A/N: Hey guys! So I didn't want to keep you waiting too long. Here's the next part of the Merlotte's adventure! Enjoy! :)

Chapter 10: Must Have Done Something Right (part 2)

SPOV

I was pretty shocked to see Bill walk into Merlotte's. It was not a secret that Bill didn't care for Merlotte's when we were together, so I saw no reason as to why he would suddenly enjoy eating there now. I must have tensed up, because I felt Eric put his hand on my leg in a soothing gesture.

"He better not try to talk to ya, Sook," Jason muttered. He was not pleased to see Bill there, that was for sure.

"Don't worry about it, Jase," I said, trying to be nonchalant. I was over Bill, but that didn't mean I wanted to run into him everywhere. I wondered if it was a coincidence that he was here, or if he, like the rest of the town, wanted to check out my new man. Whatever. Bill's business had nothing to do with me.

"You okay?" Eric asked quietly.

"I'm fine," I smiled at him, and gave him a kiss. I was there with him. How could I not be okay?

Sure enough, Lorena trailed in behind Bill a few moments later, not looking particularly happy to be there. We watched, as did everyone else in the room, as they walked towards an empty table. Eric was watching intently, and I imagined he was trying to put a face to the horrible names I'd used to describe Bill.

I finished up my piece of apple pie, and eventually Jason's best friend Hoyt joined us at the table. I'd always liked Hoyt, because he was so nice and well-mannered. I wasn't really sure how they'd become best friends. I guess the saying 'opposites attract' can work for guy friendships, too.

"Hey, guys. Mind if I join ya?" He asked politely.

"Have a seat," I smiled. He sat down beside Jason.

"I'm Hoyt," he extended his hand to Eric. I wondered if Jason had already filled him in on what was going to happen tonight.

"Eric. Nice to meet you," Eric shook his hand. We chatted for a while, until Jason suggested we played a game of pool.

"Okay," I agreed. "But I'm not very good," I warned them all.

"Me neither," Eric chuckled.

"But you work at a bar," I teased him.

"Mhm. A bar without a pool table," he reminded me playfully.

"We'll make a great team," I smiled at him, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

Jason was watching us curiously, and Hoyt was kind of smiling at us. Whatever. I was allowed to kiss my boyfriend in public, darn it! I didn't want to be all insecure just because I lived in a nosy town.

We all got up to play pool. Jason and Hoyt were pretty much experts. Eric was pretty good, even though he swore he didn't play very often. I, of course, was horrible. I always had been. I guess I just didn't have good aim? Or the pool stick thingy was just too darn long.

"Damn, man. You sure you don't want to trade Sook in for another pool partner?" Jason teased.

"Hey," I pouted.

"Nah," Eric chuckled. "Besides," he smoldered at me, "I like watching you shoot way too much." He was looking at my butt.

"Pervert," I laughed, wrapping my arms around him. He squeezed me to him, and gave me a kiss. A good, good kiss.

"Aw man, that's my sister," Jason complained, but I could hear a smile in his voice.

"Sorry," Eric chuckled, but I knew he wasn't really.

"I've got to go to the bathroom. It'll give you time to catch us up," I chuckled, patting Eric's chest. I reached my face up to his for one last kiss, and he obliged me.

"You'd better take your time, then," he laughed, when we separated.

"Oh hush," I said and then walked away with a smile. I thought it was going okay, so far. Jason didn't seem to hate Eric, and Eric didn't seem to hate Jason. After his lunchtime visit, I hadn't really been sure of what to expect from Jason.

I peed quickly, and then touched up my lip-gloss in the bathroom mirror. I smiled at my reflection, thinking of how Eric liked this gloss because it was fruity, and he said my lips tasted like candy.

I left the bathroom still smiling, but it left my face as I was facing Bill Compton, who had grabbed my arm. I wondered why the heck he had waited until now to talk to me, until I realized that from where we were standing, by the bar, we were hidden from Lorena's sight. I hoped Bill was careful, though, because we were clearly in Jason and Eric's sights.

"Sookie, may I talk to you for a moment?" he asked, rather formally.

"I guess," I said, yanking my arm away from him.

"I just… you are looking very well, Sookie." He scanned my body, which gave me the creeps.

"Thank you," I said.

"How have you been?"

"I've been great," I said. "How about you? I heard the wedding was really lovely," I said politely, trying not to laugh out loud thinking about what Amelia had said about it.

"Well, yes, I… I am sorry, Sookie," he said softly, and I wished he would stop saying my name. "I… I would have loved for you to be there." He took a step closer to me, and I cringed internally. "I truly would have. But Lorena didn't want you to come because she knew how I felt about you…" He looked pained. "I never wanted to hurt you, with any of this..."

A long time ago, I would have believed Bill. He looked so sincere, so saddened. I would have believed that he cared about me and was sorry that he had broken my heart. But now, I knew that it was all an act. If Bill cared anything about my feelings he would not have done any of the awful things he had done while we were together. Now, knowing all of the BS he had sold me during our relationship, I knew this 'sorry' act was BS too. Bill hadn't really loved me; I was a game to him, a prize. He was just a really fantastic liar. And even now that we were apart, that he was married, he was still lying to me.

"It's fine," I smiled brightly. "I actually met Eric the night of your wedding," I gestured towards him. "And I wouldn't have, if I'd been there."

"Yes, your new… friend." Bill said.

"My new boyfriend, yes."

"The man who works at a bar?" Bill raised an eyebrow, clearly not impressed.

"He owns a bar, yes. Fantasia," I said, starting to lose my patience.

"Sookie, I know you must be lonely, after everything that happened between us," he said. Excuse me? "But I… I can't help but worry that all of this seems quite out of character for you."

"Excuse me?!" I said it out loud this time.

"Honestly, Sookie, spending your nights at some kind of nightclub? It's just… not like you. I would hate to see you become something you're not merely because you've been feeling lonely." I wanted to slap the 'concern' right off of his face, and I was about to, until I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist.

"Everything okay here, min älskare?" Eric asked in a low, sexy voice. Oh boy, he was gonna put on some kind of show, wasn't he? I would have thought this was beneath us, trying to bother Bill, until Bill's little speech tonight.

"Yep," I smiled up at him. "Eric, this is Bill. Bill, this is my boyfriend Eric."

Bill was pretty much glaring at Eric, but he managed to shake Eric's extended hand. Neither said anything; they just looked at each other in a tense silence.

"Well, thanks for your concern Bill," I gave him a polite half-smile. "I'm good, though, okay?"

"Concern?" Eric asked, raising one of his eyebrows. Why did it look so sexy when he did it? I realized, though, that I shouldn't have said that. I didn't want to start anything between them.

"Yes," Bill said coldly. "I was merely letting Sookie know that, as a person that knows her very well, I found her recent activities, and company, to be rather worrisome. I just want what's best for you, Sookie." That concerned puppy look was back on Bill's face, and I wanted to punch it. I looked up at Eric and paused. His eyes were glacial, furious. I realized that I recognized that look on his face from the night we found Longshadow. Well that wasn't good.

"Sookie, I think Tara wanted to talk to you about something," he murmured to me, just loud enough for Bill to hear. I realized that he was asking me to leave him and Bill alone for a few minutes. I hesitated, wondering if it was a good idea to let this happen. Surely Eric wouldn't beat him up, would he?

"Okay," I conceded. I didn't want Bill to come between us in any way, so I decided to give Eric his time to deal with the issue. Eric could be an intimidating man; maybe Bill would leave us alone.

Eric gave me a sweet kiss on the lips, and I smiled up at him before I walked away.

I sat at the bar, and Tara was smirking at me.

"You really gonna leave them alone?" she asked. I realized she could see the whole thing happen, but not really hear the conversation.

"I don't wanna have to throw your man out of my bar, Sook, no matter how much I hate Bill Compton," Sam teased me. I knew he wouldn't let things get that far. There weren't too many fights at Merlotte's.

"It'll be fine," I smiled. I hoped it would be!

EPOV

I wanted to kick the living shit out of Bill, but decided against it. It wouldn't really be making a very good impression on the town of Bon Temps if I assaulted someone in the local bar, would it? I decided that maybe the scary-quiet thing could work for me. I'd done it before.

I looked down at the piece of shit. I towered over Bill, which made the whole intimidation thing easier. He started to look uncomfortable, and shifted his eyes, which was when I figured I could start speaking.

"Listen, Bill," I said in a cold voice, "you know nothing about me, or my bar, or about my relationship," I emphasized, "with Sookie. So I will ask you, very politely, to shut the fuck up."

"I've heard what people have been saying about you," he narrowed his eyes, "and your womanizing ways. Does Sookie know? How do you think it feels for Sookie, hearing about her philandering boyfriend's exploits?" He was trying to look scary, but was failing.

"Really, Bill?" I laughed dryly. "You're going to lecture me on 'womanizing'? How do you think it felt for Sookie, knowing you fucked another woman while you were together? Hearing the whole town talk about the fact that you fucked another woman while you were together?" I moved closer to him. "I don't know what the fuck you're up to, acting like some kind of friendly neighbor. Let me tell you this: I know from Sookie herself that she has absolutely no desire to be your friend. Until that changes, which I very much doubt, you had better stay the fuck away from her. Do you understand?" I asked quietly.

I had practically backed Bill up against the wall, and it looked like he was going to say something else. If he did I would have no choice but to knock him the fuck out. But then I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Jason.

"Hey man, everythin' alright?" Jason asked. "You know, Sam don't like no violence in his bar. So if ya'll are gonna fight, we can take it outside," Jason said, looking straight at Bill the whole time. It was a brilliant way to threaten the man, and I smirked.

"No, Billy boy and I are good. Right?" I asked.

Bill said nothing, but gave a brief nod, then walked away. Me and Jason watched him scamper off, back to his snotty-looking wife.

"Sook said you'd be alright, but I didn't want ya to murder a man on your first night at Merlotte's," Jason grinned.

"I really don't think it would be worth it," I chuckled.

"Nah, it wouldn't be."

"The man's a twat," I said. Jason just laughed.

We walked back to where Sookie was chatting with Tara, Hoyt, and Lafayette, who was apparently off kitchen duty for the moment.

I wrapped my arms around Sookie and kissed the top of her head.

"Everything okay?" She smiled up at me.

"Of course, min älskare." I kissed her on the lips. I didn't want to say 'my lover' in English in front of her friends, because I knew it would embarrass her. But she blushed anyways. Adorable.

"Well ain't you two just the cutest damn thing," Lafayette sighed, smiling at us. "Tara, I want me a man like that." Tara rolled her eyes, and we all laughed.

"He sure is an improvement, isn't he?" Amelia piped up, rather loudly. I wondered if she wanted Bill to hear it. That made me chuckle.

"I'll say," Lafayette waggled his eyebrows at me, and I winked at him. He was funny.

The night quieted down, and Sookie and I got ready to leave. Sookie ended up paying for dinner, after I tried to hide the bill from her.

"I wanted it to be my treat," she pouted. "You're my guest here." She gave me the doe-eyes that I couldn't resist.

"Fine," I relented, and she smiled. "I get to leave the tip, though," I said, which was what she usually said when we went out, and then kissed her thoroughly.

"Okay," she breathed. Jason had been watching the whole exchange and shook his head at us. We weren't that bad, were we?

We said goodnight to the whole Merlotte's crowd. Bill and Lorena had already left by then, so there was no tension left in the air. Lafayette told us that I had to come back soon. Well, he said I had to get my "fine ass" here soon. I gave him one of my panty-melting smiles and told him I would come see him some time. He giggled.

Jason was last, and we shook hands.

"You're alright," he said.

"Thanks," I chuckled. "I'm glad we finally met."

"Yeah, me too. See ya'll round, I guess." He hugged Sookie goodnight, and promised to call her sometime this week.

"That was fun," Sookie said, once we were in the car.

"It was," I agreed. "Everyone's pretty cool. I think Lafayette liked me," I teased her.

"I think Lafayette more than liked you," she giggled. "You did good," she smiled up at me. "But what happened with Bill? What did he say to you?"

"Bill informed me that I'm known as a manwhore around Bon Temps," I told her, rolling my eyes. I expected her to ask me what the fuck I was talking about, but she was quiet.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I think you can thank Dawn for that one."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Jason told me one day that Dawn had told him that you were a 'player'. So she was probably spreading that crap around town. To get back at you, or me. Hell, maybe even to get back at Jason."

"Jesus, I'm sorry." I said, grabbing her hand.

"It's okay," she smiled at me.

"No, Sookie, I-"

"No, Eric," she cut me off. "It doesn't matter at all what they say."

"It doesn't?" I asked skeptically. She had been mighty concerned with the town gossip not too long ago.

"Nope," she smiled, and I could tell it was genuine. "You wanna know why?"

"Why?"

"Well, I figured out something, while we were hanging out with my friends, spending time together tonight."

"What was that?"

"I'm happy," she said simply. "I'm happy with you. Happier than… than I've been in a long, long time. I won't let that get ruined. Besides, news travels fast. Soon people won't be talking about your man-whoring ways, they'll be talking about how adorable we are, and how hot Lafayette thinks you are," she grinned at me. I kissed her hand again, relieved that she felt that way.

"So what did you say to Bill to get him to go away?" She asked curiously.

"I told him that his help was, while appreciated, not wanted." I winked at her.

"I'm sure," Sookie chuckled.

"I told him to stay the hell away from you until youdecided that you want to see him again."

"He's gonna be waiting a long, long time, then."

"I know. And Jason may have helped me threaten him in a very polite but scary way," I laughed. "You're brother's pretty good at that."

"Yeah, Jason knows his way around a fight and stuff. He did play high school football. I'm glad you two got along okay. You know, he didn't try to fight you so that's always good," she chuckled.

We got back to her house, and as soon as we were inside, my mouth was on hers.

"Are we going upstairs?" she whispered against my lips.

"Yes," I growled. I picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around me. I carried her to her bedroom, and laid her down on her bed. I crawled on top of her and kissed her until we couldn't breathe.

"Thank you for tonight," she whispered. "How does it feel, having the Stackhouse seal of approval?" She smiled.

"I thought I already had it," I laughed, kissing her nose.

"I guess you did," she ran her fingers through my hair. Her voice and her eyes held so much affection that I felt this sudden and intense need to be closer to her, to be inside of her.

Quickly, we stripped each other of our clothes. I stroked and kissed as much of Sookie's soft skin as I could. Her sweet little noises of pleasure were driving me fucking insane.

"Eric, please," she murmured. Sookie wasn't in the mood for teasing, and I had to say that I felt the same. I grabbed a condom from my jeans, and rolled it on. I realized that Sookie was watching me, with a hunger in her eyes that was so fucking sexy.

I rolled us so that Sookie was on top. I fucking loved it like this; she felt so damn good and looked so gorgeous. I dipped my fingers into her warmth to check her readiness, and she was so wet for me it made me say, "Fuck, Sookie".

I placed myself at her entrance, and she lowered herself onto me slowly. We both broke out into moans; she felt so fucking good. Once I was fully inside of her, she rocked gently against me, biting her lip. I knew she was a bit shy in this position, so I helped her move her hips. Eventually, we found our rhythm and Sookie lost her inhibitions.

"You are so fucking gorgeous," I murmured.

"Eric," she whimpered, "Oh my god."

I felt Sookie clamp down around me, which triggered my own release. We clung to each other, Sookie's face hidden in the crook of my neck. I stroked her hair and kissed all the skin that I could reach.

I got up to dispose of the condom, then crawled back into bed, getting into the cuddling positions that had become oddly natural to me. I liked holding Sookie, feeling her snuggled into my body. It felt right.

"I don't want to leave this bed," I confessed.

"You can stay over," she said. "If… if you want to."

"I do want to. I just didn't want to sound clingy."

"You're not clingy if I want you to stay too," she said, and then kissed my chest. I squeezed her to me.

"Good. I'll stay then. What time do you have to leave for work?"

"Eight. That's not too early for you, is it?" she teased. She knew I liked to sleep in, mostly because owning and overseeing a bar meant late nights.

"Nope," I chuckled. "That gives me more than enough time to get home, have lots of coffee, and meet Pam and Bruce."

"Okay," she murmured sleepily. It was cute how sleepy she got after orgasms.

"Good night, Sookie," I kissed the top of her head.

"Night, Eric," she snuggled further into my side, and I smiled.

xxx

Sookie's alarm clock went off way too early. When I saw that it was only 6:30, I groaned. Sookie giggled and kissed my cheek.

"Go back to sleep, Eric," she laughed. I did.

When she came back into her room to wake me up, it was 7:30 and she was dressed and ready to go. She looked beautiful, in a little blue short-sleeved dress. It was a good thing she didn't teach high school, or else all of the teenage boys would be in love with her. She sat down on the bed beside me.

"Are you ready to get up, Mr. Northman?" she smiled sweetly at me.

"Mmm," I responded.

"You're cute," she laughed, and kissed my nose. I swatted at her playfully.

"Do you want something to eat?" she asked.

"Too early for food," I pouted.

"Of course it is," she laughed. "I'm gonna have a piece of toast. I'll be in the kitchen." She kissed me on the lips, and this time I responded. I held her to me for a moment.

"Sorry. That's a proper good morning," I said.

"Yeah," she said breathlessly.

I got myself dressed then followed her downstairs into the kitchen, where she was having a piece of toast and a cup of coffee. I watched her eat.

At eight, we were out of the house and she was locking her front door. I walked her to her car.

"Have a good day at work, Miss Stackhouse," I told her.

"Thank you, Mr. Northman. Have fun with Pam and Bruce," she replied.

"I always do." I pulled her to me and kissed her deeply. It was still my favorite thing to do, even though we did many, many other things that I enjoyed. I inhaled her scent. She smelled so sweet, especially since she had just showered.

"I'll call you tonight," I promised.

"Okay," she smiled. "I… Have a good day, Eric." She kissed me on the cheek, and got into her car.

I drove back to Shreveport with a smile on my face.

xxx

I walked into Fantasia at nearly 1, freshly showered and caffeinated. I had a bowl of cereal, opting to eat something small since Pam and I usually went out for lunch on our Bruce days. I had debated taking a nap, but imagined Sookie scolding me playfully.

Pam was already at the bar, of course.

"Well hello, there, Prince Charming. Have a good weekend with Sleeping Beauty?" Pam smirked.

"Why yes, Pamela, I did."

I told Pam about my weekend, about everything that went down at Merlotte's. She laughed a lot, calling me and Jason 'frat boys' for having bullied Bill. Whatever. He got what was coming to him.

"So let me get this straight," she said. "You were with Sookie from the moment you left the bar Saturday night, until eight o'clock this morning?"

"Yeah," I said. What was she getting at?

"You're serious?"

"Yes?"

"And you're not sick of her? You don't want to dump her?"

"What? No. What are you talking about, Pam?"

She narrowed her eyes at me, clearly thinking hard about something.

"Pam?" I asked.

"Ha," she cackled. I raised my eyebrow at her.

"You're in love with her," Pam said.

"What?" I cried. "What the hell are you talking about?" I asked her.

"Look at your face, Eric," she said, grinning evilly. "You are so totally in love with Sleeping Beauty. You really are Prince Charming," she laughed.

"Pam, stop. Seriously," I said. I was not going to talk about it with her.

"Come on, Eric, admit it."

"I'm not," I said.

"I call bullshit."

"That's nice for you, but it's still not true."

I could admit that I was on my way there, and I could still see myself loving her in the future. But was I really in love with her now? Already?

"It's only been a few months," I reminded her.

"And why does that matter?" Pam asked.

"Because it's too fast, Pam. Seriously. Now can we please drop it?"

"Fine," Pam pouted. "But when you realize that you're being a fucking idiot, and that you do love her, I better be the first to know. Well, after Sookie of course." Pam smirked at me.

I just walked away.

But later that night, as I was lying in bed, after having talked to Sookie on the phone for almost an hour, I thought about my conversation with Pam.

SPOV

When I got home from work later that day, Amelia was home.

"Hey Ames," I called to her, as I took off my shoes.

"Hey, Sook. How was work?" She asked.

"It was good. I have a really good group of kids this year. I think it's gonna be a good one," I smiled.

"Good stuff," Ames replied.

We sat down in the kitchen and snacked on some pretzels and sweet tea.

"So," Amelia began, "the adventures at Merlotte's went okay yesterday?"

"Yep, they were fine. Eric didn't kill Bill, and Jason didn't start anything with Eric. That's a success in my books," I laughed.

"Well everyone at Merlotte's liked Eric. Especially Lafayette," she winked at me. "Even Sam admitted that you guys were cute together."

I smiled. People's approval wasn't necessary for my relationship with Eric, but having it was kind of nice anyways.

"I'm glad," I replied.

I told her a bit about what happened with Eric and Bill, about what Bill had said to me and how Eric had dealt with it.

"Bill is such a douche," Ames shook her head. "I can't believe that he expects you to believe that he's your friend who is looking out for you."

"I know," I agreed. "He's delusional. Lorena was freaking with him!"

"You're okay with how Eric handled everything?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am. He was assertive without being all possessive and caveman. He was really great yesterday," I smiled a huge smile, the one that I always had on my face when I thought about Eric.

"Oh, sweetie," Amelia smirked at me.

"What?" I asked. She was staring at me funny.

"Come on," Amelia said, raising her eyebrow.

"What, Ames?"

"Sookie. Come on."

"What do you want me to say?" I asked.

"You know. How you're feeling right now."

I waited a beat.

"I'm totally in love with him," I admitted.

"I know!" She squealed. "It's written all over your face."

"I'm not sure how this happened," I sighed. "But I love him. Is it too soon?"

"Does it feel too soon?" Amelia asked.

"No."

"Then it's not. Are you going to tell him?" She asked.

"No, not yet, I don't think. I think I'll keep it to myself for a bit. 'Til I'm more sure," I decided.

"Alright, Sook," Amelia nodded. "Just don't keep too much bottled inside, okay, sweetie?"

"Okay, Ames."

Things were going so well with Eric, and I didn't want to mess things up. I had almost said it as I said goodbye to him that morning. It would have been so natural; an 'I love you' before heading off to work in the morning.

But things with Eric had happened so fast and so unexpectedly, that a part of me knew it was a good idea to keep this revelation to myself, at least for a little while. But, I realized, I wasn't scared, and that was what was really amazing.

A/N: So Sookie's in love. Is Eric in denial, or not there yet? Also, next chapter we have a bit of a time jump, and we get to meet Nora! And learn a bit more about Eric's relationship with her. No angst, just some closure on Eric's end!

Thanks for reading!