With Tori feeling better, Jade is surprised at how much her girl can eat and stupidly agree's to an eating contest.
A night with my father usually resulted in way too much sugar and fatty foods, and with Jade joining us, I told her so as she and I piled into the back of my father's car. "We usually go all out and eat things my mother refused to allow in the house."
"Hey, don't let me stop you, I bet I could eat more than both of you combined," Jade said, making me laugh.
"I highly doubt that, dad and I do this weekly unless he has to work."
"You just had a bowl of cereal as I got to your place," She said, a look of disbelief on her face.
"She eats little during the week, and makes up for it on our nights out," my dad told her.
"I still think I could beat you both," Jade said.
"How about we make a competition out of it?" I challenged.
"Tori, I think you should ease up a little, you were sick all week," my dad said.
I rolled my eyes.
"Come on, really? What about how I was sick for a month when Trina brought something home from school, I still ate your weight in food the very next time we went out, which was the very day after I felt better."
"You were eight, but I won't be apart of this challenge. I'll eat my own happy amount."
I looked to Jade, my hand stroking her thigh. "You in?"
"I'm going to regret this cause you'll be complaining you don't feel well I'm sure, but… what the heck, I'm in." She smiled as she spoke, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
"Bowling, fries, drinks?" Dad asked.
"That's always our first stop," I said. "Nothing will be different about tonight. We'll do everything the same."
"Everything except challenging me to an eating contest?" Jade asked.
"Who knows. We might make it apart of the ritual," I smirked, tapping my lips to make her kiss me.
"Are you two together?" My dad asked, and I looked up, our eyes meeting in the mirror.
"We're taking things very slow," Jade said, making me nod in agreement.
He didn't need to know that I was fucking her brains out just twenty minutes ago.
"Just be careful, some people aren't very happy to see two girls, together. Oh, do you both identify as girls?" He asked as he parked the car, making me blush lightly.
"I do," I said.
"Me too," Jade said with a nod.
"Good. Okay… sorry if that question isn't allowed, I just… one of the new recruits at my station says he's non-binder or something."
"Non-Binary?" Jade asked.
"That's the one." My dad said, making the first move to get out of the car.
"They…" Jade said, sliding out of the car after me. "They slash Them is usually the correct way of saying it instead of he or she. Unless the kid said he slash they."
"I'm not too sure, we got called out on a run and I didn't get to question anything. I don't think I understand it all, but as long as people are happy, I don't mind."
"The Vega's plus One are here," came over the PA system as we stepped in the door.
A few boo's were playfully thrown at us as we made our way to the counter.
"David, Tori," the teen behind the counter smiled.
"This is Jade," my dad supplied.
"Does she want a card? You can get a discount if you sign up because of how good these two are."
"Card?"
I pulled my wallet out before removing a card from it and leaning over to swipe it beneath the scanner.
"Just so we don't have to wait for things, sort of a VIP type thing," I said.
"How much?" Jade asked.
"Twenty bucks, gets you a hundred games on it. And you can use it at the food kiosk too for freebies sometimes."
"Hell, free food? I'm in." Jade laughed softly and pulled her wallet out.
"You can refill it cheaper later on down the track if you want to, but twenty is the usual," the girl said, holding a card out for Jade as she handed over a twenty dollar note.
"You lot have a good night," the girl said once more before handing my father a key.
"I don't have shoes to bowl in," Jade whispered in my ear, leaning in close as the music grew louder as we walked along the back of the lanes.
"It's okay, you can borrow my spare pare I keep in the locker," I said, gesturing to the small row of lockers near the far end of the building.
I thought ahead and wore my other pair tonight, so when my father opened the locker, he held out the shoes towards Jade with a smile.
My father handed me a bag, one I kept my ball in, and I took it, my free hand catching Jade's waist as she leaned into me, almost toppling over as she quickly changed shoes while still standing.
She looked a little out of place holding her shoes and looking around, so I moved my arm from her body and took her shoes, pushing them into the locker before holding her hand.
"Ready for drinks and cheesy fries?" My father asked, and my whole body lit up at the thought.
"God, yes," I said, nodding quickly.
"Cheesy fries?" Jade asked.
"Cheese, bacon, meted over a large plate of fries with a delicious garlic aioli dipping sauce. You hungry?"
"I suppose I better get hungry if we're still making that challenge happen," Jade said, making me laugh.
"That's the way," My dad said, grinning at us before leading the way across the lanes to our usual spot.
"Fuck," Jade hissed before pouting at the ball that missed the last pin. She then came and sat beside me, laying her head on my shoulder.
"You're only down by one point," I said, patting her thigh before dipping a handful of fries into the sauce and eating them as I got up for my own turn.
"Drop your shoulder, Kiddo," I heard my dad say, making me roll my eyes and sigh, looking over at him.
"Sh, I don't tell you how to roll gutter balls, don't tell me how to strike."
"Harsh," Jade said, shaking her head at me. "I think you've been hanging around me too long, Vega."
"She gets grumpy when she's hungry," I heard my dad say as I moved down closer to the lane so I could have my turn.
"How could she possibly be hungry? She's onto eating your fries now. And they're big fucking plates."
I smirked as I hit all the pins before looking at jade as I made my way back to the seats.
"Giving up on the challenge so soon?"
"Not even close, Vega." Jade smiled, kissing me softly as My dad moved up to have his turn.
"You seriously ate two and a half plates of fries," Jade said in disbelief as we sat down to the table at Olive Garden, my father sitting across from us.
"Told you I could eat," I said, shrugging.
"Hi, guys, drinks to start the night?"
I looked up, smiling at the familiar waiter before nodding.
"Just the usual for me and my father, please. And my usual order."
"Saw you coming, already put it in," he said, smiling back at me before turning to Jade. "Would you like a drink?"
"What're you havin, Vega?"
"Just coke, you want to share?" I asked her.
"Sure, sounds good."
"Right, extra pitcher and glass for the coke. I'll be back to get your orders," the teen said before wandering off to get our drinks.
"I pulled a kid up for dealing in the school near yours yesterday," my father said, making conversation.
"Oh?" I asked, reaching for a breadstick and took a bite of it.
"Yeah, looked like he was only a runner though, clean and sober."
"Good, I know how hard it is when you find a user," I said, looking at my cutlery as he went back to looking at the menu.
Jade's hand rested on my knee, making me look at her and smile.
I hated keeping secrets from my father, and now keeping secrets from Jade also? This was going to be the death of me.
"Do you work on the drug force?" Jade asked.
"Only sometimes, I give a hand whenever possible. I usually visit that area to play with the dogs though. Poor Bruno, must be getting close to retirement."
"Oh, I remember when you brought him home to help train him," I said, smiling sadly. "What're they going to do with him?"
"If his handler can't take him, I've been given the opportunity, your mother already cleared it, so hopefully she doesn't change her mind when it comes down to it."
"Sounds like an adventure." Jade chuckled. "I'll try to keep my mother's medical stuff away from me. When I come visit, if it so happens that you do get it."
"Medical stuff?" My father asked.
"I'm not sure on the name of it, well I know it I just can't remember it's name, but she gets burning pains through her facial nerves, the doctor said that it wasn't very common and they've tried surgeries, and everything possible to help her. The last resort was medical marijuana."
"That's terrible, I'm sorry to hear that. I take it it's helping?"
"She prefers the stronger stuff, says it helps a little, but still, the pain sometimes leaks through."
"Orders?" The waiter asked, coming back over and putting our drinks down.
"I'll have whatever Tori's having," Jade said.
"I'll have my usual." My dad gathered up the menus, handing them to the waiter with a smile.
"I'll be out as soon as I can with them, would you like more breadsticks?"
"Yes, please," I said quickly.
Jade looked at me like I was insane.
"I'm hungry," I said with a shrug.
"Okay," Jade said as the waiter took our plates away after dinner. "Screw the eating challenge, I'm tapping out. You win."
"Told you," I said, reaching for my drink with a smile.
"Desserts?" The waiter asked as he came back.
"My usual, please," I said at the same time as my father.
"And you?" He asked, turning to Jade.
"God, no thank you. I'm about to burst," she said, a small smile on her lips.
The waiter came back in a few minutes with two bowls filled with fresh warm brownies and ice cream with chocolate topping that hardens on contact with the ice cream.
"You're joking, right?" Jade asked as the waiter set the bowl in front of me.
"I never joke about brownies and ice cream," I said seriously as I looked at her.
"You can't possibly still be hungry," she said, shaking her head.
"Jade, I can literally eat all day and still be hungry for a huge dinner."
Jade and I made our way up to my room so I could pack a bag and go stay at her place, my dad said he was exhausted and bid us goodnight as we parted ways in the hall.
I quickly threw in a few changes of clothing into my bag before looking over at Jade.
"Toys?" She asked, smirking.
"Not just yet," I said, shaking my head.
I really needed to move my other items from that drawer before I let her see my toy collection.
She looked a little let down, but thankfully didn't push the subject.
I wasn't ready for her to see the items I kept in a small compartment beneath my toys.
I really dislike keeping secrets from her, but honestly, we have only just began growing closer and finding more things about each other.
I think a few things are okay to be kept hidden so early in the relationship, or whatever we're calling it.
"You ready?" Jade asked.
I nodded, grabbing my phone charger and stuffing it into my purse before grabbing both bags and following her out of my room, down the stairs and to her car, tossing my bags into the back before I got in.
"So, that was an eventful evening," Jade said as she started her car once both our belts were on.
"Dad and I were talking when you went to the bathroom after laser-tag… he said you'd be more than welcome to join us when we go if you wanted to. And I firmly agree with him."
"Maybe not all the time, but once every now and then wouldn't be too bad, just try to remind me not to get into an eating contest with you… ever again."
"Remember how I admitted to ham-boning?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, every Christmas, that semi rural town I was talking about has an eating contest. From spicy foods to large meals… it has a lot of things."
"You enter them all?" She asked, her eyes widening as she glanced at me.
"All? No, it's only one contest… with every food imaginable… person to eat the most wins. My dad got his first video camera as soon as they hit the stores, and tapes it every year. That night, he and I watch them as we eat some of my aunt's homemade cheesecake with red velvet base- we're the only ones who actually like it, so she makes a few for just us -and watch as every person sitting at the table slowly taps out."
"How many rounds?"
"I never counted, I find my need to kick ass blocks out everything else. I've beaten this one kid every year since I was five. They moved to the town around that time, entered the contest as a joke but now the whole family is really competitive. So, my dad sent me up there to kick ass and watch the light die from that family's eyes. He ended up buying a second video camera after a couple more years just so he could record their reactions."
"Okay, now that I know about all this, you really have to show me. One day… please?" She asked, parking her car in front of her house.
"I have a copy of them on my hard drive, I was slowly working on making them all a better quality and timing the videos to lap together in a side-by-side screen so that their faces could be viewed with my kicking their sons ass."
"Evil," she scoffed lightly. "But still, I need to see."
I nodded, leaning over to kiss her before we both got out of the car. I quickly grabbed my bags from the back seat and met her at the front of the car, my free hand slipping into hers as we made our way to the door.
She was about to unlock the house when the door was pulled open.
"Jade," Alice said, looking like she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't have.
"Hey, Tori's gonna hang tonight so I can help her catch up on homework she missed before we watch some videos. Cool?"
"Yes, of course… I just need to run to the store, Riley's requesting a juice before bed and we've run out. Do you need anything?"
I quickly dig through my purse, pulling my wallet out and a twenty dollar bill.
"Cookies and cream in the largest tub possible?" I asked hopefully.
"Sure, but I can pay-" Alice started, but Jade cut her off.
"It literally won't even last her five minutes, you better make it two," Jade said, dragging me away from her mother. "Riley, I have a present for you!" She called out.
The sound of footsteps running upstairs caught my attention as I unhappily shoved my money and wallet back into my bag.
"Jay!"
My head snapped to attention as my jaw dropped. "Did he just-"
"Kind Of say my name?" Jade finished for me as Riley flew down the stairs and hugged Jade tight.
I looked at her and smiled as I saw tears in her eyes. "Never?" I asked and she shook her head, pressing a kiss to Riley's head.
I rubbed Jade's back as she tightened her embrace on Riley for a moment before releasing him completely, dropping to her knees.
I shifted my hand from her back to rest on her shoulder, smiling at the small soft side of Jade, my heart bursting with happiness.
"You said my name?" Jade asked him, his hands moving too quick for me to read his signs.
"I love you too, Riley. I'm so proud of you," Jade whispered before hugging him once more.
Once Riley was in bed, Jade and I went to her room and watched a movie in her bed, our hands twined in her lap as we sat side-by-side, the blankets covering our legs.
My head rested on her shoulder as I stroked my thumb across her knuckles.
"You tired?" She asked softly.
"A little, but I want to watch the end."
"We can finish it tomorrow," she offered but I shook my head a little.
"Nah, I'm okay… there's probably only like fifteen or so minutes left."
"Thirty," she corrected as she brang our hands up, kissing my fingers.
"It'll be fine," I said, looking back towards the screen.