Chapter Twenty-One

Sookie and I had stayed up half the night discussing plans for the wedding. It was all still a little surreal, but it was so exciting and fun that neither one of us was able to sleep. We lay in bed, laughing as we thought about the absurdness of our wedding party, knowing full well that it was highly unlikely there would ever be another one like it in the history of the world.

"So, what kind of get-up do you think Lafayette will come up with for the wedding? I'm thinking it will be a hot-pink feather boa and matching spandex pants. You?" I asked, cringing at the thought of what our wedding photos would look like.

"Oh, Lord," She sighed. "I have no idea, but I'm scared!"

"Speaking of clothing, Sookie, you're going to need to go shopping for a dress. Maybe you and Pam could drive to Shreveport together tomorrow to find one," Eric suggested.

"Actually, I already have one." She shifted her head on her pillow and snuggled in closer.

"Sookie, please tell me that you're not one of those girls whose had her wedding dress bought and hanging in the back of her closet for years, even before she had the guy. That would seriously screw with my image of you."

Well, not really, I thought, but it would have been kind of weird.

"No, smart ass, I am not one of those girls. But I do have a dress I can wear, and you're just going to have to wait until Saturday to see it."

"So you really are going to marry me, then?" I teased.

"Of course…as long as you behave yourself over the next two days, that is."

I ran a finger down from her shoulder to her hip, and I could feel her shiver at my touch. "Is this considered behaving?" I asked.

"Mmm hmm," She nodded.

I moved my hand down to her backside, pulling her closer to me. "And this?"

"Yep."

I rolled on top of her and kissed her deeply. "How 'bout that?" I questioned through our kisses.

"Definitely."

She was moving her hips against me, and I wanted so badly to be inside of her, but I couldn't help teasing her for just a bit longer. I pushed myself up above her, staring down at her glorious face and asked, "But wouldn't it be sort of misbehaving if we did this before the wedding night?"

She moaned in frustration, then reached up to me, placed her hand behind my head and pulled my face down an inch above hers. "If you don't make love to me right now, Eric Northman, I'll consider it poor behavior on your part, and therefore have grounds to terminate our engagement."

What could I say to that? I crushed my lips against hers and proceeded to make love to my fiancé – FIANCE! – until we both finally passed out from utter exhaustion.

We woke up Thursday morning to a beautiful and sunny day. Sookie was still wrapped up tightly in my arms, and I once again reveled in the rightness of it all. We just…fit. In the past, no one would have ever accused me of being romantic. But this girl, this fantastic woman I was currently holding on to for dear life, made me feel like shouting sonnets from the rooftop. Some might say I'd turned in my "man card" the moment she came along, but I disagreed. With her, I was more of a man than I ever was. Her ability to love me so willingly, so completely, made me want to be the best man I could be…for her, and soon, for Jacob, too.

I would have been lying if I said I wasn't afraid of becoming a husband and a father. But they weren't the irrational fears most men would have if they'd decided, as I had, to get married to someone after knowing them for five days. My fear was more of the "I hope I don't fuck up the awesome responsibilities of being a husband and father" variety.

I was grateful to have had such wonderful role models in my parents. Theirs was a lasting and powerful love, and Pam & I were lucky enough to be the results of it. I promised myself that I would always reflect upon what I thought my parents would do when it came to decisions regarding Sookie and Jacob's happiness…to our family's happiness.

I felt Sookie stirring against me, her hand rubbing against my chest. "What are you thinking about so intently?" she asked through a yawn.

"Honestly?"

"No, lie to me, Eric. Of course I want you to be honest with me." She rolled her eyes at me.

"I was thinking about how happy I am that we found each other…about how much I can't wait for you to be my wife, and for Jacob to become my son…about how I am scared shitless about fucking everything up…but mostly, I was just thinking about how my crummy life as I'd known it ended the moment I crashed in to you on Second Avenue, and how grateful I am that you saw something worthy enough in me to love."

"Wow. Someone's feeling a bit sappy today," she teased.

"Can't be helped," I shrugged. "You bring out the pussy in me."

"You can be a pussy any time you want if you keep saying things like that to me." She hugged me tightly and smiled up at me. God, she was gorgeous in the morning.

I kissed her softly, and said, "Ok, but promise me you won't tell anyone. I've got a reputation to protect."

"You've got yourself a deal, there, Schmoopy."

"What did you call me?" I asked, poking her in her side.

"What? You don't like 'Schmoopy'?" She was practically shrieking from the endless assault of tickles my hands were placing all over her body. Her legs were flailing, and she was futilely attempting an escape from my clutches.

"No, I do not like 'Schmoopy.' I am a big, strong man. I do not resemble a 'Schmoopy' in any way, shape or form. Now, say 'Eric, you're a total stud,' and I just might release you."

She was gasping for air from all the laughter and squealing, but she managed to squeak out, "Okay, okay, Eric, you're a total a stud."

I kissed her forehead, grinned and said, "Thank you. I knew you'd see things my way."

Her breathing finally started to level out, and she asked if I wanted breakfast. "Yep, a good tickle-fest always works up my appetite."

Sookie smiled at me and slowly extricated herself from my clutches. I loved the way her naked, tanned body glowed in the sunlight, and I had a very difficult time not grabbing her, throwing her back down and ravaging her. It almost physically hurt to watch her put on clothing.

As she walked out toward the hallway, she paused in the doorway and asked, "Hey Schmoopy, what do you want to eat?" She squealed again and ran off towards the kitchen.

Christ, I love this woman, I thought.

After a long, relaxing shower, I made my way to the kitchen, where Sookie was plating up some chocolate chip pancakes…complete with whipped cream smiley faces on them.

"Peace offering?" she asked with a questioning look.

"Okay," I said. "But no more of the 'S' word today. If Pam hears you say it, I'll never hear the end of it."

She put the plate down in front of me and gave me a lingering kiss. "No problem, you total stud."

I pulled her on to my lap, and she put her plate down next to mine. Scooping a bit of the whipped cream off of my pancake, I lifted my fingtips and rubbed it on her neck. Moving in for the kill quiclky, I licked it off, then scooped up a little more and placed it along her collar bone. Once again, I licked, running my tongue down and across her chest. Her breathing quickened, and small moans escaped her lips. I was about to throw her on the table and cover every inch of her with whipped cream when both of our cell phones began ringing in unison. With the wedding only days away, we knew we had to answer, but neither of us was thrilled about it. I growled, she whimpered, but we both reluctantly got up to answer our phones.

"We will finish this later, Sookie. You can count on that," I grumbled.

"We'd better. It'd be a waste of perfectly good whipped topping if you ask me," she sassed back.

I smacked her on the ass, kissed her roughly and then flipped open my phone.

"Speak, and it had better be good," I spat in to my phone.

"Ooh, did I catch you at a bad time, brother?" Pam asked.

"If you must know, Pam, I was about to eat some whipped cream off my fiancé's beautiful body."

Silence.

"Pam?"

"Holy shit, Eric. She really is the one, isn't she? You've never said anything that unguarded around me before."

I laughed, because I knew she was right. I never willing gave Pam ammunition to use against me. But I was so damned happy, I didn't really care.

"Yes, Pam, she really is. Now will you please tell me what you need to tell me so I can get back to what I was doing?"

"I was just calling to let you know that everything is set. I'm on my way to your apartment to pick up your birth certificate and suit, and then I'll pick up your rings. They're fabulous, if I do say so myself. Sam, Octavia and I will be arriving around seven o'clock, so make sure you get your ass to the airfield to pick us up. I've arranged for flowers, a private chef and cake for the reception, and the food and beverages will be delivered to Sookie's house tomorrow afternoon. The flowers and cake will be there Saturday morning. Oh, and I told Sam to bring his guitar. There's a few other things I'll need to do, but they will have to wait until I get there."

"Jesus. You did all this before ten A.M.? You're amazing, Pam. Thank you so much. I love you, you know."

"I know you do, and you're very welcome. I love you, too. I'll see you at seven tonight. Now get back to that luscious fiancé of yours. You've only got a few hours left before you have house guests. I suggest you use them wisely."

She hung up, and I realized that I was, as usual, in complete and utter awe of my sister.

Sookie walked back in to the kitchen with a huge smile on her face. I loved seeing her so happy. "That was Octavia. She was just letting me know about the arrangements she's made for the center while we're both gone. I guess all we have to do now is get the license and take care of the details like food, drinks and flowers."

"Actually, I just got off the phone with Pam. She's apparently handled all the details already. Looks like our only responsibilities today are getting the license and preparing the guest rooms."

Sookie's jaw dropped at the news of what Pam had accomplished. "She's unbelievable! We really don't have to do anything? I'm falling in love with your sister already!"

"Well," I said as I pulled her body to mine. "There's still the matter of the whipped cream…"

We had an hour and a half before we had to meet the judge to get our license, and by the time we left the house, there wasn't a drop of whipped topping to be found…anywhere.