I just dropped DJ off at Misty’s house with the promise to have Mason over soon. I love that I have a place to drop my son off so he can have some fun and I can be an adult. Trystan and I have been discussing tonight this entire week. We were trying to figure out what we could do besides go to the range. I had a great time the last time we went, and I'm happy even if that’s all we do, but Trystan, being the gentleman that he is, wants to do something else too.
I get home expecting to see Trystan's truck in the yard, but he's not here yet. The poor guy has been working overtime, trying to stay ahead on the site he's at so they could take all day today to tear down the shed. I can't believe how hard my man works and how considerate he is. I truly realized how lucky I am when he told me about Landon and his mom, and how he was taking care of them. It just shows me how selfless he is.
Trystan comes running through the door. "I'm sorry I'm late. We just got done tearing the shed down and preparing for the new one."
My eyes light up. How can I be mad at a man who is putting so much time and effort into his team and this league? "It's fine. Go take your shower. I'll get you some clothes."
"I have some in my bag. I figured I was spending so much time here, I should bring a few more things over." He grabs his things from his bag and runs to the bathroom. He already has some of his things in there, but his comment makes me wonder where our relationship is going. I mean, we've only been seeing each other for a short time, but we love each other so why should we pay for two separate houses. I wonder how DJ would feel about this. The two of them get along so well I would think the commitment would make him happy. I let out a slow breath. We also said we were going to take it slow and I feel like our relationship has gone a million miles an hour, but I’m the happiest I’ve been since losing Dylan. When he's not with me he's all I think about, but that doesn't mean he feels the same about me.
"What are you thinking about?"
I jump from my spot on the couch. "Holy shit. You scared the fuck out of me."
He laughs, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to but clearly you're deep in thought, and you have a look of concern etched on that beautiful face of yours." He takes a seat next to me. "Talk to me."
"You know it's funny. I'm a strong woman. I've had to be since I lost Dylan. I needed to be strong for DJ and be independent so I could care for him and give him the life he deserves."
"You've done an awesome job with that. Why is that funny?"
"Because when it comes to you..." My words trail off for a second. "I'm weak, shy, and nervous. I love you and don't want to lose you." I look at the floor.
"What makes you think you're going to lose me?"
She shrugs. "I don't know. I was sitting here thinking about the next step in our relationship and how it's silly we pay for two houses, and then I started to realize that I have a kid and he's not your responsibility but mine. It made me think, you may want to keep your place in case you need space." I can't believe how insecure I am with him.
"You're right. It's ridiculous for us to pay for two homes, but I didn't keep my place because it's an escape when I need space. I keep it because I own it, and I promised you we would move at your pace. We’ve only been dating about a month, and I know for me it feels a lot longer than that, but I don’t want to rush you. At some point yes, I would like to sell it and look into buying this one with you so that you don't have to move DJ. I’m not in a rush and not because I don’t want to or I’m not ready, but I want to make sure both you and DJ are ready."
"Really?" I'm so happy right now. "I can't believe how thoughtful you are. Not just because you’re not rushing me, but because you're willing to sell your house to keep DJ put?"
"Absolutely. As long as we're together, I don't care which house we live in."
I jump into his arms and squeeze him tight. "You make me so happy."
He wiggles his brows. "You can show me how happy I make you later."
I giggle, "Come on. You have to at least feed me first."
"Oh no. I promised you a trip to the range, and that's where we're going. I have my rounds and my handguns locked in the truck. He stands, carrying me with him, and then gently places me down on the floor. He gives me a chaste kiss and pulls me out the door. I can't help the smile I'm sporting the entire ride to the range. He's made me so happy tonight. I hope that we can buy this house. If not, then I'll want to try to buy a house close to the one we're living in now. I like living near the diner and Misty. Mason’s house really isn’t far from ours, and the older DJ gets the more comfortable I’ll be letting him walk there by himself.
Plus, we’re not too far from the range. When we pull up, he grabs two cases out of the back of the truck. One has his handguns in it and the other has the rounds. "How come you're not driving your Corvette too much anymore?"
He shrugs. "It's a two-seater, and we're three. It's hard to take it not knowing if we will need more room, and I'm just as happy driving my truck. I was thinking about selling the Corvette, but I'm torn."
"I wouldn't sell it just yet. I can make room for it in the garage. I don't use it because I store stuff out there, but there's plenty of room if I rearrange stuff.” He nods but doesn't comment one way or another. I pull the door open since his hands are full, but when we get inside he puts the ammo case down and signs us in. He walks us back to the indoor lanes, picking one toward the middle. They don't like newbies to be by the wall in case we jerk the gun and hit the wall.
"Now, we’re in no hurry and I have plenty of rounds, so you tell me when you've had enough and we'll go." I nod, excited to get started. "Do you remember what I taught you from last time?"
"I remember."
He hands me the same nine millimeter I fired last time. I get busy loading the magazine and then place my hearing protection on my head. With a look of pride on his face, he stands to the side as I load my gun and point it down range. I take my time squeezing the trigger and focusing on my shot. I send ten rounds down range only missing my target once. I clear my weapon and stand back proudly as he brings the target back. "Nice. It does appear that you're jerking slightly toward the end of your rounds." He pulls a blue marker and circles my first round of shots and sends it back. "I want to see how you improve with each round." He pushes a button and sends the target back down range.
"Okay." Thinking about what he said, I send ten more shots down range. I'm nowhere near perfect, but I've improved. My rounds all hit the target this time. I wish I could get my aim down better, but I'll get there. He brings it back again, and this time he circles my shots in red.
"Now I'm going to give you specific areas I want you to aim for. Let's see how you do." He takes a bright yellow highlighter and puts big dots on the target and sends it back down. "Don't rush. Take your time. It's important that you learn to take aim and control where your shots go versus just trying to hit the target anywhere." I nod. "You're a natural at it. You just need more practice," he encourages and sends it back down. I go for the headshot first, the shoulder next, then the chest and finally the abdomen. I don't hit them dead on but I come close, so I go again and take my time. I have ten rounds and only four areas to hit, so I can try each one at least one more time. I hit the shoulder and abdomen close to spot on, but I'm off on the headshot. I let out a slow steady breath and aim for the chest hitting it. I have one more shot, so I go again for the head. I'm close but still miss the spot he wants me to hit.
He brings the target back and pulls it down from the clips it’s hanging by. "Nice job, sugar. Remind me not to piss you off." I giggle. I'm excited that I did so well considering it's only my second time shooting. He loads up a new target and sends it back down the lane. He takes his loaded forty-five and aims it at the target. It takes him a matter of seconds to empty his magazine. He hits the target all ten times. I'm impressed because he also manages to keep his rounds all close to the same spot. He takes one mag out and loads another, sending ten more rounds down range. This time he shoots the target at the head, hitting the area eight out of the ten shots. He clears his gun and brings his target back.
"That's pretty impressive," I boast, staring at his target.
"Thank you. It's taken a lot of practice. Are you ready to go again?"
"Sure, I have to reload my magazines though." He grabs two from the box and helps me load them. He puts one into the gun for me and the other he puts on the railing, while I put up a new target and send it down range.
"You look so much more comfortable this time," he says with a grin.
I shrug. "I am."
He hands me the gun, and I take aim. I make my shots a lot slower than he does, but I focus on keeping my shot group tight and do a pretty good job. Only one round goes up and to the right. When I finish and clear the gun, he tells me ‘head and shoulder’. I nod my understanding and take aim. I send two to the shoulder and then go for the head. I miss one and hit one, so I try again. This time the two I send down range both hit, so I send the remainder of my rounds into the chest.
When I finish, he's already putting his gun away. "Are you going again?"
"Nope. I need to feed you and teach you how to clean these."
"Sounds romantic," I chuckle.
"Oh, baby, there are many things that are more romantic than cleaning guns with the love of my life, but watching you shoot is sexy as hell and watching you handle it while you clean it will be just as sexy." He pulls the gun from my hand, drops the clip, and puts it in the case.
"Okay, so what's for dinner?"
"Do you like seafood?"
“I love seafood.”
“Okay, let’s go for a ride then.” He locks both containers into the back of the truck while I climb into the passenger’s seat. I can’t help but feel good about how I did today.
When he gets in, he starts up the truck and pulls out of the parking lot. “I’d like to get you a safe.”
“For what?”
“That nine you fire. I want to start leaving it at your house in case I’m ever not there and you need it.”
“Are you sure. That’s yours.”
“I’m positive. I have my forty-five and I don’t need both. You do well with that one and I want you to have it, but we have to talk with DJ about it. He needs to know it’s there and that he needs to stay away from it. When you’re ready, we’ll teach him how to shoot.”
“Thanks. I want him to learn, but I think he’s too young still.”
“I agree. He’ll be ready in the next few years. I know some people teach their kids even younger than DJ, but I don’t see a need to.”
“I never saw the need for me to learn to shoot either until I lost Dylan. I used to think it was crazy for us to get a permit to carry. I told him if he wanted to he could, but I was almost always home so I wasn’t sure there was a need for me to.” I chuckle. “Now I understand why it was a good thing.” He squeezes my knee in silent support.
We pull into this little restaurant parking lot. It was quite a drive from our place, but Trystan promises it’s worth it. When we walk through the door, the place is packed. The waitress tells us to give her a minute and she’ll see what she has available. The place isn’t very big, and it’s not very fancy. Like everything else around here it has a homey feel to it. “You know this weekend is going to be a bit crazy between building the shed, the cookout, and the game, but next weekend I’d like to do something fun.”
“Like what?”
“Have you and DJ ever been fishing?”
I shake my head. “No, we lived in the middle of Manhattan and though it’s surrounded by water, it’s something we’ve never done.”
“What do you think?”
I shrug. “I’m game to try anything once as long as you handle the fish.”
He bursts into laughter. “It’s a deal.”
The hostess comes back over and tells us to follow her. She leads us to a small table for two, placing two menus down in front of us. She informs us that Cindy is our waitress and that she’ll be right over. We both pick up our menus and silently look it over.
“What are you getting?” he asks me.
I shrug. “I can’t decide.”
“Well, I’m getting a captain’s platter,” he says with a huge grin.
“I know I want to try the chowder because it’s one of my favorite things to eat, but I can’t eat just chowder.”
“No, you can’t. You will need some energy for later,” he jokes.
I shake my head at his comment. “Question?”
“Answer,” he says lightheartedly.
“If I get fried scallops, will you let me try a few of your clams or are you one of those people who can’t share food?” I have laughter in my voice as I ask him. I have a friend back home who hated having to share his food with his wife. We used to tease him about it all the time.
“Of course you can have some. There’s far more on the plate than I can eat anyway.” He says it like he can’t believe I asked.
I shrug. “Well, I know what I want to eat then.”
We close our menus and the waitress comes over. “Hi, my name is Cindy, and it’s my pleasure to serve you today.”
We both smile and thank her. “We’re ready to order.” We both tell the waitress what we want, and she hurries off to put our order in. As soon as she’s gone, Trystan leans forward on the table and lowers his voice. “You know, last week I came home with the intention of talking to you about what happened with Sophia and because of what was going on with Landon and the boys it got pushed aside. I want to apologize. I feel bad that you were pushed off for someone else’s kid.”
I shake my head. “It’s not a big deal. I would rather you take care of the kids. I can take care of myself.”
“I’m glad you’re strong, but it is a big deal. I don’t take kindly to her threatening you, and I don’t want you to think I’m just going to drop it.”
I shrug. “To be honest, I’m not worried about it. She can threaten all she wants, but she’s not going to scare me into leaving you. If she attempts something, then we’ll deal with it. We’re together more often than not, and you’re big and strong.” I wiggle my brows at him.
He chuckles. “Stop, this is serious.”
“Only as serious as you make it. I just don’t want to let her ruin our night or run our lives. What can she possibly do to us?”
The waitress drops our food off, and we begin to eat. “I have no idea, but I’m not taking any chances,” he whispers before shoving a huge piece of fish into his mouth.
“Mmm, this chowder is delish.” I practically burn my mouth, but I don’t even care. It’s so good. We both become very quiet as we eat until Trystan realizes he didn’t give me any clams.
“Oh, here. They’re really good.” He scoops some onto my plate.
“I’m surprised we can get such good seafood here.”
“They’ve been getting it shipped in for years.” His smile is infectious.
“That’s cheating,” I tease.
“No…” He shakes his head, emphasizing his point. “It’s smart. No one with good taste wants to eat the fish from around these parts, and if you do…” he chuckles. “I can show you where to go. It’s much closer to our place, but I don’t enjoy it.”
I laugh, “Fair enough. I would rather travel for good seafood than stay close to home.”
I love our banter, and I guess it’s one of the things I’ve loved about Trystan from day one. He’s always been light-hearted. He’s never been the cocky hometown hero/ball player most portrayed him to be. He works hard and keeps to himself. As a matter of fact, I’m willing to bet Sophia started these rumors to keep him single until she was ready to try to sink her claws into him again. Of course, Trystan ignores it instead of defending himself, so no one really knows the real Trystan.
“Sugar, are you taking the rest of that home?” He pulls me from my thoughts.
“Yes, for sure. DJ will enjoy this.”
His smile grows. “That’s awesome. He likes seafood?”
“Scallops, fish, and chips from time to time, and he’ll eat clam strips.”
“That’s more than most kids.” I nod my agreement as Cindy drops off the check and two take-out containers for us to pack up our food. We thank her, and Trystan pays the bill. “Are you ready to get out of here?”
I nod.
“Good.” He wiggles his brows. "Because first we’re going to take care of the guns, and then I’m going to take care of you."
“That sounds like the perfect plan.”