AN: Here we are, another chapter here.
I'm kind of stuck in this story right now, so this is one of several updates very recently (with more in the works). If you've missed the others, please go back and read them. If you have time, please review them! As always, reviews are love and they help drive inspiration and production. LOL
I hope that you enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think!
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"You can change in my room," Carol said. "You know the way…"
Andrea laughed to herself. The bag over her shoulder would take her from daytime lawyer to after-work old lady. Carol had seen the transformation, now, several times.
Andrea was off work early.
Carol had barely gotten finished with lunch before Andrea was texting her to ask if she'd run some errands with her. Carol had accepted the invitation almost immediately—especially when Daryl assured her that there were plenty of people to finish scrubbing up at the motel.
Now Andrea was going to get changed so that she and Carol could run errands and, then, they would pick Sophia up before they headed to the motel.
But, first, Andrea was going to answer a few questions for Carol.
"I know where your room is," Andrea said. "But—don't you want my help?"
"Now?" Carol asked.
"Now's as good a time as any, Carol," Andrea said. "Besides—it's not like you've never seen me change clothes before."
Carol accepted and followed Andrea into the bedroom. Andrea unpacked her clothes on the bed and then slowly started working her way out of the dress clothes she was wearing to hang them on the hanger she'd brought.
"So, what's on your mind?" She asked. "Since you seem confident that I can help. Oh—and before I forget? I talked to the judge today. Carol we're looking at seven to ten business days before you're holding those documents in your hands."
Carol's stomach flipped with what she could only imagine must be excitement mixed with a little bit of anxiety.
"Just like that?" Carol asked.
Andrea smiled at her over her shoulder as she worked her way out of her pantyhose.
"Just like that," Andrea said. "Edward Peletier signs away his rights to one Sophia Lynn Peletier, and Carol Ann McAlister Peletier is a free woman. Free to marry again—whenever it may strike her fancy."
"Daryl would like to do it as soon as possible," Carol said.
Andrea hummed.
"But when would Carol like to do it?" Andrea asked. "You have just as much say as he does, you know?"
"I know," Carol said. "And—really? I'm happy to marry him tomorrow."
"That's a little different than the last time we talked about it," Andrea said.
"I haven't not wanted to marry Daryl," Carol said. "Not since I accepted the proposal."
"No," Andrea ceded. "But you sound surer of the fact that you want to marry him. I guess that's what I mean. It's not that your mouth is saying different words, it's that your tone of voice is saying different things."
Carol smiled to herself.
"I'm sure," she said. "I hope that he's sure, but—I'm sure."
"And I'm fucking happy to hear it," Andrea said. "Because Daryl's sure. I think he's been sure since—even before that weekend when he asked you to be his old lady. God—he would have married you before you ever fucked him." She laughed to herself. "But that's just how Daryl is." She was stripped down, now, to her underwear, and she went about hanging her clothing slowly on hangers and putting it to the side so that she could put it in her car.
Without her clothing, Carol could see the healing burns—some still covered with fresh bandages while others were already healing with the open air.
Carol could also the evidence of the baby she was carrying.
"You told me you wanted to talk about sex," Andrea said, catching Carol's attention. "Was I mistaken in thinking it was going to be between you and Daryl?"
"Hmmmm?" Carol asked.
Andrea smirked at her.
"You're staring at me pretty hard," Andrea said. "It's hard not to notice."
Carol felt her face run warm.
"I guess I was staring," Carol said. "I was noticing your belly. You're starting to show."
Andrea smiled to herself and gently brushed her hand over her the slight show.
"Barely," she said. "It could be just too much junk food."
"But it's not," Carol said. "And you know it."
Andrea nodded.
"We're worried now with the burns," she said. "They're healing, mostly, as you can see. The doctor says they're healing really well. And I'm keeping the salve on them that I'm supposed to put on there. It's just that—as my belly grows, it's tough for that skin to keep up. I don't care, though. We'll figure it out. Some of them break open, but we just keep treating them. They'll heal."
"Whoever did it—Merle's going to find them," Carol offered.
Andrea hummed.
"It'll come out eventually, or it won't," she said. "There have been a lot of unsolved mysteries surrounding the clubs."
"You mean like this?" Carol asked.
"And worse, sometimes," Andrea said, starting to work her way into the pants she was going to wear. Carol noticed, immediately, that they were jeans, but they were maternity jeans. Andrea could probably squeeze into non-maternity pants, but it was clear that vanity was not something she was holding onto at the moment.
"Like what?" Carol asked.
"It doesn't matter," Andrea said. "Not right now. And I don't want to talk about sad things, Carol. Or even bad things. These days—I'll just start crying all over the place. I want to talk about fun things. Sexy things. What'd you want to talk to me about?"
Carol's face ran warm and she got comfortable sitting on the bed.
"I'm embarrassed now," she admitted. "I don't know if I—want to ask anymore."
"Because it's sex?" Andrea asked. Carol nodded. "I love sex. There's no need to be embarrassed. I love everything about it. Talking about it. Thinking about it. Doing it. I was thinking about it while I was driving over here—so if you've got something sexy on your mind, and you want to talk it through? Lay it on me because I want to hear it."
Carol couldn't help but laugh at Andrea's enthusiasm. She didn't know if it was for her benefit or if it was genuine, but it didn't really matter.
"I don't really know much about sex," Carol said. "Not—not beyond the basics. And I've learned a lot with Daryl. But—Ed was pretty boring and pretty…I think really bad at it. I never had a girlfriend to talk about it with."
Andrea hummed.
"Merle taught me about sex," Andrea said. "Of course—that first lesson was probably not the best lesson ever. I didn't really give him a lot of information. Made him think I knew more than I did. Pissed him off, too. First time out I kind of pushed him into it. Now I know he was pissed. It was one of those—I'll show you, bitch, kind of fucks. I nearly passed out and I got blood all over the back seat of his car. He's never forgiven himself."
Carol frowned at her.
"And you came back?" Carol asked.
"There was nowhere for things to go from there but up," Andrea offered with a shrug. "I didn't have anywhere else to go, anyway."
"What about your family?" Carol asked.
"Didn't I tell you that I didn't want to talk about shit topics?" Andrea asked. "Jesus, Carol—tell me something good! What do you want to know? What do you want to do?"
Andrea straightened up from where she'd been leaning and she pulled her shirt over her head. She used her arms to stretch the shirt out and make it more comfortable. They were going to clean at the motel after they ran by to pick up their vests and to pick up Sophia. There was no need pretending that they needed to be dressed enough to really impress anyone.
Carol took a breath and blew it out.
"You swear you're not going to give me hell?" Carol asked.
"I gave Alice tips on how to eat a girl out when she was seventeen—what a girl really wants," Andrea said. "I would've shown her, personally, but Merle's way too damn jealous for that if she wasn't going to let him watch and—Al's a lot like Merle's sister. Shit might've gotten weird at Thanksgiving." Carol laughed to herself. "I also cleaned and organized a veritable assortment of sexual accoutrements for you, Carol. Including beginners' toys for a little light bondage. So…at what point am I going to be overcome with the need to shame you for your sexuality? I told you—I'm pro-getting ass that makes you happy for everyone."
Carol groaned, appreciative of Andrea's attempts to lighten the situation.
"OK," she said, "here's the thing…"
She broke off and laughed sincerely when Andrea practically skipped in place before she came over to sit on the edge of the bed with Carol—fully prepared to listen to her requests.
"Well?" Andrea pressed.
"I want to give Daryl something—special," Carol said.
"I don't mean to like be weird if you didn't already know it," Andrea offered, "but if you think we talk about this, they talk about it more. Listen—from what Merle's told me, everything you've given Daryl has been special. So special that he's pretty fucking unbearable to the brothers who aren't good at just being happy for him."
Carol's face burned hot. Very hot.
"Merle's happy for him?" Carol asked.
Andrea smiled broadly.
"Merle couldn't be happier for him," Andrea said. "Merle is also pro-getting ass. It's one of the reasons we've always worked so well together."
Carol nodded her head.
"Merle's talking to Daryl is—as long as we're confessing? It's what made me think you might be the one to ask about…doing something for him."
"What do you have in mind?" Andrea asked.
"He's mentioned more than once that you let Merle…you know…"
Andrea laughed.
"Carol—you might not want to know all the things I've let Merle do," Andrea said. "So why don't you come out with it instead of making me guess?"
Carol groaned.
"Do you do—ass stuff?"
Andrea smiled and Carol did see her cheeks blush red. She might be willing to do it, and she might be willing to talk about it, but the blushing was, evidently, a normal response.
"Sometimes," Andrea said. "Some stuff. You want to—do ass stuff with Daryl?"
"Confession?" Carol asked. Andrea nodded. Carol mirrored her nod because it simply felt normal to do so. "Ed never—touched me there. He thought it was disgusting. Really, I think he thought I was disgusting, but…it doesn't matter. My point is…Merle must have told Daryl it's good because he's mentioned it more than once."
"He's trying to push you?" Andrea asked.
"He's just mentioned it," Carol said. "Daryl—he's so patient and so gentle and…he never makes me feel like I have to do anything. I guess, that's why I want to do something for him. Something different that he'll like."
"He'll like anything you do for him," Andrea said. "But—I think I understand the symbolism behind it, too. If you're into it…if you want to think about it..."
She got up and went to the closet. Carol watched her as she burrowed around in the box of toys that she'd left—items for beginners, she'd called it—and came out with a cotton bag. She carried the bag over and opened it up, spilling the contents out onto the bed like she would have if it were a bag of marbles.
"These are—plugs," Andrea said. "Think of them as training wheels. If you try to ride a bike, and you've never been on one before, you're going to bust your ass and you're going to get hurt. Trust me on that. These are like—stepping stools. You start small. You can always step up. And lube? It's your friend."
Carol laughed to herself.
"We have like four bottles in the bathroom," Carol said. "And one in the nightstand. Daryl brings it home all the time."
Andrea smiled.
"He learned that from his brother," Andrea said. "I don't care what we're doing, Merle knows that if there's no lube in the house, there's no pussy on offer."
Carol picked up one of the glass items and turned it over in her palm.
"Does it hurt?" She asked.
"Depends on how you do it," Andrea said. "I'm maybe not the girl to ask about that. I like when it hurts. At least—a little. I'm probably fucked in the head and a psychiatrist would probably have a field day with me because…no matter how good it is? I can't, you know, get there if it doesn't hurt a little. Still—it doesn't have to hurt. Start small. Lots of lube. You'll be fine. Sometimes you might like the smaller ones and—you know—regular fucking. Combine it. Double the sensations. You'll figure out what's good to you."
"That doesn't sound like what Daryl had in mind," Carol said.
Andrea laughed.
"Then you tell him to change his fucking mind," Andrea teased. "Really, though, he's like his brother and he's going to be fascinated by getting to put new things in new places. It'll be good enough if you say it's good enough. Just tell him to go slow, make sure he knows you're calling the shots, and tell him not to put anything in there that doesn't have a back on it or you're going to end up having to explain shit to Alice. And she's great and she's helpful, but she will fucking give you hell…so keep that in mind. Other than that—just have fun. Do what feels good and…enjoy a little experimentation with Daryl. Besides, Daryl loves you. He's going to love absolutely anything that you want to do with him—and even better if it's new and exciting. I'm a little jealous, really. Twenty years and there aren't that many lands left unexplored between Merle and me."
Carol laughed to herself.
"But now there's a baby coming," Carol said. "Parenthood is a whole other adventure."
Andrea smiled.
"That's true," she said. "Speaking of—if you didn't have any other questions, we better get a move on if we're going to get those vests before we have to pick Sophia up."