FOREVER IS NOT A EVER AFTER

RODEO

I get home early, ready to pack and and leave for the first rodeo, I need to get good timing if I want to make the Nationals Finals Rodeo on December.  With our two horses on the trailer and our saddles on the pick-up truck we’re ready for the road.  Rodeo starts tomorrow and we’re on the afternoon schedule, I’m actually very nervous. The ride was tiring we got to the hotel like at 3 am. After we went to leave the horses on the stalls and leave everything ready only the 15 best times went to the nationals and my dream was to get there some day. I tried to sleep but I didn’t really rested, I had this feeling something was wrong, but I couldn’t put the finger right on it. I haven’t had notice of Alejandro since we left school and he hasn’t answered my texts or calls to let him know we were here. I know he has gotten them but he hasn’t answered, and I know he is still awake since he was going to the party. 

We get back to the hotel to have a good rest, it’s late and Alejandro hasn’t texted me back, the next morning I check my phone, still nothing, his last time on line is at 4 o’clock what? He promised going home early, well I guess he was early, just before sunrise. We go down and have a continental breakfast, courtesy of the hotel. And we head to the rodeo. 

It time, I’m checking that my saddle is ok, the horse’s leg raps are fine and I’m pretty much a bundle of nerves. It ain’t good Pollock can sense it and when he does he uses up to much energy before the run. I’ve already warmed up and I’m in the tunnel just waiting form my name to be said. The power and adrenaline that those few seconds that feel like ages make you feel. There is no description to that, having a thousand pound animal beneath you and you can feel his breathing and his eagerness for you to let him go, just shifting his weight on each hoof. And then I get the signal to go, as “ride ‘em high, ride ‘em low” starts playing on the fast part. 

“Yeah, I ride 'em high and I ride 'em low 

The only life for me, that's a rodeo

I got a pot of gold waiting in every town 

I gotta ride this horse down...”

Pollock goes rushing through the laser timer, we hit the first barrel just fine, and we have to make the change on the lead just in time to enter the second barrel, we miss it by a split second and he slips on the turn loosing precious seconds, we hug the third barrel just fine and speed up on the stretch, leaving the arena. 

“Oh, I ride 'em high and I ride 'em low

The only life for me, that's a rodeo ...”

The time wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great I had to be better if I wanted to make to the Nationals. I’m cooling down my horse when a cowboy comes around. I’m actually checking him out, he is a 5.8 ft. tall, short military cut, blond hair, strait nose, and has some weird eye color, like some gemstone green combined with hazel. He ain’t ripped but he’s got a nice body and great arms, and he’s got some strong hands. He is wearing wrangler jeans with a black Ariat shirt and a black leather belt and some boots. 

“Hello, I’ve seen you around a lot, we usually attend to the same rodeos, and I’m a bull rider”. 

He said trying to sound important. “Would you like to go get dinner?”

“Oh, sorry I don’t mean to be mean but I have a boyfriend and I’m not really into bull riders, besides I have to leave when we finish have school on Monday” and I give him my best apologetic smile. 

He smiles back “no worry maybe some other time, when you don’t have a boyfriend” and he gives me a wink and gets on going with, those tight jeans, I can’t say I didn’t like the view. 

We finish up leave the horses on the stalls and go to the hotel, we would be leaving early so we could get back home and then I could get back to school. 

Monday morning everything hurts. The only bad thing about this is that when all the adrenaline leaves your body you feel tired for a few days. I get to class and Alejandro is not waiting for me as usual he has been spending a lot of time with Caroline, he said it was because of the project. We were over with the first part of the project now we had to record and edit it. After art class Antony was going over to my house to start recording, I know we won’t make it to the due line. We can’t keep up being serious about it we just laughed about anything and everything so I guess we will be needing more than just a day. 

We spent almost every afternoon together recording and editing, after a few more days we started to be more capable of saying more than just a few more words, and with the editing it should be enough. 

Next weekend it was practically the same as last one, Alejandro told me he was going to a party and I had to leave to the rodeo and again he disappeared all weekend. By Monday morning he was already seated with Caroline, good thing the project was due this week and then he would not have any excuse to be with her. I’m not even jealous, I don’t even think about him anymore but if he wants this to work as he said last time we were going to make some changes. 

“Hello sweetheart! How was your weekend” I say as I walk up to him and give him a small kiss. 

“Great I... went to the party with Serch and then I stayed home with my parents” he doubted there somewhere in the sentence, but I’m smarter than that and I’ll not play that game. 

“Awesome! I also had a great weekend, well see you at lunch baby” I give my best smile and go seat with Antony. 

As I sit down, I unplug my earphones and pause Patsy Cline “Your cheating Heart”

“Your cheatin' heart will make you weep

You'll cry and cry, and try to sleep

But sleep won't come, the whole night through

Your cheatin' heart will tell on you

When tears come down like falling rain

You'll toss around, and call my name...”