"Today we celebrate the one year anniversary of Rick and his family joining ours," Deanna stood confidently in her spotlight among her people. "Here is too another year of family and friends, She raised her wine glass into the air, "To our ever growing population," Deanna gestured toward Maggie's protruding abdomen, where Glenn kept his hand lovingly.
"And to our survival. Tonight is a night that we will allow ourselves the simplest luxury of forgetting, and to be with our loved ones without the fear of losing them," From the corner of her eye, Beth could see Rick give Carl's shoulder a good squeeze, and place a kiss on Judith's angelic forehead, "Peace be with you all this evening, cheers." Deanna brought the wine to her cherry lips, and everyone in the room followed suit.
At first Beth couldn't wrap her head around the idea of having an event like this, when just beyond their walls was the dead stumbling around, craving the taste of their flesh.
After giving it some thought, she realized how long it'd been since she'd felt the slightest bit of normalcy in her life, and told herself then that this is what they needed this.
Channel, the seamstress Glenn and Sasha found running aimlessly through parking lots a few months back, was more than happy to go back to doing what she loved, and all she needed was fabric. When the runners went out searching for more supplies, they would keep their eyes out for fabrics Channel could use. One time Glenn and Tara came across a bridal shop and brought back numerous sets of material.
Daryl was over the day Channel stopped by to drop Beth's dress off personally.
It wasn't unusual for him to be over at the house alone with her, after spending the few months together on their own it became unnatural for her to be apart from him for long periods of time. Even if not much was spoken between them that day, his presence was enough to ease her, she assumed it was the same way for Daryl, otherwise he wouldn't be over as often as he was.
The memory was still fresh in her mind, as if it had only happened an hour ago.
"Yours was my favorite! I found a picture in an old prom magazine, and the color is perfect for your skin tone, would you mind trying it on for me real fast?" She clasped her hands together, begging Beth to model the dress for her.
Beth's oceanic eyes found Daryl across the room.
He was working on inhaling the rest of the left over pasta Carol had brought over the other night for Maggie, Glenn, and her.
Butterflies tickled the insides of her stomach when his pools of blue peeked through the strands of his tousled hair to meet hers. He brought each of his fingers to his mouth and licked them free of any residue left from the pasta sauce. "I'm gonna head over t'Rick's place, see if he needs help with anythin', see ya's." His gravelly voice seemed to flow through her and take up residence in her chest.
"Wait!" Beth took note of the way Channel batted her lashes at him when his attention turned to her, "I need you to stay, I need another opinion besides mine and Beth's, and you seem like the type of man that gives his honest opinion." She may as well have been tugging at his belt buckle by the seduction coating her tone.
Daryl sighed heavily, and scratched the back of his neck, "Alright," He didn't pick up his feet as he made his way to the sofa. He plopped down his entire body, and rested his arm behind his head.
Nostalgia warmed her body; images of an empty room with a casket at the front and a piano to the side flashed through her mind. The gleam in his eyes suggested that his thoughts had gone to the same place as hers.
"Get goin', I ain't got all day Greene." She knew this was false, unless Rick had some kind of task for Daryl, he spent most of his time lounging around one of their family members houses, probably gorging down their food while he was there. On occasion though, Deanna would allow him to go beyond the walls to hunt.
Beth rolled her eyes at him, and soon after, a blush crept across her cheeks when he brought his thin lips into one of his famous smirks she had grown accustomed to seeing daily.
Breaking their eye contact, she turned on the balls of her feet and bounced up the steps to her room.
Pressing her body weight against her door, she walked her feet back until the click of the door could be heard.
Instantaneously, she gasped for air, had she been holding her breath that whole time? Dragging one of her soft hands down the front of her face, stopping at the base of her neck she muttered to herself, "Pull it together Beth."
Her desire for Daryl Dixon began the night spent at the moonshiner's run down home. The vulnerability they had kept tucked away for so long broke through their facade, and the moment she enveloped him into her arms, the fire ignited, and has ceased to diminish since then. Each encounter with him only fueled it more, unknowingly, he had created a wild fire
At one point, Beth could have sworn on her fathers grave that it was a mutual feeling they shared, just by the glint in his sapphire gems. The way he looked at her with them made her melt at the core, and knees weak.
Shaking thoughts of calloused hands and rough lips away, she began peeling her clothes from her body, and slid into the tightly fit dress.
"Mama's up there havin' a fit right about now." Beth ran her palms down her figure.
Never had she worn something that revealed this much of her skin before, and never in a million years would she have imagined it would feel so wonderful and freeing.
The upper portion of the dress was layered with a fabric that gave the illusion she was bare until her naval cavity. Her breasts were covered by what looked like a series of connecting flowers, leaving parts of her skin peeking through. The backside of the dress plunged, creating a V shape at the small of her back, giving Beth a sense of nudity.
At her hips the fabric clung to her like a second skin, and continued to do so down her thighs. The rose silk flared out just above her knees- it reminded Beth of what would be a mermaid's tail.
"Guess I should go down there." Her cheeks warmed, realizing this would be the most skin she'd ever shown off in public, and Daryl would be the first witness to it.
She smoothed the sides of her dress down one last time before heading out of her room.
As she went to round the corner Beth could hear Channel attempting to converse with Daryl, not being able to help wanting to listen, she pressed her side against the wall.
Her fingers brushed back strands of hair behind her ear, as if it would help her hearing.
"So, you don't have a wife, or a girlfriend? Why not?"
Beth had never enjoyed Daryl's silence so much. She had to cover her hand over her mouth to stifle the involuntary giggles. Channel was trying to get to know about Daryl's personal life from the source, not an easy thing to do, she could testify to that.
"Well, if you ever find yourself wanting a friend," Beth pushed herself away from the wall, straightening her posture, "You can stop by my place anytime you want." The purr mixed in with Channel's voice made Beth want to march down there and throw her out of the house.
"Thanks." Daryl's low grumble made her knees sway with weakness. This was a new sensation she was experiencing. One she hadn't felt before. It was like each and every one of her ribs had shifted around in her chest cavity, and jabbing into her heart.
You don't know what he meant by that, you couldn't see his eyes, she repeated to herself at least five times.
Refusing to hear anymore of the conversation, Beth rounded the corner and cleared her throat. She kept her eyes low as she descended the steps.
Channel stood from where she sat on the arm rest of the sofa near Daryl's boots, "Holy crap, it looks even better on you than I thought it would! Do you like it?" Channel crossed her arms beneath her breasts, making them more visible.
"It's beautiful." Beth forced herself to keep her eyes on the wooded floors.
"What do you think?" Channel's voice drifted away from Beth to be directed toward Daryl. The temptation of sapphire eyes was too great for her to overcome. Slowly, her eyes rose to find his.
Daryl had risen from the couch with one leg left kneeling on the cushion.
The intensity burning within his eyes nearly knocked her off her feet. She could see the heavy rise and fall of his chest from where she stood, "So much for my second opinion," Channel sighed, "Well I'll see you soon Beth, I'm glad you like the dress, oh, and too ell your sister I'll have her'send ready soon." Beth began fumbling with her bracelets, removing her eyes from his, not catching a word Channel said.
"And I hope to see you sooner."
Beth's eyes were like daggers watching Channel sway her hips as she walked out the front door.
She could feel the temperature in her body rise to a dangerous level. It felt like hours before Daryl broke their awkward silence.
"Yer really goin' to that thing?"
"Are you really goin' to be with her?" It was out before Beth could bite her tongue. His eyebrows knitted together, and something new was showing in his eyes, something she didn't recognize.
She waited for him to respond, when his silence began clawing at her flesh her hands slid up the planes of her arms, and rested on her shoulders, "I'm goin' to go find Spencer, he said he had somethin' to show me. I'll see you."
Twirling around, she lifted the dress with her fingers so that she wouldn't trip as she bounded up the steps.
She slid the dress down her body with trembling hands and weak knees. Her mind tortured her with images of Daryl and Channel lost in between sheets of her bed. It was an endless loop of seduction and lust between the two. Creating internal wounds that ran deep.
Leaving her toxic thoughts behind in her room, Beth descended from the stairs to find the house empty.
There was no sign of Daryl Dixon ever being there.
A/N: Short two chapter story I couldn't resist writing. The next chapter is going to be the first time I've ever published smut before, and I have to say I'm pretty nervous, but what the heck where's the harm? My computer crashed last night so I'll be using my phone for awhile for updates! I'm working on chapter five of 'The Bowmen' right now :) Check it out if you haven't already!
I'll post the second chapter to this in the next few days or so!
Feedback is always appreciated from you guys!
Have a lovely day/night! :)