Chapter four:
In his Christmas card, there is a present, round trip tickets to Tennessee, for the Holiday break. So after getting out of school on December 18th, and passing out my family's gifts, I pack to for the South.
In the morning, I clean out the rest of my Christmas club and deposit it into my savings. I double check that I have my debit card in my wallet and that in my purse. My uncle drives me to the airport. 'Why does she have to grow up? Mom is getting old. If Sookie stayed, she could do all of the stuff that Mom does.' I am glad to be away from that mentality for a while.
My flight is uneventful; I took out my book after twenty minutes and read for most of the flight. We land well after dark in Memphis. I could see the lights from both Graceland and Beale St. as we were descending. My fellow passengers are all concerned with what they are going to do. Quite a few plans on visiting both of the attractions while here.
I walk down the ramp to see Eric pacing the floor. He is unbelievably good looking in his boots and hat. I love me a cowboy. 'Come on Eric, she will be here. You are just psyching yourself up. She will show. He thinks as he paces.
Over the last few letters, he told me about getting interested in the whole culture out here. When he turns for another pass, he finally sees me. A huge grin breaks out on his face. I run into his arms. 'Yes! She is here.'
"I have missed this. It feels so good to have you in my arms again." He picks me up and spins us around in a circle. I hug his neck. When he finally lets me down, I grab his hat. It was a real 40x Stetson. My mouth drops open. I give it back immediately. That hat costs at least $150 dollars alone. He had told me that he bought a couple hats. I look down next, sure enough, real Tony Lamas.
"OK, what gives Eric?" I ask him.
"What baby?" He threads his fingers through my hair. It feels good, but does not distract me like he wants it to.
"Your hat and boots would take someone our age two or three years to save for. What are you doing for a job?" 'Shit! Why do you have to be so observant? Mum said that she would pick up on the hat and the boots. Please don't ask what I am doing for the money. I just want to earn as much as I can, that way I can give you whatever your little heart desires.'
"Oh, you know, breaking some horses, a couple of gigs with my brother, and I have started riding."
"Riding, as in rodeo riding?" I groan. "Eric, please tell me you are being safe." I beg him. 'Thank you God. She is letting me off easy. All of the money from the prizes and endorsements, minus the entrance fees and travel expenses has gone into a special account for us.'
"Yes, I am. I know I will probably get hurt at some point but, I try to be safe. Thank you honey for being concerned for me. Now let's get your bags and go home." He kisses my head and places his hat on it.
After getting my luggage, we head out to his truck, I mean Truck! He drives a huge white dually Dodge pick-up. He laughs as he boosts me into the cab.
The drive to his house only takes about twenty minutes and goes by fast as we catch up with each other. When we round the corner to the ranch that his parents own, I start to get nervous. Eric pats my knee, seeing my lower lip disappear into my mouth.
"They'll love you as much as I do. You already won over Alcide." I roll my eyes at this.
"There's that smile." He gets out and opens my door. With his help, I get out of the truck. Alcide comes rushing out and heaves me over his shoulder and runs back into the house, with Eric walking in behind with my bags, laughing.
Their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Northman, though they tell me to call them Godric and Freyda, laugh along with us. When we calm down they welcome me to their house. It's pretty late by the time we settle down.
"If you two promise nothing will happen, Sookie, you can stay in Eric's room." We promise and Eric leads me to his room. The boys have a floor of the house to themselves. Alcide has one side and Eric, the other. In between of their rooms, are a couple of guest rooms. When he opens the door, I gasp. Aside from a closet and a couple of drawers, the room is dominated by a king sized bed. Between the closet and bathroom is a little sitting area, with a couch, desk and a couple of chairs.
"Here we are, you can have the bathroom first." He tells me, motioning through the other side of his room. "Which bag do you need?" He asks before setting them down next to the bed, scratching his head. I grab my toiletry bag and dig through my suitcase for my pajama pants and shirt.
I clutch my chest when I open the bathroom door. It was like something out of "Profiles of the Rich and Famous". A marble Jacuzzi that looks like it could house a small third world country dominates the bathroom; the marble is in the extra-large stall shower also. Along one side of the room is a two person vanity, one side has his toothbrush and comb next to the toothpaste, deodorant and cologne. The floor is tile with radiant heating under it. I expect to hear Robin Leach's voice at any time while I am showering and pulling on my clothes. By the time I open the door again, I have gotten used to the idea of my boyfriend's family being wealthy.
"It's your turn."
Eric walks by and closes the door. I sit down on the bed and brush my hair. I can hear Eric whistling in the shower. I start when someone knocks on the door. Eric's mother opens the door and comes to sit with me.
"It's nice to finally meet the girl who's stolen Eric's heart. I just wanted to tell you that we already consider you part of the family." Mrs. Northman then hugs me and says goodnight. She locks the door on her way out. 'She is so pretty. Eric told me that he fell the moment he saw her, but I thought he was joking. I know better now. I hope we can be friends.'
"So Alcide can't play any tricks in the middle of the night." She smiles indulgently. A few minutes after she leaves, Eric comes out of the bathroom.
"I threw on some pants and a shirt so you wouldn't feel pressured."
I thank him and tell him that he could've left the shirt off. His face darkens, "You don't want to see my chest, trust me." 'It's hideous. I wish I was as perfect as she is.'
While we were at camp, one of the other girls in our group asked him about the lighter patches of skin on his chest. He had walked off. Alcide told us it was a skin condition that affected the pigmentation of a person's skin. Along the same lines of what Michael Jackson supposedly has. I guess he has been made fun of for it.
"Are you kidding me? I have already seen it, remember? I happen to like your chest, so off with it Mister." I shake my head at him when he hesitates some more. Grinning at him, I pull his shirt off and toss it on the floor. I then kiss my way up from his ribbed abdomen and defined pectorals to his lips. When I get to his face, he captures mine in his hands and stares into my eyes intently. 'You are the only one that I could ever want. You just proved that I was right in loving you.'
"Do you know how much I love you?" His lips crashed down onto mine. My body instantly reacts to him. My arms wind themselves around his neck, my lips mold to his. His hands land on my hips and pull me toward him. He slides his arms around me and holds me tight, while his hands massage my back. My hands move into his hair. He licks my lower lip and I open my mouth. He slides his tongue in with a moan. We kiss for a while, before I need some air. We break apart, both panting. I look up at Eric and blush.
"Hey, you can't kiss me like that and then blush." He smiles at me and pulls me into a hug.
"Don't get me wrong, that was amazing. I think we should go to bed. How are we going to do this? Do you want the bed? I can take the couch."
I can tell he's nervous, now that we are actually getting ready for bed. I start giggling.
"What?"
"Eric, stop fretting. We'll figure this out. It's your bed; I'm not going to kick you out of it, let alone for almost two weeks." I glance over to the bed. "That is most likely the biggest bed I have ever seen. We could share it and still not be close to each other at all." I look between him and the bed again. "Come on, let's go to bed. I want to see the ranch tomorrow and help your mother." I yawn. I grab his hand and pull him towards the bed. "Just get into bed; I'm not going to bite."
"Are you sure? I don't want to rush you. I have to admit, the thought of holding you while we sleep is pretty promising." He reasoned out loud. I shake my head, lift the covers and climb in, he does the same on his side and he pulls me to the center of the bed.
"Yeah, I could do this for the rest of our lives and be perfectly content." 'Sookie is in my bed! In my arms, in my bed. Life can only get better a few more times, and they all include her and me in bed, not sleeping. I will wait for that. She and I are serious enough for it, but for now this is the life.' Eric thinks before he gets comfortable.
After kissing the top of my head, he turns off the lights and wraps his arms around me for the night. I lay my head on his shoulder and fall asleep to the sound of his breathing.
I wake in the morning, trapped under a mass of muscle. Somehow during the night, I must have shifted away and Eric followed me unconsciously. I am now on my left side and tucked against his chest, with his legs thrown over mine. This would not bother me other than the fact that I really need to use the bathroom.
Each time I try to disentangle myself, he pulls me even closer. It is time to take drastic measures. I reach down and lightly graze his lower abdomen; Eric jumps and slowly raises his eyelids. "Morning Baby, how'd you sleep?" He presses a kiss to my lips. 'What a way to wake up in the morning. A little lower please?' I scoff before answering his question.
"Great. Can you let me go for a few minutes?" He loosens his arms and I dash to the bathroom. A few moments later, I'm back and crawl into his embrace.
"So Sook, what do you want to do today?" He asks, pulling me on top of him. Many ideas passed through my mind, some innocent, some not so much.
"First off, I don't want to get in the way of any chores you may have. Secondly, I want to make sure there isn't anything I can do for your mother. I plan to pull some weight around here, while I'm here." I sit up and poke him in the chest with every point, but each time I do, something pokes right back. When I finally realize where I am and how I am positioned, I smile down at him mischievously.
"Hey, can I help it if there is a beautiful woman in my bed and I happen to find her very attractive?" He grins back at me, before rolling us over. "This is more like it." He grinds his hips towards me. His hands stroke down my sides and land at my hips; which he pulls into better alignment with his. The next time he rolls his hips, he hits me in just the right spot. I bite my lip so not to wake the whole house as I moan. I see an expression of wonderment on Eric's face, when I open my eyes again. "Did you almost have an orgasm from that?" He asks me. I nod and shyly smile up at him.
"Yes, I did. I'm serious about helping your mother." I trail my hand down his chest as I roll away and get out of bed. I hurriedly get dressed and run down the stairs to the kitchen.
Mrs. Northman was standing at the stove, still in her robe, frying some bacon. "Morning Freyda, what can I do to help?" I ask her.
"Morning, can you watch the bacon while I check on the croissants? After that I want you to sit down and enjoy breakfast with us. You're a guest here; you shouldn't have to do any work, other than schoolwork. "
"OK, but I am making dinner one night while I am here. I am not entertaining any arguments. It's the least I can do." I inform them. I then look down to eat a bite of egg, when I look up again; they are all staring at me. They are all thinking that they should be nice and nod along.
"What?"
"Sookie, you don't need to. We would love it, but you don't need to." Godric tells me, patting my hand. "Now boys, we need to go and feed the animals. Once we get that done and mend some fences, then we can relax. Sookie, we don't have as much to do in the winter." He finishes up.
"Yes dear, but I have a few things to do to decorate this large house. I might even have to buy more to get the job done. Do you want to come along Sookie?" Freyda asks me, as I take a sip of my milk.
"Yes, thank you."
"Mom, I'll meet you two at the mall after I get done. I need to finish my shopping, how about you Sook?" Eric asks me. "Actually, I do need to get a few more gifts."
"That ties it then. Sook, when you're done with Mom, we'll shop together. Please excuse me; I need to knock out some chores." He stands and kisses both his mother and I on the top of our heads, on his way out to the stalls.
Freyda and I get cracking on the decorating. Three hours later; we've hung garland, trimmed at least four trees, strung lights along the roofline and placed nutcrackers in every nook and cranny imaginable.
"Well it looks like we could do with some more lights and bows, huh Sook? Let's get to the mall." Freyda grabs her coat and keys. She ushers me out to a large black BMW SUV. The ride is short before we turn into an enormous parking lot. I whistle.
"That is bigger than all the malls in Maine combined. How do you not get lost?" I ask Freyda.
"I try to go to the side for the store I want." It made sense. "Don't worry; Eric knows where we are going." She smiles at me.
I push the cart as she starts throwing Christmas odds and ends in. I love the store, everything to deck the halls properly. We are loading the SUV when her cell goes off.
"OK honey, we will wait outside." She shuts her phone. "He just left. I'll wait with you."
