The friends of pregamer were at attention as they spotted us and not him. I was having to lightly grasp at Solomon's sleeve to not loose him in the club. It was a down side to a place so crowded and being so petite. But he was like a moving boulder.

"Hey!"

The one I'd been making sly advances at for after the girl, the pretty eyed male, was moving forward with a hard look. Defensive as he swung up with the blond to cut Solomon off.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

I slip forward, hand up and pushing before Solomon and the obviously sleeping Ginger.

"Sorry! My girlfriend's a light weight, passed out!" I call over the music for their average hearing to pick up.

Blondie nods at the obvious fact that Ginger was asleep. The other spares a look then at me.

"You know this guy?!"

He was looking right at me like he expected some small show that Solomon wasn't.

"Yeah! Met him the other night! Not like I could carry her on my own!"

He does smile and his friend laughs, nudging him. I lean in, trailing a hand along the jaw of the pretty eyed male. Our eyes locked. My other hand was slipping a small paper with my number into his pants pocket while getting a light feel of his rear.

"Call me, lovely eyes."

I lean back, hand reaching back to grasp gently at Solomon's shoulder. I was taller than him in these heels. Pretty eyes was drawn in, sold. He smirked, stepping back to let us by. His friend had seen the grope at the rear. I wink as we pass.

Soon as we freed of the club, I was strutting forward. It wasn't too terribly late. We'd hardly been in the area an hour. If I got her home in time, I could be out and actually enjoy the rest of this night in the way I had originally planned.

Solomon let me lead the way down the block and into a darker section that was supposed to be private parking to some lofts. The keys were fished from a pocket, unlocked as I neared the SUV.

"Just put her in back," I lightly call as we near the SUV.

A small breeze was felt, door shutting on the other side. Solomon paced to the end of the car, hands free of Ginger. A brow lifts at the show of speed. He seemed to be gauging how I reacted to this.

"And I thank you for the help. I've got it from here."

His bulky arms cross, looking to my face. "And how will you get her from the vehicle?"

"Oh, Eric should be meeting up with me. I've sent a message already to be there."

I hadn't. But he wouldn't know that. It was a sort of odd feeling being around Solomon. It wasn't like others where I had no worries or such. There was an odd sense that had me on edge. It may have been the attention to me that was more than the kind I was used to. I was used to two distinct types; I want to eat you, and I want to bed you. This was not one I could tell well.

I moved toward the driver's door, not bothering to look at him. When I got in, he was in the passenger side, calmly seated. I pause, key half in the ignition and grasping the wheel. The shutting of my door masked his. I was looking at the wheel and ignition, tensed.

"This is my car."

"It is."

"Don't make me stop being polite."

"I merely wish to aid you."

"I'm more than you can handle. Unless you've gone to school for lots of psychological disorders."

"I will remain until your friend is in her home."

"Eric is meeting me."

"I sensed the lie."

I sigh, key shifted in before I sit back in the seat to stare at the brick wall before us. A number of seconds to minutes moved by, the world still happening outside this SUV while we just sat there. A slow breath is let out, no fear yet.

My phone snapped out, two rapid presses of buttons had the phone at my ear in less than a beat of Ginger's heart. It hardly rang once.

"Faelyn, Ginger not up to your standards?"

Eric's mocking drawl was answer. He'd had to answer soon as the phone connected on his end. Freaking vampires.

"Eric, fantastic of you to answer and worry over me." He heard the absolute quiet and lack of night scene on my end, possibly the words clicking something. "And, Ginger isn't up to anybody's standards. Hear of Minutemen? Yeah, found the female equivalent."

He chuckles. "How unfortunate. So you did meet your end of the deal." He pauses, something shifting. Possibly in his office. "Early even," he says with a hint of surprise.

"Oh, more than made the deal. While she ruined the whole of my night. I had three prospects lined up and had hardly started on the first, which I never got to finish."

"A let down indeed."

"Look, Eric. I'm calling because Ginger passed out."

"Then you are able to handle it."

"Oh, trust me, I found help to get her to the car. But said help is adamant that I need more to get her in the house."

There was a beat of quiet on his end. "It is only the polite thing to do. A lady should not struggle," Solomon lowly says. And we both knew Eric heard it.

"On a light note, Ginger is banned from any nights with me outside of work. A deal like this is never happening again."

"And where are you now?"

My eyes roll. "We are like a block or so from the club. Meet me at Ginger's, cause I really don't know her place."

He hung up. I was dropping the phone into my lap as I started the car. Music blared instantly. I was pushing all the windows down as the song played. Clearly nothing played by Ginger. It was from a new movie with Skrillex as one of the artists for the track. It vibrated the car, rather amazing sound in this vehicle. My hand reached to the middle console, shifting gears as my eyes flicked about.

I backed up quick, shifting gears like I was racing. I may have been around Eric too much. Another dance song was on after the last, set to an album I'd made. It didn't help keep me from going a bit above limit with clearly a hint of reckless driving. Solomon was a silent statue the whole way. A block in, and I was lightly uttering along, head nodding to the beat as I went.

Then I was picking up a few breaths in, getting into the music. This was for more than one reason. But he wouldn't know, Eric had made himself obvious in the sky of my side mirror. Solomon seemed to have his focus on me and the road ahead. I was pulling down the road to Ginger's in a short bit. My hair a windswept mass as a hand thumped the door to the beat.

To be an ass, I'd changed to a different pop song that I loved the base to.

"Guys my age don't know how to treat me, Don't know how to treat me, don't know how to treat me. Guys my age don't know how to touch me. Don't know how to love me good. Guys my age don't know how to keep- Hey, Eric."

I cut off mid song as I pulled into the drive. Eric was stepping from the door, pinky twisting lightly in his ear. He had a look of nonchalance. He was in dark jeans and a black tank top. I slipped out of the car as Eric stopped shy of where I parked. Solomon stepped out, Eric's attention falling to him.

"How fortunate of you to be on hand when help was needed."

A decided lack of real meaning for the words said. Couple it with heavy focus on the male, and clearly they didn't have anything but a thin veiled sarcasm. I had Ginger's purse, already slipping out some keys. Eric opened the back, pulling Ginger out with ease. He carried her over his shoulder like the dang barbarian he is. My eyes rolled as I moved to the door, sticking a key in. It was the wrong one. But a quick flex of power and it was unlocked.

I pushed it open, crossing inside the place.

"Eric, please come in," I mockingly call, turning to toss the purse on the coffee table.

But I pulled up short at the place. Definitely a fan of the vampire thing. Very Hollywood vampire. Glam-pire. Ugh. I shoot a look at Eric.

"If she wasn't all-" I wave at the vampire theme. "I might almost like her sense of décor. I can get behind the color scheme and fairy lights. Digging that and this chair."

I pat the red chair as he vanishes to re-appear facing me in a breath. My hand snatches up a "Dead and Loving it!" pillow with feminine red lips and fangs. He gives the same unimpressed look. A giggle escapes, tossing it to the side as I note how unorganized the place was. Didn't surprise me. But after the picture perfect that was our place, this was…a change. This was what I expected of most my age. Clean, but so very chaotic with things left out and about.

"Jesus," I scoff with a hand going to cover my mouth and stifle another laugh. "I feel like I'm back at my old friend's during high school. Before you all came out of the coffin."

I was actually taking in the little details while he watched. "Yeah, definitely like Adam's room. Maybe a bit more black with a touch toward the Victorian, and bam."

"What a surprise: you with strange friends."

I blink, looking back at him. "Eric, Adam was Antony's second. Lived with us, Antony's progeny."

Eric's brows lift. "You've never mentioned him before. Is he not worried over you?"

"Oh, I talk to him every week or so. Mostly emails."

"You are excused," Eric calls lightly, head lifting from looking to me to past me.

Solomon stood shy of the door, hands loosely folded behind his back. Solomon bent in an old fashioned bow that was more head incline than from the hips.

"Sheriff."

And he was gone. I whirl to face Eric, hands going high on my hips.

"I swear to anything that man is not right."

"He could merely be one drawn in by what you are." Eric was moving closer slowly, eyes flicking slowly between my eyes as he closed space. I had to tilt my head further and further to keep his gaze. "Just as many others are."

"Eric, don't kid yourself. He's not putting out the right pheromones nor is he looking to anything but my face. It's not the same in the least."
He was standing over me, slouched a bit as usual and head tilted down to keep our eyes on each other.

"And I suppose these prospects were?"

That got a smile with my slightly sharper canine peeking out. "Oh. Trust me. All three were. And I actually have plans for the rest of the night. Later."

I hardly turned before I stopped short of crashing into him. His hands were in his pockets, all lazy ease. A sigh leaves me, arms lifting to cross before me.

"Yes, Eric?"
"And what are these plans?"

I looked at his chest that was level with my eyes, no way was I giving in to tilt my head so far back. That's just lording his height over me.

"Oh, this, that. Mainly throw back to how it was before I came down here. Loud music, dancing, alcohol, sprinkle in some lowered inhibitions and a casual encounter or two."

"Or two?"

I shrug, hand lifting to brush hair behind an ear. "Well, I had three solid ones set up before Ginger screwed that up. May still have one. But that chick I was with is a no go now."

"Feeling neglected?" There was the return to our usual teasing banter instead of this slightly edged bit he had going.

I look up then. "Possibly." The usual playful flirt wasn't hesitated, "But I'm rather skilled at amending the situation."

His smirk grew, returning the look with something better fit for a bedroom. Or other places.

Just not here.

Tilting a bit, I tap him with an elbow, still looking up at him. "Now. Fun as it would be, I'd rather not stay in here longer than needed. I feel like I see enough of Ginger as is."

I slipped around him, hands dropping to my side to get the keys for the SUV from my front pocket. Then I was lurching forward by the hips, surprised.

"Eric!" I hiss back, head snapping around with a hint of surprised annoyance in my tone.

His hand was cupped to my rear, propelling me to stumble forward at the quicker pace. Shy of just making myself hover, I had no option but to try to walk as fast as that hand urged me to. This was not simple or easy in the heels. He was smug, hand giving a squeeze.

Some how he shut the door behind us without pausing his shoving me along. The path was a bit harder to maneuver in the heels at the stumbling pace. A number of loud complaints were given and ignored by him until I was being shoved into the passenger seat, keys gone from my hand.

I had a blink before the car was started and Eric was moving the seat back to comfortably sit behind the wheel. A nasty look was aimed to him.

"That was unnecessary, Eric," I snap. "And you better put that seat back when you get out."