Page 48 of The Hearts We've Broken
And no one could.
“What are you three talking about?” Jake asked as the boys set down all the drinks they’d ordered.
“Oh, you know. Just the life of a rodeo WAG.” Isa grinned.
“Well, I wouldn’t know,” he replied, a touch of humor in his voice. “Kind of missing an important part of that.”
“What part? Having a girlfriend orbeinga girlfriend?” Ellison poked his arm as she joked with him.
“Technically both.”
“Nothing’s stopping you from fixing that, man,” Reid pointed out.
Jake hesitated, like he was debating whether he wanted to say something.
“Are you kidding? Jake’s had the hots for Colter’s sister foryears,” Mikey cut in.
Jake glared at him. “Yeah, and she’s married.”
Mikey scoffed. “Just because there’s a goalie, doesn’t mean you can’t score. Besides, I never liked the guy. No offense, Colter, given that she’s your sister and all, but I’m betting they’ll break up in the next year or so.”
I hit him on the arm, protesting with a, “That’s rude!” But no one else spoke up. I tilted my head, confused.
“It’s a lot of backstory. Trust me, you don’t want to have to listen to all of it,” Ellison muttered when she noticed the look on my face.
“As long as she’s happy, I’m happy. Let’s change the subject, yeah?” Colter took a big swig of his beer, and the topic of his sister’s relationship died right there on the spot.
“Hey, bet you can’t stay on that bull for eight seconds.” Jake elbowed Hayden, pointing to the mechanical bull in the middle of the bar.
Hayden raised his hands in defense. “I’m not betting you anything.”
Mikey perked up. “I’ll take you up on that.”
“Nah, nah, you do that shit for a living. How about this, though. If your girl can stay on for eight seconds, I’llgive you twenty bucks.” Jake grinned. “Shouldn’t be an issue, all things considered, am I right?”
“Make it thirty and you’ve got yourself a deal.” Mikey stuck out his hand for Jake to shake on it.
“Hold on, what?” I interrupted. “Why are you betting on me?”
Colter shrugged. “It’s kind of our thing. We make bets on all sorts of things, you know.”
My eyes narrowed. “Like what?”
Mikey answered quickly. A bit too quick, but I wasn’t sure why. “It’s usually just stupid shit. It’s not a big deal.”
Everyone around the table fell silent.
“Am I missing something?” Suspicion rolled through my mind. I didn’t like this.
“Here, I’ll bet you, too.” Reid pulled out his wallet, throwing out a twenty-dollar bill. “Isa’s damn good at the mechanical bull.”
The energy shifted, and suddenly everyone was back to their normal selves, joking and messing around. I still had a weird feeling in my gut, but I let it go as Mikey led me over to the mechanical bull, whispering tips as we walked.
“Make sure you’re comfortable up there. If you start in a bad position, it’s going to be hard to stay on. Focus on your balance and use your legs to hold on. Move with the bull, not against it. It’s not real, but even so, you’re teammates.”
I couldn’t help but choke out a laugh at how ridiculous this all was. “All right, Coach.”
“Hey, can’t blame a guy for wanting to win a bet, right?”
