8. Becca

8

BECCA

It's the next night, and I have the rodeo playing on the big screen TV in my living room. I've invited April, Tara, and Emery over to watch it with me, and we're all sitting on the couch. We've had too much to drink, and I've laughed way too hard, but I love nights like this. Tara has her hand wrapped around her wine glass, and she's pointing at the television. "Okay, if I'm going to watch this, you're going to have to explain it to me. What is he supposed to be doing here?"

I look at the television, and there's some random cowboy that is in a chute, getting ready to perform. “Okay, this is what I understand from it. He positions himself on the bull and has his hand wrapped securely in rope to help him hold on, and he gives a nod of his head. When he nods, they open up the door of the chute, and the bull comes out and tries to buck the rider off. The goal of the rider is to stay on for eight seconds.”

Tara starts to laugh. "Eight seconds? Well, surely you can do anything for eight seconds. I mean come on..."

Emery, April, and I look at each other and smile. Tara missed the rodeo, and she didn't get to see any of this up close, so she doesn't have a clue. I point at the TV. "All right, watch."

We watch as the chute opens and the bull comes out. Not three seconds go by... and the rider is bucked off of the bull.

Tara leans back and slaps her hand to her knee. "Oh, my gosh. Did you see that? That's so dangerous. That's so dangerous!"

My gaze goes back to the television, and there's a pit in my stomach. She's only putting voice to the thing that I’ve been thinking this whole time. What Lucas does is very dangerous. All it takes is one bad fall or one hit from the bull's horns, and he could be hurt very badly.

The announcer starts to introduce the next rider. “All right, up next is Lucas Granger. He's a fan favorite. Let's give it up for Lucas as he gets ready in the chute.”

The girls are all laughing and talking, and I wave my hand, shushing them. We all stare at the television and watch as Lucas prepares for his race.

At one point, he looks up into the video camera, and I swear, I feel like he's looking straight at me. I gulp, eyes wide as I watch. When they open the chute, I forget to breathe. I stand up from my seat, unable to take my eyes off the screen. I count with everybody else that is at the event. When it gets to eight seconds, the crowd and I all go wild, but I still don't take my eyes off of Lucas, not until he jumps off of the bull and is out of the way and safe.

I have my hands under my chin as I watch the screen, waiting for his score. The announcer comes back on. "He did it, ladies and gentlemen. Eight seconds and so far, he is the top performer tonight with a score of 90. That's going to be a tough ride to beat. Stay tuned."

I start cheering, and the girls all start laughing and cheering with me. I can see that they are loving seeing me this way. The camera obviously loves Lucas because it follows him as he walks off the stage and over to where some other cowboys are. He pulls his phone from his pocket, and in the next second, my phone rings.

I stare at the TV and then stare at my phone and see that he's doing a video call. "It's him. It's him," I say.

Tara, April, and Emery all get quiet as I grab my phone and answer it. Seeing myself in the screen, I'm a little embarrassed. My face is flushed. Whether from the cheering or the alcohol, I'm not sure. Before he can say anything, I'm smiling ear to ear. "You did it. You did it."

He nods his head. "I knew you were watching. I could feel you watching."

My heart is racing in my chest. “You did so well.” I hold my phone up so that he can see Tara, Emery, and April. “My girls have all been watching too.” They all wave at him and tell him “congratulations,” and he waves back. "Thanks, ladies."

I point toward the kitchen to let my friends know I'll be right back and walk in there. As soon as I get through the doors, I tell him, "Take your hat off. I want to see you."

His eyes widen in surprise, but he does as I ask. "Better?" he asks when he takes it off and holds it to his chest.

I shrug. "I like you both ways. I just wanted to be able to see your eyes."

It gets loud there, and obviously, there's another ride about to take place. He puts one finger to his ear and says, "I have to go. I just had to see you."

I nod happily. "I'm glad you called. I'm so proud of you."

"I'll talk to you later," he says.

I don't know why I do it, and I'd probably be embarrassed if I was sober, but I blow him a kiss.

He seems surprised and looks straight into my eyes. "I'd give anything to be with you right now."

"Next weekend, less than a week," I tell him with a promise.

"All right, I'll talk to you soon," he says.

"Bye," I answer and hang up quickly, afraid that I will try to drag this out knowing that he needs to go. I hold my phone to my chest and take deep breaths. I know that I need to remind myself that he is the rebound guy. That's what we agreed to, but already I can feel myself falling for him. Don't do it, Becca. Have fun. That's what this is all about.

But in my inebriated state, I don't want to even think about that. I walk back in the other room with my friends, and they all start hooting and hollering when they see me. I just shake my head at them. "All right. All right."

April jumps up and pulls me into a hug. "I'm just so happy to see you happy. You don't know how much we've hated seeing you hurt and down these last few months. Seeing your smile again—"

Her voice drops off, and I shake my head. I know that all three of them have been really worried about me, and I hate that I've put them through that. "I'm good. I promise I'm good, and I think you guys are right. I needed a rebound guy."

The three of them look at each other as if they have some kind of secret, but I don't worry about that. I hold up the bottle of wine. "All right, who wants some more?"

All three of them hold their glasses up and say, "Me!" at the same time. I fill it up and try to forget about Lucas Granger, but I know that's going to be a hard thing to do.