Rodeo Radar

Jordan's thumb hovered over the screen, heart doing that stupid flutter thing it always did when _she_ posted. His iPhone illuminated his face in the darkness of his room at 2 AM — total villain behavior, but whatever. He'd been basically cyber-stalking Mia's profile for twenty minutes, sliding through stories she'd posted three hours ago like some kind of digital detective. Pathetic? Maybe. Necessary? Absolutely.

Then he saw it.

Mia at Miller's Farm. Tomorrow. Tagged: "First rodeo! 🤠"

Jordan's brain did three backflips. He didn't do farms. He didn't do dirt. He definitely didn't do animals larger than a golden retriever. But Mia? Mia was doing her first rodeo, and Jordan was absolutely going to be there, casually, as if he spent every Saturday watching people get thrown off angry animals.

The next afternoon, Jordan stood at the edge of the corral, wearing boots he'd borrowed from his cousin (two sizes too big) and a flannel that screamed "I'm trying too hard." The smell of hay and something distinctly un-cologne-like assaulted his nose. He spotted Mia immediately — laughing with friends, looking effortless in denim cutoffs and a printed tee.

He was moving toward her, mentally rehearsing his "oh, funny running into you here" line, when something massive shifted behind the wooden fence. Something angry. Something with horns.

The bull snorted, and Jordan's iPhone slipped from his sweaty grasp, clattering against the fence rails. Everyone turned. Mia too.

"Watch out!" someone yelled, and suddenly the gate was swinging open and the bull was trotting into the spectator area like it owned the place and Jordan was standing there like an idiot in two-sizes-too-big boots and—

Mia grabbed his arm, yanking him sideways as the bull lumbered past, snorting at a dropped popcorn bucket.

"You okay?" she asked, breathless, and Jordan realized she was still holding his arm and his face was definitely the color of a stop sign.

"Totally," he managed, though his voice cracked mid-word. Cool. So cool. "I was just... testing the structural integrity of the fence."

Mia laughed, and it was better than any Instagram story he'd ever spied on. "You're ridiculous. Come sit with us."

As Jordan settled onto the bleachers next to Mia, his phone buzzed in his pocket with a notification. He didn't check it. Some things were better than likes, and sometimes getting charged by a bull was exactly what your teenage dignity needed.