I apologize for the wait on this chapter! It's been a busy week. Enjoy! :)

Beth sighed and drummed her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. She was bored. Daryl had given in to her request to drive about an hour ago, but so far, driving wasn't helping her situation. She wished that she could listen to music while they drove, as she always used to enjoy doing before the world had ended, but with no functioning radio stations left, that wasn't an option. The old truck didn't have a CD player, but it wasn't as though they had any CDs anyway. She had tried getting Daryl to play silly games with her earlier, but he was in a bit of a testy mood and had refused to partake.

His mood was justified, however, and Beth was actually surprised she wasn't as irritated as he was. Their second day of travel hadn't been nearly as smooth as their first. They had encountered three major traffic snags that morning, forcing them to alter their route and head farther east than they had planned. After seeming to drive in circles for most of the morning, they had finally found a clear route and were once again heading south. They were about thirty miles south of Macon, and while the city was well behind them, Beth could tell that Daryl was still a little on edge.

"Quit that," he grumbled suddenly next to her. She blinked in confusion before realizing he meant her fidgeting hands, and she sighed and ceased her drumming.

"I'm sorry. I'm just bored. I always used to take road trips with lots of music to listen to, and it's weird to drive for so long in silence."

Daryl grunted in reply, but as usual, Beth was unfazed by his lack of response.

"I would always spend the night before a road trip making a playlist for the drive," she continued. "And then I'd burn it onto discs to listen to on the road. It was one of my favorite parts of the road trip."

"Yeah, well this ain't a road trip," Daryl snapped. "Ain't no vacation or fun little trip wherever you used to go back then."

Beth gave him a glare and an impatient huff. "Yeah, I know that, Daryl. You don't have to be so snippy with me. It's not my fault we had to find another route."

Daryl sighed. "I know. Sorry."

He knew she was right; he shouldn't be taking out his frustration on her. He suddenly found himself thankful that Beth wasn't willing to put up with his attitude. Sometimes her low tolerance for his poor moods was what he needed to pull himself out of it. He sighed again and glanced over to her, feeling a little guilty for being so short with her all day.

"You could sing," he suggested. "Make your own music."

Beth shrugged. "Maybe."

She didn't really feel much like singing at the moment, despite her yearning for music on the drive. But she appreciated that Daryl appeared to be making an effort to not be so grouchy. She kept her eyes on the road and let her mind wander to fantasies of sitting on the beach with Daryl's arms around her, watching a sunset together.

Her fantasy was suddenly interrupted when her eyes landed on a particularly interesting billboard ahead. In large lettering, it read, "The Lion's Den Adult Store: 5 Miles Ahead." Beth smirked and stifled a giggle, and she glanced over at Daryl when she felt his eyes on her. He arched an eyebrow in confusion, and Beth could feel her cheeks blushing a bit.

"I've never been to a sex shop," she blurted out, and Daryl snorted.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, there's one up ahead. Five miles," she stated, glancing back and forth between Daryl and the road. His expression had turned into one of amusement.

"You sayin' we should go there?" he smirked at her.

"Why not?" Beth grinned. "I'm bored, you're grumpy, and it could be just the fun little activity we need to make today better."

Daryl exhaled a long breath, the amusement still plain on his face.

"We should really keep goin'," he said. "Put more distance between us and Macon."

"We will," Beth agreed. "But that doesn't mean we can't stop for a few minutes."

"I dunno," Daryl shook his head, but Beth could tell that he was just teasing her. She reached over and shoved him playfully.

"C'mon, Daryl," she giggled. "I watched my first porno with you, it's only right that you're the one to introduce me to my first sex shop."

Daryl chuckled at that. "All right, all right, we'll stop and check it out. But don't come cryin' to me when your innocent eyes are ruined forever by what we see in there."

Beth laughed. To be honest, she was excited by the idea of visiting the adult store. She had never been to one before (having been only 16 when the world had gone to hell), but it was an experience she didn't want to miss out on having. It wasn't so much the pornographic movies she was interested in, but Beth had never seen a sex toy in person before, and she was wildly curious as to what they actually looked like. Her cheeks flushed as she thought about it, and she tried to focus on the road, hoping that Daryl hadn't noticed her heated face.

Soon they were pulling off the highway and into the parking lot of The Lion's Den. The parking lot was completely vacant, and the area around them appeared to be quiet and still as Beth stopped the truck. She glanced at Daryl, who gave her a nod, and the pair of them exited the truck with their weapons drawn. They approached the front door of the store, which was made of a sort of frosted glass to hide the identities of potential shoppers. Beth smirked at the sign that said, "18+ ONLY. Have your ID ready!"

Daryl rapped on the glass loudly and waited, but nothing moved inside the store. He tried the door, but it was locked.

"Stand back," he grunted to Beth, before using the butt of his crossbow to smash a hole in the glass door. He carefully reached inside and unlocked it. He handed Beth a flashlight as he pulled the door open, propping it in place with a small wedge he found by the door.

"Dark in here," he explained. "Usually ain't windows in places like these."

"Ahh, so you've been to one of these places before, have you?" Beth grinned. Daryl rolled his eyes at her.

"Once or twice."

He entered the store first and clicked on his own flashlight. The store seemed quiet and deserted, but Daryl wasn't taking any chances. He carefully moved forward and quickly scanned the store, stopping briefly to bang on two doors in the back, which also remained silent.

"What're those?" Beth asked.

"Private movie rooms," Daryl grunted in reply. He smirked at Beth's look of disgust. "Well, we're here now, Miss Greene. Got anything in particular you're lookin' for?"

Beth's cheeks flushed again, and she was thankful for the darkness of the store.

"I just want to look. Not looking for anything in particular," she shrugged, but she knew Daryl was still smirking at her. She tried her best to ignore his smug expression and began tentatively exploring the store. The beam of her flashlight landed on a large display of pornographic movies and she approached the display, her mouth starting to hang open a little at the sight of the extremely explicit images on the covers. She heard Daryl come up behind her, his flashlight beam joining hers shining on the movies before them.

"See anything that strikes your fancy?" Daryl muttered lowly behind her. His voice held a teasing tone to it, but it still sent a shiver down her spine.

"No, but—" Beth suddenly cut herself off and let out a loud laugh. She picked up one of the movies and held it up to Daryl. "Edward Penishands?! Is this for real?"

Daryl laughed and shook his head in disbelief. "You'd be surprised how many porno spoofs there are out there."

"I almost wish I could watch this," Beth grinned, flipping the DVD case over and looking at the back of it.

Daryl leaned forward and began scanning the selection of DVDs. After a moment, he snorted and pulled one from the shelf.

"Here's another spoof. Good Will Humping."

Beth snickered and put down Edward Penishands to keep looking.

"Look! Gulp Fiction?" she laughed, pulling it from the shelf. "Oh, ew," she said as she looked at the images on the back. Daryl chuckled at her reaction.

It certainly wasn't a typical activity for Beth (or for Daryl, for that matter), but it seemed to be exactly what they had needed. Laughing over the ridiculous porn titles had considerably lightened both of their moods. The laughter was refreshing, and something Beth needed after the recent less-than-happy events that had occurred in their lives.

After she had gotten her fill of browsing the movies, Beth began wandering through the rest of the store. She found a small display of books that she was immediately drawn to, and as she began flipping through them, she realized they were erotic novels. Very erotic novels. She grinned and grabbed a few to take with her. The Anne Rice novels she had been reading had contained some steamy love scenes, and Beth had to admit that she had liked reading them. She wasn't sure if she would enjoy the erotica she had just picked up, but in their world, entertainment was limited, and she would take what she could get.

"Maybe you can read some of those books aloud while we drive," Daryl suggested playfully. "It'll be like books on tape."

"I think if I read any of this aloud, we would be pulling over too often," Beth smirked. "It's a little too hot for casual driving."

"Not sure that's a bad thing," Daryl murmured, his tone causing Beth to throb between her legs.

"Oh, stop," Beth shook her head, trying to ignore the heat in the pit of her stomach.

She wandered over to the section of the store she had been most interested to see: the sex toys. She couldn't stop her mouth from dropping at the selection in front of her. She couldn't believe the size of some of them; it seemed impossible that they would fit inside anyone. She skipped over the selection of dildos and turned her attention to the vibrators. She felt Daryl come up behind her and felt the heat rising to her cheeks just from looking at them.

"Maggie offered to buy me a vibrator once," she said, her voice strangely breathless. "For my sixteenth birthday."

"And did she?"

Beth shook her head. "I told her not to. I was curious, and I secretly wanted one, but I was too embarrassed to admit it. And I was afraid that if I had one, my parents would find it. The whole idea was just a little mortifying for me."

"I think it still is," Daryl teased her in a low voice. "I can see you blushing even in the dark."

Beth groaned and lifted her hands to her warm cheeks.

"I'm such a prude," she sighed a little dramatically. Daryl chuckled.

"Bein' inexperienced with somethin' does not make you a prude," he disagreed. "Besides, you've proven to me many times that you are far from prude."

Beth turned around in mock anger. "Are you calling me promiscuous, Mr. Dixon?"

He snorted. "Not at all. But you know what you like, and sometimes, you don't mind gettin' a little dirty."

Beth gave him a half smile and bit her lip. His words and tone of voice were definitely turning her on, but despite the merchandise around them, it was neither the time nor the place to get frisky.

"I only know what I like 'cause you showed me," she said, and Daryl's eyes flashed with a mixture of pride and desire. She gave him a playful nudge and turned back around to look at the toys again.

"You should take a couple of 'em," Daryl suggested. "They could be fun . . ."

"I think you're the one who's dirty," Beth smirked.

"Maybe. But you could also use 'em on those long, lonely hours while I'm keepin' watch . . ."

"Daryl!"

He laughed. "I'm just messin' with you. But seriously, you should take some. You said you were curious and wanted to try it, so why not? And I'll only participate if you ask me to."

Beth giggled and gave him another playful shove.

"I have no idea what to even look for. They all look so different."

"So get one of each type. And then if one breaks, you've got backups."

Beth eyed the selection in front of her and decided that Daryl had a point. And she shouldn't feel embarrassed for wanting to try new things. Especially something like this. She was a grown woman and she decided that she shouldn't feel ashamed of wanting to explore her own sexuality. Resolutely, she grabbed several different types of vibrators from the shelves.

"Atta girl," Daryl said with a chuckle. "Now let's go grab some batteries for those things. They've got a display of 'em up front."

"Might as well take them all," Beth shrugged. "We can use batteries for lots of things."

Daryl nodded and made his way over to the display. He leaned behind the counter and grabbed several plastic bags. He handed a few to Beth, where she quickly stashed her merchandise, and they quickly cleared out the store's selection of batteries. The pair of them left the store with full bags.

"See, wasn't this a good idea?" Beth grinned as she climbed back in the truck, this time letting Daryl back behind the wheel.

"Yeah," he agreed, a grin on his face. "But it'll be an even better idea once you make use of your new toys."

"Daryl!" Beth huffed, but she couldn't wipe the smile from her face as he laughed heartily next to her. Regardless of the troubles they'd experienced earlier, it had once again turned out to be a good day.

Don't worry, dear readers, I will give you a scene involving Beth's new toys soon! ;)

Hope you enjoyed and please review!