TITLE: DAYS Fairy Tale: Eric & Greta: Chapters 6-9
WRITTEN BY: Heather Ferguson (fergus80)
EMAIL: hferguso@niu.edu
WEBSITE: http://eric_greta.tripod.com (from when Jensen was on days)
Rating: If you can watch DAYS, you can read this. If there is a rating change, a link to the chap. will be provided.
Disclaimer: Days of Our Lives and all of their characters are property of Corday Productions and NBC.
My Rant: Okay, I'm finally putting this up on FanFiction.net. Mostly to free up my website space. This was started way back in Oct. of 1999, and I haven't decided if it's finished yet or not. Reviews are always welcome!
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Chapter 6
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Eric was in shock, she was hugging him. He took her arms and shoved her away. "What are you doing Nicole? You lost me, everything we had, including our so-called friendship when you married Lucas!" he yelled at her. "If I had my way, we would never see each other ever again!" and with that he walked away from her, leaving Nicole there open mouthed.
Eric was mad, really mad, *How could she?* he asked himself. He looked at his watch, it was already one o'clock. He sighed, and then let out a long breath trying to calm down. He had to get back to the apartment, and help Greta with the furniture that was being delivered. He tried to just forget about the whole thing with Nicole, and think about how happy he was that Greta had moved in with him. He took out his Cell phone and called the apartment...
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Greta walked around Salem place, she sighed as she passed the travel company, her mind traveled back to Paris, like it always did lately. "Greta?" She turned around to find Billie.
"Hi Bille," They exchanged hugs, Billie told her she was so glad that she was back. Greta remembered something, and reached into her purse, holding out the Compact. She wanted Billie to have it, since it had happier memories for her, then it did Greta. Billie finally accepted it, and they agreed to talk again soon.
Greta started walking around again, looked at her watch, it was one o'clock already, she needed to get back to the apartment, she sighed. Now not to sure if it was a good idea to have moved in with Eric. *Did I just set myself up for greater heartbreak?*
She continued walking, heading back to the apartment, she looked up, and found Eric on his phone, then he looked over at her and smiled. He closed the phone and walked over to her. They both said hello, and Eric said that he just called the apartment to see if she was there, and tell her that he was going to be there soon to help, and apologize for getting caught up at the hospital. Greta just brushed it off, and said it was okay. Eric looked at her, knowing that something wasn't right. Greta then motioned to the bag she was carrying.
"This is for you, a thank you for helping me in Paris." She said trying to smile, and handed him the bag. He told her it wasn't really needed at all, but thanked her anyway. He looked through the bag, and was shocked. He took out the Digital Camera, it was exactly the kind he wanted. She was happy that she picked out the right one. He gave her a big hug, but she didn't hug him back the way she usually did. He stepped away and looked at her. "I was going to give it to you at the hospital, but you were busy." She said simply.
He nodded as knowledge of what was wrong registered, "You were at the hospital," Greta nodded. He knew she had seen him and Nicole together, that could be the only reason for how she was acting. "You know what it is like to be hugged by someone you don't want to hug you?" He looked at her, grabbing her hand, trying to make her understand. "Nicole and I are over. We will never get back together. I want to move on with my life." Greta smiled feeling much better. He smiled, he knew he got through to her, and that that was in fact what was bothering her. Greta went on about Paris, and how they had spent so much time together, but that they never really. She stopped, he asked her to go on.
"Well, we never really," she stopped and looked down, then continued, "we didn't have a date."
Eric smiled, "You're right."
She interrupted, "But now, it's like I'm asking for it, and everything..."
Eric just grinned, "Well, if you'll let me, I'll ask. I have been wanting to for awhile anyway." Greta smiled up at him. "So... how about tonight?"
"That would be great."
"Well, of course, we have to get back to the apartment to get your new furniture."
Greta agreed, as they walked to his car. "You know what though... It's going to be strange."
"What will be?" He asked opening her car door, and moving to the other side.
"Well, we'll be getting ready in the same apartment."
He laughed, "This is true. I guess I'll have to pick you up at your bedroom door." he said as he winked over at her. She grinned. Eric put the car into drive, and they left for the apartment. Fifteen minutes after they got to the apartment the furniture arrived. The delivery guys brought it into the apartment, and into the middle of the living room, then left.
"That was real, nice." Eric said, "They could have moved it into the bedroom?"
"Oh no big deal, Eric. Come on, lets get the stuff in there."
They moved the chair then the side table. Greta finally got it into the right spot after some moving around, but really only agreed on where to put it, when Eric groaned about having to move it again. "Big baby," she said to him as they set the chair down. They then moved in the mirror and the night stand, and finished off with the lamps. Once that was done, Greta decided where she wanted the pictures. The Paris picture she put on the opposite side of the wall by the mirror. She knew she would see it before she went to bed, when she woke up in the morning, and that was the the effect she wanted. She smiled looking at her room. "Feel like home?" Eric asked.
"Yeah, it does, nice and comfortable."
"Good," he looked at his watch. "Because, while you were deciding where to put the pictures, I made reservations at Tuscany at 6:30, and it's four o'clock right now."
Greta looked at him in shock, "It's four? I only have 2 and a half hours to get ready." She shoved him out of the door.
"That is more then enough time, heck, if it was six o'clock it would still be fine."
Greta gave him a dirty look, "Women need longer to get ready!"
"Why? You look perfect now." He said looking at her.
She stopped, blushed slightly, looked at herself. She was a mess, her hair all over the place, she probably needed a shower, and her makeup wore off a long time ago. She just shook her head, "I'll see you at six, and I am taking a shower in like 10 minutes."
Eric just laughed, "Oh kay. I'll knock... and so you know... I'm going to go watch TV for a little while." He winked at her, and she gave him a dirty look. She then shut the door on him, and he moved out to the couch, and turned on the TV.
A few minutes later, she came out of the room, in her new robe, with a towel, and headed into the bathroom. Eric heard the shower being turned on, and he knew it had to be his mind playing tricks on him, but he swore he could hear her robe hit the floor. He shook his head to try and get the image out of his mind. *We haven't even had a date yet!* He screamed at himself. He turned back to the television, and tried to watch. About a half hour later, he heard the water stop, and then little later the hair dryer going. He grinned at himself, he thought she was going to way to much trouble for him. But was used to it, growing up with Carrie in the house, *What she used to do, to get ready for a date.* He laughed to himself, then he realized it was him Greta was getting ready for. It was sort of unreal to him. A few minutes later the door opened, Eric looked up to see Greta in her blue robe, her hair dry. "You know, you look the same as when you went in." That's when the towel that she was carrying hit him in the face. "Good throw." He yelled back with the towel still over his head. He sighed, and then he could smell her. He took the towel off his head, then brought it to his nose and sniffed it. He felt ridiculous doing so, but it smelled like her, like the smell he always got when he hugged her. Like a combination of roses and vanilla. He got up and put the towel in the hamper in the bathroom, then went back to watching TV, even though his mind wasn't thinking about it.
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Greta moved to her closet, and tried to think of something to wear. Something, that Eric hadn't seen yet. She wished that she had had time to go shopping. *Maybe next time,* she grinned at that. She finally found what she wanted, and shoes to match and laid it out on the bed. She then went to do her make up and hair.
Greta looked at the clock, it was 5:56, and she finished putting her earring in. She had got done just in time, *Well, with time to spare. Sort of.* She looked at her appearance in the mirror, she hoped she looked okay. She just realized how nervous she was. She tried to tell herself that she shouldn't be but it didn't work. KNOCK, KNOCK the door sounded.
"You're early!" She told him from behind the door.
"I can't help it," was his reply. "Are you going to open the door?"
She walked over to the door, and opened it.
Eric looked at her, and he stopped breathing. She was wearing a navy blue dress, it clung to every curve, and then lightly flowed slowly out at the waist to puddle at the floor. He air was up, and showed off her long, beautiful neck, which had a simple yet beautiful necklace hanging from it. He finally caught his voice, "You look breathtaking." He said simply.
Greta blushed, then took him in. He was wearing a dark blue suit, that fit very well, she had to admit, and it showed off his broad shoulders. "And you look very handsome," she finally said. They both smiled, he offered her his arm, and then headed out the door, on their very first date.
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Chapter 7
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Eric followed Greta through the doors of Tuscany, he told the waiter the name on the reservations and he escorted them to their table. Eric pulled out Greta's chair for her, and then went to his side of the table to sit down. The waiter poured them some champaign then left them to look at the menu.
Eric lifted his glass, "Welcome home," he said simply.
Greta lifted her glass as well, "Welcome home," she replied and they clinked glasses and then each took a drink. As she set the glass down she looked at the door, and visibly tensed.
Eric saw her looking up at the door, and turned around, Lucas and Nicole were walking in the door. He turned back to Greta, "We can leave if you want too."
She shook her head no, "No, I think we should stay. We shouldn't have to leave." Eric agreed.
Lucas and Nicole walked up to the table, "Well, I guess Salem really is a small town."
Eric looked up at him, "You know Lucas, I didn't thank you for saving Sami before. But I will now, Thank you." He said then turned away from him.
"Well, Eric glad to hear someone is grateful to me, you sister..."
Eric cut him off, "That's all I have to say to you Lucas, and that is all you will ever get from me. Now, if you'll excuse us, we are trying to have dinner." He said trying to sound as polite as her could muster to Lucas.
Nicole didn't say anything as she starred at Greta, giving Greta a very uneasy feeling. She then followed Lucas over to their table, but didn't take her eyes off them.
"Sorry about that," Eric said once they left.
"Eric, there's no reason to be sorry. You can't control who would walk into this restaurant." Eric grinned, she always had a way of making him feel better. They both turned back to their menu's trying to decide what they wanted to order, with Nicole looking on.
After a few minutes, Greta excused herself from the table, and told Eric to order for her. "No, that's okay, I'll wait for you to get back, besides, I'm still trying to figure out what I want." He said with a wink. Greta smiled wide, and left to go to the powder room.
Nicole saw Greta head to the ladies room, and decided to follow her, she told Lucas she had to powder her nose and then left. She walked into the bathroom, to find Greta putting on some lipstick.
"Hi Greta," She said trying to sound nice.
"Nicole." Greta said uneasy, she didn't feel comfortable around Nicole. For many reasons, one that Nicole was Eric's last girlfriend, and two she felt like gouging her eyes out for what she did to Eric.
"So, are you and Eric here on a date?" she asked casually.
"Why yes we are," Greta replied putting the top back on the lip stick tube.
"Is this your first date?"
"Yes it is."
"Oh isn't that sweet." Nicole said, then went on to say how she remembered her date with Eric and how he had brought her flowers, and that they talked all night.
"What do you want Nicole?" Greta asked.
Nicole took a step back and acted offended, "I only want everyone to be as happy as I am with Lucas. I just don't think Eric can be that happy."
"And why is that?"
"Because I don't think he will ever get over me." Nicole said simply, watching Greta's face for a reaction. And she got it.
"But Eric said he wasn't in love with you anymore." Greta replied, trying not to look at Nicole.
"And you believed him? Like he would tell you that he was still in love with me. He ONLY went to Paris to TRY and get over me, and it's pretty obvious that he isn't. That he will NEVER be." With that Nicole walked out of the Ladies room, and back to her dinner with Lucas.
Greta just stood there in shock. She didn't know what to think, she knew she didn't trust Nicole at all. But what would Nicole gain by telling her that? She was married to Lucas. She knew Eric wouldn't hurt her, at least intentionally. *But what if he does know? That's crazy.* She didn't know what to do, the only thing she knew was that she was confused. Very confused. What if Nicole was right? She remembered back to Paris all those times, that Eric had said that he didn't want to fall in love again, that it only Hurt, and that he wouldn't let anyone get as close to him as Nicole did. At the time she thought he was just saying that because he was hurt, and that he would change his mind. But maybe she was wrong. She leaned against the counter for strength, she all of a sudden felt sick. Nicole's words just kept ringing through her head, she cleared her head long enough to walk back out to the table.
Eric stood up when Greta came back an instantly sensed something wasn't right. Greta sat down, then so did he. He looked at Greta and started to ask her what was wrong, but before he could she spoke. "Eric, I'm sorry. I'm not feeling very well. Do you mind just taking me home?" she asked quietly, he almost couldn't hear her, and she wasn't looking at him.
Eric stood up, and pulled her chair out. She stood up, and went to go get her coat. Eric looked over his shoulder, and caught Lucas and Nicole watching him. He then paid for the champaign that they drank, and apologized for having to leave early, then followed Greta and helped her put her coat on. He then followed her out into the parking lot. Opened the door to the Jeep for her, then got in on his side. He didn't start the car, he just looked over at Greta who was starring out her passenger side window.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"I'm just not feeling that well, sorry to ruin the evening." She said still to quietly for his tastes, and she still wasn't looking at him. Eric then turned the Jeep on, and headed for the apartment, hopefully she would open up and tell him what was going on there.
A little later, they were walking to the door, and Eric unlocked it, then followed Greta in. She walked towards her bedroom, and he followed her. She opened the door, and Eric put out his hand, and lightly grabbed her arm. Greta turned to look at him. He smiled at her. "I know you aren't feeling well, but I still had a good time." Greta just nodded. He leaned in to kiss her, and she moved out of the way at the last second, letting his lips hit nothing.
"Good night," she said and stepped into the room.
"Greta, something is wrong. Please tell me what it is."
"Nothing. I'm just going to head to bed." With that she shut the door.
Eric stood there, he walked out into the living room. *What happened? Everything was fine, we were having a great time, right? Yeah.* He thought back, and tried to figure out what was wrong. Then he knew. *Nicole!* With that he was out the door, and back into his jeep.
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Greta walked over to her closet, pealed off her dress, and put on her pajamas. She pulled the bobby pins and clips out of her hair, then walked over to the bed, and feel on it, crying. *I was so mean to him.* She screamed at herself. *Why? Because I'm mad that he still love Nicole? It's not like it's his fault.* She was confused and frustrated, *Why can't I just be happy?* she asked herself as she let herself cry into the pillow.
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Eric stormed back into Tuscany, to find that Lucas and Nicole weren't there anymore. He looked at his watch, it had only been a little more than a half hour since they left. *They couldn't have ate that quickly.* He turned back to leave to find Nicole at the bar. He grabbed her arm and turned her towards him, "What the Hell did you say to Greta?" He screamed at her.
Nicole looked at him in shock, "What are you talking about?" She managed to get out through all the alcohol.
Eric could smell the alcohol on her breath, *She's drunk.* "I said, what did you say to Greta in the Ladies room?"
Nicole broke away from his hold, got off the bar stool and slightly stumbled, then caught her balance. "I only asked her if it was your first date."
"What else?"
"Nothing, I swear."
"Like I should believe a word that you say." He told her.
"Well you can believe what you like. But I'm leaving."
"Oh, have your limo waiting for you?" Eric asked in disgust.
"No, I have my car outside," she said simply, and went to go get her coat.
"Nicole, you're drunk, you can't drive like this."
"You care?" She said to him, "This morning you never wanted to see me again."
"No I don't care, I just care about the person you are going to kill out there if you do drive." With that he took her out the door, and led her to his jeep. He opened the door and told her to get in, that she could come back and get the car when she sober. He got in and started up the engine, and backed out of the parking spot and started to drive her home. He was so mad, "You know Nicole, you tell me how happy you are with Lucas, but you didn't finish dinner with him, and now you are drunk."
"He had to leave for business, and I just had a little to much." She leaned over against him, and rested her head on his shoulder and looked up at him. Eric shrugged his shoulder, to get her to move.
"Nicole, knock it off. The only reason you are getting a ride is because you are drunk."
"But Eric, I miss you, we used to be such good friends..."
"Not anymore. And don't talk to Greta anymore. I don't know what you said, but stop." He pulled into the driveway, and stopped the car. "You're here Nicole, now get out." Nicole slowly unlocked and opened the door. She got out, then shut the door. And before it was totally closed, Eric was backing out of the drive.
He hit the steering wheel hard, he knew Nicole had told Greta something, but he didn't know what that something was. He drove back to the apartment, and decided that maybe he could get Greta to talk to him now.
Not to long later, he unlocked the door, and walked into the apartment. Greta wasn't in the living room, *She must still be in her room.* He went to her door to knock, but there was so answer, he knocked again, "Greta?" he said quietly. Still nothing. He hated to do it, but he slowly turned the knob to find it unlocked, the room was dark, and he could tell that she was on the bed from the small amount of light from the window. He slowly walked over to her. She seemed to be fast asleep, *Maybe she really just didn't feel good.* But that thought was washed away when the moonlight caught her face. He could see that her mascara and makeup had run down her face. *She fell asleep crying,* he said to himself, he closed his eyes and felt horrible. Nicole had definitely said something to her. He sat on the side of the bed softly, and quietly spoke, "I'm sorry Greta, I don't know what she told you. But I'm sorry." He lightly stroked her check, brought two fingers to his lips, kissed them, and then placed them on hers. "Good night." And with that he stood up, and walked out of the room. He shut the door softly behind him.
He took off his suit coat and threw it in his room, and then headed out to the couch. He sat down, put his head in his hands, trying to figure out what he should do. He felt terrible about all of it, even though he had no idea what happened. He knew that it was partially his fault, because it dealt with Nicole. And that was the biggest mistake he had ever made. He sat there, leaned back, and tried to think of what he could do. Not to much later he fell asleep. Hours later the sun came back up, the light flickering through the window, and onto Eric, but didn't wake him up. It however did show the nice shade of Nicole's lipstick on Eric's white collar........
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Chapter 8
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Greta pulled the covers up over her head, the sun light coming through her widow was slowly waking her up, and she didn't want to get out of bed. She didn't want to face the day, or for that matter face one Eric Brady. After a few minutes she gave up, and knew she couldn't win against the sun, and pulled the covers off and sat up. She pulled the covers back, and got out of the bed, she looked in the mirror. She looked horrible, her makeup was still all over her face, with the mascara running down it. She didn't want to think about the night before, *You were so stupid Greta! You should know Eric better than that. I mean it was 'Nicole' that said all that!* She shook her head, she had went over board, now she just had to somehow make it up to Eric. *First, I can't let him see me like this.* With that she slowly opened her bedroom door, and walked out to see Eric's door wide open, with him not there. *Must have left early.* With that she walked through the kitchen quickly and went to the bathroom. She washed her face, brushed her teeth and hair, then looked up into the mirror. She smiled slightly, she felt better, now to go find Eric and explain herself. But she wouldn't have to go far....
She walked out of the bathroom, and that is when she saw him laying on the couch. *Ouch, he's going to have a stiff neck when he wakes up.* She slowly walked over to him, and was about to touch him, when her hand stopped in mid-air. He eyes widened in shock at the large smear of lipstick on his white collar. She remembered hearing him leave the apartment last night, and couldn't remembering him get back. She also remembered her talk with Nicole, and remembered Nicole wearing lipstick just about that color. She backed away slowly, and retreated into her room. She hurried and got dressed, quietly not wake him, she didn't think she could look at him right now and not break into tears. *And I thought Nicole wasn't telling me the truth. I am so pathetic!* She screamed at herself. She finished dressing in her blue jeans, sweatshirt, tennis shoes and then grabbed her purse. She quietly made her way out of the apartment, but she didn't know where she was going too.
A half hour later she found herself at the Pub, she was hungry actually, she hadn't ate breakfast yet. After her walk there however, she decided she needed to learn how to drive, get a license, and then a car, because she was really getting tired of walking and the bus system was less than desirable and she thought it was a waist to take a cab. *Why am I thinking about this, when I have something else to think about?* She asked herself, *because you are trying to forget the other problem!* With that she shook her head and walked into the Pub, to find Bo and Shawn D, *No that's Shawn now.* Bo waved her over. Greta took a seat next to Bo, told them good morning then looked at the menu.
Bo looked over at her with a smile on his face. Greta felt him starring, "What?" she asked.
"Soooo?"
"So what?"
"How did the date go last night?" He asked.
Greta paused then looked back at her menu and said, "It didn't." Caroline then came over and asked what she wanted to eat, and Bo looked at Greta in disbelief. "I think I'll have a southern omelet and orange juice." Caroline smiled, nodded and told her it would be right up.
Bo looked at her and said, "What do you mean? What happened?"
"Well.... I found out he was still in love with Nicole, and asked him to take me home. He then left and spent the rest of the night with Nicole." She said matter of factly, and thanked a waitress that gave her, her orange juice.
Bo choked on his coffee. Shawn (D... AHHHH ;-) ) looked back and forth between Bo and Greta, then finally stood up, "Uhhh, I'm going to go talk to Gram." Bo looked up and nodded with a look of thanks.
"Greta, you are kidding right? Tell me what happened exactly."
Greta sighed, "I don't want to."
"There has to be more about it, then just that." Greta finally gave in, and began to tell him all about the night before.
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Eric woke up to a very stiff neck, he sat up and winced, he couldn't believe he had fallen asleep on the couch. He got up and went into his room, changed into a pair of jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and zipped fleece vest. He ran his fingers through his hair to try and straighten it out. He then walked over to Greta's bedroom door, he knocked softly, no answer. He knocked again, still nothing. He found that it wasn't locked and walked in to find an empty bedroom. Eric sighed, *She doesn't want to talk to me.* He didn't really blame her though, *Whatever Nicole said really worked.* He walked out of her room, and grabbed his Keys, wallet, and the large envelope to give to Carrie. It contained his resume and sample pictures. With that he left the apartment, all he knew was that he had to find her, and they needed to 'talk'.
Forty minutes later he was back in his Jeep driving, trying to decide where she might have went. He already called John, and Mrs. Horton, and none had seen her, but he of course didn't answer why he wanted to know. Carrie had told him he would start work on Monday, and it was Saturday. He looked at his watch, 10:27, where would she be? He decided to try Salem Place.
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Greta finished her story up to the point where she closed her bedroom door, after the almost date. Bo stopped her, "Greta, you can't take anything that Nicole says seriously. You need to believe Eric, he would never hurt you. And I know he doesn't have feelings for Nicole anymore. Wait, I take that back, he does have a feeling for her, anger."
Greta nodded, "That's what I thought too when I woke up this morning. I completely agreed with what you just said, I was even mad at myself for how I acted. But last night, after I shut my door, I heard him leave, I didn't know why, and I didn't hear him come back." Bo nodded and waited for her to go on. "When I woke up this morning, I found him asleep on the couch. I went over to wake him up, but I didn't." She stopped.
Bo, waited but she didn't continue, "Why didn't you?"
Greta looked down at her half eaten omelet, then continued, "Because I noticed something, he had Nicole's lipstick on his collar."
Bo didn't know what to say, he was in shock, and now knew why Greta was so upset. He knew he would probably react in the same way if he was her. He took a deep breath, "Now, I can understand why you are upset, but you don't know exactly what happened. And you can't be sure that it was Nicole's lipstick."
Greta jerked her head up to look at him, "So then it would be okay if it was some other girls lipstick on his collar? That he left last night and hooked up with some stranger?"
Bo starred at her, the anger in her voice surprising him. He never heard that much anger come out of her, even when she was talking about Stephano and what he did to her mother. "That's not what I meant, and no that wouldn't be okay. What I meant was, yes you don't know for sure it was hers. Could be his Mom's or Carrie's for all you know when they hugged him." Bo knew it was a stretch and told her so. "But, you don't know what happened, and the only way to know is by asking him."
"I don't want to even look at him right now," Greta said simply, poking the omelet with her fork. "I just want to get my mind off of it for awhile."
Shawn then came back over, "Hey dad, Philip and I are going to salem place for a movie, I'll see you later." And with that he left.
Bo looked at him go, "Yeah sure son, you can go. Thanks for asking, I'll see ya later." he shook his head, he was going to have to figure out to handle that kid soon. He turned back to Greta, "Well then how about we think of something to do today?"
"I'd like that." With that they both got out of the booth, paid for their meals after insisting that they do so to Caroline, and left the Brady Pub.
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Eric had walked all over Salem place, and not one sign of Greta, and no one had seen her. He tried her cell phone for the tenth time, and still no answer. "Well she is obviously not here," he said to himself out loud.
"And who would that be?" a voice asked from behind him.
Eric turned around to find Billie, "That person would be Greta."
"Greta huh? Sure you didn't mean Nicole?"
Eric did a double take, "Excuse me?"
"I saw you leave Tuscany with Nicole last night, when you were supposed to be on date with Greta."
Eric looked at her, found a near by bench and sat down. "It's not what you think."
"Okay, then tell me what it was." Billie said disapprovingly.
Eric looked over to her, "Don't look at me like that."
"Well, Greta is a good friend of mine, and I don't want her to get hurt. So spill it."
Eric sighed, "Greta and I ended the 'date' early."
"Why?"
"Well, she said she didn't feel good and wanted me to take her home. But I knew there was more to it than that, she just wasn't acting right." He stopped, Billie urged him to continue. "Well, when we got back to the apartment she went into her room, and even moved away when I tried to kiss her." He paused, "I remembered that Nicole was gone most of the time from the table with Lucas while Greta was in the Ladies room. I put two and two together and figured that Nicole had said something to her, so I went to hunt down Nicole and tell her to leave Greta alone, that's when I found her at Tuscany."
"But that doesn't explain why you left with her or why you had your arm around her."
Eric rubbed his forehead, "She was drunk, very drunk and was insisting that she drive home. I gave her a ride, fearing for the other people on the road."
Billie nodded now understanding, "Okay, now why are you looking for Greta, didn't you just tell her what happened last night?"
"I tried, but when I got back she was asleep. And... Oh Billie," he stopped the look of pain on his face was evident, "I went in her room to check on her, and she had been crying... she cried herself to sleep Billie. I asked Nicole what she told her, but she said she didn't say anything. I know Nicole was lying, but God!" Eric leaned down, put his elbows into his knees and then rested his face in his hands.
Billie leaned over, and gave him a half hug, "What about this morning?"
"She was gone when I woke up, and I have been looking for her ever since. She won't answer her phone, John hasn't seen her and neither has Mrs. H. And I have looked all over Salem Place. I even called the apartment, she isn't there."
"Well we just need to try some other places, calling first.... hmmmm where to start." Billie felt bad for Eric, she was looking forward to talking to Nicole later. Billie thought Eric and Greta were perfect for each other, and she was not going to let Nicole of all people come between them. "Well, you tried John, Mrs. Horton, but did you try Bo?"
Eric looked up at her, "Why didn't I think of that,"
Billie pointed to his head, "Brain block?" and then winked at him.
Eric took out his cell phone and dialed Bo's cell phone, "It's busy."
"Well then we'll try again in a little bit." They waited a few minutes, looked around salem place again, then Eric tried calling again.
"It's ringing..." He told Billie, then Bo picked up the phone, "Hey Bo, it's Eric."
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Bo looked over at Greta, then talked back into his phone, "Hey Eric, what's up?" Greta looked at Bo, and pleaded for him not to tell Eric, anything. "Yeah Greta is here with me."
{{Where are you?}} Eric asked.
"Ummm, well, we are actually on our way somewhere else," Bo said trying not to tell Eric anything.
{{Well, can I talk to her?}}
Bo looked at Greta, "Uhhh, I don't think that would be a good idea right now, maybe later."
{{Bo, what's wrong? What did she tell you?}}
"Listen, me and Greta are just hanging out for the day, she'll see ya later back at the apartment, okay man?"
{{Okay, okay. I'll see her there.}} They said there good byes, and Bo looked over at Greta.
"He's been looking for you."
Greta looked down at the ground, "Yeah well, I just don't want to talk right now. Maybe later," She took another bite of the large soft pretzel, and they headed to the peer. "So, you told him we were on our way somewhere, where are we going?"
"Well, to this bench?"
Greta smiled as she sat down on the bench and looked out at the river, she didn't know what she was going to do, but she knew that soon she would have to do something. Especially since she lived with her problem, Eric Brady.
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Eric put the phone back in his coat, and sighed. Billie put a hand on his shoulder, "What did Bo say?"
"Well Greta is with him, and they are going somewhere, spending the day together I guess, but he wouldn't tell me where. Which makes me think that she told him what is ever bothering her. He also said that she would be back to the apartment later."
"Well, then unless you have something to do, I suggest you go back to the apartment, try to figure out what is wrong, and wait. That is, if you want to have any type of relationship with Greta, and not just friends."
Eric looked at Billie, "Yeah, I guess you are right," with that he stood up, they gave each other a hug, and Eric headed back to the apartment.
Eric had been sitting on the couch for over three hours trying to figure out what Nicole could have said that would get Greta so upset. He still hadn't come up with anything when he heard the key in the lock. He stood up when the door opened, Greta walked in the door, turned around and shut the door, then went into the Kitchen.
She didn't want to talk, even though she knew it was going to happen. She poured herself a glass of water because she felt her mouth go dry all of a sudden, she felt his presence follow her into the kitchen, she knew he was starring at her. That's when she heard him speak, "I'm sorry."
She turned around to face him, and looked him in the eyes, "For what?" she asked simply.
He stopped, he wasn't prepared for that question, then spoke, "For whatever it is that has made you so upset, that you can't even look or talk to me."
Greta gulped down the water, and set the glass in the sink, she then walked into the living room, she had to get some distance from him. She sat on the couch, he came over and sat on the other side. "You have no idea, do you?" she asked in disbelief. *He was out with Nicole last night, and he has no idea why I am upset. But then again, he doesn't know you know. Oh Shut UP!* Her brain screamed at her.
"All I know is that you completely changed after you got back from the ladies room, I put two and two together and figure Nicole told you something. But I have no idea what it is."
"Why didn't you just ask her last night then?" Greta was actually getting mad at him, she wasn't exactly sure why, she kept telling herself that they weren't really a couple, so she didn't have any rights over him, but that didn't help her heart from breaking.
Eric looked down, "What do you mean?"
"You talked to her last night didn't you, after you dropped me off at the apartment." She said matter of factly, she prayed that he hadn't, that he would tell her that he had went to see his mom or Carrie, or some other friend.
"Who told you?"
Those three words confirmed her worst fear, *It was true, he was with Nicole last night.* She then became very angry, she stood up, and moved away from him, he followed her.
"No one told me!" She screamed, she was shocked, she actually screamed at him. But right then she didn't care, she saw him back away slightly. She had startled him, he had never seen her this angry before, and she was this angry at him!
"Then how did you know?"
Greta spun to stare at him, "How did I know?" she asked in disbelief, her anger starting to boil, she actually wanted to hit something, and this scared her. "How did I know!?!" She grabbed her coat, purse and keys, and headed for the door. She needed air, she needed to get away. She opened the door, and he caught her arm and spinned her to look at him.
"Greta, what is going on here? If no one told you, then how do you know?"
Greta pulled her arm away from him, looked up at him, stared him in the eyes, and calmly, too calmly said, "Just so you know Eric, Lipstick stains." And with that she left, and slammed the door behind her.......
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Chapter 9
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Eric stared at the closed door in front of him, the one that Greta had slammed on her way out. Slammed, she actually slammed the door. This was a new side of Greta he hadn't seen before, she wasn't one to lose her temper, at times he thought that she might not have one, but now he knew she did, and he was not on the good side of it at the moment. But why? Those words that she just said were echoing through his head, *Eric, just so you know, lipstick stains.* "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" he yelled at the door. And then it dawned on him, he ran into his bedroom, and dug through his hamper. He found the white dress shirt that he wore the night before, and then he saw it. The big stain of lipstick on the collar, Nicole's shade of lipstick to be exact. He threw the shirt across the room, along with a few profanities with Nicole's name mixed in. "That manipulating b." He stopped, realizing that Greta had just left. He had to find her, explain to her. Because he finally knew why she was so upset, at least about one thing, but he still had no idea why she was upset before. But it all came down to one thing, *Or one person for that matter. Nicole!* "If I could get my hands around her neck!" And with that he ran out of his room, grabbed his coat and keys and was out the door, trying to find Greta for the second time that day.
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She ran, she literally ran, people were looking at her, but she didn't care. Tears were streaming down her face, and the late afternoon sun was beaming on her face. She ran past the park, past the peer, and kept on going. She wanted to get as far away as she could, she only stopped when she thought she would collapse. She crouched down on her knee's trying to get her breath, she wiped away the tears that were left, and looked up. She had made it to the Cheaten Heart, she tried not to laugh at the irony. She had never felt like drinking to drown her misery before, and she wasn't about to start now, but one drink didn't sound to bad. She walked into the bar and looked around to see if she saw anyone that she knew, and she could find no one. She went up to the bar, sat down, and ordered a rum and coke.
"So what is a pretty young girl doing here all by herself?" asked the bartender.
She shook her head, and simply said, "Running away from the pain." He nodded at her, and went back to his other customers.
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Eric drove around, trying to figure out where she was. When he knew that she didn't want to be found, he probably wouldn't be able too. He had already called Billie, Bo, John, Mrs. Horton and a lot of other people looking for her. None of them had seen her, and Bo sounded worried, but would still not tell him what Greta had told him. Eric finally left a message on the answering machine in the apartment, asking her to call him when she got in. But he knew she wouldn't even if she did look at the messages. He sighed, and finally gave up looking. He found that he had drove almost to the other side of town, and looked at the building in front of him. He found a parking spot, then got out of the Jeep, and shut the door behind him. He knew drinking wasn't the answer, that it never was, but a nice game of pool might ease the tension and get his mind off his problems.
He opened the door, walked inside, and was surprised at what he saw. Greta was playing pool with three other guys he didn't know, and was pretty sure she didn't either. They were all laughing, and as he could tell, hitting on her. But she paid no attention, *she probably doesn't even know they are,* he admitted to himself. He slowly made his way over to the table, and watched for a few minutes. It was Greta's turn, and he watched her hit the ball into the pocket, it was an easy shot. But her joy was evident with her large smile, that was then replaced by shock and then pain, once she saw his face. She told the guys she had to leave, and they all asked her to stay, but she said she couldn't. She then tried to leave, but Eric followed her. She was out the door before he caught up to her, because of the crowd inside.
"Greta," she kept on walking, "Greta come on talk to me, I can explain." They were already in the side ally of the bar, and Greta spun around to look at him.
"Why do you need to explain yourself?" Eric was confused, and before he could ask what she meant she continued. "I mean, you don't need to explain yourself to me, if that is what you mean. I mean, it's not like we are in a real relationship, or a couple, or anything like that. But you might want to explain a few things to her husband." With that she turned around again and started to walk, where? She had no idea.
He walked up behind her, tired of all of it, just wanting to end it all. He grabbed her arm, not letting her walk away, and this time, he wouldn't let go until he heard everything he had to say. She spun around in his grasp, "Let go of me."
"Not until you hear me out." She tried to pull away from him, but his grip was too strong. "I know what it looks like, I know what it seems like, but it isn't." He said simply. "I went to go confront Nicole last night to find out what she said to you, because she obviously did say something. I went back to Tuscany to find her there, drunk." She was about to say something, but he interrupted her, "She denied having said anything wrong. She then decided that she was going to drive home. I said she wasn't, I took her home." Anticipating her response he answered it, "Not because of her, but because of what might happen, what she might do to others in her condition. As I drove home, she tried to hug and kiss me, and said how she wanted to be good friends. I pushed her back into her own seat, but obviously not before she got her lipstick all over me. I dropped her off at the mansion, and then left."
He let her arm finally go, when he felt the fight die out of her. She was looking up at him, her eyes slightly wet, and it broke his heart. "But Greta, what I don't know is what she told you that got you so upset in the first place."
Greta looked down at the pavement, "She said that you weren't over her, that you still loved her, that you would never get over her, and that you would never care for anyone as much as you cared for her."
Eric closed his eyes, he knew Greta and him were not in a real relationship, but he also knew that they both had feelings for each other. Exactly what he wasn't sure or didn't want to admit to himself. But he knew that Greta wasn't looking for a fling, or a relationship just for fun, and truth be told, neither was he. *It all makes sense now,* he told himself. He reached out cupped her face with both hands, and tilted her face up to look at him, he looked into her eyes, wanting to make sure she understood.
"Greta, first of all, don't listen to Nicole. Second, and believe me when I say this. I am not in love with Nicole, and I never will be again. I am over her, and I have been for awhile now. I have no feelings for her except anger and disgust. And yes I am leery of relationships because of her. I don't want to get hurt again. Nicole and I rushed into things way to fast, and I wish we wouldn't have, then I would have known who she was first." He looked at the single tear running down her face, and continued, "Greta, we are such wonderful friends, a friendship I never want to lose. I have just come out of a very bad relationship. And you," he paused trying to figure out how to go on, "You don't have any relationship experience to go on, which is not a bad thing," he added. "However, we should, we need too, take it very slow. Let things happen slowly, for you, for me," he paused then continued, "for us."
He moved his thumb on her face to wipe away the tear on her cheek. They both stared at each other, looking into each others eyes, letting in all sink in. His hands began to lightly caress her face, and her eyes closed slightly, her head turning into the touch. She opened her eyes partially, and he leaned down slowly. She moved up slightly, and their lips met, soft and gentle, lightly brushing against each other, looking for approval. She didn't turn away, and his one hand came down to the small of her back, drawing her in closer. Her arms moved up and around his neck, the kiss became deeper. His other hand went to her hair, pushing her mouth against his as they kissed passionately. Her hands moving from his neck, into his hair and back again. It was a mind numbing kiss, perfect, expressing to each other their true feelings, more than their words or themselves were willing to admit.........
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To Be Continued
WRITTEN BY: Heather Ferguson (fergus80)
EMAIL: hferguso@niu.edu
WEBSITE: http://eric_greta.tripod.com (from when Jensen was on days)
Rating: If you can watch DAYS, you can read this. If there is a rating change, a link to the chap. will be provided.
Disclaimer: Days of Our Lives and all of their characters are property of Corday Productions and NBC.
My Rant: Okay, I'm finally putting this up on FanFiction.net. Mostly to free up my website space. This was started way back in Oct. of 1999, and I haven't decided if it's finished yet or not. Reviews are always welcome!
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Chapter 6
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Eric was in shock, she was hugging him. He took her arms and shoved her away. "What are you doing Nicole? You lost me, everything we had, including our so-called friendship when you married Lucas!" he yelled at her. "If I had my way, we would never see each other ever again!" and with that he walked away from her, leaving Nicole there open mouthed.
Eric was mad, really mad, *How could she?* he asked himself. He looked at his watch, it was already one o'clock. He sighed, and then let out a long breath trying to calm down. He had to get back to the apartment, and help Greta with the furniture that was being delivered. He tried to just forget about the whole thing with Nicole, and think about how happy he was that Greta had moved in with him. He took out his Cell phone and called the apartment...
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Greta walked around Salem place, she sighed as she passed the travel company, her mind traveled back to Paris, like it always did lately. "Greta?" She turned around to find Billie.
"Hi Bille," They exchanged hugs, Billie told her she was so glad that she was back. Greta remembered something, and reached into her purse, holding out the Compact. She wanted Billie to have it, since it had happier memories for her, then it did Greta. Billie finally accepted it, and they agreed to talk again soon.
Greta started walking around again, looked at her watch, it was one o'clock already, she needed to get back to the apartment, she sighed. Now not to sure if it was a good idea to have moved in with Eric. *Did I just set myself up for greater heartbreak?*
She continued walking, heading back to the apartment, she looked up, and found Eric on his phone, then he looked over at her and smiled. He closed the phone and walked over to her. They both said hello, and Eric said that he just called the apartment to see if she was there, and tell her that he was going to be there soon to help, and apologize for getting caught up at the hospital. Greta just brushed it off, and said it was okay. Eric looked at her, knowing that something wasn't right. Greta then motioned to the bag she was carrying.
"This is for you, a thank you for helping me in Paris." She said trying to smile, and handed him the bag. He told her it wasn't really needed at all, but thanked her anyway. He looked through the bag, and was shocked. He took out the Digital Camera, it was exactly the kind he wanted. She was happy that she picked out the right one. He gave her a big hug, but she didn't hug him back the way she usually did. He stepped away and looked at her. "I was going to give it to you at the hospital, but you were busy." She said simply.
He nodded as knowledge of what was wrong registered, "You were at the hospital," Greta nodded. He knew she had seen him and Nicole together, that could be the only reason for how she was acting. "You know what it is like to be hugged by someone you don't want to hug you?" He looked at her, grabbing her hand, trying to make her understand. "Nicole and I are over. We will never get back together. I want to move on with my life." Greta smiled feeling much better. He smiled, he knew he got through to her, and that that was in fact what was bothering her. Greta went on about Paris, and how they had spent so much time together, but that they never really. She stopped, he asked her to go on.
"Well, we never really," she stopped and looked down, then continued, "we didn't have a date."
Eric smiled, "You're right."
She interrupted, "But now, it's like I'm asking for it, and everything..."
Eric just grinned, "Well, if you'll let me, I'll ask. I have been wanting to for awhile anyway." Greta smiled up at him. "So... how about tonight?"
"That would be great."
"Well, of course, we have to get back to the apartment to get your new furniture."
Greta agreed, as they walked to his car. "You know what though... It's going to be strange."
"What will be?" He asked opening her car door, and moving to the other side.
"Well, we'll be getting ready in the same apartment."
He laughed, "This is true. I guess I'll have to pick you up at your bedroom door." he said as he winked over at her. She grinned. Eric put the car into drive, and they left for the apartment. Fifteen minutes after they got to the apartment the furniture arrived. The delivery guys brought it into the apartment, and into the middle of the living room, then left.
"That was real, nice." Eric said, "They could have moved it into the bedroom?"
"Oh no big deal, Eric. Come on, lets get the stuff in there."
They moved the chair then the side table. Greta finally got it into the right spot after some moving around, but really only agreed on where to put it, when Eric groaned about having to move it again. "Big baby," she said to him as they set the chair down. They then moved in the mirror and the night stand, and finished off with the lamps. Once that was done, Greta decided where she wanted the pictures. The Paris picture she put on the opposite side of the wall by the mirror. She knew she would see it before she went to bed, when she woke up in the morning, and that was the the effect she wanted. She smiled looking at her room. "Feel like home?" Eric asked.
"Yeah, it does, nice and comfortable."
"Good," he looked at his watch. "Because, while you were deciding where to put the pictures, I made reservations at Tuscany at 6:30, and it's four o'clock right now."
Greta looked at him in shock, "It's four? I only have 2 and a half hours to get ready." She shoved him out of the door.
"That is more then enough time, heck, if it was six o'clock it would still be fine."
Greta gave him a dirty look, "Women need longer to get ready!"
"Why? You look perfect now." He said looking at her.
She stopped, blushed slightly, looked at herself. She was a mess, her hair all over the place, she probably needed a shower, and her makeup wore off a long time ago. She just shook her head, "I'll see you at six, and I am taking a shower in like 10 minutes."
Eric just laughed, "Oh kay. I'll knock... and so you know... I'm going to go watch TV for a little while." He winked at her, and she gave him a dirty look. She then shut the door on him, and he moved out to the couch, and turned on the TV.
A few minutes later, she came out of the room, in her new robe, with a towel, and headed into the bathroom. Eric heard the shower being turned on, and he knew it had to be his mind playing tricks on him, but he swore he could hear her robe hit the floor. He shook his head to try and get the image out of his mind. *We haven't even had a date yet!* He screamed at himself. He turned back to the television, and tried to watch. About a half hour later, he heard the water stop, and then little later the hair dryer going. He grinned at himself, he thought she was going to way to much trouble for him. But was used to it, growing up with Carrie in the house, *What she used to do, to get ready for a date.* He laughed to himself, then he realized it was him Greta was getting ready for. It was sort of unreal to him. A few minutes later the door opened, Eric looked up to see Greta in her blue robe, her hair dry. "You know, you look the same as when you went in." That's when the towel that she was carrying hit him in the face. "Good throw." He yelled back with the towel still over his head. He sighed, and then he could smell her. He took the towel off his head, then brought it to his nose and sniffed it. He felt ridiculous doing so, but it smelled like her, like the smell he always got when he hugged her. Like a combination of roses and vanilla. He got up and put the towel in the hamper in the bathroom, then went back to watching TV, even though his mind wasn't thinking about it.
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Greta moved to her closet, and tried to think of something to wear. Something, that Eric hadn't seen yet. She wished that she had had time to go shopping. *Maybe next time,* she grinned at that. She finally found what she wanted, and shoes to match and laid it out on the bed. She then went to do her make up and hair.
Greta looked at the clock, it was 5:56, and she finished putting her earring in. She had got done just in time, *Well, with time to spare. Sort of.* She looked at her appearance in the mirror, she hoped she looked okay. She just realized how nervous she was. She tried to tell herself that she shouldn't be but it didn't work. KNOCK, KNOCK the door sounded.
"You're early!" She told him from behind the door.
"I can't help it," was his reply. "Are you going to open the door?"
She walked over to the door, and opened it.
Eric looked at her, and he stopped breathing. She was wearing a navy blue dress, it clung to every curve, and then lightly flowed slowly out at the waist to puddle at the floor. He air was up, and showed off her long, beautiful neck, which had a simple yet beautiful necklace hanging from it. He finally caught his voice, "You look breathtaking." He said simply.
Greta blushed, then took him in. He was wearing a dark blue suit, that fit very well, she had to admit, and it showed off his broad shoulders. "And you look very handsome," she finally said. They both smiled, he offered her his arm, and then headed out the door, on their very first date.
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Chapter 7
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Eric followed Greta through the doors of Tuscany, he told the waiter the name on the reservations and he escorted them to their table. Eric pulled out Greta's chair for her, and then went to his side of the table to sit down. The waiter poured them some champaign then left them to look at the menu.
Eric lifted his glass, "Welcome home," he said simply.
Greta lifted her glass as well, "Welcome home," she replied and they clinked glasses and then each took a drink. As she set the glass down she looked at the door, and visibly tensed.
Eric saw her looking up at the door, and turned around, Lucas and Nicole were walking in the door. He turned back to Greta, "We can leave if you want too."
She shook her head no, "No, I think we should stay. We shouldn't have to leave." Eric agreed.
Lucas and Nicole walked up to the table, "Well, I guess Salem really is a small town."
Eric looked up at him, "You know Lucas, I didn't thank you for saving Sami before. But I will now, Thank you." He said then turned away from him.
"Well, Eric glad to hear someone is grateful to me, you sister..."
Eric cut him off, "That's all I have to say to you Lucas, and that is all you will ever get from me. Now, if you'll excuse us, we are trying to have dinner." He said trying to sound as polite as her could muster to Lucas.
Nicole didn't say anything as she starred at Greta, giving Greta a very uneasy feeling. She then followed Lucas over to their table, but didn't take her eyes off them.
"Sorry about that," Eric said once they left.
"Eric, there's no reason to be sorry. You can't control who would walk into this restaurant." Eric grinned, she always had a way of making him feel better. They both turned back to their menu's trying to decide what they wanted to order, with Nicole looking on.
After a few minutes, Greta excused herself from the table, and told Eric to order for her. "No, that's okay, I'll wait for you to get back, besides, I'm still trying to figure out what I want." He said with a wink. Greta smiled wide, and left to go to the powder room.
Nicole saw Greta head to the ladies room, and decided to follow her, she told Lucas she had to powder her nose and then left. She walked into the bathroom, to find Greta putting on some lipstick.
"Hi Greta," She said trying to sound nice.
"Nicole." Greta said uneasy, she didn't feel comfortable around Nicole. For many reasons, one that Nicole was Eric's last girlfriend, and two she felt like gouging her eyes out for what she did to Eric.
"So, are you and Eric here on a date?" she asked casually.
"Why yes we are," Greta replied putting the top back on the lip stick tube.
"Is this your first date?"
"Yes it is."
"Oh isn't that sweet." Nicole said, then went on to say how she remembered her date with Eric and how he had brought her flowers, and that they talked all night.
"What do you want Nicole?" Greta asked.
Nicole took a step back and acted offended, "I only want everyone to be as happy as I am with Lucas. I just don't think Eric can be that happy."
"And why is that?"
"Because I don't think he will ever get over me." Nicole said simply, watching Greta's face for a reaction. And she got it.
"But Eric said he wasn't in love with you anymore." Greta replied, trying not to look at Nicole.
"And you believed him? Like he would tell you that he was still in love with me. He ONLY went to Paris to TRY and get over me, and it's pretty obvious that he isn't. That he will NEVER be." With that Nicole walked out of the Ladies room, and back to her dinner with Lucas.
Greta just stood there in shock. She didn't know what to think, she knew she didn't trust Nicole at all. But what would Nicole gain by telling her that? She was married to Lucas. She knew Eric wouldn't hurt her, at least intentionally. *But what if he does know? That's crazy.* She didn't know what to do, the only thing she knew was that she was confused. Very confused. What if Nicole was right? She remembered back to Paris all those times, that Eric had said that he didn't want to fall in love again, that it only Hurt, and that he wouldn't let anyone get as close to him as Nicole did. At the time she thought he was just saying that because he was hurt, and that he would change his mind. But maybe she was wrong. She leaned against the counter for strength, she all of a sudden felt sick. Nicole's words just kept ringing through her head, she cleared her head long enough to walk back out to the table.
Eric stood up when Greta came back an instantly sensed something wasn't right. Greta sat down, then so did he. He looked at Greta and started to ask her what was wrong, but before he could she spoke. "Eric, I'm sorry. I'm not feeling very well. Do you mind just taking me home?" she asked quietly, he almost couldn't hear her, and she wasn't looking at him.
Eric stood up, and pulled her chair out. She stood up, and went to go get her coat. Eric looked over his shoulder, and caught Lucas and Nicole watching him. He then paid for the champaign that they drank, and apologized for having to leave early, then followed Greta and helped her put her coat on. He then followed her out into the parking lot. Opened the door to the Jeep for her, then got in on his side. He didn't start the car, he just looked over at Greta who was starring out her passenger side window.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"I'm just not feeling that well, sorry to ruin the evening." She said still to quietly for his tastes, and she still wasn't looking at him. Eric then turned the Jeep on, and headed for the apartment, hopefully she would open up and tell him what was going on there.
A little later, they were walking to the door, and Eric unlocked it, then followed Greta in. She walked towards her bedroom, and he followed her. She opened the door, and Eric put out his hand, and lightly grabbed her arm. Greta turned to look at him. He smiled at her. "I know you aren't feeling well, but I still had a good time." Greta just nodded. He leaned in to kiss her, and she moved out of the way at the last second, letting his lips hit nothing.
"Good night," she said and stepped into the room.
"Greta, something is wrong. Please tell me what it is."
"Nothing. I'm just going to head to bed." With that she shut the door.
Eric stood there, he walked out into the living room. *What happened? Everything was fine, we were having a great time, right? Yeah.* He thought back, and tried to figure out what was wrong. Then he knew. *Nicole!* With that he was out the door, and back into his jeep.
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Greta walked over to her closet, pealed off her dress, and put on her pajamas. She pulled the bobby pins and clips out of her hair, then walked over to the bed, and feel on it, crying. *I was so mean to him.* She screamed at herself. *Why? Because I'm mad that he still love Nicole? It's not like it's his fault.* She was confused and frustrated, *Why can't I just be happy?* she asked herself as she let herself cry into the pillow.
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Eric stormed back into Tuscany, to find that Lucas and Nicole weren't there anymore. He looked at his watch, it had only been a little more than a half hour since they left. *They couldn't have ate that quickly.* He turned back to leave to find Nicole at the bar. He grabbed her arm and turned her towards him, "What the Hell did you say to Greta?" He screamed at her.
Nicole looked at him in shock, "What are you talking about?" She managed to get out through all the alcohol.
Eric could smell the alcohol on her breath, *She's drunk.* "I said, what did you say to Greta in the Ladies room?"
Nicole broke away from his hold, got off the bar stool and slightly stumbled, then caught her balance. "I only asked her if it was your first date."
"What else?"
"Nothing, I swear."
"Like I should believe a word that you say." He told her.
"Well you can believe what you like. But I'm leaving."
"Oh, have your limo waiting for you?" Eric asked in disgust.
"No, I have my car outside," she said simply, and went to go get her coat.
"Nicole, you're drunk, you can't drive like this."
"You care?" She said to him, "This morning you never wanted to see me again."
"No I don't care, I just care about the person you are going to kill out there if you do drive." With that he took her out the door, and led her to his jeep. He opened the door and told her to get in, that she could come back and get the car when she sober. He got in and started up the engine, and backed out of the parking spot and started to drive her home. He was so mad, "You know Nicole, you tell me how happy you are with Lucas, but you didn't finish dinner with him, and now you are drunk."
"He had to leave for business, and I just had a little to much." She leaned over against him, and rested her head on his shoulder and looked up at him. Eric shrugged his shoulder, to get her to move.
"Nicole, knock it off. The only reason you are getting a ride is because you are drunk."
"But Eric, I miss you, we used to be such good friends..."
"Not anymore. And don't talk to Greta anymore. I don't know what you said, but stop." He pulled into the driveway, and stopped the car. "You're here Nicole, now get out." Nicole slowly unlocked and opened the door. She got out, then shut the door. And before it was totally closed, Eric was backing out of the drive.
He hit the steering wheel hard, he knew Nicole had told Greta something, but he didn't know what that something was. He drove back to the apartment, and decided that maybe he could get Greta to talk to him now.
Not to long later, he unlocked the door, and walked into the apartment. Greta wasn't in the living room, *She must still be in her room.* He went to her door to knock, but there was so answer, he knocked again, "Greta?" he said quietly. Still nothing. He hated to do it, but he slowly turned the knob to find it unlocked, the room was dark, and he could tell that she was on the bed from the small amount of light from the window. He slowly walked over to her. She seemed to be fast asleep, *Maybe she really just didn't feel good.* But that thought was washed away when the moonlight caught her face. He could see that her mascara and makeup had run down her face. *She fell asleep crying,* he said to himself, he closed his eyes and felt horrible. Nicole had definitely said something to her. He sat on the side of the bed softly, and quietly spoke, "I'm sorry Greta, I don't know what she told you. But I'm sorry." He lightly stroked her check, brought two fingers to his lips, kissed them, and then placed them on hers. "Good night." And with that he stood up, and walked out of the room. He shut the door softly behind him.
He took off his suit coat and threw it in his room, and then headed out to the couch. He sat down, put his head in his hands, trying to figure out what he should do. He felt terrible about all of it, even though he had no idea what happened. He knew that it was partially his fault, because it dealt with Nicole. And that was the biggest mistake he had ever made. He sat there, leaned back, and tried to think of what he could do. Not to much later he fell asleep. Hours later the sun came back up, the light flickering through the window, and onto Eric, but didn't wake him up. It however did show the nice shade of Nicole's lipstick on Eric's white collar........
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Chapter 8
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Greta pulled the covers up over her head, the sun light coming through her widow was slowly waking her up, and she didn't want to get out of bed. She didn't want to face the day, or for that matter face one Eric Brady. After a few minutes she gave up, and knew she couldn't win against the sun, and pulled the covers off and sat up. She pulled the covers back, and got out of the bed, she looked in the mirror. She looked horrible, her makeup was still all over her face, with the mascara running down it. She didn't want to think about the night before, *You were so stupid Greta! You should know Eric better than that. I mean it was 'Nicole' that said all that!* She shook her head, she had went over board, now she just had to somehow make it up to Eric. *First, I can't let him see me like this.* With that she slowly opened her bedroom door, and walked out to see Eric's door wide open, with him not there. *Must have left early.* With that she walked through the kitchen quickly and went to the bathroom. She washed her face, brushed her teeth and hair, then looked up into the mirror. She smiled slightly, she felt better, now to go find Eric and explain herself. But she wouldn't have to go far....
She walked out of the bathroom, and that is when she saw him laying on the couch. *Ouch, he's going to have a stiff neck when he wakes up.* She slowly walked over to him, and was about to touch him, when her hand stopped in mid-air. He eyes widened in shock at the large smear of lipstick on his white collar. She remembered hearing him leave the apartment last night, and couldn't remembering him get back. She also remembered her talk with Nicole, and remembered Nicole wearing lipstick just about that color. She backed away slowly, and retreated into her room. She hurried and got dressed, quietly not wake him, she didn't think she could look at him right now and not break into tears. *And I thought Nicole wasn't telling me the truth. I am so pathetic!* She screamed at herself. She finished dressing in her blue jeans, sweatshirt, tennis shoes and then grabbed her purse. She quietly made her way out of the apartment, but she didn't know where she was going too.
A half hour later she found herself at the Pub, she was hungry actually, she hadn't ate breakfast yet. After her walk there however, she decided she needed to learn how to drive, get a license, and then a car, because she was really getting tired of walking and the bus system was less than desirable and she thought it was a waist to take a cab. *Why am I thinking about this, when I have something else to think about?* She asked herself, *because you are trying to forget the other problem!* With that she shook her head and walked into the Pub, to find Bo and Shawn D, *No that's Shawn now.* Bo waved her over. Greta took a seat next to Bo, told them good morning then looked at the menu.
Bo looked over at her with a smile on his face. Greta felt him starring, "What?" she asked.
"Soooo?"
"So what?"
"How did the date go last night?" He asked.
Greta paused then looked back at her menu and said, "It didn't." Caroline then came over and asked what she wanted to eat, and Bo looked at Greta in disbelief. "I think I'll have a southern omelet and orange juice." Caroline smiled, nodded and told her it would be right up.
Bo looked at her and said, "What do you mean? What happened?"
"Well.... I found out he was still in love with Nicole, and asked him to take me home. He then left and spent the rest of the night with Nicole." She said matter of factly, and thanked a waitress that gave her, her orange juice.
Bo choked on his coffee. Shawn (D... AHHHH ;-) ) looked back and forth between Bo and Greta, then finally stood up, "Uhhh, I'm going to go talk to Gram." Bo looked up and nodded with a look of thanks.
"Greta, you are kidding right? Tell me what happened exactly."
Greta sighed, "I don't want to."
"There has to be more about it, then just that." Greta finally gave in, and began to tell him all about the night before.
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Eric woke up to a very stiff neck, he sat up and winced, he couldn't believe he had fallen asleep on the couch. He got up and went into his room, changed into a pair of jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and zipped fleece vest. He ran his fingers through his hair to try and straighten it out. He then walked over to Greta's bedroom door, he knocked softly, no answer. He knocked again, still nothing. He found that it wasn't locked and walked in to find an empty bedroom. Eric sighed, *She doesn't want to talk to me.* He didn't really blame her though, *Whatever Nicole said really worked.* He walked out of her room, and grabbed his Keys, wallet, and the large envelope to give to Carrie. It contained his resume and sample pictures. With that he left the apartment, all he knew was that he had to find her, and they needed to 'talk'.
Forty minutes later he was back in his Jeep driving, trying to decide where she might have went. He already called John, and Mrs. Horton, and none had seen her, but he of course didn't answer why he wanted to know. Carrie had told him he would start work on Monday, and it was Saturday. He looked at his watch, 10:27, where would she be? He decided to try Salem Place.
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Greta finished her story up to the point where she closed her bedroom door, after the almost date. Bo stopped her, "Greta, you can't take anything that Nicole says seriously. You need to believe Eric, he would never hurt you. And I know he doesn't have feelings for Nicole anymore. Wait, I take that back, he does have a feeling for her, anger."
Greta nodded, "That's what I thought too when I woke up this morning. I completely agreed with what you just said, I was even mad at myself for how I acted. But last night, after I shut my door, I heard him leave, I didn't know why, and I didn't hear him come back." Bo nodded and waited for her to go on. "When I woke up this morning, I found him asleep on the couch. I went over to wake him up, but I didn't." She stopped.
Bo, waited but she didn't continue, "Why didn't you?"
Greta looked down at her half eaten omelet, then continued, "Because I noticed something, he had Nicole's lipstick on his collar."
Bo didn't know what to say, he was in shock, and now knew why Greta was so upset. He knew he would probably react in the same way if he was her. He took a deep breath, "Now, I can understand why you are upset, but you don't know exactly what happened. And you can't be sure that it was Nicole's lipstick."
Greta jerked her head up to look at him, "So then it would be okay if it was some other girls lipstick on his collar? That he left last night and hooked up with some stranger?"
Bo starred at her, the anger in her voice surprising him. He never heard that much anger come out of her, even when she was talking about Stephano and what he did to her mother. "That's not what I meant, and no that wouldn't be okay. What I meant was, yes you don't know for sure it was hers. Could be his Mom's or Carrie's for all you know when they hugged him." Bo knew it was a stretch and told her so. "But, you don't know what happened, and the only way to know is by asking him."
"I don't want to even look at him right now," Greta said simply, poking the omelet with her fork. "I just want to get my mind off of it for awhile."
Shawn then came back over, "Hey dad, Philip and I are going to salem place for a movie, I'll see you later." And with that he left.
Bo looked at him go, "Yeah sure son, you can go. Thanks for asking, I'll see ya later." he shook his head, he was going to have to figure out to handle that kid soon. He turned back to Greta, "Well then how about we think of something to do today?"
"I'd like that." With that they both got out of the booth, paid for their meals after insisting that they do so to Caroline, and left the Brady Pub.
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Eric had walked all over Salem place, and not one sign of Greta, and no one had seen her. He tried her cell phone for the tenth time, and still no answer. "Well she is obviously not here," he said to himself out loud.
"And who would that be?" a voice asked from behind him.
Eric turned around to find Billie, "That person would be Greta."
"Greta huh? Sure you didn't mean Nicole?"
Eric did a double take, "Excuse me?"
"I saw you leave Tuscany with Nicole last night, when you were supposed to be on date with Greta."
Eric looked at her, found a near by bench and sat down. "It's not what you think."
"Okay, then tell me what it was." Billie said disapprovingly.
Eric looked over to her, "Don't look at me like that."
"Well, Greta is a good friend of mine, and I don't want her to get hurt. So spill it."
Eric sighed, "Greta and I ended the 'date' early."
"Why?"
"Well, she said she didn't feel good and wanted me to take her home. But I knew there was more to it than that, she just wasn't acting right." He stopped, Billie urged him to continue. "Well, when we got back to the apartment she went into her room, and even moved away when I tried to kiss her." He paused, "I remembered that Nicole was gone most of the time from the table with Lucas while Greta was in the Ladies room. I put two and two together and figured that Nicole had said something to her, so I went to hunt down Nicole and tell her to leave Greta alone, that's when I found her at Tuscany."
"But that doesn't explain why you left with her or why you had your arm around her."
Eric rubbed his forehead, "She was drunk, very drunk and was insisting that she drive home. I gave her a ride, fearing for the other people on the road."
Billie nodded now understanding, "Okay, now why are you looking for Greta, didn't you just tell her what happened last night?"
"I tried, but when I got back she was asleep. And... Oh Billie," he stopped the look of pain on his face was evident, "I went in her room to check on her, and she had been crying... she cried herself to sleep Billie. I asked Nicole what she told her, but she said she didn't say anything. I know Nicole was lying, but God!" Eric leaned down, put his elbows into his knees and then rested his face in his hands.
Billie leaned over, and gave him a half hug, "What about this morning?"
"She was gone when I woke up, and I have been looking for her ever since. She won't answer her phone, John hasn't seen her and neither has Mrs. H. And I have looked all over Salem Place. I even called the apartment, she isn't there."
"Well we just need to try some other places, calling first.... hmmmm where to start." Billie felt bad for Eric, she was looking forward to talking to Nicole later. Billie thought Eric and Greta were perfect for each other, and she was not going to let Nicole of all people come between them. "Well, you tried John, Mrs. Horton, but did you try Bo?"
Eric looked up at her, "Why didn't I think of that,"
Billie pointed to his head, "Brain block?" and then winked at him.
Eric took out his cell phone and dialed Bo's cell phone, "It's busy."
"Well then we'll try again in a little bit." They waited a few minutes, looked around salem place again, then Eric tried calling again.
"It's ringing..." He told Billie, then Bo picked up the phone, "Hey Bo, it's Eric."
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Bo looked over at Greta, then talked back into his phone, "Hey Eric, what's up?" Greta looked at Bo, and pleaded for him not to tell Eric, anything. "Yeah Greta is here with me."
{{Where are you?}} Eric asked.
"Ummm, well, we are actually on our way somewhere else," Bo said trying not to tell Eric anything.
{{Well, can I talk to her?}}
Bo looked at Greta, "Uhhh, I don't think that would be a good idea right now, maybe later."
{{Bo, what's wrong? What did she tell you?}}
"Listen, me and Greta are just hanging out for the day, she'll see ya later back at the apartment, okay man?"
{{Okay, okay. I'll see her there.}} They said there good byes, and Bo looked over at Greta.
"He's been looking for you."
Greta looked down at the ground, "Yeah well, I just don't want to talk right now. Maybe later," She took another bite of the large soft pretzel, and they headed to the peer. "So, you told him we were on our way somewhere, where are we going?"
"Well, to this bench?"
Greta smiled as she sat down on the bench and looked out at the river, she didn't know what she was going to do, but she knew that soon she would have to do something. Especially since she lived with her problem, Eric Brady.
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Eric put the phone back in his coat, and sighed. Billie put a hand on his shoulder, "What did Bo say?"
"Well Greta is with him, and they are going somewhere, spending the day together I guess, but he wouldn't tell me where. Which makes me think that she told him what is ever bothering her. He also said that she would be back to the apartment later."
"Well, then unless you have something to do, I suggest you go back to the apartment, try to figure out what is wrong, and wait. That is, if you want to have any type of relationship with Greta, and not just friends."
Eric looked at Billie, "Yeah, I guess you are right," with that he stood up, they gave each other a hug, and Eric headed back to the apartment.
Eric had been sitting on the couch for over three hours trying to figure out what Nicole could have said that would get Greta so upset. He still hadn't come up with anything when he heard the key in the lock. He stood up when the door opened, Greta walked in the door, turned around and shut the door, then went into the Kitchen.
She didn't want to talk, even though she knew it was going to happen. She poured herself a glass of water because she felt her mouth go dry all of a sudden, she felt his presence follow her into the kitchen, she knew he was starring at her. That's when she heard him speak, "I'm sorry."
She turned around to face him, and looked him in the eyes, "For what?" she asked simply.
He stopped, he wasn't prepared for that question, then spoke, "For whatever it is that has made you so upset, that you can't even look or talk to me."
Greta gulped down the water, and set the glass in the sink, she then walked into the living room, she had to get some distance from him. She sat on the couch, he came over and sat on the other side. "You have no idea, do you?" she asked in disbelief. *He was out with Nicole last night, and he has no idea why I am upset. But then again, he doesn't know you know. Oh Shut UP!* Her brain screamed at her.
"All I know is that you completely changed after you got back from the ladies room, I put two and two together and figure Nicole told you something. But I have no idea what it is."
"Why didn't you just ask her last night then?" Greta was actually getting mad at him, she wasn't exactly sure why, she kept telling herself that they weren't really a couple, so she didn't have any rights over him, but that didn't help her heart from breaking.
Eric looked down, "What do you mean?"
"You talked to her last night didn't you, after you dropped me off at the apartment." She said matter of factly, she prayed that he hadn't, that he would tell her that he had went to see his mom or Carrie, or some other friend.
"Who told you?"
Those three words confirmed her worst fear, *It was true, he was with Nicole last night.* She then became very angry, she stood up, and moved away from him, he followed her.
"No one told me!" She screamed, she was shocked, she actually screamed at him. But right then she didn't care, she saw him back away slightly. She had startled him, he had never seen her this angry before, and she was this angry at him!
"Then how did you know?"
Greta spun to stare at him, "How did I know?" she asked in disbelief, her anger starting to boil, she actually wanted to hit something, and this scared her. "How did I know!?!" She grabbed her coat, purse and keys, and headed for the door. She needed air, she needed to get away. She opened the door, and he caught her arm and spinned her to look at him.
"Greta, what is going on here? If no one told you, then how do you know?"
Greta pulled her arm away from him, looked up at him, stared him in the eyes, and calmly, too calmly said, "Just so you know Eric, Lipstick stains." And with that she left, and slammed the door behind her.......
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Chapter 9
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Eric stared at the closed door in front of him, the one that Greta had slammed on her way out. Slammed, she actually slammed the door. This was a new side of Greta he hadn't seen before, she wasn't one to lose her temper, at times he thought that she might not have one, but now he knew she did, and he was not on the good side of it at the moment. But why? Those words that she just said were echoing through his head, *Eric, just so you know, lipstick stains.* "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" he yelled at the door. And then it dawned on him, he ran into his bedroom, and dug through his hamper. He found the white dress shirt that he wore the night before, and then he saw it. The big stain of lipstick on the collar, Nicole's shade of lipstick to be exact. He threw the shirt across the room, along with a few profanities with Nicole's name mixed in. "That manipulating b." He stopped, realizing that Greta had just left. He had to find her, explain to her. Because he finally knew why she was so upset, at least about one thing, but he still had no idea why she was upset before. But it all came down to one thing, *Or one person for that matter. Nicole!* "If I could get my hands around her neck!" And with that he ran out of his room, grabbed his coat and keys and was out the door, trying to find Greta for the second time that day.
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She ran, she literally ran, people were looking at her, but she didn't care. Tears were streaming down her face, and the late afternoon sun was beaming on her face. She ran past the park, past the peer, and kept on going. She wanted to get as far away as she could, she only stopped when she thought she would collapse. She crouched down on her knee's trying to get her breath, she wiped away the tears that were left, and looked up. She had made it to the Cheaten Heart, she tried not to laugh at the irony. She had never felt like drinking to drown her misery before, and she wasn't about to start now, but one drink didn't sound to bad. She walked into the bar and looked around to see if she saw anyone that she knew, and she could find no one. She went up to the bar, sat down, and ordered a rum and coke.
"So what is a pretty young girl doing here all by herself?" asked the bartender.
She shook her head, and simply said, "Running away from the pain." He nodded at her, and went back to his other customers.
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Eric drove around, trying to figure out where she was. When he knew that she didn't want to be found, he probably wouldn't be able too. He had already called Billie, Bo, John, Mrs. Horton and a lot of other people looking for her. None of them had seen her, and Bo sounded worried, but would still not tell him what Greta had told him. Eric finally left a message on the answering machine in the apartment, asking her to call him when she got in. But he knew she wouldn't even if she did look at the messages. He sighed, and finally gave up looking. He found that he had drove almost to the other side of town, and looked at the building in front of him. He found a parking spot, then got out of the Jeep, and shut the door behind him. He knew drinking wasn't the answer, that it never was, but a nice game of pool might ease the tension and get his mind off his problems.
He opened the door, walked inside, and was surprised at what he saw. Greta was playing pool with three other guys he didn't know, and was pretty sure she didn't either. They were all laughing, and as he could tell, hitting on her. But she paid no attention, *she probably doesn't even know they are,* he admitted to himself. He slowly made his way over to the table, and watched for a few minutes. It was Greta's turn, and he watched her hit the ball into the pocket, it was an easy shot. But her joy was evident with her large smile, that was then replaced by shock and then pain, once she saw his face. She told the guys she had to leave, and they all asked her to stay, but she said she couldn't. She then tried to leave, but Eric followed her. She was out the door before he caught up to her, because of the crowd inside.
"Greta," she kept on walking, "Greta come on talk to me, I can explain." They were already in the side ally of the bar, and Greta spun around to look at him.
"Why do you need to explain yourself?" Eric was confused, and before he could ask what she meant she continued. "I mean, you don't need to explain yourself to me, if that is what you mean. I mean, it's not like we are in a real relationship, or a couple, or anything like that. But you might want to explain a few things to her husband." With that she turned around again and started to walk, where? She had no idea.
He walked up behind her, tired of all of it, just wanting to end it all. He grabbed her arm, not letting her walk away, and this time, he wouldn't let go until he heard everything he had to say. She spun around in his grasp, "Let go of me."
"Not until you hear me out." She tried to pull away from him, but his grip was too strong. "I know what it looks like, I know what it seems like, but it isn't." He said simply. "I went to go confront Nicole last night to find out what she said to you, because she obviously did say something. I went back to Tuscany to find her there, drunk." She was about to say something, but he interrupted her, "She denied having said anything wrong. She then decided that she was going to drive home. I said she wasn't, I took her home." Anticipating her response he answered it, "Not because of her, but because of what might happen, what she might do to others in her condition. As I drove home, she tried to hug and kiss me, and said how she wanted to be good friends. I pushed her back into her own seat, but obviously not before she got her lipstick all over me. I dropped her off at the mansion, and then left."
He let her arm finally go, when he felt the fight die out of her. She was looking up at him, her eyes slightly wet, and it broke his heart. "But Greta, what I don't know is what she told you that got you so upset in the first place."
Greta looked down at the pavement, "She said that you weren't over her, that you still loved her, that you would never get over her, and that you would never care for anyone as much as you cared for her."
Eric closed his eyes, he knew Greta and him were not in a real relationship, but he also knew that they both had feelings for each other. Exactly what he wasn't sure or didn't want to admit to himself. But he knew that Greta wasn't looking for a fling, or a relationship just for fun, and truth be told, neither was he. *It all makes sense now,* he told himself. He reached out cupped her face with both hands, and tilted her face up to look at him, he looked into her eyes, wanting to make sure she understood.
"Greta, first of all, don't listen to Nicole. Second, and believe me when I say this. I am not in love with Nicole, and I never will be again. I am over her, and I have been for awhile now. I have no feelings for her except anger and disgust. And yes I am leery of relationships because of her. I don't want to get hurt again. Nicole and I rushed into things way to fast, and I wish we wouldn't have, then I would have known who she was first." He looked at the single tear running down her face, and continued, "Greta, we are such wonderful friends, a friendship I never want to lose. I have just come out of a very bad relationship. And you," he paused trying to figure out how to go on, "You don't have any relationship experience to go on, which is not a bad thing," he added. "However, we should, we need too, take it very slow. Let things happen slowly, for you, for me," he paused then continued, "for us."
He moved his thumb on her face to wipe away the tear on her cheek. They both stared at each other, looking into each others eyes, letting in all sink in. His hands began to lightly caress her face, and her eyes closed slightly, her head turning into the touch. She opened her eyes partially, and he leaned down slowly. She moved up slightly, and their lips met, soft and gentle, lightly brushing against each other, looking for approval. She didn't turn away, and his one hand came down to the small of her back, drawing her in closer. Her arms moved up and around his neck, the kiss became deeper. His other hand went to her hair, pushing her mouth against his as they kissed passionately. Her hands moving from his neck, into his hair and back again. It was a mind numbing kiss, perfect, expressing to each other their true feelings, more than their words or themselves were willing to admit.........
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To Be Continued