“Want to go double or nothing?” she asked, a twinkle in her eyes knowing he would decline her next idea.
Sal sat back in his seat, took a long sip of his beer, and took in her expression from across the table. “I’ve already won. Why would I want to go double or nothing?”
Laci shrugged her shoulders delicately. “Well, if you can’t handle it…”
Sal chuckled. “What did you have in mind?”
She sat forward, folding her hands in front of her. “Well, have you ever ridden a mechanical bull?”
“No way,” he said forcefully and sat back in his seat.
“Scared?”
He shook his head again. “Laci, those are dangerous. You’ll get hurt.”
But she was already standing. “Come on. I’ll show you how it’s done,” she said and took his hand to pull him out of his chair.
He grabbed her hand and pulled back. “You’re not serious are you?”
“Sure!” she said, smiling encouragingly as he stood up to follow her. “It’s fun. I used to do it a lot during college.”
She practically ran over to the bull pen where the mechanical bull was surrounded by large foam pads for safety, then a wooden fence to keep spectators at an appropriate distance.
As soon as she approached the fence, a huge, barrel shaped man approached her, his hat low on his forehead. “Well, missy. It’s been too long since you decided to come by this way,” he said, frowning ferociously at her.
“Hank!” Laci exclaimed and rushed over to him, and was swept into a bear hug. “Why aren’t you at home with your grandchildren now?” she asked as soon as he released her.
“It’s easier being here at night. I can control this place. But twelve grandkids? No way,” he laughed.
He looked behind her and his eyes widened. “Well what brings you back here?”
Laci was astonished. “How in the world do you know Hank?” she asked Sal, turning to face him, hands on her hips.
Sal leaned against the fence and crossed his arms across his chest. With one eyebrow raised, he looked down at her with a slight smile on his lips. “Why do you think I’ve never been here before?”
She took in his boots all the way to his black Stetson hat and realized that she had probably missed something about him along the way. “Ok, how is it that you know and have been to this place?” she demanded.
Hank coughed behind her. “Well, darlin’ This here’s the owner!”
Laci looked up at the ceiling, then back to Sal’s face. “Is there anything in this town you don’t own?” she groaned.
Sal chuckled, a deep, resonant sound that demonstrated his delight in her frustration. “I believe there are a few things.”
Wiping the grimace from her face, she forced an innocent look she’d perfected while playing poker in high school and college. “Ok – so you own the joint. But can you ride?” she challenged.
Again, another cough behind her. Laci turned to face Hank, her face showing her frustration and surprise. “Don’t tell me, he’s an expert, right?”
Hank laughed, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. “Well, I don’t know if I’d call him an expert. But he can hold his own. Back when he was managing this place, Sal was one of the best riders.”
Laci shook her head and turned to face Sal again, gritting her teeth when she saw the knowing smile on his face. “So, you own everything and you’ve done everything. But I’ll still take you on,” she said, poking a finger into the middle of his chest to emphasize her point. Then she moved to stand directly in front of his relaxed body, her hands on her hips, “And I’ll still raise the stakes in this little war.”
“You think you can ride that bull better than me?” he asked, smiling as he looked down at her beautiful, challenging expression.
Laci just nodded her head. “Afraid I can beat you?” she asked when he still hesitated.
Sal took a sip of beer, watching her the whole time. Slowly, he nodded. Without taking his amused look from her face, he called out to Hank. “Set it up, Hank.”
Hank looked confused for a moment. “You’re going to ride the bull?” he asked.
“We both are,” he said, not looking away from Laci.
“I’ll even go first,” she said, smiling in anticipation.
Hank moved over to the controls and pulled some levers. Laci turned around, her hair flying out behind her, and hopped onto the mechanical bull. She donned the offered leather glove, then pulled the leather straps tight and wrapped it around her hand. Looking up, she nodded to Hank, then caught Sal’s eye, just before the bull whipped into gear.
Her right hand gripped the strap while her left one flew up automatically to help her balance. At first, she was a little stiff and was about to loose her balance. But she was able to persevere and righted herself just in the nick of time. She relaxed and let her body move with the mechanical bull’s movements instead of trying to anticipate where it would fly next. After what seemed like an eternity, but was only forty-five seconds, the bull slowed down and eventually came to a complete stop.
Laci smiled brilliantly over at Sal who was leaning against the fence. She noticed his smile immediately and knew he was impressed.
Then it was his turn. He strolled over to the bull, handed Laci his beer, then climbed onto the bull. Laci quickly moved off to the side and out of the way.
“Let it rip, Hank.” And the bull swung into motion, flying and jerking every which way, trying to throw off it’s rider as if were a live animal hell bent on recovering its freedom. And the formal, ever so proper Salvatore Attracelli hung on effortlessly.
He even kept his hat on during the whole ride.
Laci’s mouth was pursed as the bull came to a stop. Sal had upped the ante and she wasn’t about to let him win this time.
He climbed off and sauntered over towards her. “So what did I win this time?”
“Nothing. Hank, yank it up a notch,” she said, smiling sweetly and genuinely anticipating the thrill of another ride. Immediately people from the bar came over and started watching. Laci noticed a few people even exchanging money as if they were betting on the outcome of the bet.
Hank chuckled but turned on the machine again. Laci let out a whoop as the bull started up, a little more intensely this time and threw her around. It was more exciting than the initial ride and she was able to laugh at the end, hopping off to wink at him.