"C'mon Artie! I wanna see the bull riders!" I said, running in front of him and then turning to try to tell him to hurry. The Brit rolled his eyes as he walked through crowd, following behind me at much more leisured pace. My jeans and long sleeve button up were a huge contrast to the Englishman's khakis and sweater vest. I was surprised he wasn't dying of heat stroke yet.
"You just want to see that Alfred fellow," he replied, trying to catch up with me. I blushed pink and shrugged.
"Can I help it if he's hot and an amazing bull rider?" I asked, sighing at the prospect of seeing the man atop one of the rowdy creatures. He was good looking, yes, but he also had skill and talent. He was wonderful. Arthur raised an impressive eyebrow and shook his head.
"I swear _, you truly are mad," he said. I laughed and continued pulling him towards the arena. We stood at the very bottom and I was standing on the large metal fence that acted as a barrier between the bull and the crowd. I was able to get close enough that I could see the men climb onto the bulls. They had a wild, fiery, exciting look about them as they sat on the bulls. We watched several riders who were pretty good, but they couldn't hold on for the eight seconds.
"Next up," the announcer boomed, making me look up in excitement, "the tough, the talented, Alfred F. Jones!" I cheered along with everyone else, trying to be just as loud as I could. Arthur simply rolled his eyes and smirked at me. Alfred walked into the arena, tipping his cowboy hat as he went. His sky blue eyes sparkled in the afternoon sunlight.
He walked to the caged bull and jumped over the gate. He climbed up and stood over the creature and jumped down quickly onto the bull. It snorted and grunted beneath him and he patted it soothingly on the back. I could see Alfred squeezing his legs tightly so he could hang on when they let him go. He gripped the bull rope, closing his blue eyes and taking deep breathes. The blue orbs opened and I swear he looked right at me as he threw his hand up.
The gate opened and the bull came out raring. It bucked and jerked around the arena, making dirt fly into the air as it tried to throw Alfred off. I looked up at the timer and saw only four seconds to go. Alfred grabbed his heat and waved it around, hollering as the crowd cheered when the buzzer went off.
He threw his legs back and let go of the bull. He practically dove through the air towards the ground making it look like he was going to face plant. He turned his shoulder at the last minute however and rolled and landed neatly on his feet. It was a wonder his glasses had stayed on the entire time.
He looked at one of the nearby handlers and made a motion with his hand. The man nodded and hurried off. Alfred turned back to the crowd and waved, grinning broadly. His sky blue eyes shivered with excitement as he looked straight at me. My heart thumped erratically as I watched the handler run back to Alfred with a microphone.
"Hello ya'll!" he said into the mic. He walked around the edge of the large gate that kept the bulls in and climbed onto the top so he could walk across the thin bars. "I've got one more thing I want to do before I leave all you lovely people, but to do it I need an assistant." The crowd erupted into cheers and hands from plenty of willing girls shot into the air.
Too lost in my sudden daydreams of what it would be like to help with what he had planned, I didn't raise my hand. Why would he want me to ride a bull with him? I thought forlornly. I didn't notice the shadow that fell over me until Arthur chuckled behind me. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow and he pointed to something in front of me.
"Hey there little lady." My eyes widened as I looked up and saw Alfred grinning down at me, a piece of hay between his teeth and lips. He sky blue eyes glittered in the afternoon sun behind his glasses. "Wanna go for a ride?" he asked, reaching down towards me. I looked at him and simply nodded, reaching my hand out to take his.
"Sure," I mumbled, grasping his hand firmly. His smiled widened and he pulled me up onto the top of the gate with him. I looked back at Arthur and saw him smirking at me and trying not to laugh. Alfred carefully walked us towards the caged bull. I looked at it and watched it snort and move around as best as it could in the cramped space.
"You sure you wanna ride? Alfred asked as he handed the microphone over to one of the men close by. I looked between him and the animal before nodding resolutely. "Alright, uh…" He scratched the back of his head almost embarrassedly.
"_," I replied, smiling up at him. He chuckled and set his cowboy hat on my head. He moved so I was setting on the gate he was once again position over the animal.
"Alrighty then _," he said, setting himself down expertly on the bull with practiced ease, "c'mere." He held out his arms to me so I could get on the animal. I slid my butt across the bar I was seated on and tried to push myself onto the creature. My foot slipped though and I almost hit my head. Alfred caught me by the waist and pulled me up quickly so I was straddling the bull, but facing him.
"S-shouldn't I be sitting the other way?" I asked, blushing as he leaned in close. He shook his head as he took his hat back.
"Nope, but I need to move ya around a bit okay?" I agreed and he grabbed my legs and pulled them up to they were resting on his own. "Can ya wrap em' around my waist?" I blushed but nodded my head and did my best to lock my ankles around his back. I ignored the wolf whistles coming from some of the men by the cage.
"So I'm not going to go flying off, right?" I asked as he reached around me to grab the bull rope. I blushed again as his hand brushed my backside to get a better grip on the leather and rope.
"Sorry," he mumbled, "and no you won't, but you've got to hold onto my neck tight." I went to do as he instructed, but he grabbed my chin between his gloved thumb and index finger. "You're gonna do great, promise." I blushed and wrapped my arms around his neck as he released me, scooting as close as I could and pressing our chest flush together. I could feel his heart hammering in his chest and it suddenly struck me. I'm on a bull. I'm on the back of a bull holding onto Alfred F. Jones.
I opened my mouth to say something against my riding as I apparently came to my sense at the last minute, but Alfred had thrown his hand up and the gate was shoved open. I latched onto the cowboy as the bull began kicking and bucking. It felt like I was going to be up in the air and then face first in the dirt any second, but Alfred didn't let me go.
"Yee haw!" the man crowed, reaching for his hat and waving it around. The only thing I could hear besides Alfred was my heart pounding in my head. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to focus on breathing in his heavy, leathery smell. "Aright _(n/n)_, hang on tight!"
I tightened my hold and felt him moving around as delicately as he could on the back of the beast. I peeked an eye open to see that he was crouching low on the bull's back, not once having let go of the bull robe, and then I snapped them shut again. I had no idea how the riders managed to do this with their eyes open.
The buzzer must have sounded because as I foolishly opened my eyes again, Alfred jumped, making my stomach lurch. The stands were a blur for a moment and then there was solid thud as Alfred's feet made contact with the ground. The jolt that ran through me jarred my legs and forced my ankles loose. I could hear the people in the stands screaming and cheering as my feet touched the ground and Alfred stood us up.
"Ya alright?" he asked, keeping an arm wrapped firmly around my waist. I nodded and simply buried my face into the heavy vest he wore. He raised an arm to wave at the crowd as helped me to walk out of the arena. My legs shook as I felt the coolness of an air conditioned room. Alfred bent down to wrap his arms around my knees. I cuddled close to his warm chest and he chuckled.
"You did mighty fine for a first time bull rider," he said as he sat me down on a large crate. I grinned and blushed as I looked at him.
"Thank you," I managed. I felt tears starting to build in my eyes and I wiped the moisture away. Alfred cupped my cheek and pushed some of hair from my face.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked hurriedly, wiping my eyes with my thumb as a few more tears fell. I shook my head, trying to breathe evenly.
"J-just nerves," I mumbled. He chuckled and I watched as he uncapped a metallic flask.
"First time always gets cha. Here, take a swig of this," he said, holding the container out to me. I didn't question the contents and took a long pull. The whiskey burned as it traveled down my throat and I choked as I came up for breathe. "Better?" he inquired, taking the flask back.
"Y-yea," I gasped as the burn slowly faded. "Thanks." He nodded and pushed his glasses up his nose.
"I've noticed you at every rodeo I've been to around here," he said, looking out at the man who was now standing on the back of his horse, dancing back and forth through his lasso.
"Mhm," I hummed in agreement, I never watched many of the other acts though, just the bull riders. Alfred was my favorite and the only one I truly paid attention to. He raised an eyebrow.
"Not a lot of people come to every single one. Why do you?" I blushed at the question and brought my knees up to my chin.
"Promise you won't think I'm weird," I said, glancing at him. He turned to look at me better and motioned for me to continue. "I come to see you," I mumbled. "Your talent is absolutely stunning and it's amazing to watch. You have such wonderful and raw skill and ability. "I… I've always wanted to talk to you about it, but all the other girls get to you first." I blushed as I confessed to the blonde.
"Well, would you like to talk about it over supper?" I looked up and saw him grinning at me.
"Are… do you really… over supper?" I was unable to form a complete sentence and only get out phrases. He laughed and leaned forward to kiss my cheek. It shut me up completely and I just blushed red.
"How about I take ya out tonight?" I nodded my head and smiled.
"That sounds nice. Why don't you call me later?" I said, pulling out a slip of paper from my pocket and writing my number on it. He grinned and tucked it in his shirt pocket.
"I'll surely do that," he replied. I could've sworn he was slowly leaning closer, but a small cough from behind made him jerk back. "Uh… hi there." I looked back and saw Arthur standing there with his arms cross and his eyebrows raised.
"Hey Artie," I said, blushing pink. He snorted and walked forward, sticking his hand out towards Alfred.
"Hello, Arthur Kirkland," he said. Alfred grinned and took the outstretched hand.
"Alfred Jones. Nice to meetcha." Arthur smiled and nodded his head.
"The pleasure is all mine. Well are you ready to go _?" he asked as he turned to me. I crossed my arms in an 'I am not amused' gesture'.
"He's just a good friend of mine, I swear," I said as I glanced at Alfred. The honey blonde chuckled and nodded.
"Don't worry hun. Alright, well I'll call later ya and letcha know when I'll pick ya up! See ya!" He tipped his hat and walked off. I turned to Arthur and flicked him in the side of the head.
"Thanks," I drawled, walking towards the exit. He yelped and rubbed the spot where I'd thumped him.
"Ouch! What was that for?" he asked as he followed me out, a teasing glint in his eye. I sneered and crossed my arms as we walked through the bright sunlight.
"You know perfectly well what for," I muttered as I unlocked the car doors. He slid into the passenger seat and chuckled.
"Sorry love," he said as I sat down and started the car. He leaned over to kiss my cheek, grinning like a fool. "I had to meet him first."
"What, and thoroughly embarrass me? You're not my dad!" I protested, looking at him with an eye roll. He shrugged and laughed softly. "Remind me not to bring you along anymore," I muttered as I pulled out onto the road.
"But you're happy, yes? The bull rider of your dreams and all that?" I glanced at him and grinned excitedly.
"Maybe. It's only dinner," I said, blushing pink. Arthur giggled.
"Of course love, whatever you say." I giggled and laid my head back against the headrest. Tonight wouldn't come fast enough. "If he lays a single finger on you-"
"Arthur!"
Okay, so first off, I've never been to a rodeo, so I'm not sure on some of the details, but I do know that the rider holds onto a bull rope. There is no saddle when riding a bull, you simply try to squeeze your legs around it's side and hand onto the bull rope for dear life for eight seconds.
Second, from what I know, and from what little I've seen, executing a move such as your's and Alfred's is impossible. I believe it highly improbable. but it's Alfred, he's the hero and can do anything, right?
third, yes, Al would have a flask of whiskey on him at all times :D Artie's just a really good friend and the kiss on the cheek is kinda like a brotherly kiss, ya know *shrug* I think that's everything! If you have a question about anything, I'll try to answer it and please lemme know if there are any mistakes! Please lemme know whatcha think! Love ya'll!