I'm back! I was able to finish this chapter on the way home yesterday, and I've got a good portion of the next one done, so the wait shouldn't be too long :)

Huge thanks to FDM for being the best beta out there. *smooches*

Chapter 10

When the door opened, I couldn't suppress my smile. Sookie looked beautiful, as always, and I was glad she didn't go over-the-top with her outfit or makeup. She was gorgeous just as she was. She smiled up at me, and I pulled my hand from behind my back to hand her the single tulip I brought for her. Her smile widened as she took it, and she asked me to step inside for a second.

"I'll be right back," she said, and went off down the hallway. She came back a minute later without the flower and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for the flower."

"You're welcome."

She smiled, and started to lead me to the door when someone yelled her name. She tensed up a bit and mouthed, "I'm sorry" to me, before turning around to greet the girl coming up the hall with disheveled hair, wearing nothing but a robe.

"Don't you even think about leaving before you introduce me," the girl I assumed to be Amelia said.

"You couldn't have gotten dressed?" Sookie asked her quietly.

"Why? Tray's still here for an hour before I have to go to work."

Sookie sighed before turning slightly to face me, and said, "Eric, this is Amelia, my roommate. Amelia, this is Eric, my boyfriend."

I smiled broadly at hearing Sookie call me her boyfriend. "Hello, Amelia. It's nice to meet you," I nodded at her.

"It's nice to meet you too, Eric. You're very handsome. I can see why Sookie likes you so much. Would you mind informing me of your intentions towards her?" She asked. Sookie and I both gaped at her.

"Um…are you serious?" I asked.

She burst out in laughter, "No, I'm not. I just thought I'd freak you both out a bit. Did it work?"

"A bit," I answered honestly.

"Good! Don't worry though; I'm harmless unless you hurt her," she said ominously, and with a completely serious expression. I knew not to cross Amelia. "Now, go off on your little date and have fun. Don't get home too late, Sookie."

"I'll still be home before you, Amelia. Goodbye." Sookie told her as she took my hand and pulled me out the door.

"It was really nice meeting you, Amelia." I said over my shoulder as we went through the door.

As soon as the door was closed behind us, Sookie stopped and said, "Eric, I am so, so sorry about that. She's a bit crazy, but she means well and…"

"Sookie, it's okay. I can tell that she's just looking out for you. I'm glad you have someone that cares that much."

She smiled and stretched up to kiss me on the lips, and then we left to go on our first date.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" She asked as we exited the building.

"Well, you told me that you like movies, especially old ones, and there's a theater in town that plays old movies on the weekends. The movie we're seeing, however, will remain a secret until we get there."

"That sounds amazing! I didn't know there was a theater here that played old movies. I can't wait to see what the movie is." She was rambling happily, which pleased me, because I knew I did a good job picking what we were going to do.

The theater wasn't too far away, and I wanted to take her there before the weather got too cold for walking that far. I was considering getting a car, but didn't really want to bother. Everything essential was within walking distance, so why pollute the air?

We held hands the whole way, and when we rounded the corner and saw the marquee, she squeezed my hand.

"Casablanca?! I love Casablanca! This is so great! I've always wanted to see it on a big screen."

I laughed, "I'm glad you're happy with it."

"Oh, definitely. I'm very happy," she said with an honest smile.

We continued on to the theater, and I bought our tickets. I asked Sookie if she wanted any popcorn, but she declined, insisting on waiting until supper. I was happy about that, because I had a roast in the oven at home. There were only a few other couples in the theater, almost all of them elderly. We took our seats, and Sookie quickly found that the seats had those armrests that you could lift up. She lifted the one between us, and I put my arm around her as she snuggled into my side. Her hand rested on the top of my thigh, and I was surprised that I didn't get hard from her touch, but I was so relaxed with her at that moment.

The movie started up, and not long into it, Sookie rested her head on my shoulder. I held her closer to me and quietly inhaled the scent of her hair. About halfway into the movie, Sookie lifted her head and looked at me. I thought she wanted to say something, so I leaned closer to her, but instead of speaking she pressed her lips against mine. I was a little embarrassed to be kissing in a room with other people, but when I shifted my eyes around to look at them, I saw that none of them were paying any attention, so I closed my eyes and kissed her back. She angled her body towards me more, and I did the same. She parted my lips with her tongue, and I happily grazed it with my own. Her arms wrapped around my torso, and her body pressed against mine. Now there was definitely something stirring in my jeans. I can't tell you how long we kissed, because it felt like forever, but still wasn't long enough. When she pulled away we were both breathing heavily. She kissed me once more on the cheek, and then resumed her position snuggled into my side again. She didn't put her hand on my thigh again, and I realized that she was giving me a sufficient amount of time to get that situation under control before we left.

I watched the rest of the movie feeling quite relaxed and carefree, and when Bogie uttered his last line, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," I couldn't help but think the same thing about my relationship with Sookie.

The lights came back on, and I stood up and took Sookie's hand in mine. "Are you ready for the second part of our date?" I asked her.

"Yes, I am," she smiled back at me. We left the theater, and walked back to my apartment hand in hand in a comfortable silence. That was one of the things I loved about being with Sookie. There was so much that didn't need to be said between us. We were comfortable and relaxed with each other, and that was a great thing to feel with someone.

When we entered my apartment this time, Sookie immediately smelled the roast.

"What are you cooking that smells so amazing?" She asked.

"Roast with carrots and potatoes." I told her.

"You're spoiling me," she said sweetly as she faced me, and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"How so?" I asked, as I pulled her closer to me.

"If you keep taking me on amazing dates, kissing me like you do, and cooking amazing meals for me, you'll have me ruined for anyone else."

"I'll have to remember that." I smirked at her. I would have to remember that. If I could ruin her for other men just by being myself, then why not? I wouldn't mind being with her for a long time. I had a feeling she was ruining me for other women. I couldn't imagine a more beautiful woman, for one, and there were things about our relationship that just couldn't be duplicated. We observed each other so long before we even spoke, that by the time we did, we were already comfortable with one another. I knew I wouldn't be able to find that with anyone else, and I really didn't want to.

"I'll just go check the food real quick. Why don't you find us something good to watch?"

"Okay," she said, and then reluctantly broke from me, and headed to the living room.

I went to the kitchen to check the roast, which still had about thirty minutes left to cook. It was coming along perfectly, and I couldn't wait to see her face when she tried it. I went back into the living room where Sookie was sitting on the couch, staring at the remote with a thoughtful expression. I sat next to her, and she seemed to break out of some sort of trance.

"Was there nothing on?" I asked.

"I didn't look. I think we can find something else to occupy our time with," she said, and immediately she was kissing me aggressively. My glasses went askew, so I pulled them off and tossed them on the coffee table. Her hands were up my shirt, caressing the muscles of my back, so I figured it was safe to caress her skin as well. My hands went up the front of her shirt, and slowly made their way to her gorgeous breasts. She moaned into my mouth as I palmed them. They were so big and firm, yet still soft. I found myself wondering what they looked like uncovered, but I didn't think I was quite ready for that yet.

It didn't take long before Sookie was straddling my lap, again being mindful of my erection, and I was beginning to think she liked being the one in control. She certainly enjoyed it when I took control, but she liked having the power as well sometimes. Her hands were around my neck, holding me as close to her as possible, and just as I was about to wrap her legs around my waist and put her under me, the timer for the roast went off.

"Shit," I muttered.

Sookie laughed, "Don't worry we can pick up where we left off after we eat."

"Is that a promise?"

"Oh yes," she said, and to punctuate her point she laid another heated kiss on me before allowing me to get up. I put my glasses back on, and then went to check on the food.

The whole way to the kitchen I was trying to think of things to turn me off, because walking was painful. I finally settled on the image of naked old people playing tennis. It worked. I pulled the roast out of the oven, and it was perfect.

"Is it done?" Sookie's voice came out of nowhere, and I jumped. I hadn't realized that she followed me into the kitchen. "Sorry, I thought you heard me."

"It's okay. My mind was a bit occupied from that kiss," I said, and then leaned down to give her another one. She reciprocated, and I turned to wrap my arms around her. She giggled. "What?" I asked.

"You still have oven mitts on."

"Oh." I laughed. "Stop distracting me."

"Me?" she feigned offence, "You kissed me that time buddy."

"Well you walked in here looking beautiful, that's a distraction all by itself."

She paused for a second and then said, "Okay. I can live with that. You win."

We both laughed, and then Sookie asked what she could do to help.

"You don't have to do anything. I can get it." I had always been taught it was bad manners to make the guests do anything.

"I want to help. I feel useless just sitting there," she said. How was I supposed to resist that pouty expression?

"Alright, can you grab a couple plates out of the cabinet behind you?" She smiled happily and turned to get them, and I finally looked at her butt for the first time all night. It looked phenomenally hot in those jeans. She turned around and caught me staring.

"Were you looking at my butt, Eric?" She smirked.

"Yes," I said. There was no point in hiding it. I was caught and I knew it. I found that I was becoming more and more confident when I was alone with her.

She simply smirked in response, and I realized that she had worn those jeans on purpose. How thoughtful of her. I would have to be equally as thoughtful in the future. Maybe I could conveniently run out of clean sweaters, or accidentally spill something on one in front of her, which would mean I would just have to wear one of my tank tops. She hadn't yet seen my muscles in their full glory, and I knew now that she liked them. I would be very thoughtful indeed.

She handed me the plates, and I loaded them both with carrots, potatoes, and roast. Sookie got us both a glass of tea, and we went into the living room to eat.

"This looks delicious," she said as we sat down.

"It tastes pretty good too," I told her, and then she took a bite. The instant moan that issued from her mouth satisfied me immensely.

"Are you trying to make me fall for you?" she asked, and then blushed a bit.

"Wh…What?" I stuttered. Astute, I know.

"Um, I just… I just meant that you're so amazing. You can cook incredible meals, you're a perfect gentleman, an amazing kisser, and you have a remarkable body. I just mean that it's not going to be hard to fall for you."

Out of everything I had thought about when it came to Sookie, falling in love hadn't been one of them. I don't know why I hadn't yet, but it was something I definitely would be thinking about now. I could certainly see myself falling for her too.

I smiled, "It's not going to be hard to fall for you either." We both smiled awkwardly at each other for a few seconds, and when I saw her blush I broke eye contact and started eating.

Sookie made small moans throughout the whole meal, and I don't think she even realized she was doing it. Again, I finished before her, but when she finished his time I didn't kiss her. Instead, I took our plates to the kitchen, and she followed. I began putting up the leftovers, and she began rinsing dishes.

"Do you hand wash, or use the dishwasher?" She asked.

"Normally, I hand wash, but there are better things I'd like to be doing right now, so dishwasher it is." I really couldn't believe that just came out of my mouth in the manner it did. It seemed that the more time I spent alone with Sookie, the more confident and forward I became.

"Okay," she agreed enthusiastically, and began loading the dishwasher. I helped her, and soon the dishwasher was running and we were back on the couch making out.

We started out with her straddling me, like we always had so far, but soon she was under me again. This time we managed to get as far as getting her bra off, but at the feel of her bare breasts beneath my hands for a few minutes, I had to stop. It was torture taking it this slow, but I wanted it to be good when we did it, and that was going to take time. Sookie never pushed me when I stopped, and I was beginning to feel like I was working her up too much. She hadn't been celibate as long as me, and I knew I was arousing her. If it was bothering her, she didn't let it show. She just snuggled up next to me, and I put my arm around her as we watched TV.

After a while, she yawned, and I realized how late it had gotten. "Sookie, would you like me to walk you home?"

"Yeah, that sounds great, I really should be going."

We got up, and headed out the door. As soon as we were in the hall, I picked up her hand. It was something that I loved doing. I had watched her for so long, always wanting to touch her, but never getting to, that now it was all I wanted to do.

"Will I see you again tomorrow?" I asked.

"Of course. How about we just get together to study again? I actually have a paper to finish up."

"Me too, would you like to come over at four? I'd be happy to make you supper again."

"Four is great, but would you like to come to my place for supper? Every Sunday night Amelia, Tray, and I have supper together, and I wondered if you would like to join us."

"I would love to. Should I bring anything?"

"Just yourself. You can come back with me when we finish studying, and hang out with Tray while Amelia and I cook. He usually just watches TV, or plays video games."

"Sounds good." I said, just as we reached the front of her building. She turned to me, and stretched up to kiss me.

"I'll see you at four then," she smiled.

"Okay," I smiled back, and then she turned and went into her building. I walked home happily thinking, "This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship."

*giggles*

There will be sexual action soon, I promise. This shit takes time. The next chapter will be the Sunday night dinner! Yay!

So, tell me, what did you think?