But Tanner reached over to rub his shoulder. "And you're being quiet, babe."
"Because I hurt like a motherfucker," J.D. admitted. "Can't vape here, but this? This was worth suffering for."
Rhaven reached over and caught J.D.'s hand. "Go home, sweetie. You're fighting for us tomorrow. Ineedyou to represent, ok?"
Slowly, J.D. rocked his head in a nod. "Yeah. I got you, Rhaven. Maybe drink a bit for me?"
"Oh, I'll make sure she does," Braden promised. "And who knows, maybe one of these cowboys will even show her how to dance."
Immediately, both Jake and Ty stood, offering their hands. "Ma'am?" Jake asked.
"I'd be pleased to, Miss Rhaven," Ty told her.
I just giggled. "See, Rhaven? It's safe here. These boys? They're the good ones."
"I'm starting to realize they're a hell of a lot more than merely nice chaps," she agreed, accepting Jake's hand.
So Ty turned his to Braden. "I'll lead. I'm even ok with getting my toes stepped on. Still straight, but not afraid of the 'gay', either."
"Oh, we're so doing this," Braden agreed.
"It might even count as teamwork," I told him, flicking a finger at Ty. "Pretty sure he's all about that."
"Gotcha," Braden said, and the smile on his face made me think he was on the same page.
Chapter 76
I saw Cody,J.D., and Tanner leave while I twirled Braden around the dance floor, explaining to him how the two-step worked. When he was sure he had it, I told him to lead, which proved he was good enough. Around the edges, I saw a few people pointing at us. Plenty were laughing, but since many of them were riders, I wasn't worried about it.
But it did make me realize what things must be like for J.D. and Tanner. They couldn't do the normal shit I'd always taken for granted. The weight of the stares and pointing hands? Hell, I would've chickened out if this man hadn't just made it clear his company was paying hundreds of thousands for us to keep fighting. That? It gave me an excuse.
And my pussy ass needed one.
When Braden was sure he had this dancing thing down, I traded with Jake, and pulled Rhaven up against me. Yeah, she was definitely a woman. Her tight shirt proved she had curves. Her shorts showed off some damned nice legs. I knew she'd been born a boy - however the right way to say that was - but she'd grown up into one hell of a lady. Not really my type, but more because of the black lipstick than anything else.
But these two? They made me realize how much further I had to go in my little quest to be a good man. I was pretty sure I'd upgraded to "decent man" lately, but I wanted to earn that "good" title.
"Hey, Rhaven?" I asked before giving her a little twirl.
She giggled, proving she was loving this. "Hm?" she asked when she was back up against my chest.
"Since your company is going all-out, what are the chances you can get like thirty-one shirts fit for bull riding, but maybe in rainbow?"
"For?" she asked.
And I gave her my best panty-melting smile. "Oh, maybe to make a stink in Anaheim."
"I'll make you a deal," she told me. "I'll make the shirts happen, but I need two things from you."
"Name 'em."
"First, to get the right sizes." She waited for me to nod in agreement. "Second," she said, "I want to put a voodoo doll on your chaps. Sign with Deviant, Ty?"
"Ma'am, I like how you negotiate. There's just one problem with all this. Seems I need to talk to a guy first."
"No, I'm good with that," she assured me. "Get some feedback on how uptight we are?"
"I meant Max," I clarified. "Just found out that man's gone independent, and the shit he's done for J.D.? Yeah, I wanna get signed with him. Then he can finalize this, if you're good with it?"
