From previous chapter...

We arrived at a nearby park where he took out a blanket from his truck that was obviously used for Rocky, dusted it and then spread it out on the grass under a tree for the two of us to sit.

As we sat there, Rocky took to chasing a few birds around in the Park. I noticed how well trained he was, even for a big dog. One whistle from Eric and he didn't stray far from where the two of us sat. Eric had taken out the cooler and gave me a water bottle to drink while he downed a couple before eating the sandwich.

"So," he cleared his throat and wiped some stray crumbs away. "Did you reschedule your blind date from the Pit," he asked.

I almost wanted to roll my eyes. "My sister in law called me this morning and told me that the guy cancelled our plans to go to the AC/DC concert this weekend. He still thinks that I should have come to the bar to meet him since I was obviously in good enough health to go out for drinks with you," I glanced over at him.

"Sounds like you missed out on a real winner. Let me guess," Eric paused to take another big bite of his sandwich before continuing, "Your date is a lawyer?"

"How did you know," I smiled.

Eric shrugged. "He seems like one."

"The thing is I really wanted to go and see AC/DC," I said looking away.

"Chances are it might have been boring if you went with him."

I let out a small laugh. "It probably would have."

Eric held out the bag of chips and I took a couple before he poured almost half of it into his mouth. I leaned back against the tree and looked over at him wondering what he had done to get himself into trouble. He seemed like a nice guy who was down to earth.

"It was drugs," Eric said.

My head popped up to him and I wondered if he heard me. "What was," I questioned.

"The reason why I went to jail," he clarified looking over at me. "I told myself that if I ever saw you again that I would tell you. You deserved to know that much." Eric dusted his hands before lying back, propping himself up on one elbow to face me. "I was studying law at Dauntless U. I was heading in the same direction as your date," he smirked.

Odd thing was now I had been dying to see how he looked in a suit, working his opening statement in court. The image I had in mind was spectacular. I shook my head because now was not the time to be thinking of such things.

"You fell in with the wrong crowd," I asked. "I remember you saying you are always with the wrong people at the wrong place and time."

Eric shook his head. "No I was the wrong crowd. I tore a ligament in my leg while playing rugby. I hated lying around and doing nothing. The more I moved, the more pain I was in. Eventually I became hooked on the painkillers. I went to a doctor who was close friends with our family and he believed every excuse that I gave him in order to get more medication."

"You were young. People make mistakes when they're young."

"It was a stupid mistake that led to an even greater mistake in stupidity. I started selling it to other people in College." Eric chuckled, "I sold it to an undercover cop. Because of who my family is, the case ended up in the papers. My one phone call from my holding cell to my parents was the last time I spoke to them. My father called me a disgrace and hung up, didn't even come down to bail me out or watch the trial," Eric finished as he closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry," I touched his arm.

"Don't be," he sighed. "It was my own fault. But I'm trying to get my shit together now," he looked up at me.

"Do you ever think you'll go back to College?"

Eric scoffed. "I don't have the money and besides I'm too old."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-eight."

"Twenty-six," I smiled as he smiled over. "I still think that you could go."

"Again, I don't have the money. My Uncle has been generous with me, giving me a job. I was always a hands-on kind of a guy and roofing seems to help me work out my anxieties. My life has just taken a different turn than what my parents expected out of me."

I sat there for a while, still leaning against the tree until I scooted down on the blanket. I rested on my side using a hand to prop me up just as Eric did and faced him.

"You're not the only one to disappoint your parents. I've broken off two engagements. One was days away while the other was hours away from the wedding. It cost my father thousands. He says if I ever get married they're not paying a dime. They might not even attend," I laughed a little while looking down at the blanket.

"Do you think you ever will?"

"Maybe," I shrugged looking at him. "I guess I'm afraid of making a mistake and choosing the wrong guy."

"You could always start over again. You're still young," he added.

"I suppose so," I said as we continued to look at each other.

Rocky had stopped chasing birds and was resting near our feet. I could hear the faint laughter of children playing in the background but the hold of Eric's eyes drew me in and before I knew it, I was scanning his body shamelessly. I reached out to touch his forearm as I dropped my elbow to lie back on the blanket.

"Did you get that in prison," I lightly skimmed over the black lines.

Eric continued to look at me. "No. I got it done when I got out. It's a reminder not to screw up again," I could feel his eyes on me as I continued to trace his tattoo.

"The cop from yesterday said that you could have violated your parole. Are you staying out of trouble?"

"Like I said I'm usually with the wrong people," his voice grew huskier just like it had been the night before when I had touched his chest.

"Perhaps you should find the right people then."

Eric shook his head and moved his arm so that I was no longer touching it. "Not everyone can excuse a person's past. Some of my old college friends have welcomed me back but others are just so headstrong. They usually stay clear of me."

"I'm here," I moved so that I was facing him again.

Our bodies were so close. If I wanted to, I could rub myself against him or hook my leg around his waist if I wanted to. We had shared personal information about one another it seemed like this was our fifth date or something and that sort of touching would be okay but I had to remind myself that this wasn't a date.

"I'm wondering why that is," Eric whispered. "You know about what I did. You should think differently of me. Most women do and if they don't then their friends most certainly convince them."

I shook my head. "I think you're a nice guy. You just made a bad decision. Making a mistake in life doesn't mean that you're a bad guy."

Eric smiled softly and it made me melt inside. He turned around a little to pick a daisy that was growing nearby and handed it to me. "Thank you for lunch," he said before sitting up and then packing up his trash from.

I sat up and looked around wondering for a moment what I had said until I realized that he had to get back to work. Eric held out his hand for me and I pulled myself up. Our hands held each other's for a moment. Our faces were closer than I expected and I almost wanted to lean forward. I looked down at his lips and that was when he smiled at me.

"This is nice," I smiled back.

And that was when Eric dropped my hand and took a step back. "It was," he admitted. "It was nicer than I deserve."

That night Eric ended up calling me on my cell. I was preparing a couple homes for a client when my phone rang.

"Is this Ana?"

"Yes, this is."

"Hi Ana. It's Eric."

"Oh hey," I sat up at my desk. "How are you? Did you change your mind about going to the hospital?" I was about ready to grab my things when he chuckled.

"No. I actually was wondering if you really wanted to go and see AC/DC this weekend."

I let out a small laugh. "Yeah, just not with the lawyer."

Nita had already called me to let me know that he wanted to give me another chance but it would be the following weekend after he was finished with a case that he was working on. What dumbfounded me was that he still wanted to meet me at the Pit. I would not mind going there but on a first date? Maybe that's why I was still single.

"I have a friend, a legit friend," he added as we both let out a small laugh. "His father in law owns the stadium and..."

"Prior & Son," I stated.

Eric chuckled. "Yeah the very one," he added. "I knew that a real estate agent would pick that up. Anyways, that friend from college is married to the owner's daughter and I called in a favor and he was able to get me a couple tickets. I wanted to know if," he paused and cleared his throat, "if you wanted to go with me."

He seemed unsure and nervous about asking me. Little did he know how thrilled I was.

"Of course. I'd love to go."

"Good. I'll pick you up around five," he said. "We could get something to eat before we go."

"That sounds great," I smiled and tried to keep calm. Inside I was doing a small dance. I could feel the thirteen year old girl in me screaming because her crush had just called her.

After hanging up I questioned what that invitation was all about. He certainly didn't owe me anything. Regardless of the reason why he decided to call his friend and ascertain a ticket for me and him to go, my heart was still beating quickly at the thought of seeing him again.

In the days that followed before the weekend, Eric would call me almost every night just to make sure that I was okay. We'd talk about how our day had been, what childhood was like, what high school was like or what our families were like. Talking to Eric felt different. I suppose because we had shared a lot early on that it was easy to communicate openly with him.

Two days before the concert, I showed up at Eric's job site unexpected after work. And even though it was unexpected, it was definitely not unwelcomed. Eric climbed down eagerly with a smile on his face and gave me a quick hug before asking what was going on.

"I bought a little gift for Rocky," I said looking over at Rocky who was gnawing away at his chew toy.

Eric chuckled at the sight. "It looks just like the doll he used to carry around."

"I was hoping it would. I remembered you said you had lost it a while back so I hunted for it and found something similar to it."

"Thanks Ana," he stood in front of me with a smile. "Hey why don't I repay you and take you out for a burger or something?"

"No," I shook my head but kept smiling. "You're already taking me to the concert this weekend."

"Well that is because I knew how much you wanted to go," he added. "Besides it's already late and I don't think that it's safe for..."

"For a good girl like me to be out after dark," I finished as he looked over at me. "You know what, since I am uncertain as to where the best burger places are here then maybe you could show me," I smiled as he did in return.

"Good," he nodded, "and before you say anything, I'm driving."

Eric was such a gentleman the entire night. You would never have guessed that he was this bad person that he thought himself to be. I couldn't help but think that if I had this much fun with him just going to eat a burger and fries then I would definitely enjoy being with him at the concert.

The day of the concert came and I was excited beyond belief. What got me more excited was the vision that was standing before me at my front door. Eric had gotten a small bouquet of lilies and a bottle of wine. I remembered telling him that lilies were my favorite. He had remembered. But that was not what struck me the most. I had only seen Eric in work clothes but now he stood before we with cleans clothes, a small shave, combed hair and a hint of manly smell that screamed sexiness. He was even hotter than all the other times I had seen him. Yes, I could totally picture him in a suit arguing a case to a jury.

"Hello," his deep voice said as he held out the flowers.

"Thank you," I took them and held the door open for him to come in.

"You look great," Eric smiled at me.

"Thanks," I ran my hand over my skinny jeans and walked the flowers to the kitchen setting them down on the counter in a vase.

"I figured we could kill time here instead," Eric offered, "so I brought some wine."

"Of course," I replied before going to the cabinets to reach for a couple glasses. I already had heels on so I knew I could reach them but I leaned a bit higher so that my shirt could lift just the tiniest bit. I felt Eric watching my movements and when I turned back around, sure enough his eyes were running down my body. "Why don't we drink this out on the patio?"

Eric followed me outside and complimented the house and the patio.

"Thank you. Being in real estate, it gave me the edge on finding something practical."

"I wish I could find something practical," Eric responded as he took his glass. "Most places don't like renting out to someone with a criminal record. Therefore, I live in a crappy apartment, which was also hard to get."

"I'm sorry," I set my glass down after taking a sip. "You must think I'm a snob or something."

Eric shook his head. "No, I don't actually. If I did, I wouldn't be here right now."