The Rodeo Queen's Touchdown

06-Parker

Parker

Well, that sucked! What a dud! I am both frustrated and relieved. Unfortunately, that ride brought my score down drastically but at least he wasn’t a killer. Now, they will probably take him home and either try to retrain him or put him out to pasture. There wasn’t a lot written about him to begin with, so his bloodline probably isn’t one of the best.

Head down and feeling sorry for myself, I trudged back toward the trailers where I know the others are waiting for me. LeeAnne gave me a sympathetic look while Trey squeezed my shoulder in understanding. He has been here before as well with some of his bronc rides. What took me by surprise was Aaron’s reaction. He pulled me in and gave me another hug. A hug where I could feel that he was trying to comfort me and not give me sympathy, as if he knew exactly what I was feeling and could relate. I take strength from this hug. I take a long sniff of his great scent as I wrap my arms around his waist. He always smells so good, like leather in the rain. I don’t know if it is his natural scent or something that he puts on, but I could drown in it. Aaron maybe all hard muscle but his hug is soft and tender. I just want to melt into his body and stay there forever. We stay in the hug longer than I expect, but neither of us seem to want to let the other go. Staring into each other’s eyes, we finally break apart. As I stare into those beautiful ocean blue eyes, the rest of the world disappears. Trey clears his throat, effectively killing the moment and bringing us back to the real world. We turn back around and finish watching the bull riding. Dusty was last to go and totally rocked his bull.

At the end of the event, my poor score dropped me to fourth place, but Dusty came in second. After the buckle award ceremony, the team went back to the trailers to put away our tack and equipment and load the horses in for the long ride back to campus.

Coach clears his throat gruffly to start his usual ending peptalk, “Alright everyone, you all did a great job. Congrats to everyone who got an award today but remember not to let it get to your heads. Overinflated egos usually end in broken bones. You are only as good as your mount and your good ride ends when the buzzer sounds. You are not guaranteed tomorrow’s win. We are done with competitions until Spring, but no slacking off. We will continue with our event training. We will do team trainings as well as one-on-one if needed or wanted. I will post the schedule in the barn so keep a look out for it. Now load up and head home. I’m very proud of you all.”

We all smile and laugh at his attempt to be stern, turning to one another to congratulate on great rides. The team is off until Spring, so we may not see each other too often during the Winter. Trey gets back into the driver’s seat with LeeAnne next to him, while Aaron and I climb into the back seat again. Unlike the trip out to Wyoming, this ride is quieter. Aaron and Trey are softly talking about football and their game next weekend. It’s Homecoming and are going against one of their tougher rivals. My lids start to close as I hear discussions about plays, yards, and strategies.

The next thing I know, someone is shaking my shoulder. I must have fallen asleep at some point.

“Parker, we’re back. Time to wake up, baby.”

I think that I must still be dreaming because I do not know who would be calling me baby. I slowly open my eyes and notice that we are back at the barn. I get out of the truck and join Trey and LeeAnne at the back of the trailer. Trey opens the gate slowly, going inside to back out each horse. I take Jack into the barn so that I can brush him down before leaving him for the night. I like to make him relaxed and clean before putting him out to pasture. Jack is my baby and best friend. A tri-color paint with a white background and brown patches outlined in black. His mane and tail are black with little strands of white through both. Jack’s distinguishing mark is a freeze brand of an umbrella on his left hip. As strange as it sounds, I share all my secrets and troubles with him. He listens so patiently that I always feel lighter after talking to him. Way better than paying for a therapist! Jack is the only one who knows about my crush on Aaron. I finish brushing through his fur and give him a little grain as a reward for two awesome rides. When I let him into his nightly pasture, I whisper ‘good night’.

The others are already by our cars when I finish with Jack. I feel bad; they did not need to wait for me. LeeAnne knows how thorough I can be with the horses, spending more time at the barn because I make a little extra money exercising and grooming other boarders’ horses.

“Hey, we’re going out to eat. Wanna join?” LeeAnne asks.

“No thanks. I’m still really tired. Going to head back to the dorm and just grab a snack,” I respond to them.

“Alright sis, we’ll catch you later,” Trey gives me a kiss on the temple.

Aaron’s gaze lingered as I climbed into my jeep. Even as I pulled away, I could still feel his heated gaze on me. I wave to the others as we pull out in two different directions; them to a local pub for food and drinks and me back to the dorm for food and sleep. Once in my room, I take a quick shower and get on some sweatpants and a t-shirt. I make a quick bowl of ramen and cuddle into my covers. I have a black and purple down comforter that is warm and snug. It feels like sleeping in a warm cocoon. Turning on the t.v. for some background noise, I grab my latest romance novel, falling asleep to a romantic Valetine’s dinner between the main characters.

Waking with the sun, I dress and go through my morning routine, getting ready for my daily run before classes. This morning, my body is still a little stiff from the grueling workout after this weekend, but my mind is well-rested and ready for the day. Looking over at LeeAnne’s bed, I notice that it’s empty and made. Guess she slept at the football house last night. That allows me to put on the light and make noise as I dress in my blue sports bra, tank top, and black running capris. Tying my sneakers, I stretch and head to my usual running path, doing a 4-mile trek around campus. I love to run, always have. It gives me a boost of energy that helps my body relax and mind focus during classes. On the days that I do not run, I find that my body is fidgety and lose track of what my professors say. I put in my earbuds and lose myself in the movement of the run and the music on my playlist.

Finishing my run, I head back to my dorm room to take a shower and dress for the day. My first class isn’t until 9, so I have time for breakfast in the commons. Putting on a black thermal shirt and blue skinny jeans with my shiny black calf-high boots, I put all my books for the day and head out to the dining room. As I’m heading onto the cafeteria line, two cheerleaders stop me.

“Hey Parker. How was your weekend?” Barbie inquires, smirking as if she knows something I do not. I bet I can guess what she wants to tell me.

I know what she is trying to do. The cheerleaders have had something against me since freshman year. They like to bully me about different things. In this case, my ex-boyfriend, Jonas, is an asshole. He started cheating on me in the very beginning of our relationship. He has probably f****d over half of the cheerleader squad and who knows how many other female athletes. I have tried to break up with him many times, but he does not seem to take a hint. I treat him like we are no longer dating, but he likes to tell everyone that we are still together. This taunting that Barbie is about to do is nothing new. What they are too stupid to understand is that I do not care anymore about what or who Jonas does anymore.

Not rising to their bait, I answer blandly, “Yeah, it was good. How was yours?”

“Oh, it was great,” she says suggestively.

“Well, that’s wonderful for you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I would like to get some breakfast before my classes start,” I say, trying to get around her.

Barbie moves to get in my face, “But don’t you want to know what I did?”

I roll my eyes, “Not really. Don’t overly care.”

“Well Jonas cared. Four times Saturday night and twice Sunday morning. He cared very thoroughly,” Barbie informed me, drawing out the last word.

“Congrats, though I would have checked who he cared about Friday night. You never know what you could have caught.” Riling her up is fun because she does not have enough brain cells to think of a comeback on her feet.

As predicted, Barbie huffs and walks away without a retort. She’s a gorgeous girl with long blonde hair, slim build, and legs for days. There must be a preference for similar looking women. They all have blond hair and slim builds. I guess if you are a little overweight or brunette, you cannot be a cheerleader. Unfortunately for most of the girls, idiocy is also a tendency. Shaking my head at her childishness, I get back in line for my breakfast.

Regrettably, my appetite has all but disappeared after having Jonas’s indiscretion thrown in my face yet again. I grab a plain bagel with some garden vegetable cream cheese and a coffee with some cream and sugar. Looking around the room for a quiet table, I see Aaron and a bunch of other football players sitting in the center of the room, waving me over.

“Hey guys. Early morning practice?” I ask them.

Aaron’s smile is megawatt as I pull out my chair to sit across from him, sending butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

“Nah, early morning workout,” he answers.

“Hey LeRoy. Aaron was telling us how awesome you were this weekend. Congrats on the win and for stepping out,” Carter Reynolds tells me. Carter is ‘that’ starting running back. Being 6’5” with a runner’s build and lots of upper muscles gives him the arm span and height to catch a ball over other players’ heads. With red hair, brown eyes, bright white smile, and high intelligence, he is a complete package. Carter is more of a player that the rest, but the ladies do not seem to complain. I think that it has to do with his carefree and laid-back attitude; it’s easy for anyone to see that the only thing that he takes seriously is football.

I blush at the implication that Aaron talks about me, “Thanks. It was fun and the whole team did really great.”

Unexpectedly, someone at the table scoffs. I look to my left and Rhonda Michaels is sitting on Taylor Smith’s lap. Rhonda is the quintessential head cheerleader, always put together and always bitchy. Rhonda has dyed blond hair, blue contacts, and caked on make-up all over her face. Her clothes look like they were made for a toddler, so she has a lot of skin showing, some probably against dress code. I honestly feel that she looks like a clown, but men seem to find her attractive. Everyone is allowed to have their own opinions. Rhonda goes through the football team like underwear; everyday she appears to be sitting on someone else’s lap. Her current pair, Taylor Smith, is the same side of her coin. He is the backup quarterback, but his short and stocky build does not lend aid to his chosen position. He often sits on the bench because he cannot throw far but refuses to be put in another position. Taylor looks like the all-American jock with blond hair and brown eyes, but his cocky attitude tries to hide his shortcomings. They are a pair that belong together. Taylor is an easy replacement for Aaron in both looks and position on the team, for someone with lower standards.

“Hello Rhonda. I didn’t see you sitting there,” I greet her with a falsely sweet voice.

“Who did you sleep with to win this time?” Rhonda enquires smarmily.

I roll my eyes at her blatant jealousy, “Actually Rhonda, my event is based on time. It would be quite difficult to sleep with three timers on tripods. Plus, I was not made to do splits as excellent as you. Tell me, how much practice have you had spreading your legs?” Someone at the table covers up a laugh with a cough.

I try really hard not to fall into her trap. She is the worst bully out of the whole squad. I am not sure why though could probably guess that it has something to do with all the attention that Aaron pays to me.

Again, she just scoffs at me. Great comeback.

“In other news,” Rhonda began, looking at me while she speaks, “The girls and I were at the baseball house this weekend for a party. Guess who was there”?

I roll my eyes because I already know where this is going and already heard about it. I may give myself a headache this morning based on how many times I have rolled my eyes and it’s only 8:30.

Rhonda continued as if she was teaching a lecture, “Jonas. You are never going to believe what he was doing- grinding up against Barbie. His d**k was right up against her ass. You could even see the erection that he was sporting. After a few songs, they went upstairs and never came back down.” She sounded appropriately scandalized; as if she has never done the same thing, with the same guy might I add.

As she was looking right at me, I totally saw the mirth in her eyes. She was trying to get off on my misery. No wonder she was a drama major, Rhonda will make a great actress, especially in a soap opera.

“Rhonda, enough,” Aaron disciplines.

“I’m sorry, Aaron. I thought Parker deserved to know,” Rhonda pouts and tries to make it seem like she is doing me a favor.

“That’s alright, Aaron. No need to chastise. Thanks, Rhonda, for letting me know. It means a lot to me that you care so much, but I already know about Jonas and all his indiscretions. We haven’t been together for months, so he can grind and f**k whomever he wants,” I tell her smugly.

Rhonda is looking like a fish out of water with her mouth opening and closing and no noise coming out. I want to laugh so bad but then I would be no better than her. I chat with some of the other members of the team as I finish my bagel and coffee. Once I am done, I stand up and grab my things with only a few minutes before class starts.

“Later guys, have a great practice,” I wave goodbye.