Page 52 of Rough Ride

“Because I wouldn’t judge you if you did,” Liz said as if I hadn’t replied. “Hell, I would have done the same thing to get that chiseled body up against me.”

“Liz. I didn’t do it intentionally. I just lost track of my reps, and pushed myself too hard.”

“If you say so.” Liz glanced sideways at me as we walked to our assigned bar. “But while I was on the stairmaster, I noticed Sawyer watching you. Checking out your ass whenever you squatted low. He was trying to be discreet, but I saw. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”

I felt myself stand up a little straighter. “Really? He was checking out my ass?”

Liz narrowed her eyes at me. “See? You’re into him. Stop trying to pretend you’re not.”

“He’s hot, like you said,” I replied. “That doesn’t mean I’mintohim.”

“So if he walked in right now and offered to take you home and fuck your brains out until sunrise tomorrow morning, you wouldn’t say yes?”

Justthinkingabout her hypothetical scenario gave me a tickle of erotic excitement. “Shut up.”

“I just want what’s best for you!” Liz insisted.

“Hooking up with as many cowboys as possible is what’s best for me?”

“Yes!” she replied emphatically. “It’s extremely good for you! Not everything has to turn into a relationship, Sophie. You canhave meaningless, no-strings-attached sex as much as you want. Like what you did with Johnny.”

She had a point, except for one flaw in her argument: the sex I’d had with Johnny didn’t feel meaningless. I had been thinking about him non-stop since our affair. My confused feelings toward Eli and Sawyer were probably a result of that sexual frustration bubbling over.

Tonight, Liz and I were working the bar in one of the rooms with a mechanical bull. We called it Whiplash Willie, because it could be turned up to a higher setting than any of the other machines in the building. I had a love-hate relationship with this assignment. The mechanical bull drew the most obnoxious customers, like sorority girls who only cared about looking as sexy as possible on the machine, or frat bros who wanted to one-up each other.

But on the other hand, the customers in here usually drank more, both for liquid courage before riding the bull and as a consolation after they were inevitably thrown to the mat. And more drinks meant more tips.

Tonight was no exception—the room quickly became crowded as spectators who had been at the rodeo earlier in the night migrated to Billy Bob’s. A bachelorette party was gathered by Whiplash Willie, egging each other on to see who would go first.

In the back of my mind, I had been hoping one of the guys would show up tonight. I even considered texting Johnny to let him know which bar I would be working, but I stopped myself because I didn’t want to seem too needy. Besides, I wasn’t sure what else I wanted from him. A one-night stand was simple and straightforward. If we continued hooking up, the lines became more blurry.

Eli was the first face I recognized tonight, smiling at me from across the room thanks to his height. I suppressed a bright flare of excitement that blossomed in my chest, and continued serving the customers that were crowded around the bar. Eli waited his turn, eventually squeezing into a spot at the bar when someone else left.

“There’s my favorite bartender,” he said with that smile that came so easy to him. “I got a beer from a woman over in the square dancing room, but it wasn’t the same.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Joline’s working that room tonight. I’m surprised you weren’t enamored by her massive… personality.”

Eli narrowed his eyes at me. “I won’t deny she’s got a chest that rivals Miss Dolly herself. But she doesn’t have your eyes.”

Joline was, by far, the most attractive woman that worked at Billy Bob’s. I wasn’t the type of woman who compared herself to her peers, but it put a smile on my face to learn Eli had ditched her to come see me.

“You going to commandeer one of the stages here and give us another show?” I teased.

Eli shook his head in frustration. “Already tried. That big security fella yelled at me. Damn near kicked me out. Y’all aren’t any fun.”

“If you’re looking for some real fun, you can take Whiplash Willie for a spin.”

Eli glanced over his shoulder at the bull, which was currently being mounted by a college girl who was already too drunk to ride. “That’s work, darlin’. I came here to relax.”

I placed his drink order in front of him. “Well, you’d better get started. That one’s on the house.”

He beamed at me, then tipped his hat. “Well aren’t you a peach?”

I turned my attention to the other dozen customers clamoring for drinks at the bar. That involved makingnineespresso martinis for the girls riding Whiplash Willie. When I finally finished preparing them, Eli had been joined by both SawyerandJohnny.

“Howdy, Sky Eyes,” Johnny said with a knowing smile.

Butterflies swirled in my stomach as I remembered the last time I had seen him. “Evening,” I said as casually as I could.

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