Short and more frequent is better, I hope. Once again, oober thanks to AmaZen. She tolerates my impatient butt and keeps me in gear toward my goal.
"Eric, not yet." He kissed my cheek and pulled away, grabbing my hand so I would follow him.
"I know not yet. But soon. Just stop pretending that it isn't inevitable."
SPOV
Okay. I can do this. I can do this. I felt Eric's cold hand engulf mine as we walked up the steps. Recently the gentleman, he held the door open for me and we entered the noisy bar. A large group was off the left, speaking animatedly with one another while some of the guys were raising their bottles in the air in toast. To the right, the dance floor was busy, but not overly so. Someone had loaded the juke box with sufficient change to keep it off of the old Willy Nelson albums that Sam refused to get rid of. Speaking of....
Bending over the retrieve more beer from the case, Sam looked up and waved at me. Well, until he saw tall, blond and frosty standing next to me. I realized Eric was still holding my hand as I watched him survey the bar. As he scanned, some people met his eyes. Eric gave them a short nod with a huge smile on his face. He looks right at home. What the hell? I pulled myself closer to him and spoke quietly in his direction while trying to maintain the smile plastered on my own face.
"Eric, I'd like you to pick your poison," I said while inclining my head to the left. "Behind door number one, we have the peanut gallery." I waved at Sam again, still smiling. He tried to resurrect his own grin. "Behind door number two, we have the over protective former boss with whom I have a mild history but whose friendship I managed to salvage." I looked up at Eric to find him smiling at me, amusement clear in his eyes. "To the right is door number three, the dance floor, which I will not be going near under any circumstances without a blood alcohol level exceeding .06%."
I could feel his chest vibrating with laughter and it felt oddly comforting. He wasn't going to run. Not yet. As he led me to door number one he spoke quietly, "I'm going to leave you with the peanut gallery for a moment while I visit door number two and get us a drink, because tonight's not going to end without a trip behind door number three." Just as he finished, we reached a mess of tables hastily shoved together for Jason and most of our friends and relatives.
Jason was the last one of the group to notice me. I watched as he tipped his head as far back as it would go in order to take in the huge form standing behind me. Eric slid his arm around my waist and rested his chin on the top of my head as if waiting for me to remember my manners.
"Hey guys, uhm, how's it going?" The collective silence was slightly overwhelming, heavy on the creepy. "Uhm, I'd like to introduce you all. All, this is Eric." Silence. Okay, here we go.
"Eric, that's Tara and JB, " I pointed out, thanking goodness they had the decency to wave.
"This is Claude and Claudine, my cousins." Eric nodded, Claudine blanched and Claude began undressing Eric with his eyes.
"Those two monkies on the end are my brother Jason and Hoyt." I watched and waited for Gran's lesson in manners to kick in, but we didn't have all night. "Jason, this is where you say something, preferrably in a friendly manner." Jason's mouth was still catching flies. I rolled my eyes in a huff. Hoyt stood up and had the decency to lean over and shake Eric's hand introducing himself.
"Nice to meet you, Eric. Sit down, pull up a chair!" He was clearly feeling no pain, but I welcomed his friendly attitude. Eric seemed nonplussed as he pulled up a chair and held it out for me to sit. This is new! I looked at it in shock. Eric chuckled mildly and nudged me to take a seat. I half-fell, half-plopped in the most unlady like fashion and he pushed me in before I could snap my own trap shut. He headed off to the bar, promising to be right back. I turned in my seat, watching his lithe frame approach Sam. They shook hands, clapped one another on the shoulder and began an animated conversation. Sam nudged his head in my direction, and Eric looked back at me and smiled before returning to his conversation with Sam. Sam tapped his hand on the bar and went to the back. Eric nodded to a pale, dark haired man at the corner of the bar top, then he walked over to him and motioned toward the door. The man appeared reluctant to move, but when Eric's smile fell and he squinted his eyes, the man jumped off of his stool and followed without further hesitation. On his way to the door, Eric stopped and held up one finger to me, signalling that he'd be back in a minute.
Did he just fucking abandon me to the peanut gallery?
Turning to look at them, I shrugged and tried to smile. Hoyt was smiling stupidly and Jason was turning colors. "Sook, what the hell are you doing out with him?"
"What do you mean, him?"
"Sook, that man's a vampire!" No shit, Sherlock. Thanks for the heads up.
"Oh my god, Jason! For real?!" I gaped in mock horror.
"Yea! You didn't know that?" Jason looked so proud at himself.
"Holy shit, Jay, is that why he's so cold and drinks blood?"
"Damn straight, Sook!"
I loved my brother, but sometimes I felt like he was one twist short of a slinky. "What are you, the master of the fucking obvious, Jason? No shit he's a vampire."
The collective group burst out laughing as we watched Jason turn colors while looking embarrassed. Hoyt smacked him up the backside of his head. "Jason, your sister is the smartest one we know. Quit acting like she's some dumb blonde all the damn time."
"Thanks, Hoyt," I smiled at him.
JB, who was hot as hell but definitely no smarter than bait was mesmerized by a game of "flip the coaster and catch it". Tara took her eyes off of him and looked at me with glee. "Sook, I never thought I'd see you out with a vampire, but girl, can you pick them. He's hot as hell. I bet he's a ton of fun!" Before I could scold her for being crass when Eric could be in ear shot, Amelia was sauntering up behind me with Tray in tow. "Tell me about it, Tara. But you know what they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make Sookie ride it."
"Amelia Broadway! Even if I was going to dignify this conversation with a response, what you said doesn't make any sense!" Oh shit, she's killing me!
"I know," she huffed as she pushed Tray into the chair next to me and fell into his lap, "But I've been doing tequila shots and that's the most illumination you're going to get out of me tonight."
I leaned in front of her to glare at Tray. "Is she trashed?"
He slapped Amelia's ass and she giggled. "Yep, Sook, guess she is."
I was in for a rough night. Two doses of Amelia were two doses too much. Now that she was snickered, she'd never shut the hell up. I looked at Claude and Claudine, hoping they'd be the voice of reason.
"He's not my type," Claudine smiled.
"I'd do him," Claude quipped.
"Do who?" aid my fast-becoming-favorite voice, as Eric sat down next to me. He handed me a beer, "Sam said you'd like this." I smiled up at him and mumbled my thanks.
"Oh you!" Amelia sing-songed in her drunken slur.
I chugged down half my beer. "Eric, I don't suppose you'd be inclined to get out of here before Amelia gets going again?"
"Again? Do tell!" Tara piped up. JB had apparently gotten bored with his coaster and was now playing with the pen light on his key chain. Hoyt and Jason were staring at Eric. Hoyt amused, Jason not so much.
"Sookie likes Peter Pan, but she's gone all Wendy on us. Peter wants to take her flying, but you know how she's afraid of heights. She's too much of a prude to put on the Tink costume to make it all happen, and even when I told her there was no pirate ship in the air, she refused to walk the plank." Amelia lost herself to snickering while pointing at Eric. "Plank. I bet that's a way to describe it." She leaned in to Tara in an attempt to whisper, but instead spoke louder than usual, "You should see his feet! I bet he's huge!"
Several things happened in quick succession: Eric snorted, Jason turned three shades of protective big brother, Tara looked like she found the golden ticket and Claude looked like he wanted to take it from her. Amelia hiccupped and I reached over and snatched an unattended shot of brown liquid off of the table.
I hated doing this two nights in a row, but if I was going to give it up and join the ranks, I needed some more courage. Preferably liquid and named after a man.
A/N Reviews motivate me. I noticed a slight decline in the same. If you're losing interest, I understand. If not, review to keep me wanting to finish this monster which has grown beyond my intentions. :)