Chapter 21 – Let's Dance

AN: Had trouble posting Chapter 20! Again! Argh! That makes three chapters in a row. If you don't read unless you get an email notice of a new chapter, you need to go all the way back to Chapter 18. Just giving you a heads up…

The ride in the limousine was very merry among the four of us. There was a bottle of chilled champagne, and I served a glass or two to Sookie. There was also Royalty that the rest of us drank. Even Pamela was in a jolly mood, and that is an adjective I would rarely, if ever, apply to her. I felt very happy myself; Rasul and I would be walking in with undoubtedly the two most beautiful women at the ball.

We pulled up to the arrival doors for the grand ballroom at the Bonne Chance. I exited the limousine first and extended my hand to Sookie, followed by Rasul who did the same for Pam. Immediately, there was a strobe-light show of cameras going off. I took Sookie's hand and placed it in the crook of my elbow, and we smiled together at the cameras. I didn't look back at Rasul and Pamela, but I was pretty sure they were doing the same. We walked the gauntlet of photographers, smiling and nodding all the way.

Sookie kept smiling, and asked me through smiling teeth like a ventriloquist, "is this normal for charity balls, to have all of these photographers?"

I kissed her on her temple and the cameras' flashing increased, "no, Lover, it's not. Someone must have called and let them know we were attending."

She looked up at me and asked, "and who would that be?"

"Possibly me?" I grinned at her, "anonymously." She just chuckled at that, and the cameras captured that as well. We finally entered into the hall outside the ballroom.

"You never told me the ball was at your hotel," Sookie said.

"Does it matter?" I asked. She shook her head. "For the record, there are a lot of events that are held at this ballroom. Charity balls, banquets, conventions, proms, non-profit fundraisers, you name it. This one just happens to be here as well."

"Does it kind of feel like you are hosting this in your rather large living room?" Sookie asked rather cheekily.

I smiled at her, "in a way it does. I'm having your overnight bag brought up to my penthouse." I waggled my eyebrows. She giggled at my silliness, and I chuckled myself. We approached the door to the ballroom, and I presented my prepaid invitation. We passed through, and Rasul presented the invitation I'd given him, and we were all inside.

It was really lovely inside. There were little white Christmas lights wrapping each column and all throughout the ballroom. All of the tables had elaborate flower arrangements in urns and numerous candles. There were panels of fabric draped beautifully throughout. There were three cash bars arranged strategically around the room and two champagne fountains as well. To the right side of the ballroom there was an elaborate buffet set up. Along both front entrance walls of the ballroom were tables set up for the silent auction. There seemed to be some rather elegant artwork available to bid on, as well as baskets containing all sorts of things that one might want to purchase. I tried to estimate and thought there were at least eighty or more things to bid on. I also knew that there would be a live auction later in the evening, and that those higher ticket items were on display at the back of the ballroom to the side of the orchestra. I might check them out later and see if anything caught my fancy.

I looked over at Sookie, and she had a big smile on her face. I looked at her and raised my eyebrow. She laughed and said simply, "it's so beautiful in here. It feels like a magical evening is in store." I smiled back at her; I sincerely hoped this night would indeed be more than magical.

The orchestra had not yet begun playing, but we could hear the cacophony of them tuning up. I knew from past experience that the orchestra would play all kinds of music, from traditional waltzes to other kinds of ballroom dance music to modern tunes with vocals provided by talented singers. The ballroom was filled with people in gowns and tuxedos, but no one even came close to looking as beautiful as my Sookie and my child Pamela. In fact, there were many heads that turned our way when we entered.

We made our way over to an unclaimed table near the dance floor and claimed four seats for ourselves. Rasul and I pulled out chairs for our ladies to take a seat next to each other, and then we sat on the seats next to them. I reached over and took Sookie's hand under the table, and she looked at me with a brilliant smile. Yes, tonight was going to be a great night.

"They've really made this place look beautiful," Sookie observed. "Is there a theme?"

"I think their theme this year is Arabian Nights, see all this fabric draped like a desert sheik's tent?" I told her. "There usually is a different theme each year."

Sookie nodded, "have you come to many of these?"

"I've been to a few. Usually because it's a good way to network for some of my businesses. This is the first year it is being held here at my hotel, so how could I not come this year," I smiled at her. "Plus, this year I have the most beautiful woman in the room as my date…"

"A+ for sweet talk," she whispered in my ear. I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face as well. I looked over at Rasul and Pam, and they were both grinning from ear to ear at us. I raised one eyebrow at them, and they turned away to their own discussion.

"Would you like something to drink?" I asked Sookie. "Another champagne perhaps?"

"That sounds nice, thank you," she replied.

"I'll be right back," I said as I stood and went to the nearest bar. I returned with a full bottle in an ice bucket and a couple champagne flutes; I thought it might look odd to bring just one. I popped the cork and poured a glass for her. A few moments later, a waiter brought over three golden goblets of Royalty for the rest of us.

Rasul proposed a toast, "To having a great night of dancing and friendship." We all four tapped glasses and drank.

Not long after that two people walked up to the microphone in front of the now-silent orchestra. The man was the first to speak, "Good evening ladies and gentleman, and welcome to the annual ball benefitting the Caddo Parish Children's Hospital." There was polite applause. "I am George Vidrine, chief administrator of the hospital, and I want to personally thank all of you for coming out tonight to support this worthy cause. I hope you have a wonderful evening of dancing and dining. I'd like to introduce the lovely lady responsible for this evening, the president of the foundation that supports our hospital, Darcy Hunnicut."

"Good evening, everybody, and thank you again for coming to support the Children's Hospital. I'd like to thank the charity ball committee who put everything together for tonight under the leadership of the committee chair, Paula Fuselier. Let's give them all a big hand for the lovely evening they've created for us." More polite applause came from those in attendance. "Please take some time to look over the items in both the silent and live auctions. Place your bids in the silent auction, and don't be afraid to be generous, this is a fundraiser, after all. Make sure you sample the food at the buffet, the Bonne Chance has really outdone themselves for us, and we'd like to thank the owner of the Bonne Chance, Eric Northman, for donating the use of this lovely ballroom." Again, there was polite applause, although this one seemed a little louder. "Now that we've got all those thank you's out of the way, I am pleased to introduce your orchestra for this evening, The Changing Times, under the direction of Mr. T-Lew Comeaux… Let's dance!"

And then the opening strains of David Bowie's "Let's Dance" began to play. Sookie thought that was funny and giggled, and the rest of us just smiled. The singer handled the song quite well. Sookie whispered, "let's go look at the silent auction items."

I stood and extended my hand, and she came with me to the front of the room. We worked the silent auction tables from our left to right. She actually put in a bid on a couple items and then we returned to our table just in time for the orchestra to play a classic Viennese waltz. I took Sookie's champagne flute and placed it on the table and escorted her to the dance floor, and together we waltzed. She was a beautiful dancer. We stared into each other's eyes as we glided and spun around the dance floor. I took one moment to look away from my Sookie to notice that Rasul and Pamela were also dancing the waltz. When the waltz ended, a traditional slow dance began, and I pulled Sookie closer to me.

"You are very graceful for such a big man, Eric," Sookie whispered. I smiled at her.

"I've always enjoyed dancing, but I haven't always been great at it. I loved the waltz when it was first introduced, but I was terrible at it. I guess I was a little too… aggressive; I hadn't yet learned the power of subtlety. The waltz was the first dance that allowed couples to really hold each other, and for that reason it was at first considered 'immoral'. It took a few years for it to become an acceptable dance in polite company. That gave me time to learn it better, so that by the time it did become accepted, I had somewhat mastered it."

"The waltz was considered immoral at first?" Sookie asked. "That seems so strange since it's considered so traditional – rather old-fashioned—now. When did it become acceptable?"

"There were German peasant dances related to the waltz that date all the way back to the sixteenth century, but the waltz as we know it today came about in the area around Vienna around the mid-1700's. It was completely accepted in Vienna about 1780, and then it was accepted in the rest of western Europe around the time of Napoleon. By the mid-1800's it was a standard dance in every ballroom.

My comments were followed by Sookie's musical laughter, "I just love that you not only know all this stuff, but you lived it! That is so amazing…"

I smiled down at her, "I've never had anyone I wanted to share all this with. You're the first." At that confession she gave me a look of utter devotion, and I could feel the love she had for me. That caused me to take a deep breath. I once again wondered what I could have ever done to deserve such a one as she.

We looked into each other's eyes without speaking for a few more moments. Finally, I looked up and noticed Rasul and Pamela dancing near us. They seemed to be engaged in quite the interesting conversation. I nudged Sookie to look, and she smiled at them and their closeness to each other. They looked amazing on the dance floor together.

Sookie whispered again to me, "I thought Pam liked the fairer sex?"

"Generally, she does. But you must understand, Sookie, that sex is different for vampires. Very few vampires are only one way or another for their entire existence. We have centuries to experiment and try just about everything. And we do…"

"Really?" she asked coyly.

"Oh yes. So Pamela, while normally enjoying the sexual company of women, is with a very handsome man tonight. I would be surprised if they didn't make the most of that later tonight, especially since Rasul is not only handsome but also charming. It probably won't last, but I've felt a rather strong connection between them in the last couple days. After all, Pam has apparently found someone who enjoys shopping nearly as much as she does."

"I guess people have based relationships on less," Sookie said. Then we both began laughing. By then the song was ending, and a fast song was beginning. I took Sookie's hand and led her to the buffet.

"Have you had anything to eat tonight?" I asked her. She shook her head. "Excellent. I want you to tell me if my chef is as good as he thinks he is. Let's get you some food." She took a plate and started to fill it with different offerings from the buffet. Eventually, we made it back to our seats, and she began to eat. As she ate, she made those wonderful noises that I had come to associate with good food. I smiled at that.

"This is all so good. I think these are the best au gratin potatoes I've ever had."

"Good to know," I said, and then I leaned in to whisper, "have I told you how hard you make me when you make your … yummy noises?"

At that she turned bright pink, "Eric!" She put down her fork and raised her napkin to her face, "I may never be able to eat in front of you again."

I started laughing, "oh yes, you will." I picked up her fork and loaded it with something green and raised it to her mouth. She just looked at me, and then she opened her mouth as I fed her. She began chuckling as she chewed her food and took the fork from my hand.

"Hold on, I've got an idea. I'll be right back," she said as she got up and crossed back to the far end of the buffet. She returned with a small plate with something dark brown on it. "Remember the other day when I asked you if you had ever tasted chocolate?" I nodded. "Well now, you are going to get to."

"Sookie, I can't eat that."

She just laughed, "I know that, silly, I'm going to eat some of this chocolate cake, and then you are going to kiss me. How does that sound?" What a clever girl.

"Sounds like heaven to me. Let's conduct your scientific experiment."

"OK, then, just let me take a few bites." She did, and she made the yummy noises even more than usual. I don't know if the cake was that much better, or if she was just fucking with me. It didn't matter either way; I loved those noises. I rested my elbow on the table and my chin on my palm as I watched her eat. After a few bites she asked, "are you ready to taste some chocolate?" I simply nodded my head and went in for the kiss.

There was a little bit of the frosting on the corner of her mouth which my tongue scooped up as it entered her mouth. OK, now I understood what all the fuss was about. Chocolate was amazing! And that was what I tasted like to her? Maybe I let the kiss go on for longer than necessary for just a taste. "For the first time in centuries, you make me wish I could eat food. No wonder you like chocolate so much. That was great!" I told her. Her smile just beamed at me, and I joined my forehead to hers. "Thank you, my Sookie, for sharing chocolate with me."

"You are very welcome, my Eric," she replied. We just stayed there, forehead to forehead, for a few moments. She pulled back first and took a sip of champagne. She then looked at the dance floor, "I can't believe that Rasul and Pam are still dancing."

"Why? They don't get tired, they don't sweat, and apparently they are having a good time," I shrugged.

In the next moment, an older gentleman and his wife stopped by the table. I rose to greet him. "Mr. Northman?" he asked, and I nodded. He extended his hand, "I am James Gaylord, the mayor of Shreveport, and this is my wife Mitzi. I just wanted to thank you for donating this space for this most worthy cause."

I shook his hand and nodded, "Mayor, Mrs. Gaylord, allow me to introduce Sookie Stackhouse, my girlfriend."

Sookie stood and accepted both their hands as well, "it's so very nice to meet you."

Mitzi spoke first, "it's so very nice to meet you too, dear. And I'm so glad that you are doing so well after everything that has been happening to you. You are a very brave young woman."

Sookie blushed, "thank you, Mrs. Gaylord. Eric has made sure of my safety."

The mayor answered, "yes, we've all been entranced by the story. We are very proud to have someone like Mr. Northman as a member of our community." I nodded in gratitude to him again.

At this point Rasul and Pam returned to our table, "Mayor, Mrs. Gaylord, may I introduce my business partner Pamela and my brother Rasul. Pam, Rasul, the mayor of Shreveport and his lovely wife." They all shook hands.

Mitzi added, "oh dear, we've been watching the two of you dance together so beautifully. Have you been together long?"

Rasul chuckled, "Actually, this is our first date."

She blushed a little and seemed very surprised, "really? You look like you have been dancing together for ages."

Pamela surprised me with her response, "well, thank you, Mrs. Gaylord. It's easy to dance when your partner is so good." She smiled, looked at Rasul, and slid her hand around his elbow. He put his other hand on top of hers. They really did make a smashing couple.

The mayor had a question, "Mr. Northman, the city is contemplating opening a business park near the Old Trace Bayou north of the city. I'd like to talk to you about it when you have the time."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a card to hand to him. "Here's my card, give me a call, and we can set up a meeting."

"Very good. Well, we won't monopolize your time any further, it was very nice to meet you all, and I hope you enjoy your evening."

Everyone responded likewise, and the mayor and his wife departed. Sookie chimed in, "now I see what you meant by networking."

I nodded, "I've made a few good deals at these events. It doesn't in any way diminish my support for the cause. Other businessmen are just too stupid to realize the potential profit of good will."

She smiled, "well, Eric, you are a lot of things, but stupid is definitely not one of them." I smiled with her. "I need to excuse myself, if you don't mind," she said as she stood.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

She blushed, "I need to go to the ladies room."

Of course she did; I felt slightly foolish. "Hold on, Pam, could you accompany Sookie to the ladies room?" Sookie's blush deepened, and she looked at me with wide eyes.

"Love to," Pam added.

"I'll go with them," Rasul said.

Sookie shook her head, "this is rather embarrassing."

"Sookie, I'd rather have you embarrassed than have anything bad happen to you. Understand?" I asked.

She nodded her head, and the three of them headed to the hallway in front of the ballroom. I took this opportunity to check on Sookie's bids in the silent auction. I knew that she'd seen things she'd liked, and I was determined that she would have them. After checking them out, I'd seen that the three silent auction baskets she was interested in ranged in value from three hundred to six hundred dollars. Her bids were starter bids of around fifty to seventy-five dollars. I simply placed bids of one thousand dollars on each. Those auction baskets were going home with her as far as I was concerned. I hesitated after her hesitation of accepting the jewelry that I'd brought her tonight, but I figured she wouldn't turn down something for a charity.

Feeling smug from my silent auction/Sookie maneuvers, I started to return to my table when I felt a huge spike of anger from both Sookie and Pam. I turned to walk toward the front hallway when I saw the three of them enter through the door to return to the ball. They stopped in front of me.

"Explain," I demanded. Sookie took my arm to lead us to our table. I looked at her, and she shook her head. I thought that I would give her a minute to get to our table before demanding an explanation again. Once we were all four settled back at our table (which by the way was set up, as all the tables were, for eight, but we seemed to have this table all to ourselves), I asked again for an explanation.

Sookie responded, "someone was rude to me in the restroom. That's all there was to it."

I just looked at her. The spike of anger I felt was pretty huge for just a simple rude statement. I looked at Pam.

"Some simpering socialite, we'll call her Bitchy Barbie, came up to Sookie and called her a fangbanging whore, and said that she deserved all the bad things that had happened to her in the last week or so, and that she would be lucky to live for a few more months. Then she completely contradicted herself and said that nothing at all probably happened, and that Sookie was, in addition to a fangbanging whore she called her earlier, probably a publicity whore as well. She further said that Sookie was a sad piece of work who thrived on attention."

I tried to take all that in, "what?"

Pam continued, "she had a definite hate-on for our girl here. I got in her face and dropped my fangs, which caused her either to expel smelly gas or to shit herself, I'm not exactly sure, but I proceeded to glamour her into thinking that she believed in the sanctity of the Roman Catholic sisterhood, and that God had called her, since she'd seen the image of Jesus in her pancakes, and that she should give all her worldly goods to the poor and join a convent."

I squinted my eyes, tilted my head and looked at Pam, and then Sookie. Sookie had a half smirk on her lips when she nodded. "Really?" I asked.

Sookie chuckled, "God forgive me, but that's exactly what Pam did, and I can honestly say that I'm not sorry."

I fought the urge to laugh, "what happened then?"

Pam continued, "she pulled off her jewelry," and Pam opened her hand to reveal said jewelry, "and she walked out the front door of the building, presumably to find the nearest Catholic church." She shrugged. "I'll take these up to the donations table for the hospital."

"Was she even Catholic?" I asked. All three of them just shrugged their shoulders. This was so absurd, that I couldn't help but laugh, and soon all three of them were joining in. Pam stood up with the jewelry in hand, and true to her word, she donated them to benefit the hospital.

When Pamela returned to the table, Rasul offered helpfully, "Well, maybe she'll live a happier, more purpose-filled life."

We all looked at him, and the utter sincerity of his statement settled among us for a minute before we all cracked up laughing, including, reluctantly, Rasul.

Another beautiful waltz began, and I extended my hand to Sookie, and we went to the dance floor. This waltz had a quicker tempo than the first one, but Sookie followed just as flawlessly as the first time. Gods, but I loved to waltz. I especially loved to waltz with Sookie. After the first waltz, which I'd danced very conservatively, I started allowing Sookie to spin-out and then back in to me. She never missed a step. We got swept up in the music, and the more I sent her on spin-out, the more beautifully we danced together. Suddenly I noticed that there were only a few couples on the dance floor. All those who remained were very adept at the spin-out. And when the dance finally ended, there was a huge round of applause for all of us. I hugged her tightly to myself.

The next song that started was a tango. I raised my eyebrow at Sookie to see if she was game. She lowered her face and waggled her eyebrows at me. OK, we were going to tango. I noticed that Rasul and Pam came to join us on the dance floor. I smiled and nodded to Rasul, which he returned. Then we were off. This dance would be where I truly learned the depths of Sookie's dancing experience. We stepped off, and took the floor. Most people were afraid of the tango, so besides us, Rasul and Pam, there were only two other couples up for the tango challenge. I stepped, stepped, stepped, and Sookie curled her legs between mine… and again. We continued to dominate the floor until only two couples were left, us and Rasul and Pam. By the end of the music we each bowed to the cheering audience. My Sookie didn't disappoint. At the end of the tango, Sookie and I had noticed that Rasul had bent Pam all the way back and kissed her. Based on the fact that Pam didn't flatten Rasul, I gathered that she didn't mind his kiss at all. Both couples of us returned to our table.

While we were there we were approached by our old friend, the reporter Cecile Peveto. She sat to my right, and we all turned toward her. "Mr. Northman, Miss Stackhouse, how are you doing this evening?" she asked.

I smiled at her, "we are doing very well, Miss Peveto, thank you for asking."

"After everything that has happened, I wonder how you are able to enjoy yourselves," she asked.

Sookie answered, "Miss Peveto, we have two choices. Let the circumstances control us, or rise above them. I think it's obvious which alternative we've selected."

Miss Peveto chuckled, "well done, then. Has the threat been totally contained then?"

I answered, "not really. If the current vampire ruling system remains in place, other monarchs might decide that they need to investigate what was so interesting about Sookie and her brother Jason. In fact, there have been numerous overtures of just such action from the monarch in Nevada."

"But surely after all of this news coverage, no monarch would be foolish enough to move against the Stackhouses. Would they?" she asked.

"One thing you need to understand, Miss Peveto, is that monarchs, some of them at least, pay very little attention to human news. They see themselves as above it all," I answered. "I understand that there are movements in the human legislature with possible aid from the vampire authority structure to change all that, but that change hasn't happened yet. Until it does, my Sookie is in danger. I must remain vigilant up and until those legal changes are not only enacted but also enforced."

Miss Peveto gulped, "so, the danger remains?"

Sookie answered, "yes, Miss Peveto. Although, I'm trying, with Eric's help, to go about my life as normally as possible. Isn't this a beautiful ball?"

Miss Peveto smiled, "yes, Sookie, it is. Are you having a good time tonight?"

Sookie smiled, "I'm trying to, Miss Peveto, I really am trying to."

Miss Peveto added, "Miss Stackhouse, Sookie, may I say that you are one of the bravest young women I have ever met. I am so proud to know you."

Sookie took a huge gulp of air, "wow, Miss Peveto, that means so much more than I can say. Thank you. And may I add that you seem to be a journalist of true integrity, and I hope that all kind of good things come your way." Thankfully, Sookie hadn't noticed the people walking by our table, stopping to gawk, and then moving on. It had been happening all night.

Miss Peveto chuckled, "well, thanks to you, Sookie, good things seem to be rolling my way." She smiled.

"I'm glad because you've been very fair to me and mine. I hope you get that big break you've been waiting for."

"How did you…?" Miss Peveto asked. "Never mind. I hope you have an enchanting evening, Sookie."

"Thank you, Miss Peveto. I hope you have one yourself," Sookie added.

Miss Peveto stood, "good evening, all." And she was gone.

Darcy Hunnicut, from the foundation, took the microphone once again. "Ladies and gentlemen, I want to remind you that we have about an hour left on our silent auction. If you are interested in any of the basket items, please make your bids now. In addition, we will have the live auction in about 30 minutes. Please check these higher ticket items out now. Finally, we welcome any challenge donations right now, and for the rest of the evening. Thank you."

Sookie asked, "what's a challenge donation?"

I smiled at her, "watch." That was all I said as I walked up to the bandstand. I whispered into Miss Hunnicut's ear, and she wrote something on a piece of paper and returned to the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a challenge donation. Mr. Eric Northman, owner of the Bonne Chance Hotel and Casino, as well as Fangtasia, challenges all bar, hotel, and restaurant owners present tonight to donate ten thousand dollars to match his donation. Thank you so much, Mr. Northman."

The orchestra started back up with "At Last", and I grabbed Sookie's hand and took her to the dance floor. I held her tightly to me, luxuriating in the feel of her body.

"So that's what a challenge donation is. Do you think it will help?" Sookie asked.

I waggled my eyebrows at her, "we'll see. For now, let's just enjoy holding each other dancing to this beautiful song." We just moved fluidly together. The female vocalist was very, very talented. When that song ended, the song "Breathe(2 am)" started, and Sookie's eyes got really wide.

"I LOVE this song," she said. "I just think it's so, so pretty and profound." Well, of course I had to dance with her on a song she so obviously loved. That song was followed by another of Sookie's favorites, "Mad World." Even though these songs were somewhat melancholy, they were nonetheless beautiful to dance to. Finally, the song changed to "I'm Yours" which was originally by Jason Mraz. This was a somewhat happy song about discovering that your heart totally belongs to another. I smiled as Sookie and I danced to this particular song. After the song was over, we moved to sit at our table. We just stared into each other's eyes like a couple of big saps, and I was OK with that.

Directly, Miss Hunnicut came again to the microphone, "Thank you Eric Northman for the challenge donation at the last orchestra break. Everyone may be interested to know that thirteen other owners of restaurants, bars, and hotels met Mr. Northman's challenge, for a total challenge donation of one hundred and forty thousand dollars so far. Well done Shreveport/Bossier City!"

Soon after Paula Fuselier comes to our table. "Hello, Mr. Northman, I'm Paula Fuselier, the organizer of this year's ball. Thank you so much for all of your generosity to the Children's Hospital. We are looking forward to next year's fund raiser, and we are wondering what you might be willing to give?"

Sookie was the first to speak, "Ms. Fuselier, I'm Sookie Stackhouse, the co-owner of The Enchanted Forest. I would like to volunteer some plants for your silent auction, and also, depending on your theme, I'd like to offer the loan of some plants to decorate the ballroom."

"Well, thank you so much Miss Stackhouse. That is very generous of you. I'm sure we can come up with a theme that will merit that donation." She paused for a moment, "and may I say, Miss Stackhouse, that I didn't think you could possibly look any prettier than you did on television, but you are far more pretty in person." At that Sookie blushed and nodded in acknowledgement. Ms. Fuselier continued, "I will give you a call in the next few weeks to nail down what you can do for next year's ball."

Sookie smiled, "I look forward to hearing from you." And Ms. Fuselier left us. I looked out and saw Rasul and Pam on the dance floor. I pointed them out to Sookie. She looked out and saw them, too. She turned to me with her mouth wide open. Rasul and Pam were joined solidly at the mouth.

"I told you that I thought they would enjoy each other tonight, didn't I?" I asked.

"I know, but… " she replied.

"But what?" I asked.

She shook her head, "I don't know what. It just seems strange to me." She chuckled. She suddenly turned her head to the left. I'd never seen such a movement from her before. She leaned forward to whisper in my ear, "Eric, I think the guy from Homeland Security is here. I just got a message, if you know what I mean, that a bomb was in the building. But why would there be a bomb in the building hosting a charity ball? Could this be one of those unexpected tests that Godric mentioned?"

"I think you may be right about that. Just remain calm, my love," I whispered into her ear. I stood up and walked to the left side of the ballroom. Just as I thought, I saw Mr. Pettigrew out of the corner of my eye. I didn't let on that I'd seen him, and I just walked on through the ballroom through the side door to the hall outside. I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket and dialed Sookie. She answered on the third ring.

"Hello?" she answered.

"My Sookie, you were right, Homeland Security is sitting on the left hand side of the ballroom. I must conclude that this was indeed a test. Are you OK?"

"I am, my Eric," she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "Thank you for checking that out."

I walked around the exterior of the ballroom to the front doors we'd originally entered through. I then walked inside and walked directly to my Sookie. I sat down and practically pulled her into my lap. She turned her smile to me. We kissed sitting there, then just looked into each other's eyes.

Finally, Darcy Hunnicut walked up to the microphone again. "Ladies and Gentleman, we have the winners of the silent auction. As expected, I won the three baskets that Sookie had bid on. When I went to pick them up, she looked at me questioningly. But when I returned with them, she practically squealed in delight. She looked over the baskets with glee.

"My love, do you feel the need to stay for the live auction?" I asked Sookie.

"Is your real question, am I ready to be alone with you?" the little minx asked.

"I would say that would be a fair assessment," I smiled at her.

"Oh hell yeah, I've been ready for a while now," she answered.

I smiled at her, "so what are we waiting for?" I asked her.

AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.

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