NSFW

Chapter 24 - From The Heart

EPOV

Sookie got her wish for slow and sweet sex with me in my suit later that night. It was nice to be able to give her the things she wanted. They were always pretty simple, and it was always to my benefit that she was happy. We were curled up on the couch when she got a phone call from Holly.

"Hey Holly," she answered. "Yeah, I can meet you there. Around one? That's perfect. Yup. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!"

"Everything's good with Holly, I take it?"

"Yeah. She sounds really happy," she smiled. "Can you take a lunch around one?"

"I can take a lunch anytime I want," I assured her. "Where do I need to meet you?"

"At that deli about three blocks from your building."

"The one we had lunch at last month?" I asked her since there had to be at least half a dozen delis near my office.

"Yes, I already forgot the name of it."

"Good thing you're not the navigator in this relationship then," I snickered. "Is she bringing her girls along?"

"They'll be in school."

"Right," I nodded. I should have known that.

"It's okay, you don't have kids yet," she laughed.

"No, but that's just common sense."

"Not if you've been out of school for a long time."

"I suppose."

"Anyway, I'm glad you're going to come along."

"Thank you for inviting me."

"You're a part of this too."

"Nah, I'm just along for the ride. You and Amelia are doing this," I told her. "Even in death she's making the lives of the people around her better."

"You're still a part of it because you're a part of me."

We were quiet for a few minutes before I said, "I'm proud of you, you know? You took something that's made you very sad and turned it into something good. It takes a strong person to do that."

"I'm feeling proud of me too," she said. "And I'm glad you're here with me."

"Wouldn't be anywhere else," I assured her.

"Can we have a talk?" she asked. "A serious one."

"I thought we just were, but sure," I said, and turned off the TV so she knew she was getting my full attention.

"Are you happy?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, I am," I said without hesitation. "Work is good, friends are good, family is good, we're good... I don't have anything to complain about. It's kind of scary, when I think about it."

"Thank goodness," she said, and closed her eyes. "I was afraid I was the only one. I think I'm afraid of being this happy. The only thing unhappy in my life right now is missing Amelia."

"I think it's normal to be nervous when you're happy. It means you've got something to lose," I told her. "I like my life the way it is. I don't want to lose anything. Call me greedy, but that's the way I feel."

"Good, because that's the serious part. I don't want to lose you either."

"Okay," I laughed. "So what's the not serious part?"

"There wasn't a not serious part. I just wanted to make sure that you were comfortable with us and where this is and where it's going."

"And where is this going for you?" I asked her.

"It's going serious places," she said, and bit her lip.

"Serious places?" I asked with a teasing smile. I knew what she meant, but it was fun to put her on the spot for a change.

"You know what I mean," she said, and pinched my arm.

"I do?" I asked as I rubbed my arm. She was a brutal pincher.

"I see us doing it all," she said. "Not right away, but you're the guy in the tux years from now."

"That's good to know," I smiled at her, but offered nothing further, which got me another pinch.

"What about you?"

"Well, I definitely see a hot girl in a white dress walking toward me," I told her. "Blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes... amazing rack..."

"You're marrying Pamela Anderson?"

"Who told you? That was supposed to be a secret. Pam doesn't like the press coverage," I snickered.

"Ass," she giggled.

I shifted a little so my head was resting on her chest and then looked up at her before I said, "Would it make you feel better if I said your amazing rack is the only one I have any interest in being legally bound to?"

"A little," she smiled down at me.

"What else will it take to make you feel better?"

"I feel fine," she said. "You're gonna marry me someday."

"As long as Pam keeps dodging my phone calls- ouch!"

"Ass."

"Still love me?" I asked, rubbing my stomach where she'd punched me.

"I think so."

"I'm the one with the bruises forming," I pouted.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," she frowned. "Want me to make it up to you?"

"Depends on how you plan on doing that."

Again I have an idea, but I want to hear her say it because... well, why not?

"Maybe I want you to ask for it on occasion since you never have to," she smirked.

"Ask for what?" Again, I knew. She was just too much fun to mess with.

"Your window of opportunity for getting it is getting smaller and smaller."

I smiled up at her and asked, "Sookie, light of my life, will you honor me with your supreme oral skills?"

She grinned, and said, "Eric, darling, I would love to suck your cock."

"Dirty girl."

"It's not that dirty," she said.

"No, it's not," I agreed. "I've heard you say dirtier things than that."

"Oh I know you have," she smiled. "What's your favorite?"

I had to think about it for a moment before I could decide.

"That time you called me in the middle of the day and described in detail how you were getting yourself off," I told her with a smile.

"Oh jeez," she said, and covered her face with her hands. "It's really not a good thing that I'm home alone all day, is it?"

"I don't know... I enjoyed that phone call," I chuckled.

"You never did tell me if you rubbed one out that day."

"I wanted to, but didn't have the time."

"That's a shame."

"It worked out. As I recall I got my revenge later that night," I said as I sat up.

"You did," she smiled.

"So, Sookie," I made myself comfortable. "Are you going to follow up on your offer, or are you going to keep stalling?"

"I'm stalling?"

"Yes, you are."

"Then perhaps I should stop that," she said, and slid off the couch to kneel in front of me.

"I would hate to fall asleep before you get the chance to make good on your end."

"That would be awful," she said, and her hands made their way to my pants.

"Tragic," I smiled down at her.

She pulled me out, and started stroking me slowly. "Well would you look at that? You're already halfway there, sweetie."

"I was thinking about Pamela Anderson," I teased, and the glare I got...

"Is that so?" she asked, then her glare turned into a smile. "Then I suppose I'll have to make sure you're only thinking of me by the time you finish, won't I?"

"I have all kinds of faith you can do that."

"You better," she said, and then quickly took me all the way into her mouth before I wouldn't fit.

"Fuck," I groaned, and my head hit the back of the couch.

She released me almost immediately and smirked. "Still thinking of Pamela Anderson?"

"Nope," I groaned, my eyes closed and the image of a very naked Sookie floating around in my brain.

Sookie looked up at me with that little bit of mischief in her eyes, and I'm not even ashamed to say that she had me on the edge pretty damn fast. She was just that good. She knew what she was doing, and she knew all of my quirks and triggers. I didn't mind that she didn't take her time. Just like I hoped she wouldn't mind when I hauled her into our bedroom caveman style and set up camp between her thighs until she pushed me away.

Because I was going to do it unless she told me not to.

Her head bobbed and her hand stroked, and when I told her I was going to come she just sucked a little harder. I grabbed the back of the couch, and my hips started to buck up toward her mouth. I came with a shout that I'm pretty sure was gibberish, and Sookie swallowed everything I gave her. For some strange reason, as I was coming down from my high, all I could think was that if I ever wanted to break a dry spell between us I would just need to put on a suit. I never would have thought they were an aphrodisiac, but there were few things that got Sookie horny faster than that.

"That was lovely," she giggled from her spot on the floor. "I hope that made up for the bruises."

"Totally," I said, and then moved to make good on my own promise by hauling her up off the floor and tossing her over my shoulder.

"What are you doing?!" she squealed and squirmed.

"Payback," I said, and slapped her ass. "And making sure that you're not thinking about Pamela Anderson either."

"Not at all. I don't like fake tits."

"Me either," I said, and stood up to carry her back to the bedroom.

"You're awesome."

"And you're about to get tied up," I warned her.

"You know just how to please me."

I dropped her on the bed and stood there for a minute before I said, "Or maybe I should let you cuff me this time."

"I think you already got your treat," she said.

"Then your turn it is," I smirked, and went to the dresser drawer to get what was rapidly becoming one of Sookie's favorite toys.

oOoOoOo

The next day I walked into the deli Sookie had told me about, and found her sitting at a table close to the windows with a woman I didn't recognize, but assumed to be Holly. Sookie stood up when she spotted me, and when I reached her I bent to kiss her cheek.

"Hey sweetie," she smiled at me, then looked at the woman. "Holly, this is my boyfriend, Eric. Eric, Holly."

"Nice to meet you, Holly. Sookie's told me a lot about you," I said, and extended a hand to her.

"Likewise," Holly smiled at me.

I sat down next to Sookie and looked at the small menu that was kept wedged between the napkin dispenser and the condiments, even though I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted already.

"Did you order yet?" I asked Sookie.

"No, we were waiting for you. We haven't been here long."

"Good," I nodded. "So... Holly, how are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm still thinking I'm dreaming about all this," she said. "I'm afraid any minute I'm gonna wake up and all of this is going to disappear."

"I promise you it won't," Sookie said, and reached across the table to touch her hand.

"I hope not," Holly exhaled slowly. "And before I forget, thank you for inviting me out to lunch today."

"You're very welcome. And the sandwiches here are really good, so feel free to order a couple for the girls if you want," she said.

"Only if they make peanut butter and jelly. My girls are picky little creatures," Holly smiled at her menu. "Thankfully, I don't have that problem. Then again, I can't afford it."

"You will," Sookie said, then looked to me. "Eric, you want to tell Holly your news?"

"Any more good news and I might burst, I'm just warning y'all now," Holly said with a big smile on her face.

"Well, then you might want to hold Sookie's hand for this one," I told her, and she took my advice. "I talked to some of the people I work with. I'm a senior planner for a financial firm down at the Mercantile Exchange, and there's an opening in the mail room. When I told the human resources director your story she was sympathetic. I can't guarantee it, but I'm pretty sure if you give her a call she'll set you up with the job in the mail room."

I handed Holly the business card I'd tucked into my pocket that morning, and I swear, I thought she was going to faint for a second.

"I know it's probably not your dream job, but it pays well enough and it'll get you health insurance for you and your daughters, and it will allow you to be there to see them off to school in the morning and be home in time for dinner," I said, and Holly started to hyperventilate before she burst into tears.

Sookie quietly got up and went around the table to wrap her arms around Holly.

"It's a start," she said comfortingly as she rubbed her back.

Holly nodded, but was too overwhelmed to speak. Sookie and I stayed relatively quiet while Holly cried it out, and I couldn't help but hope that if Sookie ever found herself in the same position that Holly was in, that someone would be just as kind to her. Unfortunately, opportunities like this didn't come along every day, and it was obvious by Holly's reaction that she was grateful for what she was being given.

When she calmed down enough to speak again she said, "Thank you. Both of you. You've done so much for me and I don't even know either of you. This is just... this doesn't happen to people, you know? Like I keep waiting for some fucked up camera crew to come out and tell me I'm being Punk'd or something."

I laughed and said, "I promise you, that card is no joke. If you call the HR director will find you something. We're always hiring somewhere and I didn't know what your skill set was, but I figured even if you didn't have office experience you could handle sorting mail."

"I was a receptionist in a dentist's office before my husband died," Holly sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. "I was only working part-time so I'd be home with the girls when they got back from school. Leaving them at night has been killing me but I haven't had much other choice in the matter."

"Well, hopefully you won't have to worry about that anymore," I said as our waitress appeared to take our orders.

We all ordered, and Holly was smiling again.

"The only thing I really ask of you is that maybe we can all have dinner once a week or month, schedules permitting," Sookie said.

"I would love that," Holly smiled broadly. "And my girls adore you, just so you know. Leah has decided she wants to be just like you when she grows up."

"Aww," Sookie blushed. "Leah could pick better people to aspire to be, but I'm flattered."

"I think she's picked a good role model," I winked at Sookie.

"Shush," she said, and nudged my arm.

"I would have to agree, Sookie. If my girls turn out to be as kind and generous as you are I will consider my job to have been done well," Holly said.

"I appreciate that," Sookie smiled. "And for the record, I think you're doing a wonderful job already."

"I could be doing better, and I will be thanks to the two of you," Holly grinned.

"Does that mean you've decided to take the apartment?" I asked her before Sookie could.

Holly looked to Sookie and said, "I want to, but on the condition that you let me pay rent. I can't just take it from you, as much as I appreciate the offer. I wouldn't feel right about that, especially if I'm going to have a better job that will allow me to pay for it."

"You will pay rent, eventually," Sookie said. "I'd really like to take care of it for now, at least until you get back on your feet. In six months, we can talk about it again."

Holly looked like she wanted to argue, but Sookie gave her what I knew all too well to be the 'shut your piehole if you know what's good for you' look.

"I'm holding you to that," Holly said.

"That's just fine," Sookie smiled, and sipped her lemonade.

I sat back and listened to the girls talk while we waited for our food. As much as I didn't want to rush through lunch I had a conference call at two thirty I had to get back for, so I didn't have as much time as I wanted to hang out with them. On the bright side, it was Friday which meant I only had to make it through a few more hours and the work week would be over. I was more than anxious to get the weekend started.

"Eric, do you need to get back?" Sookie asked me when I was done eating before they'd finished even half of their food.

"Unfortunately I do, but I should be home at a reasonable time," I said, and pulled some cash from my back pocket for her. "I'll call you when I'm leaving the office. Holly, it was great to meet you. I hope to see you around the office."

"Me too. Thank you again, so much," she stood up when I did and gave me a hug.

"You're welcome," I said, and then bent to kiss Sookie's forehead before leaving the deli.

oOoOoOo

"Sook!" I called out when I walked into the apartment later that afternoon.

"In the kitchen!" she called back.

I walked in to find her standing at the sink with the water running.

"What'cha up to?" I asked, and started to loosen my tie. There was no such thing as casual Friday at my office.

"Washing dishes," she said, and puckered her lips for a kiss.

"How'd the rest of lunch go?" I asked, and gave her the kiss she wanted.

"Great," she smiled. "I took her to the apartment, and gave her the keys. She's staying there tonight, and in the morning we're going to go fix up some paperwork."

"That's awesome," I smiled at her.

"The girls are in love."

"Her daughters, you mean?"

"Yes," she laughed.

"Did you bring them by the apartment too?"

"Here?"

"No, Amelia's apartment," I chuckled. "We suck at communicating today."

"Yeah, that's where I took them," she said.

"What'd they think of the apartment?" I asked as I got a beer out of the fridge.

"They loved it," she smiled. "The girls are super excited about having their own rooms."

"I bet they are," I said, and hopped up onto the counter next to the sink. "So when are they moving in officially?"

"Probably this weekend. She had most of their stuff in storage and scrounged to keep paying for the locker so that they didn't lose everything."

"That's good at least. Do they need help moving? I'm sure we could talk Tray and some of the other guys he knows into helping out."

"I already offered your services," she said, biting her lip.

I chuckled and said, "That's my girl. I'll call Tray and see if he's interested."

"Thank you," she smiled.

"So then everything is all set other than the paperwork? Are you leaving most of the furniture in the apartment that's already there, or do we need to move that stuff out?" I asked her, since we would need to organize that pretty quickly if we needed to get rid of stuff.

"I asked her about that, and she said that they could honestly use everything. She sold off all their furniture for money so she could at least get the girls school supplies and pay for their lunches. All they have is their clothing and family pictures, small things like that."

"Wow," I shook my head.

"What?"

"It's just a really sad story, that's all," I shrugged, and took a big drink of my beer before offering it to her.

She took it and took a swig as well, then handed it back. "It is. And I have a feeling Amelia may have had something to do with me finding them. I'm just glad I did before she lost her girls."

"She seems like a really good mother," I said. "And if those girls already lost their father then they really, really need their mother."

"They do, and I hope with our help that they'll have her for a very, very long time," she said. "Are we watching the highlights tonight?"

"The highlights?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"Pre-game stuff," she said. "Is that not called highlights?"

I laughed and said, "No. The highlights are post-game. The pre-game is called the pre-game."

"Good lord I feel blonde," she sighed, and dried her hands after rinsing out the sink. "Well I want to watch. I'm getting into this baseball thing."

"So I've noticed. You know, we could maybe take Holly and her girls to a game," I suggested, knowing Sookie had been wanting to go to one before the season was over.

"Could we?!" she asked, her face lighting up.

"Yeah, why not? At least you won't feel so blonde around a couple of little girls," I teased, and she glared at me.

"You're not allowed to make fun of my blonde moments," she said.

"I wasn't. I think it's awesome of you that you're giving it a chance," I told her, and took another big drink of my beer.

"I'm glad," she smiled. "I was actually kind of worried for a while that you would think I was interfering on your man time."

"Not at all," I said as I hopped off the counter. "I think it's cute when you yell at the umpires now since you can spot the differences in pitches."

"Well they're clearly blind!"

"Clearly," I chuckled with amusement. "Sometimes it's a tough call and we get the replay. But that call during the game against the Rockies was bullshit. I thought you were going to throw your beer at the TV."

"I almost did," she laughed, and then she wrapped her arms around me and laid her head on my chest.

"Just promise me you won't do that at the game, or you'll get arrested," I kissed the top of her head.

"I'll try to control myself," she said. "What are you up for tonight?"

"Dinner, you mean?"

"Yup."

"Whatever you want. I don't have a taste for anything in particular."

"Since I already did the dishes, I was thinking we be lazy and order in pizza since we've been good the rest of the week. Pizza, beer, and baseball?"

"I like this plan," I said. "I'm going to go ditch the suit. You want to help me with that?"

"I would love to help you with that," she smiled up at me.

"Good. We've got fifteen minutes before the pre-game starts," I winked at her, and then she followed me back to the bedroom.

Thanks for reading!