Daryl couldn't believe his eyes. There, right in front of him, stood Andrea, surrounded by quite a few of her girlfriends, many of whom Daryl knew, or at least had met on a few occasions. He cursed under his breath, wondering what in the world the odds were that he'd end up at the same place she was tonight.
He looked over at Beth, only to see that she was already looking up at him, wild-eyed and unsure what to say or do. She was grasping his hand still, though, and in that moment he realized she didn't plan to let go – and that was good, because neither did he.
"Hey sweetheart" Andrea said, a little too friendly for Daryl's liking, moving herself a little closer to Daryl. Too close, he thought. He stepped back, putting some distance between them, and pulled Beth's hand up towards his chest, nestling it there and hoping she understood that he wanted her to keep it there. She'd moved closer to him, now, and as he looked down at her, she stood on her tiptoes and whispered into his ear.
"I'm here, Daryl. I won't leave you. Unless…" Beth said, looking up shyly, a little uncertainty registering in her eyes all of a sudden. Daryl knew she was uneasy about the situation, probably just as uneasy as he was. He realized then that Beth might have assumed that he would want to talk to Andrea, or that he'd entertain getting back together with her. But he wanted to reassure Beth – let her know he had no intentions of even talking to Andrea, or entertaining her absurdity.
Before he knew what he was doing, he pulled Beth's hand up further, the one that had been resting on his chest after he'd placed it there. And he kissed it sweetly. He hoped Beth understood. She smiled up at him then, her eyes becoming more sure, and he thought that it seemed that she'd gotten his message.
Andrea was still standing in front of him, though, and she looked irritated, looking at Daryl, but occasionally stealing a glance at Beth. Daryl knew he needed to say something, anything, but he didn't know.
"Hi Andrea" he finally managed. "Doing alright?" he added. He didn't really care, but he couldn't think of much else to say – and he wanted to be polite, if for no other reason than to make Beth feel a little more comfortable with this already uncomfortable situation.
"Well, Daryl… I think you know the answer to that. I can't say that I am…" Andrea said. Daryl couldn't help but realize then that she didn't look quite as happy as she normally did. And that she wasn't quite as made up either – her makeup was very light and her hair was very natural looking, two things that she always spent a lot of time on. Daryl had always thought it was all too much – Andrea was a very attractive woman, she didn't need all that makeup or big hair to make herself look nice. The one time he'd mentioned it to her she'd tried to make a joke out of it, tell him that "the bigger the hair, the closer to God". He'd never mentioned it again – she obviously liked it.
"Baby… are these some of your friends?" Daryl heard Beth ask. When he looked down at her, she had this huge smile on her face and had wrapped her arms all the way around him now. She winked at him sweetly, and while to the outside world the wink just seemed like a cute show of affection, Daryl quickly realized what Beth was doing. She was trying to help, trying to give Daryl the upper hand in a situation where Daryl had seemingly always been treated as if he was inferior. "I'm Beth" she said, looking at Andrea, but then also at the other ladies standing nearby. She even stuck out her hand to Andrea, for good measure. Andrea shook it with uncertainty and what Daryl guessed was a little bit of frustration that registered on her face.
Daryl loved Beth in that moment – that she was willing to do this for him. The humor in the situation was that she was playing dumb, acting like she had no idea who Andrea was or what her relationship had been with Daryl, even though their breakup had been so recent. He knew Andrea well enough to know that one of the most important things to her was being known and people acknowledging her. And in that moment, he knew that Beth's act was probably the best thing to do to get under Andrea's skin.
One of her girlfriends, who Daryl had always thought was probably the bitchiest of them all, stepped forward, standing right beside Andrea. "She'd broken-hearted, Daryl! She said you just left her – didn't even explain! Just packed your stuff and left! What kind of thing is that to do to someone? Especially someone who has helped you as much as she has!" the woman said, getting angrier and louder as she spoke. "And… now you show up here… with her?" the woman said, looking at Beth with a glare of disdain.
"You're kidding, right?" Daryl said – the words had slipped out his mouth before he realized it. He didn't want to make a scene, not here, not anywhere really. Andrea wasn't worth his time – and she sure wasn't worth him losing his cool in front of Beth and her friends. He wouldn't do that to her. Daryl looked right at Andrea, stone-cold in the eyes, to make sure she was paying attention. "Maybe, you should tell your little friends here the truth, Andrea. Maybe you want to explain to them about Shane, huh?". Andrea's eyes grew wide – and Daryl knew that she was afraid that he was going to expose her, her lies and her terrible actions. He didn't intend to do that – but just wanted to say enough to make Andrea's friends ask questions. As obnoxious as most of them were, he knew they'd never leave her secret alone – they'd badger her until she caved in and told them the truth.
"So sorry we can't stay and talk more, but, we're meeting some friends!" Beth said. She was still playing dumb, acting very sweet and innocent, and looking at all the ladies with the sweetest, most genuine looking smile. "Y'all have fun!"
Daryl was still a bit shocked at how good Beth was at pretending – but he couldn't help but feel a little thrill by all this. There was something about holding Beth's hand, hearing her call him "baby", and feeling her snuggling up against him – even if it was all just pretending, he loved every single second.
"Come on, baby girl" Daryl said to Beth, starting to pull her through the crowd again, just like he had been before, except Daryl had pushed Beth in front of him now, and had wrapped his arms around her torso, guiding her through the sea of people. They moved towards her friends, who had all looked a bit confused about what had just been happening and then the close interactions between the two as they approached.
As they neared her friends, all Daryl could think about was what they'd just started. Would Andrea and her friends stay around the bar or would they leave? And if they left, was Beth going to be willing to play out this charade for the rest of the night , especially with her friends around? He got his answer when they got to the table, with Beth introducing him around to several of her friends – Carl, Tara, Sasha, and her boyfriend, Bob. Beth motioned for Daryl to take an empty seat at the table and as he did, she plopped down into his lap, her shoulder resting against his chest. He instinctly rested his hand on the outside of her thigh, as if to make sure that she was secure sitting there. Those legs, the thought, looking down at them now that she was so close to him – he thought they were going to be the death of him, that Beth was going to be the death of him. He knew from Beth's position, she could easily see Andrea and her friends, and he couldn't help but wonder if Beth had done that on purpose. She carefully placed her arms around Daryl's neck and leaned into his ear very closely, whispering to him.
"Play along, okay?" she said, and he could tell without seeing her face that she had a huge smile on her face.
Daryl nodded and then when she brought her face back into view, he couldn't help but smile. "It's gonna be a good night" he said. She smiled back at him, nodding, biting her bottom lip in a cute way that Daryl had noticed that she often did. And then without warning, Beth leaned in, bringing her lips straight to his. And in that moment, Daryl didn't give a damn who was watching, or that she was only doing this because of Andrea. No, all he cared about was the feeling of her lips moving against his, and then her tongue moving over his top lip and eventually how it felt against his own. And he couldn't help but give into his desires from earlier – and as he ran his hand around the skin on her legs, he couldn't help but think that they felt even better than he'd imagined they would when he'd admired them in his truck. And he hoped he could just sit here, caught up in this moment, for a long, long time.
The rest of the evening passed too quickly for Beth's liking. She couldn't put her finger on why, but she liked pretending to be Daryl's girlfriend. She was afraid at first, when they'd encountered Andrea and she's just acted on the idea – she didn't know how Daryl would respond. At first, she hadn't been sure about how Daryl was feeling – did he see how Andrea had responded to him and consider getting back together with her? It sure seemed Andrea was interested in that.
Beth had listened to Daryl talk about Andrea a lot and all the things he'd said had made her despise her. No, Beth didn't really know her, but the things that Daryl had said, things Andrea had said and done, Beth couldn't get over the feeling that Andrea was just not a very nice person. And how could anyone do or say some of those things to someone like Daryl? He was so kind, so great to be around – and he was drop dead gorgeous. Beth hadn't understood how anyone could cheat on Daryl – there couldn't possibly be anyone out there that was better than him. He was the total package, Beth thought.
Beth had loved the look on Andrea's face when she'd called Daryl "baby" – and when he'd called her that too. The woman looked like a deer caught in headlights. Beth also couldn't figure out, for the life of her, why Andrea and her friends didn't leave. Beth had tried not to, but she'd kept tabs on them most of the night, glancing over every once in a while to see if they were still there and if they were looking at her and Daryl. And they were – almost every time she looked, it seemed that they were glued to their same spot, all eyes on the young blonde and Daryl. And she couldn't help it, but, she wanted to give them something to talk about.
Beth was never the type to want to cause someone pain intentionally. She had been raised to respect others, and to help people through their hurt whenever she could. But this situation was different, she thought. Andrea had caused this bad situation and she deserved to feel a little bit of hurt. She couldn't help but think about how much pain Daryl had seemingly experienced because of Andrea. Didn't she deserve a taste of her own medicine? She knew it was wrong, but that thought made Beth smile.
And so, she'd kissed Daryl. A lot. And she'd drug him out onto the dance floor. At first he'd protested but he quickly agreed. So they'd spent a lot of the night together out there, dancing to all kinds of songs - slow songs and fast ones, it hadn't mattered much to them, as they'd been pressed up against each other, looking into the others' eyes, and of course, kissing.
She couldn't help but notice that, after a while, Daryl didn't seem to think about Andrea anymore. Or, at least, if he did, he didn't show it. And that made her smile too. She was helping Daryl forget, and letting him have a good time. Didn't he deserve that after all that he'd been through? She couldn't help but look at him and think that he seemed genuinely happy – and she couldn't think of anything else that mattered more to her in that moment.
Daryl seemed like he'd lost himself in the good time they were having – and Beth did too. She didn't know how long they'd been there, or what else was really going on around her. The only thing she knew was she was there with Daryl. And he made her feel so good, even she couldn't quite explain it. Yes, his touches had about driven her wild. When he'd run his hand up her thigh, after she'd sat down in his lap earlier, she thought she was in heaven. And when they were out on the dance floor a few times, he'd pulled the back of her shirt up, just enough that he could skim his calloused fingers over the skin on her lower back – and in those moments she knew that she was way more aroused than she should have been. But he also just made her feel wanted, appreciated, and admired. She knew Daryl was just pretending, but in those moments, she couldn't care less. She was going to enjoy this – and it thrilled her that he was doing the same.
Her friends had questioned her a few times, all when Daryl had left her side to go to the bathroom or go to the bar to get them some drinks. Tara and Sasha were especially interested to hear about Daryl – they wanted to know more about him and why they hadn't heard about him before. Beth didn't give much detail. She wasn't sure what to say, honestly. She felt like she couldn't tell them the truth, just in case. But she figured she could be vague for now, and explain things to them later. So all she said was that things with Daryl were new and that she'd spent practically all her free time with him over the last week – and she tried to silence their questions by telling them that she didn't know where things were going, but that she felt good about her and Daryl's relationship so far. And all that was true, she thought, just maybe not in the ways that her friends would think after observing her and Daryl together. But she'd worry about all of that later. She knew they'd understand.
Suddenly, someone said it was "last call" and Beth couldn't believe it was already so late. She had to be at work at 7 a.m. and she hadn't intended to stay out past 2 in the morning. It was worth it though, she thought, and while she dreaded the long day ahead that she'd have working, she knew she was off on Sunday – she figured she could rest then. Daryl had mentioned at dinner that he thought he might come down to the beach during the day on Saturday and Beth couldn't help but think how that would be a bright spot in her day.
"We probably should head on home, huh?" Daryl asked her, standing behind her, leaning forward and talking into her ear, while his arms draped protectively around her shoulders.
"Yeah" Beth responded hesitantly. "I don't want to… but I'm already gonna be dead on my feet tomorrow at work." Beth didn't want to go, she didn't want the night to be over – but she knew the reality she had to face. It stinks being an adult sometimes, she thought to herself.
Daryl nodded and grabbed her hand. They'd said goodbye to Beth's friends and started to head out to the parking lot towards Daryl's truck. As they neared the truck and Daryl started to open Beth's door for her, he quickly pulled her towards him, kissing her hard and long, for what was probably the thousandth time that night.
Beth was a little taken back by Daryl's actions – they were out of the bar now, away from Andrea and her friends and their prying eyes. After their lips had separated, somewhat hesitantly, Beth looked around and didn't see Andrea or her friends anywhere – in fact, she didn't really see anyone. Why was Daryl still keeping this act up?
"You don't have to pretend anymore, Daryl" she told him, playfully putting her hands onto his chest, pushing him away just slightly. She felt a little bit shy in that moment and diverted her eyes down towards the ground.
But Daryl reached down, putting his hand under her chin, and drawing her face back upwards so that she'd look at his face again. Daryl's eyes bore into hers and the look on his face was one that Beth knew she'd never forget.
"Who says I'm pretending?".