Page 131 of Spur It On

I remembered part of last night, but it stopped before I'd finished that bottle of vodka. I was pretty sure there'd been a second because I had patchy memories of drinking myself stupid with Emilio. Granted, the fact that I was safe in a hotel proved Renato had been right. Emilio was a good wingman, even if we couldn't hold a decent conversation.

But my inspection made it clear someone else was here. He'd pulled the blankets up over his head, so I had no idea who. One thing was clear, though. That was where the pillow had come from, since one was missing from that bed.

Well, regardless, I smelled like shit and felt worse, so I needed a shower. I vaguely remembered someone picking me up in the lobby - it was in bits and pieces, but I knew it had been a bull rider. I would've said Renato, but he wouldn't be back on tour until next weekend.

So I headed for the bathroom. One long piss and a very hot shower later, I realized I had nothing. My truck was still at the bar, and my bags and gear were locked inside it. I'd cleared out of Cody's room last night, skipping the awards to make sure no one could stop me.

I didn't want to wear the same clothes, but I had no other option. Pulling on my jeans from last night, I crumpled up my riding shirt and walked out of the bathroom to an arm holding a t-shirt in my face. It was attached to Jake.

I groaned.

Of all the people to pick me up when I'd hit rock bottom, of course it was Jake. Fuck! If this weekend could get any worse, I couldn't imagine how. I also really didn't want to bitch about it and set off Murphy's Law, so I said nothing.

"Your shirt stinks, you're probably hungover, and I need a shower too," Jake informed me.

"Right," I said, taking the shirt.

"Sounded like you were talking to Doc Stephens a sec ago?"

"Yep."

Jake just nodded, leaning his shoulder against the wall. "Ok, so that's not something you want me to know. Gonna bet you'd also rather I forgot everything you said last night about Cody. Making a real wild guess I definitely shouldn't bring up Tanner's name, right?"

"Fuck." I pushed past him, deciding I should get my boots and get the hell out of here.

"And your truck is back at the bar," Jake went on. "If you let me get clean, I'll give you a ride to get it. You can even come back and change into jeans that aren't covered in bull if you want."

I spun back to face him. "Why the fuck are you helping me?"

"Because last night, you were at rock bottom." He lifted a brow, daring me to deny it. "Because whatever happened isn't as private as you wish. How much do you remember, Ty?"

"Too much," I grumbled.

He nodded. "Ok, well Cody, J.D., and Tanner showed up. Half the Tough Enough series saw you take a hit and not throw one back. A few of us heard some words being thrown around about you and Cody. Means there's a story, Ty, and it would've only gotten worse if you'd been hauled off to jail for public intoxication last night."

"Shit." I dropped down to sit on the foot of the bed. "I'm so fucked."

"Lawyer type?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Girl with a crazy boyfriend type."

Jake smiled. "Which one?"

That was enough to make my head snap up. Sadly, that made my brain throb. "What?" I demanded.

"I know you're talking about Cody," he assured me. "The question is if 'crazy' means Tanner or J.D."

"J.D.'s not her boyfriend."

"You think he knows that?"

"You forget about Tanner?" I shot back. "Pretty sure that if there's anyone who can match J.D., then it's the one guy who takes more hits."

"Good point," Jake agreed. "So then why was J.D. ready to kill you last night?"

I grunted, turning my attention on the t-shirt in the hopes that Jake would give up and go take his shower. Instead, the guy smiled knowingly.

"Ok, so how about I try this another way," he said. "I'm not your arch-nemesis. I don't fucking steal your girls. You do a damned good job of losing them on your own, but when they come to talk to me, I don't push them off."

---