"Or the stream," Renato added.
Ty dipped his head, including that. "Well, it makes people wonder what we were fighting about. They want to see me kick his ass. They're wondering which of us is the bigger man, so they'll tune in next time to see if he'll beat mine."
"And they love it when we get hurt out there," I added. "NASCAR wrecks and PBR wrecks? What do they have in common? The chance of death. Tonight, someone fucking died, and that's going to cause a media frenzy. To the PBR, it's called free advertising, and yet a man is fuckingdead. So, why are the alternates still in the arena? Why hasn't the wolf pack been called back yet?"
"Fuck," Wes groaned, clearly a bit smarter than I realized. "Because seats haven't been selling out this year?"
I pointed at him. "Bingo. So all it took was some bullshit reason, and Tanner being gay was enough."
"Butishe?" Sonny asked.
Ty scoffed at that. "He's dating Cody."
"And?" Sonny pressed.
I laughed once. "Cody. The cute blondewomanwho rides bulls better than you? The one you saw out there and probably wondered what eight seconds with her would be like?"
"Fuck you, Jake!" Ty snapped.
I simply lifted a hand at him. "Don't be pissed, because it's true. I have a feeling all of us have at least wondered. Not actedon it, and wondering doesn't mean we think she's not the real deal, Ty. I know she's your friend, but lighten up."
"And for those of you who still don't get it," Wes said, "a gay man wouldn't fuck a woman. Not even if he had no other option, and we've all seen those two running around being cute."
"Shit," Jaxon, the one who was J.D.'s little henchman, drawled, "and they're trying to say he's fucking J.D. There's no way that's true."
"Does it matter?" Renato asked.
And that made everyone pause again.
"Does what matter?" I asked, liking where this was going.
Renato lifted his beer, proving he'd gotten a new one when I wasn't looking. Then he took a long sip, clearly dragging this moment out. His eyes jumped from table to table, all but proving it.
"If Tanner, or J.D., or anyone else is gay, does it fucking matter?" he finally asked. "And if so, why?"
"I don't want some faggot checking me out!" Jaxon huffed. "Fuck that. This is a real sport, and - "
"And who you fuck matters for that?" I asked, cutting him off. "Explain it to me, Jaxon."
"He can't because it doesn't," the other Jackson said. "Because if fucking women was what made us good on the back of a bull, then explain Cody to me? She outrides most of us."
"All of us," Ty grumbled.
"Most," Renato said, a little smirk curling a corner of his mouth. "I'm still competing with her, and J.D. is scoring better."
"Scoring," Ty pointed out. "C'mon, Renato, we both know that lately the scores don't mean shit."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Sonny begged. "So, you're saying the scoring isn't fair either?"
"Have youseenCody's rides?" Ty asked. "Tonight, she did a fuckload better than a damned seventy-one-something."
"Her scores have been dropping," I explained to the new guys in the room, "because she's too good for being so new. What everyone seems to be missing? That young lady has been riding bucking things since she was a kid."
"Like five," Ty clarified. "Mutton busting, then calves, then steers, then bulls. She stacks hay to build her upper body strength. Her dad was a pretty decent bull rider back before the PBR, and he taught her everything. If she had a dick, J.D. would not be in first place right now - and he knows it."
"He does," Kaleb agreed. "He keeps saying she's his rookie because she's that good."
"But..." Sonny stood, but slowly. "Let me see if I have this right. A guy was killed today because the safety team didn't know how to stop it. I mean, that's what everyone's been saying, but is it the truth?"
