Carol was still wondering about her sudden courage to do something like this and the effect of her unskilled actions which made his body react this way - she couldn't help feeling proud about it.

She'd literally knocked him out, that was for sure from what she could see. Daryl was lying on his back - sweaty and trembling, staring almost in horror and into space at the ceiling until he turned his face to find her gaze.

When he came to his senses again, he realized - he'd come into her hand like an immature green teenager and his face flushed a bright red to the tip of his ears - his heart pounding an ominous rhythm in his chest. Without a doubt, he wanted to sink into the earth out of shame right then. He hadn't been able to get her off and now his cum was all over her hand and his belly - what a mess! - he usually lost it in a rubber or alone in the shower - no woman had ever had to deal with it - until now!

"Shit … I´m sorry … should have said somethin` … just … lost control," he stammered, trying to make sense of her tiny smile.

"Don't be sorry … it´s all right. I'll get something to … to clean this up, just give me a second," she said, smiling, her voice low and calm as she left the bed quickly.

She washed her hands and brought him a box of wipes. He cleaned himself up as fast as he could while she still couldn't help her mischievous grin - unable to hide it from him.

"What?" he asked quietly, still feeling ashamed.

"I guess you … liked this?" she asked shyly, her eyes wide and innocent.

Hell, yeah! "Uhm … I did …" he admitted, biting the inner side of his cheek nervously.

"I think the last time I did this was in high school … I'm not very skillful," she chuckled as she sat next to him - leaning against the headboard.

Daryl ran a nervous hand over his face and when the urge to cover himself became too pressing, he eventually grabbed his boxers to put them back on quickly.

Now both sat side by side again, leaning against the headboard until he made the decision to break the silence which had become more awkward with every second..

"Are we a´right? I … I didn't want t´ … scare ya … or make ya upset," he asked hopefully, gazing into her big blue eyes.

"You didn't … we're all right. Maybe … maybe it helps me to … to open up … too … you know? I never shared this with another person … maybe it's easier for me, too now," she confessed.

Daryl knew what she meant, even if he was appalled about the fact that no man had ever been able to get her this far - or wanted to get her there.

"Was it always like … that … I mean … ya husband?" he asked carefully.

"I don't think it was ever how it should´ve been, but … no, he wasn't abusive at the very beginning." Carol avoided his eyes at the last words. She didn't want to bother him with too much information, but he wanted to know it, didn't he?

"But ya married him … why?" Daryl was surprised by his own courage and also about his unexpected curiosity to ask private questions like these, but maybe he needed to know more about her, to figure out what she needed, how he could treat her right and how he could earn her trust. Besides - he really wanted to know why a woman like her had married a bastard who hadn't given a shit about a woman he promised to love and respect forever at the altar once.

Carol barely knew the stranger next to her, but nevertheless, she felt already familiar with him and close to him in an odd way - she was willing to answer his questions.

"I had just finished high school when I had to care for my mother as my father left … she had ALS and I supported her the best I could until she died. Suddenly, I was twenty-five - I had no money, no college degree, almost no social connections … nothing! Ed and me … we got to know each other at the diner where I worked … he was kind and charming then." The sad smile on her face faded quickly when she had to swallow hard. "… and later I thought I would have no choice, except to stay … and wait for better times … hoping to finally do everything right, so he would have no reason to … to become upset."

Daryl swallowed hard at her declarations - wondering if assholes like this would ever die out - sorry bastards who would treat a woman like this, but he knew one of them all too well – his old man was a prime example for this low species.

"Yer a strong woman … we fight him," he said as he took her hand in his - prudent but hopeful. The next moment he realized, that maybe he'd promised too much - but possibly his will to try was already a tremendous gesture - perhaps much more than anyone else had offered her until now.

Carol gave him a warm smile until her gaze went into a different direction - the smile faded. He followed her eyes to find the distraction she spotted now - the clock on the nightstand.

She eyed him, knowing he noticed it, too.

"It´s time," she determined almost sadly.

Daryl nodded, rolled himself out of the bed - stretching his body. She watched him as he picked up his clothes and got dressed again without ceremony. She couldn't help but notice again how handsome he was, from head to toe.

Carol moved her body to sit on the edge of the bed as he stood at the door, ready to leave.

"I think I'll find the door … ya don't have to get up … jus´ go to sleep. So … uhm -" he stammered.

"There is something for you on the sideboard in the hallway," she remarked quietly.

Daryl knew immediately what she meant and nodded with a half smile "A´right … so … see ya."

"See you," she said shyly, delighted.

One last look and he left the bedroom, closing the door behind him quietly. He found the white envelope on the sideboard - written with tiny black letters in a beautiful font the words

See you!

A tiny smile crossed his lips.

The silence was overwhelming when she found herself alone in the bed then - between the warm sheets - warm because of him. The last conversation with him after everything which had happened should have weighed heavily on her shoulders, but she couldn't help but notice how aroused she still felt. What the hell was this man doing to her? Carol quickly made the decision to remove her underwear to help herself and felt pretty shocked and embarrassed about how soaked she was, hoping he hadn't thought it was repulsive - but he should be used to something like this - maybe.

When her hand found her slick and swollen folds, her touch slowly moved to the spot she needed it the most, and it didn't take her long to find release from the pressing tension which had built up because of him. Carol leaned back as the events of the evening popped up in her mind again until she finally drifted away into a salvific sleep.

When Daryl got home, he quickly took a shower to cool his heated body down, and made his way to his bedroom, putting the envelope away with the others - he didn't want them lying around in his range of vision. Maybe he was still ashamed about what he did, how he earned his money - that he sold himself like an object, because sometimes he didn't feel much human anymore.

There were a lot of envelopes in his nightstand - but he knew which one of them belonged to which woman. There were a few marbled - the ones Deanna put in his back pocket with a thankful smile when she hugged him every time he left, and a blue one from Jacqui - she always placed them on the nightstand when she waited for him at the hotel room - already in its place when he arrived.

There were still two in a light pink with lipstick prints in red - Andrea loved to put them into his boxers and he always felt like an idiot - good she's not his problem anymore!

Daryl´s nightstand was like his personal bank establishment - every time when his wage was depleted and he needed money, he blindly took one of the envelopes like he would make a withdrawal. Meanwhile he obviously had more money than he needed, but he felt more comfortable with the reserve - the small savings, and besides who knew what the future would bring?

Now there were also two envelopes in a plain white - Carol's.

He still felt embarrassed about what had happened - that he'd cum into her hand - and he would like to hide under the carpet if he had one - just the thought of this situation made his ears burn again. But perhaps this was really all right for her, like she'd said, and he wondered what it was about her touch which let him react so fast.

Women had touched him before - grabbing his dick or squeezing his ass became normal for him, but he really hated how Andrea had buried her nails into his shoulders in the past or slapped his ass like she wanted to spur him on.

But Carol´s touches felt different - like she wouldn't only be interested in her own pleasure - it felt like she would also care for his pleasure - care for him.

Daryl knew he owed her something - he really wanted to retaliate against her to give her something back. He didn´t know how yet, but he would figure this out - he had to!

FUCK!

When Daryl left the hotel room where he'd met Jacqui the next evening he felt like an incompetent idiot par excellence. It always ran smoothly with her, but today everything had gone awry - he just hadn't been able to make his body react like it should, no matter how hard both tried it - it was desperate, he couldn't get a hard-on. He'd tried to explain himself, and told her something about being stressed and that it wouldn't happen again, but he knew she had been disappointed - he'd felt it. Daryl felt embarrassed to his bones, but nevertheless had gotten her off and she'd acted quite understanding - but he'd felt like shit that he couldn't give her what she needed.

For sure it was a mistake that he'd accepted another appointment just one day after he'd already had one, but he hadn't expected to shoot all his powder at his meeting with Carol. Maybe it would've been better if the appointments would´ve been in a different order, so Jacqui could've used his virility and he wouldn't have made a fool out of himself with Carol - nice idea, but it was already too late. He wasn't twenty anymore, so he had to plan his appointments more carefully - you live and learn!

It seemed to become a habit that Carol called Glenn Rhee on Tuesday to make an appointment with Daryl for the end of the week. Their appointments were something she was able to look forward to and maybe it was her highlight of the week and helped her to get through her daily work routine more easily. Carol also needed time to let the impressions get settled - the weekend gave her the perfect excuse to do this.

But something was weird about the phone call this time, when Mr. Rhee asked her in a serious tone if she was pleased with her choice and if Daryl had performed his job well. She answered his questions in the affirmative, but an awkward feeling of confusion built up in her. What if Daryl´s boss learned they hadn't had sex and it would become a problem for Daryl, because their meetings wouldn´t apply as successful. But how would he know this? she thought - she was being paranoid! Possibly her worries were gross exaggerations and the questions were just a part of the quality management in this agency - who knew!?