You all rock! I am so glad that you all seem to be enjoying this story as much as I am! Keep those reviews coming, even the slightly upset ones brighten my day because you cared enough to say something!
Alright, need some input from my readers… this story will cover at least the first two books which puts me in a quandary. I had planned on this being a straight SVM fanfic, only I abhor (I mean with fiery passion) Eric's maker in the book, and I have to admit, I loved Godric! I guess what I am saying is, would I lose readers if I did a little tv/book mash up for the Texas events?
All Characters + Setting + Major Events = Property of Charlaine Harris
Early the next morning, Adele had received a call from a member of her church, asking for prayer for Sookie and Jason. As if they had somehow forgotten that Adele was their grandmother, and the woman was simply responsible for completing the phone chain that had been set up for urgent requests. Where was Smokey the Bear when Sookie needed him?
Sookie had just popped another bite of biscuit in her mouth while her Gran sat down across from her, looking less than pleased. She chewed knowing her grandmother would not leave her in suspense for long.
"What is this I hear about you and your brother having an altercation in public?"
A crumb fell from Sookie's face as she stared wide-eyed at her grandmother. Sookie had dearly hoped this particular story would somehow bypass the woman, but she really should have known better, made a preemptive strike.
"It isn't as bad as it sounds." Attempting to sound nonchalant, she knew it had failed.
"So, Jason didn't call you a… 'fangbanger'?" Adele whispered the last word, as if someone might overhear her vulgarity.
Sookie cringed visibly, dropping her biscuit onto the plate. Surprisingly enough, she no longer had an appetite. "Alright, maybe it was that bad."
"Dear, is there something you need to tell me?" Her Gran's voice was full of concern without even a hint of anger. Of course, Sookie could depend on the woman who was practically her mother not to pass judgment on her, no matter how bad it looked.
"Well, when I was in Shreveport, you remember I told you about the vampires I met." Adele nodded; she had been very interested in them. Sookie continued slowly; she knew her next words would come as a shock, but she did not really know how to soften the blow. "Well, one of them, he wants me to work for him." It seemed like the easiest way to explain thing.
"Why does he want you to work for him dear?"
"He found out what I can do." They didn't really talk about it, but Adele knew exactly what she meant.
"Oh dear…"
"Yeah, he seems to think I can help him some how."
"Well, I think that you should stay as far away from them as you can."
"I agree!" Her Gran had begun to clean up their breakfast, and Sookie hurried up to help.
"I will talk to Jason. He should not have acted the way he did, making a spectacle." Now, Gran sounded a little angry.
"He was just upset, you know, what with him being suspected of killing those girls." Sookie was studying the floor. She still blamed Jason, but she couldn't help but understand his distress. She knew she would forgive him eventually, but it would take some time.
"Oh." Obviously, Gran had forgotten about that key detail as well. "Well, I am going to talk with him all the same."
Sookie nodded at the fridge, putting the juice away. That had gone surprisingly well, and a sigh of relief escaped.
"Anything else happen at work last night?" Sookie translated that as "awkward topic of conversation taken care of, moving on to possibly happy things."
"Yes, actually." A bit of excitement crept into Sookie's voice. Intent as she had been on breakfast and coffee, she had not told Gran the big news.
"Well?" Gran didn't need to be a mind reader to tell her granddaughter was happy about something.
"Sam asked me out on a date tonight!"
"Took him long enough!" A knowing smile had spread across Adele's face.
"Gran!" Sookie was shocked at the woman's response.
"Honestly Sookie, the only man you have been able to put up with as long as Sam is your brother, and that is only because he is family. He is obviously attracted to you." Gran didn't spend much time at Merlotte's, but her group of ladies were talkers. "I had almost given up on him."
Sookie laughed for what felt like the first time in days. In fact, it probably was. Leave it to her Gran to make her feel so much better in the midst of everything going on around her. The woman really was a saint.
"So you said yes?"
"Yeah, I am a little worried, but I think it will be fun."
"I am sure you will have a great time! Now, why don't you let me finish up in the kitchen, and you can start some laundry. I think there are some towels that need to get cleaned."
"Yes ma'am!" Adele took keeping a clean house very seriously, and Sookie had inherited some of that. Her room had been neglected for a couple days, so after she started a load of laundry she went to straightening that up. The rest of the day passed much the same way. The ladies had lunch together; Adele attempted to call Jason, but he must have been busy with work. Then Gran went out to work in her garden, a favorite past time, and Sookie took to her lawn chair to perfect her tan for the evening.
That boyish grin she had fallen asleep to the previous night greeted her at the door. She had not asked what they were doing for the night, so she had chosen a yellow sundress that played well off her golden skin and showed just enough skin that she could get out of the house without hearing from her grandmother about decency. When Sam had called earlier, all he had told her was he would pick her up at 6:00, and she should not eat dinner. As always, she had gone light on her make-up, Gran always said that less was more when God blessed you with natural beauty. Sookie didn't know if that was really true of her, but she never felt comfortable with it caked on.
"Don't you just look at pretty as a daisy." The intensity in his eyes hinted he might think a little more, but she did not have to hear all about it.
Sookie blushed a little at his words, not used to such sweet compliments. Usually any that she heard were in reference to her butt and completely unappreciated. She had kept her hair down. Work made it hard to ever do anything with it, and she thought it looked good that way.
"Would you like to come in for a bit?"
"Normally, I would love to. Ms. Stackhouse." He tipped a nonexistent hat to Sookie's grandmother who had come to join her at the door. "But I am afraid we will just be able to grab dinner in time to make it to the movie."
"We are going to a movie? Which one?"
"It's a surprise." He winked at Sookie before looking at her grandmother once again. "Ms. Stackhouse, would it be alright with you if I took Sookie here to Monroe for the evening?" He blushed as if maybe he should have though about this sooner.
"Of course, you kids have a lovely time, but have Sookie back at a reasonable time." Her eyes were alight as if perhaps this was actually optional. Sookie knew her Gran was just happy at the thought that Sookie might be a relationship.
"Yes, ma'am." He looked to Sookie. "Shall we?"
Sookie gave her grandmother a hug as Sam went to go open her door. "Listen, Gran, just do me a favor and… Stay in for the night and don't open the door for anyone unless you recognize them, alright?"
"Don't you worry about me Sookie, I can take care of myself."
"I know you can. Have a good night, I love you!"
"I love you too dear!"
Sookie had to roll her skirt together and pin it against her leg before she could even attempt to get in the overly high cab of Sam's truck. "Need some help up?" He asked a little too hopefully as she attempted to get one of her sandaled feet up. Perhaps a dress had been a mistake.
"I've got it." Using the door, she finally managed to scramble up without any shows of impropriety, though Sam had probably gotten a good look at some of her assets as she clung her skirt to her. He shut the door for her and went around to his own side with a big ole smile. Well, if he was going to be smug about it, then Sookie decided she wouldn't feel guilty for noticing the way his tight jeans hugged when he walked. She had always thought him good looking but had hung up a "Do Not Notice" sign as he was, in fact, her boss.
The car ride to the restaurant was quiet, but when they sat down at the little diner to grab a quick bite, they began to talk just like at the bar. It was natural enough to talk about work and their mutual friends. She had been working for Sam the past four years, so there was no lack of stories. Certain subjects were studiously avoided such as the dead waitresses and the incident last night, but other than that Sookie was thoroughly enjoying the ease of the conversation. She did not even have to try and block out any unseemly thoughts, which was the best part.
Once Sam had paid the whole bill without even a glance at Sookie, as any Southern gentleman would, they made their way back to the truck. This time, Sam came up behind her and grabbed her around the waist, startling her. She barely managed to not elbow him as he easily picked her up and placed her on her seat.
"A little warning next time." She was perturbed and a little light headed all at the same time. He really was very strong, and she thought she should be a little bit more angry than she was at being manhandled. She had the oddest sense of where his hands had been moments earlier.
"Sorry." His grin did not match the apology. "We are running late for the movie, the sun is already down. I didn't have a half hour for you to get in." He chuckled at his own joke, and Sookie shook her head to hide her smile.
"Why does it matter that the sun is down?" He noticed the slight worry in her voice as he hopped in and placed his hand on hers.
"I am taking you to the drive-in." His smile was reassuringly, but he did not remove his hand even she was obviously placated. They both just sat in silence wondering if the other would move.
"I've never been to the drive-in." Sookie finally realized it was kind of nice, even if his hand was unusually warm. Not to mention she was slightly impressed with his ability to drive stick with out one hand.
"So, how is it going so far?"
"What?"
"The date…"
"Oh, is that a normal thing to ask?" Sookie was not very experienced, though she didn't think Sam had been on too many dates either, at least not since moving to Bon Temps.
"No, but you seemed to be worried it wouldn't go well, I wanted to give you an out before we get to the movie." He was a little too smug looking to actually think he was in danger.
"Well…" She paused for effect, not wanting to stroke his ego too much. "Usually by this time I have either slapped my date or poured some sort of drink down his shirt. So, over all I would say this might be the best date ever."
"Wow, now that is a lot of pressure." With a whistle, he gave her hand a little squeeze.
"Better not let me down!" She kept the tone joking.
"I don't intend to, cher." His eyes got very serious as he pulled into the lot which was almost filled with cars next to speakers on metal posts. She had time to think about what the look in his eyes was doing to her stomach as he maneuvered his large pickup through the people and cars. She hadn't actually come to any useful conclusions when he found an empty spot in the back and pulled forward.
Sam grabbed a blanket from behind the seats and made to get out, Sookie followed, though unsure. He had pulled up facing the screen, which meant they couldn't sit in the bed. Sam spread the blanket over the hood of the truck, including the windshield. In the background, Sookie heard the old time commercials for refreshments, and an announcer mentioned the upcoming movies. She just stared at the front of the pickup, which was almost as tall as she was. It was going to be quite the climb.
"May I?" She turned around to find out what he was asking. Once Sookie was facing him, Sam again took her up by the waist and plopped her up on the hood, his hands lingering a little longer than necessary.
"You know I didn't actually give you permission." She told him with a little chagrin.
"But you make the cutest faces of indignation." He laughed at her shocked expression and hopped up next to her with a surprising amount of grace. She stuck her tongue out at him. It didn't quite seem fair.
He leaned back against the blanketed windshield, hands behind his head. Sookie thought he looked oddly natural, in his faded blues jeans and a short sleeved plaid shirt. He belonged here, relaxing in the open air.
As the movie started, she relaxed beside him, crossing her ankles and arranging her dress before she leaned back. It took a moment to find a good spot what with the windshield wipers in her back, and once she settled, she was much closer to Sam than she had intended. However, she was quickly distracted by the musical styling of Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds in Singin' in the Rain. She loved the classics and barely managed to not sing along, not wanting to ruin Sam's opinion of her by deafening him.
It wasn't until the end of the movie that she noticed that his arm was around her, and by then, it felt natural. She had even leaned towards him a little. They sat that way through the credits until Sam rolled over without removing his arm. He watched her face for a moment as headlights began to flash over them. Her heart fluttered as he leaned in towards her. He gave her time to stop him, but she found she did not want to as his lips softly formed to hers. Sookie had enjoyed so few kisses in her life, not allowing many that close to her. And it was nice to be able to enjoy one without knowing what more he wanted to do. Well, she could kind of feel he wanted to do more, but the specifics were spared her, as was a commentary on her kissing. When he did not break away at what seemed like an acceptable first kiss time length, Sookie softly placed her hand on his chest. She was going to have to work with the man tomorrow. He responded to her light push, though his eyes were alight with desire.
Sookie looked away, sitting up to settle her hair. "I had a really nice time tonight, Sam." Her voice was more breathy than she had intended.
"Yeah, I better get you home before Ms. Adele comes after me." He slid off the truck, landing without so much as a stagger, and then turned with his arms out to Sookie. She would have preferred to get down of her own accord, but she didn't see how that would be possible without flashing someone. She placed her hands on his shoulders and carefully scooted herself forward until he could grab her. He even spun her dramatically in the air until he was between her and the car, earning himself a girly giggle. When her feet touched the ground, he slipped his arms around her and snuck in another kiss. This time he earned himself a swat on the arm.
Sookie silently went to load herself into the truck while Sam grabbed the blanket and folded it up. She wanted no help this time from her overly self-assured boss.
When he got in the pickup, his smug smile had not diminished. She crossed her arms and looked out her window so he could not see her smile. It seemed to be a theme for the night. The rest of the ride was silent but not uncomfortably so. Sam was struggling with something, but Sookie was fine waiting until he was ready, just basking in the glory of a date without drama.
He pulled right up to the porch but made no move to get out. Instead, Sam turned towards her, gently cupping her face in his hand. In the dim light, Sookie could not make out his expression, but she knew that something very serious was taking place.
"Look, cher, there is something very important that I need to tell you, but first I would really like to…" As he spoke he leaned closer and closer, until his sentence was cut off by the meeting of their lips. His kiss had more urgency behind it than she had expected, and the voice inside her head telling her that Sam was her boss was quickly being silenced by her body, which was reminding her that Sam was a rather attractive man. Her hand was running through Sam's ruddy hair, and his hand had moved around her waist to scoot her closer in the suddenly small cab.
Sookie did not get a chance to find out where this was going as the passenger side door swung open violently. The metal protested the rough treatment loudly enough to break through their revelry, and Sookie turned almost eye level with a very pissed off blond vampire.
"Oh shit…"
He he he… I know another serious cliff hanger, but at the rate I am going, you should have an update by the weekend! Hopefully something to look forward to!
For all of those retching over the Sam/Sookie fluff, but remember who is the real slash here. Don't worry my friends, but I couldn't exactly have her swooning right into his arms.
