Chapter 3
CHAPTER
THREE
Titus
I’ve made too many fucked up decisions in my life but walking Phoenix to the front of this store isn’t another one. As soon as we break the corner, my eyes spot the back of a thick ass, fine ass woman. Even with the long black hair hanging down to her ass, I can clearly see her slim waist, ass sitting just right, and her thicker than day old grits thighs. I can’t take my eyes away from her and when she lifts the jack out of the trunk, I swoop in and ask if she needs some assistance.
Her head turns and she glances back at me . Damn! Her face matches the body; she’s pretty as fuck. Her peanut butter skin looks smooth as butter and lickable. Shit!
“Um…I’m…No, I think I got it,” she stumbles out, voice sounding sultry and sweet.
After shortening Phoenix’s reins, I coax her closer to the curvy beauty. When we are just a few feet away, I tie my girl to the light pole near the BMW then step to Thickums. She’s still holding the jack so I reach out to grab it. She doesn’t let go though.
“There’s no need for you to get dirty when I’m here. Let me do this,” I tell her.
Her eyes examine me from the rim of my hat down to the steel toes of my boots then she glances over at Phoenix. With a smirk on her pretty face, she stares those beautiful, dark eyes up at mine. Something in them feels familiar but I don’t know her. I’ve never even seen her before because if I had, she would already be mine.
“A real live Black cowboy coming to my rescue. It’s definitely rodeo season,” she says while smiling. Then she laughs as she finally releases her grip on the jack. “Be my guest and get dirty, Mr. Cowboy.”
“Titus,” I correct her. “Now, can I have your name?”
“Quinn.”
“Bitch, I spent so much money in there. This truck stop has every damn thing. Look at this cute little boot shot glass,” a woman says as she rushes over to Quinn. When she stops long enough to see me, she gasps. “Oh shit! Where did you come from? Titus Cole,” she adds, saying my whole government.
She recognizes me.
I shouldn’t be surprised though because this rodeo shit is crazy. The fan support is real and some of them will follow us from rodeo to rodeo during the season, especially the women, the buckle bunnies. If you are a winner and have a championship buckle or are close to one, they be on your ass.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” she asks while looking at Quinn, instead of me.
Holding up the jack, I state the obvious, “About to change her flat.”
“Obviously. My bad. I just…we just…Hell,” she sighs then steps to me. “I’m Taarini, her loud friend. Nice to meet you.”
She holds her hand out for a shake and after shifting the jack to my right hand, I shake hers. “Nice to meet you.”
“And please don’t think I’m creepy. We are heading to the rodeo in Millers Pointe. I recognize you from the website. Bull riding, right?” she asks but because of how her eyes shift to Quinn, I think she knows I’m not no damn bull rider.
“Tie-down roping.”
“Oh that’s right. Roping.”
“Yeah. But let me get this tire done so y’all can get to the rodeo in time. Excuse me, Miss Quinn. I need to get your spare.”
Quinn steps back and I remove the tire from her trunk. “It’s this back one,” she says, pointing to her shredded passenger tire.
“Do you need something out of your ride before I jack it up?”
“Yeah, my phone.”
She rushes to the driver’s side and I walk to her tire. It’s fucked up but the rim looks straight. After placing the tire and jack on the ground, I kneel down and run my hand over the rim to confirm it’s not cracked or bent. When Quinn walks back over to me, holding her phone, I start changing her tire.
“Can I touch your horse?” she asks.
“Her name is Phoenix and she’s not a pet. I compete with her, Plus, she’s not friendly,” I explain. “You can touch me though.”
“Not cute,” she scoffs but when I look up, I see her smiling. She wants me.
When her friend hands her a drink out of her bag, I get back to the tire. As I’m jacking it up, I see Lab walking over to us. He’s holding a bag as full as Quinn’s homegirl. I see him pull out an apple, no doubt for Phoenix. Without even acknowledging the ladies, his rude ass pulls a Gatorade out of his bag, then holds it out to me. He tries his hardest not to bend too much because of his injury, so I reach up and grab the bottle.
“Thanks,” I tell him.
Quinn and her homegirl just stare at him and he keeps ignoring them. That’s his thing, especially when we are on the road. If he thinks the women are buckle bunnies, he shows them no attention, but he’s wrong this time, at least about Quinn. Babygirl clearly isn’t a buckle bunny. Her style, her ride, and even the subtle diamond bracelet on her wrist and the diamond hoops in her ears scream classy not trashy.
“I got Phoenix an apple too. I cleaned it,” he says before walking over to Phoenix.
“Your friend is rude,” Quinn says.
“Very,” her friend adds but I don’t miss how she’s hawking my cousin with her eyes.
“He’s just quiet and he’s my cousin, Lab. I need your wheel locks. Can you check back in your trunk?”
“Yeah,” Quinn answers.
When she steps back to the trunk, Lab walks back over. He stands next to Quinn’s friend. I can’t remember her name. I’m too focused on fine ass Quinn. She’s the only one I want to know everything about.
“Well, hey, Lab,” she says.
“What’s up, ma,” he replies cooly and I know he’s checking for her. He calls any female he has his sights on ma.
“Taarini but everyone calls me Rini.”
“You the one that did this?”
“No. This is Quinn’s BMW and her tire. But she didn’t do this either. We don’t know what happened.”
“Looks like y’all ran over something. That tire is fucked up.” He slightly kicks the lug wrench to get my attention. “Is the rim fucked up too?”
“No but I don’t know how though,” I admit. Quinn returns with the wheel locks and kneels down next to me. Her sweet scent fills my nose. She smells good as hell too. She hands me the pack of wheel locks. It clearly hasn’t been opened. “Is this new?” I ask, nodding toward her ride.
“Not really. I’ve had her for a year.”
“Her?”
“Yes. She’s a badass woman like her owner,” she says with a smile.
“I don’t doubt that.”
She opens her hand and her keys are in it. She does something to her keychain and a small blade appears. Using it, she opens the wheel locks for me.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?” she asks but there’s no doubt in her tone. This is her attempt to talk to me and be all up in my space. I’ll answer what the fuck ever she asks.
“Fa sho’ I do. I can promise you I’m very good with my hands.” My eyes roam her body and I can almost feel my hands on her thighs. Shit!
“Then show me,” she says teasingly. “And hurry up. I think Phoenix is getting tired of being tied to that post.”
“I got you but she’s good.”
I quickly unlock and remove her lug nuts, remove the shredded tire and replace it with her new spare. Surprisingly, she stays kneeled down with me the entire time, helping by passing me the lug nuts and wrench when needed. As we work, Lab finesses her friend.
“I feel like I should pay you or something. The stupid BMW app still has an ETA of an hour and you’re already done,” she says when I stand. “Thank you so much.”
“I couldn’t leave you out here with that tire like that. What kind of man would I be?”
“Like these other nig…ones,” she huffs then grins sarcastically, almost to herself but I catch it.
We walk back to her trunk and I place her jack, wrench, and wheel locks back inside. She grabs a pack of wipes from the small compartment in her trunk and passes it to me. I gladly take the pack and use several to clean my hands.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. But look,” she begins then presses something on her cell and pulls a card out of the back. She passes the card to me and I read it in disbelief.
“Quinn Jaxson, Director of Branding, Jaxson Boots. Sexy and with brains. I like that shit,” I admit and I swear her pretty ass blushes.
“Because of you, I’m going to make it to the barbecue tonight.” She closes her trunk then steps a little closer to me. After placing her manicured hand on my chest, she stares into my eyes. “Tonight, let’s talk. We would love to sponsor you,” she says before stepping back. “Be careful on the road and see you at the rodeo.” She blesses me with her beautiful smile then walks to her door. Her shoulder intentionally brushes mine when she tries to pass and I lightly grab her arm.
“A feral horse couldn’t keep me away from you,” I tell her.
With amusement and curiosity in her eyes, she asks, “What’s feral?”
“Me.” I smirk then let her arm go. I walk over to Phoenix, untie her, then start toward my ride. Lab is right behind me.
“I can’t hold ya but see what I always say, bad bitches always run in pairs,” Lab says as soon as we’re back in my truck.
“Quinn is more than a pretty face and banging ass body though,” I admit as I replay the last thirty minutes in my head. She’s living in it and I can’t stop thinking about her. “She gave me this.”
I place Quinn’s business card on my middle console then start my truck. He grabs it and slowly reads as I pull off. I glance his way while I check my side mirror. He reads the card again then shakes his head.
“Damn! Jaxson muthafuckin Boots. That shit landed right in your lap. Getting them is huge so you know what that means.”
“What?”
“Hands off. I saw how you were looking at her. That’s all that shit can be, looking no touching. You need their sponsorship more than you need your damn dick wet. You need another training horse. You can work Phoenix too much and another horse trainer would be nice too.”
“I got this. I know exactly what I need.” And I fa sho’ need her. I meant what I told her. There’s nothing that can keep me away from her, not even Lab’s words or a potential sponsorship.
“Alright, nigga. I said my piece. I would do anything to be in the position you’re in. You’re competing, ranked, and one of the biggest sponsors in rodeo just landed in your lap. For so many, that’s a dream. Hell, it was mine. An accident fucked me up. Don’t fuck yourself up.”
“Trust me, cous. I got this. I’m going to make the best decision for me,” I tell him and he nods.