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Chapter twenty – Eric's Control
After three weeks of discussing the new school systems with the other factions, Nina finally reached a stage where Abnegation would consider making the choosing ceremony less time consuming and more efficient. Having Four by her side definitely helped.
It was amazing to witness Cara show her gratitude toward the patient Dauntless leader. Four kept professional and distant though, more so than he normally would. She wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that Amanda was hovering near Cara and the new quiet Erudite leader, Matthew.
She knew even though both guys would never admit it, Eric and Four somehow bonded. They discussed more than just business with each other these days.
Nina tried to keep it professional as well, but being near Amanda almost made her lose her patience. She wanted to step toward the blonde, arrogant looking woman and ask her what her fucking problem was. She could not accuse Amanda of somehow being involved with the picture Lacey received anonymously, but she could definitely accuse her of trying to stir up her relationship with Eric by using her parents' death as an excuse.
That thought alone made her blood boil. It took all her willpower not to smack the woman for trying to ruin her relationship with Eric.
"You handled that nicely."
Nina turned to Four, who just complimented her without her knowing what she did. She always had the full support of Dauntless leadership whenever she attended a meeting, so she didn't lack any confidence in her knowledge concerning her faction. So Four's compliment made no sense to her.
"Handled what nicely?"
He seemed amused by her, "Interacting with that woman." He subtly nodded toward Amanda, "She was definitely trying to make you react. I'm very glad you didn't though."
"It must have slipped by me because I was imagining throwing her off the rooftop."
Chuckling Four gathered his small tablet, placing it in his inner pocket, "Abnegation was very specific about every faction sending a representative to be a part of Erudite's school system testing. However I can understand that it might be uncomfortable for you. I'm sure Tris wouldn't mind to cover for you."
"They really don't trust Erudite anymore." She found that amusing, though she knew the Abnegation terror was not funny at all, "I can't let Tris cover for me. I'm mature enough to handle this, Four."
"I trust your abilities, it's her I don't trust." Four held the glass door open for her so she could head out first, "She is a very manipulative woman. I'm sure she'd find a way to push your buttons and make you react in a way which would reflect badly on Dauntless."
Four was right. She knew he was right, yet she hated that she had to step back just because one woman was out to ruin her. She knew Eric was special, but it amazed her that someone could be so torn up by his rejection that it made her behave so childishly.
"Fine, it might be a better idea to send Tris instead of me."
"It's not that I don't trust you-"
Nina brushed Four off, "Yeah, I know what you are trying to say. We just got green light to operate without Candor's supervision. We can't afford to mess up right now."
"You're a bright woman, Nina." His smile could literally make a girl melt at his feet. Four was an attractive guy, being together with Eric did not make her blind, Tris was one lucky girl, "I'm glad you understand this has nothing to do with you."
"I know. I just hope she'll back off pretty soon."
Four checked his watch, they were heading toward the train tracks and since the patient leader knew the schedules by heart there was no need for her to worry. They'd arrive at Dauntless just in time for Dinner. They were meeting the other leaders for dinner so they could report back to them.
"I don't understand why she is so obsessed with Eric, no offense to you."
She shrugged a shoulder, "If she was an ex-girlfriend I could probably understand, yet this woman does not know what it feels like to be loved by him-"She smirked when she noticed Four cringe, "So I really don't understand what her problem is."
"Jealousy." Four still looked like he bit on something sour, "She seemed offended when Eric told her he was dating an initiate at that time. In her eyes you were inferior to her."
"I'm better than her in so many ways." Nina mumbled, giggling when Four rolled his eyes at her, "What? At least I don't look like I didn't have a proper meal for months."
Four jumped effortlessly onto the train, he made it look so easy. Standing there by the tracks while extending his hand to grab onto the railing. She could never look enticing while trying to catch the train. Smiling she jumped in after him, trying hard not to burst out in laughter by her thoughts. If Eric knew she had been checking Four out he'd freak out.
Eric placed his hand on Nina's thigh as he listened to Four's report of the meeting with the other factions. Four had this way of persuading people without saying much, it was just the air around him. He could tell that it relieved but at the same time pissed his girl off. She had been going to these meetings for a while now, and with just one meeting together with Four they made some progress. Anyone would get a little upset. He didn't doubt her skill though, and neither did the other leaders.
"If you don't have the time I can always do it." Nina glanced at Tris while she tried to push his hand back without getting anyone's attention, "I know you have your own schedule-"
"No, it's fine." Tris didn't look concerned as she eyed them suspiciously, "Is she that bad?"
"She is trying to get a reaction from Nina." Four explained, "We all know that Nina can be hot headed sometimes, so it might not be a good idea for her to visit Erudite regularly. Not until that woman gets the hint."
Nina managed to push his hand off her thigh and shifted in her seat to face him, "I know why I'm obsessed with you, I don't understand her deal. It might be a good idea if you subtly let Cara know that her assistant is behaving inappropriate?"
"I'll try and subtly mention next time." Eric doubted he could subtly start a conversation about Cara's assistant being a pushy woman, but he'd try, "Did you meet up with your brother at the meeting today?"
He tried to sound casual as he asked about William's presence. He wanted to know if Amanda and William were still meeting up after Nina had a conversation with her brother the other day. He might have changed his mind about their relationship after the siblings had a heart to heart.
"Jack attended this meeting by himself." She shrugged, "We email a lot, so it's not like I have to meet him in person."
"I thought William followed Jack around like Amanda does with Cara. I forget that he's actually Jack's recruit so he'll take over some day."
"William has his responsibilities back at Candor, so he can't follow Jack around all the time." She started playing with her food, so he took it as a sign for them to leave.
"You ready to head to bed?"
"I'm sorry." She looked at Four and Tris as she got to her feet, "I'm just really tired. Let's schedule a meeting tomorrow so we can go through the plans for the new school system?"
Tris nodded, "Sure, just let me know when it's convenient for you."
Nina felt bad for making them leave the dining hall without a legit reason, she wasn't tired. She got used to spending all her free time with Eric together, which wasn't a lot since they both had very demanding jobs, that she just wanted to be alone with him again.
Currently said man was sitting on the couch reading his emails, talking to her while she got dressed in her nightwear. Leaning against the doorpost, she waited till Eric sensed her presence. It didn't take long for him to look up and meet her gaze. A sense of pride washed over her when she saw his eyes wander from the top of her head to her toes, taking in the scandalous outfit she was wearing. Mission complete. She definitely made him forget about work and focus on her instead.
"You like it?"
"It doesn't leave anything to your imagination." He tossed his tablet aside and rose to his feet, "I definitely like it."
She loved how he stalked toward her with that confident look in his eyes that was definitely her Eric. She pushed herself away from the doorpost and wrapped her arms around his neck, instantly leaning up for a kiss. Giving her the kiss she wanted he led her back in the bedroom and pushed her on the bed, eying her like she was his prey ready to be devoured. Just the thought of what Eric could do to her almost made orgasm.
"I love how much you want it."
She leaned up on her elbows watching him shrug his military jacket off, "Don't I always look like this?"
He tossed the heavy jacket aside, his black t-shirt showing off that firm body of his, "You do. It's fucking amazing I found a girl who only thinks about having sex with me." His eyes shined playfully, "You're fucking amazing."
Getting to her knees she reached for his belt, but he pushed her right back, "I liked you looking all hot and needy for me, waiting for me to take you."
She spread her legs, biting her lip as Eric crawled on top of her, putting his weight on top of her, The feeling of him pressing up against her while she was near her climax was torture. The smirk that played on his lips told her that he knew exactly what he was doing. Trailing his hand over her bare leg he only made her more desperate for his touch. She gripped his forearms when she felt his fingers brush against her panties, trying hard not to come right then and there. Pressing his lips against hers, he slipped his hand inside her panties and ended her torture by rubbing over the sensitive bundle. Without much effort she reached her toe curling orgasm, her moan echoing through the bedroom.
Then the most obnoxious thing happened, someone dared to knock on their front door, interrupting their alone time.
She grabbed onto Eric's wrist when he was about to pull away from her, "I don't want you to go. Can we just ignore whoever is interrupting us?"
He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, "I want to, but it might be important." He got off the bed, putting his t-shirt back on and left her alone in the bedroom, all hot and bothered.
She rolled off the bed, trying to focus on the manly voice she heard. Last time it was Peter who dared to interrupt them, but this time she couldn't quite place the voice, maybe it was Four? She couldn't barge in on Eric's conversation while looking like she just had sex. So she pushed her curiosity aside and headed for the bathroom instead, a cold shower would definitely help calm her body down.
Eric scanned the report Aaron just handed to him. The government was slowly making progress in helping the factionless having their own territory since there were many abounded places around town. It just so happened that not all the factionless agreed with that.
"Only one of my team members got injured, but you told me to report to you when something like this happened."
"How bad is his injury?"
"He got shot in the leg. Katie said that he'll be fine in a few weeks, but for the time being I'm one man down. I don't think we can afford that right now. The factionless might assume we're backing off because of that incident."
"I'll increase the patrol teams in that area." Eric looked up when he felt Nina's presence in the room, narrowing his eyes on her when she walked out fully dressed, smelling like the Amity fields after her shower, "You leaving?"
"You're in a meeting I see, so I thought I'll go check up on Lacey." She smiled at Aaron, "Is Lacey at home?"
"She was meeting Brandon in the pit, so they might still be there."
Her eyes wandered to him, but she kept her distance, "I'll see you later."
That was odd. She usually kissed him goodbye when she was leaving, but maybe she didn't want to show affection when her friends were over. He had no time to ponder over that when they needed to stop the little protests the factionless were having. If they didn't stop it immediately the protests groups might grow. That could not happen when the city was making such progress.
"I was planning on making you review Peter's progress, but this might keep you occupied for the time being." Eric closed the folder and tossed it on the coffee table, "I'll find a temporary replacement for the injured guy. I'll overview this report together with Four, he might have some ideas about how to handle this situation without getting too much attention."
"I was in touch with Four since we need to ask him for permission when we deal with situations like this. He said the same thing though." Aaron looked amused, "He said he'd discuss it with you, but you were busy tonight so he'd talk to you tomorrow morning."
He remembered their lame excuse during dinner. It was funny Four considered giving them some alone time while this little incident happened. If Four didn't consider this to be an emergency everything would be fine. He trusted Four's judgment.
"Alright, I'll get back to you after I had a meeting with Four tomorrow morning."
Aaron got up and headed to the door, "Did I interrupt something important? Nina might kick my ass so I'd like to be prepared."
"No, but you can never know with her so I'd watch my back if I were you."
"Yeah, she'll definitely kick my ass." He muttered.
Aaron left the apartment, which made him realize how quiet and empty it was without having his girl there. He did not know what happened to her while he was having a quick meeting with Aaron, but something had happened. She suddenly up and left like a freaking ice queen. He left the papers sprawled over the coffee table because he needed a shower first. He'd get to work after he had a shower and grabbed a beer from the fridge. His girl would come to him when she was ready to talk. He learned it was better to let her deal with whatever was going on with her and let her vent later.
"Lace?" Nina found her friend in the corner of the bar which caused both of them to lose their ranking during initiation, looking like her world just came crashing down, "What happened?" She asked quietly, taking a seat next to her so they could have a quiet conversation.
"I did something stupid." She whispered, her eyes wandering around the small bar, "You have to promise me you won't tell anyone."
That sounded serious. As long as Lacey did not kill anyone she'd keep it a secret. The nagging feeling she had though made all her alarm bells ring.
"I promise." She took Lacey's hand in hers, "Please, just tell me what happened. The worst possible scenarios are running through my head right now. I mean I just met Aaron, and he seemed totally fine so I'm guessing he doesn't know."
"He can't find out!" Lacey whispered harshly, "You just made promise."
"Now you're freaking me out." Nina shifted in her seat, fully focusing on Lacey, "What did you do?"
Lacey took a gulp from her water, prolonging the anxiousness Nina was feeling. In the back of her mind she started wondering if Lacey, maybe did hurt someone. She knew that could not be true, because it wouldn't pass Four, but right now it seemed all her logic just flew out the window.
"Lace!"
"I made out with Brandon."
Nina heard her, it hard not to miss those word, yet somehow it seemed her brain couldn't process it. Lacey and Brandon? Aaron didn't look heartbroken or angry a second so obviously the couple didn't break up. Lacey asked her to keep it from Aaron, so apparently they wouldn't break up any time soon either. Lacey cheated on Aaron with Brandon. That just made her head hurt. Didn't they just fix their freaking complicated relationship? It was not even hilarious anymore to be the person who was always right in the middle of this mess.
"Just a sec." Nina headed to the bar, ordering herself a vodka, because for this conversation she definitely need a drink, "Here is my card, I might need another glass after my conversation." She told the bartender with the electric purple hair, "Nice hair, by the way."
The girl smirked, "Thanks." A frown spread across her face when she scanned the card, "Eric put a limit to how much points you can spend on drinks."
That just got awkward.
"He can do that?"
She asked that quite calmly, which made her feel so proud of herself. Inside she was cursing her boyfriend like there was no tomorrow.
"Yes, you can have no more than two. Then we need to switch to something lighter."
She'd have to yell at Eric later, right now she'd take that Vodka and focus on Lacey and her problem instead. Deep down she knew Eric did this for her own safety but it still felt like he was controlling her, and that was something she did not like.
The bartender handed her, her drink and held up the card. She took it, placing it in her back pocket and joined Lacey again.
"What was that all about?"
Nina shrugged, "That's the reach of Eric's control. Nothing for you to worry about." She clutched the cold glass in her hand, "So you made out with Brandon?"
"Yes!"
"When? I mean I'm pretty sure you just fixed things with Aaron, so what I'd like to know is when did you exactly have the time to make out with Brandon?"
Lacey leaned her head against the table, tilting her head to the side so she could look at Nina, "Just now, in the pit. We danced, drank and somehow ended up in the corner making out. After we both realized what we were doing Brandon practically ran away and I texted you to meet me here."
"So you both regret it."
"Of course we do!" Lacey sounded offended.
"Chill. I'm just trying to understand this." She threw back the cold liquid, enjoying the sweet burn of the liquor, "You don't want Aaron to find out, because you are afraid your relationship will end and I'm sure Brandon wouldn't want to ruin his friendship with Aaron. So we can safely confirm that it was just the alcohol and not your true feelings finally showing up?"
Lacey seemed to ponder over that one a very long minute. If someone had been accusing Nina of being in love with another man she would have instantly answered no. She didn't want to tell Lacey to think about it for a night, because she might give the blonde ideas. Lacey needed to figure this one out on her own. There wasn't much she could do. Right now all she could do was listen and try not to judge them.
"I don't know what you should do, Lace. If I cheated on Eric with another guy I'm sure the guilt would eat at me and eventually I'd go crazy. Don't you feel like coming clean to Aaron would be better?"
Lacey finished her water, looking less 'dead' then a second ago, maybe their conversation helped her a little. This topic made Nina uneasy though. She had to pretend she didn't know about the mistake Lacey made while Aaron seemed to be casually hanging out with Eric lately. She never would have imagined that one, considering Eric got jealous of their friendship during their initiation. Life was unpredictable sometimes.
"I need to head back home, Lace. I'm sure Eric will send out a search team, since I practically ran out the door to come look for you."
Nina climbed out of their booth, followed closely by Lacey. She nodded at the bartender who gave her an apologizing smile. It was not the girl's fault Eric had control issues. She didn't blame the electric purple haired girl at all. It was Eric who needed to explain himself to her.
"I need to figure out what I want, so please don't talk to Aaron about this."
Nina nodded, "It's not my place to tell, Lace. Just don't let Aaron live an illusion if you are not committed to your relationship."
Lacey pulled her in a hug, wishing her goodnight. Nina had no idea what was happening to her friends, but somehow her life seemed completely normal compared to theirs.
Eric felt relieved the minute Nina walked into their apartment, locking the door behind her. She greeted him with a bright smile. Now he was really confused. She ran out of their apartment as if she couldn't stand being beside him, and now she seemed like the happiest person on the world. This girl and her moods were really confusing sometimes.
"Why did you run out like that?"
She slowly approached him, taking a seat next to him on the couch, "I didn't run out. You were having an important conversation with Aaron so I thought I'd give you two some space."
"I know when you are not being honest with me, Nina."
She pouted her lips, "Fine. I needed to have a conversation with Lacey, but I can't tell you why." She frowned, "That reminds me…Why the hell you put a limit to how much points I can spend on drinks?"
"I did that because it seems you don't know your own limit when you're out drinking." He wouldn't apologize for something he thought was the right thing to do, "I cannot stand the thought of you getting hurt because you were too drunk to take care of yourself."
"It means a lot to me that you care, Eric." She grabbed his hand in hers, "But you do realize that it is not your decision to make. You cannot do this without talking to me first."
"Since you are my family, I think I have a say in your life when it comes to your safety. If you do not agree with that then see it as your leader giving you a standing order. Since you don't know your drinking limit, I'm giving you a limit."
She huffed, throwing her head back against the couch, "Fine, whatever." She got off the couch and headed to their bedroom, "I'm heading to bed."
He didn't feel like this conversation was over, but he knew that after a while she'd come around. She wasn't completely irrational. She was just pissed because he took control of a part of her life and she hated that. He hated to use the leader card on her, but it was the only way to make her shut up about something which might save her life someday.