Thanks for all the solid reviews so far. Sorry for the lack of update… I've been having a fight with my plot deciding which direction it is going to go. I think the choice I made is going to be one that will shock the pants off of all of you in later chapters :)
I do not have any rights to these characters. I'm merely playing around with the wonderful things Charlaine Harris has given us.
As soon as Mr. Tall, Blonde, and Scrumptious walked away Sookie took another large drink of her gin and tonic. Tara was looking at her over her beer bottle giving her a "mhm" sounding noise and a nod of her head. Sookie was definitely glad she got roped into coming out to Fangtasia. She had been wary of making her way down to Shreveport to experience the vampire bar but Tara had been so insistent. It all stemmed from a conversation they had one night at her Grandma's house over girlie movies and mani-pedi's when both of them happened to have the night off at Merlotte's.
In the middle of their girl's night Bill had shown up unexpectedly to speak to her grandmother about land deeds and surveying. He had politely conversed with both Sookie and Tara but after he took care of the business he came over for he left, back across the cemetery, to his house. After he had left Tara had commented that Bill sure was a peculiar vampire. Her grandmother pretty much agreed stating that of all the things they had heard about the vampire community, Bill didn't fit the description at all. None of the friends he had that were introduced to Sookie really fit the mold either. Tara (and Sookie) was beginning to wonder if the vampire community wasn't merely just a bunch of smoke and mirrors when it came to their outlandish behavior. Maybe it was all rumors to keep the humans away and protect their species?
Tara thought it would be wise, and would make a GREAT girls night, if they investigated for themselves other vampires. Everyone in the great state of Louisiana had heard of Fangtasia. It was the premiere vampire bar in all of the deep south, even touted to be better than some of the bars in New Orleans. It catered to the human as well as the vampire communities. Sookie suspected there were other things in the bar, mythical things like the vampires, just by the type of brain wave she managed to get off of them. Sookie was somewhat of a telepath. It wasn't exactly words she gleaned from people's minds… but rather emotions and images. Vampires' thoughts were hazy and in the case of Bill and their friends, constantly on alert and hungry. Here in Fangtasia she noticed the sexual tension in the feelings was stronger than the hunger feelings in some cases. She would have to make a mental note of that.
Sookie was lost in thought thinking about all of the things she had just assimilated in a matter of being there for a couple of minutes when she vaguely heard Tara trying to get her attention. "Hello? Earth to Sookie?" She was waving her hand in front of her face.
"Sorry, the drink must be really hitting me. I zoned out for a second. What were you saying?" Sookie looked a little sheepish.
Tara laughed and repeated what she had been trying to tell Sookie earlier, "I was saying Sir Gorgeous sure isn't like Bill, now is he?"
Sookie shook her head and responded with a simple, "No, no he is definitely no Bill."
In her brief interaction with Eric, Sookie was already more intrigued than she had ever been about another person. She couldn't get a clear read off of his emotions or mental images… but once again vampires were always hazy. She had wondered if the older a vampire was, the more the mental signature disappeared? If that were the case, Eric had to be the oldest thing in the bar. When he had come up behind her to introduce himself it seemed as if he had taken up all the room (and oxygen) in the place. It left Sookie a little dizzy in his presence. It was kind of him to put all of their drinks on the house tab but she wasn't quite sure if it was really kindness or some type of ploy or deviously motivated plan. You could never be certain when a guy is trying to pick up your tab. Or if a guy is buying you gifts in general and they're not your significant other. What did Eric expect of her? Of them? She wasn't sure his interest was in Tara because his attention earlier was rapt on her. Sookie wondered where he had gone.
"What do you think of the place so far?" Tara asked, finishing her beer and signaling for another one.
"It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be. I've never been to a place this big!" Sookie said laughing. She didn't really get out much, especially not to crowded places. Sometimes she had trouble blocking people's mental signatures and it was just too overwhelming.
"But you're doing fine, right girl?" Tara gave her a concerned look. If it were anyone other than her best friend the look would have made her a little peeved. She didn't like people always looking out for her, or worrying about "poor Sookie".
"Yeah I'm doing great. But you know what I need?" Sookie said with a huge smile on her face.
It was like Tara read her mind because she stood up and said "Let's go get our groove on sister!" They headed out towards the crowded dance floor and instantly found a nice little spot where they could shake and shimmy. They were definitely the envy of the crowd, both human and vampire. Sookie could see a few fangs running out in her periphery. She didn't know whether to be spooked by the fact that her dancing around in a tight black dress was turning on a room full of vampires or kind of excited that she held that kind of power. She knew Fangtasia had a no biting policy so she would at least be a little bit safe.
Sookie had really started enjoying herself and was throwing out some moves she hadn't used since her high school dances when suddenly a body flung into her with a lot of force. Unfortunately that body had hands that tried to brace themselves when it fell into her and instead of grabbing her shoulders or something else, it had grabbed the front of her dress and effectively ripped it to shreds as he continued his tumble to the floor. Sookie stood there numbly as her dress started falling to pieces on the floor. Everyone had turned to look at her and she was so shocked she could not move. Luckily Tara was able to move and start covering her up a bit. And soon a female vampire was at her side helping also.
"Well, well, well… what happened here my little morsel? Let's get you put back together. I'm Pam by the way." The vampire named Pam gave her a little nod. Sookie was beat red and couldn't open her mouth.
"Let's just get her out of here, everyone is staring at her. I don't know how we're going to get her to the car without showing more of her." Tara said to Pam.
"Oh leaving right now won't be necessary. My master has a change of clothes in his office that she could borrow. He would be disheartened to learn this young ladies night was ruined by a drunken oaf. And speaking of drunken oaf…" Pam spun around and aimed a kick at the guy on the ground. "Someone get this trash out of my master's bar." Pam started lifting Sookie up and Tara and Sookie both began to protest. Pam quieted them. "I can get her to my master's office without anyone seeing her very enticing little body."
Tara began following Pam towards the back as Pam practically carried Sookie towards the office. Sookie kept mumbling that she was fine and that she could walk herself and that it wasn't as bad as it seemed. Pam was smirking the entire way. Outside of the office Pam had dismissed Tara and left her in the capable hands of Harry, who had been working the door earlier and was eager to spend some time with Tara. Pam knocked on the door, told Eric what happened and then left Sookie alone with the intimidating bar owner. Sookie had realized she hadn't properly introduced herself before when he asked for her name. She figured it was only polite since she knew his. She stood there looking at him, very aware that only tatters of fabric shielded her nudity from his eyes.
It was silent for a moment and she looked around his office. There wasn't much to it: a desk, a chair behind the desk, a computer, a leather couch, a TV, an armoire, and a filing cabinet. This man was a minimalist. She felt small in his presence even though he was presently sitting on the couch and she was standing. That dynamic quickly changed as she heard the sound of him sliding off of the leather and Sookie looked at him to see him rising to his full height. She didn't realize how tall he was when she had been sitting on the high bar stool earlier. She felt so much smaller in comparison. Instead of moving towards her, Eric walked away towards the armoire and pulled it open. He started sifting through the clothing items he had inside.
"I would offer you a pair of my pants but I fear they would be troublesome to keep around your waist. We'd also have to roll them up several times so you wouldn't trip over the bottoms." Eric said this without turning around. It was as if he was respecting her and giving her a little bit of privacy in her embarrassing state. How very human of him. She thought. Maybe he was more like Bill than she previously gave him credit for. Granted the physical differences were evident but so far, personality wise… vampires weren't scoring to high on the dark and scary meter.
Sookie had lost herself in thought yet again and didn't realize Eric was standing directly in front of her holding up two shirts. She gave herself a mental shake reminding herself not to let her guard down. He peered at her with a quizzical look on his face but ended up only asking a simple question, "Would you prefer a dress shirt and we can cinch a belt around it to make it a little more fashionable? Or would you prefer one of my t-shirts and we can tie up the bottom to make sure it's not hanging open and loose?"
"I'm a simple gal; I'll just go with the t-shirt." She said holding out her hand, expecting Eric to hand over the shirt and walk out of the room so that she could put it on in privacy. He did not hand her the shirt but stepped closer to her, bridging the small gap that was between them. He was close enough that she could smell his cologne and feel the cool temperature rolling of his body. Sookie couldn't look in his eyes but phrased her question again. "Um, can I have the shirt?"
"Did you not hear my questions properly just a moment ago? I thought I mentioned "we"? This is going to be a joint effort."
Don't kill me for the cliff hanger! But I'm in a writing mood and you might have another chapter in an hour, no guarantees though.