Don't Say Yes
AU/ AH/ OOC
Chapter 2
EPOV
I'll never forget the way she looked at me on our very first day of high school; her beautiful wavy blonde hair framing her beautiful face and radiant blue eyes. She was way out of my league. I was a skinny, lanky, goofy looking kid with shoulder length blonde hair. I was trying to achieve the Kurt Cobain look, but failed miserably. I was told more often than not that I was 'way too pretty' to pull off the grunge look. But that didn't stop me from trying. I always resented being called 'pretty.' What grown man wants to be told they're pretty? I sure as hell didn't.
It wasn't just her looks though. Yes, she had a banging body, but she was more than a great rack, and they were great; they were the best I'd ever see. No one would ever compare. She was the nicest girl in our entire school; she was the girl that everyone tried to hate, but couldn't. Every girl wanted to be her and every guy wanted to nail her, and for some reason she chose me.
We were everything to each other for four solid years. We were the most popular couple in the entire school. I was the star quarterback, and for a small town like Bon Temps, that meant instant celebrity. She was my trophy, my most prized possession and together we were unstoppable. She was my cheerleader, both literally and figuratively, and she never missed one of my games. She was my rock, my confidant, and my best friend.
Our relationship actually began as a simple friendship, but quickly developed into much, much more. I'll never forget the day it happened for as long as I live. It was about a month into our freshman year and we'd just gotten home from practice; Gran fixed dinner for us on the days we both had practice so we would get the "proper nutrition." She had on those tiny little shorts that displayed her perfectly tanned legs and a racer-back tank that barely contained those gorgeous breasts. We were up in her bedroom studying, sitting next to each other on the bed, when something unprecedented happened. As I reached across the bed to grab my book, my hand grazed her right boob ever so slightly. When I looked down I could see her nipples were hard through the fabric of her sports bra. Our eyes met and we both had the same unmistakable lust-filled expression on our faces. I was instantly aware that my mesh shorts were doing nothing to contain my raging hard-on. I decided it was now or never so I leaned in and kissed her for the very first time.
That one innocent kiss was the means to an end of our platonic relationship. We went from kissing to heavy petting to fucking, like the two horny teenagers we were, in a matter of months. It was one wild ride that I never tired of; I was insatiable for her. Our favorite time together was right after church on Sundays when Gran would go to her bible study. We had the entire house to ourselves and we had an unsaid room rotation. We had sex on every horizontal surface in that entire house and when we got bored with the horizontal, we discovered the vertical.
We were perfect for each other. She was the calm one and I was crazy one. She was the one that kept us grounded and kept my head from getting too big. We were so alike, but just different enough to not drive the other insane.
The only issue we ever had was my bitch of a mother, Mrs. Elena Solveig Northman. She never liked Sookie, although Sookie never knew it. If it wasn't for my father, our relationship would have ended before it began. My mother is the most pretentious woman I've ever met. Her family comes from old Swedish money and she thinks that gives her the right to treat other people like shit. I never understood why my father married her, but if I had to guess, it wasn't his choice. He was thrilled that I'd met Sookie and that we were truly in love. My parents were in a loveless marriage; they simply tolerated each other's presence. Pathetic.
Mother was always so fake when Sookie was around and it made my skin crawl. I never told Sookie how my mother felt about her; I knew it would have devastated her. I allowed her to think that they were the best of friends. She would take her shopping for prom dresses and help her pick out all of the necessary accessories. If she only knew it was because my mother wouldn't have her son photographed with a girl wearing something off the rack; god, it would have destroyed her. I knew that Gran saw through the façade though; Sookie was too good to ever see people for what they really were. She thought that my mother's gifts were out of kindness. The entire situation made my stomach turn.
I wasn't at all surprised by my mother's enthusiasm when The University of Florida called offering a full football scholarship. She knew that Sookie had already been accepted to LSU and that meant we would be hours away from each other. Despite my father's best efforts to displease my mother, she'd finally gotten her way. I would be hundreds of miles away from the love of my life for at least four years. Five if I was red-shirted as a freshman.
We spent our last summer together doing the things we had done every summer since our freshman year. We tried to pretend like it wasn't all coming to a devastating end in August, but our heartache was present in everything we did. Every time I held her on her porch swing, every time we kissed, or had sex in the back of my car, I found myself holding her a little tighter and lingering a little longer.
We made the mature decision to end our relationship amicably, because we'd spent our entire high school careers together. We both had a lot of growing up to do and we'd either grow together or grow apart. Sookie said something about "If you love someone you have to let them go, and if they return to you then it's meant to be." Some stupid Mariah Carey bullshit, I think. Don't quote me though.
Our last day together we vowed to stay in touch, but we both knew it would be next to impossible with the upcoming college football season. I was the starting quarterback for the number five team in the entire country; I wouldn't have time for a relationship. We said our tearful goodbyes in her driveway and went our separate ways.
My last memory of her will be forever imprinted in my mind. She was standing there in my favorite little white sundress, her hair down and blowing with the slight summer breeze; I watched as her eyes filled with tears and her tiny body collapsed to the ground before Gran ran out to scoop her up and carry her back inside. I wanted to stop the car, run to her and hold her, but I knew that prolonging the inevitable would only make it harder on both of us.
My first two weeks at UF were really difficult; practice was exhausting and I missed Sookie like crazy. All of my successes on the field meant nothing because I couldn't share them with her. We played phone tag for a solid week before we ever actually spoke. The conversation was awkward and her tone was indifferent. I could tell that she didn't really want to talk to me. I told her I loved her at the end of the call as I always had and she said it back, but there was something missing in her delivery. I didn't call her again after that. I figured she didn't want to talk to me, so I stopped calling. If she wanted to call me, she could. Maybe she'd already moved on. Maybe college gave her the easy out she was looking for. But, none of that made any sense. I knew her; she loved me, and she would've told me if she'd wanted out.
I put all of my anger, frustration, and sadness into the game I'd loved my entire life. I continued to impress my coaches and my teammates with my dedication and hard work. Not only had I been promised the coveted starting position, but now I felt like I'd really earned it.
I went home for Christmas every year, but never heard from Sookie. If she wanted to see me, she knew where to find me. I was shocked that I didn't even receive a card from her though. She had this silly tradition of having her picture made with Santa every year and then turning it into a Christmas card. Every year she dragged me to the mall in her most ridiculous Christmas sweater with her list in her hand. She'd sit in Santa's lap and tell him what she wanted for Christmas and then she'd have her picture taken. It was absolutely ridiculous, but also purely Sookie. My parents received one every year we were together and I was angry that she didn't even have the decency to continue the tradition in spite of our current situation. I began to question if I ever really knew her at all. How could she just totally abandon me after all of our years together?
My father tried to talk me into visiting her, but I refused. I'd had enough of this stupid mind fuck and I was ready to move on. I was no longer the shy goofy kid she'd met all those year ago. I was the star of the Gators and I could sleep with any girl I wanted, so that's just what I did. I went back to Florida and took full advantage of my good looks and high profile name. I established quite the reputation around campus and I was proud of it. My cell phone was like a olodex of booty calls. All I had to do was pick a letter of the alphabet and make the call.
I thought I'd fucked my way through every eligible bachelorette in the city of Gainesville, when I ran into this saucy little red-head by the name of Sophie Anne Leclerq. She was the exact opposite of Sookie in every way and she was exactly what I needed. She was not sweet, she was not innocent, but she was quite the socialite. She was everything my mother wanted for me and then some. Her father, Andre Leclerq was the owner of Leclerq Broadcasting, a big name in college sports and Sophie was his star reporter. She was already out of school working as a broadcast journalist when we met.
I met Sophie at the beginning of my junior year at UF and pursued her relentlessly for months. She loved playing hard to get and that only made me want her more. When I brought her home to meet my parents, my mother was beaming with pride, but my father was less than impressed. He pulled me aside and asked me if I'd talked to Sookie lately. I let him have it and told him to never mention her name again. I was done with her, completely done. I'd moved on and I was happy.
When I came home for a brief visit the summer before my senior year, my mother sat me down and gave me my grandmother's four carat blue diamond ring. She told me to ask Sophie Anne to marry me. I told her I'd think about it, but unfortunately, the decision was accidentally made for me.
One night after coming home from practice, I saw Sophie sitting on my bed in my favorite emerald green lingerie set holding my grandmother's ring. She said "yes" before I even posed the question. I was too dumbfounded to respond and I didn't want to hurt her so I just went along with it. Stupid, I know.
Seeing that ring on her tiny, perfectly manicured finger made me think of Sookie. I always thought that ring would be hers. It was supposed to be hers. It was all I could do to not rip the damn thing off of her hand, but that wouldn't be the right thing to do to your fiancé, would it? Just saying fiancé repulsed me. There was only one girl who deserved that title and her name was Sookie Elizabeth Stackhouse.
Sophie was on the phone with our parents before I could get a word in edgewise. The next thing I knew our names and faces were on the cover of every major paper in the state of Florida and I knew it would only be a matter of time before my mother had an announcement in our local paper.
Once again, I thought of Sookie. I was suddenly disgusted with myself. I recalled that fateful day when I left her crying on her front lawn. What would my engagement do to her? Did she even care? If we hadn't gone our separate ways, we would be married right now? We were going to get married right out of high school. We were going to live in an apartment on campus and spend our college days together. But it was too late now. I was engaged to Sophie Anne Leclerq, soon to be Northman, and the free world knew it.
