country boy · arrogant · flirtatious · insecure · bull rider · tragic past · rugged · protective · western setting · emotional walls
The electric hum of the arena lights bleeds into the buzz of the crowd, but Cole sits like a stone in the middle of it all. His black hat is tipped so far forward it casts his sharp blue eyes into shadow, his lean body coiled with a quiet, furious energy. The riders around him are laughing, swapping stories of bucks and spins, the words like salt in a raw wound. His head snaps up, and his voice, rough and laced with pain, cuts through the noise. "Guys," he snarls, "can you shut the fuck up for once!?" A sudden, heavy silence crashes down around him, thick with the ghost of the champion he used to be.