Bullheaded

“I’m not used to it. Might have a heart attack from the shock.”
    “At the end there, why did you tell me to stay on after yelling, ‘Get off’?”
    “When Spinal Tap goes down on his knees like that, he does it to pull a rider over his head. Then he hooks him. I just wanted you to stay put ’til I could distract him.”
    “You sure it’s not broken?”
    “The medics X-rayed it and taped it for me. Just a sprain.”
    “You were great tonight.”
    “Yeah, I’m not the one taking home a million bucks.”
    “Yeah, you are. You’re in it with me, babe. I couldn’t have done it if you hadn’t read that bull for me.”
    Johnny chuckled. “I didn’t tell you anything about Spinal Tap. I told you about you.”
    “And for once I listened.” Cody flexed his left hand and winced. “Did that bull knock you off your feet on purpose?”
    “Spinal Tap is a teddy bear behind the scenes, but he gets really mean in the ring. It was totally on purpose. He’s a good multitasker, trying to hook you and knock me over at the same time. Makes him great.”
    Cody swiped his card and opened the door. “I’ll get us some ice. At least I can still walk.”
    “Get a lot. Get some drinks too.” Johnny heaved a sigh of relief as he sat down on the bed and watched Cody leave. Carefully, he hoisted his leg up and worked his boots off. He looked up at the click of the lock when Cody came back.
    “Here you go, babe.” Cody set three plastic bags full of ice and two sodas down on the table. “I’ll get you a towel.”
    Johnny balanced the bag Cody handed him on his ankle and wrapped the towel around it. “Want me to tie that to your hand?”
    “Yeah. Save some for my knee.” Cody sat on the bed and scootched closer to where Johnny could reach him. Johnny used one of Cody’s shirts to secure the ice to his hand. “At least we have a break in the action to heal up.”
    “Yeah, we do. That is, if you’re coming back.”
    “I’m coming back to the ranch with you.” Johnny smiled at the relief on Cody’s face. “Damn, I missed you.”
    “Not like I missed you. When you left, you said you used to be happy to be around me—it made me think about what it must be like to be around me. I didn’t like myself very much while you were gone. I might not be a real nice guy.”
    “You’re a nice guy,” Johnny reassured him. “Maybe sometimes your head gets too big to fit through the door—”
    “I can be cocky and selfish.”
    “Everyone is sometimes,” Johnny said, thinking of when March called him cocky. “It’s not always a bad thing.”
    “It is when it’s bad for you.” Cody rested his head against Johnny’s shoulder. “I know I’ll fuck up again. No matter how careful I am.”
    “It’ll be good practice for both of us. You fuck up and I’ll yell at you about it,” Johnny said with a grin. “I need to speak up for myself more.”
    “It was great Dub won the event, huh?” Cody mused. “I always thought he was good but this year he really took off.”
    “Maybe he’ll win the Championship next year.”
    “Nah, I’ve still got it,” Cody boasted. “I could win next year easy.”
    Johnny’s smile was twisted. “Go out on top, cowboy,” he said softly.
    “You saw me tonight. I was great, correcting on, timing perfect. I can still do this!”
    “Remember Jim Sharp? He rode past his prime, and it’s sad hearing old-timers talk about how he never could get his scores up again. You start losing your grip or your knees don’t work.”
    “But I’ve been riding great! You saw me tonight! I was on top! I can still be on top—”
    Johnny was shaking his head slowly. “When I’m slipping downhill, I hope someone will be as honest with me as I’m being with you, because I don’t want to die out there in the ring with blood and dust in my mouth, wishing I was here in your arms. Worse yet, I don’t want someone else to die because I wasn’t good enough.
    “And I don’t want you to be another Lane Frost. You could ride another five years for sure, and you might even win some of the time. Your muscles are trained, you’re in good shape. But it’s slipping away. You bore down tonight, you made it happen. But it’s not near as easy as it was for you two years ago. When’s the last time you had a buckoff streak?”
    “I—”
    “Be honest. Not with me, with yourself.”
    Cody groaned as he said it. “You win, I admit it. Something hurts every time I ride. I had to fight my way back