Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Bax used to love staying at hotels while they were on tour.
Once upon a time he’d never have missed an after-party or a buffet.
Now hotels were kind of a logistical clusterfuck.
Jason had to get in and out without other cowboys or fans bothering him.
There was no sitting at the bar, going to the restaurant—and the after-parties? Jesus Christ, what a nightmare.
“You ready to go in?” Jason asked.
“I am.” He just needed to put on his happy face.
“Good deal. Let’s do this.” Okay, Jase was in fierce mode.
That was usually good and bad. They hopped out of the truck, which was where AJ Gardner met them. “Howdy, boys.”
“Hey, Aje. What’s the lay of the land?” Jason held one hand out to shake.
“Pretty busy in there. Mostly older fans instead of buckle bunnies, so be careful.”
“Right. Registration straight ahead?”
“Yep. I’ll buy you a beer later, huh?”
“Yeah. Yeah, sounds great.” Jason smiled, grabbed his duffel and pulled his hat down. “Let’s do this.”
“Works for me.” Bax would tell Jason who to acknowledge. “I’ll do the check-in. You want to sit in the lobby?”
“That’s prob’ly my safest bet, huh?”
“Yeah.” Bax led Jason to a chair, letting him ease down before dropping the bags at his feet. “Be right back.”
“I got this.”
Bax sure as shit hoped so, because there were two old men heading over to talk to Jase. He had to let Jason do this, though. Had to. If Jason couldn’t fool some fans, he would never work the big show.
He checked in, forcing himself not to look back over and over. No, Mini had to get this down. This was the easy part. Jason knew how to bullshit, knew how to listen. He could do this.
When Bax finally got their room key, he turned around to find Brian Taggart standing there with the two old guys, laughing, and Jason was smiling.
Relief flooded him, and he found himself grinning.
He wandered over. “Bri, good to see you.” He shook hands, then offered a hand to the nearest older gent. “Andy Baxter.”
“Oh, damn. The whole world is here. I’m Parker Malloy. I’m pleased to meet y’all.”
“Same to you, sir.”
The other feller stuck out his big paw. “Tom O’Dell.”
“Mr. O’Dell.” He shook. “Are y’all here for the bull riding?”
“We are. Figured we might as well.”
Bax loved how casual that sounded.
“I think it’ll be a good event.” Jase nodded, keeping his dark glasses on.
Brian chuckled. “You got the best safety man in the business, at least.”
Jason grinned slow. “Oh, is Adam here?”
“Little fucker.” Brian flipped Jason off. “He’s working the big show.”
“Mmm, where the real bull riders go.” Bax laughed at the expressions on the fans’ faces. “We tease because we care.”
“Are y’all riding to get back up there?” O’Dell asked, and Andy was shocked as hell to see Jason nod.
“I just have a few events, and I’m in the money.”
He sucked in a deep breath, hoping it didn’t show. He thought they were doing a whole season down here…
Wasn’t that the plan? Had Jase been planning shit without him?
He bit his tongue. Bax would jump Jason in the elevator.
“Good deal. You’re a natural. I always put money on you when you ride.” The old man was sharp, eyes watching everything.
“Thank you, sir. You ready to take the bags up, Bax? AJ wants to buy us that beer.”
“Nice meeting you,” Bax told the others. “Brian, see you in a bit.”
“I’ll holler and come up.”
Jason stood, nodded, and grabbed the bags.
Bax moved in, he hoped unobtrusively, to help guide Jason on the way to the elevators.
“Did I do okay?” Jase whispered.
“You did.” That was the truth. Jason had rocked it.
Jason beamed at him, and the elevator dinged open. Jason waited until the doors opened, tilting his head as he listened. Bax let Jason go through, thankful no one else was with them, and Jason seemed confident as hell, heading into the elevator.
The door slid closed, though, and Jason sighed. “That was good, right?”
“Uh-huh. You really planning to level up?”
“I think I’m going to have to try soon. I can’t keep fooling folks for years. I’m not there yet, though.”
“No.” That was true enough, he supposed. He needed to talk to Coke.
“We need to be able to get help, Bax. You know? We have to, so that I can be with you, where I’m worth something.”
What? “You’re everything to me.” He guessed he got it, though. A man had his pride.
“I know, but you didn’t take me to raise. I want you to be able to…have fun. I want us to be able to relax together.”
“Okay. I can get that, Mini. Not to mention, you win a few and Ace Porter will call.”
Jason rolled his eyes, which Bax had to admit he’d guessed by the eyebrows, because he couldn’t tell in the dark glasses. “Yeah. Gramps says it’s already come up a couple of times.”
“Shit.” Okay, so they had to step up the plan. They could do this.
The elevator beeped and they headed out. There were people in the hall, talking loudly, and Jason’s steps faltered.
“Excuse us.” Bax let Jason focus on his voice, which made it easier to track, and thank God, Jason nodded and followed. “We’re in six-o-four, man. I hope that’s near the ice machine.”
“Me, too. I hate to trek for an hour.”
“Jason! Hey.” The voice was familiar, but Bax had to turn to look to see who. Bonner. The kid had helped Coke out a lot back when he’d broke his neck. Right.
Jason tilted his head. “Hey, Bonner?”
“Yeah. How goes it? I haven’t seen your ass in a month of Sundays.”
“I been working my way back up.”
“Good deal. We’ve missed you. You, too, Andy.”
Bax made a wry face. “Gee, thanks.”
Jason chuckled softly and shook his head. “Bax is still recovering.”
Right. Recovering. Try retired. His leg was held together with baling wire and duct tape. Lord knew it wouldn’t even hold his weight some days, especially when the weather was bad. Not only that, but Mini was his full-time job.
They said it was good when someone loved what they did.
“There’s a bunch of us going for a beer tonight, if y’all want to come,” Bonner offered.
“Been a long day of driving. We’ll see, huh?” Bax would let Jason decide, but Jason had a rep for staying in anyway. There was no way Mini would be out at a loud bar. No way.
“Yeah, give us a holler.”
Andy could see Mini’s tension in the way he held his lips.
“We’ll see,” Jason murmured. “Later, man.”
“Later!” Bonner bounced off, and Jason drew in a deep breath.
“Two more doors.” Bax took Jason’s elbow to guide him to their room.
“Two more doors.” As soon as Jason got in, he relaxed, damn near melted.
“See? You did grand.” Bax hugged Jason tight.
“Thanks. I managed okay, huh?”
“You did. If they don’t got room service, I vote for pizza.”
“Pizza works for me.” Jason leaned into him. “Christ on a pink sparkly crutch, it’s hot in here.”
“Let me get the air going,” Bax said, hunting for the wall unit. The damn thing was turned off, and he turned it to high.
“Oh, I can feel that already.” Mini grinned and lifted his face toward the air.
“I know, right? Man, they just make these rooms so hot.” He watched Jason strip off his shirt, giving him the view of that perfectly flat belly, the trail to glory that was for him and him alone.
Bax stifled a moan. Mini needed to rest up for the event, not have hot monkey sex. Right?
Jason tilted his head, listening to him. Hearing him.
Bax grinned. “So not fair, you hearing so much better now.”
“Mmm. I like your sounds. Knowing what they mean and shit.”
He drifted over to Mini, his hands itching to touch. “Yeah?”
“Uh-huh.” Jason’s eyes closed and he breathed in deep, a smile starting to cross his face. “I can smell you, too.”
“Can you? Do I smell gross?” Travel could do that.
“No sir. You smell like mine…and horny.”
“Oh.” Bax chuckled, then swooped right in for a kiss.
It still made his balls draw up, every single time.
This was real and he needed it bad. He hated that Jason was blind, but he was grateful for this love every day.
Every single one. Jason stepped into him and groaned, one leg pressing in between his thighs.
“Hey, you.” He said it against Jason’s mouth.
“Hey, Bax. I want you.”
Oh, didn’t he love those words in Jason’s voice?
“Good deal. I want you, too.” He took another kiss, then another, shutting out everything else.
Jason stripped him down like nothing going, the fine son of a bitch not the least bit clumsy, those fingers knowing just what they were doing. This, they had practice at. Lots of it.
He watched Jase like a hawk—the expressions that crossed Jason’s lean face fascinated the living fuck out of him.
It was like before everything had been a lie, everything had been hidden away—and now he could see anything he wanted.
It wasn’t true. He’d seen Jase staring at him, lusting after him before, but he hadn’t been brave enough to reach.
Not before he’d known that Jase might well and truly leave his happy ass.
Now he held on with both hands. This time he kissed hard and told Mini how he felt.
He could feel that hard heat, the pressure against his thigh that proved Jason’s need. Bax rocked against Jason, his moan coming right out loud now. That felt so fine.
“Mmm. Mine.”
“Well, duh.” Who else’s would he possibly be?
“Not romantic.” Jason pinched his hip.
“Because romance, that’s me.” He spun Jason around, his cock grinding into that sweet bubble butt.
“Dancing with me.”
“Uh-huh. You know how I like to dance.” Bax could cut a rug.
“I do.”
He slid one hand down, letting his thumb catch on Jase’s hipbone and the rest of his hand just frame all that goodness behind Mini’s zipper.
“Uhn.” Jason rolled his hips, grinding a little.
Dancing. That was what they needed. A dance. A fuck. A nap. In that order. Bax swayed, then turned Jason, leading him around the room a little. Music? They didn’t need no stinking music.
Of course, he’d take it when Jason started humming an old George tune. Damn, that sounded sweet as fuck. He did love those moments when Mini sang. Maybe that would be Jason’s second career, huh? His Mini, country music sensation.
Bah. He wanted a ranch with some waterfront and a shit ton of cattle and dogs.
Bax turned Jason to face him and broke into a two-step. Jason smiled and let him lead, the motion easy as breathing, which was a dumb goddamn thing to think, because suddenly he couldn’t. Suddenly he was fighting to suck in air because they were dancing.
“You okay?” Jason reached up to stroke his cheek, his hand steady as could be.
“I am.” He wasn’t, but that wasn’t Mini’s fault.
“Cool. I like this.”
“Me, too.” God, did he. He loved the feel of Jason sliding against him, loved the smile Mini wore. Loved how Jason believed in him, without question.
They wound down to a waltz, and the urgency had slid past now. Oh, they’d love on each other, but it could wait.
“You really thinking to move up, Mini? For real?”
“I only got so much time, Bax. I cain’t hide this forever.”
“I know. I just hate it’s not fair to you. You should be able to let people know. Other than that, I’m behind you one hundred percent.” Always.
“Momma would say life’s not fair.”
“She’s right. It sucks. But I got you here. Now.”
“You do. Praise God and Greyhound.”
“Yep.” He kissed Jason’s temple. “Dance with me a little more?”
“Until you’re tired of it.”
“Never that.” He swung Mini around. His bad knee could go fuck itself.