"Yeah..." I breathed.
"For not riding!" Wyatt insisted. "Sweetie, I'm telling you. Just get bucked off."
"What?" I asked.
"If the problem," Wyatt said, "is that you're all trying to make sure you're negating the judge's picks? Ride. Just ride badly. I know Wes has hopped off in the middle of a ride when something wasn't right."
"That was in practice," Wes insisted. "Out there? Those bulls will come back and trash us. Wyatt, it's a big risk."
"But a good idea," I said, scanning the room. "Hey, Jorge?! Isaac?!"
"Yeah?" Isaac called back, looking over like he was a little tipsy.
"Bring your better half," I yelled at him. "I need some matadors!"
That word made all the bull riders in this place call out, "Matadors!"
"Bull riders!" Jorge yelled back in response.
It worked though. Took those two a minute to make it through the crowd, but soon enough, they joined us. Isaac wavered slightly, and his eyes were glazed, but Jorge looked completely sober.
"So," I said, "Wes's husband - "
"Whoa," Isaac said, turning to Wes in the most dramatic fashion I could imagine. I was pretty sure he had intended to make it look like a double-take. Instead, it was simply the sort of drunk-comical thing that happened with too much alcohol. "Bro, you're married?"
"Yeah..." Wes said, throwing a dirty look my way. "And that's out there now."
"You're fine," I promised. "Also means you can stop hiding your husband away."
But Isaac wasn't done. "I wanna get married. Jorge and Aubree are so happy. Now Tanner's all happy. I need someone to make me happy. A woman, though. Us guys are gross. I just gotta find me a cute, hot, sexy little - "
"Shutup, Isaac," Jorge told him.
"Oh."
And Jorge waved him off like a sign to ignore his partner. "Yeah, he's basically gone. Nice to meet you, Wes's husband..."
"Wyatt," the guy offered.
"Jorge. The drunk one's Isaac."
"Wyatt had an idea," I told them. "Merrill's saying that sending the bull out alone is a fine, right?"
"Yeah, that's what I heard," Jorge agreed.
"What if we bail halfway?" I asked.
And a smile took over Jorge's face. "I mean, it'll keep us on our toes. Will definitely make the night take longer, because we'll need a few breaks to catch our breath, but no different than a tough string. Why?"
"Because that's not breaking one of Merrill's rules," Wes said. "Wyatt and I were talking about it earlier. I mean, when I was trying to figure out how to support this mess and still afford to ride."
Jorge groaned. "Oh, because you're... Shit. Ok, yeah. You're... Gay? Bi? Pan?"
"Gay," Wes admitted.
Jorge just nodded. "So right now, J.D.'s representing you. Cody's not, but you can sympathize. Yeah, makes sense. And you haven't said shit because this is the PBR, right?"
"And this shit needs to change," I told them. "Guys, how many other riders aren't straight? Hell, maybe someone's a trans guy. We wouldn't have a clue unless he said something, youknow? Half these guys are playing a part in the hopes of getting signed for enough money to get ahead, then they'll retire quietly. Fuck. I should've realized J.D. wasn't the only one!"
