. "How'd you let this happen? Ain't he the newcomer here?"
"Not by much," Ty said into Cletus's handheld microphone. "Jake's been pushing my buttons for a few years now. Besides, he's a good rider, and he rides clean. Every time he gets on a bull, he has his head in the right place."
"And you don't?" Cletus asked.
"Nope," Ty said. "I get distracted by all the politicking going on in the PBR. Gets me all riled up so I can't even think straight."
Cletus was nodding too much, like he was a bumbling idiot. Then again, that was his act. But when Ty didn't give him anything else, he turned to press that microphone into my face. "And you, Jake? Aren't you supposed to show the rest of them up?"
"Nope," I said. "That's fine in elementary school, but we're grown men now. We've learned how to work together and cheer each other on."
"Oh-ho!" Cletus said. "Sounds to me like these tough guys might even be friends. Are you two friends?"
He shoved the mic at me again. "Yep. Realgoodfriends."
"That's what they call it now, isn't it?" Ty asked.
"Well, I mean, they used to say 'just friends,' I think," I taunted.
"And you both made an impressive 90.5 tonight!" Cletus said, clearly changing the subject. "You think you're going to be able to top that tomorrow?"
"Might," Ty said. "Might not. Depends on whether or not the PBR still thinks I'm man enough to get a fair score."
Cletus quickly turned away from him, making it clear we were pushing this just a little too far - but he hadn't seen anything yet. Instead, he gestured to the buckle girls who'd made it up and were heading over to us. Each one held a wooden box with a little silver buckle in it. I had a few of those already, and I was sure Ty had a ton of his own.
That was when the announcer took over. "To present the winner's buckles tonight are the Monster girls. With these scores, Ty McBride moves into an overall world standing of third place, and Jake Cunningham has just edged into fourth. Let's give our dual first-place winners a hearty round of applause!"
Immediately, the crowd began clapping. A few stood and cheered. I could hear whoops from men and squeals from the ladies. What I didn't do was react to it. I was counting on Cletus keeping to the general concept of what he always did.
On the dirt below us, Tanner, Jorge, and Isaac were standing around like arena decoration. They'd already been given their kudos for their work, but couldn't leave until this mess was over. And while the crowd cheered, I dared to look at Tanner, finding him watching me suspiciously.
The women came over - one to each of us - and passed over the buckles, then posed for a photo to be taken. I was careful not to gawk at the one standing beside me. I certainly didn't wrap my arm around her waist like the winners usually did. Sure, she was cute, but that wouldn't help me at all right now.
"Thank you," I said when she let go and moved to leave. "Have a good night, ma'am."
She looked back with confusion on her face, but didn't stop. Across from me, Ty was smiling like he'd just heard the best joke. Then,finally, Cletus asked exactly the question I needed.
"Well, well!" he said, moving closer. "Now that you're both the big winners, what are you going to do to celebrate?"
"This," I said, stepping around him to grab Ty by the side of the face and push my mouth against his.
He didn't jerk back. Instead, his hand was on my arm, holding me there like he needed to figure this out - and he kissed back. Open mouth. Tongue. The whole thing. I tried to pretend he was a girl, but that wasnothappening. Nope, this was weird, and not my thing at all, but I absolutely refused to think the word gross.
But I pulled back quickly. Ty huffed, like he was thankful for that. I had a feeling he would've kept going as long as I had, just to prove he could, but nope. That was not my thing. I wasclearlynot into guys, but the silence in the arena spoke volumes.
