Peggy wrapped an arm around my waist to guide me into the school. Pam snuck up and smacked my butt.
“Now we’re even,” she said as she skipped out of my reach.
I had almost forgotten that I needed to kick Mitch’s butt.
AT LUNCH, I WAS STUDYING my biology, because the first-period class had had a pop quiz. Mr. Dutton was smart enough to give different questions, but he normally did his pop quizzes on the same day. Piper sat down across from me, and she looked nervous, so I smiled at her.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“The girls are all really sorry, and won’t be bad again. So, do we really need to punish me tonight?” she asked.
“Piper, do you think I would ever punish you?” I countered.
“Then what are we doing?”
“Can you keep a secret?” I asked, and she nodded. “Even from your sister?”
“Yes, even from Emma,” she assured me.
“Tracy told me about your first time. She asked me to show you what it’s really supposed to be like.”
Several emotions flashed across her face, and I was happy to see a big grin appear. I laughed at her.
“You keep grinning like that, and Emma’s going to figure it out,” I warned her.
“Does this mean that I might be one of your ‘friends with benefits’?” she asked, smiling even bigger.
I hadn’t thought of that. I’d assumed this was a one-time offer. I was not planning on it going that far. I also didn’t want to reject her. I reached across the table and held her hand.
“Piper, you’re a special girl, and I’m lucky to call you a friend. I can’t promise anything, because I still look at you as being too young. Can you be patient with me?”
She squeezed my hand and got a serious look.
“I know. You’re a special guy. I appreciate you looking out for us. I won’t push you,” she said.
“Now go report back that I have evil plans to punish you. The girls’ll be dying to know.”
She winked at me, and then hung her head as she shuffled back to their table. She was quite the little actress. I got back to studying.
TONIGHT, I WAS AT THE gun range. My character was supposed to have a thigh holster for his right hand and a shoulder holster for his left. We were practicing drawing and shooting.
“I have a gun safety question,” I said.
“Gun safety is good. What do you want to know?”
“When do I take off the safety?”
“There are two schools of thought: disengage on the draw, or once you’re on target. I’ve been an instructor for many years, and that being said, I prefer the second method. When you think about it, it’s really just personal preference. One isn’t necessarily safer or better than the other.
“If you’re obeying safety rules, you should be okay. Remember to never let the muzzle cover anything you aren’t willing to destroy. Also keep your finger off the trigger and out of the trigger guard until your sights are on target, and you’re prepared to fire.
“During your draw, you won’t have an issue. It just doesn’t give me a ‘warm fuzzy’ to have a handgun ready to fire when it’s that close to my family jewels. That’s why I prefer waiting until after the draw stroke to sweep the safety,” Dylan said.
“Okay, walk me through this again.”
“Grip close to the body, and get a full grip on the pistol, elbow back with the thumb on top of the thumb safety. Clear by pulling the pistol straight up out of the holster, with your finger off the trigger. Rotate the pistol up. After you have cleared your body, depress the thumb safety to ‘off.’ Make sure your finger is still off the trigger, and the pistol is still close to your body and level with and pointing at the target. Engage by identifying the threat, and move the pistol forward. Bring the pistol up to eye level. Your finger is now on the trigger. Focus on the front sight, and then shoot.”
Dylan demonstrated what he said. He made it look easy and smooth.
“Before we get started, check your weapon,” Dylan ordered me.
I drew my gun, dropped the magazine, and then racked the slide open to make sure the chamber was empty. Then I showed him that the gun was safe.
“Show me your grip,” Dylan ordered me.
I placed my hand high on the grip, with my fingers tucked under the trigger guard. Dylan had shown me that if I gripped it low, the recoil effect would be greater, and my subsequent shots would be off. If I was just going to be shooting one gun, I’d use two hands when possible.
One of my scenes had me shooting two guns at once, so I had to learn to shoot without the two-handed grip. The trick was to make it look real. Dylan wanted to teach me the correct way to shoot before we ‘went Hollywood.’ I ended up not loading the gun today. He wanted me to get used to where the holster was, and to draw and shoot without blowing my foot off.
I HAD TO RUSH, BUT I made it to Piper and Emma’s house right at eight. I wasn’t surprised when Emma answered the door. Instead of letting me in, she stepped out onto the porch with me and shut the door behind her.
“What are you going to do with my sister?” she asked.
Emma was the oldest by ten minutes and always looked out for her ‘little’ sister. I figured I’d better just tell her the truth.
“We’re going back to my place to have sex.”
She grimaced and shook her head.
“Fine, don’t tell me,” she said as the door swung open.
Piper came out and took my hand to drag me to the car. Someone was eager to get started. On the drive to my place, Piper started to get nervous.
“What did my sister want?” she asked.
“She’s just worried about you, so I promised not to leave too many marks. I’ll make sure that they’re hidden.”
“You’d better not!” she threatened me.
We pulled up to my house and saw Tracy was there. I took Piper in the back door and found Mom eating ice cream. I introduced Mom to Piper and made three bowls. I handed Piper the chocolate syrup and whipped cream. I grabbed the bowls and we headed up to my apartment.
“You have your own place?” Piper asked.
Crud. I was hoping to keep that a secret from the freshman girls. I didn’t need them using my place as a hangout.
“Yes, I do, but you can’t tell anyone about it. I don’t need it to be ‘teen central.’ My parents have threatened to take it away if I’m not responsible.”
We went up the stairs and found Tracy with her Biology book out.
“How did you do on your quiz?” I asked.
“Good. I assume you did okay.”
“Yep,” I answered.
We talked about school as we ate our ice cream. When we were done, Tracy got the conversation on track.
“Piper, tonight’s for you,” Tracy started. “If you feel uncomfortable at any point, just say ‘no’ or ‘stop.’ I can be there to lend you support, or I can leave. What would you like?”
“I’d be more comfortable if you left.”
She gave Piper a hug, and then I got one and Tracy left. I turned to Piper and could tell she was having second thoughts. Hell, I wasn’t really sure why I agreed to this.
“Look, Tracy was worried your first time wasn’t great. If you’re not ready, let’s not do this.”
“Could you just hold me?” she asked.
I dimmed the lights and put on some music. I led her to the couch, she sat next to me, and I held her. Then she told me the story of what happened.
“I wish I’d listened to you and told you I had a date with Justin. Emma told me afterward that you wouldn’t have approved of him. I was just so excited to be going out with an older guy.”
She got quiet for a few minutes as she decided how to tell the rest.
“The dance was so much fun. All my friends were jealous to see me there with him because Justin’s cute. I felt so special when he invited me to an after-dance party. He gave me a glass of punch, but I told him I didn’t drink. Justin said the older girls all were. I know it’s stupid, but I fell for that,” she said, and she looked at me to see if I was going to judge her.