That night, I dreamt of Daryl Dixon.
We were sitting on my parents' front porch swing, me in his lap, drinking sweet tea as we watched the sun fall behind the forest in our back yard. The colors were almost ethereal, shades of gold, orange, and garnet dancing around patches of purple poking through the wooded darkness. His empty hand sat in my lap and I was pressing my back into his chest, his thumb gently sweeping over the exposed skin of my thigh. Leaning back, I could feel the tickle of his country-boy beard on my shoulder. I could also feel his heart beating into my back and it was racing just as fast as mine.
Wordlessly, he pressed his lips to my neck. It was chaste in nature, but powerful. Placing our glasses onto the railing of the porch, his hand moved from my thigh to my hair, weaving his fingers so he could hold me in place while his kiss became more needy and possessive. With the leverage he gained by grabbing me, he turned me to face him, my blues locked on his. Before I knew what was happening, he was turning my entire body to face him, causing my legs to straddle his. Palming either side of my face, he pulled me into him and I melted. Our lips thrashed against each other's with an almost hungry desire. One hand dropped down my neck, to my shoulders, and down until he reached the small of my back. My hips rocked against his as I craved to be closer, like I was trying to fade into him.
HIs rough and calloused hand fell farther, grasping at my curves, grinding into me with a desperation I didn't know he possessed. My moans fell onto his lips as they twisted into a knowing grin. Pulling me away from him, he palmed my breasts, causing my head to fall backward. The sounds of the crickets and hot Georgia nights surrounded us but soon fell away to lend way to his ragged breathing. His hands shook and my fingers gripped into his broad, muscular shoulders. I was coming apart under his touch but was quickly halted by the sounds of loud beeping.
I woke up panting, and stuck to my linen sheets. There was a thin sheen of sweat over my skin, including a layer of wetness between my legs. Slamming the alarm off in frustration, I sat up and attempted to tame my wild hair. My body was trembling as I dropped back into the comfort of my pillows. For a minute, I felt a slight smile playing on my lips as I thought back to the already fading dream. I couldn't help but wonder what his lips really felt like, but was quickly absorbed by a pang of guilt. I had a boyfriend and I had just had an intimate dream about the another man. For a lack of better words, I felt like shit.
It was Saturday, so I didn't have work or class. Seeing that it was still morning, I hopped out of bed and got dressed in my running clothes. It had been a couple days since my last run and I was starting a feel a bit stir-crazy. I decided to forego the shower until I got back, so I grabbed my iPhone and headphones and rushed out the door, only to physically bump into none other than my redneck neighbor.
"Watch where yer goin', kid" he teased as he looked me over briefly. His grin reminded me of my dream and it caused me to blush.
"Sorry, Daryl" I said quickly, "Just goin' for a run."
"I can see that" he replied, his eyes still traveling over me. "We still on for later?"
My heart started racing in my chest. Was he actually excited about spending time with me? I knew I was, but for him to be the one to ask just made me feel like a giddy school girl. "Of course. You so much as try to blow me off and see what happens" I teased as I put in one of the earbuds into my ear. "Catch ya later, Dixon." I raced down the stairs and went on my running, disappearing into the Savannah cityscape for about an hour or two.
When I got back, I saw about four bags of trash sitting outside Daryl's apartment leaning on the wall. His door was open so I decided to poke my head in. It looked like a complete 180 from what I'd see the other day. There were no bottles on the floors, no trash whatsoever. I guess he noticed me looking because he came over to the door and leaned on it in his typical Daryl sort of way.
"I'm moderately impressed" I said with a smile. "Spring cleaning come early this year?"
"Nah," he replied while sipping a beer. Even while he was drinking he looked rugged and handsome. "Merle's out for the weekend, so I figured I'd take the time and fix up tha' place." So his brother was gone for the weekend. That didn't bother me at all. Peeking in, I made a playful grimace. "Y'all definitely need a woman's touch in this place. How do you survive with just a couch and a tv?"
Daryl laughed as he sipped again. "Don't really spend much time here, between work and my trips out into the woods" he explained. He looked over me and continued. "How's the run?"
"Too short" I said with a giggle. "Maybe you should come with me some time." The thought of running with Daryl was intriguing. He was probably thr kind of guy who was way into competition, which was alright in my book. Looking up at him with a smile, I shrugged. "I'm gonna go clean up now. I'll come by later and we can figure out what we're gonna do today, alright?"
He told me it was a plan, and I turned and went inside my apartment, beelining for the shower. I stripped and left the clothes in the hamper and quickly got into the warm shower. As I washed the run residue from my body, along with the mixture from the morning wake up call, I thought of the possibilities of what Daryl and I would do today. Luckily for me, my friend Sasha was able to save the day as usual.
[text: Sasha] Hey girl! We're going to McGinty's tonight at 9! It's karaoke! Come with us! [text: Beth] hey! who all's going? [text: Sasha] You know, Bob, Tyreese, Glenn, Judith, the normal bunch. You in? [text: Beth] Depends, can I bring a friend? [text: Sasha] Oh, is Jimmy in town? [text: Beth] No, my neighbor. We had made plans for tonight and I don't wanna blow him off. [text: Sasha] Is he hot? ;) [text: Beth] See you at 9! :DThrowing my bathrobe on, I ran across the hall, anxiously knocking on Daryl's door. "Oh Daryl!" I cood through the door, "I think I know what we're doing tonight! Open up!"
From the other side of the door, I heard him coming. "Hold yer horses, girl!" he yelled. "I'm puttin' on pants, so unless you'd like ta see me a bit indisposed, you'll give me a sec!" He threw the door open and began to say something before he laid eyes on me. With my crooked index finger I picked up his head and made him look me in the eyes. "Focus, Daryl" I said with a smile. "How do you feel about bars and karaoke?"
"I ain't singin'" was his only response, and I knew I had him. "That's fine by me. We'll leave here around 8:30. Sorry, but I gotta go get dressed."
And I could feel his eyes following me again, my hips swaying in his gaze. As guilty as I felt about my dream, his eyes on me made me forget everything like that.
The next few hours were spent on my getting ready. My hair was straightened and silky soft, my make up was applied, all I had left to do was pick what I was going to wear. I ultimately decided on a pair of dark blue jeans, a white low cut tank top, and my favorite leather jacket. I figured if I was bringing Daryl, I'd dress to make him comfortable. There was no need to ostracize him. I was putting my perfume on when I head the knock on my door. Looking down at my phone, I saw that it was 8:30 on the dot and I assumed that it was Daryl at my door. I slipped my heels on and sauntered over to the door, only to find out that I was right.
When I opened the door, I was amazed by what I saw. Daryl had forgone his trademark ratty jeans and had put on a nice pair of black ones, coupled with an open black button down with a white tshirt underneath. While he still looked like Daryl, I couldn't help but smile wide at him. "Well someone cleans up well" I chided, letting him inside. That's when he looked at me. There was this energy in his gaze, the same energy he had when he were on my couch the day before.
"Right back at 'cha, girl" he replied, his eyes still pouring over me. With a bright smile, I grabbed my bag and nodded toward the door to indicate to him that we should leave. We walked down the stairs in silence as we got out front of our building into the cool Georgia night.
"Do you mind driving?" I asked timidly. "I don't have a car and I don't think the two of us will fit on my bike unless you ride on my handlebars." I couldn't help but giggle at the image in my head of Daryl riding around on top of my handlebars.
Walking over to his motorcycle, he swung his leg over the side and dropped into the seat. I walked over and stared for a moment, not wanting to tell him that I'd never ridden a motorcycle before. "Don't you have a car or something?" I asked, a bit of nervous energy obvious in the tone of my voice.
He laughed at my question and shook his head, his longer brown hair dancing over his cheeks. "Sorry, darlin'. It's the only transportation I've got at the moment." He looked into my eyes and chuckled again. "What are you, scared?"
I narrowed my eyes at his challenge and threw my leg over the bike in reply, holding onto his shoulder for support. He handed me a helmet and helped me strap it on. Grabbing my hands, he wrapped my arms around his waist and turned to smile at me. "Hold on, Beth" he instructed. "And don't let go."