Chapter 13 Jacob
Jacob
The time with Tane the previous day was something that Jacob knew would stay in his memory for a long, long time. Jacob had always dreamed of having that kind of intimacy with someone he actually liked, and it had very much been worth the wait.
The very fact that Jacob was beginning to have some very serious feelings for Tane only added to how incredibly awesome the a time it was.
When Jacob woke that morning back at his place, he saw that Tane had called him and left a message at some point during the night. The message was pretty straightforward, but Jacob couldn’t help feel like something was amiss.
Jacob was waiting for Ricki to come over for an early morning playdate and couldn’t resist looking at Tane’s late night message once more…
TANE: Let’s play a fun game. Tane’s In Charge. I want you to stay at home tomorrow and have fun. No leaving the apartment. Invite a friend over, have some fun. That’s an order. And you know what happens to naughty boys when Captain Tane is disobeyed…
“Hmmm, I guess I’ll go along with it,” Jacob said, his attention quickly switching to the buzzer as it sounded over by the apartment’s door. “Nice! Ricki’s here!”
Jacob buzzed Ricki into the apartment and moments later the two of them were getting ready to have some fun together.
After greeting one another, Jacob and Ricki walked into the video games room and Jacob took great pride in showing Ricki his brand new imported Neo Geo console, an old relic from the distant past that was almost legendary back in the day. Well, according to Tane it was anyhow.
“I’ve seen these on YouTube. This will be the most fun,” Ricki cooed, bounding over to the gaming chairs and getting himself comfortable.
“Hell yeah it will,” Jacob giggled. “I’ve had a little go on it already and it doesn’t disappoint.”
The two friends then began to lose themselves in the world of peak retro gaming.
As much as Jacob loved the thrills and intensity of hockey, sometimes it was difficult to switch off. But with a games controller in his hand and a friend to play with, Jacob was able to truly let go and let his true gamer side come to the forefront for once.
“I love this,” Jacob said. “I used to think that the only way to switch off from hockey was through partying, but now I can see that I really don’t need that in my life.”
“Did Tane help you to see that?” Ricki asked, applying a special combo move that lit up the enormous screen before them in a blaze of color and old school sound.
“Yeah, he was a big part of it,” Jacob said. “I think… no, I don’t want to say it.”
“Noooo! You can’t do that,” Ricki giggled. “Just say it. I think I know what you’re going to say, but I want to hear it come out of your mouth for real.”
“I think Tane might be my Forever…” Jacob squealed, the excitement pouring out of him as he flicked a huge splat of color onto his canvas. “I think I’m totally in love with him! Is that nuts?”
Ricki turned to Jacob and seconds later the pair of them were jumping up and down together, their games controllers bouncing off the gaming chairs in the commotion.
“That’s awesome,” Ricki said, full of pure joy for his friend. “You’re so lucky. And so is Tane to have found a guy as cool as you.”
“Nawwww, that’s so sweet,” Jacob said, laughing. “You’ll find your man too soon. There’s probably at least a hundred guys in the city all desperate to date you.”
Jacob noticed that in that moment, Ricki looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself. This could mean only one thing… there already was a man Ricki had his eyes on.
“Spill,” Jacob said, a knowing look in his eyes. “You’ve got some big-dicked stud on the down low, or you’ve seen someone you like… which one is it?”
“I definitely don’t have a big-dicked stud,” Ricki said, blushing. “But…”
“Who?” Jacob said, excitedly bouncing on his tiptoes.
“It would never, ever work,” Ricki said. “And even if he liked me… he’s just too scary. Like not even remotely a possibility. Not really.”
“Wait, you’re not talking about Antonio Cardini are you?” Jacob asked, shocked but suddenly thinking that Ricki and Antonio might actually be a good pair.
“Here’s the thing,” Ricki continued. “I started to crush on him a while ago. I mean, he’s hot.
And there’s something about his dangerous vibe that is undeniably sexy as hell.
I’d started walking past his office on a regular basis to try and increase the chance of him seeing me and us having a conversation or whatever. ”
“Yeah, sounds like a good plan,” Jacob said, eyes wide open in anticipation of more juicy details.
“But a few days ago I was doing my usual walk past his office and I couldn’t help but overhear Antonio’s side of the conversation,” Ricki said, an ominous look coming over his face.
“It was… scary. I mean, seriously fucking frightening shit. The things that Antonio was talking about weren’t good at all. ”
Jacob felt his heart skip a beat, and not in a good way.
“Was it… crime stuff?” Jacob said, almost too scared to ask for any more details.
Ricki simply nodded and the two of them silently agreed that this would bring the conversation to an end, for now at least.
“Come on, let’s get back to the game,” Jacob said, desperate to lighten the mood again.
Ricki smiled a big smile of relief, and the two of them were soon enough totally engrossed in their gaming once more.
Jacob knew that the Cardini family weren’t exactly normal team owners, but hearing Ricki speak about Antonio’s phone conversation was hard to process. Still, with plenty of Neo Geo games to show Ricki, there was more than enough to distract them both for a good while yet.
* * *
The Enforcers squad had an afternoon practice session to go over some new plays. Jacob had been in the apartment all morning with Ricki and was surprised to see that Tane had arranged for his own personal driver to pick Jacob up and take him to Pine Rise.
Still, Jacob wasn’t complaining.
Not having to drive meant that Jacob could sit in the back of the car and play on his Nintendo Switch. But as the driver got closer to the training complex, Jacob put the games console away and began to focus his mind on hockey.
As he arrived in the locker room, there was a good atmosphere. Jacob could see that all of the players, young and old, were pulling in the same direction. With laughter echoing around the locker room walls, Jacob felt motivated to have another brilliant practice run.
The only person who didn’t quite seem themselves was Tane.
“Is everything okay, Tane?” Jacob said, walking over toward Tane as he stood in nothing but his brilliant-white jockstrap. “You look distracted.”
“I’m good, thank you,” Tane said, barely making eye contact with Jacob. “We’ll talk after practice.”
“Okaaaay,” Jacob said, rolling his eyes with plenty of sass. “See you out there, captain.”
Jacob wasn’t sure what was on Tane’s mind, but it could have been something to do with that fact that with a heavy run of games coming up Tane was worried about his old injuries flaring up once more.
But in that moment, Jacob decided that Tane was big enough and old enough to handle his own business. As far as Jacob was concerned, it was time to get out onto the ice and strut his stuff.
Coach Tremaine had been impressed with Jacob recently, and Jacob was determined to continue to give it his all in each and every practice session.
Bur it wasn’t just Coach Tremaine that Jacob wanted to do well for.
Jacob knew that in all likelihood this was the final chance that Tane would have to lift a trophy in his career. This being the case, Jacob wanted to make sure he was in the best possible condition to help Tane go out as a winner.
And it was with this thought in his mind that Jacob hit the ice and began to skate, pass, and shoot like his life depended on it.
With Coach Tremaine barking orders on the sidelines, Jacob went at full speed and was quickly racking up the numbers and putting his teammates to shame with his enthusiasm.
“Okay, good work Jacob,” Coach Tremaine bellowed, before blowing on his whistle. “I want you to ease off the gas a little now though. We need you fresh.”
Jacob nodded, but in truth he wasn’t listening.
Such was Jacob’s determination to do well that all he could think about was setting the best possible example for the rest of the team. So, rather than take on board Tremaine’s instructions, Jacob continued to go full blast on each play.
“Jesus! Jacob! Slow the hell down!” Tremaine shouted. “I won’t keep fucking asking!”
But yet again, Jacob continued to go at full tilt, blasting goal after goal and showing his teammates that he was ready to take them all the way this season.
Finally, Coach Tremaine’s frustrations got the better of him and he skated over toward the players and blocked Jacob’s path.
“Hey, what gives, coach?” Jacob said, the adrenalin coursing over his body and his old rebellious streak coming to the surface. “I’m kicking ass. Let me play.”
“You’re not listening to me,” Tremaine shouted. “I want you in the best shape you can be. But I don’t want you to burn yourself out before the God damned game. Got it?”
Jacob knew that he should keep quiet and agree with Coach Tremaine.
But something was bubbling up inside Jacob that he couldn’t control.
I want to be the best player I can be.
I want to skate and skate hard all the time.
Coach doesn’t know me as well as Tane does, so…
“No!” Jacob shouted, crashing his hockey stick down onto the ice, much to the shock of the other players. “Fuck that shit.”
“Jacob!” Tane barked, skating over to him and Tremaine. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Looks like the boy’s new attitude was just a phase,” Tremaine scowled, a deeply unimpressed look on his face.
“Jacob, do you have anything to say about this?” Tane said. “From what I heard, it looked like Coach asked you to ease off but you ignored him.”
“That’s not true,” Jacob said, shaking his head. “Coach was trying to control me. I just want to do my best and win. This is fucking horseshit. I should be able to push myself on the ice. How else will I be ready for the game?”
“Jacob, calm down,” Tane said, a clear irritation in his voice. “We all listen to coach when he talks. He knows best. Not you. Not me. But Coach. And I want you to apologize to him right this second.”
Jacob could tell from the look in Tane’s eyes that he wasn’t kidding.
But Jacob felt only a rising tide of frustration creeping up through his body. In this moment, the least Jacob expected was for his man to back him up and show at least a little bit of understanding.
Why is Tane not on my side?
This is wrong. It’s all wrong.
Well if they don’t want me to be good, I won’t be…
“Coach is an ass!” Jacob said, this time flinging his hockey stick across the practice ice. “I’m outta here. Fuck this.”
With that, Jacob skated off the practice ice as fast as he could. He didn’t know what he was doing, or even why at this point, but all Jacob knew was that he was going to get changed as quickly as he could and get the hell out of Pine Rise.