Extreme Bull

said, but then he grinned. If Jeff could crack jokes he likely wasn’t going to die. He pointed his finger. “You do what the doctor says, or I’ll kick your ass.”
    “Take a number,” Sam said. “Get goin’ now.” CLAY rode his bull like a demon, impatient to get it over with. He heard that his score was a point higher than Jeff’s, but the jubilant feeling of winning warred with his concern for his… boyfriend. Doug was right. He cared about Jeff in a way he hadn’t since his very first girlfriend in high school, when he thought he would die if he couldn’t marry her.
    His passion for her lasted a mere six weeks, but he’d only been fifteen at the time. Now he thanked God it hadn’t worked out, because how horrible it would have been if he’d met Jeff after he was married?

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    Jeff was sitting on the examination table, his shirt and vest hanging off his right shoulder, with his left wrist wrapped in something bulky.
    “What is it?” Clay demanded.
    “What’s your score?” Jeff demanded in turn.
    “Beat you by a point. Now what the fuck is wrong with your hand?”
    “Fractured ulna,” the medic said, holding up an X-ray.
    “I’m icing it to get the swelling down.” Clay didn’t bother to look at the X-ray. “You were in trouble before you fell off; I saw it on your face. When did this happen?”
    “Terrence accidentally clipped me with a bottle last night at the bar,” Jeff said, feeling irrationally happy that Clay had noticed something was wrong.
    “I’m going to kill him,” Clay announced, clenching his hands.
    “Not on purpose,” Jeff said hastily. “He was aiming for some drunk that called him a—”
    “A what?”
    “A faggot.” Jeff waited for Clay to go nuts again.

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    “Told him to stop wearing those pansy sequins,” Clay muttered. “So you’re telling me that you went in that ring, knowing that you were too banged up, and put yourself at risk for points! ”
    “I thought it was just a sprain. And I had to break your streak,” Jeff explained.
    “You’re lucky you didn’t break the radius as well,” the medic put in helpfully. “Or displace the fracture. You’d be looking at surgery then, and a plate and screws.”
    “What he said,” Clay snarled. “You idiot!” Jeff opened his mouth to retort but suddenly began to laugh in relief. If Clay wanted to lie to himself about caring, he was going to have to do better if he was going to carry on like this over one little fracture. “I can take care of myself, you know.”
    “Obviously you can’t!”
    “Uh, excuse me! I’m ready to put on the cast if you two don’t mind keeping it down.” The medic glared at both men.
    “Kill each other when I’m off duty, okay?”
    “Fine!” Jeff said.
    “Fine.” Clay stalked to the far side of the room and sat down, his arms crossed over his chest. His anger faded as Jeff tried to hide a wince.

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    By the time the cast was on and the medic had recited a screed of instructions and given Jeff a container of pain medication with a childproof cap, Jeff was drooping.
    Clay got up and said to the medic, “Thanks. I’ll get him back to his trailer.”
    “I was going to give him a sling,” the medic said.
    “You get it, and I’ll take care of his shirt.” Clay gently worked the sleeve over the cast. He buttoned Jeff’s shirt, carefully keeping his fingers from brushing over the tanned skin so temptingly close, even though he really wanted to touch.
    The medic returned with the sling and helped Jeff put it on. Only then did Clay actually look into Jeff’s eyes, and he was shaken by the mixture of weariness and trust he saw there. He didn’t feel that he’d done anything to warrant that trust and started kicking himself internally for letting Jeff down.
    He held out his hand. “Come on, I’ll give you a lift.” Jeff allowed Clay to wrap his hand around his good arm and lead him out of the first aid station. “I really didn’t know it—”
    “Don’t worry. I have no right to yell at you.” Clay sighed.
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    “How could you tell?”
    Clay was embarrassed to reveal how he studied Jeff, how he could tell just how he was feeling by how his body moved. “You look different when you’re having a good ride.” Jeff shuddered a little,