Life After Love: Part 6

MARLEY

Rodeos were the top priority for tourists in Texas. People from all over the fifty states, and some from all over the world came to watch the cowboys and girls ride their bulls. Ever since horsemanship and bull riding became multi-million dollar sports, people went crazy in these parts, placing bets, eating carnival food, and lets not forget the live concerts we got to experience right after the competitions.

When Danny called to tell me he had gotten tickets for us to go, I went giddy with excitement. Freddy had been too busy to join us, and Serena was on full business mode with her construction projects. I couldn't picture her here anyway, cheering on a bunch of men and women riding farm animals. As much as she tried to integrate herself into the southern traditions, she was still a New Yorker by heart.

"Do you smell that? God, I love this place," Danny spoke with excitement as we waited in line to show our tickets, inhaling the scent of carnival foods, farm animals and beer. We could hear the crowd in the stands, cheering on the riders as they made their way into the area. The competitions weren't for another thirty minutes and if we wanted to find good seats, we'd have to hustle.

"You placing any bets?" I asked him when we finally found some decent seats near the cages, where the animals and their riders came together right before they opened the gates.

"Freddy and I have some money on Jojo The Bull. I heard he's impossible to ride. Whoever's riding him tonight is going down," Danny replied, taking a sip of his beer, as he tried and failed to grab a handful of my popcorn when he had already finished his.

"How much money are we talking?" I asked, and when his grin widened, I knew it was a generous amount that neither of them should be betting. Shaking my head, I dipped my hand into my popcorn and glanced around the area at the rowdy crowd of half-drunk Texans, cheering and hollering when the announcer began to name the professional rider's and the bulls they'd be riding tonight. As soon as the announcer mentioned Jojo The Bull, everyone began to quiet down to hear who's name was paired with him.

I almost jumped out of my seat when I heard him say Michael's name.

"Did he just say Michael is riding that damn bull?!" I exclaimed and looked over at Danny, who expressed just as much concern as I did. Michael competed in smaller shows as a kid, and even some in high school. Once he got thrown off a pretty nasty bull named Lucifer and fractured his arm, he never competed again. Mostly because his mother threatened to beat him senseless if he went against her wishes. Still, this sport was no joke. I wasn't sure Michael was thinking this through.

"Danny, we have to stop him," I began, turning to head for the steps, but Danny's hand caught mine and he pointed towards the giant screen, which let everyone know how much money was in it for Michael if he won. There was a half a million dollars prize for whoever stayed on that bull for more than thirty seconds. I couldn't imagine what Michael needed that money for.

"He's not going anywhere. There's no point in trying."

"We have to do something. We cant just sit here and watch him get dragged all over that floor," I told him, biting my fingernails out of anxiety as I sat back down.

"Shit, I hope he does. I have too much money on that bull to lose," Danny claimed and I glared at him, as he zoned out on whatever large amount he had on this bull tonight.

"You're such an idiot. Both of you are," I scolded and he rolled his eyes as he finished his beer and jumped out of his seat along with everyone else when the first competitor was set to ride.

By the fifth rider who had lost their chance at their prize money an hour later, I was a tight ball of nerves and my anxiety only worsened when they announced Michael was next. The announcer began by reciting Michael's old riding stats, and mentioned the accident that had caused him to stay away from this place until now. The crowd loved rooting for the underdog, and I hated that it was his turn to be one tonight.

"Here we go," Danny sat wide eyed as we both looked towards Michael, who had swung his leg over the mad bull carefully, and settled onto the saddle. I stood up, Danny grabbing onto my hand as they opened the gates and let them loose. My heart pounded furiously, my eyes glued to Michael and his hand on that saddle. I closed my eyes and counted every long second until I heard the sound of the crowd going wild. My breathing labored as I looked up at the score board and saw that Michael had been on that bull for a full thirty-two seconds, beating all the records from the previous riders.

Then my eyes returned to him, laying on the dirt floor, not moving as the medics hurried over to him and they hauled the bull back inside its cage.

"Come on. Let's go see how bad this is," Danny suggested, and led me out of the arena, and down the path that would led us to the red and white stripped medical tent nearby. We saw the medics carry Michael on a gurney into the tent and we noticed he was moving. When we got closer, and told the security officer we were his friends, they let us inside and we hurried in to find Michael talking to the medic as he cleaned up the stream of blood running down the side of his face.

The second his eyes met mine, I felt a sudden surge of anger wash over me and decided he didn't deserve me worrying about him. He didn't deserve my attention at all. I turned towards Danny and told him I was going to take a walk and he nodded, giving me a side hug before I exited the tent. As soon as the cool breeze that blew through Texas this time of year hit my face, I felt myself almost choke on my tears. I swallowed them down and headed towards the deserted grassy hills that separated the arena from the carnival. Sitting on a boulder, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sounds of the crickets nearby, wincing when I heard the crowd gasping as another rider fell off his bull.

"Is this seat taken?" Michael's voice made me jump and I looked up to see him approaching me, not bothering to wait for my reply as he sat next to me. I had nothing to say to him. No words could describe how incredibly pissed off I was at him for putting himself in that position. The more I thought about him lying on that dirt floor, not moving, the more upset I got. I stood up then and marched down the hill, heading towards the carnival.

Michael's footsteps behind me only added to my fury and I turned to flip him off, but he caught my hand just in time, pulling me closer to his chest. I was still fuming when he crushed his lips to mine, his hand cradling the back of my neck as he pulled my legs around his waist and placed my back against the freshly cut grass. My hands reached to remove his dirty buttoned up shirt, then continued their way down to his belt and zipper, tugging it down until I could feel his firm behind in my hands.

His lips attacked my neck next, while his hands were busy pulling down my jeans and panties. After he finished leaving my breasts tingling from his hungry lips, he moved down the valley of my opened shirt and dipped his tongue inside of me. Swirling his way around my clit, I squirmed beneath him and bit my lower lip when I felt him moan against my sensitive flesh.

Swallowing hard, I arched my back when he hovered over me and positioned his shielded hard length right at my opening. Taking my nipple in between his teeth, he tugged lightly at the hard peak just as he thrusted inside of me. I gasped and attempted to get on top of him, but he wasn't having it. He took my hands and placed them above my head, while his hips rolled into mine, his stiff length creating enough friction against my inner walls to make them even more wet.

The deeper he went inside of me, the more my screaming thoughts of warnings quieted down. All I could feel was Michael burying himself into me completely, until we both reached our high, panting heavily as we both released any leftover anger into each other. He didn't pull away right away. His lips lingered on my neck instead, kissing their way up to my ear as he buttoned up my shirt and pulled my jeans up.

"This never happened," he whispered into my ear, and I turned to face him as he began to fix himself and get up.

"Agreed." I lied, putting on an apathetic front as I watched him walk back towards the arena. I crouched down on my knees, my fingers running through my curls as I let a deep breath loose, wondering why the hell I just broke my vow of celibacy for a man I wanted nothing to do with.