Chapter 63
I heard what Cody told the press, and she wasn't wrong. The fact that Wes, Jackson, and even Ty had joined in? Yeah, she was teaching a few of these boys that being tough wasn't the only power they had. They could be smart too.
But that score had me pissed. The sort of rage that burned cold, because I knew it a little too well. This was my father's doing. This was how he'd always gotten his way, and it was time to put an end to it. Fuck him, and fuck trying to not be an embarrassment to him.
Donald Merrill hated being pushed into a corner. He always used that as an excuse for his bad decisions or lashing out. Well, I was his son, whether I wanted to be or not, and it was time for my old man to see what it felt like being on the receiving end of this shit.
Because I'd won tonight.
Oh, not just me. Ties were rare in the Pbr, and they were only really possible on the first day of an event, yet somehow Ty and I had managed to pull off the exact same 90.
5. Mine had given more points to the bull than me, but it didn't matter right now because the closing ceremony of the night would put the winner up on that bullpen, which meant both of us.
And I had a plan brewing.
"You ready for this?" Ty asked as he came down to where I was still waiting.
The reporters had cleared out, wanting their space in the arena for the ending bullshit. If they were lucky, we might walk close enough for them to get one more interview before the end of the night. Usually they weren't, but they always tried.
The bull riders were all making their way into the warm-up area to strip off their gear and find a bar.
All day, there had been an enthusiasm behind the chutes, but watching them?
This wasn't just the dejection of losing.
This was heavier, something piling up. While I didn't have a name for that thing, we all knew what it was.
So I looked over at Ty. "I'm going to make a scene."
"Good," he said, "because that's my plan too. They fucked over Cody long enough."
"Now they're going after J.D. for being gay?" I huffed. "That's not ok, Ty."
"None of this is ok!" he shot back. "This is fucking bullshit!
This is them thinking we're their bitches to bend over as they want.
They're in charge, so we should all shut the fuck up and take the check, right?
" He turned and punched the gate I was leaning against. "J.D.
fucking pointed out the hypocrisy. I can fuck as many girls as I want, and that's fine.
Cody has two boyfriends, or those men happen to be into each other, and nope. That's 'wrong' somehow."
"But Wes said it better," I told him. "It's not their business."
"But they think they can just push out anyone who isn't the kind of man they approve of," Ty growled. "And who the fuck are they to make that decision? The fucker who has a bastard he's still trying to hide? The one who was a fucking meth addict?"
"Sousa," I said, proving I'd heard that rumor too. "Yeah, but he's clean now."
"And good for him," Ty said, "but he wasn't when he was riding. Oh, but that's different, right?"
And that little plan of mine was getting clearer. "Ty?"
"Hm?" He turned to me, pushing out a breath like he was trying to calm down.
"What if they can't tell who to hate?"
His eyes narrowed. "I'm not following."
So I pushed myself away from the gate and actually stood up. "What would you do to help Cody and J.D. with this?"
"And Tanner," he added. "I didn't know him as well, but I respect that guy."
"But how far?" I pressed.
"Far as I can?" He made it sound like he was guessing.
"Like, would you run naked through the arena?" I asked. "You know, get embarrassed for a while because it keeps coming up over and over, and once it's online it doesn't go away?"
"If I could see how it'd help," he said, "then sure. Because I don't give a shit about what anyone else says about me."
"Do something gross?" I asked next.
"What are you getting at, Jake?"
So I told him my crazy thought. Surprisingly, he didn't hate it.
He did, however, have some ideas about how to make sure we couldn't be ignored.
And while the arena cleared out, Cletus told his closing jokes, and the bullfighters got into place for the closing ceremony, we worked out our devious plan.
Then we were up.
"And tonight!" the announcer bellowed. "In the Pbr, it's rare for two riders to receive the same score, and yet these two managed to do it. Two different bulls. Two different men. In the end, we're proud to announce that tonight we have a tie for first place between Jake Cunningham and Ty McBride!"
One of the stewards pulled open the gate we were beside, and the pair of us walked out.
The camera got all up in my face first, then moved over to focus on Ty beside me.
I took off my hat, lifting it at the crowd.
Ty didn't. He simply glared, not afraid to let his anger at the bullshit tonight be seen.
Then we jogged up the ramp set so we could get on top of the bullpen. There, Cletus was standing with a microphone. From the back side of the arena, a pair of buckle girls were making their way over in the skimpy attire their sponsor made them wear.
"Well, well, well," Cletus said, moving over to Ty. "How'd you let this happen? Ain't he the newcomer here?"
"Not by much," Ty said into Cletus's handheld microphone. "Jake's been pushing my buttons for a few years now. Besides, he's a good rider, and he rides clean. Every time he gets on a bull, he has his head in the right place."
"And you don't?" Cletus asked.
"Nope," Ty said. "I get distracted by all the politicking going on in the Pbr. Gets me all riled up so I can't even think straight."
Cletus was nodding too much, like he was a bumbling idiot. Then again, that was his act. But when Ty didn't give him anything else, he turned to press that microphone into my face. "And you, Jake? Aren't you supposed to show the rest of them up?"
"Nope," I said. "That's fine in elementary school, but we're grown men now. We've learned how to work together and cheer each other on."
"Oh-ho!" Cletus said. "Sounds to me like these tough guys might even be friends. Are you two friends?"
He shoved the mic at me again. "Yep. Real good friends."
"That's what they call it now, isn't it?" Ty asked.
"Well, I mean, they used to say 'just friends,' I think," I taunted.
"And you both made an impressive 90.5 tonight!" Cletus said, clearly changing the subject. "You think you're going to be able to top that tomorrow?"
"Might," Ty said. "Might not. Depends on whether or not the Pbr still thinks I'm man enough to get a fair score."
Cletus quickly turned away from him, making it clear we were pushing this just a little too far - but he hadn't seen anything yet.
Instead, he gestured to the buckle girls who'd made it up and were heading over to us.
Each one held a wooden box with a little silver buckle in it.
I had a few of those already, and I was sure Ty had a ton of his own.
That was when the announcer took over. "To present the winner's buckles tonight are the Monster girls.
With these scores, Ty McBride moves into an overall world standing of third place, and Jake Cunningham has just edged into fourth.
Let's give our dual first-place winners a hearty round of applause! "
Immediately, the crowd began clapping. A few stood and cheered. I could hear whoops from men and squeals from the ladies. What I didn't do was react to it. I was counting on Cletus keeping to the general concept of what he always did.
On the dirt below us, Tanner, Jorge, and Isaac were standing around like arena decoration. They'd already been given their kudos for their work, but couldn't leave until this mess was over. And while the crowd cheered, I dared to look at Tanner, finding him watching me suspiciously.
The women came over - one to each of us - and passed over the buckles, then posed for a photo to be taken.
I was careful not to gawk at the one standing beside me.
I certainly didn't wrap my arm around her waist like the winners usually did.
Sure, she was cute, but that wouldn't help me at all right now.
"Thank you," I said when she let go and moved to leave. "Have a good night, ma'am."
She looked back with confusion on her face, but didn't stop. Across from me, Ty was smiling like he'd just heard the best joke. Then, finally, Cletus asked exactly the question I needed.
"Well, well!" he said, moving closer. "Now that you're both the big winners, what are you going to do to celebrate?"
"This," I said, stepping around him to grab Ty by the side of the face and push my mouth against his.
He didn't jerk back. Instead, his hand was on my arm, holding me there like he needed to figure this out - and he kissed back.
Open mouth. Tongue. The whole thing. I tried to pretend he was a girl, but that was not happening.
Nope, this was weird, and not my thing at all, but I absolutely refused to think the word gross.
But I pulled back quickly. Ty huffed, like he was thankful for that. I had a feeling he would've kept going as long as I had, just to prove he could, but nope. That was not my thing. I was clearly not into guys, but the silence in the arena spoke volumes.
"Well, ok!" Cletus said. "So, should we take this as a sign you two are off the market now?"
"Hell no," Ty said. "Haven't you heard? We've just figured out that being real men means not being afraid of anything - especially each other."
Then I stepped in. "If the Pbr is going to punish riders for their private lives, then we'll make it all public, right?
If they want to pick and choose what is acceptable, and what we should and should not like, then we'll make it clear we don't follow rules well.
" Then I turned to look up at the sound booth at the top.
"And if they think their attacks are a secret? Well, we have secrets too."
"What's that American saying you people have?" Ty asked. "United we stand..."
"Divided we fall," I finished. "This is what happens when bull riders unite. Figure out who's gay, Mr. Merrill, because we can all do this. And if you're worried about what the sponsors, the fans, or the public will think?" I smiled.
"Then ain't no one gonna be thinking much!" Cletus said, fanning his face. "Whoo-weee was that something steamy I didn't expect. Now let's all give our boys a little yeehaw so they don't need to give us none of that no more!"
And the crowd called back "Yeehaw!"
It was lame and stupid, but I was very much aware that Cletus hadn't tried to negate our statement. Instead, he'd given us the space to do it, and let it stand for what it was. Sure, he'd ended the segment, but that was good. I wanted to get the fuck out of here right now.
Eventually, the lights dimmed on us. The ones on the chairs brightened, and we could leave.
I hurried for the ramp, jogging down it, but Ty's longer legs made it easy for him to catch up.
Deciding to be a prick, I dropped my arm around his waist. He chuckled, then draped his over my shoulder so the pair of us could walk off the dirt like that.
And over at the side, Tanner was watching us. Yeah, I'd have to do some explaining, but I hoped he'd forgive me. Hell, I'd hope he saw this the same way I did, so I jerked my chin his way, hoping for some reaction.
He lifted his back - and the smallest smile curled one corner of his mouth. Then, as if that hadn't mattered at all, he turned back to his bullfighters and headed off in the opposite direction.
So I leaned in toward Ty. "Please tell me that was as weird for you as me?" I asked.
"Yep," he said. "No offense, but you don't kiss like a girl. I'll also be glad if I never have to kiss you again..." And he glanced over. "But I will if I have to."
"For them?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said. "I think I'm starting to figure out what it means to be a good man, Jake. This? Risking our own pride for our friends? Caring about people for more than what they can give us? That's pretty much it."
"And doing something about it," I said. "Even if it's a bad try, we should at least do some trying."
"I'll drink to that," he told me. "A lot. Mostly to wash the taste of you from my mouth."