AN: The response after that first chapter was simply fantastic! Thanks for the encouragement and the support guys! It's freaking inspiring and amazing! I hope you enjoy this chapter and what is to come for Sookie in her travels across Europe.

Now, I wonder who she could meet in Stockholm, Sweden???

"I'm very drunk and I intend on getting still drunker before this evening's over."
- Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind

Chapter 2: Stockholm

As soon as I had gotten off the plane, I found a gift shop in the terminal and bought a Swedish/English dictionary. It had phrases in the back that would help me interact. They were the most general sentences ever and I couldn't imagine myself using any of them. I snatched a few English brochures that mentioned affordable places to stay in the city. I stood in the long line of people waiting for a taxi. I heard a couple speaking rapidly in a language I was very unfamiliar with and immediately felt panic at doing this alone.

I would be fine. It would be great.

I had geared myself mentally for this European trip on my own for years, but I had been clouded with the notion that Bill would be with me and now that he wasn't...

My thoughts distracted me until I finally got a taxi of my own. I settled in my seat and I carefully asked, "Do you know any hostels?" I almost caught myself asking for a 'good' one.

"Any?" the man asked. I would have to get used to the thick accents. I rifled through the travel pamphlets and found one while the man exited the parking lot, which took a long time with all the traffic.

I gave him the name of the hostel and the street and he nodded, darting off onto the highway. I stared out the window, lost in the scenery. As we got closer to the city, the roads started to look similar to the ones in the US and I had a small flashback. I don't know why I expected it to be different, but I did. I shook my head and looked toward the looming city.

We were riding on the long highway right beside a river. I looked at the neat architecture – so different from home. Soon the taxi separated from the river and we were in on a busy street, with many people walking down the sidewalks in the darkening evening. The whole outer sidewalks were littered with bikes all tethered to bike-racks. I had never seen anything like it.

We went over a bridge, and I gazed out into the water and analyzed the buildings. I was captivated by this new territory already. I found I really liked travelling.

The city was surrounded by water and it was breathtaking. All the rivers outlined the roads, soothing me, making me forget about all the Bill crap I was dealing with.

We drove past a pier and many summer walkers littered the streets, crossing the roads, forcing us to stop and wait for the pedestrians to walk by. I watched everyone's smiling faces as they joked with one another and had a great night out along the water.

European streets seemed, in general, to be rather narrow. They had individual lanes for bikes and buses, and I knew I'd be incredibly uncomfortable driving here after being so used to open country roads.

We turned down a side street and it was shadowed by the buildings. They looked old and beautiful, my eyes assaulting the designs. My brain was soaking all of this up, my mouth gaping open. The taxi driver probably thought I was very amusing.

We reached a wide open road that was sort of like a roundabout, but not really as organized-chaos as the one I witnessed in Paris.

We were in a neighbourhood, my driver said, called Gamla stan. We eventually pulled up in front of the building that would be my home for the days I spent in Stockholm. The street was a squeeze and cobbled stone. There was a grand tree in the front of the orange building. I thanked the driver and handed him some Euro's. He wished me luck and I walked up to the building where a couple people were sitting on the benches outside. I smiled at them weakly and they smiled back.

I walked inside and was immediately reminded of a college dorm. There was a woman through an open door tapping away at the computer. I walked through the small foyer and knocked on the door frame nervously. I hoped there was room for me.

The woman had long brown hair and big brown eyes. She looked over at me and beamed. "Hej," she said, holding up a hand.

I smiled. "Hello," I said.

"English?" she asked me. I nodded. "Hello, what is your name?" Her accent wasn't as thick as my taxi driver. I walked further into the room.

"I'm Sookie Stackhouse," I said holding out my hand. She shook it politely.

"I am Sara," she said. "Is this your first time in Stockholm?"

"Yes, my first time in Europe actually."

"Are you looking for a room?" she asked me brightly. I saw the light through the small window darken the room as the sun set.

I nodded. "Yeah, do you have any available?"

"Yes, actually, someone just left rather fast," she said. "Another girl has already set herself up. I think it was her friend who left. They got into a big fight this morning."

"That's great," I let out a sigh of relief. Not because the girl got into a fight with her travel buddy, but just because I now had a place to stay that seemed nice.

After we talked about paying she showed me to my new room. When she asked how long I would be staying I said I wasn't sure and she told me that most people didn't know. I put my bag onto the small bed. The room couldn't be more than four feet by seven feet. There were two low white beds smashed against the walls and a tiny window with bright curtains.

"This looks perfect. Thank you," I said, inclining my head. She graciously began to walk away when I asked her, "Do you have any destination suggestions for me to go to tonight?" I felt awkward asking but I wasn't going to be holed up in my room all night.

"We lock the doors at two-thirty," she warned before nodding. She gave me a list of bars and clubs that were quite popular in the city. She circled the one's she frequented and I thanked her, once again. I sat in my room for a while, just trying to settle in and decide what to wear tonight.

I decided on a tight pair of jeans and a green top that gathered around the breasts, showing ample amounts of cleavage. I pulled on the only nice pair of shoes I brought which was a pair of black pumps and fixed my hair and make-up.

Someone unlocked the door to the room and I was face to face with my roommate.

"Hello there," she said with an Australian accent.

"Hi," I said nervously. "I'm Sookie."

"I'm Kate," she looked really hyped up as she shook my hand vigorously. "What'cha doing tonight?"

"Oh, I was going to go find a bar or something," I said, putting away my lip gloss.

"Oh well, my friend Mia skipped out on me and a couple of my friends this morning so why don't you come out with us? We're going to this real trendy club downtown. It's going to be awesome." Whoa that's a lot of energy for a first meeting. I guess that was part of the process of travelling, you meet new people. I nodded at her.

"Thanks for inviting me," I said.

"Great!" She was one of those girls who could make friends with anyone, anywhere. "I'm just grabbing my purse and we're off."

I stood up and hardly had to wait at all before we were heading down to the main level where her friends, two tanned guys, were waiting. I blushed at the sight of them.

"This is our new replacement for Mia," Kate said. "This is Sookie, my new roommate. Sookie, this is Greg and Dan."

"Hi," I said nervously.

They eyed me hungrily and I hid my burning face from them as best I could. "Hello Sookie," they said huskily. Okay, creepy.

"Hey, don't scare her off," Kate scolded. "They're just big horn dogs," she explained to me. "Now off to Rush!" she cried.

We left the hostel and made our way into the now night-fallen streets. "We're gonna eat first," Dan said, his sun-highlighted hair and brown tan making his blue eyes pop.

"Great, I'm starving."

"When did you get to Sweden?" he asked me. Greg and Kate walked a bit ahead.

"Oh, a couple hours ago," I shrugged. "How long have you three been here?"

"Hmm, about three days now. We went to this club Rush last night and Kate saw this guy she couldn't keep her eyes or hands off of and is desperate to see him again. He's the owner of the bar and hardly noticed her," he rolled his eyes. "But she's determined to try again."

I smiled weakly. I didn't know anything about pursuing a man I wanted. I always got shy and backed away before anything could come of it. Besides, I'd been in (what I thought was) a committed relationship for two years – my first one too.

We went into the club scene and had dinner, while the night matured, for when more people would show up to party. They were actually really nice and I knew Dan was trying to sweet talk me. At first I was sure nothing would happen, but once I got a couple drinks into me I started to wonder if I could be the kind of girl who has a one night stand. If I was in my right frame of mind I would never seriously consider it, but it seemed like a good way to make the pain go away and to stick it to Bill. Also, it was immature.

We wandered the streets a bit and eventually got in the line for the club Rush.

"Sookie you have great breasts," Kate wheeled on me.

"Okay," I said hesitantly. She reminded me of my friend Amelia.

"We're almost at the front, so push those out some more and smile flirty."

Dan and Greg laughed while I blushed and nodded. This was very embarrassing. When the bouncer looked at us appraisingly he let the four of us in. Kate squealed excitedly and we were immersed in Stockholm club scene. It was dark and there was a lot of pulsating lights and I was reminded why I never did this back in the States. But, I might as well, right? It was part of being in Europe.

I think I was dressed in too much clothing. I noticed.

As we weaved through the throngs of people Kate lead us to the middle of the dance floor which was crowded with people grinding and bouncing in a drunken haze. This was overwhelming. I started to dance though, which I did love to do. I got really into it, especially when Greg came back with shots. I wasn't exactly sure what it was but it burned down my throat. I felt empowered and danced rather shockingly with Dan. Eventually I needed a breather and broke away to the bar.

The bar was a huge island with multiple tenders at different spots, all serving the demanding customers. I rounded the bar away from the dance floor to the quieter side of this amazing club. It was actually quite classy over here, where booths were set up all along the walls and tables in the center where you stood at. The booths were packed with friends chattering and laughing. I noticed only one person at a booth alone which looked odd considering all the people. A guy moved away from the bar with their drink and I slithered in.

I leaned my boobs on top of the bar and quickly the bartender came over eyeing my chest. Ah well, I got his attention fast and I ordered myself a gin and tonic. A wave of dizziness hit me and I held onto the counter tightly. I couldn't remember the last time I drank this much, if ever.

The idea of hooking up with Dan was becoming more and more appealing.

I received my drink and turned away to see a chest right in my line of vision. I looked up and saw an incredibly tall man smirk down at me. He had his blond hair slicked back and bright, sapphire blue eyes. I nearly choked on the alcohol. This man was gorgeous. He had a bit of scruff which I always found I liked, and his shoulders were wide and his muscles through his t-shirt were prominently on display that it made me wonder what the point of wearing a shirt was when he filled it out so nicely.

"Hi," I said, slowly, trying to remain cool. I believed my cheeks to be permanently flushed pink from the amount of alcohol now in my system.

His eyes glowed. "Are you American?" his accent was nearly flawless. It was pronounced and oh so sexy.

"Yes, how did you know?" I asked him.

"You look American."

I didn't know if I should be offended by that statement or not.

"What is your name?" he asked me. He put a hand on my waist, causing my breathing to hitch and pulled me away from the screaming folk by the bar. I took a quick swig of my gin and tonic.

"Sookie," I said.

He arched an eyebrow and made a face. "What kind of name is that?"

I shrugged, at a loss for words. "What's your name?" I countered.

"Eric," he said.

"And what do you want with me, Eric?" I was much braver when I had drinks in me. Although, from working at a bar all these years, I knew first hand that most people were.

He grabbed my hand, giving me a dangerous look that had my heart flutter wildly in my chest. He walked backwards pulling me to a booth. Ah, so he was the lonesome man in the booth. I was surprised nobody had tried to claim it while he stood up. I found myself sliding toward the wall, with him sitting next to me.

Alright, my mind quickly decided that if I were to have random sex with anyone it would be this man. Not that I could get him. I was truly perplexed as to why he was paying this sort of attention to me. I glanced around and saw a few girls dart dirty looks in my direction. I brought my attention back to Eric. He had his arm over the back of the seat, leaning in close to me.

"So, Sookie, what are you doing here in Stockholm?" he asked. He reached for my hand that was nervously playing with the bottom of my shirt. His own hand was massive and I jerked at it being so close to my throbbing center. He brought my knuckles to his lips and his tongue quickly darted out.

Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea.

I think I found a Sex God.

If I was sober. I would never make these sorts of comments. Even if they were internal. Never.

My mouth hung open, catching flies. "I'm sort of running away."

He leaned in closer, his lips looking wet and kissable. My drunken mind was one-track. "From who?"

"My boyfriend."

"Is he American too?"

"Yes."

"Oh well, see," his hand that was around the back of the booth slipped down and touched my neck. I closed my eyes at the tremors that rocked my body from that slight brush of contact. "That's where you went wrong."

"Wrong?"

"An American boy," he scoffed.

"And who would be the best kind of boy?" My voice shook. I wanted to kiss him on his lips – or anywhere.

"No boys," he spoke lowly. "Only men for women like you."

We were in our own little bubble. I had forgotten about the loud, blazing club and the music seemed almost muted. It was just us and he moved in to touch his lips with mine. Immediately, hands shot into his hair, messing up its style. I moaned into his mouth, his lips and tongue working expertly. I was growing hotter as his hand rested on the nape of my neck, while his other travelled from my knee, up my thigh. I was up against the wall, in the small space and he managed to move his large body so that he was pressing up tight against me. Our kisses were fevered and hungry and I had to think about how we had only met about five minutes ago and we were already going at it. But, I guess alcohol sped things along quite a bit.

I could feel my desire to have this man buried between my legs, intensely. He pulled away so we could breathe and trailed his mouth down my neck. I arched it to the side so he'd have better access. I felt his teeth graze the crook of my neck and I shivered involuntarily. I urged his lips back to mine and we continued our groping and making out in the booth of a club in Stockholm, far away from home.

Most clubs had bouncers who would break us up by now. But nobody bothered our secret session here, to which I was grateful. I wanted nothing to break this spell at the moment.

Maybe hooking up in public wasn't so frowned upon in Europe.

He pulled away, I gasped for air. He was breathing heavily staring me intently in the eye. "Will you come back to my place?"

I nodded wordlessly, without thinking. He slid away and I missed his body instantly. He pulled me out of the booth and held my hand. I was a bit surprised when he led us down the hallway where the bathrooms were and took a sharp right away from the line of toilet seekers and out of a back entrance. I didn't question it though.

"We can walk, it's not far," he said. Seeing Eric under the street lights instead of the flickering lights of the club, only showed off his beauty better. He was almost too perfect. He wore a cranberry coloured v-neck t-shirt and black jeans. The night was a bit chilly. He held my hand and we left behind the line of people eager to enter the club.

We walked down the street, the moon high above us. He stopped us every few feet to kiss. He was really good at it, and it didn't help with me trying to sober up – I was intoxicated by his scent, his face, his presence, oh and the oodles of liquor I inhaled tonight.

This really was a beautiful city and I'd halt and admire it if I didn't have a large, sexy man demanding my attention. For tonight, I would allow myself to come undone. I had been through a lot and my mind was more than scrambled. This was the only thing that made sense to me.

We reached the lobby of a nice, modern looking condominium. He fumbled with his keys, which he dug from his pocket, but eventually got us through the sectional. We were fine with waiting for the elevator, for he was hunched over kissing me and I wrapped my arms around his neck, playing with his hair, his tongue making me hot and bothered.

The elevator dinged and we backed into it without breaking away, he reached out and punched a button before directing me to the back wall. There was a little edge around the sides of the cramped box and he lifted me to sit on it, while our hungry kisses deepened. His hands tangled in my hair and I gripped his massive shoulders, feeling his erection press into my jeans. Oh God.

The elevator opened and he lifted me up, I wrapped my legs around his waist. We entered the hall like that, him staggering forward, our kiss never breaking. Luckily it was late at night otherwise we might have made quite the scene for his neighbours. He pushed me against the wall right next to a door which I assumed was his. He went into his pocket and broke away reluctantly. He put the key in the lock and kicked open the door. It shut behind us and I was pressed against a wall, once again. He pulled off my shirt before I could get a chance to look around his pitch black apartment.

I was in my black bra, and he groaned pulling away from my lips to pull down the cup and devour my breasts. I moaned and lifted a hand up the wall, clawing at it. I dug my heels into the small of his back. He bit my nipple, while his hand pinched my neglected one. I cried out, feeling the pain make me wetter. He pulled us away and from what I could see, we were making our way down a hall, until he nudged open a door and I saw a massive bed, with a large window illuminating the room with a soft nightly glow. We fell onto his bed.

Feeling his weight on me drove me wild. My hips bucked underneath him and he stood up to whip off his shirt. Oh my...he undid his pants swiftly, he had gone commando and he quickly worked my jeans. I gulped, feeling nervous. He was large. He was perfect. But...I didn't know how I could handle a cock that size. Bill wasn't exactly small, but, this man...

He slipped my heels off, before pulling down my jeans so that I was just in my underwear. It was all a blur before we positioned ourselves on the bed somehow and then he was slowly entering me. I gasped loudly as inch by inch he filled me. When he was emerged deep inside me, our eyes met and I felt my heart leap and my stomach do back flips, my body tingling and on fire in a way I never felt before. This was nothing I had ever experienced.

He pulled out and I made a whiny noise at his absence. His brows furrowed and he filled me to the hilt once again. Our eyes were fixated on one another and he briefly kissed my lips before pressing our foreheads together, our eyes searching for the contact. We rocked in perfect synchronization, letting out moans and guttural sounds of pleasure, as we searched for our releases, which were inevitable. The feeling I was experiencing was drowning me in a pool of lust for this man I had just met. I held onto him tightly, as our lips and eyes did dances, switching between staring and kissing. His pelvis would thrust into me with the most exquisite amount of pressure that had my mind turning upside down.

When our orgasms finally hit, at the same time, we cried out, our bodies shaking with tremors, together. We held onto one another tightly until finally we stopped. He scooted down my body and rested his head on my chest, lightly kissing my skin. He felt heavy, but it was welcome, I wanted to feel him on me for a long time.

I drifted off to sleep, with his clever hands caressing my body and his lips teased me, I had a smile on my face.

I had to have woken up only hours later – as soon as the sun rose. I could hear birds chirping away and due to his open, large window, the light streamed in much sooner than it should. It appeared that Eric had fallen asleep just the way I left him as the last thing I remembered. I saw the top of his blond head, which had been so perfectly styled at the beginning and was now a mess, flopping onto my hardened nipples, his breath tickling my skin. I was in a constant state of goose bumps. This man was unbelievable.

And that was the best sex...

What had I done?

What's even worse, I couldn't just leave. I was trapped under this magnificent Swede. I bit my lower lip and looked up, feeling my head still hazy, I attempted to recall everything. I knew it didn't take much for him to get me in his bed. It was rather embarrassing how easy I made it for the guy.

Okay, this would never happen again.

It was a onetime thing.

On vacation.

After I just got my heart broken by my first boyfriend.

This was understandable.

It was acceptable.

Who would judge me?

Well, for one. I wasn't going to tell anyone.

And...I was judging me.

Oh my God.

He began to stir, nuzzling his nose between my breasts, which despite my best effort, it got the engine revving. He kissed between them all the way up to my lips where he gave me a sleepy kiss that was so sweet I almost forgot this was a one night stand.

I kinda wished he didn't speak English. It'd make this easier.

"God dag," he said against my lips.

"Hmm?" I asked. He chuckled and kissed my neck.

"Good morning," he said in a deep voice that shook my body.

He was making this very hard.

Speaking of hard.

"Um," I started. "I have to go."

He looked up, stopping his intention of seducing me again. "Why?" he asked, his brows furrowing.

I fumbled for a couple minutes.

"You're on vacation. You don't have anywhere to go."

I felt annoyed that he just assumed like that. I pushed at his shoulders and he rolled off me finally. I felt a bit stiff from being laid on all night.

"Let's go to breakfast," he added. I got out of bed and realized the drop to the floor was much taller than I thought. I looked over at him lounging naked right in front of me. I averted my eyes from his erection. He seemed perfectly fine with being on display like that. I pulled on my panties, hiding my body from him as much as possible.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said slowly. I pulled on my jeans and found my top then realized my bra was in the hallway. I pulled on my shirt anyway.

He shook his head and got out of bed and I saw his full naked body in the early morning light. Well, at least I knew it wasn't the alcohol that made him insanely handsome, he was naturally that way. "You need to eat and I'm sure you don't know anywhere good. I'll take you and then you can leave me, leave the city, leave the country and never have to think about us again," he winked.

I held my tongue not wanting to get snappy with this complete stranger. "I don't even know your last name," I shrugged.

"Northman. You?" Damn, could he put some clothes on?

"Stackhouse."

"Sookie Stackhouse?" he grinned. I gave him a warning look. He better not laugh. "That's adorable."

"Yeah, okay," I said and went in search for my bra. I was the one who had to do a shame walk in the same clothes as last night. I headed to the hall and found it lying in there. I peeked into his living room and saw a real masculine apartment, with another large window and furniture that – "Oof," I said as I moved from the wall and Eric walked right into me from behind, still naked.

"Investigate all you want," he said and moved across the room to the back where I saw a nice eating area and turned behind the wall to what I assumed was the kitchen.

Oh and I got a view of his glorious ass, which caused my cheeks to flame. I quickly worked my bra under my shirt and adjusted as he came back out, staring at me, a smile on his lips.

"I'll tell you what," he said, moving closer to me. I took a step back, overwhelmed by his presence. "I'll wear the same clothes as last night, so you won't feel alone." He went back to his room and I stayed there waiting for him. That actually made me feel a bit better.

When he came out he picked his keys off the floor, gave me a smirk and we were out his door and into the elevator. There were a couple early morning risers who were on their way to work and Eric and I remained quiet. His hair was still floppy and he looked extremely sexy with his chin looking scruffier than last night. He gave the impression that he just rolled out of bed after having sex all night, and he was fine with that. I subtly brushed my fingers through my hair to calm it down.

We made our way out into the brightening morning light. I gave my legs a little stretch. Walking in heels after sex and hangover was not fun.

"Is your head splitting?" he asked me.

"No. I have good genes, I don't really get hangovers," I said.

"Thank you for sharing that interesting fact about you. My darling, you are very lucky," he said and grabbed my hand before I could say anything else, we were off.

"Don't you have work?" I looked at the people venturing outside off to their jobs.

"You caught me at work."

"I did?"

"I own the club." Ohhh.

"And you're just allowed to leave it?"

He gave me an odd look. "I own it." Right. "What do you do in America?"

I sighed. "Not much, I just finished university," I said. He looked older than I.

"Ah," he said. "So how old are you?"

"Twenty-two," I said.

He nodded looking out across the street. I wasn't sure if I should ask his age. Bill was twenty eight and Eric looked older than that. "What about you?"

"Thirty-two," he raised his eyebrows. I smiled slightly, before looking away from his curious expression. "It's a bit of a walk, but it's nice." I wasn't all that used to walking, I had to admit. There wasn't much to walk to except around campus, but I'd had my car since I was sixteen and used it often, especially when I lived back at home – everywhere had to be reached by car. It seemed like here though, everyone just walked everywhere.

We did small chit-chat about unimportant things. "Where are you headed to next?" he asked me.

"Well," I mentally consulted my list. "Copenhagen."

"Mmm, that's not too far," he said almost to himself. Well, it was actually over a seven hour train ride. "You just heading for the big cities?"

"For the most part," I said. "I don't know much about the small towns or deep into the country, plus it's probably harder to find people who speak English."

"That is true," he nodded. It took a while but we finally reached this old-styled restaurant. I saw the sign: Blå Porten. I had no idea how to pronounce that or what it meant. He led me to the side where the entrance to the exterior patio was. Soon, we were shown our seats in the lovely garden that surrounded the tables. There was a fountain a little ways away.

"This is nice," I said, smiling. He nodded slowly.

"There's a museum not far from here," he remarked.

"Really?" I beamed. I'd love to see one. I could see a glimpse of the street from a distance. He nodded slowly and we both ordered coffee.

Why did Eric have to be so interesting?

We didn't get too deep into any personal issues but he'd tell me little facts about this or that, and we'd comment and laugh at the same things. We were just having relaxing conversation that took my mind off of our one night stand and my cheating ex-boyfriend and my loneliness. I was just having a nice normal breakfast when I saw someone I had never expected to see in that moment.

Bill was being shown his seat on the other side of the crowded patio.

I didn't even hear what Eric had just said to me. "Sookie?"

What was he doing here? I gawked at him, my heart thudding dramatically.

I couldn't face him. I shook my head rapidly, feeling a headache completely unrelated to the alcohol I consumed last night.

"Sookie?" Eric said more urgently. "You look like you're about to pass out."

I looked at my watch. "I have to go," I stuttered standing up, knocking the table, the plates chattering. "Sorry," I held it still. I couldn't look at Eric, my focus on Bill.

"Wait, what?" Eric frowned. "You don't have to go."

"Yeah, I do," I said, rifling through my purse to find my wallet. I placed some Euro's on the table and saw Eric's perplexed expression. "It was..." I was at a loss for words. "Swell."

Swell?

"Thank you," I recovered. I closed my eyes. I could not make this situation more awkward. "Nice meeting you Eric." I turned from him, and started to dodge behind the high plants and the waiters, hoping to God Bill wouldn't see me.

One thing was for sure, I was not staying another second in Stockholm. I would get my stuff and get the hell out because right now, my heart felt as if it was breaking all over again after seeing Bill.

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