Dating in the Dark

Disclaimer: Most characters belong to Charlaine Harris.

Sorry I haven't had a chance to reply to the latest reviews and big thank you to all that wrote :) I wanted to get this chapter finalised before anything else.

The wonderful, amazing Treewitch703 and I have been working hard on the next few chapters (I already have the whole story plotted out and a first draft of most of it but there is still much to do) and I'll try not to keep you waiting too long for them.

So on we go, a slight shift in the winds is about to set Sookie on a new course …

Chapter 11: Shut the Wrong One Out

Dating Don't: Don't throw scorching hot tea in your date's face – unless he has just called you a whore in which case go right ahead.

After losing two jobs, getting the cold shoulder from Eric for weeks, losing all contact with my brother, and the constant stress of my money worries, I was really looking forward to my night in on Thursday with Bill. We were going to kick back, play monopoly and just chat.

I was thinking of asking Bill if any vampires he knew needed a cleaning person. It would mean 'fessing up about my extra jobs but it might solve the problems I'd been having. I could go in the day while they were asleep and, since I couldn't hear them, even if they wanted me to go in when they were awake, I wouldn't have the same problems I had with humans.

I knew most vampires hated chores of any kind so you'd think they'd want to hire someone. Though maybe the fact that I couldn't be glamoured might make them nervous. Then again when Bill and I had been dating I'd sometimes stayed at his house during the day. As long as I couldn't get to their sleeping place I was hardly a threat.

Having eaten early, I made sure it was all tidied away and brushed my teeth thoroughly. Then I had some fun selecting clothes and applying make-up, even spending the time to curl my hair into big bouncy ringlets. Dressing up always made me feel better and I needed the lift this week. I was in tight jeans that rode low on my hips and a sweater with a deep v neck that showed just enough of my lacy tank top to accentuate my assets while still retaining some modesty. I had even slipped on some heels, though we weren't going out, so I'd have a little extra swing in my walk.

Bill was the perfect visitor to dress up for as I knew he'd appreciate my efforts and be sure to tell me so. With him being a vampire even if he thought otherwise I wouldn't have to know anything about it. Not that I was trying to lead him on or anything but everybody likes to feel attractive now and then, and like I said, I really needed a boost. Checking the fridge, I frowned at the less expensive brand of blood I'd had to buy and hoped Bill wouldn't mind too much.

I heard him arrive just as I was making myself a cup of tea. Unusually, he didn't knock but marched straight in making more noise than usual with his steps. I looked up smiling as he came into the kitchen. His face was thunderous and my smile froze.

"Whaa …?"

"Can you explain this?" He asked, slapping a book on the table loudly. He looked deadly and I was actually afraid of him for a moment. I risked taking my eyes off him to glance at the book he'd flung down. My mouth dropped open as I registered the picture on the cover. It was me and Claude.

I'd thought the pictures I'd agreed to have taken with the fairy were just for his portfolio. I didn't expect any of them to be used on actual books. In the picture Claude was reclined on a chaise lounge (though you couldn't see the seat on the cover) and I was straddling him with my chest pressed against his so that my boobs were spilling over the décolletage of the low cut corseted dress. My head was thrown back and my lips parted while Claude looked at me with a predatory gaze.

"Who is he? And why are you all over him like a tramp?" Bill's icy words stabbed me out of my shock. I had been feeling embarrassed and ready to explain what must have been a mix up, until his final word. All my shame disappeared and I turned angry eyes on him. When I spoke, my voice was even cooler than his.

"Like a what? What did you just call me?" My face was so tight in my anger that I had to force the words out.

"You are m … you cannot … you're … you are barely covered, it is indecent." My anger had broken through his for a moment but it soon returned as his indignation regrouped. "I expected better of you Sookie, I didn't think you'd be prepared to take pornographic pictures." His eyes swept down over my outfit with disgust as if it were further proof of my wanton behaviour.

"I didn't take pornographic pictures. I was dressed the whole time. All romance covers are like that, you must have seen enough of the ones I read." I was disturbed by his evaluation, it had seemed harmless at the time but would everyone see it like he did?

"Who is he? Why were you even there?" Demanded Bill chillingly. I didn't think he'd even heard my reply.

"It's all right, it's just Claude," I said soothingly. I decided to downplay. If I could just calm him down we could sort this out and the evening could be rescued. I'd been looking forward to it so much. Just a couple of hours where I could push aside my worries and relax with a friend.

"Just Claude!" Bill sounded in no way soothed. "Claude who? His hands are all over you." The look he gave me made me feel like something nasty stuck on the sole of his shoe. I stuck to my plan of making it clear the photoshoot was not a big deal. He was looking so dangerous right now.

"Trust me, that was not his idea of a good time." Bill looked sceptical. "Seriously. Now if he'd had his hands all over you … that he would enjoy, well up until the point when you bit him anyway." I tried a small smile, though I didn't really feel like smiling. I was hurt by the way he was acting but I knew we could resolve this if he'd just calm down and realise it wasn't what he thought. I was hoping he'd laugh a little, smile back, apologise for the misunderstanding. Maybe even give me hug. If there was ever a week I needed a hug it was this one.

"He's gay?" Bill finally spat out after considering my words for a moment, he didn't look any calmer, he still looked dangerous.

"Completely. And a fairy. He's Claudine's brother." I reassured him further, I leaned forward ready to step towards him and rest my hand on his arm but the look in his eye at my slightest movement made me rock back on my heels in shock.

"If it was so innocent why didn't you tell me about it? Did you think I wouldn't find out?" His lip was curled slightly, not fully raised but enough to make his expression really nasty. "How many other men have there been? Eric, and Sam, and now this Claude." Each name was lashed at me like a whip slicing into to my flesh. "Every time I turn my back you're wrapping your legs around someone else." Seemingly of its own volition my hand flicked forward, drenching Bill with scalding hot tea, he didn't even flinch.

"Well they are my legs to wrap around anyone I choose." Clearly I'd given up on trying to save the evening. I didn't feel good about burning Bill but the angry red marks would heal soon enough and I was just so mad that he was throwing Eric and Sam in my face when … "Like you're so innocent with Lorena and Selah, and God knows how many others on all these trips of yours," I retaliated with a few lashes of my own. I couldn't believe he was bringing this stuff up. I was waving the now empty tea-cup around as I yelled at him. He looked frozen in anger. I just knew he was busy thinking up more reasons why my behaviour was wrong but his was right. He had the double standards of man vs. woman and vamp vs. human, that was like standards squared or something.

Exasperated, I turned away from him to take a breath. I seemed to come face to face with the book, which (despite in reality just sitting innocently on the kitchen table) seemed to fill the whole room with its presence, like it was under a bright spotlight. I hadn't taken it in the first time, I'd been too shocked when I realised it had my picture on it. This time I read the title and Bill's over-reaction started to make a little more sense. The story was called 'Taken by the Viking'.* I felt a laugh bubble up inside me but managed to stop it just in time so that all that escaped was a slight hiccup. I wasn't sure what Bill would have done if I had laughed in that moment but I was scared enough of him not to risk it.

He moved so I could see him out of the corner of my eye, following my gaze he curled his lip at the book. His fangs were out. Between that and the coldness in his eyes I felt a further flush of fear and decided to try and divert the issue away from the main point of unspoken contention. Besides, whatever his issues regarding Vikings, it didn't excuse his behaviour. "I haven't had sex with Sam or Claude." It didn't matter that I hadn't mentioned the one other person I had had sex with, his presence was hanging over the whole argument as manifestly as if the man himself were hovering by the ceiling (I almost felt the urge to look up and check he wasn't). It might as well have been him I was straddling rather than Claude on the cover.

When Bill spoke again his voice was quieter and colder even than it had been. His argument was just what I expected. "It makes no difference. Sookie, I am a vampire, I have to feed. At least I am discreet. I cannot believe you agreed to do this," he pointed his chin with disdain at the book. "That you have so little respect for me and for yourself." His voice was pure ice. "I feel like I do not know you at all." He was trying to sound disappointed but the anger was too strong to be hidden from his voice.

"Bill, for God's sake it's just a picture." I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose trying to calm myself. My eyes soon popped open again several words into his response.

"Just a picture? You are flaunting yourself, posed like a hussy for all the world to see. I do not even want to look at you right now. If that changes however I can just go to the book store and see as much of you as I like, as can everyone else." He shot out of the house with a whoosh leaving my angry retort stuck in my throat.

I was furious. How dare he speak to me like that. Accuse me of being …

"I RESCIND YOUR INVITATION YOU BASTARD!" I yelled at the top of my voice smashing the empty cup I was still holding against the door he'd just exited. China exploded across the room.

My hands were shaking and my throat hurt from yelling. I took a couple of deep breaths trying once again to calm myself. It wasn't like Bill to go off like that. Things had actually been pretty good since we'd been getting closer again, though I'd noticed his anger growing over 'my time with Eric'.

I wasn't sure if it was just that I'd had sex with someone else, or if it was Eric specifically, but while he'd seemed fairly accepting the first time we'd discussed it, he had started to get a steely look in his eye every time the Sheriff was mentioned. It had gotten noticeably worse since I'd started working at Fangtasia. I'd figured it was only a matter of time before he showed up one night while I was working.

Even so, the photo-shoot for Claude had nothing to do with all that, and it's not like I did it with this book in mind. In fact I hadn't though anyone except Claude and a few agents were ever going to see the pictures. Most people I knew would be impressed to know someone who was on the cover of a book though. At the very least he could have given me a chance to explain. Well forget him. I wasn't even dating him when I did it. And he was the reason we'd split up in the first place. He'd cheated on me. I didn't throw it in his face.

I didn't want to get all riled up again so I pushed Bill from my mind and heart as much as I could. Slumping down at the table, I picked up the book in my still shaking hands, looking again at the cover. I'd have expected a Viking to be portrayed as blonde, rather than Claude's long dark waves. I found myself wondering if Eric had ever been asked to pose for one of these pictures. He'd almost certainly do it, he'd loved doing the Fangtasia calender from what Pam had told me. I shook my head to get my thoughts back on track.

Claude had assured me the pictures we were taking were just for his portfolio. He said any jobs he got from them would then involve specific photos to match the relevant story. I wondered how one of my pictures had ended up being used. Twisting backwards, I picked up the phone to call Claude but stopped mid-dial. What good would it do? The book was already out there. I couldn't believe it had happened so quickly. We'd only taken the photos a few weeks ago. I looked at the cover carefully. As mortified as I was, a teensy bit of me was pleased to be on a novel.

I flicked the book over to read the back. I hadn't read any Viking romances since a genuine Viking had come into my life. It would be impossible to read it without picturing Eric, even if the picture on the cover was the gorgeously dark Claude.

I left the book on the table as I went to tidy away the broken cup and the things I had set out for our night in. I'd been looking forward to a nice evening with all the craziness in my life. I was furious that Bill had gone off like that, without even giving me a chance to explain. I remembered throwing hot tea in his face and decided, on sober reflection (well OK, on devastatingly disappointed reflection), I wasn't sorry.

I finished tidying and went back to the kitchen to make another cup of tea. The book was still on the table. Of course, the title would have been part of it. The animosity between Eric and Bill just seemed to keep growing. Of all the stories I could have ended up on the cover of. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought Eric had arranged it, or Pam, but as far as I knew they didn't know any more about the photoshoot than Bill had.

I swung between being mad at Bill for the things he said and still wanting the chance to explain to him that it had just been a misunderstanding, that I had no idea they were going to use the pictures at all. Eventually I tired of my inner dialogue and put the book away on my bookshelf. I grabbed a DVD from the shelf below and curled up in front of the TV. Time to focus on someone else's drama for a short while.

[~~~]

The following afternoon I drove into Shreveport with my ID to confirm the cancellation of my health insurance. I hated it. It was one of those days where even the weather seems determined to taunt you. Up in the bright blue sky the sun, though still not that strong, was smiling happily away as if here on earth people were not about to return to a situation where they had to worry that illness or an accident could mean they lose their ancestral home.

The clerk I spoke to seemed genuinely concerned that I would be without insurance. I let him continue to seem that way by staying out of his head, this was horrible enough. I agreed with him regarding all the reasons why I should have insurance. He didn't even know about my problems with serial killers, vampires, weres and witches. But there was no way I could afford it.

It had taken longer than I thought and was already dark by the time I was making my way back to where I'd parked. The temperature had dropped with the sun and I was glad I'd put a coat in the car. Judging by the state of my Merlotte's top it was decidedly 'nippy'. Even though I'd had the forethought to be in uniform already I was going to be late by the time I drove back from Shreveport. I'd warned Sam I might be but was still thinking of finding a payphone to call the bar. With the full moon tonight, Sam would be out and I didn't want Terry to worry. My flow of thought was interrupted as I spotted a familiar figure ahead of me.

He was walking with a woman who didn't know how to walk in her six inch heels. Or maybe she did and just wanted an excuse to hang onto him. I felt time slow for a moment as I registered the familiar brown hair. I saw the woman fall against him, then saw his arm go round her. She rested her head on his shoulder and he pulled her closer, his hand gripping her waist intimately.

My first instinct had been to run up and try to talk to him. To yell at him so he could apologise. I couldn't believe how stupid I'd been. First he gives me a hard time over Eric, even though he'd slept with far more people since we split up that I had, then he rips into me for helping Claude and even throws Sam in the mix despite knowing full well that nothing ever really happened between us. All the time he's still off feeding and fucking whenever he wants to.

I jaywalked across the street so I wouldn't have to follow them and made my way to my Malibu as quickly as possible. As I climbed into my car, slamming the door even harder than necessary, I started thinking. Of course he was free to see other people if he wanted, we weren't dating, but somehow I'd managed to start seeing Bill as a kind of proxy boyfriend. He was the person I did couple things with, movies and nights in, even though we weren't a couple. Seeing him with that woman, especially after the things he'd said to me last night, just went to show that whatever concessions and compromises I'd been willing to live by out of respect for his feelings, he wasn't prepared to do the same, despite indicating he was.

I pulled a little too aggressively out of the parking lot making the back of my car swing out and skid a little. Flooring the accelerator I made my car whine loudly in protest and several people looked at me from the sidewalk.

[~~~]

After seeing Bill with his 'dinner-date', I'd determinedly started that Viking romance after my Merlotte's shift. I was a few pages in when I realised how pathetic that was. He pisses me off and my response is to read a book he wouldn't approve of. Seriously Sookie. What I needed to consider was that I too should date. I'd somehow settled into an Eric, Bill or nobody mentality. Well Eric wasn't interested and Bill was clearly busy but that didn't mean I had to be alone. I needed to get out there, see what was available.

The next day, during the Saturday lunch shift, when Arlene mentioned that her new honey had a friend I'd like, I decided to say yes. You might think that her timing was fortuitous (my word of the day) but actually this was something she did at least once a fortnight. Even when I'd been dating Bill she'd persisted in suggesting men to me. I'd never said yes, even in the years before my introduction to vampires. My own attempts at dating had been bad enough without the added complication of it being a mutual acquaintance. Given this, I probably should have known to wait until after she put down the pitcher she was holding before agreeing.

The Ladies Group from the Descendants of the Glorious Dead were not happy with their beer shower after the pitcher caught the edge of the table next to them and sprayed everywhere. They were building up to a real rant before I managed to come out with a: "You know my Gran used to say: 'What do you want? Egg in your beer?' I never knew where that came from, but I guess now you have beer in your eggs you can maybe tell me."

That made Maxine Fortenberry laugh, after which their angry expressions turned to pity, their table thumping to hand patting, and their complaints of 'what a terrible place this was' became reminiscences of 'what a wonderful woman Adele was'. Bless Gran, still able to settle a ruckus even from beyond the grave.

Sam winked at me as I carried their swimming leftovers to the kitchen after offering them some rice pudding. They would never order it due to their diets but were always happy to accept it for free (it seems if you don't pay for it, the calories don't count). Technically I should have checked with him before offering stuff 'on the house' but I knew Sam would be OK with that one.

Arlene was so excited that I had finally said yes to one of her match making attempts, and at the idea that I might finally be going on a date with someone alive, that she was on the phone before I'd finished cleaning up the mess. By the time I'd served the pudding she'd set the meeting up for that night. Sam seemed keen on the idea too and he told me I should leave before the end of my shift so I'd have time to get ready. Being the night after the full moon he'd be off early himself. I'd kept track since my brother changed, though I didn't know where he was or how to reach him.

When I indicated I didn't want to lose the money Sam offered to pay me for the full shift saying as it was quiet he didn't really need me but I was entitled to my full wages anyway. Arlene even gave me her tip from the Ladies Group since I'd helped calm them down even though technically they were her customers. They'd forgiven her spill since they'd gotten free dessert and tipped well as they always did. I knew from their heads they actually thought the whole thing made for a good story. They'd heard what had made her drop the pitcher in the first place so were leaving full of both pudding and gossip. That more than made up for a damp blouse to them.

I was still going to protest but Sam and Arlene's excited smiles were more than I could bear. I knew if I stayed they'd just be hassling me. I'd been offered another cleaning job starting next week so I was expecting some extra money from that. Looking from one to the other, I was quickly running out of objections. Eventually I gave in to their determined faces. It was immediately worth agreeing to the date, regardless of how it turned out, to see how pleased they were. I felt blessed to have people in my life that were made happy by the idea of my happiness.

There was another good reason to go on the date that night. If I didn't, I was sure I'd chicken out. Dating humans had always been disastrous for me (well dating vampires had been too, just in a different way). I was hoping this time it would be better. After all, I had better control of my telepathy and actually had a little dating experience now. Plus before, I'd dated as much because it felt like something I should be doing – no matter how sceptical I was. This time I was was downright determined I was going to do it.

* There is a real book called 'Taken by the Viking', By Michelle Styles. I haven't read it but it does have a picture of a dark haired man on the cover as pictured on Amazon (on the actual book the girl is dark haired too and in my story the models are positioned differently).

A/N: So up next – Sookie's date. Hugs and kisses to you all xx