The Bet

Amy was putting John to bed while Ricky had spread his work out all over the living room couch. His mind was so focussed on his computer that he almost didn't hear Amy walk into the living room, holding a glass of wine in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other.

She set the beer down beside the computer he was working on, and shifted some papers off the couch so she can take a seat beside him. She tucked her feet under her and ran a hand up and down his back.

"Maybe it's time you call it a night" She said looking over his shoulder to see what he was working on.

He managed to tear his eyes away from his computer to give her a quick kiss on the temple.

"Sorry, I know works been crazy lately. But I think it's going to be another long night" He grabbed the cold bottle and took a sip "Thanks for this" He said clinking it against her own glass.

Landing the Below Zero account had opened a lot of doors for him and his team. Since they've launched their ad campaign a lot of big names have been knocking on their door, interested in their style of marketing. But more 'high end' clients, meant more time at work and less time with his family, which Ricky was starting to feel guilty about. He knew he didn't have to put in so much hours into his work. But his attention to detail and newly found perfectionist trait had resulted in him being selected as the unofficial project manager of his team. Once he's started on something he couldn't let it go. He would tweak and re-tweak it until he was satisfied. So while the other 4 members of his team headed to the bar after clocking in an 8 hour day, he stayed back or took work home with him – despite his team protesting against it. He couldn't help it. He felt personally responsible for the success of each and every project they took on.

Luckily Amy had been more than understanding through all of it. She had been his biggest cheerleader, giving him prep talks right before some of his biggest meetings. She knew how important his projects were to him, how important it was that others understood his vision. She felt the same way about her writing. Sometimes your mind envisions one thing but to get that thought, that feeling down on paper so that others can understand your vision, wasn't always so easy. Getting from idea to final product always took a lot of time and effort.

She laid her head down against his shoulder as she played with the hair on the back of his neck and took a sip of wine.

Ricky decided to take a break from work and leaned back onto the couch, pulling Amy towards him. He took the wine glass from her hand and set it down on the table beside the couch, which was also covered in paper. Amy cuddled up beside him, leaning her head against his chest. He kissed the top of her head before taking another sip of beer. They sat like that in silence for a while, until Ricky finally spoke.

"How was your day? Did you finish the article you've been working on?"

"Yeah, I sent it off to my editor this afternoon before I picked up John. How did you meeting go?"

"Well we're playing golf with them on Saturday so I'm assuming it went well"

"Golf?" Amy couldn't help herself from laughing "Oh good, maybe they can teach you frat boys a thing or two about proper etiquette"

"Don't' worry – me and the guys have hockey practice that night so whatever high class decorum we pick up during the day will all be lost by the end of the night"

Amy still sometimes couldn't get over this new Ricky. Not that he's changed all the much. In some ways, he was still the same Ricky she had met in high school, but now he seemed so much more mature. He also appeared to be more laid back and at ease. She remembered how she always felt the need to tip toe around him, in case something she said or did got him mad or upset. Now it was almost like it was the other way around. When little things would frustrate her, he would be the one to calm her down and tell her to let it go. Not only that, he was also working hard to make something for himself, which Amy couldn't be more proud of him for. Not to mention his new found interest in hockey.

She still remembered almost being in shock when she found out he played in a rec team with some of the guys at work.

"Since when do you play hockey?"

"One of the pre requisite of the job" he had told her. "You need to have interesting hobbies as a conversation starter. In this job, you kind of have to hold an interest in everything. That way once you find out what a client is interested in you have something to talk about"

"Well you can't possibly know about everything"

"Which is exactly why you need to have some type of hobby. In those cases you bring it back to you. So for example, a client wants to talk cricket, which I know nothing about so I say in response, I'm sorry I don't know much about cricket, I'm more of a hockey guy myself. Plus there's always perks, like clients gifting us awesome seats to games"

"Okay who are you?" She had asked when she still couldn't believe it, and he just laughed it off.

Not that she minded. The hockey thing has really put him in amazing shape. She still can't believe how toned he's gotten.

"Oh crap I almost forgot. Tomorrow night, I'm going to be home late" He told her resting his chin on her head. He placed the now empty bottle on the table beside the wine glass.

"Where you going?" She asked, not moving.

"Uh okay, don't laugh though"

This time, she sat up ready to hear the most ridiculous explanation. After getting to know some of the guys Ricky worked with, very little things surprised her anymore. They seem to be always getting themselves in the most ridiculous situation. Everything came down to a bet with those guys, and some of it has started to rub off on their now 8 year old son. "Dad I bet you two cookies I can get this in the trash can from here" He would say, and Ricky would grin and egg him on.

She raised an eyebrow waiting for him to continue. She noticed his cheeks had turned red. Oh this one is going to be good, she thought.

"Brett and I are going down to the fire hall" He said sheepishly.

"Because….?"

"Because Brett and I were on the loosing team of this ad spread competition. We couldn't decide on a concept for the ad so we ended up splitting into two groups and presenting two polar opposite ideas. Needless to say, the company went with the Jake's proposal" He wasn't all that upset, he and Brett wanted to push the boundaries, they offered something completely new. While, the execs really liked their proposal, they didn't think now was a good time for a change. The company decided to go for the safe and familiar route, which is what Jakes team presented. You win some, you lose some.

"So how does this lead to you and Brett going down to the fire hall…oh god Ricky please don't tell me you're going to like steal a fire truck or something equally illegal"

"Amy of course not, don't be ridiculous" He rubbed the back of his neck, not looking forward to continuing. But he had to tell her "We're signing up to volunteer"

"Volunteer for what? Their community bake sale?"

"Fireman"

It was a good thing Amy was no longer sipping her wine, or she would have for sure spat it out.

"WHAT!?"

"Yeah whoever lost had to sign up to volunteer"

"Ricky…honestly?" She said. Of all the stupid things those guys were always up to, this one definitely topped the cake. "Can you JUST volunteer for that?" She asked still pretty appalled.

"No. Really though we're just going to sign up and that's probably going to be the end of that. I mean from what I hear there's some sort of fitness test you have to do. And if you pass that you still have to pass some rigorous training they put you through. I'm sure they'll take one look at us and give us the boot before we even get to do that test. Then we can all put this stupid thing behind us" He tried to act nonchalant to reassure her that this was not a big deal.

Amy just stared at him still with the most bewildered look on his face.

"I know, I know" He knew exactly what she was thinking, probably something along the lines of why she had gotten back with him in the first place.

"Okay, I know you guys like to have fun at work, but this is a little much. People who sign up for that, take that role very seriously"

Ricky sighed. He knew that, and it wasn't like he meant to make a mockery of something like this. He knew it was an important job and people who do are passionate about what they do, and are basically heroes. Sometimes he doesn't realize what he and the guys get themselves into until it's too late.

"Like I said, it'll be over before it begins"

"Then what? You're going to sign up for the police force?" Sometimes she just didn't understand how guys can be so ridiculous. Everything was a joke with them.

"Can we just hang out and enjoy this quiet time together? I have a lot of things I need to get done tonight and I just want to spend some time with you sans the argument before I have to get back to it again"

Amy sighed. He was right. She knew she was starting to get really worked up. But sometimes she worry at how far they take these little bets of theirs. Hopefully Ricky was smart enough to not get himself in anything dangerous or worst, something that would get him into trouble. Not that she think he would -but the pack mentality with those guys were pretty strong and sometimes they take things beyond reason.

"Alright" she said leaning back into him "Tell me about these new clients".