Chapter 76
I saw Cody, J.D., and Tanner leave while I twirled Braden around the dance floor, explaining to him how the two-step worked.
When he was sure he had it, I told him to lead, which proved he was good enough.
Around the edges, I saw a few people pointing at us.
Plenty were laughing, but since many of them were riders, I wasn't worried about it.
But it did make me realize what things must be like for J.D.
and Tanner. They couldn't do the normal shit I'd always taken for granted.
The weight of the stares and pointing hands?
Hell, I would've chickened out if this man hadn't just made it clear his company was paying hundreds of thousands for us to keep fighting. That? It gave me an excuse.
And my pussy ass needed one.
When Braden was sure he had this dancing thing down, I traded with Jake, and pulled Rhaven up against me.
Yeah, she was definitely a woman. Her tight shirt proved she had curves.
Her shorts showed off some damned nice legs.
I knew she'd been born a boy - however the right way to say that was - but she'd grown up into one hell of a lady.
Not really my type, but more because of the black lipstick than anything else.
But these two? They made me realize how much further I had to go in my little quest to be a good man. I was pretty sure I'd upgraded to "decent man" lately, but I wanted to earn that "good" title.
"Hey, Rhaven?" I asked before giving her a little twirl.
She giggled, proving she was loving this. "Hm?" she asked when she was back up against my chest.
"Since your company is going all-out, what are the chances you can get like thirty-one shirts fit for bull riding, but maybe in rainbow?"
"For?" she asked.
And I gave her my best panty-melting smile. "Oh, maybe to make a stink in Anaheim."
"I'll make you a deal," she told me. "I'll make the shirts happen, but I need two things from you."
"Name 'em."
"First, to get the right sizes." She waited for me to nod in agreement. "Second," she said, "I want to put a voodoo doll on your chaps. Sign with Deviant, Ty?"
"Ma'am, I like how you negotiate. There's just one problem with all this. Seems I need to talk to a guy first."
"No, I'm good with that," she assured me. "Get some feedback on how uptight we are?"
"I meant Max," I clarified. "Just found out that man's gone independent, and the shit he's done for J.D.? Yeah, I wanna get signed with him. Then he can finalize this, if you're good with it?"
"And how much are you going to charge us?" she teased.
"Dunno, that's why I need Max," and I gave her a sexy little wink.
She tossed her head back and laughed, but I realized there was one single thing wrong with her look. On impulse, I pulled the hat from my head and set it on hers. The smile that made? Yeah, it was the sort that should've made me brace for getting my ass kicked.
So when Braden cut in to steal his woman back, I stepped out as gracefully as I could. I also told her to enjoy the hat. Then made it clear it was mostly for Braden's benefit.
Yet when I walked off the dance floor, something caught my eye.
Actually, it was more like a someone. Over at the side, Wes, the quiet young man who'd spent the last couple of years lingering at the edge of things, saying he was saving himself for marriage, was standing with someone I'd never seen before.
That wasn't the thing that made me pause, though. No, it was the black band on his hand. The one holding his beer. The third finger of his left fucking hand!
"Hey, Wes," I said as I headed over.
The other guy jerked back, adding some distance between them. Ok, I'd thought this might be getting tense, but now I was thinking something else.
"Saw you dancing with the Deviant lady," Wes said.
"Mhm," I agreed. "Saw you don't dance."
He glanced at the guy beside him. "Uh..."
So I tipped my head at his hand. "Playing the taken man, or you have a story?"
"Uh..." Wes's head snapped over to the guy, then back. "Yeah..."
And that guy? He thrust his hand out at me. "Ty McBride, right? I'm Wyatt Gilbert, Wes's husband."
With a little groan under his breath, Wes dropped his head. "Fuck."
"He was just dancing with a guy," Wyatt insisted.
"And that," I told Wyatt, "is still a bit dangerous here. That man I was dancing with? My friend's sponsor. Well, sorta. He's also big enough to not care if anyone has a problem with his sexuality, he's not looking for companies to sign him, and he's made his money."
"That!" Wes said, then gave me another look, like my points had just sunk in. "Wait, how do you know that?"
"J.D. and Tanner talked about the risks of coming out a lot," I assured him. "So, that whole saving yourself for marriage thing?"
"Got married two months before I made it on the Tough Enough series," Wes admitted. "And yeah, um..." He pushed out a laugh. "So, it was actually J.D. who was trying to hook me up with some girl. I panicked. I mean, it's kinda true. I was saving myself for marriage. My marriage."
"Which makes a whole lot more sense," I said. "Always thought you were a little over the top with the faith there." And I moved to stand beside him, letting the wall hold me up. "You should dance with him, Wes. I mean, if you want."
"I'm still trying to figure out who's safe to be around," he admitted.
"Cody, J.D., and the bullfighters," I told him. "Yeah, those three have known about Tanner for years. They'll also throw down for you."
"The bullfighters?" Wyatt asked. "Really?"
I nodded. "Yep. Good guys. Crazy as they come, but good ones. Wes, add me and Jake to your list too. Definitely Jackson. That kid? He's one of those liberal Canadian types."
"Like you?" Wes asked.
I scoffed. "I'm just Canadian. Hell, I'm from Alberta, Wes. We're sensible people there."
Wyatt shifted to see me easier. "I just have one question about all of this, Ty. Deviant Games is paying all the fines? I don't have to find ten grand by morning?"
"They'll handle it," I promised.
"Then what?" Wes asked. "Sure, I get this weekend, but Mr. Merrill made it clear we'd get suspended."
"Yeah..." I breathed.
"For not riding!" Wyatt insisted. "Sweetie, I'm telling you. Just get bucked off."
"What?" I asked.
"If the problem," Wyatt said, "is that you're all trying to make sure you're negating the judge's picks? Ride. Just ride badly. I know Wes has hopped off in the middle of a ride when something wasn't right."
"That was in practice," Wes insisted. "Out there? Those bulls will come back and trash us. Wyatt, it's a big risk."
"But a good idea," I said, scanning the room. "Hey, Jorge?! Isaac?!"
"Yeah?" Isaac called back, looking over like he was a little tipsy.
"Bring your better half," I yelled at him. "I need some matadors!"
That word made all the bull riders in this place call out, "Matadors!"
"Bull riders!" Jorge yelled back in response.
It worked though. Took those two a minute to make it through the crowd, but soon enough, they joined us. Isaac wavered slightly, and his eyes were glazed, but Jorge looked completely sober.
"So," I said, "Wes's husband - "
"Whoa," Isaac said, turning to Wes in the most dramatic fashion I could imagine. I was pretty sure he had intended to make it look like a double-take. Instead, it was simply the sort of drunk-comical thing that happened with too much alcohol. "Bro, you're married?"
"Yeah..." Wes said, throwing a dirty look my way. "And that's out there now."
"You're fine," I promised. "Also means you can stop hiding your husband away."
But Isaac wasn't done. "I wanna get married. Jorge and Aubree are so happy. Now Tanner's all happy. I need someone to make me happy. A woman, though. Us guys are gross. I just gotta find me a cute, hot, sexy little - "
"Shut up, Isaac," Jorge told him.
"Oh."
And Jorge waved him off like a sign to ignore his partner. "Yeah, he's basically gone. Nice to meet you, Wes's husband..."
"Wyatt," the guy offered.
"Jorge. The drunk one's Isaac."
"Wyatt had an idea," I told them. "Merrill's saying that sending the bull out alone is a fine, right?"
"Yeah, that's what I heard," Jorge agreed.
"What if we bail halfway?" I asked.
And a smile took over Jorge's face. "I mean, it'll keep us on our toes. Will definitely make the night take longer, because we'll need a few breaks to catch our breath, but no different than a tough string. Why?"
"Because that's not breaking one of Merrill's rules," Wes said. "Wyatt and I were talking about it earlier. I mean, when I was trying to figure out how to support this mess and still afford to ride."
Jorge groaned. "Oh, because you're... Shit. Ok, yeah. You're... Gay? Bi? Pan?"
"Gay," Wes admitted.
Jorge just nodded. "So right now, J.D.'s representing you. Cody's not, but you can sympathize. Yeah, makes sense. And you haven't said shit because this is the Pbr, right?"
"And this shit needs to change," I told them.
"Guys, how many other riders aren't straight?
Hell, maybe someone's a trans guy. We wouldn't have a clue unless he said something, you know?
Half these guys are playing a part in the hopes of getting signed for enough money to get ahead, then they'll retire quietly.
Fuck. I should've realized J.D. wasn't the only one! "
"Uh, Tanner?" Isaac slurred.
"He's not a rider," I reminded him. "But yeah.
Same theory." Then I turned to Wyatt again.
"Look, you're not a big guy, and these assholes travel in packs.
I know, because I used to get with my friends and turn stupid too.
Still, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to be out and proud.
So, you two decide how you want to handle this. .."
"I don't want to pretend to just be your buddy," Wyatt told Wes.
"And they won't kick your ass in the parking lot," Wes shot back. "That's what I've been trying to tell you."
"But it doesn't change," I told them, "until we make it. Look, Wes, if you need a pal to walk you out? Well, I'll gladly do it."
"Why?" Wes asked.
"Because this shit has got to change, and that's easy to say when I'm not doing anything. So yeah, I'll step up. I'll be slightly inconvenienced. And who knows, maybe I can lead by example."
"Doesn't change the strike shit, though," Wes said.
"But bailing would," Jorge said. "And yeah, we will keep all of y'all up. You just have to convince the rest, Ty."
Yeah, I had this. "Hey, cowboys!" I bellowed. "Hey! I think I may have solved the suspension problem!"
Oh and that made all of them pay attention. "Thought Deviant was paying the fines!" someone yelled back.
"They are," I said, stepping forward. "But Wes just pointed out something else. Donald Merrill said the third time? Suspension. But what if we change things up? What if we don't send the bulls out without a rider?"
"So, ride?" Sonny asked.
"Nope," I said. "Guys, the point is to make sure that if the judges screw someone, we get them as close to winning as we can, right?"
"Thought so, yeah," Gustavo said.
I nodded. "Well, so we bail. Three seconds, seven and half? Doesn't matter as long as we get a no-score, right? Also means we'll technically be riding. And if they ask why? We give them a shitty fucking excuse. The rope was hurting my hand. Thought I pulled my elbow. Shit like that."
"Use their bullshit against them," Wes said, stepping forward. "We let them set the tone, then we double down on it. We make sure they realize we're not going to let them walk all over us."
"Or use us up," Jake called out. "They think we're just a disposable resource. Let's make it clear that we, the riders, are the stars of this fucking show."
"And our matadors!" I added. "Because those guys just promised me they'd make sure this works. Who's in?"
And the bar erupted with cheers.