Page 30 of The Hearts We've Broken
Mikey looked over to where my eyes were, but the person was already gone. “Huh?”
“I thought someone took a photo.” Maybe they weren’t taking a photo of us. It probably didn’t matter anyway, as I was sure plenty of people took pictures of Mikey without him knowing.
“If they did, it’s probably not a big deal. Don’t worry about it. Hey, you’re getting the hang of this.” He changed the subject. Probably spoke a bit too soon, though, because a moment later I stepped on his toes.
“Sorry.” I laughed quietly. “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
He spun me quickly, my hair flying into my eyes as we turned to face one another again. “We’ll probably watchsome of the competition tomorrow night. It’s the last night of the first series, and then I’ll be competing the next day.”
“You don’t compete every day?”
“No, definitely not. There are five different groups that compete on a set of days and then the semifinals and championship if you make it that far. That’s why we didn’t need to be here right away,” he explained.
“Got it. So, like a bracket, kind of?”
“Yeah, exactly. It’ll be fun, and I think you’ll really enjoy all this. I mean, as long as you enjoy watching me win the whole thing, we’ll be golden.” He flashed a bright smile, and I couldn’t help but grin back.
CHAPTER TWELVE
juniper
Amix of earth, leather, and hot dogs filled my nostrils as we walked into the stadium where the rodeo was being held. Crowds of people passed us in waves, shuffling in lines toward the arena. I’d never seen anything like this before. Sure, football games were busy at SGU, but this was on an entirely new level.
“How are you feeling?” Mikey squeezed my hand as we followed Colter, Ellison, Reid, and Isabelle to find our seats. Jake and Hayden were behind us, forming a whole convoy of cowboys.
“I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. It’s huge.”
He smirked as though I’d said an inappropriate joke.
When I picked up on what he was probably thinking, I rolled my eyes. “Get your head out of the gutter. You know that’s not what I meant.”
“You’re the one who said it, not me, Peach.” His smirk widened into a grin, the corners of his eyes creasing. “But, no, this is the biggest rodeo in the world.”
“You did say everything’s bigger in Texas, so I suppose I should have believed you.”
“Now you’re getting it. Just wait until we get to our seats. You’re going to love it all.”
We entered the arena, and my jaw dropped. This was where professional football games were also held, so I knew it would be huge, but the space was completely transformed for the rodeo. The floor was entirely covered in dirt with fences lining the edges in front of the stadium seats, and the bucking chutes were set up at one end of the oval with an open space at the other end.
“Incredible, isn’t it?” Isabelle looked at me with an amused expression.
“Where are we sitting?” I asked, looking around at the thousands of seats.
“Down there.” Ellison pointed to the section right in the front.
My eyes felt like they were bulging out of their sockets, and the girls must have noticed, because they started laughing.
“Best seats in the house, baby.” Mikey threw his arm around my shoulder. “Right up close and personal with all the action.”
When we walked down the steps to our section, murmurs rose from around us.
“Is that Colter Carson and Reid Lawson?”
“Wait, that’s Mikey Tucker! The bull rider!”
“Who the fuck is that girl with him?”
“I didn’t know he had a girlfriend!”
