Page 103 of Untamed
The "short go" or "short go round" is a slang term for the 25th PBR: Unleash the Beast Championship Round. (see also 25th PBR: Unleash the Beast Championship Round)
Haylee and I end up staying the night in Thackerville at the WinStar World Casino and Resort with the rest of the bull riders, but I don’t see Grayer at all that night. Haylee tells me he doesn’t leave his room.
And neither do I.
The next day, I go to the outdoor arena, but I don’t sit with Haylee and Britany. I want to stay away from Grayer’s vision to see if I’m really the problem.
He gets tossed off his bull in the first four seconds and finishes fifteenth overall in the round.
When Jamie died, I thought to myself, this is the worst feeling in the world. Like slowly, I may be dying inside, or already there.
After the event, everyone’s in the bar celebrating, Ty won his first pro event. It’s a big deal for him. Haylee’s there with him, all dressed up and looking great. I stay in the corner near Britany and Reid, contemplating how I’m going to get home later. I can’t stay here and there’s no way I’m pulling Haylee away from this.
Reid hands me a rum and Coke. “Here. Looks like you need this.” His voice sends a spark to my heart because he sounds like Grayer.
I smile, taking the drink and see Grayer for the first time since the event. His mournful shoulders hunch as he walks, his head down. My heart tugs and I want to follow, but I know I can’t.
You’ve let me down, heart.
I hate this feeling that comes over me. It hurts so bad and burns even worse.
So I drink. And Reid helps me, stealing drinks every so often. Before I know it, I’ve had ten and I’m dancing with Henry, another rider. He’s whispering to me, touching places only Grayer has touched recently.
I know what this means. I know where this is going, but I do nothing to stop it.
Henry and I are at the bar, waiting for drinks when I hear, “You’re with Henry now?”
I turn to face him, my heart thudding loudly when I see those eyes and that face so close to me again. “Why do you care?”
Grayer smiles, but it doesn’t touch his eyes. It’s forced. “I don’t, but it didn’t take you long, did it, honey?” His words are delivered slowly but have a strange impact on me. His voice is deep when he speaks, scratching at me and leaving blood in its wake. It’s like he knows exactly what to say to me right then. The exact words to make me hate him.
“Hey, Gray,” Henry says, smiling at him, his hand around my shoulders. I know why he did that and fuck if I didn’t lean into him. As if to say, you had your chance, Grayer.
“It’s Grayer.” He smiles, a little provoking and points to a poster in the bar. “You know, the defending world champion.”
Henry laughs. And then he turns to me. “Ready to get out of here?”
Grayer doesn’t like that at all. He shakes his head in annoyance, the hatred present in his glare toward Henry.
“Yes,” I reply immediately, walking away and then reaching out to grab Henry’s hand. Grayer tenses, his jaw tightening as he watches a hand he used to reach for, in the hands of another man.
“Maesyn!” Grayer shouts after me. I don’t turn around. “I’m fucking talking to you, Maesyn. Don’t you walk away from me!”
I turn immediately and glare. Oh God, do I fucking glare at him. “You told me to walk away.Youtold me to leave. So you don’t get to tell me what to do anymore.”
His face flushes at the remark, and I think he’s going to say something else. Maybe break me down completely. Only he doesn’t. I watch his face and his dim-lit eyes, refusing to register a reaction. Nothing. It givesnothing. Then he blinks and it’s all at once, like my love for him. The rage hits him. When his eyes meet Henry, the chaos in his head is clear. He looks livid.
He pushes past me, knocking his shoulder into mine but then stops, wanting to steal another piece. “Yet here you are . . . still here.” He’s being an asshole. He’s trying to be. He nods to Henry, waiting for me at the door. “You look pretty comfortable already. Guess that’s really your thing, huh?”
I walk away. Again.
