Beth's Old Sweet Shoppe

Chapter 12:

Chapter 12:

Heavy arms envelop her and brown scratchy stubble tickles her neck as Beth dazily wakes up. Fluttering her eyes open, she's facing a window with the blinds letting only a little bit of morning light through them and onto the edge of the bed. In comparision to where she was last night, her body is flushed to Daryl on the complete other side of the bed, under a grey and red plaid comforter and sharing a long body pillow with him. His arms are around her waist and her bottom and legs are perfectly curved with Daryl's bent knees and it is as if she is sitting on him, but laying down. His chest is flush with her back and thier feet are intertwined. His body is generatoring so much heat, that Beth feels she could sleep without the comforter and still be in a desert of heat.

She didn't want to move this fast. To sleep over, in his bed, and spoon with him- all too fast movie for her taste, but she doesn't necessarily hate it. When she was with Gareth, he'd never intimately touch her. Sometimes he'd take up the whole bed and she'd have to sleep on the couch to just get some rest. And she'd never be able to spoon with him. He was too bony and rough. Gareth seemed to be a pile of bones, probably due to him smoking so much marijauna and just never really eating, unless made him something, or even bought him dinner when they went out. He wasn't one to pay for anything. He never got Beth a present for Christmas or her birthday. For their anniversary, he always forgot and she'd always go all out, feeling like an idiot. When it was Valentine's Day, she would always try to be intimate, but he was rough and unpleasing.

So laying next to Daryl, his muscular, but soft body, is comforting and almost like a dream. And no snoring! Gareth sounded like a Mack Truck blowing it's horn- all night, every night for four years. Daryl shares the blankets- Gareth never shared anything, except for his criticism and anger. Beth starts to smile as she realizes that she could get used to this. This gentle life, with gentle touches, loving touches- she could live with all of this. Why shouldn't she want this? To be wanted and to be loved and needed- all things she's wanted since she understood the word love. Just when she feels her morning thoughts couldn't get any better, she feels a small kiss come under her ear and then a nose snuggle closer to her.

"You up?" His scratchy, but gentle voice whispers to her and just melts in his arms.

"Mhm..." Rolling over in his arms, their knees linger in the same area and her jean bottoms stick underneath the comforter. Another unexpected act is when he leans off the pillow a bit and kisses her nose. "Haha..."

"Sorry...it's just one of the cutest things about you." Her quiet giggle stops and she blushes and smiles at him. His hands run up and down her back, slowly leaving her shivers from more gentle touches. "Yer so bashful... it's really adorable."

"Stop..." She keeps smiling and hides half of her face in the pillow and occasionally looks up at him.

"Why does this embarrass you? Huh Candy Girl Greene? Why do you blush when I do this." He kisses her ear, jaw and neck and she squirms beneath his touch and just keeps giggling and feeling wonderful, but embarrassed and shy. When he stops his torment, he hold her hips and leans his forehead against her and gazes into her eyes. Her bright smile slowly mellows out to an slightly opened mouth and she just looks from his eyes to his lips with a look of infinate love and wonderment. He knows exactly why these displays of effection embarrass her. That asshole ruined everything for her. Anything that isn't an insult, hit, or pain infliction is embarrassing and alien to Beth.

Leaning his face forward he captures her lips in his and pulls her close again. Her hands find their way around his neck and her hands play in his hair as his hands pull her close and hold onto her upper back with one and the small of her back with the other. His tongue plays on her lips and she takes it in with a bit of lust playing on her lips, but love in her whole body. Pulling back, she looks at him and smiles brightly. Then she quickly realizes his excitement below and pulls away ever so slightly.

"We should change yer bandages..." She kisses him again and then rolls away from him to get the first aid kit. When she comes back, he's sitting up and she removes his old gauze and starts replacing it after rubbing neosporin ove his wounds. His hand lightly runs up and down her forearm as she smiles at him and starts rewrapping him. "Is that too tight?"

"No, it's perfect. Thank you Doctor Greene."

"Haha, I could never be a doctor...I hated science in school."

"But there's science in yer candy making...you know that right?" He smirks at her and she rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, well not the disecting of anything or using heavy chemicals that could leave you blind." Playing with her tiny fragile hand he can see a few scars on them and his eyes catch hers.

"From using different cooking tools. This burn is from a caramel explosion. This ones from grabbing a hot pan that caught on fire from an excess of chocolate over flow. And this mark on my neck...that's from a cork on a molasses bottle bursting off from a change in temperature. Haha.." She pulls back her hair and shows a tiny scar/burn under where her jar meets her neck by her ear.

"So yer not good at cooking at all...this is why Michone does it. Isn't it? Haha."

"Haha well these were from when I was young and nieve at cooking and baking..." Holding up her arm he points to a long scar on her elbow.

"Haha and this one? Get that from being young and nieve?" She turns sour a bit and he knows that's one of the many scars from Gareth... most likely.

"Yeah...."

"Beth...I'm sorry..."

"It's fine...it's not like it was you, right?" Getting up she heads out to the kitchen and he just runs his hands through his hair and sighs.

Great. He fucked that up.