Bullheaded

my ass in the air?”
    “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
    Cody was angry now, but under the anger lurked fear. It hurt Johnny to see it and to know he was the one who put that expression there. The horrible part was that it was so satisfying. No doubt he had Cody’s full attention now.
    When his answer came out, it stunned him as much as it did Cody.
    “I used to be happy to be around you.”

    S ILENTLY , Cody had gotten up off the bed and dressed. He stood clenching his hands helplessly as he watched Johnny pack his bags. “Is this about Bobby Blue? What did I do? Why are you doing this?”
    Having broken their trust, Johnny didn’t want to have to explain and go over every last detail. He hated talking about feelings, and what good could it do? “Maybe I’m not ready to have you arrange my whole life for me. I’ve got to make my own plans.”
    “You can make all the plans you want over the summer. We can discuss them together—and then you can make them.” Cody ended lamely, probably realizing it wasn’t coming out the best way.
    “I’ve got to earn a living. I have to work.”
    “Why? You’ve been earning a steady salary all year up to the break. We eat and sleep for free here, it’s on my parents. You’ve got jeans and boots. What more do you want?”
    “What more do I want? I want to go to the finals. I want to fight bulls in Vegas.”
    “You are going! With me!”
    “You’re not getting it. You’re a rider. You’re going because you already have the points. You can fall off every bull you ride from now to the finals and you’d still be in the top forty. I’m only a bullfighter. I only get to go if the riders vote for me as the guy they want standing between them and the bull.”
    “Don’t worry about it. I’ll campaign for you with the riders. They’ll vote for you. They owe me.”
    If Cody had grinned right then as he usually did, Johnny wasn’t sure he’d have been able to control the impulse to wipe it off his face—with his fist. But Cody looked a bit uncertain. While it was satisfying to see him come off his high horse, it hurt. The Cody he knew, his Cody, was sure of himself, something he was finding he both hated and loved.
    “You better not do that,” Johnny said quietly. He jammed his laptop into the padded case. It was one of the few items of value he’d managed to buy for himself.
    “I was kidding.”
    “Yeah? I’m not going to tag along to carry your bags for you. No one even knows we’re doing it. You ever tell Dub about us?”
    “Not in so many words.”
    “So suddenly you’re going to ask him to vote for me as a favor? If I get to go, I want it to be because the riders want me to be there.”
    “So you’d rather spend the summer breathing dust with Vern and Reese rather than here with me?”
    “I’m the new kid on the team. We’ve got work to do to make sure it works. It’s a trust thing—but I have to be there for it to work. If I don’t meet them in Chicago, I’ll be sent back down to the touring division and Vern will put someone else in my spot.”
    “You trust them more than you trust me.” Cody folded his arms and glared defiantly.
    “I thought you’d understand when I told you I had to go. Most of the riders in the Top Cut have only seen me around for part of this year. They miss Chris Bellow; he’s the bullfighter they’re used to. They don’t know me from a hole in the ground. I’ve got to show my face, go on the summer tour to show I really care about them. That’s what’s going to get me their votes, not you leaning on them to do you a favor.”
    “Summer touring division,” Cody scoffed. “Bunch of losers.”
    “Yeah, some of them may not rack up the points you do, but a lot of the top riders ride all summer, just to keep in practice. Maybe they ride to earn some extra points. And maybe you shouldn’t diss them like that. If they found out they might not vote your way.”
    “When I win the finals, I’ll get that big fat bonus check. You’ll never have to work again.”
    “You don’t get it, do you? I’m not in this for your money. I love what I do! I’m just starting my career. If I keep working over the summer and through the nationals, I might qualify for the bullfighter finals.”
    “What, the bullfighters have a competition too?”
    “You’ve been in the sport for over ten years and you haven’t heard about it.” Cody was always focused on his own goals, but Johnny found this hard to