A/N Thank you so much my Brick lovers! Shall we see how Beth and Rick are doing after that second date?
They'd been seeing each other for two months. They managed to have an "official date" at least once a week, whether in the evening or during the day. Whenever it worked out that Carl had plans with friends, scout activities, or was spending time with Dale and Erma.
Rick couldn't help but worry that accommodating Carl's needs and schedule put Beth out; even though she assured him she didn't mind. She understood he had to put Carl's needs first, he was a young child. She respected Rick's parenting. But still, he couldn't help feeling guilty.
They'd also made time to have lunch together at least once a week. And every Tuesday while Carl was at basketball practice, they'd go for a walk or have coffee at the diner. Just little breakaways where they had time to talk and get to know each other.
The tough part was the tension between them. Born of trying so hard to take it slow, to do the right thing. The problem was there was just no denying the almost magnetic attraction they both felt. And there were many different types of attractions in play. It was emotional, the happiness they felt at just seeing each other, spending time together. There was a type of trust, feeling safe with sharing thoughts and feelings. There was the feeling of comfort, just feeling the ease and support of being together. And there was a strong and undeniable physical attraction. It was getting harder and harder for them to keep it to just kissing and some touching.
This Saturday night Carl was having a backyard sleepover with Duane Jones and Duane's dad, Morgan. The boys had plans to sleep in a tent in the backyard, and Morgan was letting them cook hot dogs and make s'mores over the fire pit in the yard. Rick and Morgan jokingly referred to it as the Great Suburban Camping Trip.
Since Carl would be well occupied for the evening, they'd agreed to take this opportunity for her to have dinner at his house. Rick was looking forward to showing off his place to her. He was proud of the home he'd made for himself and Carl, and he wanted her to love it as much as he did. He knew how serious his feelings were for her, so the way she felt about everything was important to him.
He'd sold the house he and Lori shared, but he'd waited until she's been gone for a year, he didn't want to disrupt Carl's life again too soon after Lori passed.
It was while he was packing up that house that he'd found a box of old photos she had stashed way back in one of her dresser drawers. He was shocked at the contents. There were photos of her and Shane together at all different times of their lives, starting when they were in High School.
There was one set of photos of them in a photo booth, probably taken at a carnival going through town. Judging by Shane's letterman jacket and Lori's hairstyle, they were in High School. In three of the photos they were kissing passionately. In the fourth he had his hand up her shirt, on her breast, and it didn't look as though she minded. There were others, many recent, and Rick felt betrayed all over again. Especially when he found the journal Lori kept.
He knew he shouldn't read it, but he couldn't stop himself. She'd started writing in it back in High School. It was all about her and Shane and how much she loved him, how much she wanted him and only him.
But Shane had a wandering eye and a strong libido. He'd first strayed with a cheerleader named Missy, and Lori was heartbroken and pissed off. That's when she'd made overtures to Rick.
He thought they'd fallen in love, but apparently that wasn't the case for her. He was just her revenge lover. The final crushing blow was when she'd written she only married Rick to get back at Shane for his ongoing carousing. She'd wanted to get pregnant by Rick just to show Shane she didn't need his love. She'd actually written that she'd chosen Rick because he was exactly what Shane wasn't. A responsible and trustworthy man who would be true to her, but was also boring as hell.
After looking at the photos and reading the journal, he'd called Dale and asked if Carl could stay the night, then he'd proceeded to get good and drunk. It had numbed him, but it didn't make the hurt and the terrible feeling of betrayal go away. That Monday he'd checked in with his counselor. The man had advised him to start meeting with a small support group, just over the county line. The group was all widows and widowers who found themselves in a situation similar to Rick's.
They met early mornings on Wednesday's and Saturday's, and Dale had stepped in and helped with Carl.
Initially it was just somehow comforting to know he wasn't the only person who'd ever been so used, so oblivious to what was going on. Such a fool. But once he'd really committed himself to working out his feelings, he'd been able to work through it. Even though he'd never really understand how Lori could do what she did, he had no choice but to forgive her. And the fact remained; Lori and Shane had paid for their mistake that day they'd left him heartbroken and gone for their ride.
For him, selling the "marital home" was an important part of moving on, of truly starting to live his own life.
A friend, and local Realtor called him one day about the house and suggested he have a look at it.
It was a style he'd never thought about, a cottage house. The large front and back yards were what sold him at first, they gave an almost country feel to this city house. The fact that it was the last house on a quiet dead end street added to the rural feeling. The house had stone and wood siding that added charm and appealed to Rick. There was a curved brick entryway, and even a brick driveway. The exterior colors were bright, and the small front porch with two rocking chairs gave it that undeniably homey touch.
He'd planted colorful flowers all along the entryway. Between the bright house colors and the colorful flowers, it was more color than Rick ever thought he'd want around a house, but he found it gave things a cheerful and peaceful kind of feel. The backyard had a couple of big trees, a nice lawn, shrubs, and he'd added more flowers. He enjoyed being out in that yard throwing the ball with Carl, or just relaxing with a beer after work.
Inside there was a comfortable living room, a pretty and old fashioned kitchen with built in breakfast nook, a small dining room, two bedrooms, a den, and two bathes. True to the cottage style, every room had built-ins. All of those built-ins provided a lot more storage than he and Carl would ever need.
Maybe the best part was the all season sun porch. Rick loved that room, it was quiet, peaceful and he made sure he and Carl spent no less than a half hour each evening out there reading. That often led to conversations with his son, about the books they were reading, school, sports. For Rick it didn't really make a difference what they talked about, the important thing was they talked.
What he was amazed by was the strong pull he felt to share all of this with Beth. It had only been two short months, and yet, he knew he wanted her in his life. She was everything he'd never had in a woman, and everything he wanted.
So even though he'd been so gun shy about getting into a relationship, he felt like he was ready to make a commitment to Beth. Maybe not marriage quite yet, but something.
xxxx
She was excited to finally see where he lived. He'd told her he wanted to fix her dinner, and she insisted she'd make the dessert.
He picked her up promptly at 4:00, he knew she liked to eat early, and he didn't want to rush straight into the meal.
She always looked so sweet, so pretty. The blond hair she couldn't quite seem to control was down tonight in waves of beautiful curls. He couldn't resist putting his hands to either side of her face, bringing her to him for a deep kiss, and running his fingers through that silky softness.
She'd resigned herself to living alone. She hadn't had good experiences with boys and men, and frankly, she was nervous around them and in some ways even fearful.
Then she'd started working at Sugar's Bakery and seen Rick Grimes. She'd known from that first day that he was something special, that if she was ever going to accept another date, it would be with him.
And that was just crazy she didn't even know him. But there was something in the eyes, something in the smile, something in the way he carried himself. She was smitten. And she acknowledged, at least to herself, her attraction had played a major role in why date one had gone haywire. She was so glad they'd worked through that, and that it was firmly where it belonged, in the past.
She so looked forward to their time together. She appreciated how he always worked hard at scheduling life so they could spend time alone every week. She was glad he took his parenting so seriously, even though she knew he worried about her feelings. His concern for Carl further proved to her what a good man Rick Grimes was.
Mama and Maggie had been very supportive and encouraging, but really she and Rick seemed to have a peaceful, calm and easy kind of relationship. There was no drama, and that's what Beth liked. They'd learned after that first date, and the movie mishap on date two, communication was the key.
Daddy was not as accepting as Mama, he had not given his approval to this relationship. It wasn't anything he had against Rick. She hadn't asked Rick to a family dinner yet, so they didn't really know him personally. Daddy's objection was that she was 22 and Rick had a 10 year old son. "You're way too young to think about taking on a responsibility like that Bethie. I'm not happy about it. The age difference between you and Rick, I can live with that. But the child Beth, I just don't want you tied down raising someone else's boy."
Mama had given him a righteous tongue lashing over that statement. But still, she knew Daddy wasn't happy. She was sure once he got to know Rick he'd feel differently. As soon as he felt comfortable introducing her to Carl, she planned to invite them both to the farm for Sunday dinner.
She didn't know if or when it would happen, but she knew, if Rick wanted to take this to the next level, she was ready to make that commitment to him.
xxxx
"Are you ready Beth?" When he smiled like that she was ready for practically anything.
"Yes, I'm ready, I'm so excited to finally see where you and Carl live. You'd think I was going to Disneyland!" She was smiling that way too, and he couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. "Well come on then Minnie, let's do this."
She was charmed by the place the minute he pulled up in that brick drive way. "Oh my gosh, it's so cheerful and inviting, I just love it."
That filled his heart with pride and he was so relieved. He'd wanted her to love it so much. "Let me help you out and we'll take the grand tour." He was beaming now as he held out his hand to help her from the truck.
"I'm 100% charmed Rick. It's lovely. The kitchen is absolutely perfect. What a great work space with all the counters, oh my gosh and the great built-ins, and the breakfast nook. It's everything a kitchen should be. Don't even get me started on that master bathroom. I'm so jealous of your claw foot tub, and an authentic one at that. That's a dream of mine. I suppose you just use the shower though, huh? You seem like a shower guy." She touched his arm and he immediately wrapped it around her waist.
"You're right, I am a shower guy, but I have to admit, when Carl wears me out at the park, I sometimes come home and soak in that tub." That's when he put both arms around her, kissed her deeply, then pulled back, hands to either side of her face. "I'd like you to meet Carl, would you be willing?"
She felt tears in her eyes, and fought letting them fall, "Of course I'm willing Rick, I've wanted to, I can't wait. You just tell me when and where!" And she surprised him when she put her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a kiss.
He'd grilled them each a steak and there was a salad and baked potato. Simple and perfect. She'd made a small chocolate torte and he was immediately impressed. "Wow Beth, I've never known anyone who could cook like you."
"Well, I'm just an average cook when it comes to most foods, baking is really my best culinary skill." She smiled and he placed his hand on hers. "Everything you do is just right Beth."
He'd poured them each a glass of wine, adding some 7-up to Beth's, and they sat on the cozy sofa in the living room, he had an arm around her shoulder. They were talking about their week, and plans they had for the next day when suddenly he set his glass down and changed the topic completely. "I have such deep feelings for you Beth. It seems soon, it's only been a couple of months, but I know I want a deeper commitment with you. I want us to have an honest relationship. I want us to be open with each other. I want us to be solid." And he looked into her eyes with an intensity that surprised her.
"I want the same Rick." She said it and she meant it, but she felt that something else was coming, and she was right.
"I feel like I need to tell you about the past, it's part of why this is such a big deal for me, that I feel that I do trust you Beth, I trust you with my secrets and my heart. I never thought I'd ever trust another woman after what happened with Lori. I thought I'd live the rest of my life without even dating a woman. But now I know, there's someone I don't want to live without and that someone is you."
He told her about that last morning with Lori. He didn't tell her about the box with the photos and the journal, she didn't need all the sordid details. He just wanted her to know why trust and commitment were such an important issue for him, he wanted her to understand what a big deal it was that he trusted her completely, without hesitation.
She was shocked, but somehow maintained her composure, she couldn't believe someone would just throw a marriage away like that. Especially anyone lucky enough to have a husband like Rick Grimes. She had no idea what she was expected to say so instead of saying anything, she opted to put her hand on his cheek and kiss him.
That's when he pulled her into a passionate embrace and started to kiss her with undeniable heat, and she responded. This time when he unzipped her dress and put a hand to her breast and asked, "Is this okay Beth?" She said "Yes." They were caught up, his mouth went to her breast and there was no protest from her. She responded with soft sighs, moans, and it thrilled him when she whispered, "Oh Rick..."
He was completely aroused and when he slid his hand up her skirt, and rubbed a hand on her panties he felt the warmth and the dampness, but when he made a move to slip that hand in those panties, she pulled back, looked him in the eye and whispered, "Not yet Rick, I'm so sorry, please don't be angry, I'm just not quite ready for that yet."
"I'm disappointed, sadly disappointed, but I'm not angry. When we get to that place I want it to be because it's what you really want, not because you feel like it's what I want." And he put his arms around her and kissed her deeply. "I care about you Beth. I'm falling in love with you. I'm not going to push you."
She was stunned, he'd actually mentioned love. Yes, she felt the same, but she hadn't realized they were at the same place. She wasn't too stunned to tell him, "I'm falling too Rick, more and more every day."
He walked her to her door and saw her safely inside. They'd made plans for lunch on Monday, their walk Tuesday evening, but most importantly Saturday. They'd agreed that lunch with Carl, followed by a trip to the park, would be a good first step.
He put his arms around her, looked at her with his broad smile and those beautiful smiling eyes, that head slightly tilted to the side, he spoke softly, "It may be more than just falling Beth."
A/N That moved right along! But hey, when you feel it, you feel it. Next chapter Beth meets Carl, and Rick meets Hershel, hmmm. Thanks so much for reading, please review xo