05: Ice Skating: Jo and Brick

Jo laced up her skates and pulled her thick jacket tighter around her. Figures Brick would be late. Probably sucked at drill practice and had to stay behind to make it up, or so she thought. She might be dating the guy, but she wasn't afraid to call the soldier out, especially when he was sucking, which was often.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and spun in place to see Brick bundled up with sweat drying on his forehead. His cheeps were ruby, but he was smiling so he wasn't completely tired. Or if he was, he wasn't letting in show in front of her. Weakness wasn't attractive. At least that was what Daddy always said. She did smile at him though. While working full time as a physical trainer and nursing her martial arts career, it was hard to find time to spend with the soldier. They made it work though, as they did all things lately. It helped that Jo agreed to live with him, but he was usually gone all day, as was she, so the nights both crashed from exhaustion on the couch together, letting their minds be filled with useless chatter from the television set.

Now they were outside at a local skating rink. Outside, their domain.

"What kept you, Soldier?"

Brick smirked and stuffed his hands in his coat pockets. "Sarge wouldn't let us go till we ran another twenty laps. Took a while with those weights on our ankles."

She snorted. "And you call yourself an experienced soldier," she teased. "You ready to race or what?"

The twenty-three year old pouted. "Awe Jo, can't we just go casual? Why does it always have to be a competition with you?"

Jo chuckled and adjusted her red toque. "Since when have I ever taken it easy on you?"

'You're also the only one who can keep up.' That was probably the main reason they were dating. When her mom met Brick for the first time, as a friend, she told her daughter to not let him get away.

"He's the only one who can keep up with you. You aren't going to find someone like him in another million years."

She was right. Brick was "the one", if Jo believed in that sort of crap. She'd never admit her mother was right, or that she loved the guy, but he knew. He knew when she started the coffee machine at night so his drink would be ready by the time he rose at four AM. He knew by the way she let herself relax around him, and only him, especially in her sleep. She'd wake up in the middle of the night completely curled around him and she'd always feel empty when she woke up alone the next morning.

He loved her too, but he showed in a more obvious way, with flowers and chocolates and all those sappy things she hated but secretly loved.

They raced and, of course, Jo won. She played hockey for nearly ten years and lead her team to a national victory. If she lost at something skating related, the world would end. Now she gave in to Brick, letting him hold her hand as they skated casually around the rink, avoiding children just learning how as well as the slow pokes neither could stand.

"I'm being deployed."

Jo thought she heard him wrong. She looked over at him and narrowed her gaze, trying to figure out what he could have said other than that. "What?" she whispered.

Brick sighed. "I'm being deployed. After Christmas," he explained.

"What do you mean you're being deployed? Where are you going? How long will you be gone? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she exclaimed. Christmas was weeks away. Soon, he would be gone and that apartment that always seemed too small was going to feel so much larger.

The soldier gave her hand a squeeze and stared ahead, refusing to look at her. "I was working my way up to telling you, but I didn't know how to say it. I'll be in Afghanistan for three months, then on home leave for a few weeks then back on tour if it's approved."

Jo's heart rammed against her chest; she thought she was having a heart attack. She wrenched her hand from his and skated away, her pace fast and hard as she tried to run from him, from the inevitable. How could this be happening? Why was her nightmare coming true? God damn it, why did she have to love a soldier?

Brick caught up, as expected, and forced her to stop by holding her upper arms. She tried to get free, but he wouldn't let her. "Jo please, listen to me. We both knew this would happen at some point. I—I don't want to be away from you any more than you want me gone, but I'm a soldier. It's my job to go out there and defend others."

"Who are you going to defend if you're dead?" Jo almost shouted as her voice cracked. Jo never cried. It was an unspoken rule with herself and her emotions that she keep it under control. But the thought of Brick dying thousands of miles away and being able to do nothing to save him was killing her inside. Brick sensed this and while he was startled by her outburst, he pulled her to him and held her tightly against his chest. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head against his chest, trying to imagine this was just a dream, some horrible, awful dream; that she would wake up and he wouldn't be leaving her.

"I'll be safe. I promise."

"You can't promise that you dolt," she muttered.

Brick chuckled. "No, but I'd like to think it takes the edge off."

"Are you scared?"

He sighed, "a little. Real combat is different. It's . . ."

"Scary?"

"Yeah. Scary. Do you hate me?"

Jo brought her head up and glared at him. "Are you some kind of moron? Why would I hate you? I love you damn it!"

Both froze in place. 'Did I just . . .' She blushed and tried to look away, but he caught her and grinned. "I love you too."

Jo shifted her feet awkwardly and pouted. "Can we just get back to skating? This is way too touchy-feely."

Brick chuckled and took her hand in his. "Whatever you say Jo-Jo."

She glared at him. "I hate when you call me that."

"But you love me all the same."

"Don't remind me."