Sookie took her time choosing which vehicle she wanted to purchase. Eric kept pushing her one way, while his friend and the dealership's owner, Sam Merlotte, kept pushing her another. She didn't want to seem like she was wishy-washy in her choice, but the truth was that she'd never had to do this before.

Her "list" of what she wanted came only from what she'd heard from others and the lessons she'd learned from her Datsun's problems. She was nervous, but tried not to let it show.

After they'd been there a couple of hours, looked at a few dozen cars and trucks, and even test drove a few, Eric asked Sam to let them have a few minutes break. The man, who seemed to be losing patience as the time went on, nodded and walked off, leaving Eric and Sookie alone in the lot.

"I take it this is your first time?"

Sookie bit her lip to keep from giggling at his question. She knew what he meant, but the obvious double meaning made her laugh. "Does it show that much?"

Eric nodded.

"And here I was trying to act so worldly and knowledgeable," Sookie said with a frown.

"Why act? Were you trying to impress Sam?"

Sookie shook her head.

Eric reached out and grabbed her hand, running his thumbs across the back of her palm. "You were trying to impress me, weren't you?" She nodded, and Eric smiled. "Why, Sookie? I already know you've never bought a car before yourself."

"It's not that," Sookie said, all her defenses crumbling in the blazing Louisiana sun.

Eric tugged more forcefully on her hand, causing her to stumble into his arms, which he wrapped around her. "Ugh, I don't know whether to be angry with you or kiss the living daylights out of you."

"The second one, please," Sookie said against his chest, which started to rumble with his laughter.

"Sookie, you have no competition, and if I have to remind you of that every single day, I will. I'm here, with you, because I want the Southern belle who fell into my arms. Can you please let her come out to play?"

If Sookie hadn't been falling for Eric before, she was head over heels now. God, she thought, how could her life be so topsy-turvy as to batter her for months, but then send someone like Eric Northman to her? She didn't know the answer, but now was not the time to contemplate the meaning of life. Now was the time to be held by her new boyfriend.

"Okay," she said with a smile, craning her neck back to look up into his face.

If Eric could bottle the feeling that was expanding in his chest as Sookie smiled up at him, he would. It was completely new, this feeling, and he wasn't too sure about it, but damn, did it feel good.

"Okay, then," he said, dropping a too-quick kiss down on her forehead. "So, out of every car that you've looked at today, which one do you want?"

"Oh. My God." Tara exclaimed, causing her friend to look at her strangely as they stood outside of Sookie's apartment. She'd sent them a text saying she'd be driving home and to meet her outside.

"What is it?" Amelia asked.

Tara didn't reply, only pointed down the street. Amelia's mouth dropped open, as well, as a bright red Corvette pulled up to the curb, followed by an equally bright red Jeep Wrangler driven by a smiling and laughing Sookie.

"Holy crap," Amelia shouted, running down to the street, Tara hot on her heels.

"What the hell is this? I thought you just wanted a little car," Tara said.

Sookie shrugged, "It's what I've always wanted, so what?"

Eric got out of car and walked back to the trio of girls. He opened Sookie's door – well, half-door, given Sookie had insisted on riding without the cover on – and held a hand out for her to take.

"Thank you, Eric," Sookie said with a grin as she slid down out of the seat and onto the pavement. Eric never released her hand, so she walked with him around the car where her two closest friends were still gawking at her, then the car, then back at her again. "So, what do you think of my first car?"

"Beats the hell out of that old Datsun, that's for sure," Tara said.

"Exactly!" Sookie gushed. "And besides, the Datsun was my Gran's, to begin with, and she drove it for who knows how many years before she left me have it when I turned 16, remember?"

"I'm so glad for you," Amelia said, breaking out of her astonished phase and coming up to hug her friend. "You so deserve this, and it's about time you started doing for yourself!"

"Agreed," Tara said, walking forward and wrapping her arms around both girls.

The movement caused Eric's hand to fall from hers, and Sookie embraced her friends. "I know, I know," she said. "I've just never had money to do anything before, you know?"

Amelia released her and stepped back. "That's not what we mean, Sookie. Money or not, you were always looking out for everyone else but yourself. It's time you let all that go and look out for Sookie."

Eric took in all of this silently, wondering what Sookie's friends were talking about, but knowing just enough that he got the gist of the conversation. She had a lot of heartbreak in her life, and compensated for it by making sure no one around her felt the same way.

"And you –"

Eric started when Amelia turned to him with an accusing finger.

"I'm not so dumb that I can't see what brought our Sookie back to life, so I have to thank you, as well," she said, walking up to Eric and enveloping him in a hug. Tara soon followed, and Eric was at a loss what to do.

He looked over at Sookie, who was holding back a laugh and looking at him with a "what do you expect me to do" grin.

Eric patted both girls on the back and mumbled a thanks before they let go.

"Now, it's about supper time," Tara said, "so why don't you take us for a spin in your new wheels, and we go out to eat?"

Sookie nodded enthusiastically and looked at Eric, "Sounds like fun, right, Eric?"

She looked so happy, Eric didn't have the heart to let her down, but he had to. "Yeah, it does, but I can't make it."

"Tara and Amelia, why don't you go get your stuff and meet me back here?" Sookie said. While the girls ran back into the apartment, Sookie covered the ground between her and Eric with a few steps and held out her hands to him. He grabbed them in his, his large fingers and palms engulfing hers.

"Are you sure you can't come?" she asked.

Eric grinned down at the blonde, who looked up at him through her eyelashes. "You can bat your eyes at me all you want, but I still can't come."

"Sure?"

Eric groaned and pulled her to him, her body tight against his. He didn't let go of her hands, though, wrapping them behind her back, holding her to him. "Didn't know you had it in you to tease," he murmured.

"Who's teasing?" Sookie replied. "I'm just standing here."

Eric wasn't sure when the lighthearted banter switched to all-out sexual tension, and the intensity of it nearly paralyzed him. He'd held women in his arms before – hell, he was no virgin – but right here, right now, he felt as nervous as one. Sookie had been in his life less than a week, yet he couldn't remember what he did without her. "I'll call you tonight, okay?"

Sookie nodded, still lost in the flaming blue eyes that seemed to set her on fire. Even as he held her against him, it was his eyes that captivated her. They did the first day of school, yet she couldn't place the feeling he'd caused then. It still frightened her a little, but thrilled her even more.

"Let's go, lover girl!"

Tara's nearby voice jarred Sookie out of her Eric-inspired trance, and she jerked back out of his embrace, their hands dropping. Her cheeks turned pink with the embarrassment of her friends finding her and Eric in such a tight embrace.

"Tara, come on," Amelia said, dragging her friend by the arm around to the passenger side of Sookie's new Jeep. "Let her say bye to her boyfriend in peace."

Eric placed his hand on Sookie's shoulder, and when she turned back to him, he tilted his head to the side. "Yeah, Sookie, want to say good-bye to your boyfriend?"

"Eric," Sookie said, simultaneously blushing and laughing. But Eric was already dropping his head down to her, his other hand cupping her face. Their first kiss yesterday had been sweet, their second this afternoon a searing brand on the front seat of his Corvette. Third time's the charm, Sookie thought, as she felt the hesitant brush of his tongue against her lower lip. Before she could respond, though, and even remotely return his caress, he pulled away, dropping his hands from her shoulder and face.

"I'll call you tonight," he said before sauntering back to his Corvette.