"Don't be careless with that book. I don't want to get it back with bent pages and coffee stains." Daryl scowled as he passed the paperback to Tara and she accepted it gingerly. "Aaron said that Eric was lending it to you. I read it first."
Tara's right eyebrow lifted a fraction, "Really? Did you like it? There are others in the series, this is just the first."
He shrugged, "It was okay. I never saw the movies or nothing; Merle said it was for kids and he woulda made it into some kinda joke."
"Well, you should read the others too. They get better, and the stories are longer in the later books." She grinned, "So did you get a warning about bent pages too?"
"Yeah, but the rest about was about dirt or motorcycle grease." Daryl shrugged again, looking uncomfortable about the continued conversation. "Eric has all of the other books too, I just haven't asked to borrow them yet."
Tara looked up from reading the book cover, surprised, "Why not? There isn't anything wrong with wanting to read. I doubt they'd make fun of you."
He gave her a dirty look, "I know, it just feels weird."
"It's okay Daryl, you can be a closet bookworm and I'll keep your secret." She looked at him slyly, "I've been finding other books on runs; you might like some of those too. You can read them before I pass them on to Carl or Eugene. Come see my library someday and I'll hook you up with some good fiction." She winked at him and he shook his head.
"Later, I want to finish this series first." He shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets, walking away without another word. Tara laughed and stuck the book in her messenger bag.