Carol's fine, happy even, with being the one to reach. She trusts him to be there when she does, never to let her fall. That's the harder role in her mind, the patience and deference. Her largest worry is that Daryl would respond to her even if he didn't necessarily want to, because that's the kind of good heart he has.

Intimate this is, but easy isn't so much on her mind as restless as her day has been. There's a little more than warmth in her kiss, like fanned embers. Her hand slides two inches up his leg. She's not truly planning to be more bold than he'd prefer, it's just difficult not to think of the quiet lakeside as private. Or, private enough.

And, well. He started her mind down this path. Let this be a lesson.