Sookie woke at her usual time. In spite of the nightmare that had startled her awake – again – she felt better and more rested. She still had her headache, but knowing she wouldn't have to go into the bar to work that day made it more bearable. She didn't remember getting ready for bed. She didn't remember much of anything after walking into the house. She didn't even remember seeing Bill – he was supposed to come over.

She was glad for the rest, but not seeing Bill the previous night unsettled her. Any time she missed spending with him left her feeling empty and disappointed, and she wished the nights were longer. Nightfall couldn't come soon enough, but dawn always came too quickly.

Sookie felt grimy. She hadn't washed after work the night before, so she quickly hopped in the shower to scrub the odor of stale beer and old grease off her skin. She washed her hair twice just to get the smell out. She wanted to smell good for Bill, so she took extra care; his senses were so acute. Besides, she didn't much care to smell like old burgers and beer herself.

After drying off, Sookie stood naked before the mirror and took a good, hard look at herself. She didn't see anything special about her body. She looked to herself like an ordinary young woman, neither too plain nor too pretty. She thought herself just a tad too short, but with a fair figure and a decent complexion. She felt that her best feature was her smile, and she liked the funky gap between her teeth. She acknowledged herself as pretty enough to attract attention, but not pretty enough to keep it. Sookie's grandmother had raised her with a straightforward honesty, and had been as quick to point out her good qualities as her bad; but Gran always had put more emphasis on soul and character than on appearance, calling it the kind of beauty that grew with age instead of fading. As a result, Sookie had grown up without being more than minimally distracted by physical appearance.

Until she met Bill.

For some reason she just couldn't fathom, Bill thought she was beautiful. She couldn't see it, herself, but when she was with him she sure felt beautiful.

As for Bill, Sookie had thought him unbelievably handsome the first time she saw him. His amazing blue eyes, dark hair, and pale complexion completely captivated her. She could stare at him for hours. He had a lean, well-muscled body honestly earned through hard, physical labor in his human life, a physique he kept as a result of his turning. Just thinking about him was enough to make her blush.

Sookie combed out her hair and returned to her bedroom where she dressed casually for the day. She had a lot of errands to run and chores to finish, and she wanted to make sure there was nothing left over to interfere with her time with Bill.

Walking into the kitchen, Sookie prepared to make herself a big breakfast– bacon, eggs, grits, juice, and coffee. She had to maintain her strength, after all. She had a vampire to keep up with. Sookie smiled to herself and, as she thought of Bill, her smile expanded into a full grin. As she turned to get the eggs and bacon from the fridge, she found a note on the door from her vampire:

Sweetheart –

You were asleep when I arrived and I didn't have the heart to wake you.

See you just after dark.

Bill

Well, that explains how I ended up in bed without remembering how I got there, Sookie thought. She didn't know whether to be pleased at his thoughtfulness or pissed that he hadn't taken advantage of her. Geeze, Sookie. Get a grip.

Sookie had been a virgin in more ways than one when she first met Bill. Not just sexually inexperienced, she also had been unable to develop even the most superficial of romantic relationships. It was a constant struggle for her to keep her guard up, to keep out the invasive thoughts of others. It took all of her energy to concentrate hard enough to keep the noise of other people's unspoken thoughts from overwhelming her. Some days, just being around people was absolutely exhausting and all she wanted was to escape.

Sookie had never met a vampire until the first night Bill came into Sam's bar and she happened to be working. She had been excited at the novelty occasioned by the vampire community revealing itself to the world, and excited also when she realized Bon Temps had its first resident vampire. What she hadn't expected was to be so completely taken aback when she realized that she didn't have to keep her guard up with him. There was no mental noise from him at all – not even a whisper. For the first time in her life, Sookie didn't have to work at blocking outside thoughts from battering their way past her defenses. Even if she tried, she could get nothing from Bill. His thoughts were his own. As she got to know him, she discovered that just being with him, even around others, was enough to quiet the noise and give her some peace. It was as if he possessed an aura of silence, and for Sookie to be near him was to be enveloped by that mantle of quietude.

For Sookie, this wasn't just a novelty – it was magic. It was inevitable that she would fall in love with him, and fall hard. Even without her strong sexual attraction to Bill, he also provided her with mystery and the unique experience of needing time to get to know him.

And to her astonishment, Bill loved her in return. When he met her, he had been amused by the fact that this slip of a girl had no fear of him. Amusement soon turned to wonder when he understood that she couldn't be glamoured and that her feelings for him were sincere. She accepted him just as he was. She treated him no differently than she treated anyone else. Her anger with him could be as passionate as her love for him. Her depth of feeling was so strong and so genuine that, for the first time since he had been turned, Bill had begun to accept what he was – because Sookie did.

With the underpinnings of such a strong emotional attachment between the two, Sookie and Bill couldn't get enough of each other. Sookie had willingly given Bill her virginity, and Bill had taken special care to make her first sexual experience memorable. He had nearly 200 years of sexual experience to draw on, and he knew how to please a woman. Sookie, for her part, surprised Bill with her enthusiasm. She trusted him completely and wanted to please him in turn. With no preconceptions, deep love, and a fearless nature, she was eager to learn whatever Bill could teach her. Vampire sexual desire was as insatiable as it was legendary, and both Bill and Sookie were elated to discover that Sookie's sexual appetite for Bill was as great as his for her.