With Jimmy being suspiciously nice and me having more time within my schedule, Delaney and I had been spending way too much time together within the last two weeks. Usually, I would get tired of hanging out with a girl that I'm talking to after a couple of days straight with each other, but it wasn't like that with Delaney. The more time we spent together, the more infatuated I got with her and the more time I wish I could spend with her. I would say she wasn't like most girls, but that would be a little too cliché. Delaney was her own person, she wasn't like any girls or anyone I've known for that matter. She was fun, carefree but still chill. We could do anything and she'd be satisfied. Whether we went to a nightclub or just chilled at my place watching movies, she was still satisfied and entertained. She was just happy to be with me, just like I was happy to be with her.

She was like my best friend and lover mixed in one and the more time I spent with her, the more grateful I was to have her as my girlfriend. I wouldn't say it was love just yet. I wouldn't want to jinx it or get ahead of myself, but I really cared for her more than most people in my life. She was in my top ten favorite people, right above Leo and under Giana, which was a good f-cking spot. Even my ex-fiancé wasn't in my top ten, which I guess says a lot about how hurried and unimportant our relationship was.

Anyways, though we've been spending so much time together, Delaney came up with a wonderful idea to have a date night every week. A night that we had to go out and do something fun. Each week one of us would choose what we wanted to do, and tonight, I was the one to choose our first weekly date. It was a smart idea, but overly cheesy. I knew as soon as my friends heard me mention 'date night' they were going to clown me, but it was all worth it for her.

Since it was our first weekly date, I wanted it to be special and romantic. I picked up Delaney in one of my best rides and blindfolded her so she had no idea where we were going.

"Let me guess. It's another Drake concert," Delaney guessed for the hundredth time during the ten minute car ride. The car had come to a stop and she was getting giddy. "No, no! You're dressed too casually. Are we doing something that normal, cute couples do? Are we going mini-golfing!?"

"Dammit, how'd you find out," I grumbled sarcastically as I unbuckled my seatbelt.

Delaney grinned ear to ear and reached for her blindfold. "I knew it."

I chuckled and grabbed her hand before she could take off the blindfold. "I'm kidding, numskull. Wait for it."

I couldn't see her eyes but I knew she rolled them at me. Letting out a snicker, I got out of the car and helped her get out as well. She reluctantly grabbed my hand as she sniffed at the air. "It smells like paint," she stated. "Are we going to a painting class for couples? That's cute!"

"You're getting colder and colder, darlin'. We're almost there."

A couple more steps, ten more guesses and the blindfold was finally taken off. When Delaney saw where we were, for a brief second, she was confused but then she began laughing hysterically. "What the f-ck, Andy!? An empty shooting range!?" I wiggled my eyebrows at her as I handed her ear plugs. "Wait, are you serious!? You want me to shoot a gun?"

"Have you never shot one before?"

"Baby, I wasn't brought up like you. Of course, I haven't. But, I guess I will today, huh?" She took the ear plugs willingly as she looked over at a rack on the wall which had a range of guns of all different sizes and calibers.

"I know it may be crazy, but you're with me now. We're together. There may come a time where you'll have to use a gun. I really hope it never happens, but we have to be prepared. I want you to be safe whether I'm with you or not. This is going to be fun, educational and it might help you out in the future, but if you're not comfortable then I totally get it. I'd never make you do anything you don't want to."

"You know, this is the most romantic thing someone has done for me," Delaney told me jokingly.

"I knew I'd sweep you right off your feet. Now, before we start, are you scared?"

"This is starting to sound like my first time."

"Wait, when was your first time?"

"You, silly," Delaney said with a laugh as if I didn't know it was a blatant lie. I laughed as well and shrugged it off. "Okay, we'll talk about that at another time, just let me know what I need to know so I don't end up killing myself."

I let Delaney in on all the details of a gun and how dangerous it was to utilize as she listened on like an interested student in class. Though, she was getting more and more excited on every word I spoke. I made sure she knew the first time she shot a gun, she would be f-cking terrified until she got used to it. To get her accustomed to the gun I was going to have her practice with, I let her hold it while it was unloaded. She pointed it around as she tried to get a good grip and used to the weight. It was kind of exciting to teach someone to use a gun. I couldn't wait for Delaney to actually become comfortable with the object.

"This is so weird. This thing could kill someone if it was loaded," Delaney said as she pointed the gun to a target. She timidly put her finger on the trigger. It was trembling even though there wasn't any ammunition in the glock. She slowly pulled the trigger and flinched once she did. "Holy sh-t," she exclaimed though nothing phenomenal happened.

"You think you can do that while it's loaded, champ?" Delaney quickly shook her head as she stared at the gun as if it was a foreign object, which I guess, for her, it was. Guns were normalized to me. They were like an essential, but for Delaney, I bet she never thought she needed one.

After nearly an hour of Delaney messing around and me demonstrating by shooting a couple of rounds with my own glock, she was ready to take on the challenge. I took her through another lesson on how to load a gun, how to put it on safety and how to take it apart and put it back together and everything in between. Finally, it was time for her to shoot the gun. Admittedly, I was just as nervous as her. Her hands were shaking as she aimed the gun at the outline. I put my hands on her hips to calm her down and kissed her shoulder gently. "You've got this, darlin'. Aim and shoot like I taught you."

She took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. I thought she would jump back from the recoil or stop immediately but she kept shooting. She wasn't half bad either. She always hit the target and was able to get in a few headshots. I slowly stepped back and watched with admiration. That's my girl. When she was done shooting, she put the gun to her side and turned to me with a big smile. "How'd I do, baby?!"

I put my hands up as if she was about to shoot me. "You're almost as good as me, deadeye."

She giggled and reloaded the gun as if she was a professional. I raised a brow at her as I watched her carefully reload the gun. "What? I'm a fast learner."

The more Delaney practiced shooting, the more accurate her shots got. She was a better shot than f-cking Lin at this point. I wasn't expecting her to get so comfortable and good so easily. I thought it'd take a couple of lessons but I guess I was wrong. She was a fast learner and I thought she was ready for her first gun. "That was so scary but so fun. I don't know how to feel," Delaney said when we pulled up to her apartment.

"Just know that you're able to protect yourself now if you have to." I reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a black and pink Glock 42. "You always like it when I wear pink so I got you a pink gun. It's loaded so be careful with it. Don't do anything crazy unless you have to. Keep it in a safe place."

"Can I wear it around in my pants like you," she said with a laugh.

"No, idiot! You can't! Only I can do that because I'm experienced. Just keep it in your car or something. Always have it near you. It could make a difference, okay?" Delaney took the gun and stared down at it as if it was a baby. "Tell me you'll be safe, Delaney."

She stared into my eyes and leaned in to kiss my lips softly. "I'll be safe, bebé. I promise."

"Good, now tell me, when was your first time?"

Delaney blushed as she laughed nervously. "Are you seriously still on that?"

"I'm curious."

She rolled her eyes playfully and looked out of the passenger's window. "12," she whispered.

"You can get wet at 12!?"

"Andy!"

"Delaney!"

"See, it's embarrassing. That's why I didn't want you to know. I was dumb and I was talking to this fifteen year old."

"Fifteen!? You f-cked a high school freshmen in seventh grade?! I'm not hating. You kind of have game but damn, Delaney, I would've never guessed." I was laughing because I found the whole thing hilarious, but I think Delaney saw me as making fun of her. She began turning red and I knew I had f-cked up. Usually when Delaney got angry, it was already bad enough that she had a big ass mouth but now she had a big ass mouth and a gun. No way I could win arguments now.

"Well, how old were you!? I bet you were just as young, if not younger! Plus, it doesn't even matter. I have a lower body count than you. At least I can say I slept with less than twenty people. I bet you've slept with hundreds!" I chuckled and tried to nonchalantly take the gun from her lap but she pointed it at me. "Don't touch my gun!" I laughed even harder. I swear, I was really deranged. She was really pissed off and had a loaded gun pointing at me and I was laughing.

"Okay, baby girl, I'm sorry. You're right. I've slept with a lot of people and I have no room to judge. I just find it really bizarre. It's interesting. I was 14 and I had sex with someone my age. It's nowhere as interesting as your little story. Again, I'm not judging. You know me. I'd never judge you for being sexual. All that experience just prepared you for me," I continued to joke around. Delaney didn't crack a smile but I knew she wanted to. "I mean, picture if you were a virgin when you met me. I would have really turned you out then. I mean, I already have but you would be really obsessed with me then."

That got Delaney laughing. "You're annoying," she said as she set the gun down on the dashboard. "Nasty and annoying."

"You know seeing you handle a gun really turned me on."

"I bet it did, you weird ass pervert. You'd probably nut if you saw me actually shoot someone, nasty! You know what, I'm taking my cute ass gun and I'm going to bed."

"Can I come in?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"You picked on me for losing my virginity at 12. So f-ck yourself tonight, loser." With that Delaney got out of the car and slammed the door. She began walking away but ended up running back to the car. She opened the door and gave me a kiss. "Just kidding. Goodnight, bebé. Love you."

The last part caught us both off guard. There was an awkward silence that felt like forever but in reality, it was only two seconds. "Goodnight, darlin'." She bit her lip and gave me a cute wave before damn near running up to her apartment.

Delaney|

"She gave you a f-cking gun," Mia screamed as she threw the gun I had let her hold at me.

"What the f-ck, puta?! The thing is loaded. You could blow both of our heads off, which might not actually be that bad," I yelled after I caught the gun. Mia gave me a skeptical look at my last sentence. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I needed to vent about those stupid two words I had told Andy. "I told Andy I loved her. It was so quick. It was just 'love you' though. I didn't put the 'I' in front of it so it has less meaning, right? You don't think she thinks I'm some crazy b-tch, do you?"

"You told her you f-cking loved her," Mia seemed just as surprised at that than my gun. "Ay dios mios! This is bad. Very bad."

"I know. I'm so dumb. She didn't say it back. She just looked at me like I was dumb as f-ck. I could tell she cringed."

"So, she didn't say it back?"

"Of course not. It's way too early in the relationship. Eric and I didn't say it to each other until six months in and even then, we felt like it was too early. The f-cked up thing is the only person I've ever dated that I told that was Eric and now Andy. Literally, what the hell is wrong with me?" Mia made me sit down with her on the couch. She wrapped her arms around me and began humming Amazing Grace to me softly and slowly. "What the f-ck are you doing?"

"Oh, I was just singing a song for the funeral of you and Andy's relationship."

"What the f-ck, Mia!?"

Mia began laughing at me as if I had told her a good ass joke. Why was everyone laughing in my face today? First Andy and now her. "Girl, it's not that big of a deal. Just don't say it again until you mean it. I'm sure Andy doesn't care or didn't notice or felt flattered. I don't think she'll bring it up unless you do."

"Okay, but what if I meant it."

"What?"

"I love Andy. If something bad happened to her, I would be distraught. If she told me she was moving away forever, I'd go with her. If she asked me to marry her, I would say yes. Sure, I wouldn't get married right away probably years down the road, but I'd definitely say yes to the engagement. I love her. I'm in love with her. I love Andy. I meant it from the bottom of my gotdamn heart. It sucks, but I do."

Mia sat there quietly as she pursed her lips. I knew she was looking for the right thing to say, but her brain was racked. "So, you're telling me if Andy moved all the way to Taiwan right now, you'd go with her with no questions."

"I would."

"So, you'd just leave me here?"

"I mean, I'd bring you with me."

"What if I didn't want to go?"

"What?"

"You'd leave me for her?"

I let out a light laugh. "Well, no. You're like my sister. It'll always be you first. I'm just saying that's how I know I love her. I know I love her because I know I'd do something hella extreme and crazy for her."

"Well, keep it to yourself. I doubt she feels the same," Mia told me bluntly. My face dropped. That's the exact opposite of what I wanted to hear, especially from my best friend who I just called my sister. She could at least give me some bullsh-t advice about keeping things underwraps until I was sure Andy felt the same. "No offense or shade, but she's been with a lot of girls romantically and sexually. I think it's safe to keep your feelings to yourself until she says it first. If you keep saying it, you'll push her away so keep it to yourself."

"Fine. Whatever. I'll keep it to myself."

-

How do you feel about Delaney having a gun?

Do you think Delaney should keep her feelings to herself?