"Yep," I agreed, wrapping my arm around J.D.'s waist. "Suck it up, buttercup. This is what you wanted, right?"
"Kinda, yeah," he admitted - and for the first time tonight, the smallest little smile claimed his mouth.
That was what I'd been hoping for. All day, he'd been sullen and cranky because of Jaxon. He said it was fine, and from him? Well, I had a theory that if he knew how to say it, he would've. So that meant he was still trying to figure it out.
But I could guess. Jaxon had said shit. Jaxon had been his friend. J.D. had mentioned both of those things earlier, and if it had been me, I knew my feelings would be hurt. I was pretty sure J.D. wasn't used to that feeling, though. He didn't give a shit about many people, so when he did and it hurt him? Yeah, he was fumbling through it.
And it pissed me off.
But the moment we were outside, Tanner said the one thing that could make me stop dwelling on that. "So, Jake kissed Ty."
"What?!" I demanded.
J.D. chuckled. "Yeah? How'd that go?"
"Crowd went dead silent," Tanner admitted. "Then Jake pretty much called out Merrill. Made it clear he was done being fucked with and would drop his secret if he had to."
"Ouch," I muttered.
"Oh yeah," J.D. said. "But good for him for stepping up. Wonder if that's what Jake meant about telling Tanner it was supposed to be ally shit?"
"He said what?" Tanner asked.
"That's pretty much it," J.D. assured him. "Well, and that you could talk about it at the bar. Not sure why I don't get to, but that's what he said."
"Because I saw," Tanner realized. "Because I had to stand there and be pretty while he shoved his tongue down Ty's throat."
"What?!" I asked again. "No. Seriously?"
"Seriously," Tanner assured me. "And it wasn't that great. Clearly not their thing, but it did make a point. If the judges are going to be dicks about me and J.D., then those two are going to muddy the waters. I kinda got the impression they were trying to imply more riders would, but that's a big leap."
"Unless they'd planned it already," I pointed out.
Tanner just made a noise. "Not sure, don't care, but I'm not pissed about it. You, J.D.?"
"Naw," J.D. said. "Just makes me think those two are better men than I realized."
The talk paused as we climbed into the truck. This time, J.D. was driving, and when he started tapping at his phone, I realized he knew where we were going. Well, good, because I didn't. It also didn't matter.
On the way over, Tanner kept the conversation light. He mentioned a few of his saves, how nice it was to be back, and that sort of thing. Oddly, it felt like the comfortable "I just gothome from work" conversation my dad had always had with me growing up.
When we got there, everyone began cheering. Confused, I looked behind us, but they were all looking at Tanner.
Then Ty called out, "Matadors!" and I finally understood.
"Deviant Rescue Squad now!" Tanner yelled back.
"Get those men a drink!" Renato bellowed.
"And the woman," Ty added.
But J.D. was barely in the door before his feet stalled out. For a moment, he simply stood there. His eyes were locked on the far side of the room, and it was as if he couldn't shake it off. I looked around, trying to see what was bothering him - and saw Jaxon.
"Let's get a drink," I told him, turning him to the bar. "We'll stay over here."
"What did I miss?" Tanner asked, holding up three fingers to the bartender.
"Some shit was said today," I explained. "Pretty much the type you'd expect."
