Strong sexual content warning.

CH 2: A Slip-Up

True to her word, Jackie had left early in the morning to film the local news, thus leaving Eric behind to fend for himself. He sat there (literally) twiddling his thumbs, feeling hopelessly out of place amidst all her tacky splendor. Her records weren't to his taste (ABBA and The Carpenters were the main offenders in the collection), so he promptly shot down the idea of listening to her music. Not that Jackie would've approved. Before she'd left, she'd warned him not to touch anything with his "filthy, grubby little masturbation fingers." Ah, Jackie. Always the benevolent class act.

In spite of the pending boredom, Eric had managed to find her VHS collection, most of which seemed to be home movies and her segments on the news. Jackie was nothing if not consistent.

"I guess some things never change," he muttered.

"What are you doing?"

Fumbling with the tapes, Eric nearly dropped them as he struggled to put them back onto the shelf. "Nothing! I just, uh…wanted to see how great you looked on these homemade covers, that's all."

Jackie beamed. "Yeah, they are pretty great," she agreed. "Did you see the one with my big hair and shoulder pads?"

"I've only been staring at it all morning!" Eric lied. Wait. That had sounded far creepier than he'd intended.

Jackie, however, seemed pleased and beckoned him to return to the living room. "So aside from reacquainting yourself with my gorgeousness, what have you been doing all morning?"

Eric gave a mocking gasp. "You mean, there's more to life than that?" Having a seat on the settee, he watched Jackie smoothly sit alongside him. "Honestly, uh…nothing much. I woke up late, and the pain in my eye made me pray for sweet, sweet death. I also helped myself to your medicine cabinet, so you're down a couple aspirins."

Jackie waved a hand. "You're such a drama queen, Eric. You don't know true pain until you wake up one morning without hairspray."

Eric blinked. "Uh…I guess I'll keep that in mind."

An awkward bout of silence passed before Jackie tapped his knee. "So about that whole salesman thing – just what are you selling?"

Eric flashed her a self-conscious smile. "Oh, you know, the usual…a whole hodgepodge of things. Currently, I'm selling, uh…bathroom and beauty products." He cleared his throat.

With an eager squeak, Jackie asked, "Really? Oh my God, what brand?"

"Generic."

She gasped. "Oh, Eric…" Touching his hand, she shook her head while lamenting, "I had no idea you were doing so poorly."

He withdrew his hand. "What? No, generic is good! God, Jackie, I-"

"Goddess, Jackie, thank you very much."

Sparing her a withering look, Eric shook his head and reclined against the couch. "I'm fine, Jackie. It's not glamorous work, but it pays the bills."

Jackie pursed her mouth. She was always more than happy to talk about money (especially how rich she was), but since Eric appeared so downtrodden, she decided to talk about something else. But before she could open her mouth, the phone rang and she clapped her hands. "That must be work! They always love to call and congratulate me on a job well done!"

Pleased, Jackie bounded over to the phone and lifted it off its cradle, now pressing it to her cheek as she chirped, "Hello?"

"Miss Burkhart, this is-"

"Oh, hi, Mr. Devereaux! Let me just say that I'm so thrilled to have you, the head of the company, calling to compliment me on my hard work!"

There came a long pause, then Mr. Devereaux said, "Actually, Miss Burkhart, I called to discuss your relationship with our head anchor."

Jackie's brow furrowed. "Oh, Craig Weathers? What about him?"

"Well, it would appear that you're having an affair with a married man, and, as you're well aware, public image is very important in this business."

Jackie felt the blood rush from her face. "That…that dirty dog! He told me she was his destitute sister!"

Mr. Devereaux sighed. "I'm sorry, Miss Burkhart, but we're going to have to let you go."

"WHAT?!" Seeing red, Jackie seethed, "Are you seriously firing me over the phone?"

"I'm sorry, but-"

"No, Mr. Devereaux. I'm sorry – sorry that I ever thought you had a scrap of decency!" With a huff, Jackie slammed the phone down onto its cradle with a soft, seething shriek. "I can't believe it…they're firing me, a gorgeous, vivacious beacon of light over that…that toad! It's not fair!"

Awkwardly, Eric rose from the settee. "Look, Jackie, if you need me to leave, I-"

"No, Eric…" She sniffed. "Please stay. I could really use the company."

Appearing discomforted, Eric waited a moment before slowly sinking back down onto the cushions.

Jackie moved over and furiously had a seat alongside him. "It figures that this would happen," she spat. "Men are never held accountable in show business! And this time, it wasn't even a scandal I wanted to be a part of!"

Eric cleared his throat. "Well yeah, but-"

"Oh Eric, what am I going to do? This was my dream…this was my life!" Bursting into tears, Jackie sagged against him and wept bitterly into his shoulder.

Eric tensed up at the sudden outburst, then slowly, carefully slid an arm around her waist. "Aw, c'mon Jackie, no," he gently cajoled. "You're smart and beautiful, and you always come out on top. You're Jacqueline Burkhart, and any woman would be lucky to be you."

Jackie drew back with a determined snivel. "You're right," she agreed. "I am beautiful, and I am smart, and I am wonderful!"

"Well, I never said-"

"Thank you, Eric." Fondly, she took his face between her hands and pressed the curve of her full, searching mouth into his. Eric jolted at the unexpected contact, his hands fumbling for her shoulders as she angled in more forcefully.

He broke the kiss with a shaking breath. "Jackie, wait…"

"Why?" she softly asked. "Don't you think I'm pretty?"

"Well of course I do, but…I can't."

"I think you can," Jackie whispered back, ducking her head to press a kiss to his throat. Eric squirmed beneath her touch, and with a pleased little moan, she took hold of his hand and guided it beneath her skirt.

But the moment Eric brushed against the warm, wet essence seeping through Jackie's panties, he jerked his hand back in shock, promptly pulling away so that she fell against the cushions.

"Jackie, I said no," he snapped, though with far less force than he'd intended. "You're sad and vulnerable right now, and I just…I don't want things to be like this. I'm not a rebound or your 'feel good fuck buddy.'"

Before Jackie could argue, Eric rose on shaky limbs and announced, "I'm going home."

"Oh Eric, no! Please, just…have a drink with me. Or maybe a smoke? For old time's sake?"

Anxiously tensing his hands at his sides, Eric sighed before dropping his head forward in acquiescence. "Alright, Jackie. One drink."


Five drinks and a couple blunts later, Eric found himself sitting in front of the couch, giggling at one of Jackie's (very unfunny) jokes.

"Wow. You are high-larious. Remind me why I hated you again?"

Jackie gasped. "You hated me? Eric Forman!"

"Okay, okay, maybe I just didn't like you – hate was reserved for Laurie."

Scoffing, Jackie took another swig of beer. "That's not fair. I always liked you, Eric. I mean yeah, you were a nerdy, abnormally skinny dork with zero sex appeal, but at least you were a good guy. And that's way better than being sexy or captain of the football team."

Appearing uncomfortable, Eric set his drink off to the side and unsteadily tottered to his feet. "I, uh…I need to take a leak."

"Eric, the bathroom's that way. Please don't urinate in my upscale kitchen!"

"Right – thank you!"

After staggering into Jackie's posh little powder room, Eric lifted up the seat and began to relieve himself. Jackie barged in about thirty seconds later.

"Jackie!" Covering himself up, Eric managed to turn as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I need to touch up my face," she said. "Every day at 5 p.m., I reapply my makeup, so you need to move." Eyes dropping down toward what Eric was so desperately trying to hide, she lost her sternness and giggled.

"Oh c'mon, it's not that bad, is it?"

"No, uh…you just…" Biting her lip, Jackie pointed to indicate he'd somehow managed to become aroused.

Ah. Well that was awkward.

"Wait 'til I tell everyone I saw your dick."

Eric flushed. "Aw Jackie, c'mon, you're not really going to-?"

"I saw your diiiiick, I saw your diiiick," she chanted in a giggly, sing-song fashion, unsteadily moving over to goose him in the ribs.

"Cut that out!" Swiping at her hand, he gawped when Jackie began to laugh and poke at him. "What are you, twelve?"

Perhaps it was the alcohol and the marijuana, but Eric suddenly felt oddly mellow and fluid as he caught her hands. "Did you really come in here for your makeup?"

Smile fading, Jackie bit her lip and took a step back, feeling uncertain as he cornered her against the door. "Maybe..."

Eric was directly in front of her then, pupils blown and his knee edging in between her legs. Pushing up her skirt with nimble fingers, Eric's breathing grew labored as he shoved her panties down to her knees. Now palming her with firm, even strokes, he pulled her in for a deep, searing kiss, a groan catching in his throat as he pressed her into the door.

Jackie broke the kiss with a sharp, startled breath. "Eric-" She stopped what she was going to say, taken aback by his forwardness. "Whatever happened to your 'no fuck buddy' speech?" She couldn't help but grind down against his hand. Now fumbling behind her, she locked the door and looked up at him with a challenging little smirk.

Bringing his lips harshly back to hers, Eric reached between them and began to push down his pants, his cock already hard and swollen as he wriggled out of his boxers. Trailing his mouth from her lips to her ear, he panted against her skin as he prepped her with two fingers, encouraging her to ride them as he rocked his palm into her clit. "I say a lot of things," he muttered.

Wrenching her around, Eric maneuvered Jackie until she was perched against the sink, her backside pressing into his arousal as he kissed her shoulder. "I don't know your living situation, but your neighbors might hear us," he lowly warned. "If you have to scream, kiss me."

Jackie began to harshly grind around his fingers, gasping as she arched. She rested one of her hands against the wall and the other on the sink. Eric must've thought she was really fucking loud if he believed her neighbors would overhear, but at that moment, she was too turned on to snap at him. "Just hurry up!" she growled.

Fiercely yanking her back against his lap, Eric fumbled with her waist and jerked inside her, his head tossing back as he clenched his teeth. "Fuck," he hissed. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..." The sudden feeling of her tight, wet heat gripping at his cock made his toes curl as he staggered with her against the sink. Groaning into her ear, he squeezed her left breast and encouraged her to look at him over her shoulder, licking at her mouth as he began to work his arousal inside her. "That's it, baby," he whispered. "Take me in..."

When he'd pushed himself all the way in to the hilt, Eric relinquished his restraint and began to pound into her with desperate, needy thrusts, the flimsy medicine cabinet beginning to rattle as one of his hands clutched at the edge of the sink. "C'mon, sweetheart," he whispered into her ear. "Get off on me..." He pushed his hand down between them, encouraging her to back into his powerful thrusts.

Jackie didn't know how she could keep quiet with Eric hammering into her like that. She dug her nails into his hand. "Fuck," Jackie hissed, not knowing how much her legs could support her. She wasn't entirely sure where this new version of Eric had come from, but she one-hundred percent approved.

Jackie's nails pricked at his skin and Eric hissed, biting back a soft groan as he bounced her against his lap. Her heat wrapped snugly around his cock, milking and massaging him as he drove strongly into her slick heat. When she looked at him over her shoulder, he nipped at her bottom lip, wanting to elicit a reaction. "You feel so good, Jackie," he whispered. Licking at her mouth, he pulled her in for a searing kiss, glossing his tongue over hers as he devoured her muffled moans.

Fumbling for her hands against the sink, Eric glanced at their gasping reflections and gently bit down on her lip, his touch sliding to her waist before he began to force her back into his thrusts. He could feel her spasming around his cock, and desperately, he reached between them and began to rub and tweak her clit, needing to drive her over the edge as well. Jackie arched and gasped, and then her head tossed and she flickered around his swollen arousal. He could feel himself pulsing between her walls, and with a guttural groan, he emptied his seed inside her and collapsed against her back, panting hotly into the hollow of her neck.

With his hand pressed possessively into her stomach, Eric trailed a series of warm, open-mouthed kisses along her neck. He remained buried deep inside her, enjoying the aftershocks of her warmth contracting around him.

"Jesus," Jackie swore. Holding tightly to the sink, she panted and gazed at Eric's equally disheveled appearance. "Did someone body snatch you while you were taking a piss?"

Laughing weakly, Eric disengaged and staggered back toward the wall, now unsteadily pulling his boxers and jeans around his hips. "I'm not sure if you meant it to be nice, but I'm going to go ahead and take that as a compliment."

"It was the best... W-well, it was the best sex I've had in a bathroom, to put it bluntly." Sliding her panties back into place, Jackie straightened her skirt and ran a hand through her wild hair. "Will you be staying for dinner?"

"I don't think I should," Eric said. "I still need to swing by my parents' house before I leave."

"Oh...right. Well, will I see you before you leave?"

"Why, Jackie Burkhart! Are you developing the capability of true friendship in that husky shell of yours?"

She whacked his arm, unamused. "I'll see you later, okay? I think I'm going to go out and hunt for a new job."

Expression growing more serious, Eric lifted a hand and brushed the hair back from her eyes, gently carding his fingers through an obvious tangle. "I'll call you," he promised.

To her surprise, Jackie truly believed that he meant it.

A/N: I ended up editing the love scene a bit, because it felt rushed and not as organic as I'd been hoping. It's STILL not up to par with what I'd like, but I think it (hopefully) makes a bit more sense now. Thanks for reading! :)