Glad some of you enjoyed the first chapter of this! Here's another. Have a safe weekend people and thanks for reading!
Chapter Two
Daryl wasn't too worried about the arrogant ass jocks that he was fighting. Especially after that crazy ass bartender chick cracked one son of a bitch in the head with a bottle. Nah, he thought he had a chance until some giant black dude came hauling ass right towards him. That was when he started thinking he wasn't going to leave the bar unless it was in an ambulance.
He'd spent a big portion of his life in some sort of fist fight or another so he knew he had a little skill but he'd be a liar of he tried to say that when he realized the big guy was on his side, he wasn't relieved.
He had seen the guy several time throughout the night and realized that he was the bouncer. Between the two of them they had the three guys thrown out on their asses pretty quick.
"Carol, why the hell didn't you yell for me!" The big guy asked, turning and glaring at the girl.
"I was just going to give them a beer and wait for you to come back in. I didn't know there was going to be a fight," she said, hands going to her hips.
The man shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose and then looked up, studying Daryl's face. "You need to see a doctor or something? They got in a few good hits."
Daryl shook his head even though he could feel blood on his face. "I'll live."
The man shot Carol another look. "I'm headin' upstairs. For God's sake keep the damn door locked and clean this guy up."
She nodded and they both watched as the man headed towards the back, down the hallway. Finally her eyes came back to him and the corner of her mouth came up. "For what it's worth, thank you. Even though you were kind of outnumbered and that was a really stupid move." She pulled out a chair and motioned for him to sit down.
He glanced at the door and then back to the chair, thinking it would be better to just walk on home since he didn't know where Merle was so he couldn't get his keys.
"Please," she said quietly, "it's the least I can do."
He ran a hand through his hair and finally sat down in the chair she had indicated. She disappeared through a doorway and then came back with a white box. She stepped behind the bar and grabbed a bottle and two shot glasses and then sat everything down on the table in front of him.
"I figure since I'm the reason you're bleeding on your Birthday I can at least give you a few more free shots. That was really stupid of you, Daryl Dixon. I can't believe you did that," she said as she opened up a packet containing an alcohol swab.
He shrugged but flinched when he felt the sting of alcohol on the cut above his eye. "I figure, it bein' my birthday and all, I deserved more action than just sittin' around here and watching my brother make an ass of himself."
"You are a lot different than your brother," she said with a smile.
"Thank fuck," he muttered, grabbing the bottle off the table and taking a long drink.
She quirked one eyebrow at him but then looked down, readying another swab to clean his face up with. "He's not so bad. He's always been nice to me."
Daryl took advantage of her being preoccupied and let his gaze sweep over her, not for the first time tonight. The outfit she was wearing left very little to the imagination but there was something about how she carried herself that told him that this wasn't her. The heavy eye makeup and the revealing clothes, non of that was her. When he studied her face closer he narrowed his eyes. "Carol, right? That's your name?"
She nodded, meeting his eyes.
"Reynolds?" He asked, sure he had the right person.
She nodded again and then jumped when he laughed.
"Holy shit. You went to my school."
She frowned and shook her head, her face growing hot.
He grinned. He remembered her now, even though she was nearly unrecognizable. "You were two grades ahead of me. Goddamn, you changed." And she had. He remembered seeing her a time or two, usually getting picked on by the more popular girls. She was always wearing outdated clothes and her hair was always messy and she always had her nose shoved into books and she always seemed to walk with her head down and her shoulders slumped like she was waiting for the whole world to come crashing down on her. He remembered because he had silently sympathize with her. A few times he had even came close to talking to her when they would pass in the hallway. He had never gotten up the courage to do it though.
"I don't remember you and I'm sure you got the wrong girl," she said, grabbing the bottle and taking a drink of her own.
He shook his head. "No, it was you. You're a lot different, but I remember. I don't think I ever seen you without a sweater on though. Or baggy pants or those squeaky white shoes."
Her eyes came up, meeting his, unflinching. "If you're just going to make fun of me then I'm putting the bottle back and you can go clean yourself up," she said quietly.
He took a few more swallows, watching her as the alcohol warmed his blood. She was embarrassed but he hadn't meant for her to be. "I'm not."
She sighed and for a few long moments they simply sat there, passing the bottle back and forth between them. He realized that he was getting drunk and that wasn't smart because he didn't know how he was going to get home. Merle had all his cash so he couldn't call a cab either. If he got any drunker than he was already he would surely get busted for a PI.
"I guess I need to go," he said after a while. It wasn't like he was good at conversing and he was even worse when it came to women.
"Do you have a ride coming?" She asked, worry causing a frown to form between her brows. He noticed that she'd drank a lot herself while they had been sitting there.
He shook his head. "Nah but it ain't that far. I can walk," he said as he stood up. Unfortunately, he swayed a little and she stood up with him, grabbing his arm to steady him. "Shit," he muttered, blinking as the liquor started going to his head.
She blinked a few times herself, like maybe she wasn't very steady either. "Maybe I should have left that behind the bar."
He nodded. "Maybe."
She glanced around and then seemed to make a decision. She even nodded to herself. "If you want you can go home with me and sober up. You can sleep on my couch if you want. I know the cops around here and they stake this place out all the time trying to catch someone trying to leave drunk. It's why I usually call Merle a cab."
He wasn't sure if that was such a good idea. The alcohol had done wonders to dull the pain from the hits he had taken but that also meant that it would dull his better judgment too.
"Or I can call you a cab. I mean, I wasn't trying to get you to come home with me or anything. Not for... I mean, I just meant that maybe you could eat something or get some coffee and then... Oh God. I bet you think I'm a total slut!"
His eyes went wide and he shook his head. "I didn't think you were tryin' to... You know. Not that I ain't... I mean I would." He felt his face grow hot as her wide eyes lowered and her own face flushed even more. For some reason that was the hottest thing he'd seen in a long time. She was still fucking insecure. But goddamn he was making a fucking fool of himself. "Where do you live?"
She pointed to the ceiling. "There's two apartments upstairs. I live in one and Oscar, the bouncer, lives in the other one. When I moved in I was a waitress down the street but I couldn't manage the bills so the owner said I should try my hand at tending bar. The money's good but," she looked down and tried to adjust her shirt so it covered more but it was no use, "I'm stuck looking like this every night and sometimes people get the wrong idea."
"Coffee. I can go for some coffee and then I should be good to walk home."
She smiled but now it was a nervous one. "Okay."
He followed her through the bar and then down a long hallway with a flickering fluorescent light running the length of the ceiling. She started up the stairs and he was slower, probably because he'd had a little more to drink than her. He looked up and then nearly tripped when he realized that he had a perfect view up her skirt. He didn't know what he was expecting, since she was clad in black revealing clothes. Maybe lace or some crotchless leather panties.
Jesus! What the fuck was he thinking that for? He was a freak. A gross freak like Merle.
Anyway, he wasn't expected to get an eye full of pink cotton covered in yellow smiley faces. He really shouldn't have drank so much tonight. He cleared his throat when they stopped outside her door. She didn't have to unlock it, apparently trusting the big guy across the hall. She motioned him inside.
He stood there, looking around the room. It was pretty nice and it was clean. It smelled like vanilla and oranges. He grinned like an idiot.
"What?" She asked, smiling at him, her eyes soft as they met his.
He shook his head. "I've seen apartments above bars before. This is probably the nicest one I've ever been in."
She looked around the room. "Thanks. Actually, you're the first person that I've ever had over."
"Still a loner, huh?" he asked, not paying much attention to anything but the way her lips turned up.
"I am. Despite what most people think, since I'm such a great bartender and all, I don't much like to be around crowds. I like it up here by myself. Do you mind if I go change. I can't stand these clothes."
He nodded and sat down heavily on the couch. It was a lot nicer than his couch. He leaned his head against the back and sighed. He felt stupid for even following her up here because he knew that he would be a liar if the prospect of messing around with her hadn't crossed his liquor addled mind and that was dumb because he had absolutely zero fucking game.
He started chewing his nail nervously after she wasn't back after a few minutes. Had she gone on to bed and was just going to leave him out here on her couch like a moron? Surely not. He looked up when she breezed into the room. She had changed into an oversized long sleeve tee shirt that went down to her knees. Her feet were bare, her hair was pulled up in a messy bun and the make up was washed away.
"What are you grinning at?" She asked, stopping, her hands going to her hips.
He hadn't realized he had been grinning at all. "Nothin'," he muttered. He stood up then and was about to follow her to the kitchen but he somehow managed to trip over the leg of the coffee table and damn near plowed her over. He caught her before she could fall on her ass, jerking her up quickly and with a little more force than he had meant to because she slammed into his chest hard. "Fuck," he cursed, dropping his hands. "Sorry."
She smiled. "You're a lot more drunk than I thought you were."
He snorted. "I ain't even drunk."
"I've heard that more times than I can count. But I can tell you're drunk because you were sober when I met you earlier and you were quiet and surely. Now you're smiling a lot and you're tripping over your own two feet. Me on the other hand, I can admit that I drank too much. I rarely ever drink more than a shot or two with your brother. I went overboard and I can be honest about it."
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, wincing when his palm grazed the cut above his eye.
She frowned and pulled his hand away, her fingers brushing across his brow bone as she examined the cut again. He stayed still and watched as she frowned again. "That man is the bane of my existence. I swear I wish he'd drop off the face of the earth. The world would be better for it."
"Whats the story there anyway?" He asked, remembering the bullshit that man had been saying to her.
"Disgruntled ex boyfriend. We got into an argument one night and he slapped the hell out of me. I left and now he shows up to be a jerk. Oscar usually takes care of him for me. He used to try to lay on the charm and get me back but after that didn't work, now he just tries to bully me."
He realized that she hadn't backed away from him and he could feel the warmth rolling off of her. "Then I'm glad I kicked his ass," he muttered.
Her eyes slid down from his cut, meeting his. "So am I, but next time maybe you should make sure he doesn't have two guys with him."
He shrugged. "I had back up. You were pretty damn bad ass with that bottle."
She laughed, the sound rolling through him like thunder. "I can't believe I did that. I've never hit a person in my life, let alone with a bottle. But I agree, I was bad ass." She bit her lip, and he realized that somehow, his hands were on her waist. "Thank you, Daryl. For sticking up for me. You didn't have to." And she didn't seem to mind that his hands were on her. Her cheeks were flushing deeply.
"Any time," he said, swallowing hard.
"You know, I meant what I said. I didn't ask you up here to mess around," she said, her eyes trailing down to his mouth and lingering there.
"I know," he mumbled. He was about to drop his hands and step away from her but suddenly her lips were pressed against his, surprising him.
She pulled away quickly, before he had any time at all to react. She looked completely flustered and she stepped away. "Um... coffee. I was gonna make coffee."
