Numbers

It was strange having a sex life while on the road with such a big group. In the prison, at least you could sneak off to your cell or find a deserted area, a hallway or a forgotten closet to fool around in that provided at least the illusion of privacy. But traveling with so many people and constantly being around each other, Beth had to admit, it was difficult. She was ok with people knowing that she and Daryl were together, and she was ok with people assuming they had sex. But it was another thing entirely to throw it in the rest of the group's faces. There weren't many things that you could keep private now, the danger surrounding them forcing them to live in such close quarters, but this was one thing she wanted to keep completely to herself. She wanted to protect it, cherish it, and she knew Daryl didn't like the idea of flaunting it around to everyone either. He didn't like other people in his business.

Beth had learned pretty quickly that if she wanted to have sex somewhat regularly, she had to take advantage of whatever chances they got. You couldn't just wait around hoping to get some alone time. She had done that at first, and after Glenn and Maggie and Sasha and Tara interrupting any sort of moment she and Daryl had together, she realized she was going to have to start to be smarter about all of this.

Any time that she and Daryl found themselves alone together was sacred. She didn't want to waste any second of it. And as soon as they had started, any time they were alone, her mind inevitably started trying to figure out if they had enough time to have sex.

She knew it was silly and probably spoke to her lack of experience and she wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even Maggie, but she tried to keep a mental tally of how many times they had sex. She tried to remember where it was every time, burn it into her memory. It was pretty much the only secret she got to keep to herself anymore.

They were up to five in her mental tally the first time that inspiration struck her. They had gone on a run by themselves to try to find any gas that they could bring back to the group. They were driving down a deserted road when she realized it. They were alone. And yeah, it wasn't a bed, or a chair, or a couch, but they were alone and she could see this definitely working.

"Daryl, pull over."

They had both been in survival mode up to that point and he immediately assumed there was danger close by. He glanced quickly over to her, looking worried. "What? Why? You see something?"

Feeling a bit foolish that her mind was on sex and not on surviving, she tried to convince him again. "No. Just pull over. I promise, nothing's wrong."

"I ain't pulling over 'til you tell me why."

She knew she had her crazy smile on, the wide one she got when she came up with what she thought was a great idea. "We should have sex in the back seat."

His head whipped towards her. His eyes immediately on hers, then trailed along her body, looking her up and down. That was probably the last thing he was expecting.

He didn't say anything, just kept glancing from her to the road as if considering his options, so she pressed her luck. "Come on. We don't get many chances. We gotta take advantage of it when we do."

She could see the corner of his lips start to turn up. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." She felt her smile get so big she thought it might split her face right in half. "That's why I said it."

That seemed to be all the convincing he needed. Maybe she hadn't been the only one realizing that they were completely alone. He pulled over into a tree-covered dirt road he must've deemed acceptable, then double-checked that all the doors were locked. She had scrambled into the back seat before he had even turned the engine off, taking off her shirt and throwing it at him, hitting him lightly in the face. She was laughing at his surprised expression. Thrilled about doing something that seemed so out of character for her.

He muttered a teasing "someone's proud of themselves" as he attempted to crawl into the back seat with her, getting his leg caught awkwardly between the front seat and the center console for a bit. They barely fit together in the back, and her hair got wrapped around a seat belt there for a second, and the windows were completely fogged up by the time they were done, but afterwards they lay tangled up in the back seat for a while, cherishing the time they had alone. Until he nuzzled his face into her neck, brushing his lips gently along her pulse point and whispering, "Think we have time for round two?" Five. Six.

It had become somewhat of a game for them. Trying to find places that they could be alone. More than once she secretly wished that they could be on their own again. Just for a little bit. She even admitted it to him after nine. Whispered it into the dark surrounding them. "Wish we were doing this when we had stopped in that funeral home. Would've been perfect." He let out a quiet laugh (She loved it when he laughed, it was too rare an occurrence) and agreed with her, "Yeah man, me too."

They were up to twelve when one night they were both getting off watch, switching with Rick and Michonne, heading back into the old house they were staying in. They had just gotten inside when he gave her hand a little tug, "C'mon." She looked at him questioningly, and he nodded his head towards the bathroom. Then she got it. A few minutes later she was sitting naked on the bathroom counter, Daryl standing between her legs, one of her hands tangled in his hair at the back of his head and the other resting on his chest as they kissed. Sneaking off to a bathroom when people were sleeping quickly became a favorite of theirs.

It was sixteen when she first let it slip out that she loved him. They were lucky enough to have a bed and he had just made her come. Her brain was pleasantly blank and her body felt totally spent when it just fell out of her mouth, breathy and quiet, but full of truth, "God, I love you."

She had been thinking it for a while now. Beth had always been so up front with her emotions; she had never had a reason to withhold what she was feeling. Her family had been affectionate, showing people she loved them had always come natural to her. But she had never said it to a guy before and she didn't want to scare Daryl or freak him out, so she had been trying to hold off a bit longer before telling him. It was on the tip of her tongue all the time lately, almost slipping out during pretty much every one of their conversations, after every kiss. But she kept trying to find the right time to say it. She should've known this is how it would happen. She never was good with keeping how she felt a secret.

He was shocked, his eyes widened and he backed away from her a bit. She propped herself up on her elbows and tried her best to calm him, stave off the storm that was sure to be coming, "You don't have to say anything back, Daryl. It's ok." But then he surprised her and leaned in and kissed her deep. That was all she needed to know that he'd been thinking the same.

They had learned ways to keep quiet. She realized after two that if he was on top of her, she could bite his shoulder as she came, in order to stifle any moans. She would kiss him hard as soon as she could feel him close to his edge, swallowing any sounds he would make. Her favorite method was when they didn't have a room to themselves and his hand would slip under her pants as they were trying to fall asleep in their little corner, making sure they didn't let anyone know what they were doing. He would put one hand over her mouth as his other played with her clit. His fingers sliding in and out of her. And she would bite the palm of his hand as she threw her head back onto her pillow, trying to keep her legs still and her back from arching off the floor. He would lean over close to her ear and growl, low and gravely, "Ease up, girl. Gonna draw blood."

They had just finished thirty-one when she got curious.

"How many times you think we've done it?"

"Done it?" He was teasing her, making her say it.

She rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head and smiling. "Fine, how many times you think we've had sex?"

He rolled back on top of her and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Pressing small wet kisses on her sensitive skin there. "Not enough."

A/N: Another chapter I was self-conscious about posting. But I hope you all enjoyed it! Sorry it took me so long to write a new chapter. You all know how it goes, life gets in the way. I was hoping some smutty fluff would make it up to all of you! Like always, thank you so much to everyone who reviews, favorites, or follows. You guys are way too nice to me, it always makes me smile!

Just an FYI: It's Bethyl Week over at tumblr! I'm also going to post this on there, as well as some other short fics and drabbles I won't be posting on here since they don't really fit with I have going on here. My username is mycolorfulmoniker if you want to check them out! Others are also posting some really wonderful stuff, so even if you don't have tumblr, but you love Bethyl, it will definitely make your day!