"Wanna tell me why you had a condom, Beth?" Amanda had been waiting to get the girl alone to have this discussion but privacy at the prison was a luxury hard to come by. If she had to weed the garden with her to do it, then so be it.
"I found it." Beth answered, as she made quick work of the weeds in her row.
Why did Amanda not believe that? "Really, where?"
Beth didn't even hesitate. "Maggie's stuff."
"You little thief!" She chuckled at Beth's grin.
The other girl tossed another weed in her bucket. "Still got it?"
"Not your business." Amanda couldn't contain the flush that filled her cheeks.
Beth's eyes widened into big blue saucers. "Oh. My. Gosh! You don't! Need another one?"
"No! Maybe, not now, damn it, Beth. Don't change the subject!" Shit! Amanda quickly tried to replant the seedling she pulled by mistake. That made two so far.
"Just asking. I know where to find some." She giggled.
"So why did you steal a condom from Maggie and Glenn?"
Beth just shrugged. "I didn't steal it. I just borrowed it."
"Were you planning on giving it back?" Amanda sat back on her heels, retying the red bandana around her hair.
"No..."
"Then you stole it."
"Fine. I wanted to be prepared, just in case." Beth met her gaze without an ounce of chagrin.
"Just in case of what?" Amanda asked before she even thought about what Beth could mean. "Never mind, don't answer that."
"Jimmy and I...we never went that far and I don't want to die a virgin, Amanda."
Amanda cleared her throat. "Who the heck did you have in mind? It's slim pickings around here, sweetheart." She could count the "available" men/boy on one hand. Daryl? Ewww. Of course not. Oscar? Doubtful, never saw them talking. Carl? He was a little young, but hey, if that's who she wanted...She wasn't sure Rick would be happy about it, though. "Beth, darlin'?"
For the first time in this conversation, the younger girl actually looked uncomfortable. "I know, I know he's a bit older. But did you ever notice the muscles in his arms, and those eyes. And the way he plays with Judith. Just thinking about him makes me..." Wait! What? Older...DARYL! A bit older, my ass! Shit! He had to be twice her age!
"Wait a minute, Beth. You're not talking about Daryl, are you? My grumpy, old, emotionally-stunted, Uncle Daryl?"
Beth gave Amanda half-smile. "Maybe he wouldn't be so grumpy if I..."
"Stop!" Stop right there! Breathe, Amanda. Keep calm. Think a minute. Note to self-Make Uncle Daryl wear sleeves! "What about C..."
"So help me, if you say Carl, I'll hit you, Amanda! He's just a kid. I want to be with a real man my first time. You know, someone who knows what he's doing."
Daryl? Oh fuck me. Amanda wasn't sure her uncle fit that bill. She didn't remember seeing Daryl with a woman. Ever. Maybe he just never brought one around her. Oh God. That's gross. She shuddered at the thought of her uncle's sex life.
"Good morning, ladies." Amanda shaded her eyes and looked to see Rick and Carl heading their way.
"We brought water," Carl said smiling, handing a bottle to Beth first. Poor kid, he had it bad for the pretty blonde. Beth looked up at him with her sweet innocent smile as she took it. That wasn't helping at all.
"You about done here, Mandy?" Rick asked.
"Not quite but I'm on my last row."
Beth grinned. "Go on, Amanda, I got it. Besides I think you're doing more harm than good."
"Thanks a lot."
"Anytime, and Mandy, those things you wanted, er needed..."
"Shut up, Beth," she hissed.
The young girl burst into a fit of laughter.
Rick reached a hand down to help Amanda to her feet. "Carl, we're walking the fence, you coming?"
"Nah, Dad. I think I'll stay here and help Beth finish up, if that's okay with you."
"Sure, son."
Amanda made a kissy face at Beth over Carl's head. Beth threw a clod of dirt, Amanda ducked and it hit Rick square in the back.
"Hey!" Rick turned. "What was that?"
Carl looked confused. Beth's face was beet-red. "Sorry, Rick. It just...slipped right out of my hand."
Amanda snorted with the laughter she was trying to hold back. Rick grabbed her arm. "C'mon." As soon as they were out of ear shot and eye sight, he pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her. Then he leaned back and pinned her in place with a glare but she could see he was trying to hold back his own smile. "I'm supposed to believe she slipped?" Amanda nodded, biting her lip. "She wasn't aiming at me, was she?" Amanda shook her head.
Rick's mouth found the side of her neck. "You gonna tell me what that was about?"
"Confidential girl talk," she mumbled semi-coherently.
He thought about that for a moment. "Fair enough."
She leaned into him, running her hands down his back, loving the way his lean muscles played under her fingertips. Amanda grabbed his ass with both hands and pulled him against her, biting his lower lip gently. "I missed you."
"Mmmmm," he moaned and met her lips with a deep kiss. She licked the roof of his mouth sending shivers down his body, pleased with the way he responded to her touch. He cupped her face with his strong hands, tilting her head back tangling his tongue with hers, sucking it even further into his mouth.
Backing off to allow them both a moment to breathe, Rick kissed Amanda's cheek, sliding his lips to her ear, his tongue glided around the outer shell. Her fingers clenched at his sides, clawing at his shirt as the heat in her stomach drifted lower. She bit her bottom lip, leaning into his mouth, his breath hot against her skin, driving her absolutely mad. "Rick," she whimpered, her fingers hooking in his belt loops, tugging him closer. Leaning her shoulders back against the rough brick wall of the prison, she pressed her hips to him, making the his breath in her ear turn into a moan.
With an arm on either side of her head and teeth nibbling on her sensitive flesh, he muttered, "I missed you, too." Then she groaned when he licked the salty sweet skin against the base of her neck. Rick pulled back from Amanda and watched as her eyes slowly opened.
"What?"
"You got the condom from Beth, didn't you?" Amanda tried to kiss him again instead of answering the question, but Rick didn't let her. "Mandy?"
She stuck her bottom lip out. "So..."
"What the hell was she doing with it?" His eyes widened further. "Is she and Carl-"
Amanda could only grin at the look on his face before shaking her head. "No, Daddy. Seems she has a crush on an older man." Her lips moved to his.
"Who?" Rick asked, not really caring at the moment as he pulled her closer, his hands on her ass. She paused, the feeling of those strong hands distracting her. "Me?"
"You what?" she asked, her voice light and breathy.
"Who does Beth have a crush on?"
"Can we not talk about that right now?" She slipped a hand between them rubbing his straining cock through his pants while thrusting her tongue into his mouth. Rick's hands slid under her top to caress her breasts.
"Oh, fuckin' hell," Daryl said in disgust as he came to a screeching halt just before crashing into the intertwined couple when he rounded the corner of the building. Am I the only one here not getting any?
"Damn it, Daryl!" Amanda jerked her shirt back in place. "You oughtta wear a cowbell or something so people can hear you coming."
Her uncle dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "Get lost, Amanda, I need to talk to lover boy here."
"Get some manners, Daryl." She gave Rick a loud, wet, sloppy kiss, mainly to annoy her uncle, and stomped off knocking into Daryl with her shoulder on the way by.
"Brat."
"Bully."
"Whaddya want?" Rick asked, voice strained with the effort of trying to shift gears after what just happened with Amanda.
"Well, shit, man. Seeing ya'll..." he shuddered, "made me fuckin' forget." He closed his eyes as if trying to erase the image burned into his brain. "I guess that means you didn't say anything 'bout Merle." Otherwise, my niece's hands wouldn't been...ugh...ain't gonna finish that thought.
Rick shook his head. "I decided to wait until after the supply run tomorrow. I don't want her thinking about anything else while she's out. I think it's best that way."
"Hmph." His friend just grunted, clearly aggravated.
"You gotta a problem, Daryl?" Rick's tone suddenly shifted from strained to annoyed.
The younger Dixon brother's eyes met the ex-cop's. "No. I ain't gotta a problem, Rick," he snapped.
"You said make it right with Amanda," he reminded him.
"I'm pretty sure that's not what I meant," Daryl snarled as he stormed off, "and I'd appreciate it if you don't knock-up my only niece," he called over his shoulder.
Rick watched the man stalk off. He was going to need that bottle of Jack that he promised Daryl.
Meal time was a bit tense. Daryl and Rick weren't talking. Amanda and Daryl weren't talking. Beth was unabashedly flirting with the object of her affection who was totally oblivious to her feminine machinations. Herschel was scowling at Beth who pointedly ignored him. Carl was starting to think Beth was mad and ignoring him and he couldn't think of anything he'd done to upset her. Judith was munching happily on a cracker while sitting on Carol's lap who was watching the whole scene with great amusement.
Amanda pressed her leg against Rick's under the table and squeezed his knee and then proceeded to slide her hand up his thigh. She smiled when he choked a bit on his food. He shot her a warning look laced a delicious promise of retribution so she moved her hand a little higher brushing against the bulge growing there. He shoved it away roughly, hitting the underside table with a bang, bringing all eyes his direction, especially Daryl's disgusted glare. She would have sworn Rick blushed. He refused to look her way but hooked a foot around hers pulling her leg close to his.
"Got any more Possum stories, Daryl?" Carl's voice sliced through the tension like fingernails on a chalkboard.
"None that aint gonna make you upchuck your meal," he grumbled while pushing the uneaten food around on his plate. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't eat with those two at the end of the table.
Beth came behind Daryl with a jug of water, "Need some more water, Daryl?" she asked as she leaned over his shoulder to reveal the tops of her small but pert bosom. Carl's eyes jerked immediately to her chest, mouth falling open. Her long blonde hair was loose and danced across the Daryl's cheek and exposed shoulder where he swatted it like a fly, barely missing Beth's chin. "Sorry, darlin'," he mumbled and held out his cup for a refill.
She smiled demurely and filled it, brushing her chest against his back as she straightened up. Herschel's face was turning motley shades of red at his youngest daughter's not so discreet behavior.
"Carl," cut in Rick. "Close your mouth when you eat!" The ex-cop's eyes followed his son's gaze to Beth and to then to Daryl. Holy shit! It hit him. Daryl was the girl's crush! Amanda saw the range of emotions cross Rick's face in record time and burst into laughter. He looked sharply at her then relaxed and smiled, shaking his head. He whispered, "Poor Herschel."
Amanda met his eyes and shook her head, "Poor Daryl."
After dinner, Amanda made her way to the guard tower. Daryl had "summoned" her. It felt like a walk to the principal's office. She really wasn't in the mood for one of his "you're an idiot" lectures when she'd rather spend this evening with Rick but she knew if she ditched her uncle he would come find her in a pissier mood than he was already in, if that was possible.
"'Bout time you got here," he bitched, before she even reached the top step.
She crossed her arms over her chest, hip thrown to the side. "Didn't know I had an appointment."
"Damn it, Amanda. Do you always have to be so difficult?"
Yeah, it runs in the fucking family. "Do you?" She said with hands now on her hips, defiance flashing in her eyes.
"Fuck!" he pinched the bridge of his nose. His headaches were getting worse. "Possum," he said, toning down his frustration the best he could. One of them had to be mature and since he was oldest, he'd at least try. Breathe in..."Possum, girl," he started again. "I know ain't your Daddy but I... I..." Fuck! Where hell do I start?
"Are you trying to give me the safe-sex talk?"
Fuck! Daryl felt like his brain was going to explode.
"Because if you are, don't worry Uncle Daryl, I'm 26 and I know..."
"Shut up!" he interrupted. "I sure as hell don't wanna know what you know."
"Okay...then what?"
Daryl couldn't look at her as the next words came out of his mouth. "Are you using...protection..."
Oh, so it is the safe-sex talk. How cute. She smiled at how uncomfortable he was with this. "What do you mean, Uncle Daryl? You know I always carry the knife Daddy gave me."
"Shit, Possum! That ain't the kind of protec..." he sputtered.
She couldn't hold her laughter back.
"Bitch," he spat.
She hugged him. "I love you, too, and yes, we're using that kind of protection too...Condoms to be exact."
"Shut the fuck up and get the hell out of here." He shoved at her shoulder.
Amanda quickly kissed his cheek and hurried down the stairs to seek out Rick.