[Recap: While trying to get his wife pregnant, Aidan has come up with a game to spice up their love life. It appears to be harmless enough, so Rosa reluctantly agrees. The strip poker round of the game didn't go her way and Rosa found herself paraded naked in front of their friends, but then Aidan revealed a darker side, forcing her to carry on in private until he had her helpless]
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PLUSES AND MINUSES
Rosa screws up her face. "Ice hockey? You don't know the first thing about ice hockey."
"Neither do you," Aidan replies.
"So how do we pick teams?"
"By colour."
Rosa stares at her husband for a moment.
"What?" Aidan asks.
"You're up to something."
"Like what?"
"Like, you know damn well the form of both teams before we go into it. You just want me to think you don't."
Aidan laughs. "Why would I do that?"
"Because you're fucking cunning."
"So, you don't trust me?"
"After that goddamn poker game, no, I don't trust you."
Aidan holds up a hand, warding her off. "How about we pick just based on team colours, right now?"
"Sure, but I pick first. That way it stays random. What are the colours?"
Aidan slides his arms around Rosa's waist, letting his hands rest on her trim buttocks. He begins to stroke her bottom through the tight fabric of her exercise shorts.
"No way. Stop trying to distract me. Colours."
Aidan grins. "Blue and white," he says.
"White."
"Why white?"
"Because you said blue first. You were trying to get me to pick blue."
Aidan seems to find this hilarious.
"Baby, if I'd wanted you to pick a colour I'd have said it last because I know that you'd think I was tricking you."
He receives a sharp slap on the bottom; Rosa wrinkles her nose at him.
"Sure. Because you're a genius."
Aidan kissed her. "Smart enough to marry you."
Rosa pulls back, businesslike. "And the winner gets what?"
In response, Aidan pulls her in tighter, so their faces are close and he can look into her dark brown eyes. "Dress up," he says.
"Dress up?"
"Yes. The winner gets to dress the loser in whatever he wants. Pick the underwear, pick the clothing, and then we go out to dinner."
"Whatever she wants, you mean."
"He. The winner. You in?"
"She. She is in. She's gonna dress you up big time. When's the match?"
"Tomorrow night," Aidan says and kisses her again. "Can you cover for me, lunchtime?"
"Why?"
"I need to go shopping. This is gonna be so good."
---
It's dark by the time they get home. Aidan makes a show of gathering shopping bags out of the back seat of the car, teasing Rosa with them. Rosa ignores him as much as she is able, opening the front door and letting him trail in behind.
"I'll get the dinner," she says.
"Sure. I'll go get the match on."
"I want you to go and lay the outfit out on the bed first."
"Oh, I thought it would be more fun showing you after. After you lose."
"No way. I want to see what's at stake."
"And you do the same, right?"
Rosa arches her eyebrow, "Honey, how can I do that? I was stuck at work all day while you got to go shopping."
She turns and heads into the bathroom, conversation over. Once she's safely behind the bathroom door, she pulls down her exercise pants and squats on the toilet. In her hand is a small package which she opens and pulls out the thin plastic stick. There is a little window halfway along its length showing a dark line which, to Rosa, resembles a minus sign.
Rosa grits her teeth, puts the stick between her legs and pees on it. She sits there for several long minutes, clutching the plastic in both hands, pants around her ankles, watching the little window. No change. The minus has not turned into a plus.
Rosa's head sinks and she feels a weight descend on her. Aidan calls out from the other room.
"Babe, I got it on. They're about to start."
Rosa drops the stick into the little round make-up bin by the toilet. The banter and the optimism evaporate out of her, replaced by a tightness around her chest. She'd actually allowed herself to believe that this time had been the one. It had felt so good, so right, that feeling of completeness as Aidan had held her in his arms in bed, still wrapped in the body stocking. Tears prick the corners of her eyes, but she wipes them away savagely.
"Coming," she calls.
Rosa pulls her pants up and flushes. She washes her hands, letting the warm water trickle over her fingers.
"Hurry up, you're gonna miss it."
Finally, she turns off the tap and takes a deep breath, opens the bathroom door.
"I'll just get a couple of meals in the microwave. Be there in two minutes."
In the kitchen, watching the microwave timer tick down to zero, Rosa feels a dark emotion bubbling up inside her. It's not fair. It's just not fucking fair.
The microwave dings, and she wipes a hand over her face, feeling the dampness on her cheeks. Losers cry, she says to herelf. She's not a loser. Rosa gathers up the meals and takes them into the lounge.
---
The clock ticks down. The commentator talks about dying seconds, but in reality the result has been a certainty for the last ten minutes with the team in white up by two and the blue team a man down due to an earlier foul. Aidan has become quiet, the initial loud expletives now reduced to half-hearted mumblings as the puck once again spins away down the other end of the rink.
"Ah, crap," says Aidan. "That's the match." He slaps his knee loudly in frustration.
Rosa is watching him instead of the screen and has been for the last few minutes. She's watching the play of expressions across his face as his team miss their chances and his loss becomes inevitable. She knows she's won and normally she would have been cackling at his misfortune, but she feels drained instead. Aidan clicks off the screen and turns to her, trying to read her expression as she surveys him quietly. Something's not right with her, but he doesn't know what.
"Shit. Ok. Let's get this over with," he says, clearly annoyed.
"Did you lay it all out on the bed?" Rosa asks.
"Yep. For all the use it is now. I spent a ton as well."
Rosa doesn't respond, but she swings off the couch and heads towards the bedroom. She can hear Aidan following behind. On the bed, neatly arranged, is one of her favourite cocktail dresses, next to a full set of black, lacy lingerie. Rosa runs her fingers over the fabric, feeling the silky smoothness of the thick-high stockings, the lace of the garter belt. The bustier is strapless with a sheer panel at the front to display her cleavage. The lacy panties are crotchless.
"Good job I won," Rosa murmurs. "You would have dressed me up like a prostitute."
Aidan's face darkens, sensing his wife's mood.
"You would have looked so hot in this," he says, defensively.
Rosa doesn't reply, her eyes still on the lingerie laid out on the bed.
"So," Aidan begins, "You have the advantage of knowing what I got you, for when you go shopping for my outfit tomorrow."
"Oh, I'm not going shopping tomorrow," Rosa replies, a little too casually. "I've already got your outfit."
"Let's see it then. Only fair."
Rosa walks around behind her husband and wraps her arms around his waist, nestling into his back. Over his shoulder, she can see that he's still staring at the lingerie, at the missed opportunity. She whispers in his ear.
"Remember the terms of the bet, baby? The winner gets to dress the loser in whatever she wants?"
She hugs his waist.
"Let's hope all that stuff fits."
Rosa feels her husband twist in her grip. She can see the concern on his face.
"No way. No fucking way."
"Bet's a bet."
Aidan's mouth moves but no words come out.
"You're not backing out are you?" she asks, innocently.