Here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy! :)
Chapter Twelve
At five-thirty, Carol and Daryl made it back to the main building. Both were in need of showers before their date, but Daryl wanted to help Carol pick things out of the pantry for their meal. After all, she was going to be the one who did all the cooking.
"Hmm." Carol tapped her chin as she looked around at the well-stocked pantry. Any type of food imaginable could be found and there was even a door leading into a freezer where the meat and other refrigerated items were kept.
"Hmm." Daryl mirrored.
Carol turned to him. "What sounds good?"
He shrugged. "Anything you cook up sounds good."
"Okay. How about I just close my eyes and pick? You can go into the freezer and pick the type of meat you would like. If that's okay."
"Sure." He shrugged again. "Doubt they have any squirrel or triceratops, though." Carol laughed as he walked by and opened the door for the freezer. Daryl smiled, glad that he was able to make her laugh. Especially since it had been clear that she had been nervous earlier.
"Beef or chicken is fine!" She called as he stepped into the freezer. His arms immediately felt the chill of the freezer and his breath ghosted in front of his face.
Quickly he scanned the room, surprised at all that was in there. Various meets, frozen vegetables, microwave meals and ice cream. He grabbed a package of ground beef, thinking that there had to be a few things Carol could make with the meat, and then grabbed a carton of Rocky Road ice cream.
"How does spaghetti sound?" Carol turned around just as he stepped from the freezer, a package of noodles in one hand and sauce in the other.
"Great," he answered. "I got the ground beef. And ice cream!" Her eyes lit up when they saw the desert.
"Perfect! That's my favorite ice cream!"
"Really? Lucky choice, then."
"I'm tempted to just say skip dinner and we can just go straight through to desert." Carol nodded her thanks when Daryl opened the pantry door for her as they exited. Together, they walked up to their apartments.
On the way, they passed the rec room and Carol peeked in. "Everyone's in there, except for Glenn and Maggie and they have pizza! Where did they get pizza?" She turned to Daryl.
"They had frozen pizzas in the freezer. They took the easy route and just slipped one of them into their ovens."
"Looks like we'll be the only ones eatin' well tonight."
"No, Glenn and Mag-Oh." She remembered what Glenn had told him earlier that morning and laughed a little. According to Glenn, Maggie wasn't a very good cook. Hopefully, she was a decent one for Daryl's sake. She knew how to cook but didn't do it very often. Though, she knew she was a way better cook than her mother, who tended to overcook or under cook anything she made.
They walked into Carol's apartment and deposited the food stuff on the table and Daryl put the ice cream in the freezer. "Uh, do you mind if I go shower and change?"
"No, course not. I was planning on doing the same. Besides, it's not even six, yet, so we still have some time." She smiled.
"All right. I'll be quick. See you in a few."
Clothes were flung all over his room and Daryl growled in frustration. He had absolutely nothing suitable to wear on a date. Not that he had ever thought he'd go on while he was there. All of his pants had some kind of hole in them and most of his shirts were sleeveless. And there was no one he could borrow clothes from, if he had ever gotten the nerve to ask. T-Dog and Tyreese were too big, Glenn too small and Shane and Rick didn't have his shoulders.
"Fuck," he hissed and picked up the nicest shirt he had. A worn blue plaid shirt that still had its sleeves. Next, he picked up a pair of jeans that only had a small hole in the knee. Daryl knew he would have to make do with what he had; he just hoped Carol didn't mind.
Five minutes before six, Daryl knocked on Carol's door wishing, not for the first time, that he had some flowers to give. This was probably going to be the worst date Carol would go on. He sighed in resignation.
When Carol opened the door, she was almost dressed in the same thing she had worn that morning except the blouse was a little dressier and blue. The same as her eyes. "I didn't have any clothes packed that would be considered date clothes," she admitted with a blush.
"Same here. Hope this is okay." He held up his arms for inspection.
"It's perfect." She smiled, looking him over. "Come in. I just started to fry the meat, so dinner won't be for a little bit. I hope that's okay."
"It's fine," he said and followed Carol to the kitchen. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Nope. Just sit there and look pretty."
"Ain't that what you're supposed to do?" The words came quickly to his mind, surprising him. He thought for sure he would be a bumbling mess for the rest of the night.
"How about I stand here and look pretty, then?" Turning from the stove, she cocked a hip and winked. Daryl chuckled and pulled out one of the chairs to sit in. He watched as she poured the box of noodles into a pot of boiling water and then, poured the sauce into the now drained meat.
"I'm glad spaghetti doesn't take long to make," she said over her shoulder as she stirred. "And its one of the few things, I know I can make good. I promise you won't be like Glenn and get sick for a week once we're done eating."
"Well, that's a relief," he teased.
"Should have grabbed some garlic bread," she said and then, paused. "Wait. Uh, never mind." The last part was mumbled and Daryl could barely hear. However, he did understand what she meant by that and his face flamed.
Things fell into a silence, then. Daryl gnawed on his thumb and Carol continued to fix the meal. When it was time to put the food on the table, Daryl got up and helped put the sauce into a bowl while Carol did the same with the noodles.
"Before I took a shower, I made a thing of iced tea. Is that fine?" It was clear that Carol was making every effort to make this night perfect.
"That's perfect," he answered and went to the fridge to retrieve it. He poured two glasses full before putting the jug back in the fridge. "Should you put your name on it so that no one else drinks it?" He smiled, knowing that she shared all the appliances with three other women.
"They can have it, if we don't drink it all. They can also have the leftovers of this, if we don't eat it all, too. Though leftover spaghetti is the best. I may just have to hoard it."
"Never had left over spaghetti," Daryl admitted. He couldn't even remember the last time he had the pasta dish.
"Really? Well, tomorrow night you're coming over and we'll have leftovers. It could be another date." She blushed. "If this one goes well...which I'm pretty sure it well."
"Knock on wood." Daryl knocked on the table and smiled at her. Carol did the same and then started to pile a plateful of noodles on his plate and passed the large fork to Daryl, who was still eyeing her plate.
"What?" She protested. "I'm hungry!"
"There's nothing wrong with that." Daryl filled his own plate and spooned sauce over them. Carol waited and watched as he took his first bite.
"Good?" She asked once he swallowed.
"Amazing," he answered.
Smiling, she rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that."
"No. Really. It's the best spaghetti I've ever had." He took another large bite and finally, Carol took a bite of her own.
Daryl scrubbed at the dishes in the sink and after rinsing them off, he handed them to Carol who dried and put them away. The meal had gone perfectly and he hadn't been awkward at all and Carol seemed to be enjoying herself as they talked, which was a huge relief.
"After we're done here, we can scoop some ice cream and head to my room." She paused in drying the plate in her hand and blushed. "To watch a movie," she added and quickly put the plate away without looking in his direction.
Daryl had known what she meant at first and decided not to tease her about it. Of the two, she seemed the most nervous. Actually, the only one who seemed nervous. Surprisingly.
Once the last dish was dried and put away, Daryl grabbed the carton of ice cream and two bowls. "Why don't you set up your computer and I'll get desert?"
Carol wiped her hands on her pants. "All right. I'll warn you, though, the selection of movies was thin so I've never heard of the movie I grabbed. Hope it was a good one." She left the kitchen with one last backward smile at Daryl and entered her room.
Daryl quickly scooped ice cream in the bowls. However, as he walked to the bedroom, he felt his palms began to sweat. This wasn't the first time they had been in a bedroom together, but this was the first time they did so on a date.
Carol was propping her pillows against the headboard and her laptop was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Oh. Can you turn off the lights?" With his elbow, he did and the room was illuminated by a lamp beside the bed. He closed the door with his foot, making sure that they would be left alone if the other three women decided to come back to the apartment while they were watching the movie.
"Ready?" She asked and took a seat.
"Yeah. Here." He handed her a bowl and took a seat next to her. Their shoulders brushed.
Carol set aside her ice cream and placed the laptop in her lap. "There, now we can see it better. Ready to hit play?"
"Go ahead." Carol hit play and shut the remaining light off.
The movie was good, or at least from what Carol was paying attention too, which wasn't much. Her mind was too preoccupied on the man sitting next to her on the bed. They had finished their ice cream and placed the empty bowls on the night tables on either side of the bed. From the corner of her eye, Carol could see that Daryl's hands were fidgeting in his lap, like he didn't know what to do with them. Carol wanted to grab one of them to hold, but knew she wasn't that brave.
The computer was growing warm on her legs and she moved to shift it a little lower on them. Daryl placed a hand on hers. "I can keep it on my lap, if you want."
"Uh, okay." Using both hands, she picked it up and placed it on his legs. The move gave her an idea and once the device was settled, she leaned her head on his shoulder.
"So, I can see better," she whispered, knowing full well she could see perfectly fine where she had been before.
"It's fine." In the glow from the screen, Carol saw that his cheeks were slightly red. She pushed down a smile and went back to watching the movie, determined to watch it to the end with no more distractions.
However, that plan quickly went out the window when Daryl shifted a little in his seat before lifting an arm, a little awkwardly, and placed it over her shoulders. Carol snuggled closer to his side, glad that he didn't do the typical yawn thing she had seen many guys do at the movie theaters.
"This okay?" He asked, looking nervous.
"It's perfect." She smiled brightly. Extremely happy.
Credits rolled and Carol popped the DVD from the player while Daryl gathered their empty bowls to put in the sink. "Honestly," she said, walking out into the living room. "I have no idea what that movie was about." Luckily, Sasha, Michonne and Andrea hadn't returned from the rec room and if they had, they were in their rooms.
"Same," Daryl said over his shoulder as he washed the bowls. Carol picked up the towel and was ready to dry.
"Next time, you pick the movie. Okay?"
"Got it and I'll cook the meal, too." He nudged her with his hip. "Hope you like cereal."
"Depends on the cereal," Carol played along. Quickly, she dried the two bowls and went up on her tiptoes to put them away. Two damp hands encircled her waist and once Carol was safely on the flat of her feet, she turned to see Daryl close.
"Hey," he said, voice low and eyes boring into hers.
"Hi." Her heart started to beat faster, realizing that he was the closest he had ever been.
Daryl stood still for a few minutes and Carol scrunched up her brows, wondering what he was doing. He didn't look nervous. "Daryl?" She tilted her head with the question/\.
"Sorry. Just making sure no one walks in on us right before I do this. It would be just my luck if they did." One side of his mouth quirked up in a smile.
"Do what?"
Daryl leaned down and placed a kiss on Carol's mouth. This was the first time he had ever kissed a woman, but kissing Carol seemed so natural. Before he knew it, her hand was in his hair and she was pulling him closer. He wrapped both arms around her waist and practically smashed her to his chest. Carol didn't seem to mind and pulled his head closer, as well.
However, seconds later, Daryl heard a noise from behind him and took a step away from Carol just as the door opened and Michonne, Andrea and Sasha walked in. They spotted the couple in the kitchen, waved and took seats on the couch in the living room.
"At least I got to kiss you first," he mumbled, bummed that he couldn't keep kissing Carol. But he was glad that he had taken that step and from the way Carol had reacted to the kiss, he knew it wouldn't be the last one they shared. The thought almost made him giddy.
"Daryl, Carol. Do you want to join us?"
"No, that's okay." Carol stepped around Daryl. "I was just going to walk Daryl back to his place and then go to bed. It's been a long day."
"At least she'll be coming back," Andrea snickered and elbowed Michonne in the side. The normally straight faced woman cracked a smile and so did Sasha. Carol rolled her eyes, knowing they were only kidding.
"It isn't for lack of tryin'," Daryl surprised them all by saying and stepping back around Carol, grabbing her hand along the way. Carol allowed herself to be pulled along on their way to the hallway.
"What was that?" Carol laughed and nudged him with her elbow. Their hands were still clasped together and neither one wanted to let go.
Daryl shrugged and looked away. "I don't even know. Honestly."
"I liked it." They stopped in front of his door and Carol stepped in front of him. "Are you going to kiss me, again?"
Daryl let go of her hand to cup her cheeks, like he had seen in a movie or two, and pressed another kiss to her mouth. The next seven months just got a hell of a lot better.
The smile never left Daryl's face, not even when he laid his head down on his pillow to go to sleep. The events of that night had gone perfectly. Carol had seemed to enjoy herself and he had actually manned up to kiss her.
However, just as he thought nothing could get any better, trepidation trickled into his mind. So, were they together now? What did that mean? Would they just keep doing what they've been doing? Which was fine to him. It wasn't what had him worried. What if things didn't work out between them? Just thinking that made Daryl feel sick to his stomach.
What would they for sleeping arrangements? He cringed just thinking about that, they had only kissed today and where no where near ready for that, yet. But he would love to sleep with her by his side.
Finally, he had to will his mind to shut down so he could get some sleep. Otherwise, thoughts of Carol would keep him up all night and he had feeling that he would need all the rest he could get before tomorrow.
Phillip Blake couldn't sleep. He was so excited for tomorrow. Jenner had assured them that the raptors were ready for release and had gone the last few days without food, so they would be starving when they were let out.
After their release, he and Jenner would hole up in the main building. Most of the doors were made of steel and they would be safe from the raptors. However, they doubted the dinosaurs would return to their place of capture. They would want to remain free and roam the island. As they did so, he and Jenner would watch the activities on the island from the multiple security camera they had spread out on the island like it was a reality TV show.
He couldn't wait.
Hope you loved this chapter! It's one of my faves.
And uh oh...things are going to get interesting real soon.
Thanks for reading!
