Page 50 of The Hearts We've Broken
When the anthem concluded, I squatted back down, closing my eyes.
“Getting in the zone?” Maverick’s voice behind me got my attention, and my eyes fluttered open.
I nodded but didn’t stand.
“Got room for another?” He squatted next to me. “You’ve been putting on quite a show for the reporters lately.”
My eyes flicked toward him, and I clocked the amused expression on his face.
“I just want to get them off my back, man.” The admission slipped out easily.
His shoulders shook as his chest rumbled with a low laugh. “And how’s that been working out for you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Man, maybe you should start up a relationship so they’ll focus their attention on you instead. I can see the headlines now.Maverick Oakes: World Champion Bachelor No More.”
He shook his head as he looked down with a wide grin. “Nah, it’d probably be something on the lines ofBuckles or Babies: Which One is in Maverick Oakes’s Future.” He laughed, and suddenly the weight of the competition didn’t feel as heavy.
Maverick dealt with the media just as much as I did, but sometimes it was hard to see that when they were always in my face. He was under just as much pressure, but he handled it better. Respectfully and calmly and all that.
“No, but I, uh…” He looked back down at the ground, drawing his lip between his teeth.
“You telling me there’s a girl, Mav?” I elbowed him. “And you’re keeping it a secret?”
“It’s not serious yet. I don’t want to scare her away, you know. Or have it be blown up into something it’s not.”
“Yeah, I get that.” I snorted. He had no idea that wasthe situation I’d gotten myself into. I knew too well what a relationship getting blown up looked and felt like.
He stood, extending a hand to help me up.
“I’m going to sit here for a little while longer. Thanks, though, man. Good luck tonight.”
He nodded. “Yeah, you, too.”
I shook out my limbs before climbing onto the platform behind the chute, taking some deep breaths to ground myself. The bull I was matched up against for the night grunted in the chute, huffing hot air from his nostrils like smoke clouds billowing into the air. He pawed the ground, body banging against the metal gates.
“This isthematchup of the night, ladies and gentlemen. We’ve seen this cowboy successfully ride several bulls over the course of the rodeo, and tonight he’s back again on the bull they call Rampage. Mikey Tucker!”
I tried to tune out the announcer as I settled on the back of the bull, rosining my rope then wrapping it securely around my hand. This particular bull wasmean. But like I’d always said,the meaner the bull, the better the score.
“Watch him, folks. This is one you donotwant to miss.”
I nodded, and the gate swung open. The bull exploded out of the chute, whipping his hind legs around. I’d watched several others ride this bull, though, and I knew what he liked to do straight out of the gate.
I’d prepared myself for this.
When the bull spun, I adjusted my body to counter his movement, so I stayed centered and wouldn’t be thrown off.Keeping my hips square to Rampage’s shoulders, I used my free hand to balance. My thighs clenched around the bull as he bucked and whirled around, but I held my position, working with him.
The audience yelled in the background over the bass of a country rock song, but my mind was locked in on the ride. My only focus was the bull and the eight seconds that were slowly winding down.
This is it, Tucker.
Prove them wrong. All of them.
If you win tonight, there’s no way they can call you distracted anymore.
On the bull’s final spin, he switched directions on me, trying a last-ditch effort to throw me off, but I managed to hold on and the eight second buzzer went off, signaling the end of the ride.
I let the bull buck me off, then I got the hell out of the arena.
