"Austin will," Kaleb said.
"Eli and Derek too," Jaxon added. "You know they will, because they don't think Cody should be here in the first place."
"Which means they're going to have a hate-on for J.D. now too," Kaleb told his friend. "J.D.'s been riding for nine fucking years, andnowhe's going to start getting trashed, after he's already proven himself?"
"But that's the thing," I told these men. "To the judges and the powers that be, J.D. just betrayed the trust. He lied to us. He hid who he was - never mind that this would've happened anyway. But that's the line they're going to use. J.D. knew we're all dumbasses with small minds. He probably thought we'd beat the shit out of him. I knew I expected that back when I found out."
"Wait," Jaxon said. "You knew?"
"Found out," I corrected. "But yeah. And I might be the reason he kept hiding it. I fucked up in Cheyenne. Most of y'all know something changed, because you're not blind. Well, I'd like to think I made it clear to him that he can trust at least a few of us, because he finally did today. He stopped hiding who he is,and now he's daring us to man up and accept that he's still better than us."
Ok, so that wasn't exactly true, but it sounded good enough, and I wasn't above lying to help the guy out. The truth was, I had fucked up. I'd made a mess of things back then, and just when J.D. had decided to call me a real friend. Seeing how he'd reacted to Jaxon today? That made me think I'd hurt him worse than I'd thought.
So I'd take the blame. I'd become J.D.'s excuse if it meant these guys would actuallydosomething for once. Or maybe it was more true to say once again, even though last time they'd been mostly helping themselves. This time, I was asking them to risk it all for someone else.
"So who's not ok with it?" Sonny demanded. "Who's scared of the gay? Who's such a pussy he's gonna join Austin, Eli, and Derek's side on this?"
"Who," Renato asked, doubling down, "is going to fuck this up for all of us because they think they can dictate someone else's morals and beliefs?"
Yeah, and that was the angle I'd needed. I looked over, and he met my eye and nodded, knowing me just a little too well.
But no one spoke up. Then again, maybe they didn't want to get their ass beat, and that was a lot more possible here, where things could be disputed later. Still, the silence made me hope this might actually work out.
"Then tomorrow," I said, "we'll make a chain of people to distract them. We're going to do this, people, because it's time for the PBR to realizeweare the ones in control. We have our demands, and they will be fucking met! Fair judging, our private lives stay private, and our sport ensures us the proper protection we need, including the bullfighters."
"And I," Renato said, "will buy a round for everyone throwing their ride tomorrow. All you have to do is lift a hand."
Arms shot into the air all across the bar. I was pretty sure some weren't actually bull riders - because I saw a few girls waving their arms.
So I turned to Renato. "And those girls?"
"Sure," he said. "Maybe some of these guys will get lucky. I mean, it seems a woman can really make a man change. Worked for me. Looks like it's working for you still, even if you didn't get to keep her."
"Yeah, but I also know how easy it is to lie and say what they want to hear," I reminded him. "I did it with the girls."
"And you just did it with them," he added, making it clear he'd caught me twisting the truth a bit. "But you did it for the right reason this time, so that means it's not a bad thing. And hell, I can't say I'm any better, so this? It's my own version of penance - and a little bribery, because I'm fucking sick of this shit too."
Chapter 68
A noisein the other room made my eyes jump open. It was morning. Something had clanked? That didn't make any sense, but neither did my view. This was not my room. Those were not my curtains, because the window I had wasn't this big.
Then something shifted beside me with the softest, sweetest noise. I turned my head to find Cody snuggled up against my side. Her arms were curled up against her chest. Her blonde hair was wild and messy, spread out around her. The bare shoulder peeking out of the covers?
That proved it had not been a dream.
My lips curled and a sigh fell out. I kept it quiet, making sure I didn't wake her, but damn. That had actually happened, and she was exactly the kind of woman I'd expected. Part sweet and shy, part confident and aware of her own needs. The mixture of those contradictions was what made this woman so addictive for me. I wanted to see another layer peel back, learn a bit more about her.
But I'd never thought she'd drag me into her bed. That was what I'd tried to explain to her last night. I hadn't come back here for a fuck. I had a feeling Cody Jennings was not the kind of woman any sane man merely "fucked."
She was the kind we compared all the others against. Hell, she was the kind of person I compared myself against most days. The only problem was figuring out what came next.
Had I just been the night's bed warmer? Maybe a passing fancy? I could handle that - not like it, but handle it. I still wanted to be her friend, though. The trick would be proving that wasn't the creepy "nice guy" sort of friendship, but the honest kind built on respect.
And to do that, I needed to get the fuck out of her way.
So I carefully slid my arm away from hers. I shifted over slowly, making sure I didn't bump the mattress. Then I climbed out of the bed, found my jeans and underwear, and pulled those on. The rest of my shit got piled up in my arms.
I looked back one last time before slipping out and saw her reach out to the space I'd left. Thankfully, the door didn't creak, but the moment I stepped through it, those subtle sounds stopped. I caught movement at the edge of my vision and looked to see Tanner jerking away from J.D. like they'd been caught doing something wrong.
