Page 106 of Revelry
Daisy appeared and introduced the Reverence Cowboylesque troupe.
“Welcome to the stage, The Wranglers! And careful ladies, you don’t want to end up on the end of their lasso…or do you?” she teased with an exaggerated wink.
I snorted as the lights lowered more andPonyby Ginuwine blasted out from the speakers at full volume. Then four men came out from behind the stage, swaggering with their Stetsons pulled low over their eyes, their lumberjack shirts all different shades, and wait, did I recognize all those chaps?
One by one they lifted their Stetsons. First there was Jack and Kat screamed wildly next to me. Followed by Leo who received the same treatment from Maddy and a few other ladies in the crowd that recognized their local rodeo hero. Max pulled his Stetson off, giving the crowd a wink and Tilly squeaked next to me, her wide eyes roving all over him.
Then all eyes turned to the final man and when that Stetson lifted and he grinned wide, I nearly fainted.
Chapter Thirty
Tate
What the hell was I doing?
Who did I think I was, getting up here and dancing on stage like a fucking idiot?
When we rehearsed, the choreography didn’t seem ridiculous. It was pretty basic and only our shirts would be coming off because although it was getting late, there were still kids around. This was a family event for charity so it couldn’t get too raunchy. Also, despite the heat from the stage lights, it was freezing.
Coming slightly out of my comfort zone was fine, being shoved out of it was not okay and this hovered somewhere in between. But I never would have been able to do something like this if Gertrude hadn’t been pushing the boundaries of said comfort zones to the point of it being almost normal.
I focused on the fact that this would all be over in ten minutes. But when the crowd cheered and roared at us the way they did, I felt a little more settled. My eyes frantically scanned the faces, wanting to pick out Gertrude, to see how shocked she would be.
I found those bright sapphire eyes almost immediately and took in her shocked expression, her wide eyes, her jaw dropping, and I laughed. Shocked was the right word for it. I looked my fill, the sight feeding me more than anything. I wanted to scream that I was doing this for her, to show her how much she’d changed me, that she’d impacted my life this way. That because of her, I would get on a stage and take offsomeof my clothes and dance. With myfriends.I never would have had friends if it wasn’t for her.
When we began to unbutton our shirts, the crowd screamedtake them offso loudly it turned into a chant. We couldn’t hear the music anymore, just the demands of the audience and we looked at each other, laughing. Then as we paused before opening them, I glanced down at Gertrude again and her smile was wide as she screamed, her eyes only on me.
The shirts opened and the shrieks were deafening. Gertrude went wild, jumping up and down and hollering. The plan was to throw the shirts into the crowd but I aimed straight for Gertrude because then she would have to wear it. In bed. Tonight.
Kat fought some woman for Jack’s shirt and Maddy reached for Leo’s before stepping back when a group of women, likely buckle bunnies, went nuts trying to get it. And was that Tilly fighting some lady for Max’s shirt? She was only sixteen, how did she even know Max?
We only had to dance for a few more minutes but they dragged on so long. I just wanted to be with Gertrude.
Eventually the music ended, and the lights went out andfinallyit was over. We rounded the stage, all of us high on adrenaline.
“That was epic!” Max cheered, lifting a hand to high-five us all.
“Did you see how nuts they went?” Jack added.
“I’m telling you, this could be a hit,” Leo said, his eyes bright.
“Oh no, this was a one-time gig. None of you could fit this into your everyday lives.” I pointed at Jack. “You’re building an entire fucking ranch.” I pointed to Max. “You had to shut the bar to appear tonight.” I glanced at Leo “And you…well you probably have the time.”
“Man, way to ruin the buzz,” Leo joked, nudging me. “I was kidding, I’m not doing that again, it was terrifying.”
“You’re not wrong,” Jack laughed, “I only did this because Daisy threatened me.”
Leo raised his hand “Daisy threatened me too.”
“And me,” Max sulked.
Their eyes all turned to me. “I would call it blackmail rather than a threat,” I hedged. “But yes.”
Just then Daisy appeared, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “You guys were amazing! People will be talking about this for, like,ever. When can we do it again?”
I glanced at the guys and Jack spoke up first. “This was a one-time deal, Daze. You need to find some other, younger, sexier men.”
“Psh, speak for yourself,” Max feigned indignation.
