Page 53 of The Wildest Ride

Securing his attention, she made a quick cut motion with her hand at her neck, the universal sign for “cut the bull, I can fight my own battles.” To which AJ responded with a shrug and a grin. As she’d wanted, though, he stepped back.

With more space between the two, and made into a group by the presence of Sierra, the lingering threat in the air dissipated. No longer was it a case of two rivals fighting over a single woman. It’d turned into a regular double date.

Smile growing, with lots of teeth aimed in Hank’s direction, AJ shook his head and said, “So sad, a man trying to put strong women against each other.” Leaning back against the bar stool, AJ crossed his arms over his chest with a sigh. “Insecure if you ask me. Now, I look at these two phenomenal women, and there’s no question. Sierra Quintanilla, rodeo queen extraordinaire, is the undisputed first lady of the rodeo, and Lil Sorrow, sweeping in and embarrassing cowboys like the grim reaper of rodeo dreams, is the Empress of Arena. Both of them are blessed with crowns.” He uncrossed his arms to give a little chef’s kiss, to the loud delight of the less-trained men in the room.

Beside him, Lil closed her eyes and sighed, but the cowboys in the bar devoured the drama like it was candy. Hooting and hollering, whistling, and jeering, mostly at Hank, though his friends loyally jeered at AJ, the rest of them stomped and ordered more rounds, their attention on the foursome breaking apart as they separated back into smaller groups.

Sierra might be the show’s hostess, but AJ was as much a master of the scene as she was, and if monikers were being thrown around for Lil, he was going to have the last word on it.

No longer the direct center of attention, and with no more blows about to be come to, the four of them stared at each other.

There was no reason to remain clumped together as they were, other than the fact that without hitting anything, and without a bull in sight, AJ was left with the fight lingering in his blood, bubbling and rolling, and nowhere for it to go.

“I propose a drinking game,” he said.

Sierra spoke first. “Yes!” Immediate and a tad breathless.

Lil, as expected, shook her head. “Not for me, thanks. Not one for games.”

Hank laughed, thinking she was joking. AJ laughed, knowing she wasn’t.

“You play tonight. The prize I claim for ousting you from the top spot.”

Lil crossed her arms in front of her chest and lifted an eyebrow. “We never made a bet.”

“Now that’s not very sporting, Lil,” Sierra said quickly, her eyes on AJ.

At her side, Hank nodded. “Never pass a chance to make a fool of Garza.”

Lil laughed, shaking her head. “No thanks. I’m not much for drinking, either, so the only fool I’d be making is of myself.”

Their conversation had once again caught the attention of greenies and the camera crew. Zeroing in on their quartet, they in turn alerted the rest of the bullpen cowboys.

Lil’s face set, and AJ was impressed, knowing that no amount of peer pressure, not the whole bar nor the Closed Circuit contract she’d signed was going to make her drink now.

She began to shake her head, opening her gorgeous mouth to say as much, when Sierra broke in with a bright, artificial laugh. “Oh, Ilovegames! Why don’t we just play without her.”

Lil’s mouth snapped shut, her eyes narrowing, and AJ almost laughed. He didn’t think it’d been her intent, but Sierra’s words had been exactly what hypercompetitive Lil needed to hear. The woman might not like games, but she sure as hell liked to win. Almost as much as he did.

Eyebrow arched, she said, “I’ll play, but just one round. We have a show tomorrow.”

He grinned. For the second time in a row, he’d beat her, and the feeling just kept getting sweeter.

The game was as simple: rodeo trivia. Answer the question right, no drink—answer the question wrong, drink. Complexity wasn’t his point. Snagging Lil’s attention, hooking her into the fun in a way even she couldn’t resist, that was his game. Fortunately, just like him, he knew she couldn’t resist a chance to show off around the rodeo. And if he got to make a fool of Hank along the way, so much the better.

15

Eyes opening, Lil wasn’t sure when one round had turned into six, or where her things were, but when all was said and done, one thing she was absolutely certain of: she was the undisputed champion of rodeo...trivia.

And just like in the real competition, winning had been a near thing, with AJ on her heels the whole time.

Things had started easy enough. She set off strong, peacocking her knowledge with an air of sober remove, the last player to take their first drink, lasting rounds longer than anyone else.

Sierra had bowed out of the game first, which was predictable. The Closed Circuit might be a rodeo like no other, but that didn’t mean there was any room for rodeo queen’s gone wild—especially not the hostess of it all.

Cowboys, on the other hand, could be as bad as they wanted to be.

Lil, Hank, and AJ remained, locked in competition, their game of trivia a fierce microcosm of their dynamic in the circuit. In a particularly heated moment, it occurred to her that when the two men weren’t chest puffing and posturing, the three of them made for excellent competition, each one dedicated to rodeo, in the arena and out.

---