Cold State Line

Snap pawed at the ground thrilled by his own running talent. This was the first time we'd beaten Anna, and it felt so damn good. Anna, being the best friend a girl could ask for, was so happy for us. We couldn't wait to go to Dallas. Unfortunately, Brittany would be joining us. I couldn't stand that bedazzled Rodeo Queen. And she was that. Before she went to barrel racing, she had actually been a rodeo queen from Oklahoma. That just made it worse, actually. Oklahoma was like the lesser version of Texas with shittier football.

"So, we gonna go meet the bull riders tonight?" Anna approached me holding her brown cowboy hat in her hand.

I rolled my eyes. "Do we have to?"

She grabbed my arm and pulled me over. "YES! You promised me last night and then we can go get deep fried Twinkies."

Shaking my head, I followed after her. I did promise her, and what kind of friend would I be if I broke a promise?
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"TWINKIE TIME!" I yelled after we'd be awarded our money and ran for the stand. I could hear Anna laughing behind me. The Houston and Dallas rodeos were the only times I allowed myself to indulge in the deep fried treat, and that was only partly due to the fact that Texas was the only state to do that.

"Deep fried beer?" I heard a deep baritone voice say. Clearly, from the disdain in his voice, he had never actually had the drink. I doubted he was from the south. He had no accent, so he had to be from the West Coast.

"Yes, that's a real thing," I said to the voice in front of me. "You have to try it, especially since Texas is really the only rodeo that has it."

He turned to face me, and I felt my heart speed up. That had never happened to me before. I was so used to being surrounded by handsome cowboys that I thought I was immune to the good looks of other men. But this man just proved me wrong. He had short, curly blackish hair and the most amazing hazel eyes I had ever seen. I could already feel myself getting lost in them. His arms were covered in tattoos and his lower right lip was pierced with a hip.

"Oh? Is it a Texan delicacy?" The man flashed a smile and my heart skipped a beat. Dimples, he had fucking dimples.

I smiled back after a brief pause. "Yes, it is. Go for it."

"Only if I can convince my friends to join me," he said, motioning to the men in front of us. They all had the similar look to him. I could tell they had never been to a rodeo before. They looked like they fit better at a Pantera concert. "I'm Matt, by the way." He held out a hand.

I pumped it. "Haylee. Is this y'all's first rodeo?"

"That obvious?" He laughed. "My friend, Zach, thought it would be a good idea. We kept seeing all these signs, and it's our last day here. So we figured why not?"

We took a step forward as the line moved. "Well, what did you think?"

"We were on the edge of our seats. I haven't been that excited by an event since I saw Slayer live."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Slayer? What was your favorite event?"

He rubbed a hand through his hair. "They're a band, great performers. I liked all of it, but there was this one barrel racer who played "Unholy Confessions," and she was by far my favorite athlete out there."

I smiled, hiding it behind my hand. He loved me and Snap the most. "They are pretty amazing. You know "Unholy Confessions?""

"Yeah, you could say that," Matt said and flashed those dimples at me. The man definitely knew what those dimples could do to people. He had probably used them thousands of times before. He was too sexy for his own good. "Do you know the song?"

I nodded. "It's my barrel racing song."

Matt's eyes widened. "Well, you're very good. How many metal bands do you know?" He was next in line.

"More than you would think. Don't forget your deep fried beer."

He nodded and turned around to get his food and drink. He was one attractive man, and it had been very nice talking to him, but now, it was Twinkie time. I couldn't wait to gorge, and I knew despite Anna's protests, she would want one too.
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"So, you were flirting with that cute guy!" Anna threw her cardboard bowl in the trash.

"I wasn't flirting," I said it softly. I had totally been flirting with him.

"Oh, you were flirting, but so was I." Matt appeared next to us with his friends in tow. "I'm Matt. These are my friends Brian, Johnny, Brian, and Jimmy. The guys all nodded, and Anna immediately started pestering them with questions.

"Are you following me, Matt?"

He flashed those dimples again. "No, we were at the table behind you. Do you wanna go on some rides?" He seemed nervous.

"I'd love to, but Anna has to come along."

Matt smiled. "Deal."

Notes

Another update. So they've met. What next?

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