Chapter 21 Jude
jude
The Rodeo Circuit came through Monroe and if it had not been for Forest, I would have had no idea it was such a big thing.
When he found out about it, he ranted about it until he got Sam and I to agree to go with him.
The rodeo never appealed to me, but seeing all those men in tight jeans, leather and fringe, how the hell had I never seen the appeal?
“Next up, ‘Nash Yarbrough!’,” the announcer called.
“Oh man, this guy is amazing,” Forest said, looking towards where they had the riders. “He came out on the scene when I was working the rodeo, and he was damn good.”
“You worked the rodeo?” Sam asked. “Or did you ride?”
His voice grew husky, making me picture Forest riding Sam.
“Oh yes, please tell me you rode,” I said, putting my hand on Forest’s thigh.
“Would you like me to ride you, Princess?” His voice grew extra husky.
“Please, Daddy,” I groaned, leaning against his shoulder so no one would hear me.
“Goddammit guys, not here,” Sam snapped. “These wranglers are already snug. I don't need to give them a reason to be even tighter, but please ride one of us.”
“I did not ride, but I was a Ranch manager,” Forest said, putting his hand over mine and squeezing. “So, I took care of the animals, the arena and anything else the stockyards needed.”
“Please tell me you wore chaps at least once,” Sam said, as we saw Nash getting on the horse.
“I have before.” He grinned at me. “I’m sure I can wear them again if you ask really nicely.”
“I don’t just want you to wear them,” I said.
“Some fucking has to happen in them,” Sam said, putting his hand on top of Forest’s. “Lots of fucking.”
“You boys are bad,” Forest said, just for us to hear.
“Yes, bad for you, Daddy,” Sam said, and I shivered from his deep voice.
“And there he goes!” the announcer yelled.
We turned our attention to the arena watching Nash holding onto the horse for dear life. He expertly rode the horse, one hand in the air as his body anticipated each buck of the horse. Each roll of his hips was erotic, and this man was sexy as hell fighting for his life on this wild horse.
The timer went off and people cheered. Forest stood up and yelled for him.
Sam and I did the same, watching this man jump off the horse to get away from the wild beast. The clowns diverted the horse's attention, while Yarbrough took his hat off and waved.
Even from here, you could see his piercing, blue eyes.
“Good lord,” Sam said. “No wonder you like him, Forest.”
“He looks good in chaps,” I muttered.
“Yeah, yeah you can only look,” Forest growled.
Sam chuckled. “I don’t know, he looks like he—”
“Peaches, you better choose your words really carefully,” he snapped.
And, I was hard. Daddy Forest had that effect.
Sam smirked, leaning forward. I knew whatever he had to say was going to get him in trouble, and I was going to benefit from it.
“I wonder if he’s a part of the alphabet crew,” he said, biting his lip.
Forest’s nostrils flared. “Keep going, Peaches. My hand is feeling twitchy.”
“We could always ask—”
“Is that Iris?” I asked, watching a familiar blonde head of hair, walking with the hot bronco rider they were talking about.
“Oh shit, are they arguing?” Sam asked, craning his neck to get a better look.
“Your sister knows Nash?” Forest followed them as they walked towards the back of the arena.
“I guess so, but that doesn’t look friendly,” I said, watching him snarl at her and my protective instincts flared.
I immediately wanted to go protect her, but Forest grabbed my arm as Iris pushed his chest saying something back. She said something else before walking away. Yarbrough looked up, sighing before running his hand through his hair and walking after her.
“Oh man, that looked intense,” Sam said, returning his attention to the main arena.
“Yeah, that did,” I said, looking at the back of the arena, feeling uneasy about their interaction.
“Maybe a lover’s quarrel?" Forest suggested.
“I don’t think Iris is dating anyone,” I said.
“That you know of,” Sam said.
“I feel like she would have told me—”
“Have you told her about us?” Sam cocked an eyebrow.
I stayed quiet because I hadn’t. “I haven’t told anyone because we haven’t talked about telling people.”
“Maybe they haven’t either,” Sam shrugged. “Don’t rush her to tell you something she isn’t ready to tell you.”
“I won’t,” I said, feeling sad she hadn’t told me anything, but then I hadn't told her anything either.
I looked over at Forest who was looking at the arena, like we weren’t even talking.
A part of me wished he would say something like, let’s tell everyone, but I got the feeling that our situation wasn’t normal for him.
He didn’t do relationships, and he had said so several times.
We watched the rest of the bronco riders and then the barrel racers before heading back to Sterling Ridge.
The entire drive back, I yearned for someone to say something, but I guess we weren’t going to talk about that.
By the time we made it back to Sterling Ridge, we were starving and wanted a beer, so naturally, we stopped at the Boozy Bandit. To my surprise, in honor of the rodeo being in town, they decided to bring in a mechanical bull. It took up a lot of space, but it was a hit.
We got free entertainment as we ate and drank. Seeing everyone go up all cocky was hilarious and I loved when the men got knocked down a notch or two. There was nothing like a woman showing them how it was done.
“Awww, I see you enjoying the entertainment,” Iris said, giving me a hug.
She had on her Boozy Bandit Shirt, all of her irritation from earlier was gone.
“Hey,” I said a little too enthusiastically. “Uh yeah, we love it, especially after coming from the rodeo.”
“Oh yeah? You went to the rodeo?” She looked worried.
“I had to drag these two,” Forest said, putting a hand on my thigh. “They had never been, and I used to work at the stockyards in Texas.”
Forest squeezed my thigh in warning, but I needed to know.
“Oh, that's awesome,” Iris said, looking away.
“Yeah, we loved it,” Sam said. “We got to mostly walk around and watch the barrel racers.”
“Yeah, and—”
“We enjoyed the views, mostly,” Forest interrupted me.
“Those cowboys are delicious,” Sam said.
I glared at them.
“Oh, I know right. Those wranglers some of them wear should be illegal,” Iris said, looking a little less worried. “Well, let me know if you need anything!”
“That was rude,” I grumbled.
“Let her be,” Forest said. “She’ll tell you if and when she’s ready.”
I scowled, looking away. While I knew they were right, I was irritated by them.
What were we? I didn’t know why it bothered me all of a sudden.
Forest and Sam talked amongst themselves as I stewed on things I had no business stewing about.
I watched my sister working, wondering if she was in the same situation I was in.
Was it new? Did he want to keep it a secret?
Was he keeping her a secret for a reason?
Were Sam and Forest keeping me a secret?
“Princess.”
I startled when I felt Forest squeezing my leg.
“What?” I snapped.
“Are you ok?” Sam asked cautiously.
“I’m fine,” I said dismissively.
“You don’t sound ok,” Forest scowled. “What’s wrong? Are you really that upset about Iris?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I need to use the restroom.”
“Jude,” Sam said as I got up and headed to the restroom.
I hoped they didn’t follow me. I needed space and they didn’t need to see me like this because I didn’t even know what was happening.
The restroom was thankfully quiet as I did my business and washed my hands.
My chest felt tight and I rubbed it to ease my anxiety.
Why did this happen today of all days? Why couldn’t I just be casual like Sam and Forest?
Why did I care so much?
The door opened and a few guys trickled in. I walked out, taking a deep breath trying to get out of this mindset. Maybe I needed to go home.
“Hey, are you ok?”
I looked to my left and Iris was standing at the bar. The need to interrogate her was on the tip of my tongue, but I knew that wasn’t what was bothering me. I was projecting.
“Not really,” I said, before I could stop myself.
“What happened?” she asked, hugging me immediately. “Is Sam being an ass? I might be small, but if I take his knee out first, I might win.”
I laughed, hugging her back.
“No, just…” Did I dare tell Iris what was going on?
“Boy troubles?” she smirked as she pulled away. “Please tell me you're sleeping with both of them, or at least Sam.”
I scowled. “What?”
“Oh, come on. Y’all aren’t hiding it that well,” she chuckled.
“Seriously?” I glared at her.
“Well, you and Sam have been making heart eyes at each other for years, so here’s me hoping you've jumped in bed together,” she said, leaning against the bar. “But I see how Forest looks at you. It’s like he wants to show you who’s boss.”
My cheeks grew red immediately. “Iris.”
“Hahaha! I knew it. He’s got BDE,” she grinned. “Please tell me he’s got the equipment to back it up.”
“Iris Malone, I am not going to—”
“He does!” She looked too excited. “I’m jealous and proud of you.”
“Izzy seriously!” I couldn’t contain the smile she brought out of me.
“So, what's the problem?” she asked, getting serious.
I shrugged. “It’s stupid.”
“Your feelings aren’t stupid and judging by the way they keep glancing over here, they know something is up,” she said, and I had to stop myself from looking at them.
“I feel like a secret,” I mumbled embarrassingly.
“Have you talked about it?” She raised her brow.
“No, but—”
“Then you have no right to be acting like this if you can’t initiate the conversation,” she said. “Be a big boy, Jude, and ask them what this is. If they want to keep you a secret, then you need to ask yourself if you're ok with that.”
I knew she was right, so I nodded.
“Maybe they are just like you, waiting for someone to say something,” she said.
“Maybe,” I said, but I had a feeling they were fine with no one knowing about us.
“Don’t assume,” she said, bopping my nose. “Be a big boy and just ask, better you do that now, before things get more serious, right?”
That was the problem. It felt serious already, at least to me.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said. “Thanks.”
“You don’t sound better, but just talk to them,” she said, patting my shoulder.
“I just don’t want to ruin it either,” I said, finally looking over my shoulder at them.
They were watching the mechanical bull, but they no longer looked at ease.
“I doubt it, they look worried and that means they care,” she said, as they looked over.
Forest and Sam looked worried as we locked eyes.
“Are you ok?” Sam mouthed.
I nodded, watching Sam say something to Forest, who looked like he was about to get up, but Sam stopped him. I smiled, hoping that eased whatever tension I had caused.
“God, I’m so jealous,” Iris said. “Why do you get two hot hunky men and Theo gets two hot men and a hot girl.”
I laughed. “Maybe you’ll get yourself some hot cowboys or cowgirls.”
“A girl can dream for either,” she sighed.
“Then when you're all twisted up, I can tease you and give you advice,” I said. “Though can I make a request that you find a man who looks good in chaps.”
She rolled her eyes, running her hand through her hair, but I saw a flash of something in her eyes, and I hoped she knew she could trust me with whatever she was going through. When she brought her hand down, I realized she had a ring on her ring finger.
Was that a wedding ring?
“Oh my god,” Iris gasped.
I turned around to see Forest climbing onto the Mechanical Bull, watching me with a lot of hoots and hollering in the background.
“Oh lord,” I said, as my face grew hot.
I looked over at Sam who was whistling.
“I have a feeling this is going to be good, but go watch with your other man” she said, pushing me towards Sam.
The bull started to move as I made my way to Sam. Forest expertly rolled his hips, staring at me.
“I might make a mess of my wranglers,” Sam said, pulling me onto his lap.
“Does he want us to get a ticket for public indecency?” I groaned, as he rode the bull like an expert.
Flashes of him riding one of us had my cock getting hard instantly.
Forest took his hat off, holding it above his head and only holding onto the bull with one hand as it started to go faster.
Forest never took his eyes off us until he finally was thrown off the bull.
I think he let go on purpose, but I was so wound up I didn’t care.
“Jude, you keep moving and I’m going to bust a nut in my jeans,” Sam snapped, holding onto my waist.
“I need you,” I whined.
Forest walked to us. A few women tried to get his attention, but he only had eyes for us. My body was wound up tightly and only they could release the tension.
“Let’s go home, now,” Forest said, pulling me up.
He yanked me forward, capturing my lips in a kiss that I was not expecting. I gasped as he pushed his tongue inside of me. He kissed me hard, devouring me and leaving no question to whom I belonged to. Forest pulled away and Sam kissed him quickly before they both pulled me towards the exit.
I heard a whistle, seeing Iris hootin’ and hollerin’.
My face grew hot as I noticed other people watching us.
I guess I got my wish, we were no longer a secret and while I was embarrassed, I loved that they claimed me like this.
The information would spread like wildfire and soon everyone would find out.
“Get it, Jude!” Iris yelled, as one of her co-workers yelled with her.
My ears grew hot with the attention as Sam chuckled. I looked at Iris one last time before we left, noticing she didn’t have a ring on her finger. I must have imagined a wedding ring.