Daryl stopped reading the letter after the second paragraph. Hershel was still standing in the doorway of the kitchen, looking at him anxiously, and he knew if he went any further with the letter it'd be all over. He was already painfully hard, and could only imagine what else the letter would include.
"Short letter?" Hershel asked, his curiosity obviously getting the better of him. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah. Fine. I... uh... I just miss her is all." Daryl said. It wasn't a lie, but he felt incredibly nervous in the moment. He'd die of shame and embarrassment if Hershel knew the things Beth hadn't written in that letter and couldn't imagine Beth wouldn't feel the same way.
Hershel just nodded his head at Daryl. But didn't make an immediate move to leave.
"She seems like she's doing good..." Daryl said. "She... uh... seems real anxious to get out, to be home." He hoped that his vague response was enough to satisfy Hershel. And, it wasn't a lie - she did seem quite anxious, although the details of what she seemed so anxious about almost made Daryl blush.
"I can't read it all now. Don't think she realizes how much her words affect me... How much I'm missing her. I'll have to finish it later." Daryl said. He knew the double meaning of what he said, but Hershel couldn't imagine Hershel did.
"Glad she seems to be alright. I know you miss her... And she misses you. But just think, son... Next week at this time y'all will be spending your first night here with each other." Hershel said, a small smile on his face.
Daryl was worried for a second that he'd caught on to what was going on with Daryl, what was causing his hesitation about the letter. Why would Hershel mention them spending their first night together here if he wasn't thinking about what Daryl was. But if Hershel knew he didn't let on anymore. He just turned and moved back towards the guest room, calling out a quiet "goodnight!" as he went.
Daryl could finally breathe. How in the world could Beth have sent him a letter like this? No. How could she have written it in the first place? His sweet little Beth had sent him this naughty little letter that turned him on more than anything he remembered. Of course he'd had the good fortune of trying to open and read it in front of her father, he thought. But he hoped he covered it all well.
He picked up the letter, turning off the TV, and heading to his room. He wanted to sleep in the master, the one where he'd put all of Beth's stuff, but he reasoned that he'd wait until she was there - they could christen it together, he thought, smiling to himself. He had no question now about their sleeping situation. Beth wanted to share a bed with him. And a lot more than that, according to her letter.
He decided to take a shower, but decided he'd finish the letter first, now that he was in the comfort of his own space, away from Hershel's prying eyes or questions. As he read he got more and more turned on, and he was glad then that he'd stripped down to his underwear, avoiding the feeling of himself straining against his jeans. He still couldn't believe that Beth had written this. He wondered what made her want to say all of this now. Her two other letters were so normal, a bit demure, and so very Beth in nature. But this, he thought, was totally outside of what he knew of her. His mind swum with thoughts and emotions.
He finished the letter and he headed to the shower, debating with himself how to get rid of his incredibly intense erection. He was particularly tempted to touch himself, to bring himself to a release. He hadn't so much as touched himself since Beth had left and he so badly wanted that release. But for some reason, it almost felt wrong. He thought about waiting, about just taking a cold shower to relax his body and going on to bed. But as he continued to consider it, stepping into the warm shower, he wondered to himself if Beth what Beth would think, and whether or not she'd touched herself while she was away. And the thought of that helped him make his choice, as he grew impossibly harder, almost painfully aroused thinking about Beth touching herself. And so, Daryl used one arm to brace himself against the shower wall, and the other trailed down to his manhood, where he took himself into his hand, moving back and forth, slowly at first, but eventually working himself into a frenzy. And what really sent Daryl over the edge was thinking about Beth touching herself; he imagined that she'd do it while imagining it was him, imagining it was Daryl who was there with her, running his fingers up and down her slippery folds, making her moan and groan as he brought her to a climax. And as he imagined her falling over the edge, subconsciously shouting out his name, it sent him over that edge suddenly.
Coming down from his high he thought more about Beth's return and what it would mean for him, for them both. Her letter had really surprised him. He couldn't help but wonder if he would even be able to give her everything she wanted. Would he even be able to keep up with her? Her letter gave him this mental imagine of her dragging him into their bed constantly, like an animal in heat, wild with need and desperate for relief. Would she really be like that? He hadn't seen her like that before, other than the brief glimpse he'd gotten on that Friday night after they'd left the bar when she'd begged him to touch her. But that had only lasted for a brief few moments before she's become withdrawn, timid and shy. He could hardly believe that same girl, who'd been too shy and nervous to let him put his mouth on her, was the one that had written him that someone erotic letter.
The more he thought about it the more conflicted he became. He loved Beth, and right now, he'd been without her so long that he almost felt desperate for her. But they were so new in their relationship that he didn't want it all to just become about sex. He thought about Merle in that moment for some reason – he knew that if he was there he'd tell him he was a "pussy" for being concerned about something like that. Because, what guy that's really a man would complain about his girl wanting too much sex? But Daryl had been in a relationship like that before with someone and when the focus shifted so drastically towards sex their emotional connection was stilted and getting to know each other more had taken a backseat. He couldn't stand the thought of that happening with Beth. The thing he loved most about her was that emotional connection they had – and he wouldn't jeopardize the growth of that relationship, even if it was for a bunch of incredible sex.
He knew they'd work it out, find a balance. But it still made him a little anxious. He just wasn't sure what to expect when she came home, and that still gave him a bit of anxiety. What also made him anxious was thinking about their reunion and then the two nights they'd spend at her parents' house afterwards. Hershel had seemed more than okay with them deciding to live together, almost encouraging it, which Daryl had found strange given what Beth had told him about her father. But would he and Beth's mother feel comfortable with them sharing a room, sharing a bed in their home? He wasn't sure. He wouldn't want to be away from her like that, but he'd do what needed to be done to keep a good relationship with Beth's family. If they did share a room, though, that brought up a mountain of other question. But the biggest question was whether Beth would want him to make love to her there. He knew he wouldn't want to wait when the time came, especially if she asked him like she had before. He wasn't good at denying her, and really didn't think he'd ever want to, not with anything. But he didn't think he could have sex with Beth there. It seemed too awkward, especially given he and Hershel's growing relationship.
They'd have to wait until they got back here, he thought. He'd make sure they waited until they got home. He knew it would be hard, maybe one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. But he knew it was the mature thing to do, and for the best for their relationship. They could wait a measly two days, right? After all, they'd been away from each other for six weeks now.
As Daryl dried off from his shower and moved back towards the bedroom, climbing into bed, he knew one thing for sure now. Beth was going to be the death of him. And he couldn't wait. What a way to go, he thought, a smile spreading across his face as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Sunday went by quickly for Daryl. He'd had a long list of things he wanted to accomplish, and he'd gotten up early to see Hershel off and to start on the list. He had committed to himself that he would get all of these things done, all of these things that would make him and Beth's new home perfect when they arrived there sometime on Saturday afternoon.
He decided that he'd move his things into the master bedroom after all, although he'd still wait for Beth to actually sleep in there. Though it hadn't been in his original plan he knew now that Beth had no intention of them sleeping separately, and he couldn't have been happier thinking about that. They were a real couple now, and while they'd only been together for a brief time, he couldn't help but think that the trials they'd faced had bonded them far beyond those couple of months of their relationship. He felt closer to Beth than he ever had to anyone, even his own brother. And he felt like he might explode in anticipation of bringing Beth home, and them getting started on their life together.
By mid-day, Daryl had accomplished most of the tasks on his list, and his focus settled on his shopping list, which had grown significantly over the course of the last couple of days. He'd been glad to see how many things Beth had that he hadn't, that he'd have needed to buy otherwise. But there were still many things that they didn't have. He didn't concern himself with the cost of the things on the list, though. Luckily for him his savings had only grown over the last couple of months, as his salary far outpaced his very modest lifestyle. Part of him dreaded the trip to Wal-Mart that he was about to take, but the other part of him found it exciting, knowing he was going to pick out things for he and Beth. He knew he hadn't thought of everything – but if there were other things Beth wanted once she'd gotten settled in, he'd make sure to get them for her.
He headed out for his shopping trip, list in hand. He not only needed some items for their house, but also groceries. He'd wanted to buy as much of the things they'd need, including stocking their spices and basic cooking items. But he hadn't felt all that confident in the completeness of the list he'd made, although he told himself that he'd bring Beth back to get whatever he'd missed. He had this overwhelming need to make sure she had everything she wanted, to provide for her, and to make sure that she never worried about getting something she needed or the cost. He had more than enough to take care of them – and he would spend every dollar he had making her happy if he had to.
Upon getting to the store he quickly realized that he had too much on his list to get into one buggy and he resigned himself to splitting his trip in half – deciding to go through the household section first, checking out and taking those things to the car, and then going back in for the groceries they needed. He wondered through the store, actually enjoying the process of looking at things, picking things out that he thought Beth would like. He wasn't too concerned about how much time he spent, he wanted to be careful and get all the right things. He finally moved to the check-out, and then out to the car, unloading everything before heading back into the store for the groceries.
He pushed his cart through the different aisles, picking up things on the list, as well as other things he saw that he thought they'd need or want. He was almost finished, only needing to go down the dairy aisle at the back of the store before checking out, when he heard his phone ringing. He didn't recognize the number right away, but it was a Georgia area code, and he wondered if it was Hershel calling to let him know he'd made it back safely. So he answered quickly.
"Hello?" Daryl answered.
"Well hello to you, baby brother. Guess who's out of the big house… been trying to find you for a few days now." Merle said, his voice dripping with the normal patronizing tone it always did. And all of a sudden, Daryl felt sick on his stomach.