THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS. The next chapter is gonna be... intense. :)

Beth went back to bed after finishing off the cinnamon rolls and replayed the entire scene with Daryl in her head. It hurt her more than she'd care to admit that he refused to kiss her. If he was feeling guilty about, he had no need to be. She was the one that came onto him. And she knows he wanted it, she could tell. That's why his eyes were fixed on her lips, that's why she felt compelled to do what he wouldn't. She supposed it didn't matter now. She was never going to try that again. If in fact the two of them kissed in the future, it would be because he initiated it, not her.

Beth had sworn to him that she would leave one day, that he would regret not giving her a chance because she won't stick around to wait for him. Once she is old enough not to need a legal guardian and has her diploma, she'll be free to go. Maybe she'll go stay with Maggie and Glenn in Atlanta. Or maybe she'll use the money that her mom and dad left her when they passed away to get an apartment somewhere close to the college of her choosing. Either way, like she said, nothing -or better- no one was keeping her here.

Or maybe she is just being dramatic. Maybe Daryl was right, it would be wrong for them to be together. He's old enough to be her father. But to be fair, her father was old enough to be Daryl's father. It's all very mind-numbing, the age difference debate. It shouldn't matter, it doesn't matter… not to her. But if it did to him, than fine. He knows what she wants from him on her eighteenth birthday. Could she wait that long? Her birthday is in January. He'll be back on the road by then. Something told her that seducing him into giving her an early birthday / Christmas kiss wasn't going to be easy. Especially because she's never seduced anyone in her entire life.

Hmm… maybe she couldn't seduce him, but she could make him jealous. She's already seen a very protective / territorial side of him when it comes to her. The way he acted when those creeps almost violated her during the hunting trip was a clear indicator of that. Then again, he could have just done what any decent human being would do by protecting her.

There was a lot of 'maybes' going on in her thoughts right now but one thing was certain: Beth had a very good chance of making Daryl jealous enough to stake his claim. But the thought of toying with some poor boys feelings just to get to Daryl was unnerving. She wasn't that cold hearted and childish. She wondered if she could talk Carl into helping her out by pretending that they had a thing for each other when Daryl was around, but that would mean that she would have to tell Carl about her feelings for Daryl and she wasn't going to do that.

A metaphorical light bulb went off above Beth's head just then. She thought back to the time when Carl asked her if there were any guys at school that she was interested in. If she told him that she had an infatuation for his friend, Ron Anderson, then Carl would try to set them up. And it wouldn't harm her conscious because Ron was the biggest jerk at school. She didn't have to worry about hurting his feelings because she was pretty sure he had none. She had no idea why Carl was friends with a guy like Ron but it didn't matter now. Beth grabbed her phone off of the night stand next to her bed and quickly searched for Carl's name.

They texted back and forth for a while after she confessed the name of the guy she talked about that day when she drove him home from school.

BETH: RON ANDERSON

CARL: REALLY?!

BETH: YEAH, WHY?

CARL: I MEAN, HE'S MY FRIEND BUT HE'S KINDA AN ASS

BETH: WELL HE'S ALWAYS BEEN SWEET TOWARDS ME

Lie. Ron wasn't blatantly rude towards her but he was annoyingly flirtatious, just like he was with all the girls at school, especially the cheerleaders. He obviously thought that he was a god of some sorts but really, he looked like a troubled kid with daddy issues.

BETH: DON'T TELL HIM THAT I LIKE HIM. JUST BRING HIM OVER FOR DINNER AND I'LL DO THE REST

CARL: OKAY NO PROBLEM

BETH: I'LL INVITE SOPHIA TOO

CARL: COOL

Daryl needed some space. Some time to think. He wanted to go hunting so bad to clear his head but he told Rick that he'd be back for dinner tonight since Rick missed last night's meal. Daryl really missed his friend but the night shift was keeping him occupied since Lori left. He isn't the same man he was before but Daryl had faith that Rick would find someone soon and he'd get back to the man he used to be. As for Daryl… he was convinced that he'd be joining Rick soon in his wanting-a-woman-he-can't-have phase of sulking and he definitely wasn't going to find someone else any time soon. Women that took interest in him only came around once in a blue moon. And right now, that woman was Beth. Just his luck.

Daryl wasn't interested in finding another woman to take his mind off of Beth anyway. It'd be useless, he was already hooked. He felt his attraction to her on that first day when he watched her in the kitchen making breakfast for him in her short cotton shorts that gave off a perfect view of her long legs. And when she embraced him from behind that night of the incident back at the hunting grounds, he never thought that he would experience compassion like that from someone who had no reason to give it to him. In fact, he had given her every reason to hate him. But she didn't. Quite the opposite actually.

He still couldn't wrap his mind around it. Beth, the sweetest and prettiest girl he's ever met, liked him. Why did she have to be so young? She mentioned turning eighteen soon, but that didn't give him any peace of mind. She would still be a teenager in his eyes, despite being a legal adult in the eyes of the law. She also mentioned having no reason to stick around after graduation. That final comment, about being gone someday, had actually scared the hell out of him. He didn't want to lose her now that he just found her, even if he can't have her in the way he wanted. She was the only good thing in his life right now. She had become the light in his dark, cruel world.

When Daryl walked up the steps to the front door of the Grime's house, he heard laughter from multiple people inside. He recognized one of the voices as Beth's and another belonged to Carl. But that didn't explain the other voices or the unfamiliar cars parked out front that he just took notice of. Daryl knocked loud so that it could be heard over the laughter in the house. Carl was the one who answered the door. He had a grin on his face the size of the United States as he motioned for Daryl to come in. Daryl followed the voices and laughter into the formal dining room that usually went unused.

Much to his surprise, there was an extra pair teenagers sitting at the table with Beth. Carl reclaimed his seat next to a girl with freckles and short hair. Or was it long hair? Daryl didn't really give a shit because his attention was immediately brought the boy sitting way too damn close to Beth right now. Beth finally took notice of Daryl standing in the entry way and the smile that was plastered on her face fell at the sight of him. She looked… guilty? But only for a second. She was smiling again the moment that she looked away and focused her attention back on the boy next to her.

Daryl felt like he was imagining shit right now. She had just tried to kiss him earlier that day, and now she was acting like some dumb college bitch looking for smooch! She couldn't get it from him so now she's just going to try her luck on the next fella? Rage was filling him, threatening to boil over if he didn't look away. The four kids didn't even notice when he stormed off, on the hunt for Rick.

Again, he took the steps two at a time on his way up to Rick's room and didn't bother knocking. He found the sheriff buckling his belt as he walked out of the master bathroom into the bedroom that he no longer shared with his wife.

"What the hell is goin' on down there!?" Daryl demanded with clenched fists.

"Beth and Carl wanted some friends over for dinner." Rick shrugged. "That not okay?"

Daryl realized how uncontrolled his anger was becoming and quickly took a deep breath before he gave away too much to Rick.

"It's been a shit day. I just wanted ta'have a quiet dinner with ya'll then go home and get some rest. I ain't got the patience to watch a bunch of horny teenagers giggle and flirt with each other all night." Daryl wanted to feign indifference but it was a little too late for that. Might as well put it out there.

Rick smirked at the other man in the room and grabbed his sheriff hat off the dresser on his way towards the door.

"Well c'mon then. Best not to leave the 'horny teenagers' alone for too long. God knows what they'll do without adult supervision..." Rick joked.

Daryl grimaced, wishing he had brought his crossbow.