I start cheering, and the girls all start laughing and cheering with me. I can see that they are loving seeing me this way. The camera obviously loves Lucas because it follows him as he walks off the stage and over to where some other cowboys are. He pulls his phone from his pocket, and in the next second, my phone rings.
I stare at the TV and then stare at my phone and see that he's doing a video call. "It's him. It's him," I say.
Tara, April, and Emery all get quiet as I grab my phone and answer it. Seeing myself in the screen, I'm a little embarrassed. My face is flushed. Whether from the cheering or the alcohol, I'm not sure. Before he can say anything, I'm smiling ear to ear. "You did it. You did it."
He nods his head. "I knew you were watching. I could feel you watching."
My heart is racing in my chest. “You did so well.” I hold my phone up so that he can see Tara, Emery, and April. “My girls have all been watching too.” They all wave at him and tell him “congratulations,” and he waves back. "Thanks, ladies."
I point toward the kitchen to let my friends know I'll be right back and walk in there. As soon as I get through the doors, I tell him, "Take your hat off. I want to see you."
His eyes widen in surprise, but he does as I ask. "Better?" he asks when he takes it off and holds it to his chest.
I shrug. "I like you both ways. I just wanted to be able to see your eyes."
It gets loud there, and obviously, there's another ride about to take place. He puts one finger to his ear and says, "I have to go. I just had to see you."
I nod happily. "I'm glad you called. I'm so proud of you."
"I'll talk to you later," he says.
I don't know why I do it, and I'd probably be embarrassed if I was sober, but I blow him a kiss.
He seems surprised and looks straight into my eyes. "I'd give anything to be with you right now."
"Next weekend, less than a week," I tell him with a promise.
"All right, I'll talk to you soon," he says.
"Bye," I answer and hang up quickly, afraid that I will try to drag this out knowing that he needs to go. I hold my phone to my chest and take deep breaths. I know that I need to remind myself that he is the rebound guy. That's what we agreed to, but already I can feel myself falling for him. Don't do it, Becca. Have fun. That's what this is all about.
But in my inebriated state, I don't want to even think about that. I walk back in the other room with my friends, and they all start hooting and hollering when they see me. I just shake my head at them. "All right. All right."
April jumps up and pulls me into a hug. "I'm just so happy to see you happy. You don't know how much we've hated seeing you hurt and down these last few months. Seeing your smile again—"
Her voice drops off, and I shake my head. I know that all three of them have been really worried about me, and I hate that I've put them through that. "I'm good. I promise I'm good, and I think you guys are right. I needed a rebound guy."
The three of them look at each other as if they have some kind of secret, but I don't worry about that. I hold up the bottle of wine. "All right, who wants some more?"
All three of them hold their glasses up and say, "Me!" at the same time. I fill it up and try to forget about Lucas Granger, but I know that's going to be a hard thing to do.
Chapter 9
Lucas
I knew that I would enjoy having Becca with me, but nothing could have prepared me for how good it would feel to have her sitting next to me in the VIP section at the rodeo. We talked on the phone this whole week, texting, messaging, calling, and videos every day.
I almost drove to Whiskey Run a thousand times, but after finishing last weekend in Kentucky and knowing I needed to get ready for this weekend at Whiskey Valley, I made myself stay and train to get ready. But when she showed up at my house this afternoon, I couldn't hold back. As soon as I opened the door, I pulled her into my arms, and I've pretty much kept a hand on her ever since.
"Are you having a good time?" I ask her.
She's been smiling ear to ear this whole time. "This is so fun. I'm sure I'm driving you crazy, though, with all my questions."