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“Did you come for your coffee and doughnut?”
“I came for your lips. But, I suppose I’ll take a doughnut for Squirt, too.”
Mallory leaned her elbows on the counter while Charlotte sauntered away to put my doughnut in a bag. “So, when are you asking Charlotte out again?”
“Mal!” Charlotte shouted.
I chuckled. “I was actually going to ask if she wanted to go out tonight.”
“Tonight?” Mallory asked. “That’s so soon.”
Charlotte dug her elbow into her friend’s back as she walked around her to hand me the doughnut. “I’m free tonight.”
“Pick you up at seven?”
“Sure.”
I leaned over and pointed to my mouth. “Give me one more to hold me over until then.”
Her cheeks heated. Still, she didn’t pass on the opportunity to kiss me again.
My heart was a jackhammer in my chest until I was back inside my car. I was falling for this girl. Hard. She had me in the palm of her hand, and she didn’t even know it. With Charlotte by my side, I felt like I could face anything. She made me want to be better. She made me feel better. Calmer. Safer. I only wished I could do the same for her.
She kept me at a distance. Close enough to touch her, but not close enough to touch her soul. I couldn’t stop thinking about the secrets surrounding her. She refused to tell me why she had to leave Florida; she refused to tell me why she was carrying a gun; she refused to tell me who she felt she needed protection from.
Charlotte was guarded. Someone had hurt her, and she was scared of getting hurt again. I had to prove myself to her. I had to prove that she could trust me.
Charlotte
Tanner refused to tell me where we were going. All he said was to dress casual. I brushed my hair and spritzed perfume as I surveyed myself in the mirror for the last time—jeans and a pale-yellow shirt. I jumped when his text came in at seven. I swung my purse over my shoulder as I made my way downstairs.
To my surprise, Tanner was holding another bouquet—a mixture of yellow, orange, and pink Gerbera daisies.
“Tanner, this is so sweet, but totally unnecessary. You bought me flowers yesterday.”
“You said these were your favorite. I wanted you to have your favorite.” He leaned in and left a lingering kiss on my lips, sending shivers down my spine, all the way to my toes.
“I can’t argue with you when you kiss me like that.”
He smirked. “Good. I’ll have to remember that. It might come in handy the next time you’re pissed at me.”
As Tanner drove, I watched the turns he took, trying to figure out where we were going. He finally pulled into a parking lot ten minutes later. Looking at the sign on the building, a knot formed in my stomach. We were at a shooting range.
“What are we doing here?”
“You have a gun, and for whatever reason, you won’t tell me why. If you don’t want to tell me the truth, I can handle that. I don’t know why you feel like you need a gun, but I do know that you need to know how to use it. So, I figured it would be fun if we could learn together.”
My stomach flopped. He knew I was lying to him, yet he was choosing to help me, anyway. He had my back, regardless of my secrets. He was trusting me. But I didn’t deserve it.
“Thank you,” was all I could manage amidst the emotion caught in my throat.
Inside, Tanner paid for an hour of practice, along with ammo and paper targets. We were given eye and ear protection, which we were instructed to put on before entering the range.
“It’s loud in there, especially for first-timers,” said the range officer, Billy. “But don’t worry—as long as you follow my instructions and rules, you’ll be safe.”
Tanner and I exchanged glances and nodded.
The sound of shots firing filled the air as soon as Billy opened the door. Even with ear protection on, I jumped every time I heard someone fire. Loud was an understatement. I noticed that I was only one of three women. The other two women were much older than me. I was relieved that Billy had agreed to help us get started.
