Riding for the Brand

"Hey, babe,"

"Conn!"

"How's my girl?"

"I'm lonely, when am I going to see you again?"

"I'll be in Centerville next weekend," the voice said.

"I will too," Maria said smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"I know, can you bring Curt's truck up?"

"Sure, Ya'll staying in Collier?"

"No babe, rodeo here is over, but a lot of the regulars are still in the hospital so they asked Curt and I and a few others to ride in the show up at Groatansville,"

"That's great," Maria said, trying to hide her disappointment at not seeing her this weekend.

"You're hell on me girl. I've never had anyone to call my own. The rodeo is my life, but you sure make it hard not to pack it in and run to you,"

"It's no picnic for me either,"

"Well, keep that little pussy warm for me,"

"Is that all you're interested in?" Maria said, perhaps a bit to harshly.

"No Maria, I miss you so bad it hurts. I'm trying to joke my way through this, that's all. I hate to sound sappy, but damn I miss you,"

"I miss you too. I'm sorry for snapping, it's just so damn unfair that you're so far away," Maria nearly whined.

"Keep smiling lover, I will see you next weekend. Curt wants to talk to your folks so I'll let you go,"

Maria picked at her meal while her parents talked on and on about how lucky it was that Curt had gotten such a break.

"Who was that girl Maria? I thought Curt and Shelly were still seeing each other?"

"They are mom and Connie is seeing someone else, they're just friends," Maria said, excusing herself from the table and going to her room. Maria had often heard of how lonely the life of a rodeo girlfriend was. If this last week was any indication then the stories fell far short of the mark. She had never been so lonely, or missed anyone so much. She knew it was the price she would have to pay for staying with Conn, but even as she ached with loneliness she remembered how good it felt when the tall cowgirl put her arm around her and how joyous she could make her feel with just a word. That inevitably led her mind to sex and she slid her hand down her body and began to gently stroke herself. Memories of their one night together flooded her mind and before she knew it she was cumming. She curled up holding tightly to a pillow and pretending it was her cowgirl.

----

Maria hung out with her friends that weekend and endured another seemingly endless week. On Thursday she had the trailer hooked up and Blue loaded by 2:00. She planned on cutting her last class and being halfway to Centerville by the time it got dark. Her mind was filled with Conn and her big dildo. She had reached the point where her horniness was getting equal play with her loneliness by now. Orgasms brought about by her own fingers were just not the same. She was on her way out of the house when the phone rang. She almost didn't get it, but decided it might be her mom so she picked up.

"Hello,"

"Ria?' Kim's voice came over the phone. It had a strange quality to it, forlorn and upset.

"What's wrong Kim?" Maria asked, suddenly very concerned about her friend.

"Nothing. Have you got room in the trailer for Gent?"

"Sure," Maria said. She was worried now, Gent always rode with Bo's horse Rivets.

"Can you pick me up at the stables?"

"Sure thing,"

"Thanks Ria," Kim said and the line went dead.

They loaded Gent up and stopped off at Kim's house to get her stuff. She was quiet, withdrawn and totally unlike herself. Maria didn't say anything either because she was worried about Kim, but she knew Kim would speak only when she was ready.

"Thanks again for the ride," Kim said nearly an hour later.

"You know it's no problem, are you going to tell me what's wrong or just leave me in suspense?" Maria said.

"I caught Bo in bed with Marsha last weekend," Kim said in a subdued voice.

"Kim, I am so sorry…" Maria began.

"Don't be. If he would do that to me I don't need him. I'm sorry I haven't been around all week, but you are so in love and it hurt to see someone so happy when I was so down,"

Maria thought carefully. What did one say here? Offer condolences? Condemn Bo or rant about what a cunt Marsha was? Just offer quiet support maybe? Maria decided on humor, which was one thing Kim usually responded to.

"Maybe you should think about getting a girlfriend," Maria said smiling.

"Maybe I should," the blonde girl said with a smile. The rest of the trip they talked a lot and by the time they reached Centerville they were both laughing and happy. They stabled the horses and parked the truck behind the motel they were staying at. Kim didn't want to be alone and truthfully neither did Maria, so they both crashed in Maria's room. They sat up all night drinking coke, eating junk food, watching bad movies and talking about things.

"I think I just need to get away," Kim said as they were both drifting of to sleep.

"Why not take a trip up to aspen to see you grandparents?" Maria suggested. She had visited once with Kim when they were younger and the scenery still impressed her years later.

"That sounds like a plan," Kim said.

When morning came they dressed and dropped the trailer then rode over to the Ag building for the competition. Maria was a little disappointed when she didn't see Conn's bike anywhere, but didn't really have time to worry about it. The competition began badly for her when Marsha posted a time of 16:034. Kim wasn't herself and knocked over a barrel.

Maria was standing next to Mrs. Cannon, the riding team faculty advisor when Kim knocked the barrel over.

"Well, that's bad for Miss Hall," she said.

"Why?' Maria asked.

"She and Miss Tucker were neck and neck in points for team captain next season. Miss Tucker has to win today and Miss Hall has to not place. I am actually sorry, between us chickens I think a lot more of Kim than I do of Miss Tucker,"

"Does Marsha have to win, or just place?" Maria asked.

"She has to win. If she takes second even she will not over take Miss Hall," Mrs. Cannon said. Maria thought about it as she got Blue ready and lead the small horse out of his stall. As she was leading Blue to the starting gate she passed Marsha who was all over Bo. It was all she could do to keep from spitting in her smug face and she knew suddenly she was going to have to beat this bitch.

She climbed on Blue's back and whispered to the little horse. She told him how important it was to her that Marsha not win. How she just had to win so Kim would stay captain. The little horse seemed to understand and when the bell sounded Blue thundered across the threshold. Maria leaned way over and took him left, cutting the first barrel so tightly she felt it against her leg. Blue was going all out and she barely had time to lean in as he made the sharpest right cut Maria had ever seen him make. Her leg again brushed the barrel and then it was a hard sprint for the last barrel. Blue took this one so sharply that Maria felt like her hair was dragging the floor of the dirt arena. The little horse shot into the straightaway and was flying when he crossed the sensors and the clock stopped. Maria had to rein him in hard to keep from hitting the wall at the back of the starting area.

She was breathing hard and her muscles were twitching beneath her clothes, but she nearly shouted when the announcement came over the pa.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, your winner today, Maria Gonzalez with a time of sixteen point oh-two-two seconds,"

Kim ran up and hugged her. Something passed between them, a silent acknowledgement that Maria had won it for Kim and an equally silent out pouring of thanks. Suddenly she was surrounded by her friends. Curt was there and wrapped her up in a big hug and Carlos smiled and hugged her too. There were many others and the congratulations felt wonderful, but nothing felt quite as good as the sour look on Marsha's face. Maria was ecstatic, but she didn't see Conn anywhere. Eventually when the congratulations petered out Curt pulled her aside.

"Sis, I have some bad news," he said.

"What is it?"

"Connie took a bad spill over at Groatansville,"

"How bad?" Maria said her voice quavering.

"This bad," a familiar voice called. Maria spun and her mouth fell open. Connie was standing there on crutches. Her left leg was in an air cast from the knee down and her pants leg was split to go over it. Her left arm was also in a cast from the shoulder down. Both of her eyes were black and blue, her nose was twice its normal size and her upper lip was busted. Beneath her hat Maria could see that her head was also bandaged. Maria ran to her, but stopped before throwing her arms around her.

"What happened?"

"Tilt-a-Whirl," she said with a shrug. She looked awful, but her smile made Maria's heart leap. She reached out and gently stroked the taller girl's cheek.

"Can I hug you?"

"Just don't squeeze to hard," she said. Maria hugged her gently and Conn hugged back with her good arm. They kissed, but it was just a peck, Maria was afraid to even touch her right now. Curt came up and smiled at them.

"I'll get Blue loaded up while you get your stuff sis. Kim is going to grab your trophy for you and catch a ride back with Carlos,"

"Where are we going?"

"Home," he said easily, "I called mom and dad from the hospital, they said it would be fine if Connie stayed with us till she recovered," he said winking.

"Curt, load up Gentleman too please," Maria said. He looked at her quizzically, but nodded and turned on his heel.

During the ride back Connie dozed with her head on Maria's shoulder. The painkillers made her drowsy and before they had been on the road twenty minutes she was sound asleep. As excited as Maria was about having her girlfriend with her, she was more concerned about her welfare and so let her sleep.

"Was it bad Curt?" Maria asked quietly when she was sure Conn was asleep.

"I've seen worse, but I am glad you weren't there," he said staring fixedly ahead. It bothered Maria that he didn't face her.

"She looked bad before they cleaned up the blood and mud," he said seriously. Maria looked lovingly at the head resting fitfully on her shoulder. In her mind she saw that beautiful body crushed under the weight of a plunging bull and felt sick to her stomach.

"I'm not sure I can deal with this," she said in a whisper.

"Sure you can sis. She's a good rider, a damned good rider, she just took a bad spill. It happens. I think she may make it onto the professional circuit soon. She was good before you two hooked up, but now… Now she has something to ride for besides herself and it shows. She scored 86 at Collier and took third place. I know you don't want to hear advice from your older brother, but I've spent a lot of time with her. She'll take good care of you sis, I've never seen anyone more in love. I mean, she scores an 86 in her first pro ride, takes third place and all she talked about the whole blessed evening was you. She has plans for her life and she's going somewhere, not like the rest of the bums we hang out with. She's been on her own a long time now and you mean so much to her. She's tough and she's stubborn, but she'll never hurt you," he said. The words came with hesitation here and there, but Maria could not mistake the honesty with which they were spoken.

By the time they got home and got the horses taken care of it was approaching dark. As they pulled up in the driveway Maria gently shook Conn awake.

"We're home baby," she said in a hushed voice.

"Home?" Conn said sleepily, as if the word were alien to her. They helped her out of the truck and as they approached the front door Curt suddenly pushed Maria away from Connie and put his arm around the girl. Both of them were staring at him when the door opened and her mother stepped out onto the porch.

"Hey ma, this is CR," Curt said a bit too loudly.

"Good gracious, get the poor thing inside, dinner is almost ready. I haven't cleaned out the guest bedroom yet," their mother said.

"That's all right, she can sleep in my room with me," Curt said, squeezing Connie's waist and kissing her cheek. The lanky butch was staring daggers at him and Maria wondered what he was up to.

"I don't think so. Maria, it won't bother you if she shares your room for a few nights will it?" her mother asked.

"No, that's fine mom," Maria said, trying not to grin when Curt winked at her. Connie was groggy and they decided to just take her straight to bed. Curt helped her into the room and stayed with her a while before coming out and joining the family in the dining room. Maria sat up with her folks and Curt for a while and then yawned conspicuously.

"I'm going to bed,' she said as she stood up.

"Good night dear," her father said and hugged her.

"Try not to wake that poor child Maria," her mother admonished. Curt grinned at her and Maria blushed as she made her way down the hall. Conn was lying in her bed with her head propped up and her body covered with a comforter.

"I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me," she said with a smile.

"Never," Maria said. As soon as the door was closed and locked Connie whipped the blanket off to reveal she was naked and wearing her strapon.

"I'm sorry, but for the time being at least I won't be able to show you how I got so good, you will just have to show me how well you ride," she said and smiled. Maria was torn between her lust and the frightful condition Conn was in. Seeing her naked really brought home to Maria just how bad the spill must have been. On her thigh was and angry bluish green bruise that stretched from the top of the cast to well over her hip. There was a tear along her flat tummy that showed signs of having been stitched up and even her good arm was covered in bruises and barely healed cuts.

"I've seen that look before. You're wondering now what you have gotten yourself into and if the next one won't kill me,"

Maria came over and sat on the edge of the bed. She wanted to say something comforting, but all her mind could see was a huge bull trampling her lover and it frightened her.

"Why?" Maria finally asked.

"Because I love it, I guess. I know it's dangerous, I think I may have even started hoping something bad would happen to put me out of my misery. For a long time I couldn't accept who and what I was. I found out I was good at it and came to take pride in my ability, but always the danger provides the real thrill,"

"I can't love someone with a deathwish!" Maria said, shaking her head violently. Conn sat up painfully and caught Maria's shoulder with her good arm. Their eyes locked and the bull rider spoke. She was hesitant at first, but became more confident as she went on.

"I don't have a deathwish…At least I don't any more. I had always imagined it, going down under a bull and just watching as it trampled the life out of me, but I swear to you Maria, when I went down my only thought was of you. I had to get out of his way, not for me, but because I had to get back to you. When my life flashed before my eyes the only thing in it worth a damn was you. I love you,"

There it was. The final piece in the mosaic that was loving Conn. Nights spent alone with just her imagination and fingers, days filled with the lurking fear of serious injury or god forbid even death, and only the fleeting time between shows to share. No sane woman was going to sign up for that. Add to it the fact that it was a lesbian relationship and all the hardships that would create and an interracial lesbian relationship at that. How would she tell her folks? What would father Contrares say? A million other what-ifs flooded her mind.

She looked at Conn again and felt the love for her rise up to battle the what-ifs. The internal struggle was so fierce Maria uttered a prayer unconsciously.

"Mary Please," she whispered and then glanced at the Madonnas on her dresser. At that moment Conn placed her good hand in Maria's and a car passed by the house. The headlights illuminated the small statue and the soft features of the Virgin were cast in relief. It seemed to Maria that the statue was smiling at her and a sudden peace filled her, stilling all the voices. She knew then, knew that it was all right and that things would be fine. She pulled Conn's hand to her face and brushed the back of the cowgirl's knuckles with her lips.

"I love you too,' Maria said as she gazed into Conn's eyes. She saw a slight blush rise to the cowgirl's cheeks and her gray eyes blazed with happiness.

"Let's fuck," Conn said with a grin. It didn't bother her anymore that her lover seemed fixated on sex. That blush had told Maria far more than the cowgirl could ever realize. For all her bluff bravado, brashness and confidence, Maria realized Connie was nervous about being in love. The constant reference to sex was her way of trying to cope with it. She felt this was probably the first time the lean cowgirl had ever been in love and Maria thought it was probably her first time too.

"No way," Maria giggled.

"Awww, come on. I have been dreaming about you for two weeks now," Conn said as she struggled to pull Maria to her with just her good arm.

"I'm afraid to even touch you," Maria said.

"Don't be," Conn said smiling.

Maria rose and slowly unbuttoned her top. She kept her eyes on Conn's face and the cowgirl's eyes never left Maria's fingers as they slowly undid the buttons. Maria finished but didn't pull the shirt aside, instead she undid the belt she wore and unbuttoned and unzipped her fly. She knew that Conn would be able to see that her bra was red and so were her panties, but that was all. Continuing to move slowly she stepped out of her boots and pulled the clip from her hair letting it spill down her shoulders.

"God," Conn moaned softly. That expression brought a smile to Maria's lips.

Maria hesitated and then slowly removed her blouse, exposing her shoulders, tummy and the racy red bra. Conn's good hand slid down to her strapon and began to stroke it, pushing it hard against her mound. Maria noticed that even the cowgirl's larger hand wasn't able to close all the way around it. Maria tossed her shirt away, perhaps unconsciously it landed on her dresser and covered the small statue of the Virgin.

Maria licked her lips and peeled off her jeans, stepping out of them she approached the foot of the bed. Even with the casts and bruises she felt herself growing unbearably aroused. Conn looked so good and Maria had been waiting for it for over two weeks now. A month ago sex was a take it or leave it thing, now her body hungered for it in a way she would never have been able to imagine.

"Loose the panties and mount up," Conn said in a voice thick with desire.

Maria hooked her fingers into her panties and pulled them down her smooth legs, exposing her thick black pubic triangle to the injured cowgirl's hungry eyes. She then carefully climbed onto the bed, straddling Conn's legs and finally coming to rest with her ass on the cowgirl's thighs. Conn winced in pain and Maria immediately pushed herself up on her knees again.

"This just isn't going to work," the little barrel rider said ruefully.

"The hell it ain't," Conn grunted as her good hand went to Maria's hip.

"You can't even take my weight on your legs without grimacing, I am not going to enjoy it at all if I know its hurting you," Maria protested.

"I've been dreaming about getting back in your pants since Austin. Come hell or high water someone in this room is getting fucked tonight and it damn sure isn't me," Conn said stridently. Maria frowned and glanced at the door fearfully. The lanky cowgirl smiled and her voice softened perceptibly.

"It's o.k. baby. My thigh smarts some, but it isn't bad and my hips are fine. I really want to make love to you, but if you are going to be worried the whole time about hurting me then there's no point,"