Coach's Daughter

18.

Chapter 18.

I was laying on my bed, thinking about the drama in the ice cream shop tonight, when Dylan knocked gently on my bedroom door.

"I figured Disney was a good choice," he said, grinning, "considering Disney is literally what makes a child's childhood." He held up a bag full of Disney movies.

"Just stop me when you hear what one you want to watch," he said, his voice sounding a little tired. "Snow White, Cinderella, Bambi, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, the Little Mermaid, 101 Dalmatians, the Black Cauldron--"

I cut him off, sitting up dramatically. "That movie used to terrify me. The Horned King was literally the most terrifying thing any little kid could have seen. And that movie was made before people even knew what auto tune was...which means that guy could actually talk like that."

Dylan looked up from the movies and over in my direction. A small, cute smile crept onto his face. "So do you want to watch it? Miss 'The Horned King is scary'? I promise I'll hold you during the scary parts."

His voice was gently teasing, challenging me to say something, but I decided to just answer simply. "No thanks. I'd rather not have nightmares tonight." I paused, thinking of all the movies I used to love as a kid. "Oh! Do you have the Lion King? I want to watch that movie. It's one of my favorites of all time!"

"The Lion King?" Dylan asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "I had you pegged as more of a Disney princess type of girl." He shrugged, grabbing the disk out of one of the boxes and plopping down on the bed next to me, passing me the disk so I could put it in my laptop.

I smiled, turning to face him. "Is it the Lion King?"

"Yes," Dylan said slowly.

I got the movie set up on my laptop, then leaned up against his strong, muscular shoulder, making myself comfortable.

"Dylan? Can I ask you something?" I asked softly.

Dylan chuckled, peering sideways at me, the cute smile on his face growing bigger. "What's up?"

"Why did you ask me to go out with you tonight?" I asked, nervously playing with my charm bracelet as I awaited his answer. I didn't even know why I asked him. I wasn't ready for a relationship--Luke and Evan had both proven that--so I couldn't really explain why it mattered whether Dylan liked me or not.

Dylan smirked. "Why? Didn't you want to come?"

I shook my head. "Honestly, I wasn't sure at first. I had fun, but I didn't really want a date."

Dylan laughed. "Well, I just thought it would be a good chance for me to get to know my pretty new neighbor."

I blushed. "You really think I'm pretty?"

Dylan chuckled. "I think any guy with eyes can see you're pretty. I just wanted to get to know you better."

Feeling unexpectedly warm and flustered, I pressed play on the movie. A few minutes after the movie started, I struggled to suppress a yawn.

"Tired?" Dylan asked, wrapping his arm around my shoulders protectively. I felt myself nodding in response, and snuggled in closer to him. I wrapped my arm around his chest, and my leg around his, cozying up to him like a giant teddy bear. In his arms, I felt safe and protected against the drama of the day.