Tainted (Oh Captain, My Captain 7)

Chapter Ten

Valo

I don’t think I’ve ever been with someone who was so responsive to me before. Jade made a sound with everything I did, and that’s definitely something I can listen to more often. Her eyes were so bright afterward, and it didn’t take long before she fell asleep, cuddled up to me. While it shouldn’t, it still blows my mind how things started. It’s going to take a lot for Jade to see things differently, that things can happen differently than she’s used to, but I’m glad to be the one to show her.

Honeybun slips through my door, jumps onto the bed, and lies down on the other side of Jade. If she’s going to bed, then it’s definitely time for me to sleep, too. I tug Jade closer and close my eyes.

~

Jade exits my bathroom with a towel wrapped around her, the steam still hanging in the air behind her. Thankfully, I’m sitting on the edge of the bed. She smiles, comes to stand between my legs, and raises her eyebrows.

“What are you doing in here?”

“Trying to muster a little self control.” I grab her hips with a deep breath and pull her closer. “I have two questions for you. First, do you want to go to the game tonight?”

“Sure, I have a hot little jersey to wear.”

I grin. “Good. There will be a ticket waiting for you like last time. Second, we have a big Halloween party every year, the entire team dresses up and goes, and I wanted to see if you wanted to go with me?”

“Like with real costumes? You guys do that?”

“Yeah. A few of the guys go all out, but some of us keep it fairly simple.”

“I’d love to. What should we wear?”

“I’ll let you choose because I’m always the same thing every year. I get overwhelmed by all the options, so you pick whatever, and I’ll wear it.”

“What do you go as, Finny? A hockey player?” She cracks up at her lame joke.

“No, I have a little more imagination than that. I’m a vampire.”

“Please, please tell me you mean the horror like vampire and not that Twilight guy? If it’s him, I will find that picture and post it all over Liberty.”

“I’ve never seen that, so no. I mean the scary vamp. Okay, if you’re going to the game, you need to get dressed, so I can show you something first.”

I leave her to get dressed to let Gus know I’m riding with him to the game since she’ll drive my vehicle and I’ll ride back with her. When she finally walks into the living room, she’s already wearing my jersey. I’ve seen plenty of people in my jersey before. The people of Liberty love to show off their love for the team and wearing jerseys is part of that. Of all those people, none of them looked as good in it as Jade does. I don’t know what it is that makes it so appealing, but damn.

“C’mon,” I tell her, taking her hand and leading her out of the condo and to the elevator. I push the button that’ll take us all the way down to the parking garage. “Since you said there was too much truck for you and since walking or taking the bus isn’t an option, I need to show you what you’re driving to the game.” I walk her over to where my white Porsche Panamera is parked. “You should be just fine with this.”

“What the fuck is this?”

I laugh. “A car. If you want me to be more specific, it’s a Porsche Panamera.”

“It’s yours?”

“Who’s else would it be?”

“At this point, I don’t care because I’m go to drive this bitch like I stole it.” She laughs, and I do, too.

“Just don’t get pulled over then.”

“I won’t promise that in this beauty.”

We walk back up to the house and I leave her the keys to the car. Gus and I eventually leave for the game. We’re playing Portland tonight. They’re on a four-game losing streak and hoping to snap it with a win here. Of course, we don’t want that to happen.

The first period comes with a lot of chances on both sides. We crash the net a lot, but the puck just isn’t getting in. The second period is much of the same. There are some close calls with Portland scoring, but our goalie is a ninja with speed and stops all the shots coming at him.

The intensity of the game increases as the desperate need to score rises. The crowd roars with excitement of a potential goal every time we enter the zone and shoot the puck. With five minutes left, Gus earns himself a hooking penalty and takes a seat in the box. My chest heavily rises and falls as I prepare for the face-off. We can’t let them score is the sentence repeating over and over in my head.