Chapter 48
The guy who'd grabbed me staggered back and cowboys rushed in - but not Jake. Instead, he turned to check on me, but I saw Ty, Jackson, and both of the bullfighters moving to surround the man who'd tried to yank me around.
"Are you ok?" Jake asked, putting himself between me and that mess.
"Shit," I breathed. "Yeah. I'm good." Then I staggered sideways slightly.
He caught me, but the cowboy was roaring at the men around him. "I just wanted to fucking dance with her! Goddamn! Get the fuck off me!"
"You do not touch the Pbr's sweetheart!" Ty yelled back.
"She is ours," Jackson snapped.
Isaac just laughed in a way that sounded a little insane. Combined with Jorge standing beside him, arms crossed over his chest, and his jaw set like he was ready to throw down? Yeah, that cowboy decided he'd just fucked up bad and tossed his hands up.
"Fine! Lesson learned. Fuck!" And he turned to leave.
Jake simply turned my face so I was looking at him again. "You sure you're ok?"
But that made me giggle. "Jake, I've had like four shots of whiskey! I'm fine."
"More than fine," Ty said as he moved in to join us. "Ok, boys. Fun's over." Then he looked back at me. "C'mon. I'll play bouncer while Jake gets you another drink."
"Oh, a margarita?" I begged.
"Your wish," Jake told me, "is my command."
He moved toward the bar, but Ty draped an arm over my shoulders and turned me the opposite way. I wasn't quite sure where he was leading me - or how I felt about that whole mess back there - but I didn't fight him.
"So, sweetheart?" I asked, deciding that was the safest thing to ask.
He flashed me that sexy smile he had. "Cody, I don't know how to break it to you, but lately, these guys have started to think of you as our little spectacle. Ours, Cody. Not one up for grabs."
"Oh."
"And give Jake a chance," he said, lowering his voice.
"Jake?" I asked. "We're friends."
"And we both know it doesn't need to stay that way. Cody, he's into you. He also respects you, J.D. thinks he's trustworthy, and he's not a dumbass like me."
"Oh," I breathed, not knowing how else to respond to that.
Because Ty had been a dumbass. He'd been an overprotective, overbearing, and overly-possessive dick, if I was honest. But since he'd just stood up for me, I didn't really need to be that honest with him.
"But I'm with Tanner," I said instead, because that line seemed to work for me.
Ty chuckled. "Mhm. Yeah, in case you forgot, I know exactly how that works.
All I'm saying is Jake's been doing a lot of talking about you.
How well you ride, how brilliant you are, and all the things a man says when he thinks highly of a woman.
That he's saying it to me means he can't stop thinking about you.
So, this is me proving I really can be friends still. "
"Thank you," I breathed, tossing my arms around his neck.
Yeah, ok, maybe I should've stopped with the words. And maybe the whiskey had made it a lot easier to be kinda impulsive. Still, hearing Ty wanted to be friends? Not that he was just accepting it, or had settled for it, but he wanted my friendship?
He laughed as he hugged back, but it was in that awkward way meant to keep me at a bit of a distance. "Easy there, cowgirl."
So I leaned back to look at his face, surprised I couldn't really focus on him well. "I mean it, Ty. Thank you for being you."
He murmured, then peeled me off him. "And here's that drink you wanted. She's a bit tipsy, Jake."
"Figured that out when she started shooting whiskey," Jake said as he reached my side. "Table here, Cody. Sit, and you can have this."
"A margarita, right?" I asked, since that was what I'd requested.
"I think tipsy might be putting it mildly," he teased when I flopped down on a chair. But then he pressed a cool glass into my hands. "Cody, are you a lightweight?"
"Mhm," I agreed, bending in to sip at the straw in my drink. "I'm better than I used to be, but J.D. makes sure I get home. Unless he's been drinking, then it's Tanner."
"And if it's all of you?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Nope. Someone's gotta drive. But lately, no drinking. J.D. gets me stoned instead. Works better."
"I bet," he agreed. "I go with Advil. I'm a wuss like that."
"Yeah, you are," Isaac said as he joined us. "You good, Cody?"
"Yep!" I agreed, rocking my head upwards to try to see him.
"Oh, she's going to be fun," Jorge said, proving he was here too.
But then I saw Jackson lean over Jake's shoulder. I couldn't hear what he said, not with the music in here, but Jake patted his arm and nodded. The pair shared one more look, then Jackson left.
I kept sipping, enjoying my drink as the men talked around me. Tanner was right about one thing, though: Jake was cute. He wasn't sexy like J.D. or Ty. He wasn't pretty like Tanner. Jake was charming and handsome and wow, his shoulders were broader than I'd realized.
No, that had to be the shirt he was wearing. The one that was so tight it could've been painted on. I liked the color for him too. I was used to seeing him in his signature blue and grey, but this color? It really made his lips stand out, highlighting the natural color.
Oh, and he had nice lips too. I thought that just as my straw started sucking air. With an annoyed little huff, I pushed the drink back. That hadn't lasted nearly as long as I'd expected.
"Ok," I said, looking up. "Where's Gustavo? He was gonna dance with me."
"Gustavo!" Jake bellowed.
"Ei!" the Brazilian rookie yelled back.
"Cody's free," Jake told him.
A moment later, Gustavo hurried over, but Jake caught his arm. The pair shared a look, then Gustavo offered me his hand, bowing over it like some kind of medieval gentleman.
"Darling?" he said, putting on his best American accent.
I scoffed. "I like the Brazilian better." But I let him lift me out of the chair and lead me to the dance floor.
"It's Portuguese," he reminded me.
"Nope," I decided. "The accent is Brazilian. The language is Portuguese." And then I stepped on his toes.
Gustavo huffed, but he also laughed, proving he didn't mind. "Damn, Cody. I think we've found one thing you suck at."
"Mhm!" I agreed. "Tanner makes me dance good, and J.D. doesn't care."
"Didn't figure they would," he assured me before tapping my nose with one hand. "Girl, you are drunk."
"Oh yeah," I said, leaning back because I knew he'd hold me up.
That was sorta like being dipped. It also made the room spin a bit, and I could do without that. But as Gustavo two-stepped me around the little dance floor, he didn't try any spins. Nope, we kept it nice and simple right up until the music changed to the next song.
"Drink." That was Jake's voice.
I turned to find him offering two drinks. One was water. The other was in a bottle like a beer, but had bright colors on the label. Oh, that was a Mike's!
"Water first," I told him, taking a big gulp of that. "Now this one!"
"Take that," Jake told Gustavo, handing him the water.
So I turned to face Jake. "Dance?"
"Yes, ma'am," he agreed.
And the smile that claimed his face? Oh fuck me, he had dimples! Two of them. Even better, his smile was just a little crooked.
I had my bottle in one hand. That one was tossed around his neck. The other was on his shoulder. Both of Jake's hands were on my waist as he sashayed me around the dance floor. The touch was light. Delicate.
I liked it.
I just liked all of this. I couldn't get enough of how these bull riders made me feel tonight.
It was like I belonged. Not because I was J.D.
's rookie. No, this was all the things I'd assumed were going to be impossible.
These men didn't mind me being here. In truth, they made me feel like I was actually wanted.
"I made it," I said, holding on to Jake's neck to lean back and sway again.
"Easy there, rookie," Jake teased even as he held me up.
"It's like being dipped," I said.
"And you're spilling your drink."
"Pssh," I said, proving how little I cared. "I can afford to buy more! I made it, Jake."
"Made what?" he asked.
"Mm..." I paused to giggle. "It. I can afford to buy more, and you bought me one, and the guys too because they don't hate me. I'm good. Fuck, I'm so good, even if the judges don't agree, and Tanner's back, and tonight is amazing!"
"Yeah, it is," he agreed, sounding like he wasn't sure what I was talking about, but willing to placate me.
So I straightened up and tapped his nose the way Gustavo had done with mine. "Don't be like that, Jake. You have dimples."
"I do," he agreed, showing them again as he grinned at me.
"See!"
"And I know how to dip a woman," he warned before doing just that.
I squealed a bit. I also clung to his neck, but feeling those strong arms of his holding me up?
Ok, that was fucking hot! Yep, I could get used to this.
I was the Pbr's sweetheart. I was right where I belonged, and J.D.
was probably being thrown into a bed right about now, so there was no reason I shouldn't have some fun of my own, right?
"You," I told Jake when he lifted me back up, "are kinda cute."
"Oh yeah?" he asked, shuffling me along again.
"Mhm!" I tossed my other arm around his neck, leaning in because it was easier to let him handle my weight. "And you have grey eyes."
"Pretty sure you can't focus on my eyes."
"Nope," I agreed. "But I saw 'em. It was back in...." And I made a raspberry noise as I tried to remember. "Don't know, but they match your hat."
"Which is why I picked the hat," he agreed.
"And you walked me to the truck," I said. "And opened the door. And closed it!"
"Just being a gentleman, ma'am."
"But your accent is boring," I said. "You sound all proper and smart, not like me."
"No, Cody, you sound pretty smart too." He chuckled. "Well, usually. More when you aren't drunk."
"Hey!" I slapped his chest playfully. "I deserve to get drunk."
"Yes, you do."
"And I deserve to have fun. My boyfriends - "
He pressed his finger over my lips. "That's not the word you want right now."
But I was more focused on the gentle way his finger pressed against my lips. Deciding to be naughty, I nipped at it, catching the tip of his index finger between my teeth. He didn't pull away so I shifted closer, wrapping my lips around it to tease him a bit.
Jake's feet paused and he gently removed his finger from my mouth. "Cody..."
I couldn't help but notice how his voice had gotten lower. Rougher. Yeah, ok, maybe I was starting to figure men out after all, because that? I was pretty sure Ty was right. Jake was into me, and I really liked how that felt.
Because I had no reason not to, a lot of alcohol convincing me I was invincible, and the whole world spinning around me gently, I went for it.
Tonight, I wasn't the one who needed to hide.
I wasn't hated or being chased off. I felt like I was on top of the world, held in the arms of a sweet, sexy, and rather amazing man.
So I kissed him.
The arm with my drink tightened on his neck.
The other hand slid against the back of his head to tangle in his hair.
A little tilt of my head meant I didn't hit his hat, and since I wasn't wearing mine, I didn't have to worry about it.
Nope, I could focus on his mouth. That sweet, blush-colored mouth with those really nice lips I just wanted to taste.
When my lips met his, Jake's fingers tightened on my side. I pressed more, flicking the tip of my tongue across the seam of his mouth, but this wasn't working the way I wanted. He wasn't kissing back! He wasn't trying to devour me or scoop me up.
Instead, Jake gently pushed me back, separating us.
"Cody," he said softly, "your timing sucks."
"You were supposed to kiss me!" I insisted.
He just palmed the side of my face and shook his head. "No, I'm not. You, cowgirl, are drunk, and real men don't take advantage of drunk women."
Well, fuck.