A/N I have to give it up to my wonderful beta Kristine for her outstanding bataing skills. I would be lost without you. Thanks honey.

I felt my head getting heavy as I lounged against the comfortable leather chair. My thoughts were drifting to one of my favorite dates with Zoey. It was three weeks ago, on our second date, I took her to my favorite breakfast restaurant in Tulsa and walked through the park. It was simple but fun. Damien wasn't happy with my choice of activities but I didn't want him planning another overly romantic date. The first one almost made us both cross boundaries that I knew Zoey wasn't comfortable crossing, yet. So, this time I wanted a more public atmosphere. It was safer for the both of us. Don't get me wrong; it still involved a major make out session. No complaints here.

~*~

It was seven in the morning and I shot out of bed to head for the showers. I knew I only had an hour to get ready for our date. I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. I had planned a normal date this time, a non-Damien approved date. He was disappointed that I wasn't including him in the planning but he gave his input anyway. I even let him pick out my outfit to make him happy. God I am such a sap; anything to make my new friend happy.

I was picking Zoey up at the girls dorm common room around eight o'clock. I was taking her to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. It was one of my favorite places to go when I was a kid; they serve breakfast anytime of the day and since eight at night was our breakfast time, it was perfect. Plus, it was better than taking her to the Waffle House for breakfast. That was reserved for the three am binge eating we would need from time to time. Sometimes we craved greasy, crispy bacon, a stack of pancakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream, and my favorite cheesy hash browns smothered in ketchup. Just thinking about it was making me hungry.

I was then taking her for a walk at the local park. It was another place I used to go when I was a kid and fed the geese. I hated those fucking geese. They would swarm me as I trying to feed them our week-old bread. The bastards actually bit me! I would throw the entire bag into the man-made lake trying to get them off of me. My dad would lift me up and put me on his shoulders to protect me. I smiled at that memory; I was only six years old.

It was seven forty-five and I was making my way through the boy's common room when I saw TJ slumped in the couch watching some old Western. Clint Eastwood's 'The good, the Bad, and the Ugly' a personal favorite of mine. I will give that man credit - he can act. Old squint could scare a fly off a shit truck from a hundred paces. I would have thought he was a vampyre but the way he aged said he definitely wasn't.

"Hey man what you doing?" I asked.

"Nothing. Just watching this movie…. how about you?" he asked without looking away from the TV.

"I am on my way to pick up Zoey for our date."

"Cool. Have fun," he said in a sad tone. I was about to question it until he turned his head in my direction and gave me a quasi-smile. I would take that for now but knew that we needed to spend some much needed 'guy bonding time' with him soon.

"Thanks. Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing as usual. Why?"

"Want to hang out? Just you, me and Cole." I asked, hoping that would lift his spirits. It did. His quasi-smile turned into a genuine grin.

"Yeah man, I would like that a lot. What do you want to do?" he asked with a great deal of excitement. How long have I ignored him?

"I have made enough plans in the last week; you decide and let me know, okay?"

"Yeah man, I will. Have fun." He turned his head and continued watching his movie. He was grinning from ear to ear; no doubt he would come up with something totally off the wall and fun for tomorrow.

I walked out of the common room feeling better now that I wasn't ignoring my best friend and was about to pick up Zoey for our second date. Life is good.

I walked into the girls' dorm room and immediately saw the twins resting on the couch watching some cooking show. Rachel Ray, I think. That girl talks too much.

"Hey Erin, hey Shaunee! how are you two doing," I asked as I approached the couch.

"Hey Erik, nice to see you," Erin said, giving me the once-over. I rolled my eyes and looked at Shaunee as she did the same thing.

"You are looking exceptionally fine today, Erik. Zoey is a lucky girl. She better never break up with you. But if she does, please know that I like a little cream in my coffee," Shaunee said with a little too much emphasis on the last part. I gave her a nervous smile and walked over to where Stevie Rae was just as Zoey was coming down the stairs. Thank God.

"Hey Stevie Rae, is Zoey ready?" I asked.

"Yeah she'll be down in just a minute," she said in her Okie accent. She gave me a warm smile and walked into the kitchen to fix herself some breakfast.

Just like the last week, Zoey came down the stairs and locked eyes with me. A huge smile lit up her face as she made her way over to me. I noticed she was wearing a nice pair of jeans, a dark blue sweater, and a comfortable pair of tennis shoes. Apparently Damien and the twins didn't get to her this time. I was looking forward to seeing more of her legs. Oh well, I have a great imagination.

I didn't hesitate like last time and walked right up to her. I pulled her into a tight embrace. I took a deep breath, taking in her heavenly scent and let out a soft sigh as I relaxed my grip. I bent down and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. Yep, she had on her signature strawberry lip-gloss. Who ever invented that shit was a genius.

I kissed her again, not caring who was watching. Mmmm, such delicious, strawberry goodness. Suddenly I was craving strawberry pancakes with whipped cream. My stomach growled impatiently signaling me that it was time to go.

I pulled away too quickly and heard her groan. I gave her another tight squeeze before letting her go. I looked into her warm hazel eyes and could see she wanted me to keep kissing her. I smiled down at her pleading lips and kissed her one last time. I parted my lips and grazed my tongue over her bottom lip begging for her to open. She complied willingly and met my tongue. I took her into my mouth and gently massaged her tongue. I used all my restraint not to deepen the kiss further. We were frozen like that for a few minutes just enjoying each other's tongues when we heard the hoots and hollering form the girls in the common room. I felt Zoey pull away, clearly embarrassed by the attention. Her cheeks flushed pink as she nestled into my chest to hide from our shameful PDA. I couldn't contain my laughter - it was low and quiet. I lifted her chin up to meet my gaze. She was red, I mean tomato red.

"Z this is nothing to be ashamed of," I said, staring into her eyes.

"I know I just can't help but feel self conscious about what people are thinking about you and me. I don't want anyone getting the wrong impression," she whispered. Great. I thought we cleared up this 'wrong impression' thing a while ago.

I knew exactly what she was talking about. She didn't want anyone to think she was just like Aphrodite. She didn't want anyone to think she was giving me blow jobs in dark hallways at night or having sex with me. I told her she had nothing to worry about, that she was nothing like Aphrodite and that I felt differently for her than what I had felt for Aphrodite. My relationship with Zoey wasn't just physical - it was emotional as well. I had a strong feeling that I was meantto meet her, like she had something to do with my future. I could only assume Nyx had her hand in my future. I can't argue with a Goddess.

"I already told you I feel differently about you then what I felt for Aphrodite. I am not pressuring you into anything. I just want to be with you… well, and kiss you," I said with a half smile that always seems to cheer her up.

"I know… I just want to be with you too," she said with a smile.

I leaned down and hovered over her lips and whispered, "And?"

I felt her breath hitch as she caught on to my question, "and kissing you t-"

I seized her lips and gave her a long gentle kiss and pulled away before she got embarrassed again by my, very unapologetic, PDA. I grabbed her hand and led her out of the common room.

We arrived at Crackle Barrel just after the evening rush. We walked through the cluttered gift shop to the main dining area. I signaled to the older woman behind the podium that there was only two in our party. She sat us immediately. As we passed the crackling fireplace, I noticed the all-too-familiar checkerboard I used to play with my brother. I would kick his butt every time at Checkers. The memory caused me to laugh. Zoey, of course, noticed.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"I use to come here with my family all the time for breakfast. My brother and I used to play Checkers over there," I paused to toss my head in the direction of the two rocking chairs and the huge checkerboard. "I kicked his butt every time."

"Do you miss your family?" she asked softly.

"Yes, I do. They used to visit every month but now they only come about four times a year. My brother is getting older and is about to graduate high school so they are concentrating on him right now." My eyes shifted to the ground at the last statement. I was sad that my family was forgetting me. But as a vamp we were also meant to forget our families. It was the 'natural progression' of turning into a vamp. One day they would die and we were told it would make it a lot easier to have forgotten them then mourn their deaths.

"I'm sorry, Erik," she said, as she nudged closer to me while caressing my hand. I took comfort in her warm touch. I nestled my nose in her hair and kissed her softly and whispered a 'thank you' into her ear.

The waitress came over and took our order. Of course we ordered breakfast food, after all it morning, for us at least.

We dove into stories of our childhood. I asked her what she was like when she was a kid. She told me stories mainly of her grandmother and her Lavender farm; but there were lovely stories about her mother and sister before the step loser came into their lives. They were a happy family; they would go on mini adventures to the park, to the zoo, and to the fort in her backyard that her mother helped build. She told me it was an accident waiting to happen but they didn't care, they would have tea parties up in the rickety old 'girls only' tree house.

I told her about the many camping trips my family used to go on and the adventures my brother and I would have. I told her about the time my brother got me in trouble with the principle and how I was almost suspended from high school. But luckily for me, the principle adored me. So I got out of that predicament. Zoey shook her head in disbelief about my other, more devious, side. All she knew was the Erik in front of her, the drama dork, not the one who used to sneak out and get drunk every weekend with my human friend Tony. When I got marked, that all changed for me. I came here and was a 'freshman' all over again. I took this opportunity to reinvent myself. I dove into acting; which is where I met Cole and soon after he introduced me to his roommate and partner in crime, TJ. We quickly became friends and the rest was history.

The waitress came back with our orders. Zoey looked at the huge stack of pancakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream in front of me and then looked up at me. I had a huge grin. I knew why I ordered strawberry pancakes, but she didn't. I would keep that to myself.

"You must love strawberries," she said still staring at the huge mound of strawberries.

"Yes! I do!" I said grinning as I cut into the warm pancakes. I moaned with each bite. It was nothing like her lip gloss but it was good enough for now. She smiled and just shook her head as she took a bite of her French toast.

We ate in silence for a moment as we enjoyed our breakfast. I took this time to really look at her. Because we were away from school, we had to cover up our marks to hide our identity from the humans. It was mainly to avoid confusion and unnecessary attention to fledglings.

I knew Zoey was beautiful, no question about that, but to see her as she used to be before she was marked, well, she was stunning - even for a human. There was Cherokee heritage in her features defined in her high cheekbones, strong jaw, and her dark rich hair. No wonder her ex-boyfriend Heath had a hard time letting her go. I wouldn't let drinking or smoking pot get in the way of being with her. He was a fool for doing so in the first place; bad for him but good for me.

Once we were finished, I paid for the meal and we left to my second destination. We walked about a block away to my favorite park. I guess tonight's theme was my childhood past. It was fun to let her see that side of me. Aphrodite never bothered to learn anything about my past. All she cared about was popularity and sex.

We walked, slowing around the man made pond; side-by-side and hand in hand. We didn't speak for a long time. There were no awkward moments; we just enjoyed each other's presence. I would bring her hand up, kiss her wrist, and then let it fall back into place. I repeated this every so often as a silent, loving gesture. In reality I wanted to kiss her.

Once we made it around the loop I sat us down on a park bench overlooking the pond. It was beautiful as the stars reflected in the water. There was a slight breeze in the air but I was barely bothered by it. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders as I always do and pulled her into my body. I loved the warmth of her body next to mine, and was assailed by her intoxicating scent as she rested her head on my shoulder. I nestled my nose in her hair and inhaled her scent while tracing the top of her head with gentle kisses.

I felt her hand on my chest as it inched slowly up to my neck. With a devilish grin, she leaned her head back to gaze up at me, her warm eyes silently asking me to kiss her. I obeyed. I bent down slowly to build the anticipation as I gazed back into her eyes. Her hand slid around my neck and pulled me the rest of the way down. I smiled against her warm lips. Score. My lips pressed into hers, taking her bottom lip in my mouth to suck on it. She pulled back slightly and for the first time she initiated the desire to deepen the kiss. She parted her lips and grazed my bottom lip with her hot tongue; sending a shiver down my body as I opened my mouth and brushed her tongue with mine.

I reached my hand from around her should to cradle her neck. I tilted my head back slightly to deepen the kiss even more. As my tongue plunged deeper into her mouth, I heard a deep moan escape my mouth as her hand wrapped into my hair pulling me even closer. As we fought for dominance, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, aching to be even closer to her. My other hand reached down and pulled her tightly to my chest. Slowly, I moved my hand down to her waist towards her hip. I traced down her thigh to the back of her knee. Before I could lift her leg she pulled away, gasping for air. I froze as she rested her head on my shoulder; fighting to control her breathing. I released her leg, bringing my hand up to brush soft strokes on her arm that now rested on my chest.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be sorry. I should be the one apologizing. I get carried away when I am with you," I said softly into her hair.

"I get carried away, too," she whispered, while burrowing her face into my shoulder.

"I know… I like it."

"Erik!" she shrieked.

I let out a laugh. "Z, I am just telling you the truth. I like kissing you. You drive me crazy when I am close to you." I brushed her hair from her hidden face. I took my hand and guided her face to look up at me and continued, "You are special to me. I would never take advantage of you in any way. When you are ready to move on, I will be waiting, until then I would just like to kiss you." With that last word I bent down and kissed her softly on her warm, swollen lips. I was giving her complete control over our physical relationship, when she was ready to take it to the next level I would definitely be ready. But for now we could do a lot of making out. I would just have to control my hands, set boundaries.

She reached her hand back up to my neck and kissed me back softly. I felt her mouth open back up and I met her tongue with mine. I let her dominate the kiss as she brushed her tongue against mine. It was soft and gentle at first but then her passion drove her to deepen the kiss. She let out a kittenish moan as I matched her enthusiasm. We kissed for over an hour, only taking breaks to breathe. Yes, we had to remember to breathe. But I kept my word and didn't move my hands any further than caressing her arm. I so wanted to grab her ass and pull her to me, but I had boundaries now.

As we ended our date and walked back to my car, I was noticeably aware that I would have a new reason to come back and visit this park. It wouldn't hold the memory of biting geese anymore, but sweet passionate kisses from Zoey.

We got back to the House of Night just in time for lunch. I was starving again - as usual. We met up with her friends in the dining hall. They were talking about the newest Harry Potter movie and offered us to join. We both said yes. Our libido's needed a break after this morning's kiss-a-thon. I walked her back to the girl's common room and sat with her and her friends as we watching the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie. She curled into my arms on the loveseat as I lightly caressed her arm and kissed the top of her head. Each time she would inch a little closer to me. She took my hand from my lap, just like last week, and started tracing patterns in my skin. The warmth of her hand felt so nice as it glided up and down my arm. I let out a loud sigh in her hair and kissed it firmly giving her my approval of her touch. She then turned my hand over and traced the same patterns making my heart pound in my chest. God, she can drive me wild without even kissing me, her touch alone was doing that to me. As if she understood my frustrations, she interlaced her hand in mine and pulled it close to her.

~*~

"Erik," a male's voice pulled me out of my wonderful daydream. I opened my eyes to see Blake placing his leather note pad in an empty seat next to him and stood up to walk over to me.

"Yes Blake," I answered back as he took the seat right across from me.

"I was told to inform you on your new roommate Jack Twist. He arrived on Friday night. Neferet introduced him to Zoey Redbird and her friends to make him feel more welcome. Aren't you dating Zoey?" he asked with little emotion. I wondered why he didn't tell me this sooner about Jack but was suddenly shocked to hear him say Zoey's name with a hint of passion behind it. I had heard that tone before when he would talk about other girls at the House of Night, his conquests.

"Yes, Zoey and I are dating," I wasn't sure why I had to clarify to Blake that we were dating but something inside of me wanted to make damn sure he knew. I continued, "And I am sure everyone made him feel very welcome." I tried to hide the sharp tone I was dispersing.

He seemed unaffected by it and turned to stand up and walk back to his seat. He picked up the leather note pad, contemplating something, and then started to write in the old book. I would have to keep an eye on him. I didn't mind the guy but now I didn't trust him around Zoey.

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