The Boss's Daughter

06

Carl's P.O.V.

I don't know what it is about her. She's just so... fearless. Confident. That is true, but I feel like there's something else that draws me to her. She's gorgeous, that's for sure. Even with the scar. But it's more than that. I can't put my finger on it.

     She seems a little warped, but so is everybody, right? No one is normal in this world. Maybe that's it. She seems a lot like me. We've been through a lot of the same situations. Which isn't uncommon these days, I guess. But still.

     She said she killed that boy who came onto her way too strong. Good. Scum like that don't deserve to walk the Earth. Liza doesn't deserve to be treated like that.

     What the hell am I talking about? I've know her for, what?, 24 hours? How do I know what she does and doesn't deserve? I mean, no one deserves to be assaulted in that way, but why am I speaking for her specifically? That Damon guy could've been the fourth or fifth person she'd killed at only 14, for all I know. Hell, he could've been her tenth.

     I know I need to keep my guard up around her until I know for sure I can trust her. It's just that something about her is so fascinating. It's like she could tell me every tiny detail about her life, and I'd want to know more. And vise versa. I want to tell her everything about me. Which is dumb, I shouldn't want to do that with anybody. I don't know. I guess she reminds me of myself. More than anyone I've ever met. Even Enid.

     "Your turn," Liza's voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

     I stop in my tracks and realize that I don't know how long we've been walking or how far we've wandered. "I think we should head back," I say.

     She smiles. "That's not a question."

     I roll my eyes. "Okay fine, can we head back?"

     She grins, showing her teeth this time. "Yes we can." Then she turns on her heel and starts back toward the opposite direction. "I'm counting that, by the way. My turn!"

     "Hey, that's not fair!" I laugh. It's been so long since I've been able to laugh. I'm usually only ever this comfortable with my dad and Michonne. Not even Dad sometimes. He's all business usually.

     Liza shrugs. "Sorry." She puts her finger over her full lips and pretends to think. Though something tells me she already knows what she wants to ask. "I've got one," she says. Then a smirk spreads across her face. "Have you ever kissed a girl before?"

     Her question surprises me. I feel myself start to blush. "Uh..." I awkwardly rub the back of my neck.

     "You haven't, have you!" She excitedly says.

     "Yeah okay, so what?"

     She raises her palms in surrender. "Nothing. I was just curious." There's an awkward silence between us. Eventually, she speaks again. "Do you wanna change that?"

     I stop. My face burns red again. I do. I shouldn't want to, but I do. I barely know her. She doesn't even know my last name. But I guess if she wants to too, it's not a problem... Right?

     I keep my head down, but look up at her with my eye. I'm sure I look like a lost puppy or something, but I don't know what to say. I don't want it to be obvious that I want to kiss her. I shouldn't want to kiss her. It's barely been two days.

     When she sees my expression, she nods and puts down her belongings. "I'll teach you, then. Don't worry, it's easy." She steps closer to me until we're inches apart. I never noticed how close in height we are. She's maybe only a few inches shorter than me.

     Her voice becomes low "First, I want to see what your instinct tells you to do." Then she lifts the brim of my hat slightly. "Just relax," she whispers. I'd be lying if I said I didn't find her voice extremely alluring.

     Slowly, she leans forward. Her lips are parted ever so slightly. I copy the action and lean down. My heart pounds in my throat. My eyes close involuntarily. Seconds later, my lips brush hers. Her lips move and apply more pressure to mine. I copy her action again, and I move my hands to rest on her waist. Liza reciprocates by wrapping her arms around my neck, careful to avoid my hat.

     Not long after, she pulls away. I open my eyes to see her beautiful smile. "Not bad," she says. "Are you sure that was your first kiss?" She squints suspiciously.

     It's then that I realize my mouth is still hanging open slightly. Closing it, I swallow the lump in my throat and nod. "Grimes," I say, trying to save myself from my own thoughts.

She raises her eyebrows. "What?"

I mentally slap myself. "My last name," I clarify. "My last name is Grimes."

"Oh... okay," she chuckles before leaning in to kiss me again.

I'm still dumbfounded. Did that just happen? Did I just give my first kiss to a stranger? Christ, what's wrong with me?

     Liza knits her eyebrows together. "Jesus, Carl, don't look so fucking wounded." She slides her arms off my neck and pulls herself out of my grasp.

     "W-what?" Did I say something?

     "I was trying to do something nice for you, and you're standing there looking like I just shot your dog," she vents.

     "I am?" I'm so confused.

     Then she rolls her eyes and starts walking. "I should've known you'd be just like every other boy," she calls.

     It's like she read my mind. Like she saw my self-questioning through my skin. If she saw it somehow, it offended her. What am I doing? I can't just let her walk away.

     I run to catch up with her. When I do, I grab her arm and turn her around. Without warning, I smash my lips against hers. I kiss her over and over again, even licking her lips a few times, as I move my hands to cup her face. When I pull away, her hazel eyes look me up and down.

     "Now that's more like it," she whispers. There she goes again with that low voice. I swear I think that voice may be enough to drive me mad. One thing I can say for sure is that there's no way she's getting rid of me now.