You guys are so amazing. I don't even know what to say besides that.
This chapter may seem like a filler but there's so much going on with Daryl, this has become one of my favorites. I love writing that man's inner thoughts.
I will be going out of town on vacation for a few days so I'm not entirely sure when I will update again but I'm sure I'm going to be getting a ton of inspiration for my muse while I'm gone.
…
Chapter Seventeen. Flipping a Switch.
Daryl and T-Dog step from the conference room, not speaking. All T does is slap a hand on Daryl's shoulder and gives him a wide grin that Daryl nearly returns.
"I'm gonna go grab the paper from the shop downstairs," T-Dog says.
Daryl nods. "I got someone I was thinkin' of stoppin' by and seein' real quick. I'll meet you down there," he says.
"You got it," T-Dog nods and then slaps his hand on his shoulder again. "Hell of a good job in there, boss."
Daryl nearly flushes at that and watches as T-Dog bounces on down the stairs to the first floor where there is a little shop that sells papers from all over the country, magazines, soda, cigarettes and candy. But Daryl knows T is going because there's a cute girl who works behind the counter who T likes to give his best smiles to.
Daryl turns and heads further on down the hall. He had seen Spencer's name on the board downstairs that had names and room numbers listed and he heads to office 226 now. The mayor's office, it said on the board, is room 223 and Daryl hopes that he can get in to see Spencer without running into the other man; especially since Daryl's pretty sure he didn't vote for him. And for such a small town, it really doesn't matter to Daryl what kind of mayor the man is since it never seems to directly affect him personally but Spencer has definitely said enough things about him where Daryl can't help but have an opinion form – whether it's a right opinion or not. A persnickety old, slightly racist, man who might be past his political prime.
Daryl wonders if Spencer wants to run for Mayor someday. Daryl might actually vote in that election if he does.
He's not too sure what he's doing. Yes, he's in Town Hall this morning and he knows Spencer works at Town Hall so there's nothing wrong with him going and saying hi. After all, Spencer is a friend of Beth's and they've hung out so Daryl doesn't think it will be too weird. At least, he can't see why it would be weird. But maybe it will weird Spencer out.
Daryl slows his steps down. No, he shouldn't bother him. Even if it's not weird to just stop by and see him, it's in the middle of the morning. Spencer is probably working on something important and Daryl shouldn't interrupt him.
"Hey, Daryl."
Daryl turns around quickly to see Spencer standing there, with a cup of coffee and a plate with a slice of cake on it in his hand. It's not even noon but his hair is in disarray as if he's spent the past few hours raking his fingers through it and his tie is already loose around his neck. He doesn't seem surprised in the least to see Daryl in the hallway outside his office.
Daryl is trying to think of something to say that will explain why he's there, but Spencer just walks past him, pushing the plate of cake into his hands.
"Here, I've already had three pieces," Spencer says and continues walking to his office. Daryl hesitates a moment before following him.
Spencer's office is bigger than he expected but it's still a mess with stacks of paper everywhere and Daryl wonders if all of this paper is necessary in running a town. There's a window behind his desk that overlooks the parking lot behind the Town Hall that lets in more than enough of natural light and there's a chair in front of his desk that Spencer now picks up a stack of papers from and drops them heavily onto the top of one of the filing cabinets he has against the wall.
"Sit, man," Spencer says and then walks around his covered desk, collapsing into the chair.
Daryl does sit, still holding the plate of cake. "Wha's the occasion?" He asks.
There's a framed photograph of Spencer and Rosita on the desk and another with a man who looks a little older than Spencer with some shared facial features. Daryl figures that's his brother or something. And then there's a third picture framed of Rosita, Spencer and Beth, all wearing fancy clothes and at some party or wedding reception.
Daryl's eyes linger on Beth's smiling face. He can't believe he kissed her this morning and he's been waiting for some form of guilt to pass over him for doing it, but it hasn't come yet. His conscious can't seem to find a reason to feel guilty for grabbing Beth and kissing her.
Because there's no reason to feel guilty. He's single and so is she and he has found himself liking her more and more with each passing day. There's just something about her. He can't explain it but he finds himself fascinated with her in a way he's never been towards any other girl before. Not even Amy.
"One of our clerks, May, is retiring," Spencer says. "Lucky bitch," he then mutters and Daryl's lips crack into a small smile as he leans forward and slides the plate of cake onto the desk without taking a bite. His mom's spoiled him with her own cakes and this one looks store-bought with way too much of that over-sugared icing he's not a fan of. "So, how'd it go down the hall?" He asks. "I like your shirt," he then says before Daryl can answer.
Daryl looks down to the Dixon Construction tee-shirt he's wearing; the one Beth had taken the time to get made for him. When she had given it to him this morning, she had acted as if it was no big deal whatsoever but in all honesty, it is damn-near everything. No one has ever done something like this for him and with Beth, doing something good and kind when it doesn't benefit her, too, is just so Beth and he still has no idea how he came to be in her life. Why the hell would she ever want a guy like him in her life? He can't think of anything he does that is completely selfless.
Kissing her after seeing the tee-shirt was the only thing that made sense to him right then.
He's been thinking of Beth nearly the entire morning and what she thinks of the kiss. Is she just going to pretend that it was something that never happened? She probably will. It makes perfect sense to Daryl if that's what she does. Who the hell would ever want to admit that not only did Daryl Dixon kiss them but that they actually liked it?
"It went good," Daryl answers Spencer's question. "Gave the committee some of my own ideas for the gazebo and they actually liked 'em. Me and T got the job and we can start next week. Gotta get 'em a quote though of how much materials are gonna be."
Spencer smiles. "Knew they'd like you."
"Thanks for even thinkin' of me in the first place," Daryl says and Spencer shrugs like it's no big deal and to him, it probably isn't. It doesn't really surprise Daryl that Beth's friends are pretty much as good a people as she is. "I kissed Beth this mornin'," Daryl then hears himself blurt out and there's absolutely no reason for him to say that because why the hell would he and to Spencer when he's got a brother and other friends?
But Spencer just keeps on smiling; the smile a little wider now. "Oh, yeah?" He asks.
Daryl exhales a heavy breath. Too late to take it back now. He thinks of Merle and his other friends. He knows they would slap Daryl on the back and be so damn happy that it seems like he's finally moving on from Amy and everyone in town loves the Doc so he'd probably get congratulations on that, too, And then, they would probably ask him when he was going to sleep with her. Well, Shane and Merle would definitely ask that.
Maybe he told Spencer just now because he knows Spencer won't do any of that.
"Yeah," Daryl nods his head once. "Thinkin' I need to take her out."
"Need to or want to?" Spencer sits up in his chair a bit. His phone on his desk begins ringing but he ignores it; as if this conversation is much more important to him right now then whatever is being offered on the other end of the phone.
"Want to," Daryl says, almost mumbling the answer, his ears feeling a bit warm to him. He blames the sun pouring in through the window and making the office air feel a little stuffy. The phone stops ringing only to start ringing again a second later. Daryl gets to his feet. "I'll let you get that," he says and steps towards the door.
Spencer stands up, too. "Where were you thinking of taking her?" He asks.
Daryl stops and after a moment of thinking it through, he shrugs. He actually has no idea where he would take a girl like Beth on a date. When he and Amy went out, it was usually almost always to the diner or to Joe's bar, but with Beth, he doesn't want to just repeat history. It's time to get the hell away from Amy for good. And besides, Beth deserves more.
"She like Mexican?" Daryl asks, because he realizes that he doesn't actually know that much about her when it comes to things like this and there's not that many options in their town where he can take her. There's no way he's taking her to the diner. That's not exactly what he needs. His mom witnessing his first date with the Doc.
Spencer is back to grinning and he nods his head. "She loves Mexican. And she doesn't look like it, but she can eat a lot, so be prepared for that."
Daryl leaves Spencer's office with a plan.
He'll go home this evening – he's not too sure when he's begun thinking of the farm as actually being home – and Beth will be there and he'll ask her out. Right and proper. Like a guy who likes a girl because he does. He likes her. Really likes her. And he really has no idea when it happened or when it even started, but it's the simple truth. He really likes her and he wants to take her out and even hours later, he can still taste her on his lips. And he knows one thing with absolute certainty.
Amy never tasted this good.
…
The farmhouse is empty that evening when he walks in through the door, Louis trotting past him, heading straight to the kitchen for his water dish.
"Beth?" He calls out though the house is silent and it's pretty damn obvious no one's home.
Damn it. He had come home, ready to actually talk with her and ask her out and he's been nervous about it all day but he's built himself up until he felt ready to actually do it. And now, she's not here and he slowly feels himself deflate because of it.
He had been running this over in his head all day. Either she'll smile when she sees him or she won't. If she doesn't smile, Daryl won't mention the kiss. He'll pretend that nothing happened this morning and he won't ask her out for Mexican. But if she does smile… if she does smile, Daryl thinks he just might kiss her again before asking her out.
He goes upstairs to change out of his work tee-shirt so he won't get anything on it and tugging on one of his plain black tee-shirts, he heads back downstairs again. He fills Louis' bowl with kibble and Daryl then goes to the pantry, pulling down a box of spaghetti noodles. He doesn't know where Beth is – maybe she's already eating dinner somewhere – but if she comes home and she hasn't eaten yet, there will be plenty for her.
Daryl's at the stove, stirring the pot of mushroom pasta sauce when he hears the truck outside. Beth always parks in the back and glancing out one of the windows, he can see that it's definitely her. Louis is already at the back door, wagging his tail, ready to greet her. Daryl snaps his fingers at him and the dog obediently sits but his tail remains wagging, sweeping back and forth across the floor.
There are footsteps on the back steps and the creaking of the screen door as she opens it and Daryl reminds himself to put some oil on those hinges and then Beth enters the kitchen. Louis stands on his feet but he doesn't jump on her and Beth smiles, leaning into him and bending down, immediately rubbing his ears.
"And how was your day today, Louis?" Beth asks and laughs as Louis licks at her chin eagerly as she continues rubbing his ears. "I had a wonderful day, too."
Daryl stays by the stove, watching her. Just watching her. Her cheeks are a little more flushed than they usually are and her hair has been swept up into a messy knot at the base of her neck. She's just wearing blue jeans that hug her legs and a lightweight purple and black plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the her elbows and she's so damn pretty like that. He can't stop looking at her. And he wondered when this whole thing started. When did he start looking at her and not stop? When did he realize that Amy isn't the only girl in this world? Around the same time?
Beth lifts her eyes then and instantly meets his.
And then, she smiles.
And Daryl releases a lungful of air as if he's been holding it without even realizing, waiting for that smile. And though he's thought about just walking right up to her and kissing her when he sees that smile, he's able to hold himself back. Just because Beth's smiling doesn't mean that she wants him to kiss her again.
"'m makin' spaghetti if you haven' eaten yet," he tells her and his voice sounds rough even to his own ears.
"That sounds delicious. Rosita and I were eating Reese's Pieces and drinking wine, so I definitely need some other kind of actual food in my stomach," she smiles and he finds himself smiling a little at that, too. Beth stares at him, her smile softening, still stretched across her lips. "You're smiling," she then says as if she's never seen anything more amazing than that.
He just nods and looks back to the pot on the stove, the sauce starting to bubble. "Guess I am," he says in a quiet voice.
He listens as Beth begins humming as she gathers plates from the cabinet and silverware from the drawer and begins setting the table. Louis has gone back to eating his kibble and Daryl carries the pot of boiling noodles to the strainer in the sink. It all feels so normal. Like home. And he can't help it. He thinks back to Amy and the house he lived in with her. And when did he stop thinking of that house as being his home? When she all but kicked him out? Or when he moved into the farmhouse? Or was it even before all of that?
He can't remember nights at home like this – just the two of them. He knows they must have had them. It's not like they went out to Joe's or the diner every single night but he honestly can't remember any time he had had with Amy like this with Beth right now.
Paulie has said it more than once. Daryl needs to get money from Amy. He helped her pay for that house, buying Andrea's share even though Andrea told them that they didn't have to. Amy had been ready to take her sister's word, but Daryl had wanted to pay her. It had been the right and fair thing to do. And he knows that that's why he won't ask Amy for any of his money back. Maybe to some people, that would be right and fair, too, but if it hadn't been for him, Amy would have never needed that money to buy the house. She shouldn't have to pay him back for something he all but forced her into buying.
That was always one of your problems, Daryl. Always acting like my dad instead of a boyfriend, Amy's voice echoes in his mind.
And why the fuck is her voice in his mind at all? He's over her.
And when he tells himself, there's no argument from his mind to tell him otherwise. That's the truth of the matter. He's over her. He's moved on.
Slowly, but surely, the light switch flipped.
"Hey," Beth says his name gently then and he's startled when he feels her fingertips lightly on his head, brushing between his eyebrows. He turns his head to look at her and he's still standing at the sink and she has come to stand next to him. She gives him a faint smile.
"'m fine," he tells her.
Beth looks at him, closely as if she's making sure. "I don't like to see you scowl."
"'m sorry," he says almost automatically.
Beth shakes her head and gives him that faint smile of hers. "Let's eat," she then suggests.
He takes the pot of pasta and Beth gets the smaller pot of sauce and they meet at the table. They sit down at the small table across from one another and Louis plants himself at their sides just in case they decide he needs some noodles and sauce, too.
"So," Beth says, once they have served themselves and begin eating. "Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to guess?"
He smirks a little at her and he can hear the mixture of enthusiasm and teasing in her voice. "Wen' alrigh'," he shrugs, being casual about the whole thing. "They really liked my ideas."
"Well, of course they did," Beth says it so matter-of-factly; as if there was never any doubt.
Daryl lifts his eyes and looks at her; watching her as she twirls noodles around her fork.
He swallows, his throat feeling too dry all of a sudden. He gets up to get a glass of water and he fills one for her, too, without asking her if she wants one.
"Do you like Mexican food?" He asks as he comes back to the table.
And Beth looks up at him as he lowers himself back into his chair and it makes him think that she's been expecting this question already. Fucking Spencer, he growls to himself.
"I love Mexican. It's always been my favorite," she says.
He exhales a deep breath because even though he already knew it, hearing it from her mouth instead of Spencer's makes him feel a bit better. That confidence he had come home with is slowly starting to build up once more, moving upwards in his chest.
"Would you wanna go get some Mexican with me sometime?" He asks.
And then he almost immediately cringes. Sometime? What the hell is that? That's not how a guy asks a girl out. But how the hell does a guy ask a girl out? He can't remember how he had done it with Amy, but even if he could remember, he doesn't want to do this the same way. He's already told himself that. With Beth, if there's anything that's going to happen, he wants to make sure that it's nothing like anything he's already done before.
He wonders if she gets as nervous around him as he gets around her. Does her stomach always churn and roll as if he's constantly dropping down the first hill of a roller-coaster? He can't imagine it though. Beth always seems pretty much in control.
He hears a small giggle and he looks at Beth to see that she's looking at him, smiling; practically glowing. And she just seems so damn happy and he wonders why she always seems like that. And he feels like he's going to smile, too. So he does.
And at the sight of him smiling, it, for some reason, makes her smile even the more; so wide, the corners of her eyes are crinkled and she's practically laughing.
"I would love to go get some Mexican with you sometime," Beth says.
She leans over in her chair then and Daryl just follows her lead, leaning in over his. Her arms slide over his shoulders and around his neck and one of his hands slide up her arm before sweeping to the back of her neck. They lean in at the same time and their lips meet and Beth seems to instantly sigh against his mouth and all but melt into him. Daryl cups the back of her neck and his mouth opens against hers, coaxing her to do the same because he hasn't tasted her since this morning and too many hours have passed and he needs to taste her again. He nearly feels himself groan when Beth follows his lead and opens her mouth and she's the one to dive her tongue into his mouth before he can.
What the hell is this girl doing to him? He doesn't do this. He's never been the sort to just kiss a girl and ask her out on a date and then kiss her again as if he'll go insane if he doesn't.
Daryl doesn't know how long they kiss. He loses all sense of time as his head spins and he tastes her as if he's trying to drink himself into oblivion.
All he does know is when their mouths finally do separate, they are both panting and Beth is flushed, but she's smiling at him and Daryl smiles back. He doesn't know how much time has passed, but enough for Louis to get bored and curl up sleeping on the floor and their spaghetti sits on their plates, cold and forgotten.
…
Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to comment!
First date (and Amy) in the next chapter.