Bill took me to Fangtasia.
It was my first visit to a vampire establishment of any kind – I was wide eyed and excited. It didn't disappoint. Fangtasia had blood red walls and dim lighting. Vampire punk-goth types and fangbangers were draped along the bar, while tourists browsed the merchandise booth for souvenir t-shirts. A large group of sorority girls celebrating a bachelorette took shots and danced drunkenly. A few vampires circled them with menacing interest.
I imagined that it was what a vampire bar would look like if it were a ride at Disney World.
"Can I get you something to drink?"
I turned my attention away from gawking at my surroundings to Bill. Despite being a vampire, with his mild, gentlemanly manner, he didn't really fit in with the Fangtasia vibe.
In my white headband, white and pink floral print dress and strappy sandals, I didn't fit in at all.
Bill bought me a gin and tonic and a bottle of O negative Tru Blood for himself.
We wandered over to an empty table and I tried to make polite conversation, but was distracted by the random human thoughts coming from every direction of the bar. There was definitely a recurring theme. All anyone was thinking about was sex, sex, sex.
"Are you sure you want to be here, Sookie?" Bill asked.
"Of course," I replied chirpily, determined to block out the din and make the most of our date. We'd been out a few times – dinner, the movies that sort of thing. It was nice but increasingly predictable so I'd asked that tonight we do something where I could learn more about the vampire community. He was the only vampire I'd ever dated in a very short list of dates and it was all new to me. I guess Fangtasia was as cliché 'vampire community' as it could get.
"This is not my type of place," he muttered. "I find bars like this exhausting. It's why I've been mainstreaming."
"Exhausting?" I queried.
He smiled ruefully, self-consciously. "Here, everyone expects me to be some big, bad vampire."
I laughed, causing his smile to lighten.
"You're just Vampire Bill to me," I teased.
We settled into comfortable silence. I watched the dancer upon the raised podium in the midst of the bar. She was human – young and beautiful – in a tiny sequinned costume that shimmered as she writhed in front of a captive audience of both humans and vampires. I listened to her thoughts: 'Oh my god he's so powerful, so beautiful…' She was solely focused on the vampire she danced before.
That vampire sat behind the podium on an ostentatious throne-like chair, tall and broad shouldered. His designer outfit was all-black. Black shirt, black jacket, black pants, black shoes. I understood where Bill's concept of a big, bad vampire came from.
"Who's that?" I asked.
Bill grimaced. "Oh, you noticed him, did you?"
I blushed, not wanting him to think that I was checking out other guys while on our date.
"No, it's not like that, I just-"
"Everyone does," he cut in resignedly. "That's Eric. He's the oldest thing in this bar."
I eyed the vampire called Eric through my lashes.
Blonde hair brushed the top of his shoulders, framing a pale, Nordic face. Lean, sculpted and undeniably handsome, even if his expression was one of bored disdain.
As if sensing my scrutiny, his gaze lifted, glacial blue eyes capturing me.
My stomach fluttered.
He idly looked away.
Embarrassed, I went back to watching the dancer. She was still thinking about Eric, wondering whether she should offer herself to him once her shift was over. I felt oddly disturbed listening in on this and tuned her out to focus on Bill. We talked about my day working at the diner and his plans to renovate his house. Just as I was feeling more comfortable, he grimaced and ducked his head.
"Uh oh," he muttered into the bottleneck of his drink.
"Don't say 'uh oh'," I said, taken aback. "Vampires are not supposed to say 'uh oh'."
"It's Eric," he explained. "He's scanned you twice. He's going to summon us."
"He can do that?"
I looked back at Eric and found him watching me steadily. It was unnerving and the butterflies in stomach returned.
"Eric owns this bar. He's also the vampire sheriff of this area. Eric Northman is powerful, Sookie."
I hadn't been exposed enough to vampires to understand the subtleties of their hierarchy. I just assumed that all vampires were powerful. Bill was always so self-contained. That he was edgy about another vampire was something new.
Eric gestured to Bill with the imperious flick of his fingers.
Bill rose albeit reluctantly. I let him take my hand and lead me towards Eric. Others tracked our path enviously. A couple of the girls in the bachelorette party wondered if they could get away with tagging along.
We reached the vampire sheriff.
"Bill Compton. I have not seen you here in awhile." Eric's voice was low, almost taunting if not for the bored tone. It also didn't have the rich Southern twang expected to hear around these parts.
Bill seemed to take this statement as an admonishment.
"Yes, well, I've-"
"Been mainstreaming," Eric smirked. "I heard."
I wondered if he meant he'd been listening to my conversation with Bill with his enhanced vampire hearing. Dang.
He looked pointedly at me.
"I see that is going well for you."
Bill straightened.
"Yes, of course, sorry. Eric, this is my friend-"
"Sookie Stackhouse," Eric finished smoothly.
I had no idea how he knew my full name.
"It's nice to meet you," I said with a polite smile, glad for the pleasantries that automatically sprang to mind as a result of Gran's insistence for good manners always.
His smile was slow, fangless but somehow still dangerous. There was a charisma about him that was dark and scarily enthralling.
"Well, aren't you sweet," he murmured dryly.
I met his stare.
"Not really."
I wasn't sure what came over me, but something about him caused me to react defiantly. Bill's hand squeezed mine in warning.
A spark lit in Eric's eyes, now bright blue and calculating. I instinctively knew it was unwise to draw his interest - it was like playing with fire when you know you'll get burned.
"I'll be sure to come by here another time so we can talk, Eric," Bill said, hastily filling what was becoming an awkward silence. Awkward on our part. Eric seemed to enjoy the tension.
Bill and I took our first steps away.
"I'm not finished with you yet." Eric's authoritative tone stopped us in our tracks.
"Please sit," he said with mock courtesy.
I glanced at Bill. He inclined his head to indicate that we should do as Eric asked (or rather demanded). Cautiously, I sat upon the lesser chair to Eric's right while Bill remained standing.
"So Bill, are you quite attached to your friend?" Eric spoke to my date, but his eyes remained on me.
Bill bristled. "She is mine."
"Yes, I am his," I confirmed, even though I didn't really know what this meant. It just seemed like the safest option.
Eric devoured me with those blue eyes. It wasn't lust, but the intense focus of a predator locked on his prey. I felt inexplicably trapped, unable to preen or recoil as others in my position may have done.
"What a pity," he mused silkily. "For me."
Bill spluttered at Eric's boldness. I flinched but didn't look away. I couldn't. I realised in that moment, I wasn't intimidated.
I was intrigued.