Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
juniper
Amix of earth, leather, and hot dogs filled my nostrils as we walked into the stadium where the rodeo was being held.
Crowds of people passed us in waves, shuffling in lines toward the arena.
I’d never seen anything like this before.
Sure, football games were busy at SGU, but this was on an entirely new level.
“How are you feeling?” Mikey squeezed my hand as we followed Colter, Ellison, Reid, and Isabelle to find our seats. Jake and Hayden were behind us, forming a whole convoy of cowboys.
“I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. It’s huge.”
He smirked as though I’d said an inappropriate joke.
When I picked up on what he was probably thinking, I rolled my eyes. “Get your head out of the gutter. You know that’s not what I meant.”
“You’re the one who said it, not me, Peach.” His smirk widened into a grin, the corners of his eyes creasing. “But, no, this is the biggest rodeo in the world.”
“You did say everything’s bigger in Texas, so I suppose I should have believed you.”
“Now you’re getting it. Just wait until we get to our seats. You’re going to love it all.”
We entered the arena, and my jaw dropped.
This was where professional football games were also held, so I knew it would be huge, but the space was completely transformed for the rodeo.
The floor was entirely covered in dirt with fences lining the edges in front of the stadium seats, and the bucking chutes were set up at one end of the oval with an open space at the other end.
“Incredible, isn’t it?” Isabelle looked at me with an amused expression.
“Where are we sitting?” I asked, looking around at the thousands of seats.
“Down there.” Ellison pointed to the section right in the front.
My eyes felt like they were bulging out of their sockets, and the girls must have noticed, because they started laughing.
“Best seats in the house, baby.” Mikey threw his arm around my shoulder. “Right up close and personal with all the action.”
When we walked down the steps to our section, murmurs rose from around us.
“Is that Colter Carson and Reid Lawson?”
“Wait, that’s Mikey Tucker! The bull rider!”
“Who the fuck is that girl with him?”
“I didn’t know he had a girlfriend!”
“I swear a month ago he was seen with a different girl?”
“He definitely wasn’t with her at the NFR last year.”
Self-consciousness prickled at my skin at the comments directed toward me. As if he sensed my discomfort, Mikey pulled me closer, rubbing circles on my arm. Then, to my own shock, he planted a kiss on my temple.
“I thought you didn’t want extra attention?” I whispered teasingly in his ear.
“Not when the comments they’re making are being directed at my girl.”
Even though I was sure he was only saying that to keep up the act, warmth burst in my chest at his comment. I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, looking down at my feet as a flush crept into my cheeks. “Thanks.”
“I’m going to protect you, Juniper. Just because you’re my”—he coughed—“girlfriend, doesn’t mean my reputation gets attached to you. It’s not going to follow you around.”
We reached our seats, and although the comments hadn’t ceased, I felt better knowing Mikey would stand up for me.
About twenty minutes later, the lights in the arena went low and spotlights danced across the floor. Pyrotechnics shot up fireworks on the arena floor and in the sky. The national anthem was played, but when it concluded, the lights stayed down low instead of coming back up.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another night of rodeo! We’ve got an action-packed night planned!” The rodeo announcer’s voice echoed around the arena. “But first, please direct your attention to the screens.”
A video of horses and rodeo athletes played as the announcer explained the significance and impact of bucking horses. My eyes were so focused on the jumbotron that I didn’t notice the spotlight fixed on the arena right by the chutes where a beautiful white bucking horse ran out.
The announcer explained that the horse was a great-great grandmother and had fourteen babies who were all born to be bucking horses.
Then one of those fourteen came out, the announcer continuing to say that she had five more babies.
Soon, more and more horses of all ages and sizes ran out onto the arena floor, showing several generations of this family of bucking horses.
Tears pricked at my eyes as I watched them run. I realized the significance of rodeo and these animals, and a wave of pride washed over me to be part of the special moment, even if I was only watching.
When the lights finally came back up, I wiped a stray tear. Looking around me, I noticed that several other spectators were also emotional. At least I wasn’t alone in that.
Cheers rose from the crowd as the announcer yelled, “Who’s ready for some rodeo? We’re kicking it off with bareback bronc riding!”
The first cowboy climbed onto the back of the horse in the bucking chute as rock music played in the background. In a split second, the gate was opened and the horse whipped out of the chute like a flash of lightning, kicking its hind legs, trying its hardest to throw the rider off.
My heart pounded in my chest until a buzzer signified eight seconds. A couple other men on horses rode next to the bucking horse as it galloped around the arena until the cowboy was able to grab one of the men’s arms and hop off the back of the bucking horse.
“Let’s give him eighty-two points, shall we?” the announcer called out.
“Is that good?” I asked Mikey.
“It’s not a bad score by any means. It’s out of one hundred, so the higher the better, but it’s not bad for the first round.”
I nodded in slight understanding. After watching a couple more, I thought I had grasped the idea of it. But then one of the athletes made it to eight seconds and still didn’t get a score.
“What happened there? He made it to eight seconds.”
“Didn’t mark out,” Jake answered from my left.
When I raised my eyebrows at him, he explained.
“When the horse initially jumps out of the bucking chute, your spurs have to be held above its shoulders until the front hooves hit the ground. If you don’t do that, you fail to mark out and don’t get a score. ”
I was still confused, and he must have picked up on it.
“Essentially, you hold your feet out in front of you until the horse’s front hooves hit the ground for the first time, then you can kick them back.”
“Ah, okay.”
The events went by fairly quickly. My favorite was probably the bronc riding or the team roping, much to Mikey’s dismay. He’d told me, “Just wait until the bull riding. That’s the real action.”
I was told the event right before bull riding was barrel racing, which was one of the few things I actually knew a little bit about.
“Ladies and gents, up next we’ve got a cowgirl hailing from the great state of Montana.
She’s running on Ace’s Lucky Charm. Let’s hear it for Sierra Bayley!
” The camera focused on a dark-haired girl whose horse turned in a few circles in the back of the alleyway before exploding into the arena at a run, hooves pounding against the dirt.
Her hair, tied back in a braid under her beige cowboy hat, flew behind her.
I looked over at the others. “Do you guys know her? Since she’s from Montana?”
Isabelle and Ellison shook their heads.
Colter gave a noncommittal shrug. “Heard the name a couple times, but I don’t know her, no.”
Reid followed with a similar sentiment, but Hayden’s face had turned white as a sheet. He looked like he was on the verge of throwing up and quickly excused himself.
“What’s his deal?” Mikey turned his head toward Hayden’s retreating figure. No one knew, so we all turned back to the arena as she rounded the last barrel and her horse sprinted home.
“Fourteen-point-six-seven seconds!” the announcer cried out as the camera focused on her once again, a small smile creeping into her cheeks at the recorded time.
“Do you need anything from concessions?” Mikey patted my knee as he stood.
“No, I’m okay, thanks.” I shook my head.
When he left, Isabelle moved over into his seat. “So, how are you liking it so far? Pretty fun, isn’t it?”
“I’m enjoying it much more than I thought I would,” I admitted. On the rare occasion I’d go to a rodeo with Ava and Brady, I usually spent the time on my phone, not caring to watch the events. I’d count down the minutes until we could go home and get away from the dust and crowds of people.
“I can relate to that. I hadn’t gone to many rodeos before Ellison met Colter and before I met Reid. But now I can confidently say I’m hooked.”
“You could say she got roped in to all of it.” Jake nudged me playfully as he wiggled his eyebrows, a goofy grin on his face.
“Ha ha, you’re so funny,” Ellison deadpanned.
“I mean, they thought it was funny.” Jake gestured to Colter and Reid, who were chuckling quietly.
“They would.” Isa scoffed. “They’re team ropers, of course they think it’s funny.”
“I’m a roper, too,” Jake pointed out.
“I don’t know if that helps your case,” I muttered.
Isa smiled. “See, she’s on our side.”
“Does she really get a say, though? I mean, she’s dating Mikey.” Colter laughed.
I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t see how that has anything to do with this. Why do you guys give him so much shit anyway? He’s not that bad.” I tried to keep my tone neutral, but the way they always made fun of him kind of annoyed me.
“To be fair, he wasn’t like this a couple weeks ago,” Ellison suggested. “Maybe he’s changing.” She looked at the others, giving them a bit of a pointed look, and they quieted down. “It’s a good thing. He needs someone to rein him in a little bit.”
Too bad I wasn’t going to be the one to do that, at least not long-term. I still wasn’t exactly sure what Mikey’s motive in all of this was, but I didn’t really care. I had my own agenda, too, and I knew he and his friends would see me differently if they found out.
Rule number four: no feelings.
Mikey came back just before the last barrel racer started her run, holding a hot dog and a large soda. “You guys were nice while I was gone?”
“Your girl actually told us off,” Reid told him, and Colter nodded beside him, affirming what happened.
“What do you mean?” Confusion shone in his eyes.
I shrugged. “I just said I didn’t understand why they give you so much shit, because you’re not that bad.”
Something like gratitude flashed across his features, but then cocky arrogance overtook them. “Well, she’s right. I’m the best. You guys would be lost without me.”
Why does he do that?
Before I could say anything, the lights in the stadium went low again, and the announcer introduced the bullfighters and the rodeo clown who would be protecting the bull riders.
Mikey leaned forward in his seat, eyes trained on the arena as the lights came up again and the first bull rider matchup was read out. He had a fire in his eyes. A passion that I wasn’t sure could be extinguished any time soon.
The bull thrashed in the chute, knocking against the gate.
On the big screen, the cowboy set himself on the back of the bull and adjusted his grip on the rope.
Once he was ready, he nodded and they opened the gate.
The bull spun and kicked right off the bat, but the cowboy held on as cheers from the crowd drowned out all the other noise in the arena.
Clouds of dust rose up on the floor as the bull switched directions, kicking its legs out behind it, doing whatever it could to throw the man off its back.
Eight seconds felt like an eternity before the buzzer finally went off. He jumped off the bull and scrambled out of the arena as the bullfighters distracted the bull and guided it out of the arena.
“You do that for a living?” I hadn’t realized I’d said it out loud until the words were already out of my mouth.
“Sure do, Peach. And I’m damn good at it, too.”
After the rodeo concluded, the goal was to get out of the stadium as quickly as possible, avoiding the media and any rabid fans who saw us walk in.
Things hardly ever went according to plan, though, and right as we stepped out of the arena, a reporter stopped us.
“Mikey! Who do you have with you tonight? Is this your girlfriend?” she asked as she shoved a microphone in his face, a cameraman standing next to her. “Or is she just another one of your flings?”
I wasn’t sure if he meant to or not, but Mikey flinched beside me.
Annoyance flared in my chest, traveling up my throat.
I didn’t think. I just defended him. “I’m not just a fling.
I’m his girlfriend, and my name’s Juniper, thanks for asking.
” With that, I pulled Mikey, still frozen in shock, away from the reporter as she called after me, drawing attention from everyone around us.
“Mikey! How long have you two been together?” someone else yelled from our right.
“Where’s she from?”
“Are you going to drop her after Houston like you do every other girl?”
Fuck. That was cold.
Soon enough, everyone in close proximity to us had their phones out and were snapping pictures.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered in a panic. “I just wanted to help.”
He sighed as we continued walking. “It’s all right, Juniper. I appreciate you standing up for me. We’ve got a new problem on our hands now, though.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“People are expecting us to break up after Houston now, so we’re going to have to play this out longer than planned.”
Even though we’d planned for this—accounted for the media inevitably talking about us—it still came as a shock. I hadn’t expected everyone to think we’d immediately break up or that I was just a fling to him. Perhaps that was naive on my part.
“Oh…well, that’s fine, right?” I didn’t sound too convincing. I wasn’t sure if I could have convinced myself with that tone.
He responded with a small hand squeeze. “We’ll make it work.”
@therealbucklebunny: Did you see the girl Mikey Tucker was with tonight at RODEOHOUSTON?
@roughyforlifee356: Don’t expect this one to last that long
@ropingandriding.podcast: We plan on getting the full scoop on this. Stay tuned, rodeo fans.