A/N – New story! Thanks for reading!
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sookie asks as soon as she sees Eric Northman walk into the bar. Every woman in Merlotte's turns to stare at the tall, immensely attractive blond man, but Eric ignores them. His eyes never venture from Sookie.
"Sam called. Said you might need a ride home."
"I most definitely do not," Sookie says after swallowing a mouth full of gin and tonic. Her speech is slightly slurred, and she doesn't seem to notice that her dress is riding dangerously high up her tanned, smooth thigh. Eric can't help but appreciate the view. Despite a year of trying to ignore his desire for Sookie, Eric's own body constantly betrays him.
"Are you sure about that?" Eric gestures towards the many empty glasses sitting on the bar.
"I don't need a babysitter, Eric. Just maybe a cup of coffee, and then I can get myself home."
At that moment, Sam walks over, wiping his hands on a black apron. He pats Eric on the back. "Thanks for coming. We're swamped tonight. I'd take her home myself, but it'll be hours until I can get out of here."
Eric lowers his voice so that Sookie can't hear them talking. "How long has she been here?"
"Started drinking after her shift ended at four. I wanted to cut her off, but honestly, I feel like she deserves to drink away her problems for a night. After what happened with Bill, well, let's just say someone as good as Sookie doesn't deserve anything close to what that bastard did."
Eric nods his head. His stomach turns at the thought of Bill Compton, a former employee of Eric's private law firm. From the day he hired Bill, he instinctually detested him. If he hadn't been so damn good at his job- Eric would have fired him a year ago. Around that time, Bill started dating Sookie. He took her to the annual office Christmas party. When Sookie walked in the door in that bright red dress that hugged every gracious curve on her body, Eric had to use every drop of willpower he possessed not to approach her and make her his.
When Bill and Sookie got serious, she started popping in and out of the office, driving Eric mad with every pair of tiny jean shorts and tight blouse. She was disastrously unaware of how attractive she was. To hide his desire for his employee's girlfriend, Eric used the only defense he could think of- rudeness. He kept their conversations short and unfriendly. He came up with any excuse possible to avoid spending time with her. And over the year, Sookie slowly came to hate him for it.
But that was all before. It was before Bill Compton broke her heart in the most despicable way imaginable. Before he left town. Before Sookie's friends were left to pick up the pieces. When Eric heard what happened, he wanted to reach out and help somehow, but Sookie ignored all of his advances. Finally, Eric gave Sam Merlotte his number, telling him to call if there was ever anything he could ever help with. And that's how he ended up in the bar tonight with the prospect of taking home a very drunk Sookie.
"I don't want to go home with you," Sookie tells Eric. "Sam give me some coffee. I'll wait until you get off your shift."
"That won't be for hours, Sookie. Look, just do me a favor and please let Eric take you home. I can't run a bar if I'm worrying about you all night." Sam stares Sookie down with his light blue eyes until she finally relents.
"Fine. Just this once."
"Thank you." Sam turns towards Eric and holds out his hand. "And thank you."
"Not a problem," Eric says, shaking Sam's hand.
When Sam walks away, Eric turns back towards Sookie, surprised to find that she's staring straight at him. Her eyes narrow, suspicious. "I don't know why you're here."
"Sam called."
"We aren't friends. You are not my friend."
"I'd like to change that."
"Why?"
Eric shrugs his shoulders. "What's wrong with having one more friend? Can't hurt, right?"
Sookie sighs, "I guess not." Her voice is still filled with suspicion, but she seems to have given up the argument for now.
"Come on let's get you home." Eric offers Sookie his hand, but she brushes it to the side.
"I can stand up by myself, thank you very much."
Sookie gets off of the stool and immediately stumbles. Eric catches her by the waist, pulling her warm, tiny body against his own. His eyes glitter with amusement. "Sure you can." He's reluctant to let go. The feeling of Sookie pressed against him, her hands clutched around his arms, is unbelievably satisfying. He wants to pull her closer, wants to reach down and kiss the soft skin on her exposed neck.
But Sookie pulls away, and he lets her. There's no good in seducing a drunk woman anyways. It always leads to trouble.
Sookie compromises by holding onto Eric's arm as he leads her out of the bar. Her steps are clumsy, and Eric has to suppress the urge to pick her up and carry her bridal-style into his black Porsche. "Nice car," Sookie comments as they approach the passenger door. "Very fancy. Just like your suit."
Eric looks down at his clothes. He came straight from a long day at court, and he's still dressed in a ridiculously overpriced suit, tailored to fit his tall body perfectly. Even though Eric sometimes feels pretentious in his clothing, he knows that the right suit makes a man seem powerful. And in his line of work, being powerful is very helpful.
"Thanks," Eric says, even though Sookie's compliment leaned towards the side of sarcastic. He opens the passenger door and helps Sookie inside. She starts fumbling with the seat belt, and laughing gently, Eric grabs the strap for her. As he leans over to buckle Sookie in, he's overwhelmed by the vicinity of their bodies, by Sookie's flower-scented perfume invading his senses. Sookie looks up to meet his eyes, and for a second, Eric thinks he sees a flicker of interest pass through her gaze. But it's gone as quickly as it came.
With no excuse to stay so close to her, Eric stands up and walks around to the other side of the car. He gets inside, puts the keys in ignition, and backs out of Merlotte's parking lot.
A/N – Here's a short introduction chapter! Please review if you like it- if I get enough feedback, I'll definitely continue. This is my first "human" story of Eric/Sookie. Do you guys like the set up so far? And should I keep it all in Eric's POV or do some Sookie POV also? Thanks for the R&R!