My Angel is the Centerfold

Chapter 9

"Ya need more ta drink like ya need a hole in the head," Daryl said. "The only place I'm drivin' yer ass is home!"

River huffed and bent her knees, kicking her feet into the back of Daryl's seat. The impact jostled him around, though it didn't appear to hinder his ability to steer the car. River lifted her leg and kicked the seat again, this time aiming higher up so that the headrest whacked into the back of Daryl's head. Carol snorted out a laugh before she could stop herself.

"Fuckin' quit!," Daryl barked. "That hurt!" He cast an irritated glance over his shoulder as he rubbed at the back of his head.

"Yer ass deserved it fer callin' up Merle and tellin' him where we were," River countered.

When Daryl didn't immediately deny her accusation, Carol's mouth dropped open. She assumed that what just happened at the club was some sort of weird and terrible coincidence. Before this moment, she had not considered the possibility that Daryl might be the cause of it. But from the guilty expression on his face, it was clear that he was. Daryl eavesdropped on their conversation about where they were going. And then he called up his brother and they both came to the club. Carol wasn't sure if she was oddly flattered or pissed off. Maybe both.

"He said we were just gonna keep an eye on ya." Daryl was still rubbing at the back of his head where the headrest smacked into him. "Didn't know he was gonna start a goddamn riot." Daryl glanced back over his shoulder, eyeing River again before he added, "...maybe if ya weren't rubbing yerself off on some random asshole that wouldn'ta happened."

"I was only dancin'!," River argued. Daryl snorted, giving his opinion on her personal style of dancing without saying a word. River narrowed her eyes at his back and kicked off her heels, letting them drop onto the floorboard of the car. Then she lifted her foot back up and delivered a much harder well aimed kick to the back of Daryl's seat. The headrest slammed into his head again, this time so hard that it made him jerk the steering wheel. The car swerved and began to fishtail. It took Daryl a moment to get the vehicle back under his control.

"River! I swear if ya kick me again I'm gonna put her ass in the fuckin' trunk!," he threatened.

"Fuck you!," River spit back. "If ya think fer one minute that I'm skurred of you, just rememba that I had two kids with yer brother!"

Carol was turned nearly sideways in her seat, glancing back and forth between River and Daryl. This was the first domestic squabble she'd seen between them. And if she was being perfectly honest with herself, it was scaring her a little. She didn't really think Daryl would hurt River. But his nutcase brother just tried to bash their car windows in. Plus, Daryl was much larger and stronger than either of them. If he really wanted to hurt River or lock her in the trunk of the car, there would be nothing either of them could do to stop him.

Carol let out a sigh of relief when River lowered her feet back down onto the floorboard of the car. She raised her brow in confusion as River stuck one of her fingers into her own mouth and swirled her tongue around it. When her finger was fully covered in wet spit, she leaned forward and stuck it directly into Daryl's ear. Daryl bellowed like an angry bull cow. And then he hollered at her.

"That's it!"

Daryl's arm shot out across the interior of the car. But he wasn't reaching for River. He was blocking Carol from flying forward out of her seat as he slammed his foot down on the brakes. River let out a high pitched squeal as she was roughly tossed against the back of Daryl's seat. Carol's body slammed against his outstretched arm. Her pink wig went flying off her head. It hit the windshield and slid down, landing on the top of the dash.

Once the car was in park, Daryl climbed out of his seat. Carol gasped when he jerked River's car door open. He reached inside, peeling River up off the floor and tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Carol was quite certain that he was going to make good on his threat and actually lock her friend in the trunk of the car. But instead, Daryl skirted around the back of the car and opened the back passenger door to the seat behind Carol. After placing River down carefully into the seat, Daryl leaned in and fastened her seatbelt to keep her in place.

"Love ya," River slurred as she wrapped her arms around Daryl's neck, pressing a sloppy kiss to the side of his face. Daryl hugged her back, a soft chuckle rumbling up out of his chest. "If ya put my music on fer me I'll sit here and behave," she promised.

"A'right," he agreed before pulling his body back outside the car and snapping the door shut. By the time he slid back behind the wheel, Carol had her momentary panic mostly back under control. Daryl reached into the messy pile of scratched up CD's that River had shoved into the center console. He inserted the disc into the player, filling the car with the twang of country music. He leaned back into his seat. And Carol bit back a laugh when he stuck his finger into his ear and twisted his hand back and forth, trying to rid himself of the wet feeling of River's spit.

Carol tugged at the low cut neckline of her dress, reaching behind the fabric and retrieving a wad of dry tissue. "Here," she offered, holding the tissues out for Daryl to take. He glanced between her chest and the tissues, an amused smile spreading across his face when he reached over to take them. He used the tissue to clean out his ear and tossed them out the car window. But before he put the car back into drive, he let his eyes linger on her exposed cleavage.

"How much stuffin' you got in there?," he asked. Daryl didn't wait for an answer. He reached across the center console towards her chest. Carol pressed herself back against the seat, swatting his hand away before he could fill his palm with her breast. Her reaction was quick and instinctual. It wasn't until he put his hands back on the steering wheel that she realized her nipples had gone rock hard at the thought of him rubbing his calloused hands over them.

Carol shifted in her seat, glancing back at River to distract herself from the tension she felt building inside the car. River's eyes were closed and her head was lolling against the top of the seat belt. Her lips were slightly parted. And her breathing had gone slow and even. Carol shook her head and let a near silent laugh bubble out of her. Then she reached for the radio and turned the music down to a dull roar.

The rest of the car ride passed with only the low twang of River's favorite CD playing through the speakers. Carol tried her best to keep her eyes on the windshield. But with how much she drank, her inhibitions were lower than usual. Her eyes repeatedly wandered to Daryl as he drove. The sleeves of his shirt were missing, exposing his defined arms. She found herself wondering if his shaggy blonde hair was as soft as it looked. And what his reaction might be if she reached across the seat and ran her fingers through it. A few times, he glanced across the car at her, meeting her gaze. And each time, Carol was quick to avert her eyes and straighten up in her seat.

After he pulled into the apartment parking lot, Daryl reached into the back seat and gently shook River. She startled awake with a hard jerk. After rubbing her face and mumbling something only partially coherent, River left her heels behind in the car and shuffled away towards the apartment building with her feet bare scuffing against the pavement. The back of her hair was mussed and the ripped side of her dress was hanging open, revealing her hip and the strap of her skimpy panties as she walked.

"Oh, I can walk on my own," Carol insisted, leaning back from the open car door when Daryl poked his head inside. He clearly intended to carry her up the stairs and all the way into the apartment. The thought of being pressed that close to him again was more than appealing. Which, to be honest, was the reason she was uncomfortable with it. It had been so long since Carol was close to a man that she found attractive, the feelings stirring inside her were unfamiliar. It scared her a little.

"I thought yer ankle was fucked," he argued.

Daryl lowered himself down next to the car. He reached for her leg, pulling it towards him so that she was sitting sideways in the seat with her legs dangling out of the car. It was obvious which one of her ankles was hurt. It had swelled to nearly twice the size of the other one. It looked like it ought to be hurting a lot worse than it was. Her pain tolerance was high. But Carol guessed that all the alcohol she drank was also helping to dull the pain.

"These dumbass shoes were yer problem," Daryl said, smirking up at her as he carefully slid the strap of the platform heel off the back of her ankle, tossing it onto the floorboard of the car. Gripping her leg in one hand and her foot with the other, he carefully moved it around to test her range of motion. He was being more gentle than she expected. But she still let out a slight hiss of pain when he probed the bones of her ankle with his calloused fingers.

"Sorry," he said, wincing slightly as if he was the one that was hurt instead of her. "Don't think it's broke… but it looks like ya sprained it pretty good."

Carol nodded. She's had enough broken bones and muscle pulls over the years that she already knew her ankle was only sprained before Daryl's examination. "I'll ice it when we get upstairs," she promised. Carol scooted slightly closer to the edge of the seat. She was planning to climb out of the car. But Daryl was still crouched in her way, his hands lingering on the lower part of her leg. His blue eyes looked much darker in the dimly lit parking lot. And the intensity of his gaze had her breath catching in her throat. Before she could overthink her actions, Carol reached down and ran her fingers through his hair. Time seemed to slow down as tension rose between them.

A loud popping sound from near the building startled them both. Daryl was on his feet before Carol even had time to react. As she climbed from the car, she heard him laughing. Their apartment was on the upper level on the left side of the building. The loud clang they heard was the screen in Harley's window being popped from the frame and hitting the cement patio below. Carol watched with disbelief and amusement as the young man that helped her move her stuff out of the house she used to share with her husband wriggled his lanky body out the window. Spencer hung from the window frame with his elbows braced against the wood. Harley was still inside the apartment. But she was leaning out far enough to kiss him. They kissed for as long as he could hold himself up. And then he dropped to the ground. Spencer had his pants on. But his chest and feet were bare. Harley leaned out the window and tossed the rest of his things down to him. He caught the small bundle, holding it against his bare chest with one hand as he used the other to blow her a kiss.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he promised. Harley tucked her long hair behind her ear and giggled. From the high pitch of her laughter, it was obvious that she was smitten with the young man that was looking up from below her bedroom window. Carol knew that she ought to be concerned about what the two young people were doing in Harley's room and what the consequences of those actions might be. But for the moment, she let herself swoon a little at what was clearly the first flush of young love.

"They're so cute," Carol gushed.

"Cute my ass," Daryl grumbled. He narrowed his eyes at the scene. And then he lifted his hands and cupped them around his mouth to amplify his voice. "I'M GONNA BEAT YER ASS INTO THE GROUND!," he hollered. Spencer jerked, turning to cast a nervous glance in Daryl's direction. Then he got a better grip on the bundle of clothes in his arms and took off running. Carol watched curiously to see if Daryl was going to chase after the young man. But he only chuckled as he lit himself a cigarette.

"Asshole!," Harley barked, flipping Daryl off before she retreated back inside the apartment.

Daryl laughed even harder at that as he took another drag of his cigarette. As Carol seemed to be eyeing his half gone smoke, he fished the pack back out of his pocket and offered her one. She reached her hand out. Then pulled it back. After all the drinking she did, a cigarette sounded good. But she hadn't smoked in years. Ed didn't approve of it. She was able to hide her habit from him for a while. But he eventually found the cigarettes she'd taken great care to keep hidden from him. And then he dislocated her shoulder and gave her two black eyes. She stopped smoking after that.

"What the hell," Carol finally whispered with a soft shrug of her shoulders as she pulled a cigarette from the crumpled pack. She cupped her hand around Daryl's as he lit it for her, enjoying the slight burn as she sucked in her first lungful of smoke.

"Didn't know ya smoked," he said.

Carol smiled as she blew out a cloud of the foul smelling smoke. "I don't," she countered.

Daryl's only response was a slight smirk as he flicked his cigarette onto the ground and stomped it out with his boot. He leaned against the car while she finished her smoke. And then he slung her arm around his shoulders and helped her hobble step into the apartment building and up the stairs.

Inside the apartment living room, River already had the pull out bed set up. She was curled up under a thick comforter, her eyes only half open as she watched an old sitcom rerun. Carol headed for the bathroom to wash the smeared makeup off her face and brush her teeth. But she could hear Daryl and River talking behind her.

"Ya know a boy just climbed outta Harley's window," Daryl tattled.

"Uh huh," River replied, not seeming as concerned as he obviously thought she ought to be with the situation. "I already told her he needed ta use the door. If they break the window screens, that asshole apartment manager is gonna fine us…"

Carol chuckled to herself as she closed the bathroom door behind her. She slathered her toothbrush with paste. But before she could shove it into her mouth, she caught a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror. There was black mascara smeared under her eyes. Since she offered one titty full of tissue to Daryl, one of her stuffed dress cups was clearly larger than the other. Her hair was matted to her head from being stuffed under River's pink wig. And sometime during the night, she must have lost one of her earrings. She looked like a total train wreck. But at least for tonight, she was okay with that.