Ye Olde Spice Shoppe

She wasn't about to tell him she'd had a hard time sleeping with a lot of that due to the way he'd made her feel. She'd also had a huge struggle trying to deal with the loss of her brother and again feeling guilty for feeling anything but sad and grief stricken.

"My hotel has one treadmill, and it was busy. So because I knew where this place is, I decided to come over here and get a few miles in even though I'm a little sore from playing with you last night."

He smiled even more then said, "So it wasn't because you were hoping to find me here then."

Her first inclination was to say something like, "Yeah, right!" but she found herself feeling what she'd felt when they were together the day before.

"I won't say I'm disappointed," she told him as she looked away and grabbed her ankle to stretch her quadriceps.

"Racquetball uses a whole different set of muscles, huh?" Brian replied with a little laugh and a feeling of hopefulness as he watched her stretch.

"Yes. And some of them I didn't even know I had," Vanessa said as she bent over to stretch her hamstrings and said 'ouch!'

One of the courts emptied out, and the guy who was waiting called over to Brian and said, "Hey! You wanna play?"

Brian looked at Vanessa who said, "Go ahead! Please."

"Okay but I was kind of wondering if maybe you'd like to play with me again."

"I can't be much of a challenge for you," she said, knowing she wasn't.

"You're actually the uh, biggest challenge I've run into in a long time," he told her, his eyes and voice full of emotion that made goose bumps appear on her arms when she understood he wasn't referring to the racquetball court.

"Brian, I..."

The other guy called out again, "Bring your girlfriend and we'll play cutthroat!"

"Cutthroat?" Vanessa asked, grateful for the change in direction.

"Yeah. Three people play. It's actually a lot of fun."

"I don't want to embarrass you. Or myself," Vanessa told him. "And I didn't even get a racquet."

"You couldn't embarrass me if you tried," Brian told her in that gentle voice before he smiled and said, "go grab a racquet and some goggles and we'll warm up."

Vanessa hesitated, looked at the other man, then said, "Okay."

She was back in a minute, and after Brian introduced her to the other player whose name was Cliff, he explained how the game was played.

"I'm not very good, so go easy on me," she told Cliff.

"No worries. I just started playing a month ago, so both of you need to be easy on me," he told her.

Brian could tell Cliff thought Vanessa was attractive, and for a brief moment he had a pang of jealousy. That was very unusual for him, because he rarely stayed with any woman long enough to get attached let alone be jealous. But Cliff was closer to her age a decent looking guy, so Brian knew he had at least some justification for feeling that way.

"Just remember she's my girlfriend, okay, buddy?" Brian said to him while looking at her and in a way that told Vanessa he was just kidding around. And yet he'd made it pretty clear that he was interested in more than just platonic friendship.

"Your boyfriend is a very lucky guy," Cliff told her before they volleyed for serve.

Whoever got their ball to land closest to the serving line after going beyond it served first. Cliff's serve went almost to the back wall causing him to shrug and say again how new he was to the game. Vanessa's landed halfway to the back, and Brian's landed a few inches beyond the line.

"Uh, oh. This guy's a pro," Cliff said, mostly to Vanessa.

"No kidding. Half the plaques in the display case are his!" she replied to Cliff while smiling at Brian.

His first serve was a lob that took Cliff into the corner. It was placed such that Cliff's best effort resulted in him jamming his racquet into the wall then smashing the ball straight into the floor as he spun around and nearly fell over.

"We're in for a long day, huh?" he said to Vanessa.

"No, it should be over in a few minutes," she replied with a laugh.

The next serve went to Vanessa, and it was intentionally set up so she could kill it. She did her best to get in position, bend down, then smash it. The return was pretty decent but it was very easy for Brian to get to. He smashed it, backhand no less, so hard neither player really saw it as the ball whizzed by Cliff for another point.

He let Vanessa win the next point so obviously that she gave him a 'don't patronize me like that' look, and that prompted a 'sorry' from her new 'boyfriend.'

When the first game ended a few minutes later, Cliff shook both of their hands and said he'd had enough torture for one day and excused himself. Brian and Vanessa played for another half hour before someone else wanted the court, and Brian told him they were almost done.

"Stay and play," Vanessa said. "I'll sit and watch."

"No. I'd rather play with you," he told her.

Feeling rather...frisky...Vanessa gave him a little coy smile then said, "You want to 'play with me', huh?"

When she laughed, Brian realized she was just joking but said, "That's not how I meant it, but it's...still true."

"Uh-huh. I see how things are," Vanessa said with a flip of her ponytail as she left the court and told the other man to go ahead.

For the next 15 minutes or so, Vanessa was treated to a sight she'd never imagined. The other player wasn't quite as good as Brian, but he wasn't far behind him in terms of skill. Vanessa sat there in amazement as balls screamed an inch off the floor so hard it was unbelievable. And yet the other player would return them and hit them in places she was sure couldn't be hit. But they were. And with huge amounts of force.

And then there were the lobs that landed in the corner that the other guy somehow dug out and got back to the front wall.

When they left the court, they were both laughing and dripping sweat.

"You guys are amazing!" she told them with genuine admiration.

"Thanks, but your...husband or boyfriend or whatever here...is the amazing one. I'm pretty good, but he's...."

He looked around then said a little more quietly, "He just handed me my ass!"

Vanessa laughed then Brian modestly said, "That's not true. You were tough."

"Listen to him," the other man said. "He creamed me and yet he's still making me feel good."

Vanessa looked at the other man then at Brian before she said, "Yeah. He has a way of doing that."

Brian saw the way she smiled at him and wondered if maybe she was at least open to the possibility of actually one day being his girlfriend rather than his 'girlfriend'.

Once the other player was gone, Brian looked at Vanessa and asked, "So what are we going to do with the rest of the weekend?"

She wanted to come up with some snappy reply, but that wasn't her style. Instead she looked at him and said, "Wanna see where I grew up?"

"Before or after we shower?" Brian asked.

He saw the look on her face and said, "Separately. Before we shower...separately."

Feeling happy again, Vanessa laughed and told him that was the plan before she agreed to meet him at his place in two hours.

"And maybe we can get some lunch?" Brian suggested.

"Maybe. But only if you let me pay this time."

Brian tilted his head a little and gave her a disapproving look.

"Yeah, I'm not liking that idea much."

"If I keep letting you pay for everything, aren't I kind of admitting we're already in a relationship?" Vanessa teased, even as goose bumps appeared again on her arms.

"Not necessarily. You could just be more traditional and not mind letting a man pay for things."

She smile then thanked him for not saying 'old school', and that made Brian laugh.

But he got serious just as quickly then said, "You're not old, Vanessa. You're...beautiful."

She couldn't hold his stare and looked away then said, "So I'll see you in a couple of hours."

She didn't watch, but she did hear Brian say, "I hope so."

Vanessa had put her things in the women's locker room, so she only smiled at Brian before walking away without saying anything else. And as before, she had a moment of internal conflict in which her rational brain asked her what she thought she was doing. But her emotional brain said, "Hey. You sit down and be quiet. I know what I'm doing."

She laughed when she imagined her rational brain replying, "Well, you sure are old enough for that."

But the word 'old' only made things worse, so she told them both to be quiet and abandoned the conflict for the time being.

By the time Vanessa got to her hotel, she was freezing in spite of having had the heat up as high as it would go in the car. She ran straight upstairs, took a hot shower, then put on the warmest thing she brought with her, a long sleeved, baby-blue sweater that she wore with a pair of jeans. Having blonde hair, Vanessa looked her best in pastels, and baby-blue looked great on her and went very nicely with her own bright, blue eyes.

There was no real reason to wear makeup, and yet Vanessa found herself putting on some sheer foundation and a bit of mascara. There were only the faintest traces of little lines at the corners of her eyes, but she suddenly felt very paranoid about them, and also felt thankful that the foundation made everything look smoother and...younger.

She then pulled out a pair of silver earrings and paired them with a thin necklace and decided that was more than enough even though she debated the idea of adding some eye shadow and even some lipstick before giving up.

"Oh, stop!" she told herself, tired of fretting yet loving the feeling of wanting to look her best for someone. Someone who was entirely too young for her, and yet....

Vanessa forgot her self-consciousness when she saw Brian after he let her in. He was wearing a heavy, dark-green sweater and a pair of jeans of his own, and Vanessa found herself thinking he was even more attractive fully dressed (and not dressed in a suit) than he'd been in the skimpy little gym outfit.

"You look very nice," she told him truthfully as he closed the door.

"Thank you, and you look...amazing."

"Oh, gosh. I only brought a few things with me, and...."

"Well, you brought the right things," Brian told her with a warm smile before asking if she'd like something to drink.

"Coffee maybe?" she replied.

"Coming right up! And make yourself at home."

Like most women, Vanessa looked around to see how his apartment was decorated, and for a man, it wasn't bad. It could use a couple more pictures and a lamp or two, but it looked reasonably nice for a bachelor pad.

She saw a couple of plaques on one wall in behind a desk that had a computer on it, and sauntered that way. As she got closer, she could tell that several of them were racquetball awards, and that was no surprise.

But when she saw a plaque that looked very different, she moved closer and what it was really surprised her.

It read, "PFC Brian Neiss, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell Kentucky: June 2017-May 2018".

Next to it there was what looked like a letter of some kind that was very nicely framed.

This one read: "To all who shall see these presents, greeting: This is to certify that the president of the United States of America, authorized by act of Congress July 9, 1918, has awarded the SILVER STAR to Private First Class Brian Neiss for gallantry in action from 17 November 2017 to 17 November 2017."

It was signed by an Army general and the Secretary of the Army.

"Your coffee's ready," she heard Brian say quietly from a couple of feet behind her.

"Brian. You...this is...."

She turned around then said, "My father was in the Army in the 1970s. I know that the Silver Star is the third highest medal the Army gives out."

"Nah. It's no big deal," he replied as he handed her the cup.

"It IS a big deal, Brian. It's a HUGE deal," Vanessa insisted as she looked at him in a way she hadn't yet done.

"It was just a couple of hours of one day," he told her, downplaying what he had done during those two hours of hell on earth.

"I'm sorry, but I know enough to know that the Army doesn't give these out for no good reason. You don't have to tell me what happened, I just want to tell you how much I admire you for what you did."

The truth was he'd been an 18-year old kid with eight months in the Army when his unit was ambushed in Afghanistan. A humvee up ahead of him was hit with an RPG and drifted off the road when the driver was killed by the explosion. The company commander was in the passenger's seat and another soldier was in the back standing up and mounting a machine gun.

He was two vehicles behind, and without asking, he jumped out of his moving vehicle then ran toward the humvee that was now on fire. He had no idea that enemy rounds from AK-47s were kicking up all around his feet as he ran.

When he got to the vehicle, he could tell the sergeant in back was in serious trouble. Brian jumped up inside the little compartment and after disentangling some twisted metal that was pinning the NCO in place, helped him out. The two of them them went around and checked the vehicle with the sergeant finding the driver dead while Brian found the company commander alive but unconscious. He hollered to the NCO for help, and between the two of them, they pulled the 28-year old Army captain out then drug him around to the front of the vehicle, the only place safe from enemy fire that was still coming there way.

Also trained as a machine gunner, Brian ran to the back of the vehicle, pulled the machine gun off the pintle, and grabbed a can of ammo and headed back to the front.

A round hit him in the upper leg but went straight through before he got there, but he barely felt it as the adrenaline surged through his body.

He and the sergeant set up the gun in seconds and began returning fire. Several of the vehicles in their convoy had been pinned down, but once he and the NCO began putting dozens of rounds on target, the enemy ceased fire and retreated.

Brian then looked back inside the burning vehicle and grabbed the radio that had been next to the commander and called to anyone on the net for a Medevac. The Air Force TACP (Tactical Air Control Party) NCO heard it and made the call as Brian and the NCO administered first aid to the captain who'd also been severely wounded.

Everything, to include the medevac, was over in well under two hours with most of it taking place in a 5-10 minute window of time, most of which was a blur to the young soldier who still didn't realize what he'd done or that he'd been wounded.

"Anyone would have done the same thing," Brian quietly told her as he took a sip of coffee.

"I don't know about that," Vanessa replied as this handsome, younger man suddenly seemed much older to her.

"Sorry my place is so...blah," Brian told her with a smile, hoping to get the focus of attention off of him and onto anything else.

"Oh. No, it's...nice," Vanessa told him.

Brian laughed at the hesitation then told her he knew it needed a woman's touch.

"But that would require me to have a woman in my life, and until now, at least, that hasn't been something I wanted."

It was said in passing, but Vanessa knew the 'until now' part meant her.

"You shouldn't have any trouble finding a woman to give you a hand," she told him with a smile of her own.

Brian smiled again then said, "Maybe. But I tend to be very...picky...and I'm not interested in just...any woman."

Again, Vanessa realized he was referring to her, and while she didn't get goose bumps this time, she did experience a warmth that was very pleasant.

She didn't say anything about that. She only changed the subject again to get herself away from being the center of attention.

"I just remembered we didn't put a sign up at the shop."

"Oh, wow. You're right. Did you want to head back over there?"

"Sure. But I'm also getting kind of hungry."

Brian swallowed the sip he'd just taken then said, "Then we should probably go unless you want a bowl of very old Raisin Bran."

Vanessa laughed and told him she'd take a pass on that.

"Wise choice," Brian said as he laughed, too.

"But no 3,000-calorie biscuit sandwiches this time, okay?" Vanessa said with another little laugh.

Brian laughed with her and promised he wouldn't do that to her again.

As they ate, Vanessa found herself wondering how Brian could have been in the Army and also served long enough on the police force to be a detective. She nearly laughed when she realized that the thought of him being 30 suddenly seemed wonderful. But she couldn't believe that was possible, so she asked.

"Brian? I'm probably going to regret asking because it goes to the age thing, but how could you be a detective already and have been in the Army for several years?"

"Oh. Well, that's an interesting story. Okay, it's not really that interesting. It's just a little unusual. You sure you want me to bore you with it?"

"I'm sure. If you don't mind telling me."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know about me, Vanessa," Brian quietly replied.

He began by telling her that his 'two hours' in Afghanistan somehow made their way back to Oregon, but not because of anything he said. He'd never told anyone what happened although the Army had called his mother with 24 hours to let her know he'd been 'wounded in battle' and that the prognosis was very good. Brian called her the next day from the hospital in Bagram, but he didn't mention anything else.

Somehow the information got to a state senator who was a high school classmate of Brian's mother, and upon hearing about it went to visit her one-time friend from so many years ago.

"This visit kind of got a whole chain of events started. Well, not initially. At first this state senator just stopped by to see how my mom was doing and to share the good news. The problem was my mom had no idea any of this even happened."

"She must have been worried sick," Vanessa said, knowing how most women would react.

Brian explained how his mom had been called after the firefight, so she didn't 'freak out' or anything. She just had no idea what her son had done.

"At any rate, nothing really changed until I called home a couple of months later. I found out that my mom had cancer, and that it was bad."

He paused then quietly added, "Really bad."

"My dad passed away when I was 12, so...."

"Oh, Brian. I'm so sorry. You already lost your father and then this, too?"

"Sometimes life throws a bunch of stuff at us all at once, you know?" he told her with a bit of a smile before continuing.

"Anyway, the cancer spread and it got worse very quickly, and my mom called her friend."

"The state senator, right?"

"Yes. She then got hold of one of Oregon's US senators, and the next thing I knew I was back in the US. And three weeks after that I was out of the Army on a hardship discharge. And even though I still hadn't, you know, received the award you saw, I know that made a difference."

Brian had had to apply for the hardship discharge, but he initially said he wanted to stay in. But after a short visit home, and seeing how his mom was doing, he put in the request.

Hardship discharges aren't necessarily difficult to get, they just require documentation to justify letting someone out of their contract. But having a US senator pushing the system can make an often slow, unwieldy system react rather rapidly.

"So I found myself back here as a civilian with no job and a very ill mother."

"And you were how old?"

"Nineteen. Going on 30."

Vanessa laughed only because Brian did, but she was beginning to see that he was right. Brian Neiss wasn't like any man his age she'd ever met, and now she understood why.

"The only help I got was a paid internship with the Portland Police Department. And that was due to the efforts of the state senator. I was able to make a little money, and that experience was all I needed to know I wanted to be a police officer."