The sun seeping into the room burned Beth's eyes. They weren't even open and she felt the need to squeeze them shut tighter; maybe throw the covers over her head and stay in bed until her hangover wore off or until night fell: whichever came last. She had half a mind to do it; to lay there and try to mentally will away any evidence that the previous night had happened at all. She wasn't quite that lucky though and she was sure that no amount of mental effort could make the large, warm body lightly snoring next to her disappear.
Oh God, she thought, knowing exactly what she would find if she opened her eyes and willed her throbbing head to turn left: dark hair, tattoos and defined biceps.
She blamed the moment she switched from the sweet wine to whatever Rosita and Tara thrusted her way. That had to have certainly been her demise; the moment she threw her heels and her dignity under that table stacked with wedding gifts and she began giggling too much, saying too much to the grumpy man she'd been sat next to. The things she'd said...
"Oh god" she croaked out loud in embarrassment and immediately regretted it; the phrase carrying too many memories of exactly how many times she'd said that just a few hours before clutching to those perfect arms for dear life.
She managed to turn slightly and crack one eye open, finding him laying on his stomach; facing away from her so that all she could see was his shaggy mop of hair. The scars that littered his back had shocked her the night before and he'd shuffled awkwardly for a few moments as he let her stare in silence. She didn't know if it had been the alcohol or just a sense of self preservation but she'd chosen to not mention them at all just then. Today they no longer shocked her, instead the sight of his bare back made her cheeks flush because now there were other trails there. New ones; bright and red and in the size of her fingernails.
That had definitely been the shots of tequila. They were to blame for the way she'd clutched him to her, legs locked around his hips and pulling him closer; slurring something over and over about "so good"- or had that been him?
She flailed a little as she tried to sit upright without causing too much movement; failing spectacularly. A light stirring at her side made her alert to her companion who only grumbled a little in his sleep, but didn't wake.
She tore her gaze from him and looked about the room, spotting the awful turquoise dress she'd been forced into the previous morning; carelessly tossed into a corner of the room she didn't remember being anywhere near the night before. She wondered if she could manage to slip it back on without making too much noise and running out of the room but she ruefully remembered a distinct tearing sound at Daryl's hands; after he deemed the hook fasteners too complicated for his urgency.
It was an ugly dress anyway, Beth thought and for a moment she felt guilty for thinking so; it was Maggie's favorite color, after all.
She caught her reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall: blonde hair a mess of curls awkwardly still held up by the few pins that hadn't been yanked out while Daryl buried his hands there. Her makeup might have been a mess too, though she couldn't tell from this distance and the view the mirror afforded her. Oh yes- the view. All she'd had to do was prop herself up on her elbows and watch the reflection of Daryl's back flex as he kissed and nipped his way up her thighs- her elbows had given out under her, sending her back flopping down on the mattress not long after she watched his head dip down between her thighs, with one look up at her and a smirk on his face.
With a decided little huff, she ripped the sheet closest to her, wrapping it around her and tumbling out of bed gracelessly. She wandered over to the bathroom; very conscious of the little aches in her body that made her wobbly on her feet.
"Jesus," she muttered under her breath as she took a look at herself in the bathroom mirror. Bite marks littered her neck and with a deep breath, she let the sheet fall down to inspect the damage. A few on her breasts, bruises on her hips and thighs...she may have told him to be a little rough. Right. She may have pleaded and moaned out for him to do so.
That was definitely due to the last strawberry daiquiri she'd thrown back before she dragged him out of the hotel ballroom and towards the elevators.
She wished she could have chalked it up to the drinking or the sentiment of seeing her sister married but she knew, even before all the toasts and the glasses of wine. She hadn't been able to keep her eyes away from Glenn's surly and grumpy looking friend when she was stone cold sober. She had failed miserably at keeping her hands off him with a few drinks in her.
God he really was attractive. No. Sexy. Damn sexy.
She might have said that to him while she pulled him into her mouth. The taste of him was still in her mouth and she made a grab for her bag of toiletries sitting on the counter, smiling when she spotted the bottle of aspirin she'd had the sense to pack.
Yes please. She thought, grabbing for the pills.
Ironically, she'd said that a lot to him too. Well, mainly just please.
After taking the pills, she wrapped the sheet around herself tightly, trying to hold on to her last shred of dignity. Though she didn't suppose it was dignity that got her to lock herself into the bathroom after spending the night doing and saying very undignified things to the man on the other side of the door.
She heard him moving about the bed, definitely not in his sleep and with a deep breath and a little nod at her own reflection -chin held high- she opened the door into the room.
He looked sleepy and surprised to see her but not any less attractive than he had been the night before; particularly in the unpressed suit he'd shown up in, sleeves rolled up to his forearms. If anything, seeing his bare broad shoulders and hickeys she knew she'd made, cause a stir in her belly and she silently cursed herself for having so little resolve around him.
"Thought you left," he grumbled, voice sleepy and rough and damn if it didn't make her breath catch. It is my room, she almost said. Instead, she shuffled from foot to foot taking in the state of the hotel room, a vase had been knocked down from the dresser and she vaguely recalled being hoisted up on it, turquoise dressed pushed up around her waist.
"No." Was all she could come up with. They stared at each other for a few more moments and something about the way his eyes were fixed on her made Beth hold her head just a little higher; a sense of satisfaction at the thought that he'd been right there with her; grunting and yes- even begging under her touch. "Did you want me to?" she asked.
Another pause of silence and she could almost pin point the moment when the air shifted. When she knew they weren't quite finished yet.
"Nah," He rasped out.
She smiled. A boldness that hadn't existed until his eyes swept her sheet-covered body sending a shiver of anticipation down her spine.
"Good," she said, letting the sheet fall to the floor, on top of that turquoise bridesmaid's dress.