“Don’t be stiff, roll those hips and trust your instincts,” Iris said, running her hands on my shoulders. “You got this. You were almost first and I think today’s ride will be even better.”
She leaned up to kiss me. It was chaste until I deepened it, appreciating her and her advice. Iris didn’t know rodeo like I did, but she paid attention, and she had been around it most of her life. It was comforting and she was easy to talk to about it.
“Whatever she said,” Beau said, hugging my back. “You looked great out there. The pictures I got were fantastic. Maybe you should post one.”
“Yes, that black and white one you got,” Iris said, hugging me too.
My chest tightened with affection, at least I think that’s what it was. It was unfamiliar, but it felt good.
“Post it,” I said, turning around to kiss him too before grabbing his phone and texting myself my login. “I rarely post anything but I’m sure it will be better than whatever I do.”
“You should take a look?—”
“I don’t need to look at it,” I said quickly. “You said it looks great. Iris agrees and I trust you both.”
“Ok, but if you don’t like it, we can delete it later,” he said, biting his lip.
“I doubt it,” I said, giving him a reassuring smile. “Ok, I really got to go.”
“Good luck,” they said as I grabbed my bag, opening the door.
“We’ll be cheering for ya,” Iris said, blowing me a kiss.
I left before I decided I needed to fuck them for good luck. The rodeo was already buzzing by the time I made it in. Bull riding was going on and then we were up next. I checked in, grabbing my number and finding out my placement. There were six of us riding today and we would soon find out who would be the winners.
The purse wasn’t big today, but it did count towards our goal for finals in Vegas. In order to make the finals in Vegas, you had to make a certain amount of winnings to qualify. Most riderswent for the bigger rodeos that had bigger winnings, but with that came intense competition. I tried to play smarter than that.
Once they announced the bull riding winners, a man came by giving us all a warning that our portion was about to start. I stretched my body while listening to music. Once I felt limber enough, I changed into my riding outfit by the time the first rider had gone out.
I was the third one to ride. It wasn’t the best placement, but it beat going last. I hated going last, the anticipation was the worst. A rider said hello as I waited, offering their good luck.
“Yarbrough, you’re up!”
I held my hand up, so he knew I had heard him. Putting away my earphones, I grabbed my gloves and hat. My mind always went into autopilot as I got ready. I went through my checklist of things I needed to do before the chute opened.
“Ready?” they asked me as I adjusted my grip.
One last check that I had recently added to my list. Looking over my shoulder, I looked into the crowd and found them immediately. I touched my heart, raising my hand up, signaling I was ready.
The chute opened, the crowd went wild and I counted. One, tighten my core. Two, lean back feet out. Three, correct my overcorrection. Four, keep my hand up, keep my core engaged. Five, don’t look at the clock. Six, stay fluid. Seven, almost fucking there breathe through the burn. Eight, dismount and walk away.
I threw my leg over, ready to jump off when the horse jerked towards me, knocking me down. A sharp pain exploded in my thigh and on my side. Instinctively I rolled away, narrowly missing the hind legs.
A rodeo clown helped me up and moved away. The pain was barely tolerable as I waved to the crowd. Iris and Beau were already coming down the stands quickly. Guilt hit me as theyushered me out of the ring and they took me to the doctor they had on hand.
“Hey, do you think you can let in the man and woman? Their names are Beau and Iris,” I said to the rodeo assistant.
He raised a brow.
“Or just tell them I’m fine,” I said, knowing the Spanish Inquisition was on its way.
“Yarbrough, I don’t think?—”
“Never mind,” I snapped, as a sharp pain shot through my leg.
“Don’t get testy with me,” he griped.
“I just don’t want them to worry,” I said through gritted teeth, as they elevated my leg.
