Tainted (Oh Captain, My Captain 7)

He lifts his head and glances at me. “What?”

“You’re one hell of a rookie. You work hard and it’s been showing.”

A small smile appears on Gus’s face. We shower and change, and thankfully, it seems as if Gus has plans with the three stooges, Russell, Jay, and Marshall. I’m glad he’s finally socializing more with the team. We go our separate ways.

Before I go home, I make a pit stop to pick up dinner for Jade and me. I’m really excited about kicking back and simply relaxing with her. Plus, I think it’s Jade’s favorite thing to do together.

“Jade,” I call out when I walk in. “Please tell me that you’re already in my bed. Bonus, if you’re naked.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” she says, walking into the living room from the kitchen.

“You could never disappoint.” I smile and add, “Grab some drinks and c’mon. I’m starving and ready to sit down.” She nods, so I make my way to the bedroom. “Down, Honeybun,” I say when I see her sitting on the bed. She tilts her head at me, meowing once. I place the takeout on the nightstand, then shoo her off the bed. I’m pretty sure she glared at me, too. Before I get into bed, I strip down, change into basketball shorts, and finally climb into bed.

Jade comes in and we get ourselves situated. She starts looking for a movie while I start opening the Chinese takeout I brought home.

“You’d have a good day?” I ask.

“Yeah, it was busy, but a good busy. Yours? You were a little late getting here. Where’s Gus?”

“I stayed late to help him out with something and he’s off to the bar with some of the guys. My day was good. What are we going to watch?”

“Thought we could pick up where we left off with Friends.”

“Sounds good to me.”

We lean back against the headboard, start the next episode, and begin to eat. All the work from today slowly starts to settle in. I’m more tired than I thought. I might not make it for too many more episodes or to have a little fun with Jade later either.

“I’ve been thinking,” Jade states matter-of-factly.

I glance at her with a raised eyebrow. Her tone doesn’t indicate if this is a good thing or a bad thing, so I brace myself for both.

“We need to discuss how I’m going to pay you back.”

After I set my empty containers on the nightstand, I lean back into my comfy pillow, turning my head so I can see her. “Okay. How do you want to do it?” It’s pointless to come up with a plan and have her follow that. She most likely already knows how she wants to pay me back in a way that makes her most comfortable.

“I want to give you $300 a month starting next month. Is that okay with you?” She’s finished her food, placing the containers on the nightstand on her side, and cuddles up against me.

“However you want to do it, Jade.” I pull her closer. My eyes start to droop with a full stomach, my heavenly mattress, and Jade next to me.

“You aren’t going to argue even a little bit, Finny?” she jokes.

“Nope. Saving my breath.”

Her giggle makes me smile as I kiss the top of her head. This may just be my favorite way to spend an evening with her as well. Jade is one of those people who make you wonder how you ever made it through life before you met them. I can’t imagine life without her. One of these days, I’m going to make all her dreams come true.

Chapter Fifteen

Jade

I had class and then work. Now, I’m ready to crawl into bed and fall asleep, but I promised Valo I would go to the game tonight. He’s already at the arena and I need to hustle to make it for warm-ups.

I run up the stairs and almost trip over Honey

bun as I begin stripping off my clothes to jump in the shower. I scrub off the smell of grease and in record time, I’m in the truck and heading to Valo. I hate this truck, but with all the snow on the ground…well…the Porsche isn’t made for that. I’m not even made for this shitty weather. You’d think I would be used to it since it’s all I have ever known, but I’m not. I park the truck and follow the crowds into the rink. I find my seats with ease, but the warm-ups are already over.

Shit.

However, I don’t miss any of the game. Valo has been practicing harder and the team has been looking better. Nonetheless, they are still low in the standings even though Valo is ranked high. I heard Gus and him discussing Valo being part of the All-Star team this year. Valo played it off as if it isn’t a big deal, but he told me later that it is. The fans vote on the All-Star team and it’s the only way you can make it on the team. I don’t care how many email accounts I have to create, I’ll make sure he gets the votes to be on that team.