Page 139 of Spur It On

"Should be," J.D. said. "I had my phone on silent, so I missed a call from Doc. Haven't called him back yet."

"Do that," I told him as I tilted my head for Cody to lead the way.

Together, we headed out. I slipped an arm around her waist, and she leaned in. That was enough to make me puff up just a bit. It was silly. All the guys on tour knew she was with me. Hell, I'd made a damned fool of myself to make sure of it, but feeling her get closer like she honestly was into this? It had an effect on a man.

But when we got into the truck, she moved her gear out of the way, then turned to watch as I drove. What I didn't expect was for this girl to be just as blunt as J.D. I should've, but her question caught me completely off guard.

"So you and J.D. are official now?"

"Uh..." I huffed something kinda like a laugh. "Yeah, um, I think so."

"Sounded like it when I was in the shower," she said. "Oh, and so you know, the walls aren't that thick."

"So you heard everything?"

She turned back to look at the road, but there was a little smile on her lips. "No, but I heard some. Ty." Her smile faded. "And you saying you're riding to Iowa with the bullfighters."

"And did you hear why?" I pressed.

"So you can work things out with them?" Her tongue darted out over her lips. "And to give J.D. a push."

"Mostly the latter," I assured her. "I think you both need some alone time, and I'm being a good boy to cheer you two on."

"But does he..."

"Oh, don't even," I groaned. "Yes! Oh my god,yes, Cody. He's into you. You're into him. He's got a crazy nice dick, is a little wild in bed, and you know he'll treat you right. The two of you!" I grunted, making it clear what I thought of their insecurities. "Too much alike!"

She actually giggled. "Ok, good point," she relented. "Tanner, I'm just scared I'm going to fuck something else up. I mean, I feel like I'm a bad-luck charm."

"You're not," I promised. "Ty's an idiot. He fucked up, and I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself." I glanced over to make sure she heard that. "Proud, Cody. Don't get me wrong, I like Ty. If you decide to give him a second chance, I promise I'm not opposed. Just putting that out there so you don't have to worry about it."

"No, I'm good," she assured me. "I know that type of bull rider a little too well."

I murmured, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "And the judges were assholes this weekend. Here's the problem with that. So long as you stay on for eight, they can only do so much. And if they're cutting your scores down that far, well, the bulls are taking a penalty too. Pretty sure it won't be long before stock contractors are complaining."

"Because of the Unleash the Beast competition?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yep. There's big money on the line for the top bull. Right now, Disco Breakout, Without Ado, and Speed Bump are all up there in the running for it. So don't let them rock you, Cody. That's what they want. They're trying to show that you're too much of a girl, too soft, too emotional, or things like that. They want you to give up, so don't."

She nodded, letting me know she'd heard me, but she didn't reply. Just from the way she'd pulled her legs up under her, I could tell this was all getting to her. I also didn't blame her. Being the first at something wasn't easy. Blazing a trail was a good way to have everyone focus their best attempts to knock her down.

We arrived at the arena sooner than I really wanted. I angled the truck to the wrong side of the parking lot, right beside one of the many entrances. This was the building they'd told her to head to, and there was no reason for her to walk the whole way here from where I'd put the truck.

"Hey," I said. "Look tough, Cody Lane."

The sound of her middle name made her roll her eyes, but I was hoping it would also be a little bit of a reminder. Her father had named her for the two best bull riders in history. She didn't need to be soft and sweet. She needed to prove she was better than her own name.

"You going to be in sports medicine when I'm done?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I'll probably head over and watch you glare at the camera the way the guys do. Make faces to see if I can get you laughing. Maybe even talk the photographer into giving me a copy of one to keep in my wallet like a very whipped man."

"Tanner!" she groaned, but it was around a laugh. "Ok, fine."

Then she leaned over and kissed me quickly before getting out. I waited while she collected her chaps and vest, then kept the truck in place until she was all the way inside. Maybe it was stupid, but this was the closest I could be to a good boyfriend, and I needed a bit of a refresher on that.

I hadn't been with a girl for a very long time. Not fucking, but actually dating. Not since high school, if I was honest. Not since before I ran off to become a clown in the rodeo, which definitely sounded like some kind of fucked up country song.

But once she was gone, I parked J.D.'s beast of a truck in a place it wouldn't draw too much attention, then headed to find the Doc. If I was honest, it wasn't just our test results I wanted to know about. I was kinda hoping Anthony would be around to give me a couple of pointers. He wasn't quite as limited on what he could talk about as Doc.

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