The Kick-off to the Heart - Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

It was one-fifteen-pm, I was sitting at the kitchen counter staring at my phone. I’ve changed my outfit five-times, before I settled for light-blue denim short that hugged my thighs nicely, with black ankle Converse sneakers. I matched it with a tight, sleeveless, black shirt with an V-neckline made from lace. It showed some cleavage and also hugged my curves.  My hair was tied back into a messy pony-tail, little bit of makeup  �" I was ready for the athletic day planned. I’ve been ready for hours , needless to say I was nervous.

My head snapped up at the front door, as I heard footsteps approach my door.  Smiling from relieve that he was finally here , I jumped off the bar-stool and sprinted to the front door. Before opening the door, I inhaled a deep breath and opened.

Seeing Jason on my porch made me beam, he met my smile when he saw me. He was checking-me- out while I was checking him:  he was wearing dark grey chino-pants, with a black short-sleeved shirt and white/grey sneakers. He looked delicious.  My eyes went back at his, he was still checking me out.

“Are you going to say something?  Or are you going to keep studying me like I am your science project?”  I said, trying to be sassy �" but I was having difficulty biting back my giggles.                 He tore his eyes away from my body and met my eyes, he cleared his throat and chuckled.

“Sorry, I was caught up in a fantasy. However I do like the way you said :  like I am your  science project.  “  He answered with a wide-smile. That smile made my heart race and my legs weak.               Rolling my eyes at him.

“You ready to go?  “ I asked

“ What- you’re not going to give me a tour of you home first? “

“Uhm… Well if you want to, Sure.  I haven’t -“  he just walked in, not waiting for me to finish. This was Jason, impatient, over-protective and controlling �" nevertheless he also was beautiful, sweet, honest and deliciously yummy.

“Well lead the way, tour-guide.“ He said, gesturing towards the living room, he was invading my house.  I signed and walked past him, him following me.

“Well this is the living room and kitchen,”  We were standing between the two rooms, I had an open-kitchen, so practically the hallway, kitchen and living room were one room together.  Ragnar quickly stood up from his doggy-bed and went to stand by my side. Eyeing-up Jason.

“This is my dog; Ragnar, he isn’t fond of strangers in our home-so don’t take it personally if he doesn’t  greet you or wiggle his tail for you. ”  I said while I was bending down , hugging Ragnar.     Jason whistled at Ragnar, Ragnar responded and walked out of my embrace and went to Jason. ‘What the…’  This never happened before, normally Ragnar would just keep eyeing the stranger and ignoring his pleas �" no matter what the stranger did to lure him, he never left my side. Until now. All it took was a soft whistle and Ragnar was on his way.  Jason smiled at Ragnar, bending down to stroke Ragnar’s head. Wiggling his tail , Ragnar let himself drop on the floor and rolled on his back. Providing Jason the perfect angle to scratch his belly.

“That’s… This never  happened before. He usually never leaves my side. Nor does he respond to other people’s calls. “ I said , stunned. Jason looked up at me and smiled. He was full of himself.

“Well at least your dog doesn’t reject me,” He said with a raised eyebrow. I rolled my eyes at him again. Jason got back on his feet and walked around my living room, studying every object in the room. I gestured my hands to the hallway. Showing him the first bathroom, my bedroom and adjacent bathroom. It was awkward to show him my bed, I never had a man in my bedroom. I actually never had a man in my home. I was standing in the doorway from my bedroom staring at him while he was walking around the room. observing everything. Something caught his eye - the closet door. Before I could tell him that we should move on to the last room, he opened my closet door and walked in. ‘Seriously?’    I quickly walked towards him, not wanting him to go in there.

“Jason, get out of my closet! Now! “  I said , my voice was high �" making it sound like I wasn’t serious. Entering my walk-in closet , I saw what he was doing. He was looking thru my underwear drawer…

“Jason!!!” I yelped.

“ Oh relax! It’s just lingerie. “ He said amused not taking his eyes of the materials. Lifting one of my lack lace thongs to his nose , closing his eyes, and he inhaled the scent. My mouth dropped open, my eyes in shock.         

 “Mmmmm,”  he hummed  “ You smell nice, I bet you taste even better.”  he put the underwear back into the drawer and walked towards me. He stopped affront of me and reached out his arm , his hand cupping my face, his thumb stroking my lower lip. I was in shock. He stroked his thumb down to my chin, and lifted his hand- closing my mouth.  He returned his arm by his side, and walked passed me, exiting the closet. I just stood there, staring at my lingerie drawer. ‘Why am I so aroused? Shouldn’t I be mad at him? ‘

 I gathered the dignity I had left and turned my body, following him out . He was heading towards my art room. He opened the door and just stood there. He was blocking doorway, I couldn’t see what he was looking at.

“ What’s wrong?  “ standing on my tippy toes, trying to look passed his shoulders.

“Are you an artist? “ he asked softy.  I laughed out loud, it was funny he thought that , I’ve never considered myself an artist but the notion just made me laugh.

“No! “   I continued to chuckle,  “ of course not!”    

He moved into the room, he was studying every drawing, painting and sculpture. The room was small, there was only a large U-shaped desk, with a chair,  and easel for holding my canvas. The rest of the room was covered in paintings, drawings  and a few sculptures   He walked towards the desk and opened the file laying on it. It was my portfolio of sketches. There had to be at least hundred in it.

“They’re amazing, you’re really good. “  he said, as he was flipping through the file.  “Next time I am visiting again, I want to take my time studying these. “  My eyebrows shot-up. He closed the portfolio and walked towards me. 

“What makes you think I’ll invite you over again after the scene in my closet? “  I asked, memorizing the embarrassing scene in the closet, made my face blush. But I managed to hold my stare at him.

“You’re blushing, I like that I am the cause of that.“ he said, standing in front of me. he was leaning in, his face close to mine. He inhaled deeply.

“We should really be going now. “ he growled. He stepped back,  looking at me. He hissed out a breath and exited the room. I followed him with shaky legs.

“ I know it’s not much, but this is home for me. “ I told him, while I was still following him down the hall.

“ Don’t you dare be self-conscious of your home, it’s beautiful and it’s where you live, so I am fond it.“  He reassured.

“Thanks, I am also very fond it. “ I replied.

He opened the passenger door for me, I stared at the car before I climbed in. It was a black Mustang Shelby 1967, my dream car. Settling in the passenger seat I watched Jason walk around the car towards the driver’s seat. He was an hulk of a man but his movements were almost elegant. He climbed in next to me, and started the engine.

When we turned onto the main road, I studied the inside of vehicle; the seats were covered In dark brown leather, the dashboard was dark brown wood, matching his steering wheel. It was a V8 cylinder, it sounded divine.

“This is a Mustang Shelby 1967, right?” I asked, trying to change the awkward silence.

He raised his eyebrows, but kept his eyes on the road. “Yes, you know cars?”.

“Just a little, I know by the sound of the engine that this is a V8 cylinder and probably drinks premium gas” I said cocky. This time he took his eyes off the road and stared at me, lasting a few seconds,  he forcefully tore his eyes from me and watched the road.

“That’s so hot, ”  he mumbled. “ You surprise me constantly, ” he kept his voice soft.  I smiled inwardly, pleased with myself.  I didn’t know much about cars, but when it came to Mustangs, I knew enough.

It was a twenty-minute drive to the paintball camp, on the way we talked about various things,  such as;  when I bought my home, how I found Ragnar and about his police-dog training. Before the questions became personal, I changed the subject from me to him, asking about his parents and football.  

We parked the car at the paintball property and exited the vehicle. I saw Emma and the rest waiting for us. ‘ S**t’   I thought, Emma will start snooping around why I drove with Jason the camp. Walking towards the group,  I saw Ashley, Donovan’s wife, she was pretty. She was small, had shoulder-length black hair, her eyes were olive green,  and her skin flawlessly caramel brown. She had rounded curves, considering she gave birth to their first child a few weeks ago, her body was still intact.

Emma eyeing me suspiciously before she finally hugged me. I introduced myself to Ashley, she seemed very sweet and gracious. I greeted Cole, Donovan and Nick with just a friendly  “Hello” ,  while Jason just nodded towards everyone. Not saying a word.   

We were all walking together to the entrance of the property. Cole and Emma holding hands, Donavon had his arm around his wife, Nick and Jason walking next to me. Jason on my right side and Nick on my left.

“It’s good to see you again Vicki. I hope you like getting  dirty,  paintballing can be rough, “ Nick said to me, smiling widely.  

“I think I’ll survive. A few paintball smutches won’t hurt. “ I answered, meeting his smile.

“ We will be playing against some of the team mates from Miami Gators. They can be pretty rough. So if you get scared you can use me as human-body shield. “ Nick said as he winked at me.

“That will not be necessary.” Jason growled at Nick. “ The women will hide behind one of the shields, until we win. Until then, they will not put themselves at risk.” Jason’s tone was dead-serious. 

“Dude, it’s paintball. Not a war zone in Irak.” Nick said sarcastically. “Plus, this is the third time we’re paint-balling against the Gators. The last two times we lost. We need all the help we can… “ Nick was interrupted by Jason’s aggravated voice.

“ I. Don’t . Care.  We’re doing it my way. The women won’t put themselves at risk. End of story.”  Jason told Nick. Nick rolled his eyes at him and continued walking. Jason was the team captain from the Miami Dolphins, so naturally he was the boss. Didn’t matter if it was of or on the playfield.

“Hallo? I am right here? Don’t I get a say? I want to participate. I can shoot pretty well…” I said, trying to convince Jason to let me play. But he answered instantly.

“ No, you don’t get a say. Just trust me,  and let me do my thing.” He answered, his voice was softer, nicer towards me than it was towards Nick. I decided to keep my mouth shut on this subject.

When we entered the camp, we got a short speech from the manager about the rules: 

• No shooting in the face.

•  Shooting below the knees does not count to disqualification.

•  No physical violence.

• The camp’s ground is the battlefield, step outside you will be disqualified. 

 The rules were simple and direct. The manager gave us our gear, consisting of:  dark blue overalls, a black helmet and a loaded paint gun with yellow bullets.  

Pulling my overalls on,  Jason was already dressed and ready to battle. He stood in front of, reaching for the zipper in the middle of my stomach and pulled it up, slowly. I was watching his expression, it looked like he was in physical pain. His eyes were traveling upwards along with the zipper, and pause briefly by my chest. I started  breathing heavily, pushing my chest forwards. His jaw went slack, but continued upwards to my collarbones. He reached the end and bended down to grab my helmet. He positioned the helmet on my head, and adjusted the fastening cord around my jaw. I was smiling wildly, he was pampering me. And I loved it. Before I could dwell on thanking him, he turned around and walked towards the battlefield. The rest of us followed him obediently.

We stood outside eyeing our competition. There were six large men, in green overalls, white helmets. When they spotted us, they smiled and whistled at Emma, Ashley and me.

“You think you can beat us with a couple of girls? “   One of them shouted towards us. The rest of the Gators laughing at his comment.  Jason turned his head to look at the man, narrowing his eyes. They immediately stopped laughing and turned quiet. Jason had an aura around him that , apparently , people were frightened of. It was fascinating to watch.  

Jason was summoning us to stand in a crouched circle, so that the competition was unable to overhear us.  I was crouched next to Jason, I was so close to him, that our shoulders were brushing. Sending me the familiar shockwaves through my body. ´ would I always get this twinkle feeling?´  I asked myself.

“ Okay, so this is the plan,” Jason started sharing his master-plan. “Cole:  I want you to stay with Emma and Ashley, make sure they don’t get shot. Keep them out of sight. Donovan: I want you to find a good spot overlooking the battlefield and shoot from there. Nick : I want you to creep around them on the right side, locate and shoot.  Victoria and I will take the left side.” He said, we’re all nodding at him, agreeing with his plan. He was a very competitive person, but so was I. I understood  his motivation to win.

We were getting into position on the field, Jason only said a few words to me. I don’t know what’s up with him, but I will investigate him later.

The siren went off, indicating that the game has begun. Jason crouched his back and started jogging around the central of the field, avoiding the frontline. I was copying every stride. He was affront off me, giving me a perfect view off his a*s, he had such a nice round bum �" I want to bite it. Shocked and distracted by my kinky thoughts, I tripped over a branch, falling down to meet the ground.

“Vick! “ Jason said loudly, his voice was panicky. “S**t. Vick, are you okay? “ He asked me concerned.

I tested my ankle by moving it in circles. It ached slightly, nothing major. I did have a high threshold for pain, but I know my body when it came to broken or fractured bones. My ankle was fine.

“Yes, I am fine. Don’t worry. “ I answered.

“ Do you want to quit? I’ll walk you back to the building, you can rest there.” His voice soft

“What! No! I am fine, now let’s go shoot some Gators. “ I said eagerly.

“ Alright, but I am going to be the one shooting. And if you see anyone �" use my body as your shield.” He said, with a smile on his face. Jason wanted me to use his body as a shield. Rolling my eyes at him, he helped me up.  And continued to circle our opponents.

We heard shots fire. Jason pulled me towards a thick tree-trunk , and pushed me down on the ground. Sheltering me. I rested my back against the tree, Jason crouched facing me. The trunk was thick but not very wide, it was wide enough to hide my body, but  some of Jason’s body parts were sticking out, leaving him vulnerable and unguarded.  I was watching his expression, he seemed unsettled and worried.

“Donovan, Nick, Cole, Ashley and Emma are hit, they’re out.”  He said, he wasn’t looking at me, he was too busy peaking his eyes above the trunk �" to keep watch.  I was surprised by how fast they got themselves illuminated.

“So, what your saying is:  Were the only ones left. Seriously? So fast? “ I asked, nervously.

“Yes, but they did manage to illuminate three Gators. So it’s two against three.” He said, he turned his face slightly and looked at me. Giving me a reassuring smile. I was staring at his twisted lips, my heart racing. Caught-up in the moment �" I lifted my right-hand to his fac.  His mouth dropped slightly, he was surprised by my act. I was stroking my thumb on his lips, looking into his eyes. His eyes were blinking constantly, his breathing was unsteady. He was affected by me. This surprised me,  of course I knew he was interested in me. But I didn’t think I could affect him so easily.          I let my arm fall back to my side, but held my gaze too his. He leaned in, closing the space between us… Suddenly we heard paintballs hitting the tree-truck. Jason hastily raised his head to see where they were coming from. Lifting his gun to aim, firing his weapon at least a dozen times. When he finally stopped, I noticed there was no one shooting at us anymore.

“I got him, Four-down. Two-to-go. “ He said proudly.

Before I could answer him, shots fired again. This time it came from two sides.   Jason tried to crouch efficiently behind the tree with me, but failed. He was hit on his left shoulder.

“S**t! ” he shouted. My eyes were wide from disbelieve, I would have to play on without him. Without anyone.

“ Please Vick, surrender with me now, then they won’t shoot at you. “ He said, reaching  to grab my elbow. I was hurt by the fact he didn’t think I stood a chance against the last two opponents. I shrugged off his hand from my elbow.

“I will be fine. “ I told him, my voice confident.  We were staring at each other, waiting for one to break under the pressure.  Eventually, he signed and nodded.  Standing up, raising his weapon above his head. Surrendering himself.

“Don’t shoot, I am already hit. “ He shouted towards the rivals.

“Be careful. “ He mouthed at me. I nodded my reply �" as I turned around to see him walking around the tree-trunk, away from me. I was left alone, with two Gators to shoot. Most people would be anxious or scared, but I was driven and pumped to shoot the opponents.

Before I could develop a plan, I heard paintballs hitting the surface of the trunk. ´S**t’.  Controlling my heartbeats and steading my breaths, I  focused my hearing on where the shots were coming from. The nearest one , was approximately ten-meters behind me and five-meters to the right. The second one, was rather quiet at the moment. He was maybe seventeen- meters behind me, a little to the left …

I concentrated the nearest one. I counted the shots he fired, it had a rhythm. He would fire five-shots and then wait for six-seconds before he continued again. There was about 1.5 second gap between each shot. Inhaling  a deep breath, counting his shots, waiting for the right moment. I lifted my weapon and aimed five-meters to my right, I quickly spotted the green-figure and fired two-times. Both times I hit him on his left shoulder. I quickly crouched back down, shielding my body. I was just in time, as the last opponent was shooting at me like a maniac. I heard Emma and the rest of the group shout and cheer. It made me smile, I wanted to prove to Jason that I might look fragile, but underneath the surface I was tough.

When the adversary finally stopped shooting. I controlled my breathing and slowed my heart rate, so that I could fully focus on his location. He was on the move,  I could hear every step he took. He had to be heavy and big because I could hear every branch and twig snap underneath his feet.  I closed my eyes and measured his steps. Calculating the distance from his location to mine. It wouldn’t take long. He would have the upper advantage, so I had to think fast. I hastily lifted my gun and then myself. Thankfully, the opponent was huge. So easy to spot.  Before he had the chance to respond, I shot him three-times, twice on the chest and one on his shoulder. He looked shocked. 

Jason was on his way to me, behind him I saw Emma and the rest cheering and laughing.  I walked toward Jason, meeting him halfway. He embraced me in a tight hug.

“That was… amazing. ” He whispered in my hair. 

“ I told you, I can shoot,”  I answered.

“Yes, you did. But I didn’t know you could aim and shoot so precisely. Where did you learn to shoot like that? Are there other things I should know regarding my safety?“  He asked softly, still holding me in his arms. I giggled at his question. If only he knew how much skills I had.

“I took a few lessons a while back. There’s nothing you need to know… for now…  “    I said     “ But, I got many hidden talents -so beware.  Being able to shoot a fly out of the sky should be the least-of-you- concern. “  I told him, sarcastically. He pulled back his body,  threw his head back and laughed out loud. His laugh made my stomach twist.

“I’ll make sure to remember that.”  He said.

We continued walking towards the gang, who were laughing and talking loudly. Behind them I saw the Gators, they were muttering in disbelieve -when they saw us approach they turned around and left.  Emma was running up at me, hugging me roughly.

“That was amazing! “ She yelped in my ear. “We should celebrate! “

“I agree! “ Nick said. “Should we grab a drink and a bite by Allstars?” Nick asked the group.

Everyone enthusiastically agreed. The adrenaline rush left me starved  and thirsty.  We returned our gear to the manager and continued to walk to our cars.  As we all were walking in a group, talking and laughing at the reaction of the Gators -  Jason threw his arm around my shoulder,  pulling me  to his side. It made me smile widely. Happiness was an emotion I’ve barely experienced in my life. But right at this moment:  I felt pure happiness in his arms.