Bullheaded

gate open wide, it was like a stick of dynamite went off under Johnny. Cody could swear the bull’s hooves cleared the gate and the top rail was six feet in the air.
    For a moment, his heart stood still. Johnny hadn’t been on the back of a bull in the last three months, and no matter how good you were, there was always a chance….
    “Come on, boss! Stay up over your rope!” Cody yelled, even though Johnny was having a perfect ride. “Hustle! Hustle it!”
    Johnny’s timing was right on as he broke at the hips when the bull leaped in the air, his pelvis jutting forward when they jolted to a landing. The pure masculine beauty of his lover always took his breath away, and never more than when Cody watched the lithe swivel of his hips when he was riding and the lean line of his legs hugging the bull’s sides.
    “Keep it up, boy, keep it going!” Cody took a quick step forward when the bull suddenly stumbled and went down to his knees. Johnny handled it easily as the bull scrambled up, and Cody reminded himself he was no bullfighter. If he raced in there to the rescue, he might make it worse. Johnny could handle himself.
    The bull did a belly roll and switched direction to spin into Johnny’s hand, and Cody relaxed into the pleasure of watching a good ride. Johnny was as tough as they came, but there was something about the way he moved; he was more flexible than most men, with a fluidity that seemed almost feminine when he shifted to keep his balance. Like water spilling over a dam, beautiful, but with hidden danger and power. Cody swore he couldn’t see an inch of air between the bull’s back and the seat of Johnny’s jeans.
    He was startled out of his intense focus when RJ hit the buzzer and Johnny yanked at the rope to release his hand. He stayed on the bull’s back for one more second, choosing his moment before allowing himself to be launched into the air, landing casually on his feet and loping for the fence. He pulled himself up on it as the bull charged him. Then he pulled off his helmet and dropped back into the ring to face the bull.
    With a confident little smile on his face, he feinted to one side. When the bull committed to charging him, he darted the other way, putting his hand on the bull’s forehead, yelling, “Hey, hey, hey!” The bull turned to follow him and Johnny led him into the exit chute. Travis shut the gate behind the bull.
    Even Bobby Blue applauded with the others as Johnny sauntered back into the ring, panting a little as he put on his hat.
    “Feels funny fighting my own bull after riding. Especially in chaps and boots.” Johnny grinned, looking right into Cody’s eyes.
    Cody smiled back at him before turning to the boys. “I’d say that was a 90-point ride.”
    “If you can ride like that, why are you only a bullfighter?” It seemed it was Tommy’s turn to volunteer an offensive question.
    “Man, you can ride!” Zane was staring at Johnny with open admiration.
    Cody waited for Johnny to answer, not quite liking the worshipful shine in the boy’s eyes.
    Ignoring the unflattering way Tommy had worded the question, Johnny answered, “I love bullfighting. First time I did it, I was hooked.”
    “How’d you get into it?”
    “I was riding a bull and not having a very good day. He bucked me off and I got pissed, so I got up and looked him right in the eye. The view’s different from down on the ground. It was a question which of us was going to flinch first. Turned out—”
    “Turned out Johnny’s balls were bigger than the bull’s, but we’re not here to learn bullfighting. Now listen up, I don’t plan to ask each of my men to ride for you to show off their credentials.” Cody took control of the ring again. “Just so you know, they all ride better than you, and you’ll shut up and listen with respect when they have something to say to you.”
    As he thought, the authoritative tone got an immediate rise out of Bobby Blue.
    “I don’t need you all’s advice about technique. I learned all that from my daddy. Just give me the secret.”
    “The secret?”
    “Yeah, the secret. How you stay on.”
    “Superglue,” Travis joked. “Spread plenty on your butt before you get up there.”
    Cody laughed. “So, you want to know the secret, the ultimate keep-it-quiet, lowdown wisdom only a top bull rider knows?”
    “Yeah. Give me that and I’ll get this done on my own.”
    “Okay, here it is.” Cody leaned closer and lowered his voice to a loud whisper.