Hotel Key

Chapter 12

Daryl smiled as he climbed behind the driver's seat of RickyJo's jeep. He knew she must be in the good mood to beat all good moods. Because she slid into the passenger seat and grabbed his hand, not making one squeak of complaint about the fact that he was driving and she wasn't. Her shoulders were slightly pink from the time they spent in the sun the day before. They went shooting. And then fishing. And when they caught enough fish for dinner, they both stripped naked and leaped off the boat into the lake, screaming and laughing when their warm bodies hit the cold water. It was the best day Daryl had in as long as he could remember. And it was only made better by knowing that when the day ended, they were going to the same bed together. Because RickyJo was his now. She wanted to marry him. And the perfect day they just had was only the beginning of what was about to be the rest of their lives together.

"We should do it in my hot tub when we get back to Atlanta," RickyJo announced. Daryl snorted out a laugh. They were friends for so long, he just assumed that he knew everything about RickyJo. But now that they were sleeping together, he was getting to know a side of her that was totally new to him. Daryl always expected she would be timid and shy when it came to sex. Especially given her past and everything that happened to her when she was young. But he quickly found out that was not the case. She was quite vocal about her desires. And about how much she wanted him. And while he would never tell her, he found her curious explorations of his body totally endearing and bordering on adorable. Especially the concerned look on her face when she would stop what she was doing and ask him what she was doing felt good. Daryl never had a girl ask him that before. He would like to think it was because they knew what they were doing. Or at least thought they knew. But deep down he knew the more likely reason was that this was his first time sleeping with someone that actually cared whether or not he was enjoying himself. It seemed cliche to think that being in love with someone would make the sex better. But at least for him, it was true. None of the anonymous one night stands or bathroom blowjobs or casual flings he had could ever even begin to compare to being with RickyJo.

They pulled out outside of one of the large pole barns, backing the jeep up to the garage door so it would be easier to get the bikes out. They worked together to hitch up the trailer. And then headed into the bowels of the large storage building to find the bikes Daryl wanted to take back to Atlanta with him.

"Just think," RickyJo teased, gesturing towards the rows of cars and bikes with a sweeping motion of her hand. "Once I'm yer wife, all this will be yours." Daryl laughed as he caught her by the waist and pulled her against him. When he kissed her, she parted her lips, eagerly sucking his tongue into her mouth. Daryl lifted her up, gripping her thighs so could wrap her legs around him and support some of her own weight. He walked her over to his favorite car in the place, the old red thunderbird RickyJo's poppa let him drive after their first date. Setting her down on the hood, he deepened their kiss as he lifted the skirt of her sundress up.

"First thing I'm gonna do as yer husband," Daryl murmured into her neck, "...is ta fuck ya on the hood of every single one of these cars." RickyJo's giggle turned into a low moan as he nibbled on the sensitive skin behind her ear. Her hands snaked between their bodies, fumbling with the zipper of his jeans. She almost had his dick out when they were suddenly interrupted.

"AUNT RICKY!," Desiree hollered, running towards them at top speed. Daryl snatched RickyJo up off the hood, setting her on her feet before he turned his back and quickly tucked himself back into his pants. RickyJo smoothed her dress down just in time to be nearly tackled to the floor by her niece. "I SAW YER JEEP!," the girl announced. "Are you staying fer Sunday dinner?" RickyJo nodded her head, laughing when Desiree started jumping around and clapping her hands. Then the girl turned her attention to Daryl, furrowing her brows at him. "Why were ya kissing my Aunt Ricky on top of this car?," she asked. Daryl glanced at RickyJo, hoping she was going to deal with the girl's question.

"Can you keep a secret?," RickyJo asked her niece. Desiree nodded vigorously, nearly levitating with excitement. RickyJo held out her hand to the girl, showing off the new piece of jewelry on her left ring finger. Desiree touched the ring, running her thumb over the surface of the large green stone. "Yer Uncle Daryl gave this ring ta me 'cause we're gettin' married."

"Is that why y'all were kissin'? 'Cause yer in love?," Desiree asked, clearly impressed with not only the ring but the idea of marriage in general. RickyJo nodded her head, jabbing Daryl in the ribs with her elbow.

"Yep," he confirmed, "...we're gettin' married." Desiree threw herself at him, hugging and jumping all over him like an excited puppy. She then turned and gave RickyJo the same treatment. When she was done, she turned on her heel and took off running like a bat out of hell, screaming at the top of her lungs the entire way.

"NANA! CASSIE! AUNT RICKY AND UNCLE DARYL ARE GETTIN' MARRIED!"

"So much fer keepin' a secret," Daryl observed, sending RickyJo into a fit of laughter. Since she knew her Gran was going to be waiting to have the news confirmed by someone other than a seven year old, RickyJo suggested that they hurry up and load the bikes so they could get up to the main house and see her. They rolled the bikes Daryl wanted onto the trailer and secured them with straps and bungee cords. Then RickyJo twined her fingers into his and they walked up the long driveway together.

"Well, it's about time," Nana exclaimed, wrapping her arms around them both at the same time. When she pulled back, she had tears sparkling in her green eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, wiping her eyes with her hands. "I've been praying on this fer so long." RickyJo felt her own eyes start to water and she was grateful when Daryl pulled her into his arms and let her bury her face into his shirt. Nana put her hand on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I would tell ya to take good care of my baby," she said, "...but I already know ya will." Daryl wrapped his arm around her, pulling the woman in for another hug. Since his own mother died when he was so young, RickyJo's gran was the closest thing he had to a mother. Her family was his family.

"I think I need a drink," Daryl said, feeling a little uncomfortable with all the hugging and emotional outbursts. Nana smiled and led them into the kitchen. She poured Daryl a glass of whiskey over ice. For herself and RickyJo, she retrieved a bottle of champagne from the wine fridge and popped it, pouring them each a glass.

"Neither of you have checked yer phones all weekend have ya?," she asked. RickyJo shook her head, curious at the amused look her gran had on her face. The woman pulled her own phone out, poking at it until she found the messages she received from her other granddaughter the night before. She handed the device over to RickyJo, who held it so that Daryl could also see what she was looking at. Both their eyes widened as she scrolled through the images.

"This can't be real," RickyJo lamented. "There's no fuckin' way." Daryl started to laugh, poking his finger in to continue scrolling through the images since RickyJo wasn't going fast enough. Jessica was wearing a short tight white dress that left almost nothing to the imagination. Merle was in all black with a leather jacket on. And they were kissing each other while an Elvis impersonator sang into a microphone next to them. The next picture was about the same, except Merle was holding up a bottle of expensive whiskey that looked most of the way gone. Daryl assumed it must not have been their first bottle if they were drunk enough to think marrying each other was a good idea. Because that's what had to be going on. In one of the pictures Jessica was holding her hand up, displaying a large gaudy diamond ring.

"When did this happen?," RickyJo asked. Nana shrugged.

"They lit off outta here yesterday morning, acting wild as hell," she said. "You know how they get." RickyJo nodded.

Jessica and Merle had been sleeping together on and off for the last decade. Which was usually fine. But every once in a while they would get a bug up and decide they were an actual couple. This would last about a week or two. Until one of them slept with someone else. Then their brief love affair would end in a flurry of drama and fighting. And this time, apparently a divorce lawyer would also be involved. Though she knew it would end badly. It always did. RickyJo was secretly relieved to see that Merle and Jessica were back together. If he was busy ruining Jessica's life, that meant Merle wasn't bothering her. And since RickyJo had absolutely no intention of ever letting Daryl find out what happened between them, that was for the best as far as she was concerned. She tipped up her glass of champagne, gulping the rest of it down in a few large swallows.

"Ohmygod!," RickyJo exclaimed, "...let's send Jess a picture of us!" Daryl groaned. He hated having his picture taken. That's why the only pictures people had of him were when he was drunk. And there were plenty of those. "Come on," RickyJo begged, "...just one? Please?" Daryl downed the rest of his drink and sighed. Then he let her snuggle into him as she held her Nana's phone up. RickyJo held up her hand, making sure her ring was visible in the photo. Then she took not one but about a zillion pictures, snapping as many as she could before Daryl darted away from her to refill his glass. RickyJo poked through them, sending them all to her own phone. Then she sent the best one to Jess with a caption that said, We're about to be sisters!

As Daryl expected, a few moments later, the phone rang. Jessica was on the other end, squealing and screaming. He had no idea how either her or RickyJo could hear anything the other one was saying. Because they were both screaming at top volume into the phones. Once Daryl had his fill of listening to it, he snatched the phone away and hollered for Jesscia to put his brother on. There were some shuffling noises on the other end of the receiver. And then Merle's husky voice came through.

"Little brother," he said, "...how's life treatin' ya?"

"Pretty damn good! I'm getting married!," Daryl announced, his voice full of excitement.

"Yeah," Merle said, "...I heard the screamin'." There was a long awkward pause before he added a very insincere sounding congratulations. "I'm sure y'all will be real happy together." As usual, Daryl didn't seem to be affected by his brother's sour mood.

"You too!," Daryl exclaimed, "...when ya get back, we should go get a beer."

"If yer buyin' little brother," Merle joked, "...I'll be there." There was a slight pause before he spoke again, asking to speak to her. "Put RickyJo on," Merle said. Daryl shoved the phone at her, noticing RickyJo hesitated before she took it from him. When she spoke into it, her voice sounded funny.

"Hi Merle," she said, trying her best to keep her voice upbeat and cheery. "Congratulations!"

"Hey babygirl," he drawled. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Merle had a nickname for everyone. How she drew the short straw and ended up as babygirl, she had no idea. "You make sure and take good care of little brother," he said, his voice full of sexual innuendo. RickyJo breathed a sigh of relief. That wasn't as bad as she expected. Then again, he wasn't done yet. Merle was never done talking. But before he could say anything else, RickyJo hollered into the phone.

"LOVE YOU JESS!," she shouted. "SEE YOU WHEN YOU GET HOME!" RickyJo waited until she heard Jessica holler back that she loved her too. Then she ended the call and turned to her Nana. "I'm starvin'," she said, clearly eager to change the subject, "...what's fer dinner?"