“Where’d you wander off to earlier?” I ask Elliot.
“Decided I needed something stronger after watching Dilynne ride that fucking bull.” His comment makes me pause, but he shakes his head and responds before I can speak. “Just…don’t worry about it.”
“Well, the contest isn’t over. Not all hope is lost, right?”
Nodding, he clears his throat. “Yeah. I’m gonna go up to the ropes so I can see better. You good here?” He darts his eyes over to Vienna and then back to me, arching a brow.
I glance back at her just as she licks her lips and pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. The move sends a surge of adrenaline racing through me, centering between my legs. God, it’s been so long since my body has reacted to a woman like this that I’m having trouble processing it. “Yeah, I’m, uh…good, man.”
“If you say so.” Chuckling, he leaves us alone, and I slide my eyes back to Vienna.
“You can go with him if you want. I’ll be fine on my own,” she says.
“I’m not sure about that. If you fall again, who will be there to pick you up?”
The corner of her mouth lifts as she shrugs. “Well, there’s no time like the present to figure out how to do that on my own.”
Silence rests between us as I consider her words. I’m getting the sense that this woman is far out of her comfort zone tonight, but she seems to be embracing it.
And fuck… It’s sexy. Admirable. Interesting.
Maybe I can learn something from her in that respect, too.
“So, what were we talking about again?” I lift my water to my lips and empty the glass as cheers ring out for the next woman who just mounted the mechanical bull.
“Me trying not to fall on my ass while doing things way out of my comfort zone.”
“Is that what the bull riding was about?”
She laughs softly. “Kind of. I’ve always wanted to try it, so when I saw the flyer at a gas station, I took it as a sign. Sometimes it’s the little opportunities that end up meaning the most, you know? I just felt like I couldn’t pass this one up.”
A flyer at a gas station, huh?“Are you from around here, then?”
She huffs out a laugh. “Not at all.”
“Where’s home?”
Her head tilts to the side. “Far from here. What about you? You a local who comes to every bull riding contest?”
I push a hand through my hair and adjust my flannel on my shoulders. “Ha. That would be a no. I live about thirty minutes from here. I just came tonight for my buddy,” I say, gesturing toward the direction that Elliot went. “He’s had a rough year, so I’m supposed to be his wingman.”
“The Maverick to his Goose?”
“Something like that.”
“I loveTop Gun,” Vienna says wistfully. “And the second movie they made?Top Gun:Maverick? Even better than the first, in my opinion.”
“I haven’t seen it yet.”
Her mouth drops open. “What? Oh, you need to change that immediately.”
My chest shakes with silent laughter. “You seem to feel very strongly about that.”
“I insist.” Her smile is ever present. “Miles TellerandGlen Powell in one movie?” She starts to fan herself dramatically. “That’s a why-choose situation I wouldn’t mind finding myself in.”
“Not sure those are selling points to getmeto watch it,” I say, teasing her, feeling my smile grow the longer we go back and forth.
Her energy is so vibrant and so honest.
