A/N: Holy crap, you all have been so nice to me! Wait…that means I have to work extra hard not to disappoint you. Shit. Well, here goes…Oh, and for those of you who requested a longer chapter, this one's for you…

Once again, the kids belong to Charlaine Harris. I'm just making them smooch and stuff.

Chapter Seven

Sookie stopped when we passed through the Washington Square Arch. "What's up?" I asked.

"Harry and Sally."

"Come again?"

"Harry and Sally. You know the movie, "When Harry Met Sally." She started giggling again. I really wished she's stop doing that. My pants were still uncomfortably tight.

"Ok, I'll bite. Tell me," I said.

"This is the exact spot where Sally dropped Harry off to start their new lives in New York. I was thinking that it was a funny coincidence, that's all," she stated all cute and matter-of-factly. Is factly even a real word?

"Are you going to expand on that, or are you going to make me guess?" I was pretty clueless, so I hoped I didn't have to take a stab at it.

"This is where another great New York City love story began, silly." And I am now mush…

Her giggles turned in to full-on laughter when she caught the expression on my face. She grabbed my hand and said, "You can pick your jaw up off the ground now. You might need it later." Positively dumbfounded, she dragged me out of the park & hailed a cab.

I attempted to collect myself as much as humanly possible, but I would be lying if I said it was easy. "Did she really say that?" Ikept playing it over and over and over again inside my head. When we got in the taxi and I'd given the address to the gallery to the driver, I pulled her over to me so that her back was against my right side. I draped one arm over her right shoulder, and my left around her waist. She stretched her legs out across the back seat and snuggled in to me. It was quiet for a while, until the sound of her growling stomach broke through the comfortable silence.

"Octavia would be very angry with me if she heard that. She'd accuse me of not taking good enough care of you. Want to stop and grab a bite before we get to where we're going?" I asked.

"Yes, please. I didn't realize how hungry I was. But I know we're late, so anything fast is fine with me."

"Anything?"

"Yep. Anything," she said.

I leaned forward to let the driver know that we had a change of destination. I wasn't sure if it was going to be a good idea or not once she saw where we were going, but I had to try. If I was going to be serious about this girl, then she had to accept this part of my life. It wouldn't be a deal-breaker if she didn't like it, because it would be her one and only flaw, but my heart would ache because of it, if only a little…

The driver stopped the cab at the corner of 72nd and Amsterdam, and before I could even pull my wallet out to pay him, Sookie jumped out of the cab & shouted, "Grays! I love Grays!" Holy shit. She loves Grays Papaya. Anyone know where can I get a diamond at this hour of the night?

"Hurry up, Eric! I'm starving!" She grabbed my hand and dragged me in to the front door of the greatest hot dog stand on the planet.

When we got up to the front of the line, she said, "I'll take five dogs with everything, and a pina colada." Then she looked at me and asked, "What are you having, Eric?"

"You're going to eat five hot dogs?" I asked.

"My record is seven, but I didn't want to seem unladylike. It is our first date, after all."

Double holy shit!

"Eric, your mouth is hanging open again," she said, and I snapped out of it.

"I'll have the same as the lovely lady," I said to the man, and handed him some cash.

We grabbed our dogs and drinks when they were ready and crossed the street to Verdi Square to find a seat. We found an empty bench and dug in. Watching Sookie eat was nearly a religious experience. I couldn't take my eyes off her mouth. For the second time that evening, I found myself jealous of an inanimate object. First the van, and now a hot dog. I put my food down, grabbed the Canon and started snapping away again. She rolled her eyes at me as she practically inhaled her food. Yep, got that shot, too.

I had to stop focusing on her mouth, so I put my camera back down asked her where she lived.

"I've got a studio down on the lower east side, but I'm hardly ever there. Most of my time is spent at the center."

"And where's that?" I asked.

"Downtown. Park Place, between West Broadway and Church," she said. "I got a good deal on the place. It used to be an old Burlington Coat Factory. After September 11th, they never re-opened, like a lot of other places down there. The space is huge, so it was a pretty easy renovation." I pictured her in overalls and safety goggles, wielding a sledgehammer and laughed to myself. I was willing to bet she looked great that way, too.

"Okay, my turn, now. What kind of photos do you take?" She asked.

"Nothing interesting, I promise you. Mostly just print work for music and fashion magazines. I've done a few album covers, too."

"Have you met a lot of celebrities?"

"Yep."

"Well, that must be interesting."

"Not really," I mused. "Hell, compared to this night with you, everything I've done in the past ten years could be considered boring."

She gave me her brightest smile, then, and shoved the last bit of her fifth hot dog in to her perfect mouth, washed it down with the remainders of her pina colada, and let out a massive belch. "Sorry," she said, holding her hand in front of her mouth. "Happens every time I eat these. So much for being ladylike on our first date." Jesus, even her burps are charming…

Well, I'm nothing if not a gentleman. I wasn't about to let her feel bad about it, so I let out a big old burp myself. "There. Feel better about that now?" I asked.

"Much!" She beamed, and leaned over and planted sauerkraut and onion-laced kisses on my lips. Heavenly…

Unfortunately, I was all too aware of the time. "Sook, as much as I'd love to sit here and listen to you burp all night, we really do have to get going." Did I just call her Sook?

"No worries. Where are we going?" She got up and stretched gracefully, and then grabbed our trash and tossed it in the bin closest to our bench.

"You'll see," I said, wiggling my eyebrows at her. "Shall we walk? It's only a few blocks from here."

"We shall," she replied, and put her perfect hand in mine again, swinging my arm with hers as we made our way to Sam's.

When we entered his gallery, she let out a small gasp. I'd had the same reaction the first time I saw it. I had to admit, Sam had done a great job on the place. It was very large with pale walls and rich, dark wood floors. It looked like the large galleries in SoHo, but much less garish. It wasn't something you'd expect to see on the Upper West Side. The walls were covered with large landscape photography, digitally altered to exaggerate their amazing colors. Sam's first showing in this space was truly impressive.

I heard Sam's bellow from somewhere behind me and turned around to face him, bringing Sookie with me. "Northman, you're late, you ass…oh, hi there!" He noticed Sookie, and I knew my butt-chewing was over before it even began.

He reached out his hand and extended it to her, and before I had the chance to introduce them, he said "I'm Sam Merlotte, and you're the most beautiful woman I've seen in my whole entire life. Please tell me your name so I can die a happy man." Boy, Sam, lay it on a little thick, why dontcha?

Sookie gave him her trademark giggle, shook his hand and said, "Pleased to meet you, Sam. I'm Sookie. Sookie Stackhouse." Thank you, thank you, thank you, Sam, for getting her last name. I can't believe I hadn't asked that!

Sam pulled her in to a giant bear hug and said, "Any friend of Eric's is a friend of mine. Welcome to my gallery." Sookie was laughing hysterically by now.

"Is he always like this?" she asked, looking over his shoulder to me.

"I guess you just bring out the animal in him. It's quite understandable, though. Okay, okay, Sam. Let the girl up for some air." If he wasn't my closest friend, I'd have wanted to punch him for getting that close to her. Argh! Green monster!

When he finally released her, she stood next to me and began digging through her bag. "Damn. I think I left my cell on the front seat of the van," she said. "I wanted to call Octavia and make sure she made it home safely."

"Here, Sook. Use mine." I handed it over to her, but Sam said, "It's too loud in here. You're welcome to use the phone in my office. Follow me."

She looked at me for a moment with her shining eyes, asking me if she'd be safe. I laughed out loud and gave her two thumbs up. Sam offered her his arm and he walked her down the long hallway in the back of the gallery that led to his office. Sam showed her in and politely exited, waiting for her outside. I wandered closer to the back, thinking that I might catch a good shot of her smiling with my best friend as she came down the hall. I set the zoom and waited for her to exit.

I few minutes went by, and then she stepped out. She spoke to Sam, and when he responded, something in her face shifted. I wasn't close enough to see, so I zoomed in even further. She had tears in her eyes. I twitched from the shock of it, and my finger accidentally pressed down and took a picture. I ran down the hallway in a near panic.

"What's wrong, Sookie? Is Octavia okay? Are you alright?"

She smiled at me, then, a tear still lingering on her face. I reached over & gently wiped it away. "I'm sorry I worried you. I didn't mean to. Nothing is wrong."

She explained that she was standing in Sam's office, talking to Octavia, when she noticed a few photographs mounted on his wall. She said that after she had hung up, she walked over to them, and was so moved by what she saw that she started to cry. She said they were beautiful and terribly sad, and that the faces of the subjects would haunt her forever.

"Sam told me they were your photographs, Eric. Is that true?"

"Yes," I replied. "They're mine."

"Are there more of them?" she asked.

"Yes, but not here."

"I would really love to see them some time. Would you show them to me?"

"Of course, Sookie."

She inhaled deeply, then, and said, "Well, now that I'm past that little emotional outburst, would you mind if I wandered around a bit and checked things out? I'm the reason you were late to the party. The least I can do is give you two a little 'guy' time."

"Go right ahead. I'll be here talking with Sam." She stretched up, then, gave me a light kiss on the cheek, and strolled off to explore.

"Holy Mary, Mother of God, Eric! Where in the world did you meet her?" Sam asked as soon as Sookie was out of earshot.

I couldn't hold it in. Any of it. I told him everything…the collision, the kiss, the bribery, the beast, the fountain, the dance, the next kiss, the hot dogs, the burps, the third kiss…everything. I felt like a teenage girl relating the events of the evening down to the tiniest detail. I even told him about how I'd considered finding someone to buy a diamond off of after hearing her admit her love of Grays Papaya hot dogs. He regarded me silently for a moment when I'd finally stopped talking. Sam had known me for a long time. If I was doing something stupid or irresponsible, he'd be the first person to tell me, right after Pam.

A large grin spread across his face, and all he said was, "Man, if it had been me, I would have had her at the Justice of the Peace after the first kiss. You're one lucky son of a bitch, Eric. Don't fuck it up." He clapped me on the back, let out a huge laugh, and walked away.

I took that as my cue to find Sookie. After I few minutes of searching, I spotted her standing in front of a very large photograph of an open farm field. She looked lost in thought, and the sight of her knocked the breath out of me. I am a lucky S.O.B., I thought. I wanted to remember her in this moment forever. I stood behind her, so that it looked as if she were a giant goddess, standing in the farm field, blessing it with her beauty. When I was satisfied that I had the picture I wanted, I moved so I could stand directly behind her. I threaded my arms around her waist and placed my face next to hers, resting my head on her shoulder. "See something you like?" I asked.

"I've seen lots of things I like tonight," she replied. "But yes, this is lovely. It reminds me of home, of the fields outside Gran's house. I miss it some times, and I guess I'm feeling a little homesick looking at it." She rubbed her hands along my forearms that were still tightly around her waist and relaxed her body backwards in to mine.

"I'd like to see it sometime," I whispered to her.

"I'd like to show it to you."

"Then let's go," I offered.

"When?"

"Tomorrow night sounds good to me. We can go right after we work on your presentation."

"You're crazy!" Maybe I was crazy, but I didn't care. I wanted to spend every possible minute with her.

"I'm serious. Let's do it."

She only thought about it for a second. "Okay, I guess I'm crazy too, then. Let's do it." She turned around, jumped up, and hugged me. Once again, this woman surprised the hell out of me.

"How long can you take off from the center?" I asked her.

"How long do we have?" she teased, nibbling a bit at my ear.

"As long as you want. I don't have anything scheduled for two weeks."

"I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving Octavia alone for more than a week. Would that be okay?"

"Seven whole days with you? Are you kidding? It would be a dream come true. I'll handle all the arrangements. How long do you think we'll need at the center tomorrow?"

"Just a few hours. We could be out of there by 1pm. I would also have to pack a bag."

"Where's the closest hotel to your house? I'll have to book a room for myself."

She snorted, and said "You've obviously never been to Bon Temps. There isn't a hotel. But don't worry. There are lots of bedrooms in my house. You can stay there with me." Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I had no idea how I was going to behave myself with Sookie under the same roof. Suck it up, man! Do NOT look this gift horse in the mouth! Just do it!

"Don't move a muscle. I'll be right back." I kissed the tip of her nose and ran back to Sam's office to call my sister.

Pam picked up on the fourth ring. "Do you think I can get through an entire evening without you calling me twenty times, Eric Shithead Northman?"

"How'd you know it was me?" I asked.

"Who else calls me in the middle of the friggin' night?" She had a point there.

"You love me and you know it. Stop acting like you don't want to talk to me." I love fucking with my sister. She makes it so easy for me, sometimes.

"Who are you, and what have you done with my gloomy, asshole brother? You sound positively giddy, Eric. Spill it."

Ah, Pam. Gotta love her.

"Maybe I am giddy," I replied. "But listen, I only have a minute. Do you have a pen?"

"Shoot," she said.

"Okay. First, I need two round-trip tickets from New York to Shreveport for any time after six tomorrow night, returning next Sunday afternoon. One in my name, and one in the name of Susannah Stackhouse. Get a private chartered flight, and make sure it's fully loaded. Second, I'll need a rental car. A convertible if possible."

"Eric, what the hell is going on?"

"Let me finish," I replied. "I'll explain it all tomorrow. Third, I need you to get my car and my gear down to a place called "Adele's House" on Park Place, between West Broadway and Church Street tomorrow by 9am. Bring the plane tickets with my equipment. I'll need you to say and assist me. Someone will have to come back after 4 and pick you and the gear up. I'll be driving my car to the airfield."

"Oooooo-kaaaaay….anything else, boss?"

"Yes, actually. You wouldn't happen to know how much a brand-new fifteen passenger van costs, would you?"

"Good night, Eric," she hissed in to the phone. "I'll see you in the morning. I'm bringing a shrink with me, too." And then she hung up. Pam was right. I was positively giddy. For the first time in a long time, I was honestly, truly, one gazillion percent happy.

I left the office and went back to Sookie. She was standing next to Sam, doubled over and glowing with laughter. I stopped to take a photo of the both of them together, marveling at how easily she was fitting in to my life. When Sam saw me coming, he grabbed my camera from me and said, "Here, give me that. Let me get a picture of the two of you together." Way to go, Sam!

I pulled her in to me, staring down at her angelic face, and she raised her big blue eyes to meet mine. Sam snapped the photo and just stood there regarding us for a moment.

"Hey, Eric. Have you introduced Sookie to Pam yet?" He asked.

"Nope. Not yet. Why?"

"I was just thinking that you should probably marry her before she meets your sister. Otherwise, Pam might think it would be ok to try to turn her over to the dark side." I wanted to kick him and hug him at the same time.

Sookie looked confused, but I chuckled and attempted to explain, "Sookie, Pam, well, Pam likes girls. You'd be right up her alley."

A look of understanding crossed her face, and she giggled softly.

It was getting late, and Sookie and I had a big day tomorrow. Sookie and I. That sounds nice…I asked her if she was ready to leave, and she nodded. We said our goodbyes to Sam and on the way out, I took one last look back at him. He was grinning like the Cheshire Cat and giving me a big thumbs up.

When we were outside, Sookie curled in to my chest and put her arms around my waist. She hugged me tightly, and asked me if she could see more of my photos.

"Tonight?" I asked. She nodded.

I placed my hands on either side of her face and whispered my words softly across her lips. "Sookie, they're all at my house. If you want to see them tonight, you'll have to come home with me. Do you want to come home with me?"

She pressed her lips against mine, softly exploring my mouth with her tongue. She pulled back just enough to respond with a whispered kiss of her own. She only said one little word, but it was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard. "Yes."