A/N: I've gotten a bit ahead of myself in the writing process: the next 2-3 chapters are already in various states of writing/proofing. The temptation is to post them all en masse (primarily because I will do things for feedback that I'd never do for a Klondike bar), but I also like the idea of having something to post every day. I've decided to go with the latter approach; personally, I'd rather have it on the regular, rather than experience a monsoon after a drought.
Speaking of feedback… is it customary for writers to respond to every comment? If so, I'm going to feel like a massive heel. I've tried to respond to every comment that had a question, but… Well, if I've been remiss, I offer my sincerest apologies, and I'm afraid ignorance will have to remain my sole excuse.
Sookie POV
On the rare occasions that I've woken up somewhere other than my own bed, I experienced a moment of confusion wherein I tried to remember how I'd gotten there. When I woke up spooned in front of Eric, I immediately knew exactly where I was, how I got there, and what we had done before I fell asleep. I smiled and snuggled closer.
After a few minutes, I realized I should probably get up and get going. I looked around for a clock, finally spying one on the nightstand on the other side of Eric's bed. Almost noon, wow.
Eric had left the bathroom light on for me; otherwise, the room would have been pitch black. It proved to be more difficult than I expected, but I was finally able to pry myself out from under Eric's heavy grasp. Even his snuggles were intense.
When I went into the bathroom, I found that he'd folded my clothes, dirty as they were, and left them on the counter along with a note:
Lover,
As much as I would love to have you in my arms when I wake, I know you have to return to your home in Bon Temps.
I have already arranged for your car to be delivered here. It should be waiting out front for you. Your keys are on the kitchen counter along with your other things. I have programmed my number into your cell phone - use it as often as you like.
I look forward to seeing you again,
- E.
I folded the note and put it back on top of my clothes. I looked up at my reflection and laughed. The sex hair I'd been sporting when we left Fangtasia last night was nothing compared to the rat's nest I had going on now. A shower was definitely in order, but first I would need to get my Fangtasia shirt – hopefully that was amongst the 'other things' he'd mentioned in the note.
That was when I realized I had a minor problem: I had nothing to wear between the bedroom and the kitchen, and only the vaguest notion of the distance between the two rooms. Well, vampires must like their privacy, which meant that the blinds or curtains would be drawn. It wasn't like Eric was going to wake up anytime soon; even if he did, I doubted he would complain about me walking around naked. I shrugged, then giggled at the thought of being able to tease him for having missed a good show.
With that in mind, I left the bathroom and carefully opened the bedroom door. It turned out that there was a set of two doors, so I didn't have to worry about accidentally letting any ambient daylight into his resting place. I found the kitchen easily, where I found more than a few things waiting for me on the counter.
He'd brought my bag and the Fangtasia t-shirt in from the Corvette, but there was also another bag waiting for me. When I peeked in, I found a new pair of black low-rise jeans in my size. Aww, yay! I did a little happy dance. That meant I didn't have to pray for a breezeless day, but no doubt Gran would have a thing or two to say about my new clothes. I grabbed the shirt and jeans and made my way back to Eric's bathroom for a shower.
He was still in the same position I'd left him. I hadn't expected him to move, since he'd explained before I fell asleep that he'd be 'dead' for the day, and that I shouldn't be alarmed. As I took my shower, I thought about how odd it was to have such easy access to a sleeping vampire. He couldn't have made a habit of inviting women over and letting him stay while he slept; he wouldn't have lived nearly half as long if that had been the case.
It was odd, the connection between us. The amount of time we'd known each other was still in easily-countable hours, but conversation came to us so naturally, and our personalities meshed so well, it was hard to believe I hadn't known him for years. While I didn't have anything else to compare it to, the sex had been amazing. There was definite chemistry between us. I knew I wouldn't take advantage of him, but I still couldn't figure out why he was so quick to trust me.
After taking a shower, I got dressed and borrowed one of his hairbrushes to put my hair back into a simple ponytail. I saw a notepad and pen on his nightstand and decided to leave a note for him as he had for me. Once that was done, I made my way back out to the kitchen, collected the rest of my things, and set the side door so that it would lock behind me as I left. My car was, as promised, parked out in front of his house.
Just as I was driving out of the subdivision, I found myself with another minor problem on my hands: I had no idea where I was. I vaguely remembered Eric having turned right into the neighborhood, so I turned left and hoped I was aimed roughly in the direction of Shreveport. Before too long, I saw signs pointing me in the direction of the highway, and I was on my way back to Bon Temps.
When I got home, I found a note from Gran stuck to the fridge: she had gotten a ride to church, and wouldn't be home until afterward. I still had another twenty minutes before she'd be getting back. Phew. I went straight to my bedroom and changed into a set of my own clothes. She'd ask about the new ones eventually, but not until the next time we did laundry. I set my dress to soak in the sink in my bathroom, and went back out to the kitchen to start putting together some lunch.
I was just sitting down at the table with a sandwich and some chips when I heard a car pulling into the drive. A car door slammed, Jason walked into the house a minute or two later.
"Hey, Sook! Where's Gran? You got one of those sandwiches for me?"
I sighed and handed him my plate, since I hadn't started eating yet, and got up to make another sandwich for myself. "Hey, Jason. Gran's still at church, she should be home soon."
"Thanks. You didn't go with her?"
I'd been digging in the fridge for the lunch meat, and I stuck my head a bit further in, hoping that he wouldn't hear my reply well enough to catch on. "No, I uh, just got home myself."
"Mmph." Saved by the full mouth.
"So how's work been going, Jas?" I could hear another car crunching on the gravel outside; most likely Gran, coming back from church.
"You know how it is: filling potholes, cleaning up road kill, and harnessing wild unicorns." That was an old joke of ours; our jobs were so repetitive, we'd often toss in silly things that we obviously couldn't have done during a normal day – anything from slaying dragons to solving world hunger. "Wait. Did you just say you just got home?"
Saved by the door, this time. "Hey Gran! How was church?" I asked.
"Hey Sookie. Jason! C'mere and give your Gran a hug."
"Yes, ma'am!" He got up to hug her and they sat down at the table.
"Gran," I said, "Have you eaten lunch yet?"
She shook her head. "I didn't know if I'd be making lunch for one, so I decided to wait until I got home."
I handed her the sandwich I'd just made and started to make another, hoping no one else would show up to steal that one from me.
As I sat down, Gran looked at me with a knowing grin. "How was your date last night, Sookie?"
"We had a blast, actually. He's a lot of fun."
Jason looked surprised. "You had a date? Damn, Sook. 'Bout time. Who's the lucky fella? Anyone I know, or anyone I need to beat up?"
Gran whapped him upside the back of his head for cussing in her house, and I laughed. "I met him in Shreveport, and I doubt you know him or could beat him up."
"Big guy, huh? What's his name?"
"About six foot four," I said, "And his name's Eric."
"I met him last night," Gran told Jason. "He seems nice enough. Sookie sure thought so."
I blushed, and Jason finally put two and two together. "Wait, Sook, didn't you say earlier that you'd only just got home? Were you out all night with this guy?"
I grinned and took a bite of my sandwich. Talking with one's mouth full was a big no-no in Gran's house.
Jason chuckled and turned to Gran. "Hey, you hear about Dawn?"
"I did, isn't that horrible? Bon Temps has always been so peaceful, and now we've got not one, but two murders."
I nearly choked on my sandwich. "Wait, what? Which Dawn? Who else? Murdered?"
Jason filled me in. "Dawn Green. The other was Maudette Pickens. You actually warned me about both of them, Sook. Good thing, too. They were both found dead with fang marks on them."
That time I did start choking. "Oh crap! I've got to tell Eric about this."
Jason looked confused. "Why would Eric care? You said he's from Shreveport, I doubt he'd know 'em."
"Um, he might have some unique insight. He runs a club in Shreveport."
Jason groaned. "Tell me he's not a vampire, Sook."
"Jason Corbett Stackhouse!" Gran scolded. "What do you have against vampires?"
He paled at the Gran's use of his full name, and stumbled around for a response. "Uh, nothing ma'am. I just… if there's a vampire killer out there, I don't know how I feel about Sookie dating one of them."
"Humans kill each other all the time. What exactly do you expect your sister to do, become a nun? Besides, Eric'd be a fool to hurt Sookie."
I raised my eyebrow at that. While I didn't think Eric would hurt me, I wondered what Gran knew that I didn't.
"Gran, you sure spooked Eric last night. What on earth did you say to him when I was out of the room?"
"You mind your business, child, and I'll mind mine." Hell, I guess I'd never know.
With that, Jason and Gran got back to gossiping about the latest local scandals. I turned back to my sandwich and made a mental note to call Eric sometime this evening.
Eric POV
The first thing I smelled when I woke up was Sookie. I knew she wouldn't be here with me; waking up to her scent was almost painful. I looked over at the pillow and found a note that she'd left for me.
Eric,
Thank you for the clothes, even if the jeans do look a bit expensive. I'll have you know that you are in so much trouble for leaving them in the kitchen.
Good thing your shades were drawn, otherwise your neighbors would have gotten quite a show. Too bad you had to miss it.
- S.
I groaned at the idea that Sookie might have walked naked through my house, and made a beeline for my study. Silly woman probably didn't consider that I might have security cameras inside my house.
I'd thought she might have been teasing me, that maybe she'd worn a towel or used one of my shirts, but no: she quite calmly strolled from the bedroom to the kitchen, and back, completely nude. I admired the footage a few times before noticing that she hadn't bothered to explore any other parts of the house.
There wasn't any logical explanation for it, but I'd known that she wouldn't be a threat to me while I was at rest. Even so, seeing the proof of that made me want her even more. Honestly, if I were left to my own devices while she slumbered in her bed, I would have at least inspected her lingerie drawer.
I grabbed my cell phone so I could send her a text message: I have security cameras. Are you still naked? ;K -E
She must have been busy, because it took her a few minutes to get back to me: Tell me you're kidding. -S
I laughed and sent: My favorite part was when you wiggled your ass in my kitchen... -E
It wasn't long before I got a response: Oh, you are in SO much trouble. -S
This woman would be the final death of me. I responded: How soon should I be expecting your wrath? –E
A few seconds later, my phone rang. When I saw that it was her number, I grinned. "That was quick, lover."
She laughed. "How exactly does one punish a thousand year-old vampire?"
"Mm, right now your not being here feels like pretty severe punishment, but I have some lovely videos to console me." I could almost hear her blushing over the phone.
"Please tell me you don't have cameras in your bedroom."
I snickered. "That's not a bad idea, I'll have to look into it. Unfortunately, I never thought I'd need them, since there are no windows and I normally keep it locked."
"Mmph. Oh, hey, I heard about something else you might want to look into. Apparently there are two different women in Bon Temps who might have been killed by vampires within the past week or so."
I sat up. "What? Tell me everything."
"I don't know much, I'd only heard about it from Jason when I got home this afternoon. Their names were Dawn Green and Maudette Pickens. They were found with fang marks on their bodies, but I don't know the exact causes of death. I might be able to dig up some photos of them from various newspaper clippings at the library, if that might help."
"It might. Could you bring them by tonight?" I had ulterior motives: I wanted to see her again.
She laughed. "Sorry. Even if the library wasn't closed on Sundays, it'd definitely be closed by this time. I'll see what I can find tomorrow. Besides, you still need to make sure I'm safe from Pam's revenge before I can show my face at Fangtasia."
I frowned. "I'd never let her hurt you."
"Perhaps not, but I didn't exactly hurt her, either. Hey, I've got to get going. My dinner's almost ready."
The thought of having my own dinner from Sookie's veins instantly made me hard; she was such a tease, even unintentionally. "See you tomorrow, then?"
"Tomorrow it is. See you then."
We hung up and I went to go shower and get ready. It would be a quiet night for the crowds at Fangtasia, but I had business to attend to.
Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them, I just like to play with them a bit.
