Chapter 9
CHAPTER
NINE
Titus
“I want to play some of the games. You see that,” Quinn says with too much excitement. A woman holding a big ass stuffed black panther passes by. “I want a panther like that.”
“And where would you put that shit?”
“I don’t know. I’ll figure that out after you win one for me. We are at the fair. That’s what happens. The man wins his lady a big stuffed animal so she can walk around flaunting it, causing other ladies to want one. It’s a vicious cycle but it’s traditional. Plus, this is my first carnival and I’m with a big man I know can win for me. I’m having fun this week. Let me enjoy myself and get my animal.”
After pulling her closer to my side, I kiss the top of her head. “You’re a hustler. You know that?”
“I’m a businesswoman who negotiates. Everything can be resolved with a little negotiation. It worked, didn’t it?” She smirks.
I stop walking then step in front of her. My arms snake around her waist and I invade all of her space. “It worked when you climbed yo’ fine ass on top of me and told me to bring you to this Midnight Madness shit.”
She raises her hand and thumbs the brim of my hat. “Told? Um, I’m pretty sure I asked you.”
“Asked, told. Same difference. You were naked. I would have agreed to anything.”
“Then let’s go get my panther. Which game?”
Her whole face is smiling as she looks up at me and she’s so damn pretty. In this short amount of time, she has me locked all the way in. If she wants a stupid ass panther, I’ll win it for her. I’ll do whatever she asks, real shit.
Since I made it to the finals and didn’t have to fight for a spot in the wild card competitions this evening, my next few days are open. The finals for tie-down roping are Monday and I’m this much closer to the sixty-five bands. After my morning practices and runs with Phoenix, I plan to spend as much time as I can with Quinn. So when she wanted to come here, I caved. After flipping her over and fucking again, we eased out of bed, showered and dressed, and came here.
After stopping a few women with the large panthers, Quinn finds out that the game is called The King’s Court. There are three of them on the grounds but the closest one is down by the livestock bidding tents. When we find it, there’s a crowd. The game set up is actually a vibe. It’s basically a basketball shooting game. They are playing music. A young man dressed like a referee is on the mic inviting people to play and talking shit when players miss.
There are five goals side by side. The four outer goals earn small prizes and the one in the middle is the money shot. Anyone that makes it wins the black panther she wants. The goals have to be rigged because more people are missing than making the shot. The tall brotha shooting now has the height of a baller and his form looks tight but he ain’t hitting shit. Finally, after five attempts, he aims and scores in an outer one. His girl isn’t happy with that little ass rabbit.
“Can you shoot?” Quinn asks.
“I’m no baller but I can shoot. It’s rigged though; it has to be. They kept missing them shits.”
“Well, maybe we should both try. It can’t hurt.”
“Can you shoot?” I ask.
“I can do a little something. My brother played so I used to shoot sometimes with him.”
“Nothing but net! So who’s got next? This is the King’s Court. Who’s brave enough to try?” the ref calls out on the mic. I step up and hold my hand out for the ball. “It’s five dollars a shot or five balls for twenty.”
I pull out cash and hand him a twenty. The small boy standing on the left side of the goals tosses me my first ball. Quinn stands to my right side, cheering me on as I aim for the money shot first. I’m not wasting my balls on other goals. I go hard in all things. Unfortunately, I miss.
“Ouch! That was ugly,” the ref taunts.
“It’s okay. We got four more,” Quinn counters. “Ignore him.” Lil man tosses the next ball and I miss that shit again. On the third try, the ball hits the rim but doesn’t go in. “Try the two outside ones next. If you win twice, I can trade up to the panther.”
“If I don’t make this shot. I think I figured this shit out. These balls are lighter than the regular ones, so I need to use less force when I throw. That’s all.” My theory fails because I miss the last two shots too. “Shit!’ I huff.
“Pop out this time,” the ref says but I ignore him.
Because I hate to lose at anything, I stay here and pay for five more balls. I fuck around and miss all five of them joints too. Now I’m starting to get pissed but I’m not stopping. I peel off another twenty, give it to this aggravating ref, then get five more balls.
“Let me try one,” Quinn practically begs.
Reluctantly, after catching the ball from lil man, I give it to her. “It’s real light so don’t throw it too hard. Aim high and avoid that backboard, that’s a set up,” I coach.
Although she’s modding like she’s listening, as soon as she throws the ball, I know she wasn’t paying my ass any attention. She palms it with both hands and her arms are raised above her head. She swings her arms a few times then releases it. That shit lands right in the hole, nothing but fucking net.
“Whoa! We have a winner, ladies and gentlemen. Looks like it takes a lady’s touch. Congratulations!” the ref yells as the crowd and Quinn yells. She’s jumping up and down too. All I can do is shake my damn head and laugh.
She did that shit! Put my ass to shame.
She rushes over to the ref and gladly accepts that big ass panther. The smile on her pretty face won’t let me be mad at all. At least she has her damn stuffed animal.
“You did that,” I admit.
“I know! I can’t believe it. Look at my panther. He’s so cute. I’m going to name him Titus,” she says.
“Please don’t. Now what are we going to do? We can’t ride shit with that. It’s too big.”
“We can make it work. Come on. I really just want to ride the Skyliner anyway.”
We leave The King’s Court and walk back toward the center of the fairgrounds. More of the food stands are there and I’m getting hungry. Since the damn panther is about half her size, I grab it and carry it for her. She hooks her arm around mine and we continue to the main part.
We stop at Monster Burger and I get the double burger with bacon. She gets a mound of cheddar spuds and we grab drinks. I get a Heineken from Big Ass Beers and she gets one of the slushies she likes. Then we get in line for the Skyliner. It runs on top of the entire fairgrounds from one end to the other. You can pay for a one-way ride or round trip. Since we are eating, I pay for the round-trip.
Skyliners have really upgraded. When I was a kid, they were just big ass seats with your legs hanging out. This one is so different. Each cable car is actually enclosed at the bottom and can seat up to four people.
When we step on, I place her panther on the bench then she sits next to it. I sit on the other side. As it inclines up, we finish our food. I look over at her and notice she’s shivering. She has on tight jeans and boots but her shirt doesn’t have any sleeves.
“You cold?” I ask.
“A little. It’s much cooler up here than I thought it would be.”
“Come here. I got you.”
“Can we unbalance this ride?”
“Quinn, it’s already unbalanced. It’s fine. Look up. There are over six cables holding us up.” After looking up and studying the cables, she stands and holds the rails as she steps toward me cautiously. “I know you’re not scared. You picked this.”
“Not scared, just careful.” When she reaches me, I unsnap my Amiri overshirt and drape it over her shoulders and back. “Are you going to be okay with just that tee?” she asks and I nod. Quickly, she sticks her arms into the sleeves and closes the top few snaps. “Oh, thank you.”
“So… no lap?” I ask.
“Every time I’m on your lap, we end up doing something freaky.”
“I don’t have any problems with that.”
“You’re so nasty,” she says, blushing.
“If you take them jeans off, I can show you nasty.”
“I got a better idea.”
She stands and steps between my legs. While resting her hands on my thighs, she eases onto her knees. With her eyes trained on me, she unbuckles my belt then my jeans. When she tugs at the top of them, I happily lift up and pull them down my damn self. She smiles and I can’t help it. My hands grip the back of her head and I lean in and kiss her nastily. As we kiss, her soft ass hands grab my shit and she strokes me until I’m hard as fuck.
When I release her mouth, she stares up at me. “You mind?” she asks, almost pleading.
“Nawl. Shit,” I groan. Looking at me like this, she can have whatever she wants.
Slowly, she licks the entire length of me then plants a soft kiss on the head. Next, she embraces my balls with one hand then uses her other one to guide me into her warm, wet mouth. I damn near growl when my tip hits the back of her throat. She takes me all in, gags a little but holds strong. Her eyes still stay focused on mine the entire time and I see them get bigger as she deep throats me.
“Fuck!” I groan as my head falls back.
The warmness of her mouth and the way she is deliberate with each of her movements is driving me fucking crazy. Then she starts slurping and moaning as she sucks me up. My hands grab the back of her head to do what, I don’t know, ’cause this is her show. She has me locked and this feeling is too fucking good.
“Mmmm,” she moans again, humming on my shit and I swear my dick gets hard as nails.
“Mmm shit, Quinn!” She’s giving me the best wet, sloppy but controlled head and this shit is making my damn head spin. “The fuck!” I groan. She’s a beast, no doubt. I’m about to bust already. “Shit.”
When she licks down my dick then sucks on my balls, I fucking lose it. I fist her long hair but she doesn’t let up. She’s chasing my nut and I’m going to give it to her. The moment she takes me back into her mouth, I hold her head and slowly fuck her face until I explode and she takes it all and swallows.
Gotdamn.
She lifts her head then swipes her hand across her mouth. “We can go after this ride,” she says.
Al-fucking-ready.
Every competition leads to finals. The more finals I place in and win at these rodeos, the higher my scores and the better my chances are of making it to the ultimate event in December, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR). It’s the grand finale of the rodeo season and the top fifteen in each event battle it out for championship titles, buckles, bragging rights, and a slice of a massive multi-million dollar purse.
Today is just one important step in my career. For today’s finals, the events are divided into timed events then rough stock events. Bull riding was first. With Destry out of the race, I lost interest in the event and didn’t bother to watch it. Barrel racing was next. The favorite, Lana Mitchell, took the prize as expected. Steer wrestling is finishing up now and I’m next. There’s only one person standing in my way for the win, Bronson Wilt. His eight point four got him to the finals.
“You got this,” Quinn’s soft voice utters. She’s standing beside me and her hand is caressing my back.
“Wilt and Cole,” the rodeo helper calls out. “Time for the toss.”
“Go, baby,” she says.
To determine which one of us competes first, there’s a coin toss. Wilt and I follow the helper out to the dirt. The commissioner has the coin and Wilt calls it, “Heads.”
The coin hits the dirt and Wilt is riding first. The announcement is made and the crowd cheers as we both walk back to the box. Wilt gets ready and I walk back to Quinn. She looks as anxious as I feel.
“You ready?” Lab asks and I nod.
I hand him my phone and he gives me the carrot. I place it in my pocket and hear the chute open. Wilt is riding. Quinn steps to me and just holds me. The entire arena seems to be counting.
“One. Two. Three. Four. Five!”
My heart races faster as the seconds increase. When I hear the audience yell nine, I smile. Then they stop.
“Nine point six eight,” the announcer calls out and I can’t stop smiling.
I can definitely beat nine point six eight.
Zoned in and ready to win, I kiss Quinn then walk into the box. I check the ropes on Phoenix, then mount her. “Let’s get this win, girl,” I utter in her ear then lightly pat her side. She neighs loudly. She’s ready too.
This is the moment. My time to shine. I don’t have to beat Wilt; I have to beat me. Eight point six seven is my goal.
The chute opens. The calf flies out and the moment he reaches the advantage point, I’m out. I’m focused on the calf and tying him down. I become deaf to the crowd and blind to the large numbers on the timer. I’m counting in my own head.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Hands up!
As soon as my hands are up, my hearing returns and the crowd is going wild. They are on their feet screaming. My eyes find the timer and I fall on my knees when I see it. Eight point five nine. Not only did I win, I beat my time and set a new personal record.
I hurriedly hop back on Phoenix and ride back into the box. Quinn and Lab rush in before I can dismount. They are both screaming and I want to scream my damn self. I fucking did it!
I can’t forget about Phoenix. When I finally dismount, I pat her face, kiss the top of her head, then give her the well-deserved victory carrot. Quinn jumps on me and I wrap my arms around her. I carry her out of the box. She’s still screaming and congratulating me.
“Baby! Baby! Oh my god! Oh my god! Eight point five nine. You did it. Eight point five nine. I’m so proud of you.” She grabs the sides of my face and peppers a thousand kisses all over my face. “You gotta go! They’re calling you,” she says before leaping out of my arms.
She’s right though. I need to get my buckle and check. I won!
She walks with me to the gate and when I walk out on the dirt, she screams like crazy. I’m already on a high but her excitement elevates me even more. Having her here for this moment makes it even better.
The presentation is quick but amazing. Doing something I love and excelling is a feeling everyone should experience. It’s wild and I love every minute of this shit. Seeing and hearing people cheer for me, seeing my name on the jumbotron, and holding my buckle and check are surreal. I’m legit floating as I walk back.
I step to the gate and just smile at Quinn. Her pretty ass is still cheering. I lean in and kiss her lips.
“Ms. Jaxson, you are cheering too much for me. People may be watching. I’m not the only person on the Jaxson Boot team,” I tease and she laughs.
Then she leans in closer and with her eyes trained on me, she says, “But you are the only one I’ve fallen for, cowboy.”