Through Thick and Thin (Anthony Rizzo)

Tattoo

Jazmyn

I've learned that a good way to relive stress and clear your mind is to work out. The physical and mental release it gives is second to none. And while this quarantine has been far from what I needed in order to move on with my life, I've gotten a really cute workout buddy out of it.

So I set up my workout playlist and organize our workout for today. The one thing I insisted on having in my penthouse was training equipment and luckily it showed up just in time for me to be locked in the apartment.

"Let's do a high intensity workout" I suggest and Anthony raises his eyes brow at me.

"Wait a second, we haven't been doing high intensity this whole time" he pouts.

"Nope" I laugh as he lets out a groan.

"You're actually trying to kill me" he accuses.

"I've killed people, trust me, if I wanted you dead you would be dead" I wink.

"I'm both turned on and absolutely frightened at the same time" he whispered making me giggle.

"Alright big man" I shake my head. "Lets get it!"

We do about a hour of cardio before taking a nice 15 minute break. He was hanging in there with me today, he's at least able to keep up now which was impressive. I like the intense kind of workouts where if I make it through I know it'll be worth it. I guess a lot of things I do is with great intensity at this point. I've been training for so long it's so weird to be out in the real world and everything I do not be a matter of life or death.

As it gets a little too hot to handle and the windows not opening this high up I strip off the tank top I had on and toss it to the side. I adjust my sports bra a little before taking my hair down and pulling it back up so the little pieces that got free were back where they're supposed to be.

"Jesus" Anthony mutters under his breath and I turn to him. He quickly turns away and acts like he was taking a drink.

"What was that" I ask as his eyes slowly move back to me.

"Huh" he asks with a mouth full of water.

"Did you say something" I question. I swear he said something.

"Nope" he tries as he shakes his head. I look at him questionably trying to figure out what was going on with him and why he's acting so weird. I mean, weirder than normal. "I didn't know you had tattoos" he says trying to change the subject.

"I have four, they're just in places people don't usually see them to spare my mom some lost nights of sleep" I explain.

"What do you have" he wonders.

"The first one I got was my dog tag on my hip here" I say as I pull my waist band down a little. I show off the incredibly detailed tattoo I get to take with me considering I always forget to wear mine. But I didn't like how heavy they were so this was just easier. "Then I got the army emblem on my back of my right shoulder and the phrase "for freedom and justice for all" across my collar bone" I say pointing them all out.

"And the one on your ribs" he asks as he steps closer to me. I lift my sports bra a little to show off the gun with a helmet on the top of it. It had a date above and below it and a heart next to it. "Is it for someone you served with" he wonders.

I feel the tears come up and I quickly push them back. Out of everything that's happened in my life, this was the hardest to talk about. To think about even. I don't usually tell people the meaning behind this one, but like many times before Anthony was the only exception. "Yeah" I whisper, "he was someone that made doing what we did a little easier. I knew that if I needed to talk to someone he would be there for me. Even when I rose through the ranks and was higher than him, he was always the one to lay it on the line. He loved our battalion, and he loved me. He was fun and lively and smart and funny. A lot like you" I smile.

"Did he pass" he wonders.

"Yeah. We were... we were fighting in Syria, the war was starting to get really heated. It was 2017 and we had been there for three years already. They were in a civil war and we were supposed to be peace makers. The people to help them find the same freedoms we have here and get away from a corrupt government. Him and I befriended a lot of the folks there who we were sent to protect, I guess I got too comfortable. I forgot we were fighting for a moment and got caught up in trying to be something bigger than I can possibly be. I'm no messiah, but I still wanted to be better for these people who needed our help.

We got bombed one night and him and I took it upon ourselves to go defend the people we've come to know and love. We got a bunch of people to safety and away from the war zone but he... he ran right back in to get some of the older people who couldn't move as fast and never came back out. We got bombed again and he died doing the thing he felt like he was born to do and that was helping people" I say softly.

"He was a great man" Anthony says and I smile a little.

"He was amazing. I miss him every day" I insist.

"So you two..." he trials off.

"That's a conversation for another day. I'm not done kicking your ass" I smirk and he laughs.

"I was afraid you were going to say that" he chuckles.

We end with some weight lifting and stretching before we were done. Once the workout was over I was feeling it so I know he was too. He runs back to his place to shower and wash up and I do the same in mine. Once we were done we decide some popcorn and watching Disney Plus was the best way to spend our evening. He was showing me all movies they have on there and even let me use his account. I pull up Remember The Titans because it was one of my favorite movies and we chill out on the couch. We end up right next to each other as we share the bowl of popcorn.

About halfway through the movie I feel something on my shoulder and I turn to see Anthony's head slumped over me. His eyes closed and mouth open as he starts to snore and I laugh. Maybe I worked him a little too hard today. But I was emotional and there was too much on my mind not to get carried away.

I softly move the popcorn out of the way and pull a blanket over us. I look back at Anthony and I smile to myself. He was such a sweet guy, I haven't met anyone quite like him. He's always asking questions, trying to understand me and why I am the way I am. He doesn't just tell me he cares, he shows me. And that kind of affection scares me because the last time I felt this way, I fell in love. And I haven't fallen in love since then. I don't know if I was ready to so willingly fall not knowing if I'm going to hit the ground or if he'll catch me. I guess that's not really up to me, like most things that are most important in my life.

And I can't run away to some war this time, I can't just up and leave when I don't know what to say. I'm stuck here and I'm going to have to figure this out on my own.