Roped & Tied

by Ronald H Keyser

  “What the…?” Brandon started, but went quiet as soon as Dani had his penis in her hands.

  She looked up at Brandon and asked, “You remember that thing I used to do?”

  “Awwww, how could I ever forget?” Brandon’s eyes rolled back into his head. He was getting hard quickly, but pulled away after a minute and asked, “What’s this about, Dani? I mean, you’re married and I have somebody else now, too. What are you doing?”

  Although she kept stroking Brandon’s penis, Dani rose, stepped up to him, and gave him a long, passionate kiss. When she removed her tongue from his mouth, she added, “We can talk later, Brandon, but right now I need this.”

  “But…” Brandon said through heavy breaths.

  “No buts, please,” begged Dani as she glanced down at his erect penis. She added, “If you ever loved me, I need you do this for me. I need you to fuck me right now.”

  “What about Jake? Where’s he?” asked Brandon.

  “Jake runs around on me all the time, and any minute now he’s going to be fucking a cute little buckle bunny that I just saw walk into his trailer like she owned it,” answered Dani. “So I don’t want to talk about him right now.” She gazed deep into his eyes as she added, “Please, for me.”

  Brandon looked at her for a brief moment before taking her by the hand and pulling her to the back of the motor home where they removed their clothing in seconds before they became entangled on the bed.

  * * *

  Jason and Chris each had a Coke and a hot dog that day, and Caleb had three beers, but Dani didn’t come back to her seat until right before Brandon Clark & The Boys took the stage after the rodeo was over.

  Jackie babysat while Dani was away and eventually had to go get the food and drinks, not that she minded all that much.

  For her part, Dani apologized, but was thankful her parents didn’t ask why she now wore a contented smile, or what she had been doing that her took so long to return. Even though she would have lied to them if they had asked, she was glad she didn’t have to.

  * * *

  “Where are we going?’ asked Dani from the front passenger seat of Jake’s pick-up truck.

  “There’s a TGI Fridays at some place north of Houston, called Greenspoint,” answered Jake, keeping his eyes on the traffic surrounding his truck and trailer along crowded I-45. He glanced at Dani, “It’s up there by the airport somewhere.”

  “Are you sure you want to stop and have a few beers?” asked Dani.

  “Sure, we have to,” said Jake. “It’s a tradition. We always get together after the rodeo in Houston and do a little celebrating. Why?”

  “’Cause Momma and Daddy have the kids,” said Dani. She shrugged as she added, “I feel kind of guilty leaving the kids with them while we go partying.”

  “Oh, cut it out,” said Jake, waving the thought away with his hand, “Your momma and daddy would do the same if it were them instead of us.”

  “Maybe.” Dani glanced out her side window at all the city lights as they drove by the tall buildings that made up downtown Houston. “Maybe I just want to get home, that’s all,” she added with a shrug. “You know, I lived in Tucson for a long time. I used to think I would never say this, but I really like living back in Childress. Being near Momma and Daddy again really means a lot to me.”

  “We’ll get back there soon enough,” said Jake with a smile. “I like our home, too. Worst case is we’ll be back at the ranch tomorrow afternoon.” He added seriously, “If you want, though, I’ll only have a beer or two, and we can head back in a couple hours.”

  Dani busted out laughing as she said, “Yeah, right. Tell me, when was the last time you only had a beer or two?”

  “Well, it’s been a while,” Jake agreed. “But I can do it.”

  “Let’s face it, Jake,” said Dani, shaking her head, “you’re going to get drunk so we’ll have to get a hotel room because it’s a seven-hour drive, and we won’t get up until late because your head is going to hurt, so we won’t get back to Childress until sometime tomorrow night.” She finished up sarcastically as she added, “I know you.”

  “Yeah,” Jake chuckled, “I guess you do.” He pointed to the glove box. “Can you do me a favor and pull out one of those whacky-tabacky cigarettes from the glove box? I want to smoke a little before we get there.”

  Dani had the joint out and lit in less than a minute. Neither talked as they took turns with the marijuana but, as they smoked, Dani’s mind drifted back to the events of the afternoon. Today wasn’t the first day she had cheated on her husband; she’d crossed that line right after she and Jake got married. She had to give Brandon some kind of consolation gift, right? In fact, for the last six years, she had wondered who Jason’s father really was because she was pretty sure she was pregnant when Jake proposed. Her oldest boy had Jake’s chin, but she always thought he had Brandon’s eyes, so she might never know for sure.

  The real reason she had said yes to Jake wasn’t because of the drugs and alcohol; it was because a wedding band on her finger cleaned up a pregnancy mess really quick and, even though it turned out Brandon was finally going to break down and ask her to marry him, she didn’t know it at the time. Jake just beat him to the punch, pure and simple. She suddenly remembered how hard Brandon had taken the news and, up until this afternoon, Dani had carried a tremendous feeling of guilt around with her ever since the day she told him. After she stepped out of Brandon’s motor home today, however, it felt as though she had let go of the heaviest piece of baggage she’d been carrying all those years.

  As she looked at Jake and handed him the joint, she wondered how much time he had spent with the girl in his trailer. Not that she really cared; she had long known of Jake’s philandering and always chalked it up to something that the great Jake ‘The Snake’ O’Brien had to have. To her, it seemed like all the greatest athletes in every profession fooled around. From golf, to football, to baseball and, of course, to rodeo, all the top stars were well known to be womanizers. Dani truly believed a good romp in the hay with a cute young girl was what all superstars needed to be as good as they were, so she was able to rationalize Jake’s infidelities on a daily basis but, every once in a while, like today, when she let herself get deep into her emotions, it still hurt.

  Jake didn’t show back up with the family until Brandon’s show was almost over, so he must have been giving it to the cowgirl like he used to do with her. Jake and Dani still had sex on a fairly regular basis, but now, after nearly six years of marriage, the frequency and intensity of their romps had dwindled quite a bit. There had been a couple of other men along the way and, even though she would have loved to have taken up a few of the many offers from some of the handsome, muscular rodeo cowboys they were about to meet up with, she never did. It was common knowledge in the rodeo community that Jake fooled around, but Dani never slept around with any cowboys because they were far too close to Jake.

  He found out about one of her lovers a couple of years earlier and beat her up so bad that she couldn’t leave the house for two weeks. She couldn’t imagine how horrible it would be if he found out she was sleeping with someone he knew and had to compete against every now and then. There was no doubt he would be so humiliated he might even kill the guy. And her. As the marijuana started to take effect, Dani started laughing.

  “What’s up?” asked Jake as he took another puff off the joint.

  “Oh, nothing,” answered Dani between giggles. “I don’t know why, but I was just thinking about the time you ran into that guy at that bar by my house.”

  “Larry’s Ice House,” Jake started laughing with her.

  “That’s the one.” Dani started chuckling again.

  “I don’t know why you think that story’s funny,” said Jake, passing the joint back.

  “Because it is,” said Dani. “Stop and think about it. What are the odds of that happening?”

  “Well,” Jake smiled. “Maybe you’re right. And you know that was the real reason I d
ecided to ask you to marry me, don’t you?”

  “No way…really?” asked Dani.

  “Yep,” answered Jake. “I figured I had to put a stop to that shit.”

  “That shit?” asked Dani.

  “Yeah…that shit.” Jake put what was left of the joint in the ashtray to burn out. He kept his eyes on the road as he added, “I’ll never forget me sitting there on that bar stool minding my own business, and this guy sits down next to me and buys me a beer.”

  “That was the same day you took me to Vegas to get married,” said Dani.

  “Yes, it was,” Jake said. “I’d already bought your ring a while back, kept it on me for a month or so trying to get my nerve up to ask you, but that guy at that bar pushed me right over the edge.”

  “Yea for that guy at the bar,” Dani said.

  “I guess so,” answered Jake. “It might be funny now, but at the time I was pretty hot about it.”

  “Why?” asked Dani as if she was pouting. “Everything turned out the way it was supposed to, right?”

  “Yeah, it did,” he agreed. “But, at that moment, I knew I had to get up on my horse and get going; otherwise I stood a good chance of losing you.”

  “Tell me again what happened,” said Dani, still amused. “I love this story.”

  “I’m glad you do,” said Jake as a smile came across his face. He paused a moment as the recollection came back to him, then added, “Well, like I said, I was sitting there minding my own business, trying to kill a couple hours. Hell, I couldn’t even believe I found a bar open at nine in the morning, when this guy walks in and sits down next to me. Starts going on and on about what a lucky son of a bitch he was.” Jake chuckled before continuing, “Said he couldn’t believe how he had met Jake O’Brien, the greatest roper who ever lived, sitting in the same damned chair he had met Brandon Clark, the greatest country singer who ever lived, the day before.”

  “That’s a hell of a coincidence,” said Dani with a laugh.

  Jake glanced at Dani and said sarcastically, “Right.” He exited the freeway as he added, “Hell, far as I know, that son of a bitch left your house right before I got there.”

  Dani choked on a cough before saying, “That’s ridiculous, Jake, and you know it.”

  “Oh, really?” answered Jake as he raised an eyebrow, “I drove by your house before I went to the bar…and saw his truck parked out front.”

  “Shit. So you’ve known all this time? I never knew that.” She bit her lower lip before adding, “And you never got mad?”

  “Yep, sure as hell did.” Jake turned the truck and trailer onto the frontage road of Beltway 8. He chuckled as he added, “But I figured at the time it was all fair in love and war. We weren’t hitched or anything. But I knew then I had to ask you to marry me.”

  “So you came up with the plan to marry me in Vegas, sitting at that bar?” asked Dani.

  Jake came to the first light and turned left. “That’s right,” he told her, “I always was pretty fast on my feet.”

  “You’re right about that, Jake,” she said. “You sure as hell are.”

  Jake turned into the parking lot of TGI Fridays and parked in the far corner of the parking lot. Even though it was a Sunday evening, most of the spaces were filled with trucks and horse trailers because all the rodeo cowboys and their wives or girlfriends had already descended on the establishment. They went inside and stepped up to the bar, which was surrounded by what seemed like a sea of cowboy hats.

  Keith McNew, a top ten bronc rider, walked down to the hostess stand and grabbed the microphone from the mortified girl working there and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we want to welcome the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s newest calf-roping champion, and the greatest calf roper that ever lived, Jake ‘The Snake’ O’Brien!” Everyone at the bar erupted in a cheer, even the manager, who stopped at the hostess stand to let the girl know it was all right that Keith had hijacked her microphone. The place was packed, with only a minimal staff, so he had plenty of other problems to deal with besides the hostess stand. Everybody who worked that night was in the weeds.

  “Hey, Jake, let me buy you and that pretty lady hanging on your arm a beer,” Keith hollered as he walked back up to the bar area.

  “That sounds like a splendid idea.” Jake reached out to shake Keith’s hand. “I think I’ll take you up on that.” He looked at Dani and asked, “And a shot of tequila?”

  “Here we go,” sighed Dani. “I told you we weren’t going back to Childress tonight.”

  Jake shrugged as if to say “so what,” then turned to the bartender and said, “Barkeep, bring us three shots of Cuervo 1800, salt and lime, and two Budweisers.”

  “On my tab,” added Keith as he stuck his forefinger to his chest. He then turned to Jake and added, “Congratulations on your win here in Houston. That was a hell of a run you made today, Jake.”

  “Thanks,” said Jake as he handed Keith and Dani their tequila shots.

  “What are we toasting to?” asked Dani as they held up their glasses.

  “How about that new horse you got this week?” said Keith. “What’s his name?”

  “Bear,” answered Jake. He raised his glass and clinked it to Keith’s and Dani’s before adding, “That would be a great toast. Here’s to Bear, my next great horse.” They downed their shots and bit their limes before Jake added, “I don’t know how I’m gonna pay for that magnificent son of a bitch, but I’ll figure out something.”

  “How much did you pay for him?’ asked Keith. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

  “A hundred thousand,” answered Jake as he handed Dani her beer. He took a swig of his before adding, “It’s not all that much if you say it fast.”

  “Wheew!” Keith shook his head. “When the hell did it start costing that much money for a good horse?” He scratched the back of his head, adding, “Hell, it would take me most of the season to make that kind of money.”

  “Yeah, me, too,” said Jake with a chuckle, “but Bear’s only three and I figure I can ride him another six or seven years.” He took another swig of his beer before adding, “Maybe by that time I’ll be so old I’ll have to hang it up anyway.”

  Keith playfully punched Jake in the arm as he laughed and said, “Hell, Jake, you’re already an old son of a bitch. What are you now, fifty?”

  “Funny,” said Jake as Dani and Keith laughed. “It seems like it sometimes with the aches and pains that go along with this life.” He held up his hand to try to get the bartender’s attention as he added, “But I’m thirty-four.”

  Keith threw back the rest of his beer. “You sure as hell don’t rope like it. What did you make down here in Houston…fifteen….twenty thousand?”

  “Twenty-two and change.” He motioned for the bartender to bring them another round of beers before he looked at Keith and added, “Yeah, it was a pretty good couple of weeks, but you know what?”

  “What?’ asked Keith.

  “I might be thirty-four, but I’m just now hitting my prime.”

  “Yeah, and I’m Frank Sinatra,” Keith snorted, spilling beer down his shirt.

  Jake looked past Keith to a tall, well-built young cowboy who walked in the front door alone wearing a white straw hat. It caught Jake’s attention because it was February and everyone at the bar was wearing either a black or brown felt hat. He stopped at the hostess stand for a minute to look around but, after he saw Jake standing on the other side of the bar area, he immediately walked toward him.

  He said, “Excuse me, folks” as he stepped around a group of people who were blocking his way, then walked straight up to Jake, held out his hand and said, “Hello, Mr. O’Brien. I’m Adam Torres. It’s a great honor and pleasure to see you again.”

  Jake shook his hand firmly, looking the kid in the eyes, and asked, “Do I know you?” He was trying to figure out where he knew the young man from when he added, “I mean I know who you are. You’re fresh off the boat out here, but you finished second in the day money t
oday.” Jake let go of his hand to grab his beer and continued, “Pretty impressive for such a young guy.”

  Dani, who hadn’t been able to take her eyes off the handsome young man, jumped in and asked, “By the way, how old are you, anyway? Sixteen? Seventeen?”

  The young man laughed. “No, ma’am. I’m eighteen.”

  “Well, Adam,” said Jake. “How do we know each other? Have we met before?”

  “Yes, sir,” answered Adam quickly as he took off his hat and held it in his hands. He pointed to the writing on the brim and added, “It was ten years ago in Yuma, Arizona. I was at the rodeo with my mom and dad. You signed my cap, then told me to give it to my friend. Then you took off your own hat, signed it, and gave it to me.” He held out the hat so Jake could read in faded ink, “To Adam—Always be the best you can be. Jake ‘The Snake’ O’Brien!”

  “Isn’t that something!” said Keith as he stared at the writing on the hat.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” said Jake, “you’re that little kid.” He reached out to shake Adam’s hand again as he added, “Call me Jake.”

  Adam was obviously uncomfortable with the idea as he answered, “Whatever you say, Mr. O’Brien.” He was beaming from ear to ear, however, as he added, “I’ll never forget that day, though, even though it was ten years ago, it was the best day of my life.”

  “What a nice young man you are,” said Dani, placing her hand on Adam’s shoulder. She looked at Jake and added, “You never told me that story.”

  “Forgot all about it.” Jake shrugged his shoulders.

  “Can we get you a Coke or something?” asked Dani, who still had her hand on Adam’s shoulder.

  “No, thank you, ma’am,” answered Adam, putting his hat back on. “I don’t drink sodas; they’re bad for you.”

  “So’s a lot of things, son,” said Jake, chuckling. He took another long swig of his beer bottle before adding, “And I aim to try all of them before it’s over.” Jake motioned to the bartender again as he yelled, “Barkeep, tres mas tequilas.”