Chapter Four

"So, Mr. Angel, do you have a name, or would you prefer I continue referring to you as a celestial being?"

Glorious and charming. I was up shit's creek without a paddle, for sure.

"I can't lie to you. I'm beginning to enjoy being called that, but Eric will suffice."

There I am! That's the smooth Eric I know! I'm back, baby!

Her fingers pressed against her chin for the smallest of moments, as if she were considering what I had said.

"Eric," she purred, rolling my name around on her tongue as if she were testing it out. "Hmm...I like it. It suits you. Yes, much better than Mr. Angel, I think. It's nice to meet you, Eric." She reached out her tiny hand to shake mine, and the warmth I felt when she touched me turned me into complete mush.

And, I'm back out of the game…

"You really should stop staring like that, Eric. People might get the impression you're mute," she mused.

Shit, shit, shit…Think, Eric. Ask her for her name, jackass!

I practically willed myself to snap out of it. "May I please have the pleasure of requesting the name of the woman I tackled, and to whom I'm apparently now indebted to?"

There you go, Eric. Lay on the charm. She'll be putty in your hands.

"Well, my legal name is Susannah, but my friends all call me Sookie."

Her friends call her Sookie? Does that mean I'm her friend? Crap. Now what do I do?

"It's nice to meet you, too…Sookie," I hedged. The smile on her face let me know I'd made the right choice.

He shoots! He scores!

"So, Sookie," I asked as I stepped a fraction closer to her, "what is this suggestion you were referring to earlier?"

I really liked saying her name. Sookie, Sookie, Sookie...get a grip on yourself, you pussy!

"Well, why don't you grab those and come over to the table with me? We can talk about it over there." She motioned towards my camera and bag, which I hadn't even thought about since I slammed in to her. I reached down to grab them, and after a careful once-over, thanked my lucky stars that they were in one piece.

I followed her over to the table, realizing while I walked that the sight of her from behind was just as breathtaking as the view from the front. She glanced over her shoulder at me and winked, making sure I was following, no doubt, and I just about had a heart attack from that one simple gesture.

Many women had looked at me that way since, well, puberty, but they had never elicited the intense response from my body the way Sookie did. The sun was just starting to go down, and the late summer light cast a pink glow across her hair. It was magical. She was magical. I would follow her anywhere.

When we reached the table, Sookie motioned for me to step behind it, and introduced me to the older woman sitting there. "Octavia, this is Eric. Eric, this is Octavia, my dear friend and assistant at the center."

Octavia regarded me with what I could tell were wise eyes, smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Eric. Thank you for not crushing our dear Sookie. She's too valuable to us. It would have been a shame to lose her." She laughed, then, loud and hearty, and I knew instantly that I liked her very much. Anyone who cared about Sookie would be a friend of mine.

"Good to meet you, too, Octavia," I replied, and shook her hand.

"Well that's quite a grip you have there, son. I hope Sookie will decide to keep you around. We need someone to do some heavy lifting from time to time, and you seem just right for the job."

If she keeps me around, I'll do everything for her, I thought.

"Oh, Octavia, I have bigger plans for him than lugging boxes of supplies," Sookie laughed. I couldn't help it. I gave her my best lopsided grin. She had plans for me!

Oh shit, I'm staring again! Look away, Eric! Look away! Wait, was she staring at me, too? Did she just bite her lower lip?

In a concerted effort not to look like a complete fool, I began to look around the table at the stacks of flyers and literature on it. I picked up a pamphlet and studied the logo. It was a sketch of an old farmhouse, and the title underneath it read "Adele's House."

Noticing the curiosity on my face, Sookie began to tell me about what I was looking at.

"Adele's House is the name of the children's center I started about two months ago. Adele was my grandmother, and she was the kindest, most loving person I know. She took me and my brother Jason in when we were little, just after our parents died. Her house was our place of refuge, and for lots of other kids with troubles of their own. She never turned anyone in need away."

She paused then, and for the briefest of moments I saw sadness in her eyes, nearly broke my heart. I wanted to pull her to me and soothe her, but she seemed to recover quickly enough and continued.

"I went to college here in New York and got my Masters in social work. Gran died last year, and with the money she left me, I started the center. I knew it would be the best way to honor her memory. So, with the help of Octavia, some volunteers, and a whole lot of private funding, we're now able to provide a safe haven for kids who have been emotionally, physically and sexually abused. We run after school, weekend and summer programs to re-socialize the kids, and we offer counseling services, free of charge, to the children and their families."

I looked at her, amazed. Who was this girl? People like her didn't exist in my world. I'd never in my life met someone that, well, good.

And that's all it took. I was head-over-heels, once-in-a-lifetime in love with her. I knew it was crazy. No one falls in love in thirty minutes…at least not anyone I'd ever met. But I felt it with every fiber of my being. She touched a place deep inside of me, a place I thought I'd buried long ago. She was what was missing in my life. She was the inspiration I'd been looking for.

"This is wonderful, Sookie. Please, tell me how I can help. I'll do anything you ask."

She grinned from ear to ear and replied, "Well, for starters, how good are you with that thing?" She pointed to the camera in my hand. "That's a nice piece of equipment you're carrying. I'm pretty sure I can assume you're no amateur."

"I used to be pretty good, though I'm not so sure anymore." I wasn't lying when I said that. My work had been pure crap lately. Highly stylized, re-touched crap. But crap, nonetheless.

"I hope you'll let me be the judge of that. I have a good feeling about you," she said with a smile. "If I asked you to make up your nearly squashing me by coming to the center tomorrow afternoon and taking pictures for a donor presentation I've been working on, would you do it?"

"On one condition," I bargained.

Holy, hell, I got my balls back!

"Name it," she replied with a smirk. Her hands had once again found their way to her hips, and seeing that only served to entice me more.

"Go out with me tonight." It wasn't a request. I wouldn't take no for an answer.

Please say yes, please say yes!

Her smirk reshaped itself into a beaming smile. "Deal," she nodded.

Jesus H. Christ. I'm taking Sookie out.