Chapter Seven - Competition

"Sookie..." Sophie greeted me as they sat down at the table.

"Um, hi... both of you," I spoke and signed, which had become second nature around Eric.

"Eric and I are together now, isn't that wonderful?" Sophie asked me, but didn't sign, which was rude to Eric, since he couldn't see her lips.

"That's very nice," I said.

Have you ordered yet? Eric asked me.

"Yeah, I ordered for both of us, but I didn't know Sophie would be coming."

"It's okay, I'll just ask for some fruit anyway," she said, wrapping her arms around Eric's bicep and snuggling into his shoulder.

He smiled down at the top of her head in a sweet way, with adoration. I tried to ignore the tiny sting in my gut when I saw it. He never looked at anyone like that but me, I realized. For a moment I wondered if that meant that he liked me in that way, and in that moment my heart fluttered with the thought, but then it passed as I realized that he'd have asked me out if he did.

"So... What are you two up to today?" I asked, feeling more than a little awkward.

Sophie has to go after we eat, and I have work, but we'll both be at the club tonight.

"Good, Quinn will be there," I said, and Eric's expression darkened. I knew he didn't care much for Quinn, but I hoped that he would come around, especially if Quinn and I became more serious. Eric was okay with Quinn after they met the first time, so I'd thought Quinn had his approval, but after that he just seemed to hate Quinn's guts.

Eric said nothing, and lucky for him and his attitude, our food came. Sophie asked the waitress for a grapefruit, and Eric and I dug in.

After breakfast I gave Eric a quick hug and told them both I'd see them that night, then I headed back to my apartment. Frustrated didn't even begin to describe how I was feeling. I didn't understand how he could be such a sweet, single guy for so long, then break that habit with someone like Sophie.

By the time Pam came out of her room, I'd thoroughly cleaned half the apartment, which was what I did when I was bothered by something. I cleaned.

"Whoa, what happened to you? You haven't cleaned this much in a while," Pam said as she plopped down on the couch.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" I ranted as I cleaned the glass of the window in the living room.

"Sook, it's early, use names."

"Eric! First he invites that bitch Sophie from my class to come along with us for ice cream, and then he brings her to breakfast today, a walk of shame breakfast."

"And you care because..."

That made me pause. Why the hell did I care so much? I didn't like Eric in that way, it wasn't like I wanted him for myself.

"Well... she's just... Sophie's all wrong for him is all. She's such a selfish bitch, she probably thinks fucking him is charity or something."

"Right, cause it's not like there's no other reason a girl would want to have sex with Eric. He's not handsome, or kind, or sweet and attentive... the only reason a girl could possibly want to fuck him is because she feels sorry for him."

I sighed, and went over to sit down in the recliner.

"You're right, I shouldn't have said that. I'm not sure what my problem is."

"You're attracted to Eric, that's what. I'm not saying you should act on it or anything, but it doesn't change that you do feel for him that way on some level. You want what's best for him, and that's fine, but remember that he has to make his own mistakes too."

"Gee Pam, you're so wise when you wake up."

She sighed and stood up. "Take my advice or not, I don't care. I'm going to take a shower."

After she left the room, I worked my frustrations all through the living room until it was time to get ready for work. Work that night wasn't too bad, but after Quinn showed up it seemed like I wasn't getting as many tips.

"Quinn, would you mind going to sit with Eric when he gets here? I think your presence is affecting my intake," I asked him after a really good-looking guy who'd been flirting with me all night suddenly wouldn't make eye contact when he ordered a refill, and kept side-eyeing Quinn.

"How is me sitting here making you lose money?"

"I don't know, but people stopped tipping about a half hour after you sat down. What do you think would happen if I went to your bar and sat there all night sending threatening looks to your female customers?"

His eyes narrowed, and he nodded his bald head. "I see your point. I just don't want anyone messing with you."

"I've been doing this a while, Quinn. I know how to handle myself."

I walked down the bar a bit to take care of a customer, and saw Eric and Sophie walk in. She was severely overdressed for the establishment, and looked down her nose at everyone there. Eric, however, looked like the proud man to have such a beautiful woman on his arm.

I watched them walk up to Quinn, and thankfully he went with them to sit down in a nearby booth. Eric came back up to the bar to get drinks and say hello.

"Good night?" I asked.

He nodded and signed, I really like her.

I forced myself to smile and said, "I'm happy for you."

He smiled back and took his drinks back to the table, but not before leaving a tip in my jar with a wink. I laughed at him and got back to work. We were just about to hit our second wave as the late night partiers came in to get their nights started.

I got busy again, and since Quinn was no longer sitting at the bar, my tip jar was filling up quite nicely. But that was until I noticed what was happening with him. I looked over at their table and I could practically see the tension in the air. He and Eric looked like they wanted to kill each other with their eyes.

I wanted to go see what the problem was, but I was just too busy, so I flagged Pam down and asked her to go eavesdrop. When she came back ten minutes later all she said was, "I don't know what the fuck happened, but Eric hates baldy."

"What? Pam!" I said, but she was already off to check on her tables.

About a minute later Quinn was back in his spot at the bar, and Eric and Sophie were walking out the door.

Motherfucker.

"What the hell happened?" I asked Quinn.

"Nothing happened," he said, and chugged a beer.

"I have never seen Eric look that pissed. Something happened."

"It sounds an awful lot like you're accusing me of something."

"I'm not accusing anyone of anything, I just want to know why my friend and my boyfriend seem to hate each other."

"Is it really important for us to get along?" he asked, and I put my hands on my hips.

"Yes, it is."

"Then I'll try to get along with him, for you," he pointed out unnecessarily. I knew it was for me already.

"Thank you," I said, then sighed. "Look, I think I'm going to be too tired to hang out tonight, why don't you go on without me?"

He sighed, like I was more hassle than he bargained for, but then he surprised me, and leaned forward to give me a very gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Can I see you tomorrow?" he asked.

I nodded and promised to call him, then he left. When I got home that night, I had been stewing for a while on the situation between Eric and Quinn. In fact, I was quite annoyed with Eric. Quinn wasn't a bad guy. Sophie on the other hand... and I was perfectly kind to her, why couldn't he be nice to Quinn for me?

After making a snap decision, I grabbed my keys, hollered to Pam that I was going out, then drove over to Eric's apartment. I waited patiently for him to come answer the door since I knew it may take a few minutes for him to feel the vibrations from the doorbell if he was sleeping, but then he answered with his toothbrush still in his mouth.

"We need to talk," I said, and signed before walking past him into his living room. "Are we alone?"

Yes, I took Sophie home after we left the bar, he signed. Let me go rinse, and we'll talk.

I nodded and paced the living room while waiting for him to return, which he did a minute later.

What's up? he asked.

"What happened between you and Quinn tonight?"

His eyes narrowed a bit, and his lips formed a thin, tight line.

Nothing, why?

"Don't lie to me, Eric. I saw the way you were looking at him."

You want the truth? I think Quinn is an asshole, and I think you are too good for him.

"Excuse me?"

He's a pig, Sookie! He was ogling the waitresses, other women, and Sophie.

"I have never seen Quinn look at another woman. And you know, Sophie was letting a lot hang out," I accused, thankful that he couldn't hear my catty tone. His eyes narrowed even more, and his breathing picked up.

Do you have a problem with Sophie?

"Yes, I think she's a bitch, an uppity bitch, and I think she's using you."

Eric was speechless for a moment, and I knew then that I had likely crossed a line. I was just about to apologize when he started in on me. Signing fast, and aggressively. I had to struggle to keep up with what he was saying.

Kiss my ass, Sookie. Are you jealous or something? Does Sophie have what you want? She's never been anything but nice to me, and at least she wants me.

I kept trying to interrupt him by saying "That's ridiculous," or something similar, but he wouldn't let me speak, he just kept going. And really, he wasn't wrong.

I've always tried to be nice to the guys you date even though they're often scumbags, so why can't you do the same for me? I will repay the favor. Quinn is a jerk. He is only after one thing, and he will break up with you as soon as you give it up.

Well, that pissed me off.

"So you think I'm some easy tramp?"

No, I just know guys like that. As soon as you sleep with him, he will become an ass and break your heart.

"Oh yeah? Well I'm smarter than you give me credit for."

Somehow, during the argument, we'd gotten as close to each other as possible without smacking hands while signing, and I was suddenly aware of just how hot he was when he was angry. The tension between us was thick. All I could see were his lips, just a mere foot of space between his and mine, and god help me, I leaned in to kiss him.

He leaned in too, for just a split second before he shook his head and took a step back. I realized how fucked up kissing him at that moment would be, and before either of us could make a bad situation worse, I signed that I was sorry, turned on my heel, and left.

~o0o~

I almost kissed her. It was something I'd wanted for so long, but just before I let it happen, I remembered that we weren't together, we were with other people, and angry wasn't what I wanted to be when it finally happened. Maybe it was because I'd built our first kiss up in my head so much that the circumstances just wouldn't do. I wanted it to be romantic, and telling, and I wanted her to fall in love with me when it happened. None of those things would happen if we kissed now.

God, I was angry. Why now? Why would she suddenly decide to show jealousy when I found someone I liked. She had never indicated that she wanted me in that way, and then all of a sudden Sophie was using me? I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt that maybe she really never liked Sophie and was just looking out for me, but then I remembered Quinn. I never liked him, and I still had the decency not to tell her about it.

When she left, I wanted her to go. Nothing good would have happened if she'd stayed. We needed space, to cool down, to think. I couldn't fall asleep for a while, so instead I lay there and thought about everything. To give Sookie some credit, I thought about her accusations against Sophie. Was it possible that she was using me? She did ask for sex the very night she met me. But then, if she just wanted sex, why did she stay? Why did she go out with me again? Why did she give me oral when I dropped her off? It was a rather selfless thing to give and not expect reciprocation, right? No, Sophie wasn't using me. She liked me. She had already called me her boyfriend, and I liked it. I like being a significant other. It was nice being wanted in that way.

Did I think Sophie and I would be together forever? No. She was nice, and pretty, but we didn't really have a lot in common as far as I could tell. We would probably be together until one of us tired of the other, and then I'd go back to being single and probably pining over Sookie again. Or maybe if Sookie was single, I'd ask her out. In fact, when I realized that Sophie was likely just a passing fancy, I came to the conclusion that I was probably the one using her.

I understood then that Sookie was looking at it from her own personal viewpoint, and Sookie was a woman that saw all relationships in this romantic light. When two people were together, they were together to see if they were compatible for marriage, for a life together. So if she thought Sophie was using me, she would be upset about that. I couldn't fault her for that, but I would probably have to explain some things to her.

After I thought it all through, I felt a lot better about the situation, and even thought we could get past our almost-kiss with ease. We just had to sit down and talk about it. So before I rolled over and went to sleep, I sent her a text.

I'm sorry about tonight. Can we talk tomorrow sometime?

She didn't respond right away, so I assumed she was sleeping and rolled over to do the same.

Sorry it took so long to get this out to you. It's been some crazy times lately. Thank you for sticking with me!