Chapter 8
Carol woke first, she felt the pressure of his body behind her, an arm draped over her shoulder. She stayed still, breathing in his scent, remembering her night of pleasure, enjoying the sound of his soft breath sounds. She needed to stretch, her body crying out to use the restroom but she didn't want this to end. Eventually her body won out and she wiggled under the weight of his arm.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." She said, turning her face toward his.
"Mmm. S'alright, you can wake me." Daryl said quietly, a smile on his lips.
"I'm gonna go make some coffee." She said, sliding out from under his grasp and standing up.
"Yeah." He said, rolling over, his face toward the couch now.
She stretched, used the restroom and headed toward the kitchen. Sounded like he fell back asleep, facing the couch. She worked quietly putting on the bacon, setting out the bread for toast and starting the coffee pot. She was pulling the jam out of the fridge when hands reached around her waist and pulled her body backward.
"G' morning." Daryl breathed into her ear. He couldn't believe the night he'd just had. This was totally unlike him. He didn't get close to people, didn't let them close to him. He'd had a few encounters before, girls at bars, usually very drunk with Merle pressuring him. It was always a quick encounter, to the point. A nameless body, using him just as much as they allowed themselves to be used. He always felt terrible after, guilty, lonely, empty. This was different. He woke up feeling like he hadn't felt before. He felt alive, excited, he felt butterflies. He wanted to be here, wanted to be with her. He wanted the night to never end, but it had. Now here he stood, his arms around her, breathing her in and she not pulling away.
"Good morning to you. Sleep well?" She asked, rubbing her hands up and down the lengths of his arms.
"You okay?" He asked hesitantly. She could feel the nervous energy vibrating around him.
She answered him with a lingering kiss. He accepted this with a smile. He looked relaxed, calm, peaceful.
"Gonna go get your plants today? We gotta take that tiller back too." Daryl said, his hand resting on the small of her back, his thumb rubbing circles.
"What about work?" She asked. "Don't you work today?"
"Yup. Saturday is a half day. Thinking I'm just gonna call in, Jim'll understand. Never taken a day off before." He spoke softly in her ear, sending shivers throughout her body. "Maybe get a slow start, eat some breakfast, then maybe watch another movie."
"Another movie huh." She smiled, turning around to face him.
"A good movie." He smiled in return. "After breakfast though. Them eggs are burnin." He smiled and backed away. She grabbed the spatula and turned toward the stove.
Carol busied herself with finishing breakfast and poured them each a cup of coffee. She reflected on their time together. She had a strange calm about all of this. It had only been a few months since the divorce had been finalized. She had told herself that she was not interested in a new relationship anytime soon. In fact she thought that being single sounded like a fine idea. No one to answer to, no one besides Sophia to have to care for, no one in her bed demanding things from her. She was quite contented these few months living in her new home, just she and her daughter.
But now, here she was tangled up with another male. Here she was cooking breakfast for him, making his coffee, worrying over him staying, but even more so worrying about when he may leave. She felt a roller coaster of emotion, unsure of how she truly felt. Besides that she felt calm, she felt cared for, she felt protected. She took a deep breath, soaked in this sensation and added food to the plates on the table. She smiled as Daryl entered the kitchen and took a seat. He looked down at his plate, then up through his lashes and small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Called the boss. He don't care if I have the day off." Daryl said picking up his fork.
"Did you tell him you were sick?" Carol asked questioningly.
"Nah. I ain't sick." He answered matter-of-factly.
"Well you couldn't just tell him you weren't coming in because you were…"Carol cleared her throat, "watching a movie with a woman you recently met."
"That's the truth ain't it." Daryl said straight faced, looking her dead in the eye.
"You didn't…" She swallowed hard, her cheeks red with embarrassment. "Tell me you didn't."
"Alright." He said, scooping another mouth full of eggs into his mouth. "I didn't."
Carol sighed with relief. "Ok then, what'd you tell him?"
"That I was watching a movie with a woman I recently met and I wasn't coming in today." He drank his last swallow of coffee.
Carol's mouth dropped open. "You just said you didn't say that!"
"Nope. You told me to tell you I didn't. So…..What'd you want me to say? You want me to lie to the man and tell him I'm sick? I'll call him back." He stood from the table walking toward the phone.
"Daryl!" She said, her voice loud. "You're impossible. You stay away from that phone." She watched him turn and head back toward the table. "Well I don't want to watch a movie if people are gonna know that's what we're doing. So we can just skip the movie and get the plants."
"I told him I was busy, that a friend could use a hand. He said it was fine, enjoy the day off." Daryl smiled as he sat back down. "Jim's a good man. He knows I work hard. He don't mind a day off here and there."
She laughed quietly, her nose wrinkling in his direction. "Let's just stop talking about it."
He grabbed the coffee pot and refilled their cups. "What you do for work?"
"I'm a tech at the hospital. I take blood pressures and temperatures. I check on the patients, make sure they're comfortable." She looked down at her cup of black coffee. "Cream and sugar?" She asked, winking at him.
Daryl went to the fridge and opened it. "You want French Vanilla or Hershey's White Chocolate?"
"Surprise me." She smiled.
He poured in the creamer, then searched for the sugar. He opened all the cabinets while she watched, not finding any he turned to her with a questioning glance.
"It's in the Lazy Susan." Carol said starting to laugh.
"The what. What the hell's a Lazy Susan?" He shook his head and spun in a circle in the small kitchen.
It's the skinny cabinet on the bottom. You open it and there's a mechanism in there that spins. It's called a Lazy Susan." She laughed out loud as he opened the cabinet and then spun the shelving inside.
"Well ain't that fuckin interesting." He said, spinning it one more time, then grabbed the bag of sugar.
"No, don't get the bag. There's a canister. You know like at a restaurant, it has the little metal lid that pops open when you pour it. It is right in front of you." She laughed at his expression as he turned and reopened the cabinet.
"Always wanted to steal one of these. Where'd you steal this from?" He said walking over, pouring sugar in his hand and tossing it in his mouth.
"Gross," she slapped at him. "Give me that. I didn't steal it, I bought it."
They chatted as they finished their second cup of coffee. Then Carol left to wash up. Daryl started the dishes, washing and drying them then searching the cabinets to put them back where they belong. Carol took her time showering, then choosing the right outfit. She felt like a high school girl again, getting ready for prom. She danced around her room, adding earrings and a touch of makeup. She smiled at her reflection, then jumped when Daryl appeared behind her. He walked up, putting his hands around her waist, pulling her backward toward him. He spoke softly into her ear, her body shivering from the sensation.
"I ain't never felt like this with someone before. I don't know what you do to me, but I like it. Now, about that movie…." He whispered quietly, soft kisses making their way down her neck. She leaned in to him, making her pleasure quite apparent.
The rest of the day seemed to go by so quickly. They'd shopped for vegetables for her garden, then made short work of planting them. Carol seemed to know how to plant many of the plants without reading the tags or looking up how. She spoke of her grandmother and how she had taught her most of the things she knew. She spoke of her parents and their work, and how she never felt like she was worth their time.
Daryl listened intently as she spoke. He found that he loved to listen to her speak. Loved hearing her childhood stories, her likes and dislikes. He absorbed what she taught him about spacing, and how may inches deep he should plant certain things. He asked questions and she answered lightly. To each of them it felt like they had known each other forever. The sun began to melt in the sky, and the quietness of their work was interrupted by Daryl's stomach crying out its hunger.
"Sorry." He said as his stomach growled loudly. "I didn't even know I was hungry." He said with a short laugh.
"No I'm sorry. I should go in and start dinner…" Daryl interrupted her.
"Let me. Let me cook for you. Hold up, I'm gonna run to the store. You get cleaned up. I'll be right back." He said, jumping up and looking for his keys.
"Daryl, I picked you up off the road, remember." Carol smiled.
"Oh, right. Can I take your car then?" He questioned. She pulled the keys from her pocket and held them out to him.
"Just don't be long okay." She smiled.
He jogged to the car and hoped in. it roared to life and he gave a quick wave as he took off toward the store.
She got another shower. She was amazed by how much dirt was actually on her body. She wondered what tonight would bring. She hoped he would stay. She knew Sophia would be home tomorrow, so tonight would have to be their last night together, at least until Sophia stayed with her father again. She frowned at the thought of him leaving. Then frowned at the thought of her frowning that he was leaving. She can't do this now, she thought. It is all too soon, too fast. Then she heard the front door open, heard his husky voice call out to her.
"I'm back. I'm a start dinner. You just relax, I'm gonna surprise ya." He shouted through the door of the bathroom.
She smiled to herself and shouted ok. Her voice sounded giddy as she shouted. She shook her head, her smile wide as she was excited to find herself in his arms once again.
He went outback and lit the charcoal grill. He could tell it hadn't been used in a long while. He let the coal start to fire and he scrubbed the metal clean of the old debris. He unwrapped the ribeye's he had purchased, and seasoned them. Then he peeled and cut up the potato's. He wrapped the ears of corn in foil and placed them on the grill. Going inside he pulled out the skillet he had seen earlier when putting the dishes away. He set to frying the potato's with his special seasoning mix. He chilled the red wine in a bucket of ice on the counter. He set the table and lit a candle he'd found in a drawer.
He heard the shower turn off in the bathroom. He heard her head into her bedroom to get dressed. He poured wine into a glass for each of them and walked out to check the grill. The timing was right. Everything was just about done. He had just finished with the plates when Carol exited her room. She wore some skinny cropped pants with a low cut stylish top. She had on eye shadow and a hint of lipstick. Her hair was styled and she wore a silver choker necklace.
"Wow. Beautiful." Daryl said, the look on his face shone he meant it. She looked at the table all prepared, the lit candle, the glasses of wine. He pulled out her chair and motioned for her to sit.
She sat down, she was quite impressed. He flipped on the stereo behind her, Stevie Knicks sang in the background.
"Daryl this is wonderful. How did you pull this off so quickly? I wasn't in the shower that long." She gazed up at him.
"Well, there might be a little hot water left at the house at the end of the block." He smiled, scooting her chair forward.
Carol took a bite, her steak cooked a perfect medium. The charcoal flavor delicious. He watched her taste each item on the plate. Once he was sure she approved of the flavor of each portion of the dish he picked up his own fork.
"Mmm." She sighed, taking another bite. "You should be a chef. This is amazing." She smiled, her foot touching his under the table.
He snorted in reply. "Ain't no chef. Couldn't deal with all that. I'm a bike guy. It's what I know."
"How'd you learn? Your father teach you." She watched his face fall then. It was like a cloud surrounded them, tension rose immediately into the room.
"Nah. Moved to Atlanta when I was fifteen. Met Jim, he offered me a job at the shop, taught me all I know." He said, his face had lost some color and his shoulders sagged.
"So you've worked there a long time. No wonder you're so good at what you do." She smiled, knowing instantly to avoid his father as a topic of conversation. "Do you like Atlanta? Big city and all?" She asked.
"No. Tried living in the city, but it's just too much noise. So many people around all the time. So we moved out here a little while back. Much more peaceful, quiet." He finished his food and wiped his mouth on the napkin and downed his wine.
"Need a refill?" she asked, swallowing her last drop as well. She filled her cup, and then started adding wine into his.
"Hey." Daryl said breaking the silence. "Wanna watch a movie, for real I mean? I stopped at the video store and rented one. Looks like a cross between action and chic flick. Figured I couldn't go wrong."
"I'd love to watch a movie with you. I hope it's a long one. You know one of those movies where you have to flip it over and watch side B." She smiled seductively.
"Well, maybe we'll have to watch it twice, you know, to really catch the plot." They rose from the table and made their way to the couch.
"What about the dishes?" Carol asked as she felt his arms wrap around her, his face inches from hers.
"Dishes can wait." He said, his mouth reaching for hers. The movie case hit the floor forgotten as they lay down on the couch, lost in a story of their own.