Carol woke up at 6:30, the same time she woke up every day whether she was working or not. She laid in bed for a bit, staring at the ceiling and thinking about how different things were just 48 hours ago. How alone she'd been in that depressing hotel, and the most she had to look forward to was figuring out what city she could move to and afford her own place long-term, especially if Ed continued to default on loan payments and credit cards that were in both their names. Somehow he managed to open up lines of credit and get new cards that she didn't even know about until payments were three months or more overdue and collection agencies were calling her at work. He walked out on their house, calling the bank and telling them to foreclose on it, and she only found out because the loan officer called her. He credit score had dropped almost 200 points in six months and that was just the financial aspect of it. Ed had also been following her.
She saw his car outside the grocery store when she was picking up dinner on her way home one night. She thought it was his but didn't think anything of it, but then she saw it pass by as she parked her car outside her hotel. The car circled the lot and stopped just behind her car as she stood at the door to the hotel with her keycard poised to slide into the reader, her bag of groceries and laptop bag both hanging off her. The car stopped and she froze, so convinced that he was going to roll down the window to reveal a gun and then shoot her right there that she couldn't believe it when the car idled for a time then took off. But then it was back again, showing up in her rearview sometime after she left work and following her wherever she went. And again.
She tried ignoring him. She tried confronting him. She tried calling the police, getting a restraining order, switching hotels multiple times, but he was always there. Hovering. Following. Watching. Waiting.
She tried to live a normal life, but found herself hiding out in the hotel when she wasn't at work. Even on weekends, she was too paranoid and too frightened to go anywhere, so she spent every waking hour either at her desk at work or at her desk in her room, trying desperately to keep from creeping over to the window and looking out to see Ed without him seeing her.
But now? Now she was waking up on soft sheets on a comfortable bed that no one had ever slept on but her. The house was quiet — no creaking housekeeping carts passing by, muffled knocks on other doors, the sound of TV morning shows bleeding through thin walls. The furniture in this room was real wood, and so were the floors, the door, and the trim. She had a window seat and a closet where the hangers weren't attached to the bar. Her things were all still in boxes and bags piled up across from the bed, but not for long.
And there was no unpredictable man lying beside her or in the next room, able and willing to hurt her without any provocation. She didn't have to worry about what she was going to say that would set him off, make him hit her or call her names.
But the best part of all, besides there not even being the slightest chance that Ed would be parked outside waiting for her? The best part was the man sleeping across the hall from her, who may not be waking up next to her like she hoped he would be last night, but at least it seemed like maybe he wanted to. And she could live with that for now. She could live with the hope of maybe having more someday if things worked out.
She refused to think differently despite all the doubts and bad thoughts trying to creep in. She refused to think about the age gap, how freaking gorgeous he was, or how potentially disappointed he'd be when she "flopped around like a dying goldfish" if they ever had sex. That's what Ed had said the first time they had sex, and he'd laughed at her, and she pretended to herself that it was just affectionate teasing even after he started calling her "Goldie" all the time claiming it was just in fun. He tried to teach her how to be better, but really it was just humiliating even in the beginning, and then later it was humiliating and painful. But now she was wishing that she hadn't been so stubborn because she might have learned something. Maybe if she'd known at the time how many strippers he was fucking on the side, she might have trusted his credentials a little more.
All of this was bringing her down and she didn't want to feel bad anymore, so she got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. It was a pretty fantastic bathroom too, Daryl had added a dormer in the back similar to the one in the front to extend usable space out by another four feet in the bathroom and back bedroom. He was able to keep the old fashioned clawfoot tub in place and build a separate stand-up shower, and seeing the bottles of fancy bath oil and bath salts that Daryl bought for her sitting on a low shelf hanging over that tub filled her with all kinds of feelings. He was so thoughtful, so damn good to her.
She finished brushing her teeth and splashed some water on her face, planning on showering later once she'd unpacked more than just her toothbrush, and wandered down the stairs toward the kitchen. Then she had the bejesus scared out of her when she made a beeline for the coffee maker and a gravelly voice behind her said "mugs are in the cabinet to the left of the sink."
She spun around, her arm going up to block instinctively, her heart racing. He was sitting at the small table tucked against the wall by the doorway — she had walked right past him — calmly eating cereal and scrolling through something on his phone, wearing a pair of red plaid sleep pants and a ratty t-shirt that would probably be a little snug on her. Speaking of...
She was so absolutely positive that she was the only one awake that she hadn't put her jeans back on or unpacked any sleep clothes last night, opting rather to shuck her bra and pants and sleep in her ancient, tiny t-shirt and panties that she arrived in. So she was now standing flush against the kitchen counter on the other side of the room from the door, wearing only a boy's (size large!) t-shirt that ended somewhere above her hips, with cartoon mice on it and the caption "What are we going to do tonight, Brain?"
And a pair of Wonder Woman panties.
And he was drinking it all in with a pretty massive, satisfied grin on his face.
Her instinct was to panic, grab a dish towel, flee the room, die of embarrassment, but he was grinning at her, and he kept saying this was her house too, so she thought fuck it and decided to own it. She gave him a steely-eyed glare then deliberately turned to the cabinet and reached up for a mug, balanced on her tiptoes and knowing damn well her shirt was riding up, then took the mug over to the new coffee-maker-slash-espresso-machine-slash-supercomputer and started the process of grinding the beans she found in an airtight container next to the machine.
There was dead silence behind her.
She got a shot of espresso brewing, then checked the fridge for milk but realized it was on the table next to his bowl so she calmly walked over to him and gestured at it. She was pretty sure he hadn't blinked since she went for the mug, and his mouth was hanging partially open, but he nodded at her. She turned back towards the machine while uncapping the milk and the cap slipped from her hand and rolled in front of her so she bent down to pick it up. There was a strangled sound behind her and the scrape of a chair then she heard him rapidly fleeing from the room, and then she spent a leisurely forty-five minutes or so enjoying her latte. She finished his bowl of cereal for him with the smuggest grin on her own face that she'd ever had.
DD: [[ she made coffee. In just a t-shirt and panties. An obscenely small pinky and the brain t-shirt. ]]
DD: [[ Wonder Woman panties. ]]
DD: [[ I think I'm dying. ]]
GR: [[ same t-shirt from the picture? Yikes. That WAS a SMALL t-shirt ]]
GR: [[ but the underwear seems out of character. ]]
GR: [[ not the Wonder Woman part, just the not wearing pants part. ]]
DD: [[ she didn't think I was awake I guess. And then was on the verge of a freak out about being caught like that but then just went with it. ]]
GR: [[ because you were politely averting your eyes? ]]
DD: [[ ehhhhh ]]
DD: [[ Glenn, her skin is like a fucking pearl. All over. She goddamn glows. And her ass is like a ripe peach. Jesus Christ. I can't...How am I going to live with her and not touch her? ]]
GR: [[ by thinking of Eugene getting a blowjob surrounded by teddy bears and pretty dollies? ]]
DD: [[ that seems to be working ]]
DD: [[ am I a bad person for wanting to tell Tara about all this? Just to torture her? ]]
GR: [[ no, but keep in mind the consequences ]]
DD: [[ Tara having an aneurysm? ]]
GR: [[ Tara asking for a reenactment. Specifically asking CAROL for a reenactment, who will then know you were talking about her underwear. And her ass. ]]
DD: [[ yep, this is why I keep you around. Voice of reason. ]]
GR: [[ this is Maggie: if you get a chance, let me know what skin products she uses please. Brand and kind. Thanks. ]]
DD: [[ goddammit Glenn. ]]
DD: [[ did I mention she dropped the cap to the milk and bent down to pick it up? ]]
GR: [[ Eugene's o face. Dollies. ]]
DD: [[ yep, surprisingly effective. ]]
He stayed in the shower for a long time but wasn't worried about using all the hot water. That wasn't an issue.
He then felt much better about the whole situation when he exited the bathroom as she was coming up the stairs, and she stopped dead in her tracks. He continued down the hall wearing just a towel, and she appeared to be hypnotized by the drops of water from his still-wet hair trailing down his chest and abdomen. He paused near his door, one hand resting on the doorknob and the other pushing his hair back, and he knew the towel had slipped down just a bit, hanging low on his hips.
"Eyes are up here," he said, smirking, and noticed her blush spread below her shirt collar. She blinked, then continued up the stairs and reached for the doorknob to her room. She gave him a blatantly assessing look then met his eyes. He was beginning to recognize this expression of hers, when one eyebrow was raised and her mouth was curled up into a smirk. It was her challenging expression, the one she got right before she called him on something or gave him hell, and he felt his dick stir a little at the prospect.
"Mmm," she purred, and he tried his damnedest to picture Eugene in the throes of an orgasm, but it wasn't working this time because she reached out to him and ran one finger from the hollow of his throat down to the top of the towel, letting it linger for a moment as goosebumps spread like wildfire over him. "And you do have such nice...eyes." She caught her bottom lip between her teeth while looking up at him with wide eyes, then she gave the doorknob a firm twist and disappeared into her room, laughing. He stood for a moment, banging his head against his door, wishing he was brave enough to follow her into her room but logic. Thoughts. Time. Bad. No. That's as coherent as he was able to be at the moment.
Nerd Club
7:56 AM
Daryl: I FUCKING HATE HER
Glenn: no you don't
Abraham: hahahaha
Abraham: what'd she do?
Tara: GOOD, THEN LEAVE HER FOR ME
Daryl: I DO, I HATE HER
Daryl: SHE'S THE DEVIL
Glenn: no she's not
Daryl: YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SHE'S DOING TO ME
Glenn: well, I have some idea….
Abraham: you been holding out on us? What's going on?
Tara: OOOOOHHHHHH TELL!
Jesus: sweet little Carol is the devil? I don't believe it.
Glenn: did MORE happen?
Abraham: more than what?
Tara: WHAT IS GOING ON? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY FUTURE GIRLFRIEND?
Daryl: Nothing.
Daryl: I ain't doing nothing, because every time I try she takes it one step further.
Daryl: she's fucking killing me.
Glenn: no she's not
Maggie: she kinda is.
Abraham: Maggie knows and you haven't told US?
Daryl: because Glenn lets her read all his texts
Glenn: not all of them… Shut up!
Maggie: PFFFF
Daryl: this morning started with her flouncing around the house in a miniscule t-shirt and Wonder Woman panties.
Glenn: now she was "flouncing"? Earlier she was making coffee.
Daryl: REGARDLESS
Tara: like what kind of panties? Boy shorts? Bikinis? The fake tighty whiteys with the banding that makes it look like there's a finger hole but really isn't? Those are THE WORST.
Jesus: finger hole?
Abraham: you mean the flap so we can piss without getting undressed? That isn't a "finger hole"
Tara: it is on a girl.
Glenn: Jesus, Tara
Jesus: gotta agree. ME, Tara.
Daryl: just regular panties, I don't know!
Tara: how high up did they sit? Full coverage in the back? I NEED TO KNOW
Daryl: low, and I guess.
Tara: bikinis. NICE
Tara: now let's get back to this "flouncing"...
Glenn: she didn't know he was awake and walked into the kitchen to make coffee, then almost freaked out when she realized he was there.
Daryl: but DIDN'T freak out. Instead she decided to reach for a mug on a high shelf, then bend over to pick up the cap to the milk. WHILE I WAS SITTING THERE
Glenn: in her defense, you did say you were sitting there ogling her.
Daryl: I never said "ogling"
Glenn: it was implied
Tara: so when she reached for the mug… Describe that.
Daryl: so picture a gorgeous woman in just this tiny little shirt and panties standing on her tiptoes trying to reach something high up, and the shirt is riding up REALLY FUCKING HIGH
Tara: oh, I'm picturing it.
Abraham: me too
Maggie: me too
Glenn: fuuuuuck
Daryl: then she walks over to you where you are innocently sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal and picks up the milk carton
Tara: no, call it a milk jug. A MILK JUG
Jesus: ME, Tara. ME.
Abraham: no, I'm with Tara on this one.
Maggie: me too
Glenn: OH MY GOD
Eugene: I must say, I am in agreement.
Daryl: you all are sick fucks, you know that?
Daryl: anyway, she picks up the MILK JUG and turns around to head back to the counter while unSCREWING the cap
Abraham: NICE
Daryl: and then drops it. Remember, she's facing away. So she bends down to pick it up.
Tara: OH MY GOD I THINK I JUST CAME
Abraham: holeeeee sheeeeet
Eugene: I am picturing this quite clearly, thank you.
Maggie: don't forget what you said about her ass
Tara: what did you say about her ass?
Abraham: what did you say about her ass?
Maggie: and her skin.
Daryl: she has an ass like a ripe peach. I'm not fucking kidding.
Tara: ohhhhh
Tara: I love peaches….
Abraham: I love asses
Jesus: as do I, my son
Jesus: perhaps in a different context though
Maggie: TELL THEM ABOUT HER SKIN
Daryl: Jesus, Maggie, you're obsessed with this
Maggie: I AM
Daryl: I don't remember what I said.
Maggie: yes you do and it was fucking poetic
Glenn: Do I need to c+p from my texts?
Daryl: fuck both of you
Maggie: Okay
Glenn: JESUS MAGGIE
Jesus: me too? Okay.
Daryl: she has skin like a pearl.
Maggie: "it fucking glows"
Maggie: you forgot that part
Tara: awwww, that's sweet. Now let's discuss all the different connotations of "pearl" and why you chose that particular word
Daryl: ?
Maggie: the clit is sometimes referred to as a pearl
Abraham: pearl necklaces
Eugene: Sperm. It's where "Pearl Jam" originated.
Tara: I love pearls. On the half shell. That's referring to vaginas.
Daryl: yeah, I got it. That's NOT what I meant
Maggie: no, you were only thinking of her as a precious gem
Daryl: /sigh Shut up.
Glenn: so you were fine just a half hour ago. What happened since?
Tara: THERE'S MORE?
Daryl: yeah.
Abraham: oh, son, it's barely 8am. You're fucking doomed.
Daryl: THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. SHE'S THE DEVIL.
Glenn: What happened?
Daryl: after I ran away like a pussy, I went to take a shower. A very cold shower.
Tara: I'm going to ignore that implied insult to my vagina
Maggie: me too but don't let it happen again
Daryl: noted. Anyway, I got out of the shower and was walking back to my room in a towel
Jesus: describe the towel. How low did it sit? Full coverage? I NEED TO KNOW
Daryl: hahaha
Daryl: no.
Jesus: MOTHERFUCKER
Maggie: actually, I need you to go into some more detail as well.
Daryl: no
Maggie: remember how I read Glenn's texts?
Daryl: just a plain towel, gray. Full coverage, bath sheet size. Sat pretty low, I guess.
Jesus: how low?
Daryl: that's actually part of the story.
Jesus: HOW LOW
Daryl: uhh. Fuck. Around my hips?
Jesus: navel exposed or covered?
Daryl: exposed
Jesus: innie or outie?
Daryl: innie. What am I, a circus freak?
Eugene: I'm an outie.
Daryl: I'm shocked to hear that, Eugene. Shocked.
Tara: innie
Abraham: innie
Maggie: innie
Glenn: sorta half and half?
Jesus: innie
Jesus: wait, what?
Maggie: he ain't lyin'.
Jesus: I gotta see this
Maggie: are we all pausing while a trail of people swing by Glenn's cube to see his bellybutton?
Tara: that is exactly what happened. And that's incredible.
Jesus: interesting….
Jesus: now get back to your description of the towel.
Daryl: I don't know what else to say about it.
Jesus: paint me a picture with your words. I'm sure you're pretty fit? Nice abdominals?
Maggie: yes, yes they are.
Jesus: hair?
Maggie: thin little happy trail but very little on his pecs
Glenn: JESUS MAGGIE
Daryl: OH MY GOD MAGGIE
Jesus: oh, nice. Nipples?
Maggie: quarter size, dark pinkish brown. Little bit of hair.
Daryl: i feel.. I need a shower
Daryl: is this what we do to women?
Maggie: yep, so suck it up.
Jesus: good turn of phrase there.
Glenn: I'd be more horrified by this except I know that she'll be so worked up by the time I get home that I'll be getting whatever I want…
Maggie: oh, honey, I'm going to be in the parking lot at noon. You're taking lunch off-site today.
Tara: oooo, a "business lunch"? those are fun!
Jesus: STOP DISTRACTING HER
Jesus: GO ON MAGGIE
Maggie: amazing muscles, not really tan but more like a nice natural bronze. Scar from his right shoulder down to midline.
Daryl: ...
Glenn: Maggie, stfu now
Maggie: k
Tara: I don't understand what's going on
Glenn: let it go, Tara
Jesus: okay, before the mood is completely ruined, why don't you tell us what happened after you went walking down the hall in just a towel.
Daryl: she was coming up the stairs and stopped when she saw me.
Maggie: that's interesting.
Daryl: and my hair was still wet, so water was dripping down and she was staring at the water running down my stomach
Jesus: jesus
Maggie: oh yeah
Daryl: so I decided to fuck with her and let the towel slip a little
Daryl: and said my eyes were up here
Jesus: mmmhmm, go on
Maggie: how much is a little?
Daryl: enough.
Jesus: fully exposed Adonis belt?
Daryl: wtf is an Adonis belt?
Maggie: your hip muscles that make the v-shape
Daryl: oh. Yeah.
Jesus: goddamn
Daryl: and instead of freaking out LIKE SHE SHOULD HAVE, she made this yummy sound then ran her fucking finger from my neck down to the fucking towel, LEFT IT ON THE TOWEL, and said that I do have nice eyes.
Daryl: THEN SHE BIT HER FUCKING LIP AND RAN INTO HER ROOM GIGGLING
Abraham: top teeth, bottom lip, held it for a second so it got all plump?
Daryl: YES
Abraham: damn. She is the devil.
Tara: describe her "yummy sound" because that's spankbank material for me for the next month.
Daryl: just this "mmmm" sound
Maggie: HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA
Maggie: oh god, I'm gonna love this woman
Abraham: go on…
Jesus: she ran her finger down from your neck, over your pecs, down your six pack, over your belly button and down your happy trail to the towel?
Daryl: yes.
Jesus: pad or nail?
Daryl: little of both. Gave me goosebumps.
Jesus: holy shit
Jesus: then left it on the towel?
Daryl: yeah, just resting on the top of the towel like she was considering doing something
Maggie: like pulling the towel off?
Jesus: like hooking her finger in the towel and giving it a tug?
Daryl: yes, exactly like that
Abraham: how hard were you at this point?
Daryl: half mast
Daryl: trying not to humiliate myself
Daryl: anymore than I already had
Abraham: you're a stronger man than I would be. I'm at half mast just thinking about her doing that.
Jesus: me too
Maggie: me too
Tara: me too
Eugene: nope, I'm full on.
Glenn: Maggie? I can get a break earlier if you want to swing by.
Daryl: so I'm not just telling all of you all this to have to relive the torture she's putting me through
Daryl: I needed you all to understand just how evil this woman is.
Tara: I am, right now, rethinking my plan to steal her from you. I don't know if I could handle that kind of teasing.
Daryl: I KNOW, RIGHT?
Daryl: you guys need to help me.
Daryl: I don't know what to do.
Abraham: fuck her
Tara: fuck her
Maggie: you need to fuck
Jesus: is there some reason why fucking isn't an option?
Glenn: you mean besides throwing yourself at her feet and begging her to marry you and then fucking her until she blacks out?
Daryl: you all know it's complicated
Jesus: doesn't seem that complicated to me, but then again, I'm a whore
Tara: what's complicated? She moved down here to live with you
Abraham: fuck complicated, and then fuck her
Glenn: guys. We're talking about Carol.
Jesus: right. Forgot. Marry her.
Tara: Carol, right. You need to woo her.
Abraham: yeah. Carol. Can't just fuck and run. This is serious.
Maggie: this is amazing. WHO IS THIS WOMAN?
Glenn: When you meet her, you'll understand.
Daryl: so keeping in mind this is CAROL, what do I do?
Tara: nothing. She really does belong with me. I thought I couldn't handle the teasing, but I can. For Carol, I can.
Abraham: Tara's right, you have to woo her. Well, the first thing she said was right.
Eugene: You shouldn't do anything. She should make an educated decision once she meets all of us.
Jesus: I can't believe we're talking about the same woman. Are you sure that the one running around in her underwear and pulling down your towel is CAROL?
Maggie: Eugene's right, you need to let Rick have a crack at her. HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHA
Glenn: I love you Maggie
Daryl: Fucking Rick
Glenn: did you tell them what he did?
Tara: what did he do?
Abraham: Rick did something?
Maggie: oh my god, right. I forgot.
Tara: WHAT DID HE DO?
Daryl: he texted Carol while she was on her way here and told her that I lied about having a girlfriend then offered her his spare room to stay in.
Tara: NO!1!11!
Tara: HE DID NOT
Jesus: holy shit, really?
Abraham: now THAT is a dick move
Glenn: you never did tell me how all that worked out
Daryl: eh. She texted me as soon as she got his text, and I told her that I was going to tell her when she got here. Which was true.
Tara: how pissed was she?
Daryl: at me? Or at Rick?
Abraham: both
Daryl: at me, a little, but we worked it out. At Rick? Well, she's not happy, that's for damn sure.
Glenn: "worked it out"?
Daryl: don't wanna get into it.
Maggie: not an option
Tara: you need to tell us if you want our help
Abraham: yeah, that shit won't fly. Explain.
Jesus: confess, my child
Daryl: we talked. I told her stuff. She told me stuff. It got pretty emotional and that's how she ended up on my lap.
Maggie: emotional how? Like confessing your love to her?
Daryl: no, like talking about my childhood.
Maggie: oh.
Daryl: yeah.
Tara: ?
Daryl: and her talking about her marriage.
Maggie: oh.
Daryl: yeah.
Tara: ?
Tara: wtf is going on? I feel like you all are speaking in code.
Glenn: let it go, Tara
Daryl: just shitty circumstances that we both survived. Similar enough that we get each other, okay?
Tara: like abuse and shit? You said her husband beat on her?
Daryl: not really something I like to talk about, but yeah, abuse and shit.
Tara: the scar?
Daryl: yeah.
Daryl: got a bunch of them
Tara: I'm sorry Daryl. :(
Tara: not for asking. But for what happened to you.
Daryl: thanks. Don't want to talk about it any more, okay?
Tara: of course. But if you ever do, I'm here. I've got a few myself.
Daryl: :) thanks.
Daryl: not smiling because you got hurt, but like the whole bonding friend moment.
Tara: :) I know.
Abraham: (I feel like we should give them a few moments alone)
Tara: shut it, Abe
Daryl: so what am I going to do about Carol? How the fuck do I woo a woman that I work with, and now live with?
Jesus: you ARE kind of skipping around a bit.
Tara: yeah, I mean it's 1) work with her; 2) fall in love with her; 3) break up with her even though you weren't technically in a relationship; 3.5) pine away hopelessly for her until your friends want to smother you with a pillow; 4) decide to move in together; 4.5) finally see a picture of her; 5) meet each other in person; 6) full contact cuddling; 7) panty flashing; 8) towel dropping; 9) lip biting; 10) profit!
Maggie: you'll probably have sex before you actually kiss
Tara: done that
Jesus: done that
Abraham: done that
Daryl: ...
Daryl: thanks for pointing out all the ways our relationship is fucked up. Now how about helping me get it straightened out?
Maggie: I think I need to meet her first.
Tara: same
Abraham: yeah, we'll talk after Saturday
Eugene: I need to observe the two of you in your natural environment
Glenn: I hate to say it but I agree with Eugene
Jesus: I'll be your wingman.
Daryl: being my wingman doesn't involve seeing me in a towel.
Jesus: I'm with them, I'll let you know after Saturday.