Relationship Status: In Love With My Career
9
Nurse Andy has thrown me yet another curve ball. We’ve been dating how long? A few months I think (?) and she suddenly reveals to me that she was in the military and served in Afghanistan. She’s an Army nurse. Just when I thought I couldn’t like her anymore, she throws another curveball of sunshine at me. She was quite supportive when we didn’t make it to the playoffs (which now feels quite petty compared to what she’s had to deal with). Now that I’m not playing hockey all the time, I can actually focus on her.
I decided to take her out to celebrate her finishing finals last week. Andy had been stressing over them for weeks, so I thought she needed a little fun. I’m not sure why, but I thought she would like paintball. I’ve played a few times, but I’m not great at it, and I wrongly assumed she would need some help. She patiently let me show her how to hold the paintball gun, how to shoot it, and describe how much it hurts to get hit, however, once we started playing it was clear she knew what she was doing.
It was not until afterwards when we were getting ice cream that she revealed that she had military training and that’s probably why she beat me so badly. She explained the whole thing so casually that it didn’t seem like a big deal, and it didn’t hit me until later. The next time we hung out I decided to ask her about it. Right after we finished having sex, I turned to her while I was still catching my breath and asked, “So, do you ever have to go back?”
“What?” Her eyes slowly came back into focus and it took her a moment to get her bearings.
“To the Army?” I clarified.
“No. That’s why I’m getting my Master’s degree.” She climbed out of bed and headed off toward the shower, so I followed and hoped I could get some more answers out of her.
“So you’re done with that completely?” I climbed in the shower behind her, and watched her rinse her hair slowly before answering.
“Yes, but why do you care so much?” She reached for my shampoo and started washing her hair with her back still turned. I didn’t know what to say, I wasn’t even sure why I cared so much, so I grabbed the soap and started washing her back. She flinched at my touch, so I stopped.
“Sorry,” I mumbled; maybe I should let her shower on her own. As I climbed out of the shower she grabbed my arm, and she has quite the sturdy grasp, so it stopped me in my tracks.
“You can stay.” She turned back to finish washing her hair, and I took my spot behind her, except this time I left her alone. I watched her wash her hair and so many thoughts ran through my head. I wasn’t sure if I should say anything, but I did.
“I’m scared.”
Andy stopped and turned to look at me. “You’re what?”
“I’m scared I’ll lose you, that’s why I care so much.” I bit my lip and fumbled with the bar of soap still firmly in my hand. “If you had to go back to the Army, I mean.”
She looked me in the eyes carefully before saying, “Jake, you don’t need to worry about losing me. Just don’t hold on too tightly.”
I nodded and she turned back to continue washing her hair. Slowly, and hesitantly, I lifted the bar of soap back to her skin and began scrubbing again, and this time she didn’t flinch.
I decided to take her out to celebrate her finishing finals last week. Andy had been stressing over them for weeks, so I thought she needed a little fun. I’m not sure why, but I thought she would like paintball. I’ve played a few times, but I’m not great at it, and I wrongly assumed she would need some help. She patiently let me show her how to hold the paintball gun, how to shoot it, and describe how much it hurts to get hit, however, once we started playing it was clear she knew what she was doing.
It was not until afterwards when we were getting ice cream that she revealed that she had military training and that’s probably why she beat me so badly. She explained the whole thing so casually that it didn’t seem like a big deal, and it didn’t hit me until later. The next time we hung out I decided to ask her about it. Right after we finished having sex, I turned to her while I was still catching my breath and asked, “So, do you ever have to go back?”
“What?” Her eyes slowly came back into focus and it took her a moment to get her bearings.
“To the Army?” I clarified.
“No. That’s why I’m getting my Master’s degree.” She climbed out of bed and headed off toward the shower, so I followed and hoped I could get some more answers out of her.
“So you’re done with that completely?” I climbed in the shower behind her, and watched her rinse her hair slowly before answering.
“Yes, but why do you care so much?” She reached for my shampoo and started washing her hair with her back still turned. I didn’t know what to say, I wasn’t even sure why I cared so much, so I grabbed the soap and started washing her back. She flinched at my touch, so I stopped.
“Sorry,” I mumbled; maybe I should let her shower on her own. As I climbed out of the shower she grabbed my arm, and she has quite the sturdy grasp, so it stopped me in my tracks.
“You can stay.” She turned back to finish washing her hair, and I took my spot behind her, except this time I left her alone. I watched her wash her hair and so many thoughts ran through my head. I wasn’t sure if I should say anything, but I did.
“I’m scared.”
Andy stopped and turned to look at me. “You’re what?”
“I’m scared I’ll lose you, that’s why I care so much.” I bit my lip and fumbled with the bar of soap still firmly in my hand. “If you had to go back to the Army, I mean.”
She looked me in the eyes carefully before saying, “Jake, you don’t need to worry about losing me. Just don’t hold on too tightly.”
I nodded and she turned back to continue washing her hair. Slowly, and hesitantly, I lifted the bar of soap back to her skin and began scrubbing again, and this time she didn’t flinch.
♠ ♠ ♠
This is what I’ve been working toward for the past few chapters. I got this idea soon after the introduction of nurse Andy, so hopefully the progression of her character has seemed natural. This might be the last chapter, too…. I have no time to write and I’m out of ideas, sorry. But I think this is a good ending for me. (if someone else wants to keep writing they can)And, if you’re interested, my new book The Chauffeur (recently edited and updated) is FREE on Amazon in Kindle book for the next four days (Friday May 6-Monday May 9) so check it out if you’re interested or like my writing. : ) https://www.amazon.com/Chauffeur-Lila-Smith-ebook/dp/B01COC7FC2?ie=UTF8&qid=1462578788&ref_=tmm_kin_swatch_0&sr=1-1
Thank you for reading, this has been fun to write!