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Chapter Ten: Dog Days of Summer
Beth closed one eye and squinted with the other one. Her arms were outstretched, her hands firmly gripping her pistol, finger on the trigger. She fired and hit the target in the 9 circle range.
"Not bad," Daryl commented. "You're doin' better. But you gotta hit the bullseye."
Beth lowered the gun and glanced back at him, annoyed.
"I've been hitting in the 8 and 9 range all day," She said.
"Yeah, and all day is how long we'll be out here until you can hit the bullseye." Daryl told her, unwavering. "Close enough doesn't cut it, Beth. Do it again."
Beth watched him walk away, strolling along side some of the former Woodbury residents, mostly other teenagers, showing them how to shoot.
Beth sighed heavily. It wasn't even noon yet but the heat was unbearable. She wore a straw cowboy hat to help shield the sun and as she went to take aim again she wondered if she looked like Andrea did back on the farm. The thought of Andrea made Beth sad. If she was still alive, she could teach Beth how to shoot and stab - she was the toughest chick Beth had ever known along side Maggie and Michonne.
Beth raised her gun, took aim and fired once more. This time it hit the 9 range again, so close to the center but still not quite.
"Hey, not bad," A voice said.
Beth turned to see Zach, a boy about her age from Woodbury, standing next to her. They had spoken a few times before and Beth grew to like him. When he smiled it reminded her of Jimmy in a way.
"Here, let me help you," Zach said as he moved behind her. He placed his arms and hands over hers and Beth felt herself blush when he pressed up his body next hers.
He helped her hold the gun steady as he breathed into her ear:
"You just gotta relax…Visualize hitting your target. Fire now."
Beth squeezed the trigger and grinned ear to ear when she realized she finally hit the bullseye.
"I did it!" She exclaimed. She looked back at Zach who returned her smile.
"You wanna do it again?" He asked and before Beth could nod yes, Daryl's raspy drawl made them both jump simultaneously.
"What do you think you're doin', boy?"
Daryl had come back around to Beth now and was eyeing Zach suspiciously. Zach's face went from happy to the way a kid looks with his hand caught in the cookie jar. Zach immediately moved away from Beth and even further away from Daryl.
"I was just showing her a thing or two, Daryl." Zach answered, a slight tremble in his voice.
Yeah, I bet you were…Daryl thought as he kept his eyes steady on the teenager.
"Go on, get back in line," Daryl said, deliberately putting on his best scowl. "There's only one instructor on this range and that's me."
"Yes, sir," Zach stammered and quickly went back to his place.
Beth watched Daryl's blue eyes watch Zach as he left and when Daryl turned to face her she wondered if she was going to hear some lecture. Instead he only gestured to the target with his head and said:
"'Bout time, Peaches," referring to the bullseye. "Keep it up."
…
August 16th, it supposedly was. The heat was like a thick blanket over everything. Inside the prison, there were some fans running on the highest speed, however they barely offered any relief and there wasn't enough to go around. Hershel and the Army medic, Bob, were going around making sure everybody had plenty of water to drink - a few people had already passed out from heat exhaustion. Beth watched Judith carefully the last few days knowing how dangerous a heat wave like this could be for the baby.
After practicing shooting, Beth wandered back to her cell, wet a washcloth, placed it on her forehead, and threw herself on the cot. She lay there awhile, letting the moisture soak into her skin but still feeling like stripping naked to beat the heat.
I think if I could actually peel my skin off I'd still be burning up. Beth thought.
A tapping on the bars of the cell door roused Beth to sit up.
"Ya gonna sit there and bake or you gonna come with me?" Daryl asked.
Beth let the cloth fall off her head, caught it her hand, and said:
"Go where?"
But Daryl had already turned and left.
"It's up to you, "She heard him call out. "I'm gone in the next five minutes."
…
"How do you know it's safe out here?" Beth asked.
Daryl shrugged. "I don't."
They traveled about fifteen minutes south from the prison and were staring out over a lake. Beth liked the way the sunlight reflected off the water as she tipped toed barefoot on the shoreline.
"I wish I could go in," Beth said.
"Take off your clothes," Daryl replied and Beth looked up at him, startled.
He balked a little bit at the realization of how that just sounded and quickly added:
"I mean…well…oh shit, you know what I meant."
Beth laughed. "You got me out here to go skinny-dipping with you, Daryl?"
"No!" Daryl insisted, seriously and then when he saw she was only teasing he relaxed.
"Sorry, I just…well, when I was a kid I used to spend my summers like this. Swimming in the lake. I didn't get buck naked or nothing - just swam in my boxers."
This made Beth laugh harder. "So…that's the answer to the world-famous question: Does Daryl Dixon wear boxers or briefs?"
"Who's been asking that?!" Daryl cried and Beth laughed so hard her stomach hurt.
"I'm serious…who, Beth?!" Daryl demanded to know. "Carol?! Was it Carol?! I bet it was Carol…I swear to god, that woman -"
Beth waved her arms and tried to catch her breath.
"Daryl, I'm kidding!" She exclaimed. "I'm kidding, calm down." She gathered herself together and then added with a wink: "I won't tell nobody, though...that you wear boxers."
Daryl gave Beth a mocking glare but he felt the corner of his mouth turn up.
"Ya better not, girl," He said, his mouth gradually spreading into a smile.
He began to step out of his boots, loosen his belt buckle and drop his pants. Beth looked away and felt herself flush, hoping that maybe he would think it was just the heat turning her face red - not the fact she'd never watched a man undress before.
She tentatively looked back at Daryl and watched him standing there in his boxers. He lifted his shirt over his head to reveal a broad, hairy chest and lean stomach. His eyes were scanning over the water and when they drifted back over to Beth, Daryl smirked.
"Ya see something ya like, Peaches, or are ya just browsin'?"
He didn't wait for her response. He dove into the water and Beth watched him swim out a ways. She debated whether or not to follow but as she felt a drop of sweat run down her forehead and over the bridge of her nose, she gave in and started to remove her clothes.
Beth had forgotten she had on a mismatching bra and panties and didn't want to hear Daryl make a wisecrack about it so she quickly jumped in the water before he could turn around and see her.
His back was facing hers as she paddled her way over to where he was floating. He paid no attention to her splish-splashing strokes and before she could reach him, he went underwater, disappearing completely.
"Daryl?" Beth asked and tried to spot him from above but the water was too murky to see anything. Beth splashed in the water, as if pushing some of it aside would help her see, but there was no trace of him.
He should come back up in a second. Beth told herself but when he didn't resurface she grew panicky.
There was no telling what could be in the lake - possibly some walkers. Beth didn't know if they could swim or not, probably not she assumed, but if they weren't terminated in the head a walker could be still moving around down there.
The possibility worried Beth.
"Daryl?!" She cried. "Daryl, this isn't funny…Come back up here!"
She felt something grab her legs then and she instantly screamed - certain that the scream could be heard for miles - and felt someone or something trying to pull her underwater.
She kicked and screamed:
"NO! NO! GET OFF OF ME! DARYL?!"
It was useless. Beth felt herself go under and expected to see a grisly monster chopping on her legs but instead it was Daryl, an evil smile spread across his face.
They both bobbed up to the surface, Daryl laughing manically, and Beth pushing her wet hair out of her eyes.
"Nice underwear, Peaches," Daryl laughed. "I like how they're two different colors."
Beth angrily splashed him and went to dunk his head underwater. He responded by pulling her down with him and when they came up they were both laughing breathlessly.
"You scared the shit out of me," Beth said, seriously but smiling.
"Payback for you scaring the shit out of me in the guard tower that one night," Daryl replied.
They both paused and stared at each other for a minute, both realizing that he was holding her in his arms as they floated there.
It was mid-afternoon, the Georgia sun still burned relentlessly. The water helped for cooling off but now there was a new heat that hung in the air, between the two of them. Beth noticed Daryl made no effort to release her from his arms and she wasn't about complain. Instead, she moved closer to him, feeling their legs intertwine under the water, and her arms slowly slid around his neck. She felt his muscular arms wrap tighter around her back. They were almost nose-to nose when Daryl spoke, his voice lower than usual:
"Your daddy asked me what's been going on between us…not long after that whole fireworks stunt we pulled."
Beth swallowed hard and admitted that Maggie had asked her the same question too.
"What did you tell her?" Daryl asked.
"Well…what did you tell my father?"
"What did you tell your sister?"
Beth hesitated. She never noticed just how blue Daryl's eyes were until now being this close to him.
"Honestly…" Beth whispered. "I didn't know what to tell her, Daryl. I don't know what's been going on between us. I said we're just friends. I mean…that is the truth, right? We are friends, aren't we?"
Daryl looked as if he was hurt she would imply that they weren't friends.
"Of course we are," Daryl said. "That's what I told Hershel. "Just friends"…"
He chuckled. "Your old man don't seem to believe me though…If I was him, I don't think I would either…"
"So is that it?" Beth asked, slightly disappointed. "We're just friends, nothing more?"
She was so close to him she could feel his chest rise and fall as he sighed. He shook his head gently, sending little drops of water flying.
"I don't think it would be a good idea if we were anything more, Beth."
"Why not?" Beth asked, leaning further into him, tilting her head so her mouth was angled with his.
"Why not?" She asked again, this time barely audible. Her lips hovering right over his, daring him to kiss her.
"Why not?" He repeated, softly.
They both seemed to be asking themselves the same question: Why not? What was stopping them?
They were kissing before either one could say anything else. They were slow, chaste kisses at first that quickly escalated into faster, deeper kisses. Daryl continued to hold Beth while she placed her hands, one of each side of his head, planting kisses all over his scuffy face.
"Oh, Daryl," She breathed and just hearing her saying his name like that drove him crazy.
"Beth, baby…" He whispered in between kissing her lips, nose, cheeks, forehead - anywhere he could put his mouth on.
He titled her head to one side and planted kisses along her neck that resulted in a low purring sound from her throat. He kissed his way back up to her face and whispered in her ear:
"You make me feel like a teenager all over again,"
Beth smiled as she ran her fingers through his wet, tangled hair.
"Is that a good thing?"
"Yessss…." He moaned against her smile and pressed his mouth on hers again.
They continued to kiss a bit more until Daryl finally had to force himself to release Beth. She looked at him confused for a second, made a move to go back in his arms but he gently pushed her aside.
"We need to get back," He said and started toward the shore.
Beth watched him swim away. Suddenly the water felt very cold without his body next to hers. She shivered as she stepped out of the water despite it being the hottest day of the year. He had disappeared once again. Beth heard rustling in a nearby bush and seconds later Daryl emerged, still shirtless but his pants were on. He held his wrung out boxers in one hand and gestured with his head over to the bush.
"Go over there and get out of your wet underwear," He said.
Beth gathered up her discarded clothes and walked over to the bush. While she changed back into her clothes, she wondered how she was going to explain a soaking wet bra and panties to Maggie but decided she'd just have to hide them. As she emerged from the bush she spotted Daryl, already back on the bike, slipping into his shirt. Beth knew he had tattoos on his back, she could always see a glimpse of them peeking out from underneath the sleeveless shirts he always wore.
However this time, she noticed different marks on his back - deep, set-in scars all over. Beth trembled wondering how he got those scars and from whom.
Somebody must have done something terrible to him, she thought solemnly.
Daryl cranked the bike and yelled:
"Hey, Peaches... Ya still there? C'mon, we ain't got all day!"
Beth mounted the motorcycle and they tore off, back to the prison and braving the summer heat.
I'm going back and forth in my mind - trying to decide if they should be lovers or friends? It's kind of hard to say...what do y'all think? ;)
One last thing: I don't really write hot love scenes. Some writers on here do an incredible job writing sexy scenes but honestly I don't think I could write like that...it's just not my style. I'm really not the author to be reading if you're looking for something super hot, F.Y.I. :P