KING LUCAS

CHAPTER 32

Pappy Joe had dropped them on town, so they could have dinner in his favorite restaurant.

"It's okay, we'll order an Uber to go back." He replied, getting out of the car and pulling up his seat so the rest could get down.

"Remember we have work tomorrow, boy." He said.

"I know." He closed the door and watched his grandfather drive away. It had been the third time that afternoon that Pappy Joe had told him about working tomorrow. Lucas was starting to be annoyed by it, he had been coming to the farm since he was 11 to work, he knew he had to help.

It was only once, when he was fifteen and he had been suspended the week before the holidays, that he skipped the farm work and decided to camp out with some older friends from college. Pappy Joe had been so pissed, his face reminded him of when he fell off Judy the sheep, that natural disappointment that came so easily to him. Although, Lucas didn't make it so hard on him to be disappointed, with him always getting into fights, and then being held back a year, it wasn't pleasing having to stand through another one of his lectures of how farm work can build a man, he wasn't having it that year, so he escaped.

When he finally came home he found his mother crying, not crying because she was disappointed like his grandfather, but she was scared that he had left forever, but Lucas couldn't leave her with his dad, so he came back and took the beating. After that, he never missed an opportunity to go to the farm, because it meant more time away from his father, so he did the work and he got stronger. Maybe what Pappy Joe had said was true, farm work gave him the strength to confront his dad on that night with his hand gun; maybe what he said wasn't true, because he couldn't seem to forget his past, no matter how many fields he cleared, he couldn't clear his head.

Lucas picked a Texan barbecue restaurant, famous for their ribs. Julie, the owner, greeted him with a hug and seated them personally. She was a very close friend of his mother, they had gone to high school together, so Lucas was no stranger to her. They ordered five racks for the table, plus sides of cornbread, coleslaw and their sweet beans.

He thought that they would be taking some leftovers, but it seemed that Farkle had found a new love for southern cuisine. They waited a while on that restaurant, while their stomachs deflated, and they could catch a breath.

Then they went walking around town, Lucas told them a little something about every place, he had spent a lot of his childhood running these streets while his mother studied at the library. They walked until they reached the part where bars and clubs began to pop up at every side, but Lucas didn't walk them to any of them, instead he walked to a dark alley with only the street lights illuminating their path.

"Uh, Lucas?" Riley said, walking a little closer to Maya. "I thought we were going to a country bar."

"We are." He said, stopping in the middle of the alley and knocking on an invisible door. A square of light appeared on the wall, with a head poking out of it.

"Well, I must've had a glass too many, because I'm seeing a ghost." The man said.

"Hey, Jay, long time." Lucas chuckled. The door opened to show a big man with no hair in his head except for his thick mustache, Riley stepped back, hiding behind her best friend. Jay pulled Lucas for a big hug, he even lifted him from the ground.

"Boy, you've grown, what are you doing here? Is it harvesting season?" He asked, not paying attention to the others.

"I'm in town for a few days to help Pappy Joe, I also brought some friends from New York." Jay proceeded to hug each and everyone, this time, Riley was the first to jump in for the hug, not scared of the big man anymore.

"Are you coming in?" Jay asked, Lucas smiled, his friend had never let him down. He held the door as the group walked in, the music flooded the kitchen, but they kept going until they were inside the bar.

"It's a full house tonight." Lucas patted his back. When he began coming in it was because of his college buddies, but it was Jay who caught him drinking underage. At least Lucas played him right at the moment and he let him stay, after a while he became a close friend and Lucas became a regular client.

"Did you see the board?" Jay pointed at a chalk board sitting on top of the bar. It read: Bryan 7,02s. Lucas' mouth dropped open, someone had beaten his record on the mechanical bull. It had been years since he had ridden a real bull and a long time since he had been here, but last time he was sure that nobody would be able to beat his record. "Are you going to claim your title?"

"Well, I think I have to, that board just doesn't look right." Lucas smiled, New York had won him over, but he missed these little moments.

"Alright, I'll call you when it's time." He grabbed his shoulder. "Now, go play with your friends."

Zay had found them a table and he had pulled an extra couple of chairs to fit all of them. After a few minutes a waitress, dressed in a short skirt and a cowboy blouse, brought a round of shots to the table.

"I brought you a little something to start off." She winked at Lucas. "Can I bring you anything else?" Riley ordered a rum and coke, Farkle wanted to try a Texan beer, Zay and Maya ordered a Leprechaun. "And for you, the usual?" She asked Lucas.

"Yes, please." He responded.

"Y'know, it hasn't been the same since you left." She said before leaving the table.

Lucas raised his glass so they could celebrate their first night in town, Maya didn't seemed very happy. He looked at her, but he didn't understand why she had the sudden mood change. He had come here to have a good time and although he liked Maya, Josh was still an issue and he wasn't going to do anything until she made up her mind. He picked the tray with the empty shot glasses and returned them to the bar.

"Your girlfriend's pretty." Jessica told him, mixing the drinks.

"She's not my girlfriend." He explained to her. "It's complicated."

"It's sad, y'know." She said, putting his scotch in front of him.

"What's sad?" He asked, taking a sip.

"That we've lost you." She replied, smiling.

"I will always have Austin in my heart, New York is great and everything–"

"I wasn't talking about the city, I mean she has stole you away." She pointed at the blonde, but before Lucas could say anything, she kept talking. "Don't try to deny it, you've turned to look at her twice already." He stared at Maya again, this time consciously. "I'm happy for you." She finished, taking the rest of their drinks to their table.

At eight and several drinks later Farkle and Riley had taken their feet to the dance floor, and Lucas had to admit that they were pretty good at it. He hadn't noticed but Zay had gone to talk to some girls in a booth and he was left alone with Maya.

"Wanna dance?" He asked, putting his hat on a chair. Maya looked at him, not sure if he was being serious. "I know it's square dancing, but it's harder than it looks." He offered his hand, but she didn't take it, at least she stood up and walked to the dance floor, Lucas joined her.

If he was honest, he had never learned an specific dance, he just followed the guy in front of him and listened to the rhythm, it was a simple beat. Maya seemed to catch the hang of it faster than he could ever dream of, she was smiling and having a good time, the three shots and the Leprechaun had done their job. Lucas on the other hand, was completely sober, he didn't want to ride the bull with his head buzzing.

Just when the song finished, the lights that illuminated the inflatable ring and the bull went on. Jay jumped on stage.

"Good night, y'all. It is time for our weekly bull riding tournament!" They were loud cheers from the audience. "To kick us off, please give a warm Texan welcome to the city boy, Freckles!"

"Yes!" Farkle's arms went in the air, as the crew put the helmet on.

It was safe to say that it took him longer to sit on the bull than the actual ride, but everyone cheered and laughed at the skinny kid. At least Riley welcomed him with open arms and a kiss, like a good winner.

They saw other guys try to beat the record but they all ended on the floor, they were too drunk or too weak to hold on. Luckily for Lucas, he was neither. He had trained to be a rodeo bull rider, but they moved to Houston before any real competitions.

"Don't leave just yet, because here... tonight... we have the former record holder back to regain his title." Jay warmed up the crowd, some people sitting at the bar turned their attention to the machine. "Please, give it up for Lucas Friar!"

He jumped on the bull and saw Maya amongst the crowd, he winked at her before putting the helmet on. He knew she enjoyed when all her jokes about him being a cowboy turned out to be true. He placed his right hand under the belt, holding on tightly.

It's funny, time seems to slow down when you're in the bull, being pulled and pushed around. He lifted his left hand up for balance, he rode that vile machine for what felt like a whole minute. He held on for as long as he could, until his arm gave up and he was thrown sideways.

It took him some time to set his mind in order, but when he came back to it, the screams in the crowd were deafening. He stood up, leaning on the bull and took his helmet off. The time read: 9,23s.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new record!" Everyone was clapping, Jessica came in a gave him a plastic golden belt and a kiss in the cheek, his eyes surfed through the crowd but he couldn't find the blue eyes he was looking for.

He walked towards Riley, receiving some pats in the back and some congratulations.

"Riley, where's Maya?" He asked, almost yelling, the music was very loud.

"I think she went outside." Lucas made his way out, if a police caught her drunk and underage they would definitely make big trouble for Jay.

Fortunately, she was leaning against the wall outside, looking at the sky.

"Maya?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I just needed some air." She replied, her eyes falling at the belt in his hand.

"I won." He told her, but she just nodded. "Are you okay?"

"You rode that thing for too long." She told him, her tone was different, it wasn't playful like most of the times.

"Yeah, I know, that's the point." He chuckled.

"What if you'd gotten hurt?" She asked, turning to see him, he understood now.

"You were worried about me?" He said smirking. "That's why you walked out."

"No." She replied. "I was thinking how we would get home if you got hurt."

It was always this way with Maya, every time he thought he was getting closer to her she would shut him out, he was tired of it, if she wanted to be with Josh then let be it, he wasn't wasting more time chasing something impossible.

"Why won't you admit you like me?" He asked her, seriously. But she didn't say anything, he scoffed, a bit disappointed. "Fine, stay with that loser. Here–" He told her, putting the belt in her hands. "I won this for you."

He was walking back when her voice stopped him.

"Wait!" She said to him, but he didn't turn around. "Josh and I broke up."

Something inside him bursted, he walked back to her and grabbed her face with both hands pulling her, filling the gap between them. There was nothing in their way, who could say for tomorrow, maybe there'd be a new challenge waiting for them, but for now they were free and there was nothing stopping them.