Blood Bourbon

Reckless

Daryl

Daryl glanced at his phone as he stepped into the Tavern, frowning when he received no response. He slid into a seat at the bar, smiling when Cally walked up to him and gave him an amused look.

Cally murmured thoughtfully as she scanned him up and down."Beer?"

"Yeah. Two. That... dark one.." All he could remember was that Ryker ordered a dark beer the last time. Stout? Porter? Black? All Ryker had said was 'dark beer'. Daryl could only hope that she would get the right beer.

"Right." She paused for a minute, giving him a curious look. "You want the one you had last time? I don't think you'll appreciate the dark one."

Part of Daryl wanted to assure her he would love what he damned well wished to like. But that was the nerves drawing out his frustration, so he offered a careful smile and nodded. Then he glanced at that mirror in front of him, which formed a backsplash behind the bar. Fingers tapping nervously on the countertop, he wondered what the hell he was doing.

He didn't text a lot, but he had definitely never... what did he do? Surely that wasn't sexting? Flirting? Could he flirt over text? Fighting the urge to grab his phone and double check for some response, he smiled tersely when Cally brought him the two beers.

"Just in time." Ryker was suddenly beside him, reaching for the pint of near-black beer that shifted red when the man lifted it up to his lips and took a sip. The man's grin was lighthearted enough, but there was a dark curiosity in his eyes as he continued. "You survived."

Daryl wasn't about to detail how close he had come to being a pancake when his shoulder almost failed him, merely offering a smirk and taking a gulp of his own beer. "You came."

"For you? Of course." The slight drawl in the man's voice belied the double meaning of the words. Ryker chuckled softly, leaning his back against the bar, hip pressed against Daryl's leg. The closeness was heady, tempting, almost overwhelming. A public location was the last place he wanted to be right now with this man.

Daryl glanced up to meet Ryker's eyes, seeing the amusement and something sort of contentment in the man's expression that had not been there the first few times they had met. Pushing past that thought, Daryl changed the subject. "So the bartender said I wouldn't like your beer. I didn't realize you were a connoisseur of the unusual."

"It's an acquired taste, but it helps take the edge off." Ryker grinned to him, his expression getting lazy as he lounged against the bar, though Daryl could tell the man was still watching the movement in the rest of the bar. Ryker's eyes shifted between Daryl and the space behind him, though the man appeared relaxed.

"And you don't think I can acquire it?" Daryl pushed stubbornly. Damn it, if it was immature, but he felt annoyed about the whole damned forbidden beer thing.

Ryker chuckled at that, leaning forward to kiss him quickly, leaving behind a taste of beer that was almost metallic. "Trust me?"

Daryl knew that he was grinning like an idiot in response, so he rolled his eyes and looked back to the mirror. After a moment, he drank from his glass. "I don't want your stupid beer, anyway."

It was enough to draw a laugh from the man, who stood smoothly, pressing his chest into Daryl's shoulder and ducking his head to nuzzle his jaw. Daryl lost himself in the sensation of feeling the man pressed into him, doing his best to glare at the reflection of Ryker as he watched him brush a hand down from Daryl's chest to hip.

Why had he chosen to come to the bar, anyway?

Oh. Right.

Because he had a plan, one that he thought was insane now that he had to go through with it. Daryl took another swig of his beer, finishing over half the glass before putting it down.