CHAPTER 34

ICE IS ON FIRE – after 6x01

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It's Game Day. Jason woke up all excited. Mandy was still heavily sleeping close to his body, and he tried to get out of the bed without waking her up.

They went to bed kind of late the night before, because after they took a long nap in the evening, Jason released some tension with Mandy on the kitchen countertop. Then when he thought he was done and helped her come down from the countertop, she teased him saying that what they just did wasn't very hygienic, so he bent her on the island, this time taking off her robe and bra too, and fucked her until she joyfully promised she wasn't worried about the hygiene of the countertops anymore. Apparently she was convinced, now, that she just needs to clean it with a stronger product and they're good.

It was still around 0900 hours and he couldn't sleep anymore from the excitement, he had a lot of energy to release, and he had to think about some things, so he decided to go for a run, maybe to the opposite side to where he ran on Friday. He put on his clothes and sneakers and texted Mandy as soon as he left the house, letting her know where he went.

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Mandy woke up with Jason noisily climbing up the stairs. She was laying belly down on her bed, just being lazy, because she woke up minutes earlier, read his text on her phone, then ended up falling asleep again.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were awake already" Jason said from the doorway, apologizing for the noise. He was sweaty and his face was red, and he hesitated a bit.

"I was, but then I saw you went out for a run so I decided to get me some lazy time in bed", she remained laying with her belly down and sleepy eyes. "Hi", she said, when he just kept staring at her.

"Hi" he finally said, standing in the middle of the bedroom. "I'll go take a shower ok", and quickly went into the bathroom.

He was being a man of few words again, Mandy concluded, sighing. Sometimes he had days like these, but during the barbecue he was very talkative, even too much. Then the night before he was very… eager, but still a bit quiet, even though she loved his confession during his usual talkative moment during sex. She just wished he talked more about his feelings when they weren't having sex, or about to have sex, or drunk. Or fighting. But as she'd already known for years, he wasn't good at talking about his feelings, so at least during sex she could hear some of his intimate thoughts.

She got up from bed and heard Jason turning the shower on, and decided to save water and join him, after all, she'd shower in an hour or two anyways. He left the door ajar, but she knocked, to make sure he wasn't using the toilet or something. That's a moment she'd rather not share with him, ever, no matter what anyone says. "Hi. Can I come in and use the sink?", she politely asked.

"Hey, yeah, sure."

She passed by him in the shower and brushed her teeth still with her robe, and he quietly showered. She saw him pensive from his reflection in the mirror. "I thought you'd be all excited to go to the game today" Mandy tried to initiate a conversation, hesitant but smiling.

He opened a wide smile to her. "Oh, I am. Believe me. Where do we have to go to get the tickets? With Tim or what"

"He said that we can get them directly at the ticket office, it's like reserved under my name or something" she said, standing by the sink. She was waiting for an invitation, but didn't get one. He seemed distracted, but she decided that it was her shower, in her house, so she could go in there and shower, it wouldn't make her seem desperate to have sex with him or anything. And he was her boyfriend, she shouldn't be concerned about sounding desperate for sex, even if she was. But she wasn't.

"I need to wash my hair again, it has some smoky smell from the barbecue" Mandy casually said, while taking off her robe and underwear, "so I'll just get in there with you to speed things up, ok". He stared at her getting into the shower, taking a step to the side to let her wet her hair. "Thanks", she smiled at him, while she wet her hair and her face, and he just kept staring at her face, silent. She now was feeling awkward with his silence. "What is it? Something happened?" she said, a bit annoyed too.

"When? No"

"While you were running. Or yesterday. You're acting strange".

"No I'm not", his voice raised an octave as usual, when he lies. "I'm just thinking about the logistics of the game".

Mandy bet on the most common answer when he acts weird. "What, are you acting jealous or something? Because I dated a hockey player?"

"What? No", he said, and he seemed sincere.

"Because of what Camille told you about me and Charles, then?"

Jason blinked once. "No. It was years ago, right?"

"Yes, it was. And like she said, we went out for two dates." Mandy was starting to feel his insecurity ridiculous, not cute anymore. She grabbed her shampoo and massaged her scalp, while Jason just watched, standing beside her. Doing nothing.

"And a third, when you saw him again, as friends", he stated.

"Yes, but as friends. Just dinner, not a date".

Jason kept quiet for a while again. "Where were you deployed at that time?" he tried to sound casual.

She genuinely seemed to think for two seconds, like trying to remember. "J-Bad. That time we were going after the ones that killed Echo Team" she simply answered, putting some conditioner on her hair.

Fuck. I knew it., Jason thought. His theory was right.

He casually mentioned, "Yeah, when Paul helped us out by writing that article about Xeon"

"U-hum, that one" she casually confirmed. She and Jason had gone to many deployments in J-Bad, Jason even more, so she thought that maybe he didn't know which time it was.

"Did you keep in touch with Paul since that deployment?" Jason asked, afraid of her answer.

"Sure. After I left the CIA too, we met at an event and talked, he said he was starting a new NGO and needed help. That's how I got the consultant job there later on".

Jason swallowed and came a bit closer to Mandy, to get some of the hot water too, he was starting to feel cold. "He said he lives nearby, right? I think I saw him during my run today, he was walking but didn't see me". Jason obviously wasn't going to tell her he deviated from his course and followed him from a distance, just to see if Paul was going to Mandy's house, but he obviously wasn't.

"Oh yes, he lives like five or six blocks from here" she looked at him, and sighed, adding "he throws Christmas gatherings for the NGO's employees every year, usually they're at his place".

"I didn't say anything" he raised his hands, then opened a smile. He believed that she was telling the truth, but he still thought that Paul was trying to make a move on her and regain what he had with her. He felt a bit possessive and looked at Mandy's body up and down, then while she was scrubbing her body he came closer and kissed her, slowly, for a couple of minutes, then started to caress her breast and squeeze her butt. She gasped, and he pushed her against the wall, ready to take her, but Mandy pushed him away, gently. "Not now" she said, looking at his confused face, "I'm a bit tired yet. Too much alcohol yesterday, I think. Sorry" she apologized, and she seemed sincere.

"Oh, sure, sorry", Jason quickly accepted, and then offered, "I can give you a massage if you want. It doesn't even have to be a naughty one" he playfully said.

She chuckled, he was cute. "Actually, I think I'll take that offer. I'm spent".

"No, no, you can't. Come on, you have to be rested for the game. Come, finish your shower and I'll give you a great massage".

And Jason fulfilled his promise, because Mandy was incredibly relaxed and pain free by the end of the massage. She hummed a lot, not needing to hide what she thought about his abilities anymore. And he was a lot more talkative again, doing stuff for her around the house, as if she was sick again, like heating their lunch – in the microwave – and serving her beverage. They obviously had leftovers for lunch, and he admitted that he really loved the salads, sauces and potatoes. So, he agreed that it was nice having side dishes with the barbecue.

Mandy almost felt bad denying him sex earlier in the shower, but she was feeling a bit tired of his way of always coming after her when he was jealous of her with someone. It felt like if no one wanted her, then he wouldn't want her that much either. It was making her feel a bit insecure, so she avoided him to see how he'd react. So far, so good.

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Jason and Peter wanted to go to the stadium as early as possible, to have time to buy some food and Philadelphia Flyers t-shirts for them and their ladies. Peter wasn't even a fan of the Flyers, he actually rooted for the Rangers because he lived in NY for more than a decade during and after college, but he had no problem rooting for Jason's team too, for moral support. He wasn't really a fanatic of the Rangers anyways. But that was nice of him. Besides, he was rich, so he could afford buying t-shirts that they would only wear a few times in their lives. And Jason wanted a new Flyers t-shirt anyways because the one he had was too old.

They parked in a good spot, then got in the stadium with Mandy's name on the list. There weren't many people yet, and most of them, obviously, were Washington Capitals' fans. They got to the stores and the girls wanted official t-shirts, not the shorter ones they make for women, and they looked kind of cute wearing those giant t-shirts over their sweaters. When Jason mentioned it to Mandy, she casually said that she chose the official one because then she could wear it to sleep, and Jason loved her idea.

"Ooh, hockey players are big" Camille joyfully said, with an affected french accent coming out of nowhere, while she raised her arms, noticing how the t-shirts were huge.

"Yes, they are" Mandy stated, smiling, and Jason felt a hint of jealousy. But then Mandy turned to him, "You used to play hockey, right?". Jason immediately stuffed his chest "Yes. Yes I did", and loved when Mandy inflated his ego, pointing at him and saying to Camille "See? Big". Peter added, "And I used to play football. Also big" and everyone nodded, agreeing. They were both big, in deed.

Egos duly inflated, they found their seats on the bleachers, which really were close to the ice, obviously not right by it, because those were free tickets, after all, but still very close. The guys were very excited and went to get some foods and beverage. The girls started chatting, about how much fun they had at the barbecue, and that they should repeat that whenever Jason was staying at Mandy's, maybe with a little less alcohol next time. But she alerted Camille that she didn't like it when he gets too jealous, so she should dial her stories down the next time.

"Ooh Mandy, how can you not like it when your man is jealous of you? You said he's not violent or anything. I love when Peter gets all jealous and possessive of me, it heats things up".

"Well I like it, yes, it definitely heats things up. But I feel like he wants me much more when he realizes that someone else wants me too. I feel it's childish sometimes. It's not doing anything for my self-esteem, on the contrary, I sometimes wonder if he'd want me that much if nobody wanted me. I'm just trying to dial it down and see if things are still going to be… hot between us" she explained. She hoped she was making sense to Camille.

Camille looked at Mandy up and down. Mandy was a confident person, she knew she was smart and pretty, and didn't even bother to wear too much makeup, or clothes that enhanced her body. Camille had a feeling that her insecurity was only in her head, and because she was finally with the guy she wanted; it was new to her. Camille understood her in that sense, she was having some insecurities when she fell in love with Peter, a divorced, brilliant and rich attorney. Camille knew she was beautiful and smart, and that Peter admired her; but when you really like someone, you're afraid of losing that person, and it's a new feeling, so it's normal to act like that. To protect the heart. Just in case.

The guys got back with the food and they were extremely excited, already cheering along with some other fans that appeared in the stadium. Camille couldn't help but to ask, "So, Jason, what if your team loses? Will you still be glad you came?", and the whole group called her jinx, pessimistic french, practically threw popcorn at her. She apologized, stating that she didn't know they took hockey so seriously.

When Jason calmed down, he finally thought about the question for a minute, then answered. "Well, I'd still be glad I came. These are great seats and I'm having a good time with you guys. It'll be a great match whoever wins it. But I really, really hope the Flyers win the game". Mandy noticed he was starting to rub his hand on his thigh, gesture he always does when he's nervous, and put her hand over his, to calm him down. It worked.

The stadium was full, the match started, and it was a very tense one, with both teams evenly scoring, and the goalies defending great shots.

The Flyers were losing by one point, but almost at the end of the game they scored again, tying with the Capitals, for the group's joy and the desperation of the majority of the fans at the stadium. In the second to last minute of the game, the Flyers made another goal, and each couple celebrated accordingly, with enthusiastic kisses. But the Capitals still managed to take a shot to the goal in the last minute; fortunately the Flyers' goalie defended the shot, so when the referee finally announced the end of the match, Jason kissed Mandy passionately and the whole group dramatically screamed and sang with the other fans around them and at the stadium, while the Capitals' fans were just annoyed and moody, silently walking out of the stadium.

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After waiting for a while until the stadium wasn't as crowded, the group went towards the exit, but Camille 'really had to pee, urgently', she said, so the guys waited nearby and Mandy and Camille went to the ladies' bathroom. There was a huge line, because women's bathrooms always have lines, so they decided to try the next bathroom, that wasn't as full, but it also had a line. So Mandy waited for Camille outside, near the entrance, because she wanted to text Tim and thank him again for the tickets, and say it was an amazing and memorable game even though the Capitals lost. She was never planning on telling him that she was wearing an official Flyers t-shirt. But on that area her cellphone didn't have any signal, because they were under the bleachers, so she wandered a bit to her side, distracted.

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Jason was thinking it was odd that the girls were taking so long to come back, he told Peter and he felt the same, but when they came closer to the ladies' room and saw that huge line, they understood immediately, so they relaxed. That is, until they saw a distraught Camille walking fast in their direction, with her phone in her hand.

"I can't find her" Camille said from a distance, barely audible. Jason immediately jogged to her, already feeling his heart race. She explained "I walked out of the bathroom and she wasn't there. I don't know where she might be". Camille was worried, but thinking it was more of a disturbance than anything terrible, but she and Peter became concerned when they saw Jason acting in a very nervous way. He focused and quickly asked Camille to explain where they were, and where she was supposed to wait for her, and she pointed and explained. Now Camille and Peter were becoming really concerned too, because if Jason, a soldier, was that worried, it was because he knew something terrible that could have happened.

Jason told them to search for Mandy near the bleachers, while he ran through the corridor, yelling her name and looking inside some of the rooms. He tried to call her, but his phone didn't have any signal. He ran for a long distance, and now he was thinking that maybe she went to the other bathroom, or maybe she fell from a bleacher and was hurt or something, his mind was speeding and he tried to remain calm in the caos, but it was difficult. He decided to continue in the corridor for a minute and then to make his way back searching on the bleachers, so he called her name a couple of times and suddenly heard her voice, almost whispering, and very shaky. "Jason?"

He walked a few feet towards the voice, relieved, but he didn't see her anywhere. Then he noticed she opened a door slightly, peeking from inside of a closet room. He called her, so she was sure it was him approaching, and she immediately opened the door and walked to him, relieved. Jason embraced her, holding her tight and exhaling, relieved. She didn't seem hurt, but he knew that something happened.

"What happened? Why were you inside that room?" he distanced from her, and checked her head, face and body, looking for bruises. Or if she had her clothes still on or something.

"I'm ok" Mandy dismissed his touch, "Nothing happened".

"What do you mean nothing happened?" he loudly asked her, "you were hiding inside that room".

"Yes. I know. But nothing happened". He kept staring at her, worried, and she finally explained. "I walked a bit to this side because my phone didn't have a signal. I was going to the bleachers, when a few guys that were Capitals' fans walked from there in my direction", she gesticulated. Jason's face turned from worried to deadly, so she quickly continued her explanation "They didn't do anything, calm down Jason. They… teased me and cornered me a bit, and I was kinda afraid, you know, and to be safe I walked this way. And they didn't do anything, but, you know, they walked this way too, so I walked a little faster and decided to stay in there for a while." she said everything emotionless and Jason was sure she was toning down what happened, especially because he saw that her eye makeup had a slight smudge. Obviously she cried.

"I was about to come out of the room to go to the bleachers and call you guys, I knew you'd be worried, but I'm sorry, I stayed in there, just in case, you know".

"Mandy, you have to swear to me they didn't do anything to you, that they didn't touch you" Jason's face was red with anger, ready to seek vengeance if they did.

"No Jason. I swear." Mandy sounded sincere, so Jason relaxed a bit. But he kept staring at her, he knew something happened. She swallowed and decided to tell him. "I just… I was having a panic attack. Because it reminded me of when I was... you know. The guys were jerks, and they were teasing me and following me for a while, but they never touched me or anything. Probably just wanted to annoy me because I was wearing the Flyers' t-shirt".

Jason wasn't less worried with her explanation of what happened. But at least he felt like she was telling the truth now.

"It's a normal symptom of PTSD, Jason. I promise you I'll talk to my therapist about it, ok?", she said, still without showing any emotion. He rubbed his thumb under her eye, cleaning the smudge. She noticed, so she quickly said "Please, I don't want to ruin the day for anyone, especially you. So let's go find Camille and Peter, they must be worried. Let's just tell them I was trying to call Tim and got lost or something", she pleaded Jason. He nodded, but wrapped his arm tightly around her as they made their way back and got into the bleachers' area, where Peter and Camille were still searching for her among some people that were still there.

They were relieved when they saw her, and seemed to believe her, even though Camille noticed she cried, and Mandy admitted to her that she got a bit anxious while she was lost. Jason wanted to go straight home after what happened, but Mandy insisted they should have dinner somewhere to celebrate, like they were planning to before, stating that she'd feel terrible to ruin their plans, and that the dinner would help her forget her anxiety.

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"God, I'm so tired. But I had a great time" Mandy said as soon as she and Jason got into her house after having dinner with Peter and Camille. They ended up having a great time at a taco restaurant in DC, celebrating the Flyers' victory. Mandy turned to Jason, who was locking the door. "I love that you had such a great time. And that the Flyers won", she walked towards him, and caressed his chest.

"U-hum, I had a great time. Thanks for the tickets" he said in a husky voice, and Mandy kissed him, slowly, squeezing him against the front door. "Wait", Jason tried to resist her advance, but she didn't stop kissing him, so he parted their lips. "Mandy. We should talk about what happened".

She sighed, but continued to hold his Flyers t-shirt in her hands. "Jason. I'm not trying to forget about what happened. But there's nothing you can do about it, ok? It's out of your control". She started to kiss his neck and jaw.

Jason still tried to argue with her. "I know. I just want to make sure you're ok", he was practically stretching his neck to avoid her kisses.

Mandy muttered on his skin, still kissing him and pulling him closer "Oh, I'm ok. Now. Because you found me. And I'm a bit shaky, yes." Jason was relaxing, so she continued, squeezing him between her body and the door, "...and if you have sex with me now I'll feel very, very, protected. So would you?"

Jason grinned, cocky, and couldn't resist her argument, "Sure, I'll make the effort", and kissed her passionately, while they tried to make their way up the stairs, almost falling. Mandy decided to run to the top of the stairs, and stopped him when he reached her.

"You know what makes me feel very protected?" she said seductively, "when you carry me on your shoulder, like" and she made the movement, like when you throw a towel on your shoulder, and he laughed and understood immediately.

He lifted her from the legs and bent her on his right shoulder, and she giggled, loving it. He carried her to the bedroom and gave a little slap on her ass before throwing her on the bed, and she giggled again. He came closer to her and they proceeded to undress each other, but they were a bit too eager, so Mandy suggested "What if we just", and gestured to their pants. He chuckled and couldn't agree more, so he got up, took her shoes, skinny pants and panties out, and just lowered his pants a bit, but Mandy alerted him "your shoes, your shoes", because he was about to mess the clean white blanket with his sneakers, so he quickly took them off, while she was laughing of their clumsiness.

Jason finally made it back to her, laughing, both of them still with their Flyers t-shirts on, and he kept his face close to hers for a couple of seconds. "Hi" he said, smiling, calming down a bit.

"Hi" she said back, also smiling, and wrapping her legs gently around his hip.

"Ready?" he asked, joyfully, and she nodded. "Ok, let's celebrate then" he joked, and pushed inside of her fast and deep, both of them moaning. He stopped for a second like he usually does. "I really had fun today".

"U-hum, me too" she agreed, then kissed him while he pulled and thrust deep and slow inside of her.

They were both moaning, when Mandy, surprisingly, once again, started a conversation. "Do you still play it, sometimes? Hockey"

He looked at her, smiling, and picked up the pace. "Yeah"

"Well" now Mandy was panting "I'd really like to watch you play someday. Can I?"

He loved that idea. "Oh yeah"

Mandy smiled, then moaned, then started to kiss and bite his neck. "Are there any other sports you still play?"

"Well" he thought, while panting, "Football. Golf, sometimes. Rarely basketball"

"You don't play tennis?" she asked, a bit disappointed.

"I know how. I played a bit. But not usually. Why?"

"I play tennis" she cockily answered, looking at him, and panting too.

Jason picked up the pace again, thrusting harder and faster, "Can I watch you play?"

"Hum" she moaned. "Sure. I just. Humm. Need someone to play with", she was close to coming.

"I'll play with you. Humm" he moaned, feeling her clenching a bit, "Do you wear those tennis skirts?" he asked, already picturing her.

Mandy kissed him for a while on the lips, then smiled. "When I play I wear exactly the kind of clothes you're picturing me wearing".

"Oh yeah" he chuckled, and moved even faster, rubbing her clit. "Come on, Mandy" he was demanding, in a husky voice, and he was relieved when he felt her contracting and saw her shutting her eyes, moaning loudly. He gave another deep thrust and came immediately after her, releasing a deep moan.

When he caught his breath, he asked her, curious, "Can you show me? Your tennis outfit".

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