I do not own any True Blood characters, and I only use and abuse Eric for these stories I write.

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Carli was overwhelmed by the Warped Tour, in both good and bad ways. It was so many bands packed into every show, and she felt like she met every single member of every single one. There were signings for them at every show, but the fans they met were lovely and really supportive. She loved performing on the small stage for the crowd, and they got a very good response. She spoke to Ryan from time to time, and he was healing his wounds as she traveled the US, but doing alright. He was handling their end and prepared for her to move out, and she continued to look for places when she was awake during their down time. The guys seemed to get over the break up too, even though she got a certain vibe from Travis from time to time. There was a certain awkwardness between all of them when they talked about the future, and she knew that they worried. They watched her look for places and she asked for their input on locations, but they just shrugged. She lived for the times when she was onstage and sleeping, and kept chipping away at making them all happy when they were not onstage. She hoped that they would get back to their happy place together and she finally picked a place to live with a resigned sigh. She signed papers on it when they stopped there on tour, and announced it to the band that night on the bus. They looked at her, and she pointed out the finer points of it. They started to see it her way and she smiled at them with hope in her eyes.

They toured for three months and she drove back into Chicago with a weary sigh. She needed to pack and get settled in her new place and she walked into the house to see Ryan playing guitar as a blond sat on the couch near him. She smiled as they looked up and he let a look of guilt pass over his face. "Oh, you're back. Carli, this is Renee."

"Hi, Renee." Carli greeted her, and they shook hands as the girl glanced at Ryan.

"So did you like Warped?" Ryan asked her, and she slid a hand through her hair that was near shoulder length now with a grin.

"It was something. We made a lot of friends there, and seems like we have a lot of contacts." Carli said, and he nodded. He had been himself and told her about the same thing. "Have you heard the EP?"

"It sounds great, Car. Different, but great." Ryan said, and she met his glance of pain. "I like the album too. You guys are going to get big."

"Yeah, I hope so." Carli said vaguely, walking slowly into the room that contained her things. She looked around and sat on the bed as she thought back to her time in Chicago. She had been really happy with Ryan here at one time, and in this city as she and the band formed. She fell back onto the mattress and closed her eyes, thinking about renting a trailer and driving to her new home in a couple of weeks. She thought about Ryan out there with the beautiful girl, and realized the couple of chances she had on the tour with some of the other performers had not amounted to much. It had not felt right or been right, and she had come home very single. She idly wondered how long he'd been dating her, and sighed out loud. Carli woke up late the next morning on top of the covers alone, and she rolled over and blinked. She had been really tired. She got up and showered in the empty house, and went to get her red touched up at the salon and then to the coffee shop. She sat with her laptop and idly surfed the net, talking to a few fans here and there as they stopped to chat. She found herself looking up Eric's company, wondering what he was doing. She wondered how he was doing, and she remembered his touch as she sighed. Carli went home and missed the tour as she walked in to the empty house, deciding to move earlier. She reserved a trailer online for three days from then, and packed her remaining things into boxes for the rest of the night.

"What's the hurry?" Ryan asked her, leaning in the doorway as she jumped.

"I am leaving in three days, I might as well start my new life." Carli said, and folded her arms across her chest. "You seem to have. She might prefer me not living in your house."

"Look, I took some time before I started anything. It still isn't easy, especially with you home." Ryan told her, and she met his gaze. "I am not that serious with her." He stepped towards her, and slid his hand down her vibrant hair. "You look good with red hair."

"Ryan." Carli said, tilting her head as he stared at her.

"You won't be here anymore. We cannot be together one last time?" Ryan asked her, and leaned in to kiss her softly. She had not been with anyone since their last time, and she craved the warmth. She pulled him close to her and nibbled on his lower lip as he slid one hand around her lower back while the other tangled into her hair. They kissed hungrily and she fought his tongue for control, and made a sound into her mouth as he devoured her. "My room." Ryan murmured, and she allowed him to pull her down the hall.

"I don't want you to cheat with me." Carli said, shivering as he slid his fingers under her tee. "That is what got us into this mess."

"I would drop her in a second if you wanted to try again." Ryan told her, lifting her shirt and tossing it onto the floor. "I am just dating her. I am allowed to fuck you right now, Carli. I need to feel you again." He pushed her back onto the bed and pulled her shorts down, burying his face between her legs. She cried out as he licked her, and his hands spread her legs further as he sucked her between his teeth. After five years, he did know what she liked even if her tastes had expanded with Eric. She still came against his mouth and she moaned through it as she threw her head back. He pulled away and ripped her bra off as she breathed through it, and his lips moved over her nipples as he slid between her legs.

Carli started to push against him, but her pushed forward as he bit gently on her nipple. "This is wrong. This could hurt her." Carli said, regaining her senses.

"It won't." Ryan assured her, sliding himself inside of her as she cried out. "You feel better than she does, and you're so tight after I go down on you." It reminded her of the night when Pam was between her legs and Eric's words to her, and she went limp as he thrust in and out of her. "What's wrong, Carli?" Ryan asked her, and she blinked as she came back to reality. He was looking at her, and she shook her head. She pushed him away and moved off of the bed as he stared at her. "Carli, what is it?"

"I can't just keep ending up in your bed, Ryan." Carli told him, covering herself as she looked for her clothes. He kissed her and she tried to turn her head.

"I want to finish at least." Ryan said, and she met his eyes. "Come back here to me." He slid his hand up her side and over her breast, moving her hand away in the process. She whimpered and he moved his lips over it again. She moved over his lap and he slid a hand between her legs as he sucked her into his mouth. His finger traced her clit and she moaned as she gave in to the familiarity that was him, moving against his fingers as she searched for her climax. She slid her hand down around him, and he grew harder as she stroked up and down. She ended up in his lap with him inside of her, thrusting deeply as she cried out. Their damp bodies stuck together as they both finished at the same time, and he gripped her ass tightly as he drove himself deep one last time. Carli collapsed against him and he slid his hands up her back. "You can stay. We can work, Car. We can do that every night we are together."

"We both slept with other people, and I loved someone else. That is not a good sign of us. We can do this until the end of the day and that will never change. This is just sex." Carli told him, and he kissed her hair. "I am gone, Ryan. I am gone soon and I want us to be okay as just friends without all of this sex. I want to be normal and not messed up in my head."

"I think I do too." Ryan agreed after a long moment, and they pulled apart. "You do feel really good though."

"Thanks. You do too." Carli told him, and they stared at each other. "I want you to come and see me when you have a minute. I don't want to lose you."

"Sounds good.." Ryan agreed, and she got up off of the bed and collected her clothes. She walked back to her room and dressed again, and cried as she sat on her bed. Too much regression and pain was happening in her life, and she was tired of it. She curled up to sleep and it seemed like a minute later that she was all hooked up to her SUV and ready to go. Ryan hugged her and held tightly as she felt a tear in her eye, and she laughed as she struggled. Travis had offered to ride along with her and help her get set up, and she had agreed. Being alone sounded like a lot right then. She waved to Ryan and the other guys and their girlfriends, and her and Travis pulled away and started driving towards her new life. She felt better an hour later, knowing that she would not be there to complicate Ryan's life as well as her own. She did not want him back, but the familiar was hard to resist. Five years together was not easy to just ignore and move past when it was staring you in the face. The drive was a couple of days but finally she was there. Travis helped her unload the truck and set up her new two bedroom apartment, and she pulled the sheets off that covered the furniture that came with it and surveyed the place. They hit the streets of New York and she smiled as she looked around the people on the streets and up to the buildings. She bought him dinner for his help and support and they went back to her apartment late and played guitar and sang songs. She went out onto her balcony before going to bed, looking out over the lights and thinking. It was all new and she smiled wistfully as she thought about the last time she had been there.

Carli had been worried about the band and her living separately, but it turned out that they loved having a place to stay whether it be for business or fun. She bought a king bed for the guest room and a long sectional with a huge ottoman for the living room, and got settled in very slowly. She missed the convenience of Chicago when she was alone out on her balcony, and the simplicity of just going to visit one of the guys. Carli was known and had friends, but a new city was a new city no matter what. Everything took adjusting. She knew that she had chances to date, but she was taking that slow at the moment. She had been so confused regressing with Ryan over the months and she needed some healing time. She traveled back to Chicago a few times to take care of things, and everybody in the band quickly earned some frequent flyer miles. Travis came three months into the move to do some press with her, since the others had a wedding to attend. They went out to some bars the night before, and she woke up late the next morning.

"Trav!" Carli called into the next room as she flew into the shower, panicking. She was fast and sprayed some gel into her hair after and brushed it as straight as she could. She put on the most minimal make up possible and groaned as she pulled on jeans and a long sleeved tee. Her hair was past her shoulders and she ran a hand through it as they ran out to her car to head to the station. Travis drove since he loved the hectic city, and they parked in a garage and grabbed their guitars as they headed into the Sirius building. They got signed in and took the elevator up to their floor and she remembered the last times with a soft sigh. She smiled at Travis and they went into the studio that she had been in with Ryan, and the hosts greeted them along with a couple of other guys that were scattered about. Travis took a seat with her on the couch, and they discussed the album and EP, as well as the tour. The one that seemed to like them the best asked her about the darker lyrics on the EP, and she smiled as she formed her answer. Carli explained that she wrote based on a lot of different things, both real life and things she read or saw, and that it just seemed right to go a bit deeper. They played the hit off of the EP and she glanced at Travis with a grin. He also asked about the break up, and her smile faltered as she explained that it was so hard being apart all of the time and that it had just taken it's toll. A look at Travis told her that he knew a bit more, and she bit her lip as she glanced back up at the main comedian as he spoke. He asked her to go out with him, and she giggled as she smiled a forced smile. She teased him about their topic the last time she had been there, and how she knew that he both had a girlfriend and that he was a dirty man. The others ridiculed him and she laughed hard as they relentlessly went after him due to her rejection, and Travis joined in. They finally settled in with their instruments and played some songs. They began with their cover of Toxic, both singing their parts as Travis played the guitar, and then went into an acoustic version of the song played with both of them playing guitar. They finished with both an older song and a newer one, and the whole studio seemed very impressed as Carli blushed a bit.

They ended up hanging out the entire show, with their other press being phoners the next morning before Travis headed home. It was fun and relaxing, and Carli felt the bonds forming and a possible future visit in her future. They planned on breakfast and all left the studio together, and she heard her phone chime. She checked it and laughed as she told Travis that the guys and Ryan approved of their appearance, and he smiled at her. She slid her phone into her purse and began to walk with them when she felt it. There was a heaviness to the air and she turned her head backwards to find it, and she met Eric's steady gaze. He was standing near a rolling cart loaded up with plates and his blue eyes locked with hers, and she felt things tighten low in her body. It had been a long time, and she blinked as the warmth hit her. "Hey. You coming?" Travis asked her, and she glanced at him as she blushed warmly.

"I will meet you there. I want to say hey to some friends. Right across the street?" Carli asked, and Travis nodded as he gazed for a long moment at her. He glanced at Eric and offered to take her guitar as well as his own, and she handed it to him silently. He was gone and she closed her eyes for a long moment as she looked back at Eric. She noticed him abandon the cart and walk towards her, and she leaned against the wall as he stepped in front of her. "Hey there." Carli tried to sound casual, but it sounded very breathy to her. He looked as handsome as he always had, and she felt a lump in her throat as she met his deepening blue eyes with her own. "You…you look great. How are you?"

"I am doing well. You are beautiful as well." Eric murmured low enough for only her to hear, and she felt like reaching out to him and pulling him against her. It was a habit not to, and she clenched her hands instead. "You live here now?"

"I have for a few months." Carli replied, and his eyes searched hers.

"You never called to tell me, or came by." Eric said, and glanced at the wall behind her for a long moment. "I should say I am sorry for your break up."

"If you want to." Carli responded, and she saw that he was not sorry in his eyes. "It was bound to happen."

"I suppose so." Eric agreed, and looked at her. "I am enjoying your new EP. It seems a bit deeper and more you. It suits you, being such a…passionate woman."

"Am I?" Carli asked, and she saw lust pass through his eyes.

"I remember that about you." Eric said softly, and she let out a breath that she had been holding. His heat was overwhelming her, and they were not even touching. Desire was washing over her and had centered between her legs as she shifted uncomfortably.

"I know things didn't end well. I'm sorry. It is most of what has held me back from seeing you since I moved here, and also the fact that it has been quite some time. " Carli told him in a rush of words, and then glanced down. "It was safe to assume that you moved on."

"You could ask before you assume." Eric suggested, and she looked down. "Can I see you sometime?"

"How do we do that after what we did?" Carli asked honestly, and kept looking down.

"We go to dinner and we talk." Eric told her, and she glanced up at him. "I want to know you more than I did then. I want to just be in your life in some capacity. It's simple."

"I wish." Carli said, knowing that she would be fighting herself the entire time. "Trav leaves tomorrow for Chicago. Call me. Do you need my number?"

"If it hasn't changed, I still have it." Eric assured her, and she felt a surge of disappointment. He had never contacted her. "I will call you tomorrow afternoon, Carli." He leaned down and brushed her cheek with his lips, and the innocent gesture had far less than innocent results. She sucked her breath in and her body tightened painfully. She hated that he still got to her, and she kept her eyes closed as he pulled away. She felt comfortable onstage in front of people and even on a radio show that covered every sexual topic there was, but not with this man in front of her. He turned her into a melting mass of hormones with one glance, and she opened her eyes and looked at him. "By the way, you actually made me like a Brittany song in there. You sounded very raw and sexy and did wonders for it."

"Thanks." Carli said, and looked up at him through lowered eyes. "I know a guy like the one in the song."

"Tell me all about him tomorrow." Eric told her, and smiled his winning smile as he walked away. Her eyes dropped down his sculpted body to his perfect ass, and she pressed her lips together. She took a deep breath and walked to the elevator the opposite way and took a few deep breaths as she went down to the first floor. Carli hit the bathroom on the way out, trying to calm herself as she fixed her make up and sorted her thoughts. She felt better as she walked outside and across the street, smiling as she entered the diner. She greeted some fans and made her way to the table where she slid in next to Travis. He looked curiously at her as she picked up a menu and looked down at it, and the conversation began flowing again. She looked outside after she ordered, smiling at the sun shining on the busy street. They ate slowly and chatted and her and Travis headed to the movies afterwards. They cooked at her apartment and he looked at her across her bistro table.

"So that guy at the station today? Is he the one that you slept with here?" Travis asked her, and she blinked at him.

"What?" Carli asked, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"He needed to tell someone the real story, and he knew that I could be trusted. He also told me about himself, and I said that you had both been assholes. Just so you know." Travis said, and she stared at the table.

"Gee, thanks for that. I have not kicked myself in the ass over it at all."

"For the record, I do think the proposal was a bad move on his part. It was a bit reactionary." Travis said, and she looked up at him with a hint of pain in her eyes. "But you took the ring after you had been with somebody too. That was wrong, Car."

"I know all of this, Trav. Trust me." Carli said, leaning her head into her hands.

"I could see how shaken you were seeing him today. Did he feel the same?" Travis asked her, and she shrugged.

"He oozes confidence and he is so self assured. Who knows?" Carli asked, and sighed.

"Are you going to see him again?" Travis asked, and she looked at him.

"I don't know." Carli replied, and he stared at her for a moment. "It's pretty over with Ryan, so I could in that sense. But it also makes it complicated."

"Good luck with that, Carli." Ryan laughed, and she smiled ruefully. They watched a scary movie and he kissed her cheek before he headed to the guest room. She pulled on shorts and a tank top and made her nightly trip to the balcony to stare at the lights of her new home. She always had a chance to think out there alone, and she wondered what chance she had of making it work with Eric. Was it worth trying only to fail later? Losing him had been hard enough the first time for her. She yawned and went into the bedroom to crawl under her covers and try to sleep, but the feeling that he had given her remained. She sighed and wished that she didn't have company so she could at least relieve herself. Carli eventually fell asleep, and they sat together the next morning at her phone to call a few stations. She sipped coffee and feigned enthusiasm, rolling her eyes at their silly antics and chatter. Travis and Carli both agreed that the show the day before had been far more bearable, and he went to pack for his return home. Her phone rang, and she walked out onto the balcony to answer it after she saw his name.

"Hey, Eric." Carli said slowly, leaning against the balcony.

"Good afternoon, Carli. I trust your day is well." Eric said in his smooth voice, and she clung to it for a pathetic moment.

"Peachy. I just did phoners with awful radio stations. I think I am in the wrong business sometimes." Carli said, and sighed.

"Never. That voice of yours is far too sexy to hide." Eric chided her, and she shuddered at his tone. "Will a night out cheer you up? I will compliment you all night long and bring a smile to your face."

"It's worth a try. What did you have in mind?" Carli asked, and smiled.

"A Japanese place near me, if it sounds good. After that is up for debate at this time, but we can discuss that." Eric said, and she thought immediately what sound good after as well as before.

"Sounds great, Eric." Carli agreed, and they arranged for him to pick her up at her place at seven. She hung up and went back inside to see Travis carrying out his bag. She drove him to the airport and hugged him, and watched him leave with a wistful smile. Living apart from her closest friends was not always easy, and she went back to her car and drove home to take as long shower to get ready. She turned on the radio after she got out, and stared at her pale face in the mirror.