Page 58 of The Hearts We've Broken
The sound of raindrops falling and hooves hitting the dirt created a symphony with the cheers of the crowd and the rock music backdrop. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, and I could hear my own breathing.
My teeth ground together as I rocked my body back and forth with the bull. Spit flew from its mouth, and I imagined steam blowing out of its nostrils.
They were right. This bull was mean.
Its muscles coiled with tension underneath me as it unleashed its fury in a series of spins and kicks. My own muscles screamed at me as I attempted to become one with the beast, like lightning coursing through my veins, each movement jarring my bones.
The eight-second buzzer went off, the sharp noise reverberating through the arena. I thrusted myself off the back of the bull, hitting the muddy ground with the thud.
Get up!
Get up!
Get up!
My brain screamed at me as the bull pawed the ground with its giant hooves. Its horns—although filed down—seemed to shine in the arena lighting, the steady drops of rain sparkling as they fell.
I scrambled backward on my palms and feet like a crab as the bullfighters stepped in front of me. The bull dipped its head and hunched its shoulders, ready to charge.
My heart pounded in my chest as fear rushed through me for the first time in a long time.
When the bull was distracted, I rolled over onto my knees and used my arms to push myself up to run to safety.
“Look out!” someone yelled from the sidelines, and I looked over my shoulder, darting out of the way just as the bull came barreling toward me. A rush of air knocked me further to the side, and I sprinted like a bat out of hell. Mud caked my jeans and covered my hands, and I did my best not to slip before jumping onto the fence as the bull turned around and came running back.
When the bull was out of the arena and I was able to catch my breath, I put a hand over my heart, feeling the erratic rhythm. Then I climbed over the fence, and collapsed onto the ground, sitting with my eyes closed.
“Damn, Tucker, that was a close one. But it damn sure paid off.”
I looked up just as the announcer called out my score. “Eighty-six points!”
Thank fuck.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
juniper
Iheld my jacket over my head, attempting to keep myself out of the downpour. Turned out, neither Ellison nor I had umbrellas, so instead of waiting for the guys, we immediately beelined it for the trailers so we didn’t get soaked.
As if the rain wasn’t enough, my heart was still thundering in my chest after Mikey’s ride. Seeing him scramble away from the bull on his hands and knees, not being able to do anything from the stands, killed me. My brain kept coming up with scenarios where he didn’t get out of the arena in time.
Not that I should have cared. At least, not in the way that I did.
Of course, a normal human being with compassion would be scared for him, but it felt like I couldn’tbreatheuntil he was safe.
“This way!” Ellison gasped as she gestured for me to follow her, cutting through a crowd of people trying to get out of the rain.
She lead me to a shortcut that would not only preventus from getting stuck in the slow-moving foot traffic, but would take us directly to the trailers so we wouldn’t have to go around. She just didn’t tell me that it required hopping a fence.
“Are you crazy?”
Ellison rolled her eyes. “It’sfine. Would you rather stand in the rain?”
I hesitated, not making a move toward the fence, even though I shook my head.
“I mean, if you want to walk all the way around, be my guest, but I’m cold and want to get out of these wet clothes.” She climbed the fence and hopped down to the other side much quicker than I would have expected.
I sighed, dropping my jacket from its position covering my head, and grabbed the fence, hoisting myself up and placing my feet in the mesh of the chain link. If I was dry before, I definitely wasn’t now, water dripping down my face from my hair and my clothes soaked through.
