a/n: all mistakes are mine, as usual. =)

Chapter 10

The next morning when I woke up I could hear movement in the kitchen. I remembered Eric was staying with me. I got up and wandered out of my room to find him pouring two glasses of orange juice next to bowls of cereal set on the table. He had on only his jeans from yesterday. I realized we needed to get him some clothes. For a bit I remained quiet and just admired the view. It wasn't so bad waking up to a handsome man in my house preparing breakfast. Granted it was a simple breakfast but it was a nice gesture all the same.

"Hi" He noticed me standing in the entryway.

"Morning, I see you've been busy." I smiled and sat down across from him at the table.

"Yes, I wanted to do something for you. You've helped me so much. I wanted to cook you breakfast but then…. I couldn't remember how to make anything." He frowned.

"It's fine Eric, I appreciate this, and I like cereal." I smiled and took a spoonful of the Cheerios in my bowl. I found it odd he couldn't remember cooking. He remembered other small things like how to brush his teeth. Maybe the old Eric had a maid to cook for him. Who knew!

After breakfast I got dressed and Eric pulled on his clothes from the previous day. I decided we were going shopping. I had a few errands to run then we could pick up some clothes for him as well. He couldn't keep wearing the same jeans no matter how perfectly they fit that cute man butt of his.

I took Eric to a shopping plaza in Munroe where there was a Kohl's. They usually had great sales so I shopped there often. Eric only had the money in his wallet. While it seemed like a lot over a span of time it wouldn't be much and I wasn't rich enough to buy everything for him. Therefore we had to spend wisely and that was something I was good at.

"So… what colors do you like?" I asked as we walked towards the men's department.

Eric was looking all around and seemed fascinated. I guess being locked up in the hospital made the store seem pretty exciting.

"I like blue, I think." He shrugged and wandered aimlessly through a few rows of shirts. Eric seemed lost as he tried to take everything in and pick something.

"What about this?" I picked up a plain blue, v-neck tee. It was on sale for 20% off too!

"Hmm, yeah, I like it. It's plain." Okay I made note of that. He wanted nothing too flashy for his clothes. I tossed the blue shirt into the cart we had and we continued on.

Eventually Eric found a shirt he really liked. "Can I get this?"

"Eric it's your money. You don't have to ask me." I grinned and tried to not chuckle at his selection. It was a black Nike tee that said 'Just Do It' in bright red letters on the chest. I think he had no clue that it was the brand's catch phrase. He just wanted his shirt to say 'do it' on the front. I'm telling you men can turn into children in seconds.

Eric very proudly placed the shirt in the cart. He picked out a few more plain color tees and a white wife beater for some reason. Then we went to browse through the jeans. He seemed to want black jeans but since most of his shirts were dark colors I convinced him to get only one pair and the rest were blue jeans. I also noticed he did not want any of his clothes to be loose and baggy. I certainly did not mind that.

Then it was time for shoes since he couldn't be waltzing around in nice dress shoes all the time.

"These are interesting…" Eric was holding a pair of Reebok Zig-Techs, with the neon yellow zig-zag sole. "Why would someone put this on?"

I laughed and shook my head. "I don't know. I think they're pretty goofy too."

"What do I need for shoes? Sneakers or boots?" Eric was looking overwhelmed again as he eyed the numerous selections.

"Well you could get one of each." He still had plenty of money to spend since we got mostly sale items.

Eric thankfully fit into a size 13 so we could find a couple pairs of shoes without having to order them. He picked out a pair of black work boots and also decided he wanted black Adidas shell toes with the white sripes on them. He wanted to be different he said, since he already had seen three men walk by wearing the all black or all white versions of the sneaker today.

I had to admit Eric's new wardrobe was much less intimidating than the one outfit of his own he had. It made him seem more like a normal guy I could meet in town. We also picked up some pajamas, socks, and underwear. I was quite curious about what he would pick. When he selected black boxer-briefs there were a lot of naughty images racing through my mind.

We made all of our purchases and headed home. Eric helped me put away the few groceries I picked up then he decided to change into some clean clothes. I was in the front yard watering the few flowers Gran had planted years ago when he walked outside. Eric had on blue jeans, sneakers, and of course that 'just do it' t-shirt.

"Nice shirt" I smirked at him as he came down the steps.

"I like it. It's simple and to the point." He grinned and I rolled my eyes. "Do you enjoy gardening?"

"It's okay, I mostly maintain the garden because my Gran really loved it. I know she would want someone to keep caring for it the way she did." I shrugged.

"You must have really been close. What about your parents? You don't say much about them." Eric sat down on the front porch steps to get out of the hot sun.

"They died when I was just a kid, freak accident. So my Gran and Jason have been my only family for a long time." I was okay talking about it now. I had a long time to sort it all out in my head.

"Oh…. It's nice that your brother protects you then." Eric seemed to realize why Jason was so crazy last night. We only had each other in this world and he didn't want to see his baby sister hurting.

"It is, even if I want to smack him sometimes." I smiled and turned off the hose.

Eric and I spent the rest of the day getting to know each other better. I worked outside painting the porch railings that desperately needed it. Eric willingly helped out and asked me a million questions about my life. I told him about my childhood, how Amelia was my best friend, my choice to go to nursing school. Then we discussed trivial things like movies, books, and what my first pet was. Unfortunately I could not question him too much. Eric was discovering new things about himself everyday but there were no memories he could fill me in on.

I did not tell him about my telepathy. It was still too soon for that. Part of me wanted to tell him but I couldn't work up the courage. What if he thought I was crazy? I tried to not think about it too much and just enjoy my peaceful companion.

We had spaghetti for dinner and Eric was hilarious to watch with pasta. He tried twirling it on his fork but kept failing so eventually he just started slurping it into his mouth. He seemed annoyed and I was laughing.

"You think this is funny? This is so hard to eat."

"C'mon it's not that bad, and yes it's hilarious!" I leaned back against my seat holding my sides.

"I'll show you hilarious." He muttered and with that he used his fork to flick a piece of meatball at my face. It landed right on my forehead.

"Eric!" I shrieked and started wiping the meatball off of my face.

He was laughing his ass off. Jerk!

"C'mon it's not that bad." He mocked me and just kept smiling.

I tossed a piece of bread at him and the war began. I was being nice by tossing bread and not making a mess. Eric on the other hand was tossing clumps of spaghetti at me. I ducked down and a few noodles splattered on the cabinet behind me. I would regret this tomorrow when I was cleaning it up.

"Ha!" I managed to get some spaghetti on his face finally. He was nearly clean and I was covered in bits of pasta and had sauce in speckles over my neck and face.

Eric did not take to losing too well since he lunged at me the one time I hit him. I turned and barely avoided his grasp, running down the hallway at full speed. I slowed down so my sock covered feet wouldn't slide out around the corner, big mistake. It felt like slow motion as his arms looped around my waist and caged me against his body.

"Gotcha" I could feel his hot breath against my ear and it sent shivers down my spine. I was starting to think we should pick up where left off, minus Jason barging in this time.

Apparently Eric was on the same track as me since I felt his tongue sliding over my neck. "Mmmm, you taste good."

"Maybe because someone covered me in marinara sauce." I tried to sound pissed off but it was weak.

"I can take care of that." I felt him smirk against my skin as he started sucking and licking his way up my neck. At this rate I was going to be a mess again in seconds, but for entirely different reasons.

Eric turned me to face him and his lips came crashing down against mine. His tongue swept into my mouth, eagerly exploring. I didn't try to push him away. I wanted this and despite how complicated the situation was I going do what I wanted for once. I had run down the hall towards my room which had a connected bathroom so I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in that direction. There would be no spaghetti sauce all over my nice white sheets.

We were in the bathroom now and Eric had me on the edge of the sink, my legs wrapped around his waist. He really liked picking me up like it was nothing. Once I had to come up for air I pulled his shirt off. I would never get tired of staring at his perfect body. For a second I noticed he already had a slight tan line from being outside helping me today. Then Eric quickly stole my focus when he started sucking on my bottom lip before diving into a full french kiss again. My fingers wanted to dig into his shoulders but I had to be careful of his injuries. So instead I let my hands drift down to knead into his amazing ass. Judging by the growl vibrating from his chest Eric quite liked that. He made quick work of my shirt and bra, then paused.

I felt uncomfortable under his intense gaze as his eyes raked over my bare top half. I didn't know exactly what was going on in his mind right then. But he started kissing me again which helped me forget about being self-conscious. When my hands moved down to the button on his pants he seemed distracted once more.

"What's wrong?" I was out of breath and sure my lips might be bruised.

Eric's face was level with mine since I was sitting on the sink. His expression was uncertain and almost bashful.

"I…." He seemed to be searching for words. "I don't want to disappoint you."

I wasn't entirely sure of what to say. How could he disappoint me?

"I don't think that's possible." I moved my hands up to rest on his shoulders.

"Sookie, I know how all of this works, but I don't remember ever being with a woman." Yes now he was definitely embarrassed. I could see the pink color in his cheeks. It actually only made me want him even more. I liked that Eric wasn't trying to play it off as being super confident and a know-it-all. He was able to admit he was unsure of himself and I liked that about him.

"Oh, I don't know why I didn't think of that. But Eric, trust me, you can't disappoint me. I'm no expert at this either. I've been with one man in my entire life." Most of the time I felt a bit embarrassed admitting that at my age. But with Eric I didn't feel like he was judging me.

"Really?" He actually seemed relieved.

"Yes, and I bet we'll have plenty of fun exploring each other and figuring out what works." I grinned and Eric was smiling back.

"I like that plan." Now he was back on track as he started undoing the button on my pants, while trying to never let his lips leave my skin. He did a pretty good job I must say. My fingers were digging into his hair as he sucked on my nipples, making sure each got equal attention. I lifted my hips as he pulled my jeans down and they were soon on the floor.

"Shit!" It suddenly hit me. "I don't have any condoms here." I groaned in frustration. I was on the pill simply to regulate my period, but since I basically never had sex I certainly had no condom stash in my bedroom. I trusted Eric but our problem was neither of us knew what his sexual history was. I couldn't take that kind of risk.

"So?" Eric seemed confused.

"So, that means we need to put the brakes on this. We can't have unprotected sex without knowing your past." I don't know why he was not getting this. Maybe his raging boner was making it difficult to think clearly.

"Why? Don't you always take that pill?" Eric found my birth control in the bathroom and of course had to be curious and ask about it. I don't know why he didn't remember something that was common sense like women's birth control, or why now he seemed to be blanking on STDs. I understood the no memories of himself, but it was like he had never had to deal with condoms before or something.

"Yes, but it's not 100% effective against pregnancy. And the bigger issue here is if you've ever contracted any disease from being with another woman. We just don't know that." I explained and it slowly seemed to be sinking in.

"Oh… I don't why I didn't think of that." He seemed frustrated with himself.

"It's okay, not your fault." Eric had backed away some and I didn't like the distance he put between us. I hopped off the counter and turned the shower on.

"Come on" I finished getting undressed and Eric was just staring at me. I guess right now I was the first naked woman he had seen. "You coming or not?"

"I thought we couldn't…." His eyes darted from the shower to me.

"We can't do that, but we can do other things." I smirked then hopped under the hot spray, leaving Eric to decide for himself.

Seconds later I had a blonde giant in the shower with me. Let me tell you, he was definitely giant all over. Now I was a little glad I did not have condoms. That thing was damn intimidating and I was seriously wondering how much it was going to hurt since I had little sexual experience.

Eric and I washed off all of the remnants of our food fight. Then proceeded to use up all of the hot water while figuring out the best ways to drive each other crazy with just our hands. At this point I was really enjoying my new house guest.

a/n: so they keep running into obstacles, first Jason, now condoms! and this Eric gets to have more of a sense of humor. I figure without all of that vampire politic bullshit weighing him down, Eric would be a more lighthearted fella. Please review! =)