Eric was lounging against the row of lockers next to hers as Sookie approached to put her books away at the end of the day. She was surprised 'cause the previous days, she'd just meet him at his car. But in a way, she liked him being there. As she approached her locker and him, she thought, who wouldn't want a tall, sexy Swedish guy dancing attendance around them?

Besides, she was kind of impressed of how he shot down Yvetta in class. The move in and of itself sent a thrill through her, but it also had another side effect. The other girls in class – she had yet to learn their names – kept their eyes off him and her the rest of the class. Guess they didn't want to feel the sting of being let down, either, Sookie thought.

He gave her a small smile as she traded out her books and paperwork, gathering everything she needed for the weekend. They didn't say a word to each other as they walked out of the school. and the silence stretched even further during the ride to her apartment. So much so, Sookie felt her anxiety start to ramp up again and was on the verge of screaming. Did he change his mind about talking to her? Was he just trying to use her to get Yvetta to back off? Was he really interested, or was she seeing things that weren't there?

Once he pulled into her complex's parking lot, she had psyched herself into thinking the latter, and she opened her mouth to thank him properly for driving her all this week, but he beat her to the punch.

"Mind if I come up?"

"Huh?" Sookie asked, the proverbial wind taken out of her sails.

"You said we could talk after school. I thought you'd be more comfortable at your place."

"Oh, okay!" Sookie mentally smacked herself for sounding so eager. "Please, come in."

Eric followed her into the apartment, making sure to wipe his feet on the welcome mat. He felt a bit nervous at what he was about to embark on, and he stuffed his hands in his pocket in an effort to look more at ease than he felt. He took a minute while Sookie put her bag away to look around.

It was small, but compared to the near mansion his father, he and Pam lived in, anything would look small. But it suited her, just the same. Boxes were still stacked in corners, but the rest of the place had been made to look livable. A hand-crotcheted afghan was thrown over a long couch, along with a few throw pillows. A small dining table was covered with a lace tablecloth and a basket of flowers. The sole bookecase held a multitude of pictures. Eric was drawn to it.

Sookie opened her refrigerator, looking back and forth between the pitcher of tea and lemonade that she had stowed in there. The lemonade was fresher, so she opted for it.

She filled two glasses with ice and topped them up with the sparkling beverage. "Eric, would you like some lemonade?"

"Yeah, okay," Eric said, his eyes never leaving the pictures. Most held pictures of Sookie throughout her life, with various other people. One showed her with two other girls, their arms around each others' shoulders, smiling and laughing at the camera. They must be the ones coming by this weekend, Eric said. And one of her with a likewise smiling older lady held so much love between the two, Eric could only assume it was her Grandmother that she said she moved to Shreveport for.

Sookie moved through the kitchen to the living room, the glasses balanced in either hand. Eric's back was to her, as he looked at her bookcase full of pictures. "Those were the first things I unpacked," she said, coming up beside him and handing him his lemonade.

"Thanks," Eric said, lifting the glass to his lips and downing half of it. "That's really good."

Sookie nodded and made her way to the couch, sitting down and tucking her feet under her. "Gran's got a few pictures she wanted, but I made sure to keep the rest of them."

Eric nodded and sat on the other end of the couch, stretching his legs out in front of him. "I'm glad you've got air conditioning."

Sookie shrugged, "It came with the apartment. I've never had it until now. The farmhouse had ceiling fans and kept cool enough in the summer."

"I wouldn't have been able to stand it. I can't wait to get back to Sweden."

"Does Pam want to go back, too?"

Eric chuckled, "God, no. Pam loves it here. She's going to NYU next year."

"Are you going to college, too?"

"Never thought about it. I don't know. Haven't really looked that far ahead." He drained the rest of his lemonade and sat the empty glass on the coffeetable. "What about you?"

"LSU," Sookie said with a shrug. "There was never any other choice. Me, Tara and Amelia decided in our sophomore year to go there all together, get a place off campus."

Eric tilted his head at her words. "You don't sound too excited about it."

"I don't know," Sookie said, turning on the couch to face him. "It's just, so much has happened in the past few months, you know? A new place, a new school, new people. I've still got my Gran, but it's not the same. Does any of this make any sense?"

"Yeah, it does."

He'd relaxed back against the couch, his head leaning back and tilted towards her. He looked so at ease on her furniture, like he belonged there. Sookie reached over and placed her glass on the table alongside Eric's. "So, you said you wanted to talk."

"Yeah," he said, straightening up and turning towards her, tucking one leg under as he faced her. "I was thinking, after you get your car tomorrow, there's really no other reason for us to hang out. I mean, other than an hour in class, you know, and well, I wanted to know if you wouldn't mind going out with me sometime."

Sookie blinked. She didn't know what else to do. She expected – well, she didn't know what quite to expect when he asked to speak to her that morning, but this?

"Sookie?"

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and raised her eyes to his. "You want to go out with me?"

"Yeah, I like you, Sookie. I'm sure you know that by now."

"And here I thought you were just doing a favor for Pam," she teased.

"I don't hear an answer in there."

"That's because there wasn't one," Sookie countered. "I do like you, Eric. I'm sure you know that, as well. But –"

"But you don't want to go out with me?"

Sookie leaned forward at his words. "I do, it's just – I'm not – I don't –" Shutting her eyes to get the words out of her throat, Sookie said quickly, "I've only ever had one boyfriend, and though it was nice, it wasn't all that earth-shattering, and we didn't even go all the way before I broke up with him. I found out he was still seeing his ex, and when I confronted him about it, he – he –"

The words came fast, and the disappointment that Eric was starting to feel that she was turning him down, pushing him away, turned to understanding and sympathy. He slid across the middle cushion that separated them and placed a hand on her cheek, silencing her. "Hey."

The touch was warm and soothing, and once she opened her eyes, Sookie found herself staring into those blue eyes of his. They were as close as they were when they first met, that day when they literally ran into each other. It was only a few days ago, but so much had happened between then and now. "I can't be like those other girls, Eric," she whispered. "I know that's what you're used to, and –"

His hand slid a spare inch down her jaw, his thumb sliding over her lips to silence her. "I don't give a damn about those other girls. They didn't mean anything then, and they mean nothing to me now."

Sookie still didn't look convinced, so Eric did the only thing he could think of. Leaning even further closer, he replaced his thumb that pressed against her mouth with his lips, kissing her as softly and gently as he could. He heard a soft whimper emit from her chest at his touch, and he resisted the urge to bring her closer, into his arms.

But that's not what she needed, and he pushed away his lust to concentrate on her. After a few seconds, he pulled away, sliding back and removing his hand from her cheek, as well.

"You're right," he confessed. "About those other girls. About Yvetta and Ginger. But for a while now, I've been wanting something more, something that meant something. That's why I'm here, Sookie, with you. If you want me to go, I will, but –"

"No, don't," Sookie whispered. Her lips were still humming, and she took a deep breath to cool her libido. "Don't go. I think we can do this."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Sookie said with a smile.

Eric settled back down on the couch, a wide smile on his face. "Good. We've gotta be careful, though."

"Why?"

"If Pam hears of this, she'll think her matchmaking, busybody self was right."

Sookie gave an all-out laugh, "You're right. I didn't believe for a minute she took early morning Pilates classes."

"You should ask to join her one of these days, see what she says," Eric said.

That made Sookie laugh harder, and it sounded like music to Eric's ears.