A/N: Hey everyone, I have another chapter for y'all. This could possibly be the last time I post for the rest of the year. I have some time off coming up so I'm hoping to fit more writing in then.
A big thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter, doubtlessshipper, Nicolle1977, ashmo2000, ciasteczko, MagpieTales, Shantigal, Perfecta999, MsNorthman, ljhjelm49, LostInSpace33, jilllapet, MissRon, 34ken and the two guests. I really appreciate all your kind words and comments.
A big thank you to outinritefield for editing this for me.
So the last time we were in the present day the group a rough time getting back into the swing of things musically. They discovered that Jesus was coming to the island for his birthday and they were going to throw him a party.
The song they sing in this one is called 'Budapest' by George Ezra. There is a link on my profile.
I hope you all like it! Happy reading!
On the third day after the disastrous first attempt to get back into the studio we all agreed it was time to go back in and try again. We settled in and tuned our instruments, trying to get comfortable and shake off the nerves. We were all annoyed the process was so difficult. It had never been difficult. Ever.
"I think I figured out what are problem is." I said resting my hands on the neck of my guitar.
"What's that?" Alcide asked sitting down on his amp.
"It's the way we were setting ourselves up. You know, the singer in the front and the band behind." I fluttered my hand from the front of the studio towards the back. "It worked with Bill because Bill led and didn't give a shit what we were doing. He expected us to follow him but we can't do that together. We thrive on each other, looking at each other, following each other's leads. That's why writing and playing on the plane was so successful. So I think until we get used to the new us, we should face each other."
Everyone looked at one another and shrugged. "It's worth a shot." Tara concluded as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
We spent about twenty minutes reorganizing the studio until we were more or less in a circle.
"Now what?" Eric asked.
"Is there a warm up song you might feel comfortable singing?" LaFayette directed his attention towards Eric. "Maybe one you've always wanted to sing but never got the chance?" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "No offence but I think the biggest problem we are having is how to sing the vocals. You want to be Bill but you're not." LaFayette was treading lightly, he wanted to express his option but he wasn't sure if it was his place.
"Watch it." Alcide directed towards LaFayette assuring him that it wasn't.
Eric waved Alcide off. "No, he's right."
"I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I've heard you sing and you're better than Bill." He shrugged. "At least I think so."
Eric took a deep breath as he bit his lip nervously. "Do you know 'Budapest'?" Eric asked LaFayette.
"Sure do." LaFayette smiled and began tuning his guitar.
Eric looked at the rest of us. "Is everyone okay with that song?"
I put down my electric and picked up an archtop guitar and tuned it quickly. "We all ready?" I asked once it finally sounded the way I wanted and everyone nodded.
"Sing it like you, not like him." Tara said firmly in our new frontman's direction.
Eric nodded at her as I began plucking the strings, giving Eric an encouraging wink while Alcide and Tara followed right behind me on bass and drums respectfully. Eric stepped up to the microphone nervously, tugging at the hem of his Van Halen t-shirt as his lips pressed against the head of the mic like they always did when he sang.
My house in Budapest/My, my hidden treasure chest/Golden grand piano/My beautiful Castillo
You/Ooh, you/Ooh, I'd leave it all
My acres of a land/That I've achieved/It may be hard for you to/Stop and believe
But for you/Ooh, you/Ooh, I'd leave it all/Oh, for you/Ooh, you/Ooh, I'd leave it all
Eric's voice made the song sound so different in a way I didn't expect. He gave it flourishes that Bill never thought to, his voice had more control and more passion than Bill's ever did; it made sense that he could considering he wrote the song. When we looked it over, all those years ago, there was almost nothing to change and 'Budapest' was laid down exactly like it was written. Bill took lead vocals when we originally recorded it and Eric had never sung the song all the way through, at least not in front of us, he refused to. He told us that it was too painful to do at the time, it was just after he had broken up with Kate.
And give me one good reason/Why I should never make a change/Baby if you hold me/Then all of this will go away
My many artifacts/The list goes on/If you just say the words/I'll, I'll up and run
Oh, to you/Ooh, you/Ooh, I'd leave it all
Oh, for you/Ooh, oh/Ooh, I'd leave it all
I let myself get lost in his voice as my fingers found the familiar notes. Things felt normal, the despair and loneliness that had been weighing me down for months felt lighter in that moment. It felt good to feel normal, to have the one thing that came easy finally be easy.
And give me one good reason/Why I should never make a change/Baby if you hold me/Then all of this will go away
Give me one good reason/Why I should never make a change/Baby if you hold me/Then all of this will go away
My friends and family/They don't understand/They fear they'll lose so much/If you take my hand
But, for you/Ooh, you/Ooh, I'd lose it all
Oh, for you/Ooh, you/Ooh, I'd lose it all
By this time any anxiety that had been left over from our previous session was gone. LaFayette was starting to relax and fall into proper rhythm with us, Alcide and Tara were having fun like always and Eric had removed the microphone from the stand, gripping the pole as he bounced around to the melody.
And give me one good reason/Why I should never make a change/Baby if you hold me/Then all of this will go away
Give me one good reason/Why I should never make a change/Baby if you hold me/Then all of this will go away
My house in Budapest/My, my hidden treasure chest/Golden grand piano/My beautiful Castillo
You/Ooh, you/Ooh, I'd leave it all
Oh, for you/Ooh, you/Ooh, I'd leave it all
Eric stepped away from the microphone with a smile on his face as the song ended. "That was pretty good." He admitted.
We all nodded in agreement. "So do you want to try 'All These Things That I've Done'?" Tara asked.
"Or "Blood Hands'?" Alcide suggested looking at me.
In the end we wound up working on both until they were almost perfected. Eric took the leads on both and we all supported. I just wasn't in the place to sing lead on 'Blood Hands', the angry song I had written about Bill. It was still too difficult for me.
After a couple of hours LaFayette's phone started buzzing and he took it out of his pocket to answer it. "Hey babe." He sang into the device as he walked out of the studio and into the boardroom.
"Today was a good day." Eric said as he came over to me, took my guitar and placed it on its stand.
I nodded. "It was nice to feel normal again." I admitted as I ran my hands through my hair. "It was great to hear you sing 'Budapest'." I smiled at him. "You sang it beautifully."
He nodded and sighed. "The song means a lot to me."
He had written it for Kate. I always thought it was funny how she went from a pin up on his wall to the girl I thought he was going to marry. She was the only girl Eric had dated I actually liked. To this day I still don't know why it didn't work out and Eric had never explained it.
After the great studio session we practiced everyday until Jesus came. We went through the catalogue to let LaFayette get used to us and let us get used to LaFayette.
They were a great five days.
We were in the studio by ten and out for dinner by six. Tara and Eric cooked while the rest of us took shifts on dish duty. Then we spent our nights around the fire on the deck telling LaFayette every story we could think of. Every embarrassing moment, every one of our accomplishments, scandalous celebrities stories we had become privy to over time. There was no fighting, no bickering, just music, food, drinks and laughter. It reminded me of our time just after our first tour had ended when everything was exciting and new.
The day Jesus arrived we did nothing but decorate for the party. Our definition of decorating was making sure the bar was fully stocked, that there was enough greasy food to absorb alcohol so we didn't get sick and creating a very carefully chosen playlist which we spent most of the day working on.
I was lying on the couch reading a copy of Jane Eyre, which I had found in my room, when I heard the sound of suitcase wheels on tile. "Hello?" Called an enthusiastic voice with a slight Mexican accent.
I sat up and smiled at the brown haired man standing in silhouette from the setting sun. "Hey!" I shouted jumping up on the couch and stepping onto the cold tile. I had chosen very simple clothing for the evening, dark denim high waisted shorts, a black bikini top with a red rose pattern and a light grey drape sweater. "You must be Jesus, I'm - "
"Sookie Stackhouse." He said in disbelief. His skin was an even olive tone, he had shockingly blue eyes, a strong stocky build and stood about 5'9. He was wearing khaki shorts and a blue linen button up.
"Yep that's me." I said with grin. "You a fan?" I questioned.
"Yeah, I probably should have mentioned that." LaFayette spoke out as he stepped out of the archway that led to the bedrooms. He was wearing plaid blue shorts and a black tank top. "Jesus is a massive fan of Perihelion." He revealed, giving his husband a kiss.
"Oh!" I exclaimed with a delighted smile on my face. "That's awesome, it's always nice to meet a fan. Do you have anything you want me to sign?" I asked.
"Yes!" He bent down and opened his suitcase and pulled out all five of our albums. "I love all your albums but Aphelion has to be my favourite. That record was my jam in college, I lost my virginity to that shit." He laughed excitedly. "I was a late bloomer so I didn't lose my virginity till I was twenty-one." He was beyond thrilled as he spread the albums out on the dining room table and handed me a permanent marker.
My eyes widened at his comment and I nodded slowly. "Well I'm really glad I could have been a part of that moment with you." I smiled sweetly. He was doing a thing a lot of people did when they met us. Fans like Jesus had spent ten years listening to our records, watching us change and grow, so he felt like he knew us, like he could tell us anything. This was common. The only downside was that they forgot we had just met them.
Eric came strolling towards us with his hand out. "Hey man, what's up? I'm Eric." He had been in his room getting ready for the party and had decided on black jeans and white cotton shirt that cut low in the front exposing a majority of his tattoos.
Jesus' eyes lit up when he saw him. "Oh my god, you are even taller in real life!" He said giddily shaking Eric's hand. "And your chest…" His eyes wandered up and down Eric's body.
"What?" Eric laughed out, his voice laced with confusion.
"Jesus is a long time Perihelion fan." I explained to him.
'Long time fan' was a code we created long ago to identify a slightly crazed but ultimately harmless fan.
"Ooohhh." Eric said as he realized what I meant. "Cool, you want to get a selfie?" He offered.
"Yes!" Jesus grabbed him by the shoulder and starting snapping picture after picture.
"Your husband knows you're in the band now, right?" I asked LaFayette as I finished signing the last album sleeve.
"I don't think it's quite sunk in yet. Give him a day or two and he'll calm down." He slung his arm over my shoulder with a smile.
"He just has to realize how boring we are and the illusion will be shattered." I chuckled.
"Sookie, I have known you for about a month and I have to let you know that you guys are a lot of things but boring you ain't." He winked.
We both turned when we heard laughing and watched Alcide, Debbie, Tara and Eggs enter the room. I watched as Alcide, who was wearing a white tank top and red board shorts, took in the album sleeves and the selfie frenzy that was happening around Eric before he directed his attention back to me. "Long time fan?" He questioned with raised eyebrows.
I grinned and brought one index finger up to the tip of my nose and pointed the other one at him to indicate that he was correct.
"Yes!" He beamed triumphantly as he walked up to Jesus and Eric to get in on some selfies which sent Jesus into another fit of excitement.
Everyone introduced themselves, more photos and autographs were given and twenty-five minutes after Jesus arrived we all had a drink in our hand.
Drink 1 - 8:45pm
"Jesus! Jesus!" Alcide shouted. "Bro, since it's your birthday you need to sing karaoke!" He slapped him on the back as he sat down beside him.
"What, why?" Jesus questioned confused.
"Cause those are the rules." Eggs shrugged.
"On your birthday you have to sing." Tara continued. "That's just the way that it's always been."
"I'm not a very good singer." Jesus admitted.
"He's not lying." LaFayette confirmed mixing his second drink.
"Hey!" Jesus cried with hurt in his voice.
"I'm just telling it like it is, baby." LaFayette winked at his husband while he took a sip of his drink to evaluate the taste, with a shake of his head he placed the cup down and added more rum.
Jesus' unamused stare lingered on LaFayette for a moment longer before his attention went back to Alcide. "Can I at least get a little more drunk first?" Jesus asked.
Alcide considered Jesus' proposal and with a firm nod said, "Yes." He confirmed before looking over at Luna. "How are we choosing the game tonight?" He inquired.
"Matches." Luna said keeping most of her attention on Eric and the conversation they were having.
I looked at my half finished beer and decided to join them.
Drink 2 & 3 - 9:15pm
"Shots!" Debbie yelled placing as many shot glasses as her little hands could carry on the kitchen counter.
"I hate shots." I moaned as Debbie began pouring random alcohols into each glass.
"No you don't, or are you forgetting the Bon Temps tour of '08 when you crowned yourself, and I quote, 'shot queen champion of the world'." Eric reminded me.
I stared up at him through my eyelashes with a smirk on my face. "I was young and stupid then."
"How is that any different from now?" He grinned at me.
I took the shot glass that was placed in front of me and downed the liquid inside of it without breaking eye contact with Eric. I winced as I realized what I had just drank. "Ugh, yuck." I spat as the licorice tasting liquor burned all the way down. "That's like liquid fire." I took a shot of tequila just to get the taste of sambuca out of my mouth.
Eric laughed. "You're such a lightweight Sook." He rolled his eyes, took his two shots and made the same noise of disgust I did. "Ugh, both of those were gin." He snatched Alcide's beer out of his hand and finished it. "Gin is disgusting."
"Unless it's mixed with tonic." Eggs chimed in.
"Yeah it's like two ugly people having a really beautiful baby." Debbie added.
I laughed and slapped Eric on the back. "Jeez Eric, you're such a lightweight." I grabbed a beer of my own and headed over to the living room.
Drink 4 - 9:19pm
"Okay!" Luna said as we all gathered in the living room, taking a seat. "Everyone gather around."
"Are you sure you're all cool with us drinking in front of you?" I asked her as I put my beer on the coffee table.
Luna laughed as she broke a match in half and then counted out enough matches so there was enough for all of us. "Of course I am. I can't wait to watch you guys get drunk." She grouped all the matches together and wrapped her hand around them so there was no way to tell which one was the short one. "I'm perfectly content with my virgin Pina Colada." She said gleefully as she took a sip.
"What are we doing?" Jesus asked with excitement taking his place beside LaFayette.
"We are all going to pull a match and the one with the shortest gets to pick which drinking game we play." Eggs explained as he leaned back on the sofa putting his arm around Tara.
"What if we don't know a drinking game?" LaFayette asked.
"Then you appoint someone to choose one for you." Sam informed him.
"Except Alcide, do not pick Alcide!" Eric warned not only LaFayette but Jesus as well.
"Well, fuck you too!" Alcide said throwing a playing card at Eric.
He deflected the attack. "Dude you pick the same game every damn time, it makes us all super drunk and I always lose a piece of clothing when we play." Eric explained leaning back on the couch next to me.
"I'm taking your clothes Eric, I like taking trophies from my victories." Alcide said in a menacing tone.
"You guys are funny." I laughed at their transaction as I took a long pull from my beer.
"Alright," Luna said inching forward and sticking her hand out. "Stop talking and choose a damn match!" She demanded and we all leaned forward to grab one.
Alcide drew the shortest match. "Booyah! Holy shit, yes! We are playing Flip, Sip or Strip!" He exclaimed as he took a victory lap around the sunken living room.
Eric sighed as he deflated into the couch.
"Flip, Sip or Strip?" Jesus asked confused.
"We called it Drunk and Naked." I informed him as I stood along with Debbie and Tara to get a bottle of vodka, tequila and rum along with as many bottles of beer we could carry.
When I sat down Alcide was explaining the game.
Drinks 5 through 8 - 9:35pm
"So I flip a coin, call heads or tails in the air and if I get it right-" LaFayette inquired.
"You don't have to do anything." Debbie told him.
"And if we get it wrong?" Jesus asked.
"You either have to take a shot, finish your drink or take off an article of clothing." Alcide said proudly while cracking open a beer.
"Hence why we call it Drunk and Naked." I poured myself a shot of tequila in anticipation of my turn.
"You also can't pick the same thing two times in a row, so if you don't call it right and you drank last time, this time you have to strip." Tara said with a chuckle. "I hope you are comfortable being nearly nude."
Jesus looked mildly uncomfortable as he sank down beside LaFayette.
"If you don't want to play just say so. We are so used to seeing each other naked it really doesn't phase us but we all get it if you are weirded out by it." Eric told them.
"Don't feel pressured. We just want you to have a good time." I smiled at him. "It's not your fault Alcide loves this stupid game."
"Whatever, none of you are going to look back on this and be upset you showed off and embraced how hot we all are. This is all gonna get saggy and shit," he motioned to his body, "so lets enjoy it now." He was smiling widely.
Jesus perked up. "He's right. I want to play."
"It gets easier the drunker you get." Debbie admitted as she picked up the quarter and passed it to Alcide. "You first my dear husband."
Alcide threw the coin into the air. "Heads!" He shouted as it came down as quickly as it went up.
It landed on the table with a clink. "Tails." I read out with a chuckle.
Alcide stood up and grabbed the collar of his white tank top and literally ripped it in half. "It's on!"
This garnered giggles and laughs from everyone and a deep sighed, "Good lord," from Eric.
"Ms. Thornton, it's all you baby." He winked and passed her the quarter.
Drink 10 - 11:15pm
We had gone through ten rounds and Debbie had guessed every toss correctly and was still fully clothed but pretty drunk because she never stopped drinking. Alcide had, along with his shirt, lost his pants and had taken two shots. Lafayette was down his shirt, shoes and pants and only drank twice but was drinking Pina Coladas on the side so he was pretty drunk, Jesus was in the same boat minus the Pina Coladas. Sam refused to play in typical Sam fashion and Luna had a bad case of the giggles also opting not to play cause of the baby. Eggs only had to drink once and lost his shirt. Eric was in nothing but boxer briefs losing his shirt, shoes, socks and pants and he had to drink four times, I was down to my bikini top and panties and had drank four times, while Tara was topless and had drank three times.
"This game didn't get me as drunk as I thought it would." Jesus admitted.
"Speak for yourself." I piped up.
"Oh, we aren't done." Alcide informed Jesus.
"Yes we are." Eric said standing, his skin straining over his muscles, veins protruding from his lower abdomen, his boxer briefs leaving nothing to the imagination. I couldn't help but bite my lower lip.
"Baby, I am drunk but I ain't blind." LaFayette chirped at his husband.
I looked over to Jesus who was openly ogling Eric, I couldn't really blame him.
I laughed and shook my head at Jesus' obsession and Lafayette's jealousy as "Hypnotize" by The Notorious B.I.G came on causing Eric and Alcide to look at each other with looks of excitement. "Oh yes!" Eric exclaimed jumping up on the coffee table and began dancing in a way I had never seen him move before. He had incredible control as he rolled his body expertly to the music, his hips moving in time with the beat. We had all taken dance classes at one time or another because of our job. We needed to know how to move to music, how to dance for concerts and music videos but his expertise was on another level. He began moving against Alcide when he joined Eric up on the table.
"Where'd you learn to dance, Northman?" I shouted at him over the music which seemed to have gotten louder as I opened another beer.
He grinned and shrugged, "Awe baby, I've got moves you've never seen." He winked quoting a line from My Best Friends Wedding, my favourite movie.
"Easy there Julia." I teased.
"No seriously man, how'd you learn to dance like that?" Alcide inquired over his shoulder, Alcide's hands on Eric's hips.
Eric shrugged nonchalantly. "Katy loved Magic Mike so I took a few classes."
"I didn't know that." I said with a surprised smile as I stood and approached him.
"You don't know everything about me Stackhouse." He took the beer from my hand and downed half of it in one gulp while grabbing my other hand and pulling me up onto the table.
I shrugged and cocked an eyebrow. "I know enough."
He turned me so my back was to his front, his one hand on my stomach pushing my butt into his groin and other hand running up and down my arm which had found their way around his neck. "Someone's drunk." I teased as I tried to sync my movements with his.
"I'm alright." He whispered back, his breath tickling my neck causing goosebumps to form.
"You are gonna break that table." Eggs chided.
"They look like they are going to do a lot more to that table than just break it." Tara chuckled. She had put her shirt back on.
"Easy Northman." I whispered as he rolled his body against mine in rhythm with the music, singing along, his lips by my ear. He had an erection and I bit my lip to keep from giggling. I couldn't blame him for having one, we were both drunk, half naked and rubbing up against each other. It wasn't the first time I had his length pushed up against me but it had been quite awhile.
LaFayette broke me out of the little bubble I was in with Eric. "I'm so fucking drunk and I need to go to bed." Lafayette swayed as he stood.
Jesus laughing at him. "This has been the best night ever." Jesus stood to help his husband.
"No, no!" Alcide exclaimed at Jesus. "You need to sing!"
"Al, he needs to take care of LaLa, look at him he can barely stand." Eric reprimanded as he jumped off the table and put his pants back on.
"But it's the rules!" Alcide whined.
"Nope, no torturing Jesus! Biggie puts me in a baby making mood. Come on! Pants off Herveaux!" Debbie declared as she slapped his butt walking towards their room.
Tara and Eggs were too deep into there own conversation to notice anyone else and Luna and Sam had slinked away with no comment at all.
"Outside Legs," Eric motioned to the back door with his head, two champagne glasses in one hand and two bottles of champagne in the other. I jumped off the table and grabbed my shorts putting them on quickly.
We headed to the edge of the deck so we could sit with our feet in the sand as we proceeded to talk about anything we could think of.
Drink 11 - 11:39pm
"I go to movies because I don't want to think." He told me.
"But it's a form of art. It should make you think from time to time." I sat with my legs stretched out over him so he faced the ocean and I faced the forest.
"Okay but the totem wavered so he has to be awake and not in limbo." Eric said.
"I think it's open to interpretation, whatever you decide is correct. Nolan likes to fuck with people." I shrugged.
"I don't want open interpretation. I want to know." He grumbled.
"Well if you ever see Nolan, ask him." I paused to take a sip. "It's been five years since the movie came out I think you should let it go."
"Fuck that movie man, fuck Inception." He was silent for a moment or two. "But if I had to fuck a guy Leonardo DiCaprio would definitely be that guy."
"He's fat and disgusting and has a filthy man bun. You could do better." It was no secret that I hated Leonardo DiCaprio. It wasn't that I thought he was a bad actor, I just disliked him.
"Who? Who is better than Leo?" He challenged me.
"Tom Hanks." I said after a lot of thought.
"Oh yeah that's true." He nodded in agreement and took a drink.
I laughed out loud at his quick acceptance.
Drink 11 and a half - 12:01am
"But you passed through your mothers vagina and that includes your penis so technically you lost your virginity to you mom." I reasoned.
"What you're saying is madness!" He said grasping either side of my head and squeezing lightly. "What is wrong with your brain?"
"It makes sense."
"No it doesn't, sex requires penetration and I didn't penetrate my mother when I was born." He made a disgusted sound as he rubbed his face. "That's a sentence I'd never thought I'd say." He sighed. "What about babies born by c-section?"
I shrugged. "Those babies are still virgins."
"You're a lunatic! This is the ramblings of a lunatic!" He shook his head and began drinking right out of the bottle.
I giggled at his disbelief. "I'm just saying its a solid theory, it's why all men die in horror movies, you can't be virgins cause you never were and its your mothers fault. That's why mothers are so protective of their sons. They are like jealous ex-girlfriends."
"I hate you." He mumbled shaking his head as he took a drink.
This caused my giggles to turn into a full blown belly laugh.
Drink 12 - 12:12am
"I've just been feeling so mediocre lately." He shook his head as he looked out towards the ocean watching the waves roll against the beach.
"Eric I guarantee you, there is nothing mediocre about you. If anyone is mediocre it's me."
"What are you talking about you are one of the greatest guitar players alive, maybe ever. I'm just sorta good at lots of things. I don't focus my attention on one thing enough to be great at it. I'm like the James Franco of music." He drank all the champagne out of the bottle and threw it onto the beach.
"Actually James Franco makes his own music so James Franco is the James Franco of music." I informed him with a smirk.
"Fuck that guy." Eric laughed as he leaned back onto the deck.
"Have you ever met him?" I asked him. He shook his head. "He is the worst, so pompous and pretentious. You are so much better than him, don't worry." I sighed. "But yeah, so what? I can play the guitar real well, who gives a shit? Look at me now; I'm just a single, borderline alcoholic weirdo who's fiancé left her for a myriad of cliché reasons and our band is on the brink of collapse."
"No it's not." He pointed at me seriously. "Bill wasn't the glue of this band, he made us think he was but he's not. You made this band great, you and Tara pulled Alcide and me out Bill's shadow and without that we'd have nothing. You made us all better. He was lucky to have you and he'll realize his mistake and come back to us and when he does we can decide what to do with him. He thinks he's the king but he won't be able to create music the way he did when he was with us."
"That's what you think he's doing? Creating music?" I laughed drinking too much causing the champagne to dribble out the corners of my mouth.
He nodded. "Yeah!" His brow furrowed. "What do you think he's doing?"
"Willa Burrell." I said begrudgingly. "Did you know if he was cheating on me when we were together?" I asked him not wanting to know the answer, not really.
He sighed and rubbed his face. "I had my suspicions but I never knew for sure. He never told me and I never caught him."
I nodded slowly, not saying anything, looking at the moon reflecting off the water, finishing my drink.
Drink 13 - 12:26am
"Why Bill?" He asked sipping his final glass of champagne.
"Why Bill what?" I asked giving him heavy side eye wondering where this conversation might be going.
"Why did you decide to date him?" He asked looking intently at my face.
I shrugged messing my hair up more than I already had. "He liked me for some reason. Opposites attract and all that." I brought the glass up to my lips and paused, "you have to admit, when it was good, we made a pretty good couple." I took a drink.
He nodded. "That you did, that you did." He was silent for a moment as he debated if he wanted to say what he wanted to say. "Why not me?" He looked away from me out to the ocean.
"We've talked about this, you know why we didn't get together." I eyed him.
He sighed in frustration. "I was eighteen Sookie and Jessica had perfect-"
"Tits," I cut him off. "I know but I was seventeen and seeing the two of you together made me think differently of you and at the time I couldn't get over it. I thought you were better than that and I thought you liked me, you made me believe that you liked me." I said with an air of annoyance and hurt.
"I did like you."
"It was a little hard to believe when you were balls deep in Hamby." I spat, taking a deep breath in trying to calm myself. "By the time I was over it Bill and I were together and I was happy." I finished my drink. "Why didn't you just ask me?" I questioned looking at him as he looked at his toes as they dug into the sand. "Before I found out about Jessica?"
"I was a teenager and I was nervous. I was worried if you said no or it didn't work out our friendship would suffer and the band would suffer, so I stayed quiet and hoped that it would work itself out." He shrugged looking over at me, his eyes sweeping over my face. "Why did you never ask me out?"
"Pretty much all the reasons you just said." I sighed. "And I was worried it was a joke to you. So many guys that looked like you would ask me out just to laugh at me."
"It hurts that you thought I was like all the assholes we went to high school with." He ran his hand through his hair.
"You kinda turned out to be." I reminded him.
He sighed and decided to ignore my statement. "So if I just bit the bullet all those years ago and just asked you then-"
"Things could have been very different now." I admitted.
My crush on Eric when we were young was intense but innocent. It was a high school crush that had been all but eclipsed by Bill. It had been 12 years ago and the feelings were all but gone but like any crush the thought of what could have been still tugged at my heart from time to time.
"If I had asked what would you have said?" He was still looking at his toes as he buried them into the sand.
I smiled as my heart started to race. "I would have said yes, duh." I answered truthfully. "If you did it before I knew you were with Jessica. You knew she was queen bee and sent Sarah and Violet after me constantly but still you were with her. She also put me down any chance she could. It hurt me that you were with someone who went out of their way to make my life miserable."
"She was a bad choice. It's a choice I regret and I when I started my-" He took a deep breath in and exhaled. "Whatever I had with Jessica, I didn't know she treated you the way she did and when I found out I tried to end it but, like I said, I was eighteen and I thought exclusively with my dick around her."
"It was a long time ago and what's done is done." I said filling my mouth with the bubbling liquid.
"I'm sorry that I did that and - and," he trailed off and stared at me, his eyes focusing on all my features before landing on my lips. Before I knew it he was leaning in to kiss me quickly but deeply. He pulled back to gage my reaction, his lips red and swollen, his hair pulled forward, his eyes looking over my face as I decided what to do.
I was drunk, very, very drunk but I knew if I did this there could be huge repercussions. I was in a relationship with Bill and when it ended it nearly tore the band apart. Did I want to do that again? Did he? Did we want to risk that?
The answer was yes. I knew Eric and I could move on after one night and it might do us both some good. Eric and I were both adults and there was a part of me what was always curious what it would be like to be with him, what it would be like if things were different.
I smiled and leaned forward kissing him again as I maneuvered myself to straddle him, my glass falling onto the beach as my remaining champagne was absorbed by the sand.
His hands moved up my back until they hit the hem of my bikini top and moved under the material massaging my skin. His mouth opened to accept my tongue which had been running along his bottom lip. He stood wrapping my legs around his waist as he found his footing and moved us across the deck. Breaking our kiss periodically so he could see where he was going.
He finally got us into the house and made his way towards my room. I giggled into his neck as he fumbled with my bedroom door. I began placing kisses on his throat moving towards his ear before taking his lobe between my teeth and tugging lightly. He moaned in response as he placed me down on the bed and held himself above me. "You sure you want to do this?" He asked before kissing me again.
I reached behind my back and removed my bikini top, tossing it aside as I smiled at him.
He stared at my bare chest with lust before looking up at me, "I'm gonna take that as a yes." He moved over me and began kissing my breasts as I tangled my fingers in his soft hair.
I moaned as he tongued my nipple, his strong hand gently kneading my other breast. The sensations causing goosebumps to rise on my skin and uncontrollable whimpers to escape my lips. He was peppering kisses down my torso as he began undoing my shorts, finally pulling them off.
I pulled for him to come back up to me so I could kiss him again. Our lips met and his fingers dug into the flesh at my sides as he held my hips, grinding his hard length against me. I broke our kiss and pushed him away. "Take off your pants." I said hungrily.
He stood with a smile on his face and began to take off his pants but not before he shoved his hands into the pockets. "Hey!" He said with delight and pulled out a small square metallic package. "There's a condom in here." He smiled like a dope.
"Always prepared." I said breathlessly.
"I was a boy scout." He cocked an eyebrow.
"We don't need it though, I'm on the pill." I paused and looked at him as I gripped the sides of my panties and began to pull them down. "Unless you want to use it."
He stared at me with a blank expression as I removed my underwear completely and cast them aside.
"Raw dog it is." He said tossing the condom aside, removing his pants and boxer briefs.
I made a noise of disgust. "Please, never say raw dog again. That is the worst term. You need to stop listening to Dane Cook, he's not-"
I was cut off by a kiss. "Stop talking." He reprimanded as he spread my legs with his own and moved in between them.
He positioned the head of his cock at my opening and pushed inside causing me to cry out. I hadn't had sex in awhile. The sex had stopped months before Bill had ended things with me.
Sex with Eric was different than I expected because I could only compare it to Bill. Eric's arms, chest, torso had more muscle mass than Bill's and his body was longer. He made me feel small which was hard to do, even though I was thin I was never short and to feel dwarfed by him made me feel feminine, something I rarely felt. I was a tomboy through and through.
His dick was bigger too, though not by much but proportionate to his size. The biggest difference between Eric and Bill was strength and technique. Bill wasn't weak, he was a strong guy but no matter how much he worked out he would always be tall and lean, that was just his body type. It also took us some time to figure out what the other one liked when we started having sex. I wasn't sure if it was because I was new to it or because he lacked confidence at first but it took us a solid six months before sex became truly enjoyable for either of us.
With Eric came his size and strength and his ability to handle me, to move me, to angle me any way he liked. He knew, innately, what to do with me, how to hit 'the spot' with no guidance other than the moans that slipped from my lips. I chalked it up to many partners and lots of experience.
"Sook, you gotta be quiet." He said to me, his arm slipping underneath me so my back was now arched.
I put both of my hands over my mouth as he thrust into me, my head pushing up against the pillows as low guttural groans escaped his lips. His other hand traced over my body, skimming lightly over my ribs, chest and neck. He moved my hands away from my mouth and cupped my face pulling me up to kiss him. In the process he ended up changing our position so I was straddling him and he was sitting on the bed.
My arms wrapped around his neck as our kiss deepened, our tongues meeting and his hands moved down to my butt to support me as he continued to pump in an out of me.
The change in our position caused my lower abdomen to tighten and the first signs of my orgasm was coming. "Eric." I moaned out.
"Sook." Eric moaned out into my shoulder.
The heat and tingles were spreading through my body and my toes were starting to curl. My nails were digging into his back as my breathing became shallow. "Eric." I managed to breath out just before I came. My body tensing and releasing as my brain shut down for the first time in a long time and all I could think about was my pleasure.
I screamed out as my orgasm consumed me and I felt Eric's hand cover my mouth to muffle my cries. They would echo far and wide in our palace made of marble.
He continued to thrust in an out even after I had gone limp, trying to come back to reality, my body draped over his. He came a minute after I did, he bit into my shoulder to silence himself as his arms wrapped around my waist, squeezing me tightly.
I collapsed beside him mustering up enough energy to look over at him with a grin and say in utter satisfaction, "holy fuck."
Then I passed out.
So this chapter went out with a bang, huh? What did you all think? I always do the extremely slow burn stories so I've sort of put them together a little bit earlier, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing yet.
Also, Kate and Katy are two different people. Eric has a thing for Catherine's.
I hoped you all enjoyed it.
Reviews are life, please review.
Thanks for reading!