Chapter 11 - Prom

7 months later…

It was finally time for prom. Sookie was excited about it since she didn't go to the junior prom the year before. She'd told me that Alcide wanted to go, and even asked her when they started dating, but by the time it came around they decided they didn't want to because everyone said it was boring. I hadn't gone because it wasn't worth it if I couldn't go with Sookie.

We were definitely going to senior prom though. I wasn't as excited as Sookie, but I wanted her to be happy so I went all out for it. I got a limo for us to share with Amelia and Tray since Sookie had become close to her. Tray wasn't a bad guy, and we often went to the movies with them. We chipped in and paid for the girls to get their hair and nails done, and got them corsages based on fabric swatches since we weren't allowed to see their dresses. They went with us to rent our tuxes to make sure we didn't pick anything in blue or with ruffles.

Prom night the limo driver picked up Tray and me first, and then we went to Amelia's house to pick her up. I waited in the limo while her parents got pictures of them at every possible angle, and when they finally climbed back in we headed off to Sookie's house. I got out and walked up the porch steps to knock on the door, since I was told not to just walk in like I normally did. Apparently she had this whole entrance thing planned. I admit I was a bit nervous.

Gran opened the door after a few seconds and smiled warmly up at me.

"Is she ready?" I asked.

"She'll be down in a minute," Gran said.

"Down? Her bedroom isn't even upstairs," I said, and got myself a swat on the arm from Gran.

"Oh hush," she said, and stood next to me with her camera as we both eyed the stairs.

Almost as if on cue, Sookie came to stand at the landing. She looked like a princess. Her dress was ice blue, and it actually made her eyes stand out so much more than they normally did. Her hair was down in those sexy Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition beach waves. She walked down the stairs, her eyes locked on mine the whole time. I couldn't stop smiling. When she finally reached the bottom of the stairs I reached out and took her hand and squeezed.

"You look beautiful," I whispered.

"Thanks," she whispered back and smiled up at me. We heard the camera click and both turned towards Gran. "We're supposed to pose!" Sookie said.

"I like the one I just got better, it's more natural. Eric, put her corsage on, and then you two can leave," she said.

I turned back to Sookie and opened the plastic box that held her corsage. I took the flower out, and Gran took the box from me so I could slip it on Sookie's wrist. Gran snapped another picture of us while I did it, and then we went out to the limo.

Sookie and Amelia talked about how their dresses and hair and makeup turned out the whole way to the dance, while Tray and I talked football to tune them out. We realized that we had arrived when the girls started making high-pitched, unintelligible noises.

We all went in and had our pictures taken before being dragged onto the dance floor. Sookie loved to dance, and she taught me all the dances she knew from a very young age. Because of her and Gran I could ballroom dance, swing dance, line dance, two-step, and get down with my bad self, as Sookie so hilariously put it once. She was definitely the better dancer of the two of us, and I enjoyed watching her have so much fun.

After a few dances, I noticed Alcide come in with a pretty brunette and assumed this was his girlfriend. I kept an eye on him some through the night and noticed that he was staring at Sookie a lot. It just made me hold onto her tighter, and I hoped that she didn't know the reason. I hate to admit it, but I was still a bit territorial when it came to Alcide. I knew beyond any doubt that Sookie didn't love him, but the fact remained that he had loved her, and he would always be special to her. Maybe it was a guy thing.

Sookie and I didn't stop dancing until she said she had to go to the bathroom, and when she did, I gratefully sat down with Tray who was waiting on Amelia to get back from the same place. We both sat back and sipped some punch while waiting for our girlfriends like a couple of whipped pansies, and you know what? It didn't bother me one bit.

Sookie POV

I went to the bathroom when I couldn't hold it in any longer. Dancing with Eric was so much fun, and I never wanted the night to end. He also looked amazing in his tux. I met Amelia coming out of the bathroom as I went in, and we talked for a minute about the night's plans. She and Tray had gotten a hotel room for the night, and Eric and I were going to drop them off when they wanted to leave. After that, I didn't know where Eric and I were going because he said it was a surprise.

I went into the bathroom and did my business, and as I was washing my hands another girl exited one of the stalls. It was the girl that had come with Alcide. She was looking at me almost sadly.

"You're Sookie right?" she asked in a kind, yet guarded voice.

"Yes," I said. "I'm sorry. I don't think I know you."

"My name is Maria. I'm Alcide's girlfriend," she said. "Look, I don't want any trouble, and I'm definitely not a dramatic girl by any means. I just need your help."

"My help?" I asked.

"Yes. Alcide is still in love with you, and I know that you don't feel the same way. I saw you with your boyfriend tonight," she said.

"Look, I already had a talk with Alcide after school started back up. He was moving on. I don't know what you expect me to do," I said calmly.

"He's trying, he really is, but he's still so attached to you. He doesn't like to talk about you, and he closes off when the subject of your relationship comes up. I think he's having a hard time letting go."

"I'm truly sorry for all that, but I still don't understand."

"Alcide and I have known each other since we were two. Our parents are long-time family friends. We spent our summers together, and by the time we hit high school I was in love with him, but he lived so far away and I knew it couldn't work. We e-mailed and texted a lot, and when he met you and told me about you my heart broke. He was so happy," she said, and smiled a bit; wistfully. "I'd always believed that if you love something you let it go, so I did, and you know what? It didn't work out for you two, so I knew I had a chance. I invited him down for the summer, and something clicked. We've been taking it really, really slow, and I'm fine with that, but it would be nice if we were taking it slow because he respects women, and not because he's still hung up on one."

Wow.

I really, really liked this girl.

"I'm so sorry, and believe me when I say that I understand. You and my boyfriend would probably have a lot to talk about," I laughed. "But, I really don't know what good I can do."

"You can talk to him. Tell him to pull that beautiful, stubborn head of his out of his ass. He'll listen," she said.

"I'll try," I said and started to walk towards the door, but stopped and turned to Maria once more. "You're a much stronger person that I am. He deserves someone as good as you."

She smiled at me, and went to the sink to wash her hands as I walked out the door.

I made my way back to Eric, and the first thing I did was sit in his lap and kiss him long and hard. His hands wrapped around my waist, and when I pulled back he smiled up at me.

"What was that for?" he asked with a smirk.

"For being you. Thank you for letting me make my mistakes and for being willing to wait for me to realize it. I love you so much for that," I said, and his smirk faded somewhat.

"I don't understand," he said, and before I could explain anything, Alcide walked up to me and asked me for the slow dance that had just started.

Eric's grip tightened on me some, but I pried myself from his arms. He stood up after I did, and looked a little panicked. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "I love you. It's just a dance."

Eric nodded at me and sat back down as I walked onto the dance floor with Alcide. Instead of him putting his arms around my waist and mine on his neck, we went for one of his on my waist, one of mine on his shoulder, and the others clasping. He also made sure to keep a respectful distance from me.

"We need to talk," I began, but he cut me off.

"Yes, and I'd really like to get this out," he said. He looked adamant about it, so I nodded for him to continue.

"I've been watching you and Eric tonight, and I know how creepy that sounds, but it's a good thing. I see the way you look at him. It's the same way I look at you, and it's the way my girlfriend looks at me. It's also how Eric looks back at you, and when that happens your eyes light up. I want to see Maria's eyes do that. I realized that tonight, and it finally hit me that I haven't let go of you, and I need to. I have a good thing with Maria, and she loves me. I owe it to her and to myself to give it everything I have. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm going to move on, and I just needed you to know that."

He took a deep breath when he finished, and then he smiled. It was almost like I could see the weight of the world lift from his shoulders, and then he looked over my shoulder and smiled brightly. I turned my head and saw that he was looking at Maria.

"She's a great girl, Alcide," I said.

"Yes, she is," he said, and I finally saw it. He was looking at her the way he used to look at me, and I couldn't have felt happier.

When the dance ended, Alcide thanked me and escorted me back to Eric before taking off for Maria. I couldn't be certain, but I didn't think she'd be waiting much longer for what she wanted.

"So what was all that about?" Eric asked as he wrapped his arms around me.

"He's in love with Maria," I said, and laughed at the confused look on Eric's face. "I promise I'll tell you everything one day, but for right now I just want you to make my eyes light up."

I knew he didn't understand that fully yet, but he smiled and led me to the dance floor anyway. We danced for another five or six songs, before taking a punch break. Tray and Amelia said they were itching to get going soon, but the sounds of REO Speedwagon filled the gym and I almost started jumping up and down.

"After this song," Eric said to them, and then pulled me onto the dance floor once more.

The song was Can't Fight This Feeling, and even though we'd heard it a thousand times before, we really listened to it over Christmas break and discovered that it fit us perfectly and dubbed it 'our song.' We got excited every time it came on. I was pretty sure that would fade eventually, but for now we embraced it.

I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly as he held me close, and we smiled at each other as we swayed to the song. If I had the ability to sing well, I may have tried serenading him, but I couldn't, so I didn't. Eric, on the other hand, could sing well, and he would sing along to the song when we were alone. It was rather adorable when he did.

Eric kissed me when the song ended, and we didn't stop until a teacher tapped on Eric's shoulder and told us to knock it off. We went back to Amelia and Tray to announce that we were ready to go.

The limo dropped the lovebirds off at the nicest hotel in town, where Tray's car was already parked. He and Eric had done that the night before. We relaxed into each other's arms as soon as we were alone, and I smiled contentedly.

"So, now will you tell me where we're going?" I asked.

"You'll see soon enough," he said with a small smile. "In the meantime, I think you should tell me what happened tonight."

"Maria, Alcide's girlfriend, cornered me in the bathroom," I said, causing Eric to sit up and pull away so he could look at me.

"Did you two fight?"

"No. We talked, and it wasn't bad. Basically, she is to Alcide what you are to me. They've known each other since they were two, and she's been in love with him since they were fifteen. She just wanted me to talk to him because she could see that he still loved me."

"He still loves you?" he asked in a deep, quiet voice.

"Not anymore. That's why I danced with him. I was going to tell him to pull his head out of his ass and take a look at what he had, but I never got the chance."

"Why not?"

"Because he told me that you make my eyes light up in a way he never did, and he wanted to do that to Maria. It was sort of one of those insane, profound moments you never think you'll experience, but it was pretty awesome. I can confidently say that Alcide is completely over me."

Eric looked relieved, but he quickly covered it up with a smirk and pulled me back into his arms.

"Good, because I didn't really want to have words with him," he said and I snorted.

"There wouldn't have been any need. You have me, and you always will," I said, and then I saw a sign on the road and sat up. "Eric, are we going to Shreveport?"

"Maybe," he said, and reached up to pull me back again.

"Will you please tell me where we're going?" I asked, and he smirked more. "You didn't… you didn't get a hotel did you?"

He was silent.

"Eric! Did you get us a hotel?" I asked again sternly.

"Yes," he said, and I took a deep breath to start my rant, but he quickly explained. "But before you freak, just listen. I'm not going back on what I said at all. I still want to wait until we get our own place."

"Then why did you get us a hotel?" I asked calmly.

"Because I wanted to spend the night with you. We haven't been able to at your house since we started dating because of Gran, and I just thought it would really complete the night."

He had such a serious look on his face, that I couldn't help but lean in and place a sweet kiss on his beautiful lips.

"You're not mad?" he asked.

"No. But I wish you would have told me about it," I said. "Does Gran know?"

"Yeah… I had to tell her something. I promised her nothing would happen, but she said that we're almost nineteen and she can't stop us. She's very practical," he mused.

"We really need to tell her about the whole moving in together thing," I said.

"I know. Maybe after graduation?"

"That would be good. I really don't know how she's going to react."

"Well, she always manages to surprise us, and she never had a problem with us sleeping in the same bed. To be honest, that always surprised me, especially after we hit puberty."

"It kind of surprised me too, but I think she really trusts us. That or there's something she's not telling us," I said. The way she just let Eric and I be together always made me wonder if there was something else there that she wasn't saying, but I ended up coming back to the trust thing every time.

"We're here," Eric said, and sat up. I looked out the window and gasped.

"Village Grille? Eric, it's so expensive!" I'd always wanted to go to the restaurant, but it simply cost too much, and I was hardly ever in Shreveport.

"I can afford it," he said simply as the driver opened the door and helped me out. Eric climbed out after me, and offered me his arm. I giggled and slipped mine through his.

"I can't believe we're going in wearing our prom clothes," I whispered when we got to the door.

"It's okay, they won't say anything," he said as he reached over to squeeze my hand.

"You set this all up didn't you? You must have spent a fortune. Don't tell me how much, because I'll feel so guilty," I rambled nervously.

"Just stop worrying and enjoy the night, okay? For me?" he asked. I nodded and he gave me a kiss just before we walked in.

The restaurant was very romantic, and the service was outstanding. Nobody gave us funny looks about our clothes, and we were treated as though we were VIP's. Eric told me to order whatever I wanted off the menu, and as I looked over the dishes I became thankful that prices weren't listed.

The food was delicious, and I was pretty sure the night couldn't get any better. A bill never came, and Eric simply told me that it had been taken care of. I didn't know when he turned into such a debonair ladies' man, but that's what he felt like at that moment, and it kind of turned me on.

We left the restaurant, and the limo took us to the nicest hotel in Shreveport. Eric surprised me by pulling two bags from the trunk of the limo when the driver opened it.

"I had Gran pack you one," he explained with a small smile as he slung them over his shoulder.

Eric checked us in and then we went up to our room. The room was beautiful. It had one huge bed that looked so comfortable, just looking at it made me sleepy. Eric set our bags down and wrapped his arms around me.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"I love it. You know what makes it even more perfect?" I asked, and he shook his head. "What makes all of this perfect; the limo, the dinner, the hotel… is that you are doing it because you love me, not because you want to get me naked."

He grinned, and leaned down to kiss me.

"I'm not saying I don't want to get you naked ever, just not tonight," he said when he pulled away.

"What should we do?" I asked.

"Well, I paid for two nights so we can sleep in, so we can watch some television, or stay up and talk, or we can go right to sleep, I don't mind."

"I think right now I'm going to ignore that you paid for two nights and go take a shower. They put so much stuff in my hair at the salon and I'm all sticky from dance sweat."

I removed myself from his arms and dug through my bag for some pajamas. Gran had packed me some flannel pants and a t-shirt, so I pulled them out and headed for the bathroom when I realized that it might be a little rude to leave Eric by himself.

"You… I mean… did you want to join me?" I asked shyly.

Eric sat down on the bed and looked at me seriously.

"Sookie, as much as I would love to join you in the shower, if that were to happen there is no way I could stick to the plan to wait. I think I'll wait out here for you," he said.

Boy did he ever have some good self-restraint. I was going to be naked and in the shower less than ten feet from him, and we were alone, and he still didn't want to join me? I found that I wasn't really offended, but relieved. I had grown warm to the idea of waiting until we were on our own, but I will admit that the image of him not being able to wait if we showered together was definitely… hot.

I dropped the clothes in my hand and laughed as I took the few steps to where he was sitting and tackled him, pushing him onto his back, and covering his mouth with my own. He laughed with me and rolled me onto my back as he kissed me.

"What was that for," he asked after a minute or two.

"I don't know. You always manage to surprise me and make me happy, and I thought you deserved a kiss," I said.

"I appreciate that," he said, caressing my cheek with his thumb.

I kissed him once more and then got up off the bed. When I picked up my clothes, I realized that I needed help getting out of the dress. I turned back to Eric and saw that he was watching me intently.

"Can you help me with my dress?" I asked.

He came over and unzipped it just enough for me to be able to reach, and then he moved away again. I thanked him and went into the bathroom. There was no need to push his restraint.

That shower was interesting to say the least. All I could think was that Eric was out in the room all alone, and my mind kept flashing to these scenarios where the curtain would pull back and Eric would join me and wash my hair… among other things. I finished up in a hurry, because I had no idea what I would do if that were to happen.

After I got dressed and brushed my hair and teeth I went back out into the room. Eric was sitting with his back against the headboard, his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. The huge flat screen TV was on some late night talk show, but I couldn't focus on that because of what Eric was wearing. He had on a pair of lounge pants.

That's it.

After I wiped the drool from my mouth and tried to mentally yell at my girly-bits, I joined him on the bed.

"Feel better?" he asked as he pulled me into his arms and planted a kiss on my temple.

"Much better," I said, and wrapped my arms around his very defined torso as I lay my head on his shoulder. "What are you watching?"

"I've been flipping channels. Nothing much on," he said and then turned it off. "We need to talk anyway."

"About what?" I asked curiously.

"I got a letter in the mail today," he said, and I pulled away so we could look at each other.

"What kind of letter?" I asked.

"A college acceptance letter," he said, and a huge grin spread across my face. "Looks like we're both going to the same college."

I immediately attacked his mouth with mine and kissed him deeply. His hands came up and his fingers threaded into my damp hair as he pulled me closer. Soon enough, I was straddling his thighs as we continued to kiss, and eventually we broke apart for air.

"Are you still sure about this?" I asked.

"Yes. They have a great football team, and I can study what I want. Now we need to start looking into apartments before they all get taken."

"I still feel guilty about that. I'll need to find a job so I can help pay for things," I said.

"If you want to find a job, I won't stop you, but you have to understand that I can take care of us," he said gently.

"I know, and I will be able to access the money from my parent's life insurance when I'm twenty so we will be fine."

"You know you don't have to touch that money. If you want to continue holding onto it then it's fine. We probably won't have a huge amount of extras, but we'll be comfortable."

"I know, and we'll have to see where we're at when the time comes," I said and he smiled.

"I love you for doing this with me," he said.

"I love you for wanting to," I replied.

He kissed me again, this time it was slow and sweet, but gradually grew more heated as I pressed closer to him. It didn't take long to feel his hardness pressed against me, and I finally felt brave enough to do something I'd been wanting to. I even went so far as to ask Amelia for pointers, and we ended up having an almost two hour long conversation in which I learned many, many things about this particular act.

I tentatively let my hands drop from his shoulders, and even more hesitantly rested one right on his erection. He immediately pulled back and grabbed my hand.

"Sookie, I swear I didn't get this room for that," he said breathlessly.

"I know," I said. "We're not going to have sex, I just want to please you."

He stared into my eyes for a beat, and just when I thought I couldn't take the suspense, he nodded. I smiled and kissed him on the lips again before moving down to kiss his neck and nip at his collarbone.

"You're going to have to help me," I said quietly.

"You've never done this?" he asked, and I sat up to look him in the eyes.

"No, I've never done this. I don't want to hurt you, and I'm sure you know what you like, so just tell me, okay?"

He smiled and kissed me again.

"Okay," he agreed, and I went back to it.

I scooted down on the bed and hooked my fingers into the waistband of his pants. He lifted his hips slightly and I pulled them down and off of him, my eyes on his the whole time. The lamp in the corner was on, so I knew I'd be able to see all of him in a way I'd never seen anyone, and I was a little nervous about that.

"It's okay," he said, so I slowly let my eyes travel down his body. I took in his broad shoulders, toned pecs, defined abs, and beautiful v-cut, all pointing to the most stunning erection I'd ever seen. It was long and thick, and while I really did want to have sex with him, all my brain could think was, "ouch."

"What's wrong?" Eric asked, and I realized I must have had a strange expression on my face.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. It's just… you're…" I rambled, unable to actually say it.

"What?" he asked again.

"Well, you're kind of… huge…" I said, and Eric busted out laughing.

"Am I supposed to think that's bad?" he asked.

I smacked his chest. "I'm sure you wouldn't, but that thing is going to have to fit inside me at some point, and it's going to hurt."

He calmed down a bit at that.

"I promise to take it slow when that happens. I don't want to hurt you," he said tenderly as his hand came up to tuck some hair behind my ear. I nodded, and a smile slowly spread across his face.

"What?" I asked.

"Does this mean that I'm… you know… bigger… than him?"

My jaw dropped. I knew that guys liked to one up each other and loved to know that they were bigger or more skilled, but I never expected Eric to actually ask what he did.

"Eric Ian Northman!"

"What?" he asked with a laugh as he blocked another swat from my hand.

"I'm not answering that, and I don't think I'm in the mood to do this anymore either," I huffed, and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Oh, come on, you can't blame me for being curious," he said and sat up on his knees, his ridiculously large erection pointing right at me. It made me want to laugh, but I was still kind of upset.

He crawled towards me and began kissing my jawline and down my neck, where he nipped at the sensitive skin. I could feel myself getting aroused again, so I pushed him back and straddled him once more.

"If you have to know, then yes, you are bigger than him, but I wouldn't have cared if you were smaller because it doesn't matter to me," I stated.

He snorted, "Right, it's not the size of the boat and all that? I'm a nineteen year old virgin, Sookie. I read, and watch a lot of videos. It's all about the size of the boat."

My eyes narrowed at him, and then I laughed. "Well fortunately for you, you'll be the biggest I'll ever have, so you'll never feel inadequate."

"Exactly," he agreed, and then kissed me again. His kiss reminded me of what I had been planning on doing, and I was suddenly nervous. I reached down again and wrapped my hand around him.

"Show me what you like," I said.

He looked right at me as his hand covered mine on his erection. He squeezed my hand a little tighter, and then stroked upwards. He stopped at the tip, and had me run my thumb on the underside of the head before stroking back down again. Our hands did this for a few strokes, and as Eric's breathing got heavier, I found my own doing the same.

After a couple more strokes, Eric removed his hand and let me take over. I had a little panicked moment when I realized I was on my own, but quickly recovered when I looked at his beautiful face, contorted in pleasure. Gaining confidence, I moved down further on the bed, and kept up the stroking while my other hand went to his balls. He gasped when I gently massaged them, and I took that moment to lean down and put him into my mouth.

"Oh my god," he groaned as I licked all around the head, massaging the underside with my tongue as I had done with my thumb.

I loved the feel of him in my mouth. He was so soft and smooth, and I took more of his length into my mouth. Another groan came from him, and I tried to suppress the urge to smile. I tried to remember some of Amelia's tips and added a twist to my strokes, using my saliva as lubrication.

"A little faster," Eric said and I pumped him faster while my other hand handled his balls just a little rougher. "Perfect…" he moaned.

I felt his hands come up to my head and he pressed gently, urging me to take more of him. I was afraid I'd choke if I took much more, and sure enough another couple of inches had me about gagging so I pulled back a little, but practiced taking more of him in with each dip. Eventually my jaw began to hurt, so I did another trick that I was told about. I wrapped my lips around the tip and sucked hard while my hand tightened and sped up the stroking, and at the same time I lightly scraped his balls with my fingernails.

"Sookie… I'm gonna…" he groaned out, and just as I felt his tip begin to expand I pulled my mouth off of him but kept stroking quickly. As he came he groaned my name, and it was without doubt the sexiest thing I'd ever heard come from anyone's lips.

I stroked him slowly through his orgasm, and finally released him when he finished. I looked wide-eyed at the mess all over his torso and my hand.

"Wow," I said, and then started giggling. "That was very… interesting."

"You were amazing," he said. "Thank you."

I stretched up to give him a kiss, and then hopped off the bed to get a washcloth. I wet it down with warm water, and then returned to the bed to clean him up. He watched me intently as I did, and as soon as he was clean I took the rag to the bathroom again to rinse it out and put it with my towels from my shower. When I returned to the bedroom, Eric had his lounge pants back on.

I climbed back on the bed, and he pulled me into his arms and kissed me hard.

"I love you so much," he said and his kisses trailed down my neck. His large hands went under my shirt and massaged my breasts, making me moan.

"Unless you intend to follow through, you'd better stop because I'm already pretty turned on from what I just did," I told him seriously.

"I fully intend to follow through," he said as his hands moved lower and his fingers dipped into the waistband of my pants.

"Wait," I said, and pushed gently on his shoulders.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm not sure I want you to do that," I said, blushing.

"Why not, you just did for me."

"I don't know. It just seems… more… It's embarrassing," I said.

"How is it embarrassing? You're beautiful, Sook. I want to do this for you. Will you let me?" he asked, and he was so completely serious and sweet that I slowly nodded. He kissed my lips and his fingers went back to my pants. He tugged a little, so I lifted my hips and he pulled them down and off. Immediately, I clamped my thighs together and tried to pull my shirt down. The room suddenly seemed garishly bright, and I didn't want him to see me. Not even Alcide had seen me this way.

Eric did the same thing I had. He looked at me until I gave him permission, only it was taking me much longer to grant it. He crawled up on the bed and lay next to me.

"Sookie, look at me," he whispered, and I did. "What is it?"

"Nobody's ever seen me naked," I said quietly.

"What, did you do it in the pitch dark every time?"

"No, but there was never this much light. Can we turn it off?" I asked.

"No, I want to see you," he said. "Sook, when we both had our hands on me, did that turn you on?"

I blushed an even deeper shade of crimson and nodded.

"That's the feeling I'm going to have when I see you. It's the feeling I already have because I know I'm about to see you. I want to look at you. I want to taste you. Please let me," he said gently.

I looked him in the eyes and nodded my permission. He smiled and kissed me hard before moving down on the bed like I had. I tentatively spread my legs, and he raked his eyes down my body until his eyes rested on the Promised Land. I closed my own eyes because I was afraid of seeing his reaction, and then I felt his fingers gently stroke the length of my folds and I gasped.

"Open your eyes, Sookie," he said huskily, and I did. I looked right into his fiery gaze. "You are beautiful."

"Thank you," I said, and then covered my eyes in embarrassment.

"You're going to have to help me," he said, and I dropped my hand.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I need you to tell me what you like. I've never done this before either," he said.

I took a deep breath and told myself that I could do this. Confidence is what I needed.

"Since I can't get my mouth down there I guess you'll just have to wing it and I'll guide you," I told him and smirked when the fire in his eyes burned brighter.

"Sounds good to me," he said, and then he began.

He started slowly, kissing from my knees and down my thighs. I think I stopped breathing when I felt his warm breath on my center. He suddenly moved to lie on his stomach and bent my legs at the knee, planting my feet on either side of his shoulders. It spread me wide open for him, and I blushed as he looked up at me.

A cocky grin spread across his lips, and then his head dipped down. I gasped at the first touch of his warm tongue on my clit, and rested my head on the pillows behind me. Surprisingly, I didn't have to give him any instruction. Everything he did felt phenomenal. He was a bit hesitant when he brought his hand into the mix, so I let out a breathy, "Please," so that he understood I was okay with it.

Eric has long, talented fingers, and he put them to good use. Before long my hips were moving in time to the thrusting of his fingers, and I felt that slow burn start low in my stomach.

"So close," I muttered, and Eric increased the pressure and rhythm of his tongue while curling his fingers inside me. He instantly hit the spot I'd never been able to find, and I exploded. My eyes clenched shut, and I cried out as I felt myself contract around his fingers. He continued to lick me through my orgasm, and after a few seconds he removed his fingers and lapped at my center until only the tiny aftershocks remained.

It was, without any doubt, the best orgasm I'd ever had, and all I wanted to do was repay him over, and over, and over. In my mind, we couldn't move in together soon enough.

Eric had a triumphant smile on his face as he grabbed my underwear and pajama pants and put them back on me. He lay down next to me and pulled me close.

"That was… you… I mean…" I tried to convey what I was feeling, but I couldn't get the words to come out properly.

"You're welcome," he said with a smile.

"Thank you."

"Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked, his smile turning into a smirk. He was fishing for compliments, and boy did he ever deserve them.

"Obviously. I could barely speak, so you must have done an excellent job. I do want to know where you learned that curling trick though," I added. I was pretty sure a guy isn't supposed to be able to know how to do stuff like that right away.

"Pam," he said simply, and I immediately pulled away from him.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"No, don't get mad sweetie. We didn't do it, I just confided in her some and she went off on this tangent once about making sure that I please you when we finally get together, and she mentioned that trick so I wanted to try it and it worked," he rambled, trying to calm me down before I got upset.

I wouldn't have been upset if he had done that with her. Yes, it would have hurt, just like it hurt him that I'd been with Alcide. What I would have been mad about was if he'd never told me, and when he said he'd learned from her, that was almost the conclusion I'd jumped to.

I took a deep breath and molded my body to his once more. He wrapped his arms around me and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're not mad?" he asked.

"No," I said. "I have no reason to be. You don't talk to her about us anymore do you?"

He chuckled. "No, I haven't really talked to Pam since Halloween. I'm not a jerk to her anymore, but we're not friends either."

"I think I should thank her, because that was the best orgasm I've ever had," I told him with a laugh.

"I'm certainly happy you enjoyed it."

He placed a kiss on my temple, and ran his fingers through my hair.

"I'll tell you one thing, Eric," I said. "If tonight was just an appetizer, I know I want the dinner, and I want it soon."

"Me too," he laughed. "I've been meaning to bring that up to you."

"What? Having dinner sooner?" I asked.

"In a roundabout way, yes," he said and sat up so we were looking at each other.

"What's going on in that head of yours?"

"How would you feel about moving a month before school starts? We'd need to start looking now, but it would give us time to get familiar with the area and get used to living together before we throw in all the hectic mess that comes with school."

"So this isn't just about wanting to have sex sooner?" I teased.

"That would be a perk, yes. It's actually what got me thinking about it. If we were to move in a few days before the semester started it would probably be too stressful to throw sex in on top of everything else. Moving earlier would give us a chance to get used to everything so that we're adding school to our lives, not sex."

He picked up my hands and began rubbing circles on the backs of them. I thought about it for a moment. It really wouldn't be so bad, and he made a good point about everything happening at once. He started to rub my hands a bit harder, and I realized he was nervous about my answer.

"Gosh, I'd hate to see what you're like when you ask me to marry you if you're already nervous over this," I quipped with a grin, and then I leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips.

"I think it's a great idea," I told him.

"Really?" he asked with a huge ass grin.

"Yes, really. But we have to tell Gran soon," I said as he wrapped his arms around me and pushed me back onto the bed.

He kissed my lips, my cheeks, my neck, over and over, still with the big smile on his face.

"I love you so much, Sookie," he said.

I grinned and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I love you too. Now how would you feel about sleep? I'm kind of worn out after what you did, and this bed is really comfortable."

"I feel like I could definitely go to sleep soon. You know, after that amazing thing you did to me."

I giggled and kissed him once more, and then we got up and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. We brushed our teeth side by side, and had to refrain from laughing at the faces we were both making. I left the bathroom so he could use the toilet, and then did my business when he came out. We may have been in love with each other, and we may have just had our first sexual experience together, but I wasn't ready for that kind of intimacy just yet.

Eric had the light out and was under the covers when I came out, and I slid between the sheets and curled up next to him. He extended his arm so I could lay my head on his shoulder and wrapped it around my shoulders when I did. We both sighed in contentment when we were settled. It was the first time we'd slept in the same bed since the night Alcide and I broke up.

"Eric?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for everything tonight. It was perfect."

"Anything for you," he whispered. "Goodnight, Sookie."

"'Night, Eric," I whispered back.

Alright ladies! One more chapter and an epilogue, and this story will be complete. *sniffles* We always have the sequel to look forward to :-)

So, is everyone happy they got some kind of release? You can thank Sunkisz for that. I really wasn't planning on it, but she persisted and said that Eric had to get a release soon. I think it worked out well.

Thank you to FDM for beta'ing this long-ass thing, and for calling me out when I got a little too saintly with Eric :) Love you!

Lastly, it seems that everyone really liked the Alcide/Sookie one-shot I posted, so I will most definitely be adding to it! Thanks for being so awesome everyone!