But Rhaven waved us down. "No, there has to be another way to deal with this." And she looked over at Braden. "Which one are you texting?"
"Dez."
"Ah."
"What's the total for this shit?" Braden asked, looking up at all of us. "How many people are not riding?"
"There's thirty-five riders at this event," Ty said. "J.D., Cody, Austin, and Derek actually rode."
"So thirty-one," Braden said, typing again. "And if you had to put the cause into one word?"
"We're striking against discrimination," I told him. "Right now, it's because the judges are biased against me because I'm a woman, and J.D. because he's not straight."
And one corner of Braden's mouth slid higher as he typed that in. "Yeah. And who's fucking you over? What's their plan?"
"To make sure this isn't some social justice movement," Jake grumbled. "Braden, it's just an old white man's club, and the riders see that. A bunch of redneck hillbillies, basically. I mean, if we're all honest, that's pretty much what we are."
"Disadvantaged young adults," Braden said, making it clear he was typing that, "from poor socioeconomic areas with limited job growth options."
"Or that," Ty said with a chuckle. "So you're not just one of those big, dumb types, eh?"
"Nope," Braden said, finally looking up. "You?"
"Kinda am," Ty said. "Trying to fix that, but yeah. I was on the express path to becoming the next old white asshole, I think. Right up until Cody woke me up."
"Mm..." And Braden just kept typing. Then, finally, he turned his screen to Rhaven.
"Oh," Rhaven said.
"Yeah..." Braden drawled. "So how you wanna handle this, Rhave?"
Without saying anything to us, Rhaven stood, put her fingers to her mouth, and let out the sort of piercing country whistle I hadn't expected her to know how to do. It cut through the conversation and excitement around us, making everything but the music stop.
"Tell me one thing!" she called out. "Why are you people striking for a queer and a girl?"
"Because they can ride!" someone called back to her.
But over there, Jackson stood to face her. "Because they might not be what the PBR wants, but those two? They'reour'queer' and girl. More than that, the bulls don't care. We're here to fucking ride! So are they, and anyone who has a problem with that can go right to hell."
Rhaven just looked back at Braden. "Yeah, we're doing this."
"All you," he told her.
And a smile took over her black-painted lips. "Then Deviant Games will pay the fines for every rider who stood up today. We'll do the same tomorrow too. You fight the good fight, and we will stand up for everyone willing to be labeled a deviant."
The room erupted into cheers, but just as the rush of enthusiasm started to fade, Braden stood, lifting his hands to get their attention.
"And drinks are on Deviant Games tonight!" he called out. "Compliments of the owners!"
"Wait," I begged. "So you're giving us the advance to cover it?"
"No, Cody," Jake said. "They're just paying it."
"Our company got rich as fuck by doing the right thing," Rhaven explained. "We have no intention of stopping now. Braden just had to convince the owner. Good thing she calls him a best friend, huh?"
"So we're still doing this?" I asked, needing the confirmation.
"Yes, Cody," J.D. said. "We are."
