My Man Is A Lady (girlxgirl)

Chapter 23

     Tiffany had a hard time getting Dani to back down so she could come here on her own. Was she nervous? Hell yes, she was. She had never been inside a place like this before and it was intimidating. But she couldn't back down now. This was something that had to be done.

     The older man at the counter finished his conversation on the phone and then turned to Tiffany with a warm smile. "May I help you ma'am?" He asked her. Even though his demeanor was calming, Tiffany still felt nervous.

     "I-I need to make a purchase," She stammered as she came up to the counter.

     "Okay, just give me one second," the clerk said and fished out a form from behind his counter and placed it down in front of her. "Before we can get into that, I need you to fill out this form in its entirety for a quick background check please, and hand it back to me with ID, there is a $20 charge." Tiffany took the form and looked at it. So many questions. She knew this wasn't going to be cake, but damn. She sighed and began filling the form out. It was complete after about 5 minutes, and she handed both the form and her license to the clerk with a crisp $20.

     After taking them both, he went over to a computer and put Tiffany's information while she waited. She turned, facing away from the counter and her eyes bulged in awe. All around her were hundreds and hundreds of firearms. Hunting rifles, handguns, you name it. It was a bit of a shock to see. Tiffany already know she wasn't getting herself a rifle, but she still didn't know which one would work best for her. As long as it was effective.

     "Okay young lady, you're all clear. Have you ever owned or operated a firearm before?" The clerk asked, handing Tiffany back her things.

     "Never owned. Operated one time." She answered, reminding herself to remain relaxed.

     "And may I ask what's prompting you to make your first purchase?"

     "Self defense." She said it with solid confidence. The man didn't break his gaze, and gave a slight nod, then ducked under the counter to do some rummaging. After a few minutes, he pulled out two unloaded guns and placed them on the counter. One was a revolver, the other was something Tiffany had never seen before but it looked pretty simple.

     "Okay," The man started, poising himself to speak. "I'm going to tell you what I tell every person that comes in here looking for something for self defense. If that's all you're going to need it for, you're not going to need anything massive. I always recommend one of these two." He pointed to the gun on the left, the revolver. "This here is a nice classic. Smith & Wesson plus. You get an extra round than most revolvers get in this particular chamber. .357 rounds will be best if you really wanna do damage. Quick for self defense. You can pull it out your purse, do what you need to do, and boom, you're done." The man was patient, gently explaining to Tiffany what to do. She listened, attentive but low-key fearful as well. Deep inside her, she was really hoping she wouldn't have to use this. But she'd be damned if she was going to be unprepared for this again.

     "So do you understand Dear?" the man asked her. he had finished his mini lesson. Tiffany nodded slowly, the nerves not fading. "Okay. Now try holding it, get a feel for it." He handed it to her, handle first. Tiffany gingerly took the revolver in he hand and stared at it. It was small, but it looked like it could still fuck somebody up. It felt...right in her hands. Like it belonged there. She nodded and looked up at the man.

     "Yeah, I think I'll be taking this." Tiffany said, trying to force confidence. The clerk smiled.

     "Good choice for your first." He said, placing a box of bullets on the counter. "Will you be paying cash or credit?"

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     Tiffany wasn't alone at the gun range this afternoon. There were a few others, mostly men but one other female.The woman was hyper focused, putting bullets in the center of her target in an expert level manner. She was definitely seasoned in using a firearm, no doubt. Tiffany on the other hand, felt super awkward and out of place. This was gonna take some getting used to.

     It made her feel better that there was an instructor by her side helping her get used to the whole thing. There was a lot more to this than she thought there would be. He was a guy maybe 8 years older than her. He taught her how to load the chamber, how to cock it and use the hammer, how to get in the stance and hold it correctly. And once she looked down at the red tip and fired, she knew. She knew that this one was right for her, knew if she aimed well she could do what she needed to do. The feeling of adrenaline when she felt the small recoil in her hands made her feel so alive. It brought her back to life, after feeling so dead for so long. It reminded her she had power and she had better use it.

     Tiffany took a good look at her target sheet. All her bullets landed mostly around the center target, but they weren't too far off. It filled her with a tiny sense of pride and a bit of fear, knowing what damage she could possibly do with it.

     "Very good. Your stance is correct, both hands on the gun as well. You're getting the hang of this quickly. Now, would you like to try shooting a .9?" Her instructor said to her. A jolt of nervous excitement ran through her, but she wouldn't let herself back down. She smiled and gave a quick nod before she could change her mind.

     "Alright, I'll go get us one to rent. I'll be right back." Once he returned, he went through the steps with Tiffany, showing her how to load the clip, how to safely pick it up and point, placing her finger on the frame of the gun, how to cock it, and give a good slow squeeze on the trigger when she was ready. The loud pop of the gun and hearing the bullet clink to the ground spiked her adrenaline. She lowered the gun with her finger off the trigger and smiled as her instructor walked up beside her. The bullet hole was directly to the left of the center. 

     "That's amazing," her instructor complimented. "You're really focused when you shoot. Undo the magazine and let's do a couple more rounds." he didn't have to tell Tiffany twice. She loaded a few more bullets in the chamber and smiled. She could only imagine Dani's reaction when she came home and presented all this to her. Knowing her, she wouldn't want it in the house, so she would have to do a lot of convincing. Or, ahem, "convincing". That would maybe do the trick and do something for her crazy, coursing adrenaline. 

       But in all seriousness, this had to stop somewhere and Tiffany didn't think his ass would follow a restraining order at this point. What she came home to in her apartment was absolutely traumatizing. She couldn't be anywhere near that place or she'd start getting panic attacks. Before, she had never had a panic attack in her life. Tiffany could barely keep anything in there that wasn't destroyed. She really damn near had to start over, with Dani's help. It was a slow start since Tiffany had taken leave. Dani had to get the bills and the rent, plus groceries. This made Tiffany feel terrible, and she wanted to try to get back to work sometime soon so she could not only help her girlfriend, but go back to taking care of herself like a normal human being.  All of it was giving her a deep, shitty feeling and Tiffany wanted it gone asap. 

     The last two rounds ended up in the head of the target; one where the eye would be and the other blowing an ear off. A dark, satisfying feeling slowly started emerging from deep within Tiffany. A tiny smile played at her lips. 

     "Amazing!" her instructor praised again and gave applause. "You gotta be a natural." 

     Yup, Tiffany now planned on doing some serious "convincing" later. She wasn't giving this shit up.