After a few final loud spins, I poured the strawberry smoothie into a tall glass and rinsed out the blender, setting it beside the other fresh fruits on the counter. I cut another strawberry down the middle and set it on the edge of the glass for an added effect. Daxson went out of his way to take me to the farmer's market for all the fresh produce, so I figured I should show my appreciation by making it look nice.
I returned to the living room with the smoothie and laughed when I realized Daxson hadn't moved from his favorite spot on the couch, his feet were propped on the coffee table and his arms were folded across his chest. He stared intently at the television.
My eyes flickered from him to the movie on the screen. "I love the Lion King. That movie was basically my childhood." I smiled and dropped beside him on the couch.
He looked over at me. "We had it on the good ole VHS tape. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen this movie." His eyes moved back to the screen. "But I relate to it on a much deeper level since I lost my father."
"I bet." I wrapped my fingers around the cold smoothie and set it in my lap.
When the silence descended on us, my heart beat against my ribs a little faster. I knew it was hard for Daxson to fight the guilt, and I didn't want it to take him down a familiar road. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, it surprised me to see his lips tug into a smile.
"Hakuna Matata."
I giggled. "Timon and Pumba are some of my favorite side characters ever."
Daxson chuckled. "There are a lot of good side kicks in Disney history. I thought the Caterpillar from A Bug's Life was a pretty good one."
"That's another classic." I held the smoothie out to him with a satisfied smile.
He sat up and dropped his feet to the floor, grabbing the glass from me. "Is this my prize for impressing you with my Disney knowledge?"
"No. It'd take a lot more than that to impress me." I winked and watched him take a long drink from the glass.
He wiped his mouth. "Well, thanks for taking care of me."
"It's easy to take care of you when you're willing to take care of yourself."
"What do you mean?" He set the glass on the table and leaned to adjust the colorful socks around his ankles.
"Well, instead of living at the training center like you have been for the past two weeks, you're at home resting." I pulled my legs beneath me on the couch.
"And spending time with you." He glanced at me and his lips turned up into a sly smile.
"What're you trying to say?"
"Maybe you're a distraction."
I laughed and let my jaw fall slack. "Your socks are a distraction."
"What? You don't like them?" He shifted his legs back-and-forth giving me a view of his ankles from every direction.
"Stop, no. I do love them." I felt like I always smiled like an idiot around him. "You literally have a pair to match every outfit."
"It's okay to admit I'm cool." He turned to fix his other sock with a cocky smile.
"Okay." I rolled my eyes and pushed his shoulder. "No, but really Demarcus and I were worried you were going to overdo it."
Daxson leaned back into the couch again. "You worry too much."
"I worry enough."
His jaw tightened like he was going to argue, but he changed the subject instead. "How was girls night with Madison yesterday?"
"It was okay." I sighed heavily and shook my head, glancing at the green couch cushions between us. "She's not really handling everything well."
Daxson opened his arms for me to come to him.
I couldn't move fast enough to close the distance between us. His touch was enough to ease the pain I was feeling for my friend. My hair splayed out across his shorts as I laid my head in his lap and looked up at him.
"So, why don't you fill me in?" He asked, his hand resting against my stomach.
"Oh, I forgot you haven't really been around." I smirked at him.
His eyes moved to the television. My skin tingled when his fingers spread across my waist and pressed into my hip bone, forcing a giggle from my lips.
I caught his hand in mine and played with his fingers. "Madison saw her ex-boyfriend named Samson over Thanksgiving break. You could say it stirred up some old feelings."
He nodded and let out a sigh. "Ah, I hate that for Keith. He seems like a good guy, but I don't really see what's wrong with having feelings for an ex. I mean, if she still cares about him, she still cares." He quirked an eyebrow.
"Well, I get that, but Samson is the one who got Drew sentenced to ten years in prison." I sighed. "The worst part is, Samson lied to Madison's face and convinced her to blame Drew for everything."
"Damn. How long has it been since she talked to Drew?"
I interlaced our fingers. "Christmas break was the first time in two years."
Daxson studied our hands. "She has plenty of time to repair her relationship with her brother."
"That's what I told her."
"I think she needs to decide what she wants to do about her relationship with Keith." Daxson's eyes focused on my face and he lifted his hand to brush some of my hair behind my ears.
"I told her that too." I sighed again. "I just got a lot of tears."
"It's difficult to get over someone you love. I mean, you never really get that piece of your heart back, you know?"
I studied his face, noticing the distant look in his eyes.
"No matter how hard you try, you'll always be scared to open yourself up to that kind of hurt again."
"Is it possible for you to ever love someone else the same way?" I asked.
His thumb traced across the freckles on my cheeks. "No, never the same way."
I stared up at the ceiling to avoid his gaze. My heart sank into my stomach. His words meant more than Madison and Samson. They had a deeper meaning for me.
"But, it gives you a chance to love someone new with a different piece of your heart. If you're lucky, maybe they can fill in that missing piece too." His bright smile seemed to erase the worry coursing through me.
I sat up and rotated my hips to straddle his waist, resting my hands against his stomach. "I'd do anything to fill in all of your missing pieces."
He looked into my eyes. "You already have, Ally."
"I want to hear you say it though."
He chuckled and lifted his hand to my neck, pulling me forward until our lips crashed together. His lips were so gentle so warm, they made me forget all my troubles. My fingers grasped onto his shirt in an effort to pull him closer to me.
As the kiss grew heavier, I slid my hands up his chest and encircled his neck. His hands dropped from my face to tighten around my waist, pushing my hips down against his lap. In need of air, I broke the kiss, but kept our faces within inches of touching.
"Ally." Daxson tilted his head up to capture my gaze. "I lov—"
"Yo, Dax. Where's that twenty you owe me?" Demarcus' eyes never left his phone as he came around the corner.
Daxson fell back into the couch at the sound of his nickname.
I groaned and threw my hands down against his stomach. "What, no!"
Daxson's eyes were filled with humor. "You can grab it from my bag by the door, bro." He looked over at Demarcus.
"Cool. Hey, white girl. Always good to see you around." He fumbled around in Daxson's bag.
I sighed. "Hello."
Demarcus grabbed the money and returned the bag to its place in the floor. "You do something to piss her off, Dax?" He asked, jokingly.
Daxson shook his head, but he failed to hide the grin on his face. I think he enjoyed torturing me. "Not me."
Demarcus's eyes landed on me and he raised an eyebrow. "What'd I do?"
I shook my head and motioned to the T.V screen. "Nothing major. I just hate when people interrupt movies. It's a pet peeve."
Daxson chuckled and stretched his arms above his head to draw his brother's attention away from my lie. "What're you about to go do?"
"I'm about to meet some of my homies at the shooting range."
"Can you shoot bows?" I asked, curiously.
Demarcus nodded. "Yeah, if that's your thing. I'm more of a pistol guy myself."
I turned my attention to Daxson. "Can we go? It's been a few years since I've had the chance to shoot a bow."
"I'm down, but only if its okay with D. I don't want to intrude on his plans." Daxson's eyes flickered to his brother, trying to anticipate his answer.
"It don't bother me." Demarcus shrugged and stepped back toward the front door. "But we're definitely not riding together."
"I see how it is," I called as he closed the front door.
Daxson moved to the edge of the couch and tilted his head just enough to face me. "There's something I find sexy about you shooting a bow." His tone was husky and low now that it was just us in the room.
"You can call me Robin Hood." I kissed the tip of his nose and stood from the couch.
He rose from his seat to stand in front of me. "If you're Robin Hood, may I please have the honor of being Little John?"
I laughed, amused at his persistence to impress me with his knowledge of my favorite movies. "Of course you can. It suits you." I looked up to him.
"Oh, yeah, cause I'm loyal as hell." He chuckled and crossed the room to snag his back-pack from the floor. "Or maybe it's just because I'm tall."
He was really full of himself today. I crossed the room to stand beside him.
"Are you impressed yet?" He questioned, opening the door for me.
"Nope, but you're making progress." I pushed his chest playfully before heading to his truck.
The shooting range was ducked off on a little piece of land right outside of Tuscaloosa, down a long gravel road and away from the highway. Daxson turned down the radio as he pulled in behind his brother's car in the driveway of someone's house.
"I wasn't expecting it to be someone's own shooting range." I stared up at the large metal shop in front of us.
Daxson got out of the truck. "Demarcus has been here a few times. His friend's father works for Game and Fish Commission and they provide money for him to host shooting lessons for local teens."
I slipped out of the truck and nodded. "Okay, well that makes me feel a little better."
We walked together toward the shop, but steered away from it when we saw the archery targets lined-up in front of the small pond at the back of the property. The bows were housed in a small shack beside an awning with a picnic table.
"You ever shot a bow?" I asked, stepping inside the shack and grabbing one of the bows from the rack. I grabbed a sheath of arrows and secured it over my shoulder.
Daxson stepped away from me with his hands up and a smile on his face. "No, I was hoping you could teach me."
There was something about the way he smiled; the way butterflies escaped the pit of my stomach. "I'll see what I can do."
I walked over to stand in front of the targets and placed an arrow in the bow.
"Let's see how good you are," Daxson challenged from behind me.
My fingers tightened around the tip of the arrow. I loved challenges, but I also loved sharing another piece of my life with Daxson. I slid the arrow into place and pulled back the string, exhaling a a few steady breaths. Within a second, I released the string and the arrow soared through the air. There was a loud thud as it connected with the center of the target.
I turned to look at Daxson and bowed in an effort to hide the smile on my face. "You're welcome."
He clapped his hands together. "Next Olympian right here ladies and gentlemen."
I rolled my eyes.
"Where'd you learn to shoot?"
"A friend of mine from high school used to love bow hunting. We'd spend whole afternoons listening to music and taking turns hitting the target." I shrugged. "You could say she taught me a few things."
"I should've picked up a more useful hobby. My friends and I played video games a lot, but that's about it." He stepped over beside me and there was a look of amusement in his eyes.
"It takes a lot of patience to play video games. I always got frustrated when I died." I held the bow out to Daxson.
He took it from me and held it in the air, analyzing the weight of it in his hands. "That's called a rage quit." He chuckled. "My friends and I lived for those people."
I laughed and watched him lift an arrow into place, pulling back the bowstring a few times to check the weight. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "How's my form?"
I chuckled and stepped over beside him to push his elbow up just a bit. "You look like a natural. Just make sure to keep this angle."
He took a deep breath before releasing the arrow. It soared through the air and made a loud smack when it hit the target.
"Damn, it takes a lot of strength to pull that thing back." His eyes studied me before he raised an eyebrow. "You're stronger than you look."
"What can I say?" I placed my hands on my hips.
He chuckled. "How'd I do?" He asked, lowering the bow.
I squinted my eyes to try and see the target better. "I think I beat you."
He set the bow down and motioned for me to follow as he set out across the opening toward the targets. "I think I did pretty good," he joked.
"Your aim could use a little work," I teased, grabbing his hand and looking up at him. "I know why you're a receiver and not a quarterback."
He interlaced our fingers and swung our hands as we walked. The geese squawked at the edge of the pond and broke the silence that settled between us. Two arrows stuck out from the old, weathered target. The first one was wedged into the yellow circle of the target, not a bull-eye, but clearly closer than the other arrow stuck in the outer blue ring. Daxson wrapped his fingers around the arrow in the center and in one swift yank he pulled it from the target
"Okay, so I guess you won." His tone sounded disappointed.
"Are you a sore loser?" I teased, flashing him a warm smile.
Daxson pulled the other arrow from the target. "I'll never be a loser."
I raised an eyebrow.
He clutched the arrows together in his hand and smiled at my confusion. "I'll never be a loser because I'll always have you." He watched me. "That's a win in my book."
The heat grew in my cheeks. I hated being so pale that almost any color to my skin was a giveaway of how I was feeling.
"You do know, we have to tell your parents soon."
I glanced up at him. "I know."
It was only a matter of time before this moment would come. A small piece of me held onto hope that my troubles would just disappear and everything would fall into place, but I knew better than that. Anything worth having doesn't come easy. I wasn't scared of telling my parents, I was terrified of the reaction afterwards.
Daxson's hand touched my cheek. "We're in this together."
"I wouldn't want anyone else by my side." I smiled at him and lifted my hand to rest it against his on my face.
"I leave for the combine in Indianapolis in a week. I'll be gone for four days, but when I get back we'll make the trip." He held my gaze in confidence, but he couldn't hide the small flecks of fear swimming in his eyes.
"It's okay to be scared," I whispered.
Daxson closed his eyes and exhaled a slow breath through his nose. When his eyes met mine again, his features were tense, lips pulled into a tight line.
"I'm scared, but I'm excited to put all of this behind us. I'm ready to be able to work on our relationship without the fear or the judgement from you parents. I don't want you to keep carrying that around with you."
I smiled and placed my hand against his cheek, feeling the coarseness of his beard against my fingers. "I love you, Dax."
His fingers tightened around the arrows and he moved them behind his back. He stepped forward until his nose brushed against mine.
"I love you too, Ally," he whispered. "With every piece of my heart."