With Jake right behind me, I hit the stairs and slipped through the crowd of men up here. Most moved, making room for the crazy rider who was clearly in a hurry. Others watched, but I was mentally counting my chute. I was sixth, which meant the second in the next to last set of chutes. Thankfully, that put me on this side.
When I stopped, the chute attendant was looking around. His eyes landed on me, and instead of saying a thing, he simply held out his hand for my rope.
"Right-handed," I said.
Which made him lift a brow, but Jake was already climbing across. "I'm pulling for her," he told the crew around this bull.
"Gotcha," the man said.
But me? I was busy taping on my glove. Shit, I hated being late, but whatever. I had this, and it wasn't like they'd score me fairly anyway. So, the moment it was good enough, I traded my hat for a helmet, passed the hat to the closest man, and then climbed into the chute and started warming my rope.
"Yeah, tug it just like that," Jake taunted.
I looked up, not surprised at all that his dick was level with my chin again. "Like it rough, do ya?"
"I'm easy like that," he assured me. "I mean, if you're going to the bar tonight, maybe I can sit around, buy you a few drinks, and trade stories with a trio of bull riders, hm?"
"Could," I said, finally seeing the rosin string out. "Now hush, Jake. I need to focus."
"Bullshit," he said. "What you need, Cody, is to ride this bad boy like you picked him up in a bar, want to use and abuse him, and aren't ashamed of it. Trust me, it'll make him buck for you."
My hand paused on the handle. "Oh, is that so?"
"Worked for me."
I yanked at my handle again, aware he had a point. He had bucked real nicely. Then again, J.D. said to ride 'em like I fucked. Maybe he was on to something. Hell, maybe Jake's taunting might do me some good.
But the handle was warm now, and the chute beside me was silent. That meant the whole PBR was waiting on me. "Tail!" I ordered.
Jake passed it over, waiting until I had it wrapped the first time before he climbed over. As he passed, he patted the top of my helmet.
"Ride 'em, cowgirl," he encouraged.
I heard him, but only barely. My mind had already shifted to nothing more than this bull. Just this time. I found the spotbehind his withers where I wanted to be, watching until the bull shifted to give me some room between the wall and my leg.
Then I dropped down onto his back, locked my knees against his armpits, and nodded.
The gate clanked. The door swung open, and my pretty black bull came out ass first, with his heels in the air. Ok, that was a new move, but I had this. Using my wall-side leg, I heaved him over the same way I'd tug a man to line him up, and then let him loose.
The bull plunged, leaping through the air like a dolphin. My left arm was up and swinging. My right was curled, holding me exactly where I wanted to be, and I had this. With my chin tucked and my weight up on my thighs, I was secure enough to start spurring even as this fucker decided to do a tight and crazy little spin.
My black chaps, with the pink logo on them, flared out with every buck, and for a moment, I stopped thinking so damned hard and just went with it. They said to ride 'em like I fucked? Well, I didn't tend to do a whole lot of thinking in the moment, so maybe it was time to stop.
And I rode. My ass pushed the bull forward. My legs made his antics bigger and showier. This wasn't the most impressive animal I'd ever been on, but he was mine for this moment. A cute little thing I'd decided to spend the night with, and I wasn't gonna be ashamed.
Nope, I was gonna work him good. I wanted to make him sweat. I had every intention of riding him hard and putting him away wet, so when he doubled back, I rewarded him with one whole buck on his own, and then doubled down.
Harder, faster, and wilder, we rocked together like nothing else in the whole world mattered. I felt him grunting with the effort, and I knew I was all hot and sweaty, but that was how itwent, wasn't it? But just when I had him exactly where I wanted him, the explosion went off.
Lights, sound, and a sexy man waving to get my attention. That was my sign this wild ride was over. I'd also completely lost track of where I was in the arena, so as I flipped the tail of my rope over to free my hand, I tried to get my bearings.
The rope came loose. The bull stopped trying, and I got one happy little hop to help bounce me off his back and down to the sand. Immediately, the bullfighters moved in, taking over while I stepped back, ready to run if this went sideways.
But instead of leaving, my bull wanted to go for a little adventure. He darted past the gate and around the wall of the arena, heading to the back. There, the outrider was waiting, swinging his rope as he moved his horse forward. That was all it took for this bull to decide it was time to go!
"Nice," Tanner said as he brought my rope back. "You make that look easy, Cody Lane."
I groaned. "With the middle name again?"
