Georgia Time - Riley Green

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The rest of the bull riding goes by uneasily slow, my stomach churning after every ride, just thinking about whether Colt would choose me. He was still in first, with only one ride left before he was announced the night winner. I had been too scared to look at him again to see if he was looking at me. Part of me didn't want to be chosen, and I don't know why. Maybe I'm just shy.

The last guy is let out of the chute, and time seems to stand still as the bull bucks him in a circle. I bite my nail as the last two seconds come, and the man is thrown up on the neck of the bull, disqualifying him. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and gasped as I looked for Colt in the cowboy crowd. I finally spot him cheering with a teammate, and I can't help but smile.

He won.

"Well, well, well, folks, I think we have a winner. Colt Dutton, you have ten minutes to choose your rodeo queen while we wrap up these junior bull riders."

I feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment, imagining him screaming my name. "God, I need another drink." I place my face in my hands.

"Charlie is about to get a boyfriend, don't y'all think?" Brooke says to our group.

I roll my eyes, and Julia almost shouts, "Yeah, Char-Char is getting fucked tonight!"

"I'm gonna throw up, let me out," I groan, standing up.

I wasn't actually going to throw up. I needed to go chug at least two beers before he announced. Either I will be embarrassed when he doesn't choose me, or I will be highly embarrassed if he does choose me. There are over a thousand people here tonight watching. I hope I don't look bad. Remind me to check my makeup when I get back. I stand in the line to grab a beer, and thankfully, it's not long. I ask the lady for two Ultras, pay her, and begin to walk back to the stands. I open one up, chug it next to the trashcan, and throw one away as I continue to walk up the stands.

Once I sit down, I immediately check my makeup and hair, which both look fine if I were to get on the big screen. My phone slips out of my hand, and I bend down to grab it.

"Where is she? Charlie!" A voice in the microphone shouts. I freeze. There's No way. The girls around me gasp as I slowly lean back up, looking for the man calling me. I spot him standing on top of the shoot at the podium, staring directly at me. He smiles once he sees me and ushers me to come up with him.

The girls push me to stand up, and I feel hundreds of eyes on me. I take a deep breath and walk over to the podium he is standing on. He runs over to the side to help me up and raises his hand out for me to grab, "I choose you," he says and dashes me with a million-dollar smile.

I smile back at him, "Thank you."

He pulls me up to the stage, and the crowd cheers. I feel cameras on me, and I look at the jumbotron and see me. I plaster on the biggest smile I can and try not to seem like I'm freaked the fuck out. He wraps his arm around my neck and pulls me into a side hug. I looked down at my friends, who all had their cell phones out, taking pictures of us.

The announcer speaks, "Well folks, here we have Miss. Charlie. Obviously, we know Colt is a bull ride, but Charlie, why don't you introduce yourself so we can know our Rodeo Queen a little better."

Colt hands me the microphone, and I stand tall and try to seem confident. When I was younger, my mother had put me in pageants, so I was familiar with talking in a crowd. I wave at the crowd, "Hi, my name is Charlie Reese. I'm twenty-one, and I'm a senior interior design major at Auburn University, originally from a small town in Georgia called Ellijay." I pull the microphone away, not sure what else to say.

"Miss. Reese, how do you know Mr. Dutton?" The announcer asks.

I suddenly feel embarrassed, and my cheeks redden, "I let him cut in front of me to get a drink earlier at the bar. Don't worry, he paid for mine," I laugh, and the crowd laughs, making me smile.

"Well, here's your Auburn Rodeo Queen, Charlie Reese." The crowd erupts in cheers, and a lady comes up and hands me a sash. Colt takes my hand, and we get off the platform and walk over to where the horses are.

"You ever ridden a horse?" Colt asks as he unties a beautiful chestnut horse with red hair, which I assume is his.

I shrug, "Not in the past year."

He nods and pushes me towards the horse, "This is Diesel." I kick my right leg up, and he grabs it and raises me higher on the horse so I can swing my leg over and sit down in the saddle. "Make sure to scoot up so I can fit." I nod, and he puts his left leg in the stirrup and throws his right leg over so he can sit down. It felt uncomfortable. He raises my arms, places his hands under my armpits, and lifts me so I can sit in his lap. "Better?" He asks, still adjusting himself.

I felt as if I couldn't speak. His body pressed up against mine had made me mute. I felt so lovely to be this close to a man again. I finally nod again, "I'm ready."

"Alright, hang on," He says, and I grab the saddle horn to hang onto, pressing my back into his front. His free hand wrapped around my waist, holding me tight before he clucked at Diesel to move. He kicked him to make his gait faster, turning his trot into a canter.

We enter the arena, and he clucks to make him go faster, and I begin to feel the wind. It felt amazing. His canter turned into a gallop, and suddenly, I felt as if it was just Colt and I here and no one else. We made our way around the arena multiple times as the crowd cheered for us. I hope my hair wasn't in his face since it wasn't tied up. Colt finally slowed down and brought Diesel into the center of the arena, "You wanna give them a show?" He asks.

I cock my head around to try and face him the best I could, "Like what?"

"Like this," he says, taking his cowboy hat off, resting it on his knee, pulling his face to mine, and kissing me.