Page 98 of Broken Obsession
“Leave the board when you finish eating,” he said as he stood and headed out of the room. “I’ll collect it in the morning. Sweet dreams, Paradise.”
The sound of Eden cursing was like music to his ears as he closed the door behind him.
Chapter 22:
They kept the outdoor hypervolley field plowed for the players, but the bleachers were covered in a sheet of ice, and Eden couldn’t understand why this many people willingly tortured themselves with the cold all for a college ballgame.
He was dressed as warmly as possible, in a thick coat layered over a red cashmere sweater, with matching gloves and a scarf. There were heating pads in his pockets, and Ares had prepared for the frozen metal seats and draped a folded blanket onto the bench before telling Eden to sit.
The Black Hart even had hot chocolate delivered directly to them at halftime. Since they were seated in the front row, closest to the field, they got tons of stares from the surrounding crowd. Students and professors alike whispered about them, some of their comments carrying on the wind.
The most frequently asked question was if the two of them were together, and as much as it annoyed him, Eden had to agree he understood where all the confusion was coming from.
He was clearly dressed in Ares’ color, was being treated like a precious boyfriend, and there was a rumor going around that Eden had told Professor Inzer they were dating.
Yet for the past hour or so, the Black Hart had been on his multi-slate playing Vanity.
The. Entire. Time.
He hadn’t even glanced up when their drinks were dropped off. Had merely held out his hand and waited for the poor delivery guy to set the paper cup in his grasp.
Neither of them gave a shit about sports or this game, and he got that, but Lucifer had escaped into Vanity, leaving Eden to twiddle his thumbs like a fool. It was almost as if Eden were here alone, for all the conversation they’d exchanged, and by the time the band had finished up and the second half was about to start, he’d lost patience.
“You have to kill the little android first, then the two big ones. That storyline ends with Ransom injured and OP needing to nurse him back to health in an abandoned cabin in the woods,” he spoiled the plot shamelessly, continuing when Ares noticeably stiffened at his side. “The last thing Ransom says before the Memory card ends is,” he leaned in closer and altered his voice slightly, using the pitch he typically did when he was recording, “Whenever you’re lost, I’ll find you.”
Ares was still as a statue for a moment, then he huffed, shut the game down, and glowered at Eden.
He shrugged and turned back to the field, not bothering to conceal his satisfaction at having ruined it for Ares. “Why aren’t you paying attention anyway? This seems like the type of sport you’d be into. It’s bloody and violent for no good reason.”
Hypervolley was played on a hundred and twenty-yard field, with eleven players per team. There was a single circular hoop at either side of the field, which bobbed and swayed with the breeze. On days like today, when the winter wind was strong, the hoop moved a lot, making it more difficult for players to score. Controls kept the hoop within a five-foot radius on anygiven side, so there was always a general location for the ball to be aimed.
The ball, made of fringe crystal, was kicked between players, and couldn’t be allowed to touch the ground. Hands were only allowed to be used within fourteen yards of the hoop. All other body parts were allowed everywhere else. Players wore padding in vital areas, but everywhere else—like their thighs and their arms—they were allowed to make the call themselves.
Fringe crystal was spongy when its surface was flat, yet hard as stone when it was angled. The eight-sided ball could bruise and cut if one of the edges connected with skin. Players trained on how best to control the ball, how to safely hand it off between teammates, and how to turn it into a weapon against rivals when cornered.
“There’s a reason,” Ares disagreed. “Victory.”
Eden grunted. “They don’t get anything tangible at the end of the day for winning. Unless the hospital bills most of them will receive count.”
“How is that any different from the game we’re playing?” He quirked a brow. “You won’t get anything physical for enacting your vengeance.”
“Sure I will.” When he frowned, Eden widened his stance so that his thigh brushed against Ares’. “I get you, remember? I’m sure half the people here would cream themselves at the mere chance of getting rammed by your god cock.”
“I’m the God of Creation,” Ares stated, “not fornication.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“Is this your attempt at complimenting me in a roundabout way?” He clicked his tongue. “Why do you always have to take the complex route? You can’t just tell me you enjoyed sitting on my cock, and you wish you were doing it again right now?”
“No.”
Ares sighed but let it go. “For the record, I have no interest in things that are bloody or violent.”
This time, it was Eden’s turn to give him a look. “I saw the precision you used to take Zonnie apart.”
“Just because I’m good at something doesn’t mean I enjoy it. I’m rather adept at dying too, but that doesn’t mean it’s fun for me.”
There was still so much to unpack there. Eden had put off looking into the experiment all week, lying to himself that it simply wasn’t important, when in reality he knew he just wasn’t brave enough. The second he went further down the rabbit hole, it’d be too late to turn back, and he knew that no matter what he found there, it was going to make him feel things for the man sitting next to him.