A/N: First, I want to say that some of you scare the bejesus out of me. After Eric's stunt, I thought you all would come after me with virtual pitch forks and torches. I hope this chapter appeases you, but I'm going to be biting my nails until I get a few reviews. You guys are one tough crowd! Second, I chose another Adele song for the chapter title. I was driving in my car today, listening to my songs on shuffle and this one popped up and it just seemed perfect. Third, thanks for all of your suggestions on blogs. I ended up transferring everything over to fictionpad (amandagm), but then I had trouble getting it to personalize or see the stories easily, so I also started a wordpress site (agmain). Right now, fictionpad has both of my stories, and wordpress only has the completed Dead and Back. I hope that in time I will play around with it some and as I get more familiar with it, I will post chapters there too. Fourth, I'm out of town for work stuff for the rest of this week and next week too, so I'm not sure when I'll get to write and post again, but hopefully I won't make you all wait too long. And finally, thanks so much for tabularasa88, who really helped me work through some plot/relationship stuff in this chapter. Without her, you would be reading a far inferior chapter, and I might draw more nasty reviews than usual. So, with that, enjoy!
Chapter 29 – One and Only
Eric stood up hastily, straightening his clothes. "Sookie…" he breathed.
"Fuck no," Amelia said, loud enough for Eric to hear her.
"Look, I know I fucked up, but let me explain..." Eric started.
"You have some fucking nerve coming here. What? Did your date not put out? Is this your late night booty call?" Amelia spat.
Eric had a strained look on his face as his nostrils flared. "Amelia, I'm sorry we're meeting under these … circumstances … but I can assure you that I hold Sookie in the highest regard … and I care very much for her," Eric said tensely, and then his eyes shifted to meet mine. Softly, he said, "Sookie, I just need a moment of your time, to explain …."
"Eric, it's late, I'm starting to feel a bad hangover coming on and I'm tired. Can't this wait?" I entreated.
"Sookie, I don't want it to wait. I want to explain everything to you now. I can't allow you to continue to think that I'd be so cold or callous as to cheat on you, let alone to do so in such a public way. It wasn't like that. Please," he begged.
I hesitated for a long moment before I turned to Amelia, "Amelia, go inside and wait for me. I'm going to go and talk to Eric, in his apartment, but I'll be back in no more than half an hour."
"Are you sure Sook?" Amelia asked, full of concern.
"Yeah Ames. Better to go ahead and get this over with," I sighed, resigned.
Eric looked contrite, and I waved my arm in front of me indicating for him to lead the way. Eric looked down at the tulips and shyly said "These are for you." He held the bouquet out to me, his eyes lowered.
"What no red roses?" Amelia snarked.
Eric's eyes shot up to Amelia, and I could tell he was holding back stronger emotions as he snapped, "I know yellow is Sookie's favorite color, and she thinks roses are unoriginal. Tulips on Valentine's Day on the other hand are unique … just like she is," Eric said, shifting his gaze to me. Well, even if Eric seemed to forget that I was his girlfriend tonight, at least it appears he remembered some things about me from our time together in Sweden.
"Here, I'll take them and put them in water," Amelia said as she forcefully grabbed the flowers from Eric. "Thirty minutes Sookie, and not a minute more, or I'm coming up there with the building manager."
"Promise Ames," I said and I squeezed her hand in reassurance. With that, I followed Eric up to his apartment.
…
As soon as we got in his door, Eric pulled me over to his couch and sat down next to me, his hands holding my arms firmly. "Eric," I protested.
"Please, just let me say everything I have to say."
"First, can I have a glass of water?" I was parched and thought water would help stave off the massive headache that was already threatening me from the whiskey, and which would only be compounded by the very difficult discussion that Eric and I were about to have.
"Of course. Would you like coffee? I can put a pot on," he offered.
"I don't think you have time for coffee. Water will do." I dismissed him with a flick of my hand.
Eric returned with a glass of water and waited just long enough for me to take a small sip before he began, "I'm so sorry about tonight Sookie. God, how did things get so incredibly fucked up?!" Eric wiped his face with his hand, his eyes were weary and bloodshot.
"Look, I said I'd hear you out. I'll listen, but I reserve the right to react," I said firmly, crossing my arms over my chest. He nodded his head in acknowledgement. "You only have half an hour, so you better get on with it."
"When you left the office today, I was planning on surprising you here tonight with a late night dessert, champagne, and your Valentine's Day gift. I hadn't planned on seeing Dawn tonight when I made plans with you, I promise." I tensed at the mention of his date's name.
"And yet it seems you found the time to arrange for two dates," I gritted out.
"I know I deserve that, but I promise you Sookie, it isn't like that. Sophie-Ann came by after you left the office. We were talking and she asked me if I was seeing someone steady, since she hadn't seen me out on any dates lately. You see, not dating is … uncharacteristic for me. So, she assumed that since I hadn't been dating, at least like I used to, that I was off the market. It was then that I realized my mistake. I have been so happy with you and our time together that I got sloppy. I hadn't done anything to cover our tracks and I left us exposed… I left you exposed. For that, I can never forgive myself. So, I called Dawn and asked her out tonight. She's friends with Sophie-Ann and I knew that if I went out with her it would get back to Sophie-Ann. I also knew that if I took Dawn to Merlotte's, then other people I knew would see us together and word would get around that way. I just hadn't expected to see you there."
My face burned bright with my anger and my nostrils flared. I was seething over his response. How dare he set up this farce, ostensibly for my benefit, without even telling me about it. "Why didn't you tell me! Warn me about it! Do you know how awful it was for me to see you – my boyfriend – walk into Merlotte's, with a model no less. And on Valentine's Day of all days!" I laughed a crazy strained laugh and when my hysterical laughter stopped, I spat, "and I'm guessin' you've dated Dawn before!" I was furious at his high-handedness.
"I didn't have any time to talk to you about it and the timing was… unfortunate. And yes, I've dated Dawn before, so I was fairly sure she'd say yes, which is why I asked her out; but I wasn't sure she'd be free on Valentine's Day, so I had to move quickly in order to get everything into play."
"Eric, let's cut the euphemisms and say it. When you say you 'dated' her, you mean you slept with her," the accusing tone was evident in my voice.
"Yes. I did. In the past, but not tonight! For fuck's sake Sookie, I'm with you, I'm seeing you!" Eric shouted.
"Are you so sure about that?" I said, barely above a whisper.
"What do you mean? You aren't giving up on us, are you? I mean, I only went out with Dawn to protect you."
"No Eric, let's be honest. You went out with Dawn to protect the charade that you've convinced yourself that we need to act out. You did it to protect you. I didn't ask for this … this kind of protection… this secrecy. God, you made me feel like a goddamn mistress tonight!"
"Please believe me when I say that that was never my intention. Sookie, you are so much more to me than that." After a moment's silence, Eric asked the fifty million dollar question, "Are you leaving me?" The pain and hurt was written as plainly on his face as it was in his voice.
"What!? No?! I don't know?! Ugh! It's all so confusing!"
Eric's jaw tensed, "Is it Alcide? I saw you with him and I know he wants to be with you. Do you want to be with him?"
"Can I just say that I am beyond pissed for you to even go there. I am friends with Alcide, good friends. I'm not with him and even if I wanted to be, I'm too hung up on your stupid ass," I let out a loud sigh.
"You're hung up on me?" Eric smirked.
"You are incorrigible. Yes, I'm hung up on you, but don't get cocky about it because I don't know that what I feel for you is enough to make me forgive you for the stunt you pulled tonight, or for me to continue on with this stupid charade you have me performing." Eric, realizing his precarious position, lost his smirk and took on a decidedly more conciliatory look.
"Sookie, I care about you, I do. In fact, I think I lo-…"
"No! No, don't you dare say what I think you're going to say. You are not going to shit on me, on us, like you did tonight and then say something like that … something that should only be said for the first time under the best of circumstances. Mr. Northman, in case I need remind you, tonight was far from the best of circumstances. Understand?"
"Yes," he said, defeated. But then Eric straightened his spine, with a firm resolve in eyes he continued. "Okay, fine. I'll not say it … for now… but I will tell you how I feel about you Sookie Stackhouse and you will hear me out. I am not going to give you some bullshit line and tell you that we are fated to be together or that we're soul mates. This isn't some cheesy romance novel. I'm a lawyer and I deal with facts, and here are the facts. When I'm with you, I've never been happier in my entire life. More than anything, I want to make you happy; I want to be the reason that you smile and laugh. Being with you fills me with a sense of completeness, when I didn't even realize I was missing something in my life in the first place. I'm an imperfect man, but you make me want to be a better person. I have an irrational need to protect you and keep you safe, not just physically, but emotionally and professionally too. And sometimes, the thought of losing you makes me crazy and I do crazy things. But I know that, despite my episodes of poor judgment, you are worth it, and I think we are worth it too."
The passion and command in his voice filled me like an empty vessel. I could feel my hardened heart melting at his words and after a moment to absorb them, I managed to weakly say, "I just don't know Eric. Is it enough? Am I enough?"
"Yes. Please say yes, please give us another chance."
Eric waited with bated breath and a pleading look in his eyes. After considering his words, I knew what I needed to say, "Look, if we are going to be together, it has to be on equal footing, with equal say. You can't be the senior partner in our relationship. You might be able to pull the partner card with me with work and at the office, but when it comes to us, you don't get to staff our relationship as you see fit, or make unilateral decisions that affect me too. If you pull a stunt like this again… scratch that … if we are going to give us a chance, then you will not see anyone else, for appearances sake or otherwise. Do you hear me? Am I speaking plainly enough for you?"
"Yes, I do understand. Sookie, I want to do this right. I'm sorry I hurt you. Can you ever forgive me?"
"Yeah, eventually. But right now, I'm still pretty pissed off at you."
Eric grinned broadly. "Can I make it up to you?"
"Why, what did you have in mind?"
"How about my Valentine's Day gift?" he said as he jumped off the couch and ran over to his fire place. From the top of the mantel, he pulled down a very small box with a red bow and my heart skipped a beat. Eric approached me and I saw something in his face that I'd never seen before – uncertainty. He handed me the box and I took it from him gingerly, like it was a ticking bomb. I looked at him with a raised brow and he said, "Open it."
"Eric, I don't know…" I hesitated.
"Just open it Sookie."
So I did. And inside was a key. "What's this?" I asked, my brows knotted in confusion.
"A key to my apartment. Sookie, I don't want to have any secrets from you. I want you here, with me, whenever you want to be, because if it was left to me, you'd be here every night when I go to sleep and every morning when I wake up."
"Even though you could be with a model?" I teased.
"Ha! You met Dawn right? She may be a model, but I think her ego could rival mine. So, what do you say? Will you accept my gift?"
I bit my lip as I considered what he was offering. "Yes, but on one condition." I had the advantage, why not press it?
"Back to negotiating Stackhouse," Eric teased.
"Well, the negotiations aren't over yet," I quipped. "I want to go public with our relationship."
"What? No, we can't Sookie. It's to protect your reput…."
"Stop, don't rehash the supposed reasons for me again. I've heard them all before," and Eric's expression was cold and firm. After a stare off, I finally conceded, "Fine. How about we go public after our trial?"
"But that's just several months away? It's still too soon Sookie. You wouldn't have even been practicing law for a full year by then."
"Look, we get through trial and we make our relationship public or we end it tonight. It pains me to say that, but that is what I am willing to live with. I can't sneak around like this, and I won't. Get it mister?" I said, poking Eric in his chest.
My tone brooked no argument and Eric's cold façade crumbled. "Got it."
"Good. Now, I'm going back to my apartment. I'm going to spend this weekend with my best friend. You and I are going to spend this weekend apart. I need some time to get over just how pissed at you I am. Oh, and I am."
"Don't I at least get a Valentine's Day kiss?" Eric pouted, and it was hard to keep my hard composure.
"Are you ever not an opportunist?" I said with a small smile.
"Sookie, when it comes to you, I will always try to press my case," Eric leered.
"Ugh, fine," I conceded. Eric leaned in to kiss me and boy, what a kiss. It was slow, and sensual, and Eric's entire body was into it, gripping me and holding me, like a man who almost lost something precious and dear to him. I could feel my body reacting to him and his kiss, despite my brain's efforts to remind me that I was still mad at him. After a while, my brain's protests became weaker and weaker until it finally gave up. So I settled in and allowed myself to enjoy the kiss and the feelings it stirred. The kiss was a reminder of how good it is when we are together, without games and bullshit, and it held all of the promise of a time when we could openly declare our feelings for each other. As he pulled back, he took my bottom lip with him, held between his teeth, and then he let it go with a pop and a leer.
"Well…" I started, and I had to clear my throat when my voice came out all raspy, "just remember, I'm still mad at you." I sat up and tried to straighten my clothes, which had become disheveled.
"Oh Sookie, you won't be mad at me for long. Just think, in a few days time, when Amelia leaves, we can have make up sex. And I promise, you won't be able to stay mad at me after how good I'm going to make you feel."
"Humble much?" I chuckled.
"Humble? You know me better than that. There is nothing humble about me." And believe you me, humble was definitely not a word I'd use to describe Eric Northman.
I scoffed and pushed Eric off me and I walked to the door. "Well Mr. Northman, while you may not be humble, I do expect you to be a man of your word, and I will hold you to it," and with that, I left and went back to my apartment, taking my new key with me.
