Dylan

 

I didn’t know if I was joking or not. I was glad Eden seemed to accept my response without questioning me further. I loved this girl. As much as I didn’t want to scare her off, I needed her to know I was serious and that I didn’t want to hurt her ever again.

When I decided I wanted to ask her out on a real date, I knew I was going to have to talk to her dad. Mr. Crenshaw had been a little stunned but not unkind. He’d talked to me about Eden’s lack of dating experience and his own confusion as to why that might be so. She was a beautiful girl after all. And smart. And funny. And many other things.

I knew, of course, why Eden hadn’t dated much but I wouldn’t betray that trust by disclosing the information.

Her father had also been worried about the difference in our ages.

“You are a grown man, Dylan. Eden still has to graduate high school.” Concern shined through the kindness in his eyes.

“Yes, sir. I understand your concern.”

“I’m not sure that you do. Josh is getting ready to propose to his girlfriend. You two are the same age. Eden’s not ready for something like that. Are you prepared to wait for that kind of relationship with her?”

I knew what he was getting at. “Sir, I’ve had feelings for your daughter for a long time. I’ve stayed away in order to give her a chance to grow up without my feelings clouding that opportunity. I just can’t do that anymore. She’s eighteen now,” my voice had trailed off at that point. “I’d like to be a part of her life again, sir. But I need your blessing on the chance to see where things might go.”

My cards were on the table.

Eden’s father stood from behind the desk in his home office and walked around it. I stood, ready to accept his decision.

“Dylan, you are one of the finest young men I know. Eden couldn’t find anyone better as far as I’m concerned. All I ask is that you be careful with her.”

And then he’d offered me his hand, which I accepted gratefully and wordlessly, barely able to nod.

And that had been that. The obstacles I believed were in my way were all but obliterated. Josh. Her parents. Even the differences in our age seemed to have become insignificant. Now, all I had to do was gain the trust of the girl.

“Where are we going?” Her voice startled me from my thoughts.

I cleared my throat, absently moving my palm over the soft skin of her knee. “Um, it’s a surprise.”

She lifted her head off my shoulder to look at me. “What kind of surprise?”

I laughed. “Hopefully, a fun one.”

We rode in comfortable silence for the next ten minutes until we reached our destination.

“Okay, here we are.” I pulled into the parking lot and waited for her reaction.

“The shooting range?”

 

Eden

 

The shooting range? I’d been counting on dinner and a movie. I guess I should have known better.

“Come on. It’ll be fun.” Dylan opened his door and hopped out taking care with his leg. Instead of walking to the passenger side, he turned to me and held out his hands.

I scooted past the steering wheel and allowed him to lift me to the ground. He pushed his seat forward and grabbed two cases out of the back storage area.

“Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

He grinned and started for the door to the facility. If I was going to go to a firing range, I was glad I was going with Dylan. He walked in with a confident swagger regardless of his limp and greeted the guy behind the counter like they were old friends. Before long we’d signed waivers and geared up to shoot. We walked back to the shooting area and I was shocked by the number of people there. Even with the muffs they’d given me, I could still hear the echoing of the other patrons’ shots.

Dylan led me to the spot we’d been assigned. He’d already gone over how to use the gun with me. How to load. What to expect. That kind of thing. He’d chosen a .22 revolver for me to use. When I asked him why, he explained that the gun was small and wouldn’t have as much recoil and should be easier for me to aim.

“Plus, it has a wild, wild west look about it that I think is cool,” he’d said with a wink.

Dylan attached a fresh target to a clip and then pushed the button to make the thing go into position.

“Kay, you wanna go first?” His eyes glowed with excitement. I could tell from the way he’d explained everything about the gun I’d be shooting that he loved to shoot, and he was excited to teach me how to do it.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

Dylan opened the case with the revolver in it and withdrew the gun. He handed it to me along with the bullets to fill it. I loaded the gun, admittedly not with the dexterity Dylan had when he showed me how, but I got the job done. I clicked the chamber into place and held it in front of me, aimed at the target.

“Holy shit, that’s hot.”

Startled, I glanced at Dylan to see him staring at me with a strangled expression on his face. His eyes roved over me as though he wanted to devour me then and there. He hadn’t kissed me since he’d come back home and at that moment I feared I was in real danger of that travesty being corrected.

“You okay,” I asked him, half amused, half terrified.

“No. Not at all.”