Page 35 of The Chances We Take

Gretchen Wilson kept singing in the background as Ellison sat on the bull. The operator was obviously taking it easy on her, having the bull move practically at a snail’s pace.

“Hey, operator! She’s arealcowgirl, how about you treat her like one!” Erin yelled at the man, who looked like he’d never touched a horse in his life.

He shrugged and cranked up the machine.

“Shit!” Ellison shrieked as she gripped the rope tighter, holding on with her legs, and moving with the machine as it rocked back and forth. “What the fuck, Erin?”

“Come on! Have some fun! It’s your last night of freedom!” I teasingly scolded her, earning myself a scowl.

“You’re next, then!”

Oh, shit.I was going to need a few more shots before that could happen.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

reid

The boys and I were out at Rudy’s again, killing time while the girls were all in western Montana for Ellison’s bachelorette party.

Colter was mapping out the Montana rodeos we’d be competing in for the next few weeks before the wedding. We normally didn’t compete in the smaller ones, choosing to travel to a larger circuit, like Wilderness, for the chance at the bigger prize pots. But instead of being on the road, we’d be weekend warriors until after the wedding.

It wasn’t a big deal, though. There were large enough rodeos near the end of the Montana circuit, like the Home of Champions, Livingston Roundup, and the NILE. If we won those, we’d still be fine in the world standings.

Jake, Mikey, and Hayden didn’t have to travel with us—they could travel on their own—but they still chose to. That was the way it had been the past few years. We always went on the road together—a band of brothers. A family.

“Next week is that super small town, right?” Hayden asked.

I nodded. We’d be heading over to Cascade County next weekend. I hadn’t been to a rodeo over there in years, but it still had decent prize money. The weekend after, we’d head to a rodeo just outside of Billings and also celebrate Colter’s bachelor party. Needless to say, we had a busy month ahead of us; the Livingston Roundup took place over the Fourth of July holiday, and the wedding was the weekend right after.

My phone started vibrating in my back pocket, the specific heartbeat vibration pattern telling me Isa was texting me.

Isa

*video attachment*

I opened the text, finding a video of her riding the mechanical bull at the bar they were in. Whoever recorded the video was screaming in the background, and the filming was a little shaky but what I needed to see wasall clearto me.

Her blonde waves flew behind her with every spin of the bull, and it took a whole lot of willpower not to stare at the curve of her ass or the swell of her breasts in her low-cut top.

Fuck.I shouldn’t have been having those thoughts about Isa, or be looking at her in that way. But even if my mind knew we weren’t together, my dick sure didn’t. It had a head of its own, literally, and I discreetly tried to adjust myself before any of the boys noticed. The last thing I needed to do was explain why I got a boner from watching a video of myfriendriding a mechanical bull.

I resorted to putting my phone back in my pocket and tried to find my way back into the conversation the boys were having about the upcoming rodeos. That planquickly failed, though, because my phone vibrated once again.

Isa

like what u see?

Yes. A little too much.I tried to think of a response to send to her.Play it cool, Reid.

Looked like a natural out there. Those riding lessons must have paid off.

Yeah, because that’stotallycasual. And couldn’t be taken inany other context.

Isa

ridig horses and that fake bull was definitely fun but i can thik of sumthing else that would b fun to ride

Are you drunk right now?

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