AN: Here we are, another chapter.
I appreciate your response to the story so much! I'm excited to hear what you have to say each step of the journey! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! This is not slotted to be a short one, though, so we're going to get to see a good bit of them navigating things together.
I hope you enjoy the chapter! Remember to let me know what you think!
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The closer they got to the restaurant where they were supposed to eat, the more crowded the area became. Rather than fight to get the bike through the crowd, Daryl got them on the right street and found a spot to park that pleased him. Then they set off on foot to cover the last few blocks.
Carol didn't mind the walk, and she told Daryl as much after he asked several times if she was sure that she wouldn't rather him drop her off before he went searching out a park.
It was a nice night. There was a touch of coolness in the air that made her leather jacket feel justified. Walking, she could wrap herself around Daryl's arm and borrow some of his body heat. She could see the stars that were visible even though there was a multitude of bright lights above them that came from the establishments around them.
She could hear the sounds—mostly the sounds of motorcycle engines and people being loud—and she could smell all the scents that filled the air.
She didn't mind the walk at all.
She only let go of Daryl's arm when he offered her a cigarette, and then she still held on with one arm. He didn't seem to mind, either. He walked in a pretty relaxed fashion beside her.
Nobody that they passed looked at them strange. None of the other obvious bikers seemed to realize that she was just an imposter—someone who had never been anywhere where so many bikers were gathered together at once. They all just walked on by on their way to wherever they were going. A few threw up a hand and, every now and again, someone mumbled out a greeting. Others, from their bikes, yelled out greetings that were meant for the entire street.
"You like seafood?" Daryl asked. "We come to this place about every time we get down here. There's bigger places—but they usually a little more crowded. This place, everybody is nice. It's biker-friendly."
"Isn't everything biker-friendly, here?" Carol asked.
Daryl laughed to himself.
"You do got a lot to learn. Not hardly. A lotta places shut down while we're down here. Some'll stay open, but you know just about the moment you get in there that you ain't welcome. They'll follow you around the whole time you lookin'. They're waitin' for you to pocket something. Sometimes they'll even say you did when you didn't—start some shit that never needed to be started."
"But if you aren't guilty..." Carol said.
"Oh you'll prob'ly get away eventually, but then you wasted a lotta time on that situation. It's better to just leave the minute you get a feeling that you ain't welcome," Daryl said. "There are some vendors down here, though. You might find you somethin' you like."
"I don't want to buy anything," Carol said. "I didn't come down here to spend money that I don't have on things that I don't need."
"Your own jacket, at least," Daryl said. "An' who the hell said you was buyin' it?"
"I don't want you buying me things," Carol said.
Daryl laughed.
"Well you gonna have to get used to that. You my ole lady now—so I'ma buy you somethin'. Besides—everybody needs their own jacket. Just—somethin'. You gonna be an ole lady now. You need one."
"I have Andrea's for the time being," Carol said. "And she's got several."
"And you get one of your own. I want you to have it. And a good pair of ridin' boots."
"I don't need anything!" Carol insisted.
"It's for protection," Daryl said. "Call it a Christmas gift or a birthday gift or...whatever. A jacket and boots. They're just basics, Carol. Staples like bread an' milk. You'll get more'n your money's worth out of 'em. I swear."
"You mean I'll get more than your money's worth out of them," Carol said.
"That too," Daryl agreed.
"I just—don't want to start this off like that," Carol said. "I don't want you thinking that I'm...I don't know...that I came here to suck you dry or that I'm after your money."
Daryl laughed and dropped his arm around Carol's shoulder. He hugged her to him as they walked.
"Don't'cha worry about that," he said. "If you was here just for my money, you'd be a sad, sad woman right now. I ain't tryin' to buy you or nothin' like that. It's just—I like you ridin' with me. A good jacket and a pair of boots is just basic gear. That's all. Just—don't fight me on it, OK? This one time?"
Carol sucked in a breath and willed the tension that had come into her body to leave when she released the breath.
"OK," she said. "Just as long as we understand each other."
"Crystal clear," Daryl said. "Now—I'm gettin' surf n' turf. What suits you?"
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Daryl watched Carol suck butter off her fingers and laugh at something that Sadie said to her. They had bonded fast—they were both the new kids in town.
But you wouldn't have guessed from watching them from the outside.
Carol had slung Andrea's jacket over the back of her chair. The shirt she was wearing was nice. It matched her eyes. Daryl liked the way that the little silver bracelet looked on her wrist. Much like Carol had said, when she'd been admiring the piece of jewelry earlier, Daryl liked what it stood for as much as anything else.
The night was wearing on. When they all finished their meal, they'd walk the street that Daryl and Carol had already walked. Most of them were parked near the restaurant, so they'd have to walk back to get their bikes. Daryl and Carol wouldn't have to put in the second leg of the walk. Then, they'd all split up. Some of them would go for drinks. Others would go back to the motel to spend their evening as they pleased.
Daryl and Carol would go back to the motel. It was a thought that simultaneously horrified and excited Daryl.
He only hoped that he didn't let her down too badly or, at the very least, that he could convince her that, given time and practice, he could be whatever the hell she wanted him to be. She still had no idea, after all, that he really had very little to offer her in the bedroom—or in any area of life, really.
"So—you couldn't wait to eat your supper 'fore you had your dessert?" Merle hissed into Daryl's ear as he leaned into him. He laughed quietly. "That it, brother?"
"Shut the fuck up, Merle," Daryl hissed back his older brother.
Luckily nobody was really paying them any attention because nearly everyone at the table was occupied with some kind of conversation.
"Don't be ashamed, brother," Merle said. "Hell—I got a quick piece myself. Makes the whole evenin' go better. You waitin' on it the whole time, you start to get antsy. Get you a quick piece an' you can ride out the whole night with an easy feelin'."
Merle could give long-ass speeches on pussy and its merits if anyone wanted to listen. The funny thing was that Daryl was pretty sure that Merle had probably had his fair share of pussy in his early years, but Daryl would have bet his left nut on the fact that Merle hadn't so much as been too close to a pussy except Andrea's in two damn decades.
But his brother liked what he liked. Daryl just did his brain the favor of trying, most of the time, to ignore the fact that when Merle pontificated on pussy, he was probably always talking about Andrea's. Daryl simply didn't need that kind of thing bumping around in his brain.
Daryl frowned at his brother.
"It weren't like that, Merle," Daryl said. "Just some shit we had to talk about. You know about talkin', don't'cha? I imagine you an' Andrea prob'ly done it once or twice when you was first gettin' together."
Merle laughed. He was in good spirits. There was no doubt in Daryl's mind that his brother had, indeed, gotten pussy since it did always seem to improve his mood. He was also enjoying having the whole club together. He loved big group events. Of course, he also liked places that gave him heaping plates of steak and seafood, so they were pretty much in the best possible position for Merle Dixon.
"I'm just givin' you hell, brother. But—I can't help but notice that the lil' lady's got herself a piece of jewelry that she weren't wearin' this morning. You know where she got it from?"
"You know where the hell it come from, Merle," Daryl said with a sigh.
"Just meanin' you lookin' forward to a good weekend, brother, or..."
Daryl swallowed. He felt his face grow warm and he had the uncontrollable urge to smile. He didn't try to fight it.
"Means I got me an' ole lady," Daryl said. "That's what the hell it means."
Daryl didn't expect his brother to hoot like he did, but Merle did release a sound that was very close to a hoot. He drew the attention of everyone at the table and immediately washed his mouth out with a swallow of beer before he stood up.
"Waitress? Waitress?" He called, catching the attention of the waitress that was serving them. She was clearly pleased to be serving them because, unlike some people, she thought they'd be good tippers—and they would be. "Can I get—I want a round of drinks for everyone. Everyone. Everybody gets what the hell they drinkin'. Can you do that?" She gave him a "yessir" and practically jogged off to fill his order.
Daryl shook his head and mouthed an apology to Carol when she immediately looked at him for an explanation. He offered another apology, mouthed just the same way, to Alice's companion since she had turned to see what Carol was looking at and was now expecting Daryl to let her in on what was happening.
"I got an announcement to make," Merle said. "It maybe isn't my announcement to make, but I gotta make sure that it gets made an' I know my brother well enough to know that—well, if we leave it in his hands he'll just keep it quiet an' see if we can't figure this shit out. So—I'ma help everyone figure it out. Most of you—with the exception of the prospects down there at the end of the table—been knowin' me an' my brother a long damn time. Who you might notta knowed a long time, though, is our fine House Mouse. Mouse—darlin'—could'ja stand up?"
Carol looked at Daryl, wide-eyed, and all he could do was apologize to her again.
"Stand up? Just a minute, darlin'. Let everybody get a good look at'cha."
Carol's face ran red, but she stood. Daryl tugged at his brother's arm, trying to get his attention to make him stop. There was no stopping Merle, though, once he got started. It would have been easier to stop a freight train.
"If you didn't know it yet, this here's Carol. Take a good, long look at her boys," Merle said. "Ladies, you too. Because this lil' Mouse is spoken for an' she's takin' my brother fresh off the market. Stand up, Daryl. So ever'body can congratulate you! My brother done gone an' trapped him a mouse to call his ole lady!"
In good nature, everyone at the table applauded. Daryl did stand up so that Carol wasn't the only one standing, and then he gave her permission to sit with a wave of his hand. She gladly took it.
"Hell—Merle never was one for lettin' you make your own announcements," Daryl said. "Not that I figured it merited a formal announcement or nothin'."
"To hell it didn't!" Mac announced from his seat. "This here is a momentous occasion!"
"May the ride be smooth an' long, brother!" Willis barked from his spot.
Carol buried her face in her hand, but she didn't look quite as mortified as she probably could have. Daryl laughed nervously to himself.
"I wanted to keep her around a little longer 'fore I let her know what a buncha fuckin' assholes you all were," Daryl said. "But—I guess the cat's out the bag now."
"Speakin' a' cats..." Cash offered. He didn't finish his statement. He didn't have to. It was simply meant to stir up some laughter and it did just that.
Daryl sat down and leaned across the table to toss another whispered apology in Carol's direction. Luckily, as quickly as the announcement had drawn everyone's attention, they'd lost interest in it. There would be a great deal more heckling and harassment, but it wouldn't come all at once. They'd want to savor it. They'd want to make it last.
They could draw shit out until they were shoveling dirt over someone's face. It was an art form that every brother seemed to master.
But Carol gave Daryl a genuine smile and mouthed to him across the table that it was "OK" before she returned to eating her dinner and entertaining the woman next to her who needed to be filled in on much of what had happened at the table.
Daryl accepted his drink when the waitress brought it, and he smiled, in spite of himself, when he noticed is brother grinning at him.
"Here's to a long an' smooth ride, brother," Merle said, raising his glass in Daryl's direction. "Hope it's the best damn ride a' your sorry ass life."
Daryl laughed to himself. He nodded his head. He raised his glass up and touched it to his brother's.
"Fuck it," he said. "I'll drink to that."
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AN: That's the last one for the day. I'll be back when real life allows.
Don't forget to check the back chapters to make sure you didn't miss any!
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