I'm gonna go ahead and blame this on the CarylSmut tumblr page. It's awesome. You should go check it out.

This story will be a multichap :)

The searing sun lingered halfway in its chase towards the pacific, Daryl Dixon looked out of the window of his room on the 18th floor of the Peachtree Plaza over at the crimson covered hills that concentrated into the sweltering summer vapour and was glad to be inside. He looked forward to his next job in New York , where the air would be clear, but for the next four days he would be surrounded by the overbearing heat of Atlanta in July which had surely burned as wrathfully every summer.

He'd already taken two showers today, but his clothes still clung to him with moisture so he decided to go down to the pool and swim laps until the evening brought some reprieve. Stripping off his heavy jeans and shirt, he tugged his navy trunks and crisp white t-shirt into place and went to the elevator. There was another man in the elevator, surrounded by his four young children. The man said that he was in town for a conference of some kind and brought his family along on the trip and Daryl thought to himself that it probably wasn't much of a vacation for his poor wife. As the elevator doors opened on the pool level the kids screamed towards the pool, leaving behind an inflatable hammer in their haste. Daryl held the elevator door open for the apologetic Dad as he gathered the deflated thing together with his bundle of towels and floats.

The retractable roof of the pool and spa area was drawn back and the sun was sweeping against the west side of the hotel as he dived into the deep end and surfaced about ten feet away, coming up into the midst of a game of water basketball. He continued swimming effortlessly toward the shallow end and, about four feet from the wall he tucked, turned, and pushed off the wall for the return half of his first lap. The water felt cool and refreshing as he slid easily across the pool. Because of the heat, it seemed that half the travellers in America were in the pool that day, but Daryl didn't mind the crowd much; he just wanted to avoid running into anybody. He wanted to do twenty laps in the short pool, figuring that to be about half a mile, and expected to take an hour or so at a leisurely pace to avoid the energetic teens with the inflatable ball. He felt a weird sensation as though he were being watched, but quickly dismissed the feeling since there were so many people in the pool.

Through the sixth lap, Daryl bumped unexpectedly into another swimmer. He stopped and stood quickly to apologise. Although the water was only a few feet deep, he lost his footing as he started to stand. The other swimmer, already standing, reached out to take his arm to offer support and that's when he saw her for the first time. She wanted to apologise for getting in his way, but Daryl tried to assure her that apologies weren't necessary, and thanked her for helping him get his balance. She was wearing a red two-piece suit and the sun was behind her, adding a radiant glow to her glistening hair. Daryl couldn't help but steal shy glances at her shapely body and envy the water that flowed over her skin in alluring rivulets.

He could not have imagined the thoughts that were running through her mind at the same time. She was surprised at the pleasant glow that suddenly spread across her chest as she looked at the man standing in the water before her. He had pushed his dark brown hair back across his head when he stood up, and a few stray hairs stood in defiance. She looked into his eyes and saw a warm but timid man. She briefly studied the lines on his face and wondered if they were created by laughter or grim determination.

"Shit! M' so sorry..." he said to her. " Ain't meant to bump into nobody. I was swimmin' laps an' watchin' out for..."

"Oh no, it's nothing...please, don't worry about it!" she quickly replied, as they stammered their apologies and he bashfully invited her to join him at poolside for a drink, seeming to be the least he might do for nearly running over her.

"Name's Daryl Dixon," he grunted as he held the chair for her.

He took his seat across the small round table from her and admired the interplay of sunlight and shadow on her porcelain complexion.

"Carol Anne McKnight, but my friends call me Carol." she smiled.

Daryl pondered the name. It seemed to fit her perfectly. It was soft, elegant.

He studied her for a moment longer as she sipped from her drink and then excused himself suddenly to slip back into the water and resume his exercise. Carol watched him swim. She found herself enjoying seeing the muscles on his back ripple and flex as he nimbly moved through the water and slowly, she allowed herself to imagine the power that lay locked within his arms and toned legs. His movement was sinuous, with very little worn out effort. She watched him, thinking about his hair flowing back over the top of his head, slicked down by the water through which he gracefully passed. Carol thought to herself that Daryl Dixon was the kind of man she'd really enjoy spending time with.

Daryl suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking the sun, and she realised that she had been preoccupied by her daydreaming. He rubbed most of the water away with a towel and to Carol's surprise he invited her to have dinner with him later. Carol agreed quickly, knowing there would be much more they could share. So much more.