Red River Blue

Chapter 10

River finished up her laundry and got it all hung up to dry. But she still felt like she was full of nervous energy. She knew she wouldn't be able to relax until Harley got back from the run River had reluctantly agreed to let her go on. So after went inside the prison and checked on Wren, she decided to clean out her camper. River tossed the book she had taken from her daughter on the dash. Wren would snatch the book back and read it as soon as River wasn't looking, but for now at least the girl was reading something a little more appropriate for her age.

Harley had never shown much interest in boys. She was a quiet and serious girl. The sort that would rather practice her guitar in her room or go jogging instead of going to a party. Other than her anger problems, once she hit middle school, she pretty much had River on cruise control as far as the parenting went.

Wren was different. From the time she was a little girl, she had been telling her mother she couldn't wait to fall in love and get married. Now that they were around other people, and more specifically a boy her age, River decided she was going to have to start keeping a closer eye on her younger daughter. It seemed innocent enough when Wren and Carl were reading comics on her bunk together, but River knew from experience that hormones had a way of taking over. Wren reminded her of herself at that age. Ripe to fall in love. And that scared the shit out of her. She had only been a little older than Wren was now when she got pregnant with Harley.

Her mom had just come home from working a double shift at the factory, so River knew the woman was going to sleep like the dead. She waited until she was sure her mom was asleep before she went into her room and changed out of her pajamas. Underneath she was already wearing the only black bra and panties that she owned. Her mom wouldn't buy her anything that even bordered on sexy so River had shoplifted them from the mall. They were black and lacy and just looking at herself in the mirror wearing them made her feel funny deep down in the pit of her stomach.

Her hair was clean and it fell down her back like long soft curtain. She liked the way it felt against her bare skin and she wiggled her hips around, enjoying the sensation of her own freshly washed hair brushing against her soft skin. Her legs were shaved and so was the hair between her legs. The magazine River had swiped from her mom's room said men liked it better that way. She didn't want to come off like some stupid little girl that didn't know anything about sex. So she had propped on leg up on the edge of the bathtub and shaved everything off. River pulled on the flowery baby doll dress that she had picked out earlier, wishing she had something cooler looking to wear. Something sexier and more grown up looking. At least the dress was short, so it made her legs look long and thin.

She pulled on a pair of white ankle socks and stuffed her feet into her black boots. They weren't real doc martins, but you couldn't tell unless you looked really close. He's not going to be looking at your feet anyway, she reminded herself. That made her feel funny again, like the way she felt looking at herself almost naked in the mirror.

Now there was nothing to do except wait. Her mom got home from work around ten, so she told Merle she would meet him at eleven. That was fifteen minutes from now. River paced around her bedroom, peeking in the mirror from time to time to readjust her hair and make sure there was nothing in her teeth. She had been too nervous to eat dinner, so she didn't know what would have gotten into her teeth anyway, but just to be safe she checked them again. Then brushed them again. Then sucked on a mint.

Ten minutes later River was sneaking out her front door, tiptoe-ing carefully across the wooden deck to avoid the squeaky spots. She had snuck out before, but only to do silly shit like ring people's doorbells and run away. Never for the reason she was sneaking out tonight. Never to meet a boy she liked. She felt like a big bat was flapping around in her stomach as she walked past the few trailers that separated hers from the Dixons. The hair on her arms was standing up and she rubbed at them with her hands, wishing she had worn a sweater. It was a little scary to be out in the dark by herself and as she walked she started getting even more nervous. What if he forgot. What if he wasn't there. What if he didn't really like her and she was making herself look like a fool.

But once she rounded the corner, the butterflies went and she felt her heart start to pump wildly in her chest. Merle was waiting for her. Leaning against his bike, smoking a cigarette. He wasn't in the army fatigues this time. Instead he was wearing jeans and boots and a leather jacket. River forced herself to walk slowly. Running and jumping all over him like a puppy dog would not be a very grown up thing to do. And she was trying her best to seem as grown up as possible. Merle wouldn't waste his time on her if she started acting like some dumb little kid.

"That's what yer wearing?," he asked her. River looked down at herself. The hurt must have shown on her face, because he quickly corrected himself. "No, No, ya look real pretty," he said, "just next time jeans if we are riding the bike." River nodded and smiled from ear to ear. Not only had he said she was pretty, but he said next time. That meant he must already be thinking about taking her out again. And that made her tingle all the way down to her toes.

"Here," he said. He shrugged off his leather jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. She stuffed her arms into the sleeves. The jacket was big on her, but she didn't care. She liked that she was wearing something of his. He dipped down and grabbed the zipper, clicking it together and zipping the coat up. She couldn't stop herself, River leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and rising up onto the toes of her boots to kiss him. She missed and got the side of his mouth, but he turned into her, pulling her closer and parting her lips with his tounge. The kiss made her head spin, like she was dizzy from spinning around in a tire swing.

Merle backed away from her and swung his leg over the bike. She quickly climbed on behind him, tucking her dress between her legs and under her so it wouldn't blow back. He stomped down with his boot and the bike sprung to life under her.

"Hold on," he told her. River didn't need to be told that twice. She snuggled in as close as she could and wrapped her arms around him. She could feel the rough fabric of his jeans against the insides of her thighs. That in combination with the heavy vibration of the bike under her made her wish she had worn jeans. The crotch of her panties already felt wet and it was making her feel self concious.

It wasn't until the bike slowed to a stop that River realized she had never even bothered to ask where they were going. She looked around. They were in a parking space in front of the one crummy little motel in town. Something about being at a motel made her feel shy and nervous all of the sudden. She felt her body tense up.

"Rented a room out for the two weeks I'm on leave," Merle explained to her, "Can't stay at my house." River nodded. He didn't have to say why he couldn't stay at his house. She already knew about his dad. And it made her feel better to know that he was already staying at this motel. It felt more like she was being invited to his house instead of to a place that he had rented only for the purpose of having sex with her.

She swung down off the bike and he took her hand in his, leading her up the cement steps and down the walkway to the room he was staying in. River wasn't sure what she expected to find inside. She had never been in a motel before. The room was simple and plain, everything inside it was neutral colored. There was a bed in the middle of the room and a small chair in the corner. Merle's duffle bag was sitting on the floor next to the chair and a small neat pile of his clothes were stacked up on the seat of it.

River wandered further into the room and took a peek in the bathroom. It was like the room. Plain and white and small. Behind her, Merle took the little plastic door knob hanger off the inside of the doorknob and placed it on the outside. Then he shut the door and locked it.

"What does that mean?," River asked, curious as to what the little plastic sign was and why he was moving it around.

"Means we don't want to be disturbed," he told her.

"Oh," she said, feeling the hot blush rising in her cheeks. She had been so excited to be with him, and now that she was here, she felt awkward and nervous. Like she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. She stood there, scuffing one toe against the cheap carpet and toying with the zipper on Merle's coat.

"You want me to take you back home?," Merle asked her. She looked scared all of the sudden. And he wasn't into forcing himself on girls that didn't want him. Particularly not one as young as River. He shouldn't even really be messing with her in the first place. "I'll take you back home if you want me too."

"No," River said, shaking her head firmly, "I don't want ta go home." She kicked at the carpet again and chewed on her bottom lip. "I'm just nervous," she admitted, "I don't know what to do." It was true. She had no idea what in the hell to do. Should she lie down? Start taking her clothes off? Wait to see what he was going to do? She didn't want to come off looking like some stupid little virgin. Epsecially after she had already lied and told Merle she wasn't one.

He smiled at her and crossed the small space between them, pulling her into his arms. Holding her. Then he backed away a little and unzipped his jacket, pulling it gently off her shoulders and tossing it on the chair on top of his neatly folded clothes. River knelt down and loosened up the laces on her boots. She toed them off, lifting one leg at a time to pull her socks off so her feet were bare. She dropped her socks down near her boots. The carpet was scratchy on her bare feet and she curled and uncurled her polished toes. She painted them red to match her fingernails. There was a little silver toe ring on the middle toe of her left foot.

When Merle saw her freshly painted toes, he realized River must have spent quite a lot of time and effort making herself pretty in order to please him. No girl had ever done that for him before. Her hair smelled like oranges and her skin was soft and smooth. He figured he ought to tell her how nice she looked, but for once in his life he was at a loss for words. So he pulled her close and kissed her instead. The way she responded to his kiss, just like she had the day before and near his bike before they left to come here. The technique wasn't there, he could tell she didn't really know what she was doing, but there was so much passion behind her touch. He would be hard pressed to explain it, but it was sort of like when River kissed him she really meant it. It made his dick throb in his pants.

His hands were on her waist and he let them glide slowly down, over the curves of her hips and down to her bare thighs. Then back up, pushing up under her dress so his hands were resting on the bare flesh over her lower back.

She surprised him then, breaking off their kiss and yanking her dress off over her head. She let it drop down on the floor near her socks and boots. Underneath she was wearing a lacy black bra and panties that matched. When he had beat off thinking about her, Merle had pictured her as a white cotton underpants type of girl. But this was so much hotter than that. He started yanking at his own clothes, eager to feel her soft skin against his. For once he wasn't worried about taking his shirt off in front of a girl. River was well aware of his family situation and he knew she wouldn't ask any questions about the scars on his back. Once he was standing in only his boxers, he noticed River's gaze was now directed at the tent he was pitching in his shorts. He pulled her close, pinning his erection between them. Moving his hips, he ground it into the soft flesh of her belly.

"That's all for you," he told her.

"Can I see it?," she asked. There was another surprise. He wasn't really sure what to say to that so he shrugged and nodded his head. River stepped closer, sliding her finger into the waistband of his shorts and pulling them out so she could peek inside. She stared at his dick for longer than he thought she would. Honestly, it was starting to make him a little self concious. Her eyes flicked up, her expression an equal mix of concern, excitement and curiousity.

"It is supposed to be that big and hard?," she asked. She was a little concerned for Merle, the thing in his pants looked really to burst like an overfilled water balloon. Merle laughed and assured her that it was in fact supposed to be that way. She looked down at it again. Her other hand came up, then stopped at the edge of his shorts.

"Can I touch it?," she asked. He tried not to laugh again. He didn't want to make her feel bad. And he definitely didn't want her to stop. He caught her slimmer hand in his larger one and guided it into his shorts, showing her how to touch him in a way that he liked. She shoved his shorts down with her other hand. They were really in her way. Then she touched him with both hands, exploring him gently with the soft pads of her fingertips. When she wrapped her hand around the base of his dick and started sliding it up and down, he moaned and leaned into her. Then he caught her by the wrist and pulled her hand away.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?," she asked. He shook his head.

"No it felt too good," he told her. River wasn't sure what that meant, but she made sure to nod her head like she knew what he was talking about. He kept hold of her wrist and pulled her towards the bed. "My turn to touch you now," he told her. The thought of his hand between her legs sent a shiver of pleasure up her spine. When they got to the edge of the bed, he reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. She shrugged the straps off and let it fall to the floor near her feet. He sat her down on the bed and then lifted her knees and turned her so she was lying back on the pillows. The air in the room felt cold against her freshly exposed skin. Her nipples were so hard they almost hurt and she held her arms against them to try and find some relief.

Merle pushed his shorts the rest of the way off and climbed onto the bed with her. He lay down next to her at first, then rolled on top and nestled his hips between her legs. They started kissing again. And it felt even better now that there was so much of her skin touching his. He kissed her mouth, then all over her face before sucking and licking a hot trail down her neck to her breasts. When he took her nipple into his mouth and sucked, she felt her back arch and her hips ground into his. Little noises were squeaking out of her. She had never felt anything in her life that felt as good as what was being done to her. River squeezed her eyes shut and lifted her arms to grip the corners of the pillow that was under her head. His hands were on her breasts and his mouth was moving down. The tip of his tounge trailed down, dipping into her belly button and then moving lower.

The next thing she felt was his hot breath through the thin fabric of her lacy panties. She thought she ought to be embarrassed, having someone's face in her most private area, but instead she found herself lifting her hips so push herself against his face. His hands left her breasts, and then she felt him hook his thumbs under the skimpy material of her underpants and rake them down off her legs. The rush of air felt cool against the dampness between her legs.

She was trimmed and shaved down there. Another surprise. Merle had been pretty sure River was lying about having had sex before, but now he wasn't so sure. Either way he was going to find out soon enough. First things first he wanted to make sure she enjoyed herself. That way she would let him fuck her again. And he definitely wanted to fuck her again. He wanted to fuck her as many times as possible until his leave was over and he had to go back to the army.

The cool wash of air was replaced by the feel of his warm mouth on her. His tounge and his fingers. There were so many sensations at once she wasn't even sure where or how she was being touched. Her legs fell open and her hips were lifting off the bed each time he slid his finger inside her. He slid a second finger in with the first, trying to stretch her out a little before he pushed his hard length inside. She was wet enough he didn't think it would hurt her but she was so damn tight. Just thinking about it was making him feel like he was going to come before he even got inside her. He flicked his tounge over the sensitive spot above her wet slit one more time before he heard her start to gasp for breath. Her legs were shaking and he could feel her insides spasming around his thick fingers.

He slid his fingers out of her and pulled himself up her body so he could kiss her. River's cheeks were flushed with color and her eyes were still shut. Once she felt his mouth on hers they fluttered open. The blue of her eyes was nothing but a tiny ring around her full black pupils. She kissed him back, then licked at her lips. He tasted funny, but sort of good too. She realized it was her own juices she was tasting on him and she blushed even redder.

"You ready?," he asked her.

"Ready for what?," she asked him, hoping he meant ready for more of whatever he had just done to her. Because she had liked that. A lot. He smiled and kissed her again.

"Gonna make you mine," he explained. River liked the sound of that, so she nodded her head. She felt his hand go between them, and then she felt him pushing into her. It felt good at first, but then deep inside of her she felt something rip, almost like someone had pinched her hard from the inside. She squeaked and he felt her nails dig into his back. So much for her silly lies about having done this before. He stopped moving, giving her a chance to get used to the feeling of having something so big inside her.

"Y'alright?," he whispered. She shook her head and then nodded it. "You want me to stop?"

"No," she said as firmly as she had said it before when he asked her if she wanted him to take her home, "don't stop, I want to be yours."

Her soft breathy words hit him like a semi truck at full speed. He covered her mouth with his and started moving. Pumping in and out of her. Moving slowly at first. Soon he felt her release the death grip she had on his back, and then her hips started rocking up to meet him when he pushed inside. But it was the little high pitched noises she was making that really put him over the edge. Moans of pleasure with a touch of shock and surprise to them. He came hard, shooting off deep inside her before he could bring her to an second climax. But he could tell she was getting close. He hoped the next time it would be easier for her, when it was only pleasure without the initial pain.

Merle flopped down on top of River and then rolled off to keep from squashing her. He pulled her close, holding her against his chest. She snuggled in like she was trying to absorb his body heat and he felt her shiver.

"You cold?," he asked. She nodded her head, so he rolled off the blankets and pulled them out from under her, noticing a small bloodstain on top of the comforter. Maids are going to have a good time with that, he thought with a wicked grin. He climbed back into bed with her and pulled her close again, this time with the sheets and blankets over them.

"Better?," he asked. River didn't answer, but she made a little mhhm noise and nuzzled into his chest. She was so quiet. He pegged her as the type of girl that would want to talk after. Instead she sounded more like she was about to fall asleep. "Hey," he said, trying to get her attention before she passed out.

"Huh?," she mumbled.

"Do I need to take you home before yer mom wakes up?," he asked. If River got caught, she was going to get grounded for sure. Or at the very least her momma would start keeping a closer eye on her and she wouldn't be able to sneak out and meet him.

"Nah, I will just tell her I got up early and left to go fishin' with Daryl," River said. She could feel Merle's chest shaking with a little silent laughter. River sighed, feeling contented. Even if her mom was going to catch her she was too tired and comfortable to care. There was nothing in the world that was going to make her get out of this bed right now short of a national disaster. Since Merle had woken her up when she was halfway to dreamland she decided she might as well ask him what she had started wondering as soon as they had finished having sex.

Just when he was sure she was about to pass out, River's head popped up off his chest and she tilted her body so she could look at him. She had the same half excited and half curious look on her face that she had been making when he let her look down his shorts.

"Yes?," he asked. She obviously wanted to ask him something. It was making him a little nervous that it might be some sort of question about his feelings for her. Do you love me? Are we going to get married? The horrible possibilities were endless. But that was not what she wanted to know at all. What she did ask made him laugh and then pull River to him so he could tickle her with kisses all over her face. When he looked back on it later, he knew that was the moment he fell crazy stupid in love with her.

"How long do we have to wait before we can do that again?"

River tried to push the thoughts out of her head while she pulled the rest of Wren's comic books out from the cubby hole under the seat. But the more she tried not to think about it, the more she thought about it. She even tried rubbing the crook in her nose, but it was not doing the trick this time. Not at all.

Finally she got up and shut the door to the little camper, latching it securely. Then she knelt down on the floor and slid her hand down the front of her pants. Privacy had been a luxury even before the end of the world and she had become quick and efficient at taking care of her personal needs. Her orgasm was already coursing through her when someone started trying to yank the camper door open. Instead of pissing off, whoever was pulling on the door started banging on it instead. River pulled herself to her feet, ignoring the wobbly feeling in her legs.

She yanked the door open, her hand on the knife on her belt. Of course it was Daryl.

"What?," she asked him.

"Wren wants you," he told her, "and I think ya better get out of that hot ass camper 'cause yer face is red as hell." He paused chewing on the skin around his thumbnail. One of his more disgusting habits, particularly now that the world had ended and handsoap was not readily available. "What are you doing in there anyway?," he asked.

River grabbed the stack of comic books and climbed down the steps onto the concrete. His question made her want to giggle, since Daryl would be totally disgusted if she actually answered it. So she lied.

"What does it look like I was doing?," she asked in a teasing voice, as she nodded towards the books in her arms, "I was taking care of business."