The Bet

Part 2

"Y/N? What happened? Don't keep a girl in suspense!"

"Nothing happened," you lied. "We went hunting, did find the cabin, but I couldn't get him to bite. Guess I'll be pulling my own shifts for the next month."

Maggie looked at you suspiciously, her lips pursed and eyes narrowed. "Hmmm, so you're just gonna give up that easy?"

"Yeah, I mean, a girl can only put themselves out there so much, ya know? Besides, he's nice and all but maybe he's not really MY type," you shrugged a shoulder and turned your back to her pretending to be busy so she couldn't see the expression on your face. When you felt confident you could turn and look at your friend without betraying the truth of the situation, you smiled and said, "At least Bethy can have her shot now."

Maggie shook her head and smiled.

"That girl is gonna be the death of me. You shoulda heard her today going on and on about him... something about his vest. I don't know..."

Maggie's words trailed off at the mention of the vest. Your hand absently went to you're the place where the edge of the vest had fell against your chest. Flashes of the afternoon wouldn't stop playing across your memory. It took Maggie hitting your shoulder again to bring you back.

"Hey... that's the second time you spaced out on me. I'm startin' to feel offended," she said smiling at you.

"I'm sorry, it's been a long day," you said and felt a yawn play at your mouth.

"Well, I am sorry it didn't work out for you and Daryl. Maybe 'nother time..." Maggie said as she turned to go inside. "See ya in the mornin', ok?"

"Yeah, night Maggie," you smiled at your friend as she went home to her husband.

Watching her go, you felt a bit of relief. Your body was worn, spent and sweaty, and begging for a cold shower then your bunk to fall into. The one thing you didn't really want was to dream about Daryl, but your subconscious had other plans.

You woke from sleep feeling tired and restless. Even after a cool shower and quiet cell to sleep in thanks to your roommate not being there, sleep had been elusive. Dreams of Daryl plagued you throughout the night, and when your alarm went off it felt as though you had just gone to bed.

After getting washed and dressed, you headed out to the canopy where Carol was getting breakfast on. You got to work handing out plates to the people emerging from their cells while Carol continued to monitor the grill.

Plate after plate was handed out and when most of the people were settled and eating, you took a moment to turn and stretch. Due to a restless sleep and the activities from the day before, your muscles felt sore and tired. When the slideshow of memories started playing in your mind of how they got to feeling that way, your heart didn't want to think about it anymore. The smile that threatened the corners of your mouth, however, didn't care.

"Anything left for me?" Daryl's voice called from behind you as you stood up straight from a long stretch.

You turned around quickly, face flushed red from having been bent over, but also from his sudden presence. His eyes were all over you and when he saw how red you were, he didn't even try to hide his satisfaction at your reaction.

"Uh..." you looked over to Carol who was chatting with Michonne about the outer fences, then back to Daryl who was staring at you with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Food... Y/N. Anything left?" He pointed down at the plates on the counter, his gaze never leaving you.

Going back to the counter, you grabbed a plate and filled it with what Carol had finished cooking. As you handed it to Daryl he let his fingers linger over yours, lightly brushing his fingertips over your hand.