Better Be Worth It
The smell of horse manure and cowhide wafting from the entrance to the Rodeo made David's nose wrinkle. "Jack, this place is disgusting."
Jack paused and glanced back over his shoulder. "Come on, Davy. Put on a happy face for me, please? You know this is my…" Jack paused, and began to count on his fingers while staring over David's head at nothing in particular. "…seventeenth favorite place in the whole world!" Jack finished proudly as a smile blossomed across his face.
David wasn't moved. "Seventeenth, huh?" He crossed his arms sullenly and glared at Jack. "Must be pretty important then."
Jack's grin faded and was replaced with a crestfallen frown. He slid to David's side and threw a companionable arm across his shoulders. David almost shrugged away from him, but Jack's grip tightened and he leaned close to David's ear to whisper, "If you do this for me, I'll make it worth your while later."
David raised his eyebrow and smiled against his will, imagining just what Jack could do to make him not regret coming to this repulsive Rodeo deal. He sighed dramatically and groaned, "I guess I'll stay. But only for you, Jack."
Jack beamed at him and gave him a quick kiss before pulling away and glancing at his watch. "We'd better get a move on, Dave. Show's going to start soon." He set off down the tunnel into the arena, and David followed, the wrinkle in his nose becoming more and more pronounced as he neared the source of the sickening smell.
"Here we are!" Jack proclaimed as they shoved through the gathering crowd of cowboys and ranchers to reach their seats. Jack had insisted upon splurging to get tickets close to the arena floor. David strongly regretted that decision now, as he glanced around at the drunken men surrounding them.
"Jack, it's only, like, seven-thirty. Why are all of these guys already drunk?" David asked, flinching away as a tall man in a black cowboy hat leered at him from behind a plastic cup of some sort of alcohol.
Jack shrugged. "Makes it more fun for them, I guess."
David shook his head and frowned. He looked around the stadium as it slowly filled with people. Suddenly three men on horses came charging out of a gated entrance at the far end of the arena and began to ride around the ring, whooping and hollering. David winced and covered his ears. Facing Jack, he moaned, "Remind me again why you wanted your nickname to be 'Cowboy'?"
Jack didn't look at him, but kept his eyes fixed on the horses as the rushed around the dirt floor of the arena. He shouted happily as one of the riders jumped off of his mount and performed a series of somersaults in midair before landing gently in the center of the ring. "What did you say, Davey?" he yelled, clapping wildly.
David shook his head again and scowled, sinking lower in his uncomfortable stadium seat. "This really better be worth it," he grumbled. "Or someone's going to get hurt."