Thanks so very much to all of you reading and leaving such kind words. Every single one of you rock my world! A special thanks goes to Weewoman1 for her help and encouragement. Thanks, sweetie!
The second date has arrived. Hope you enjoy!
As always, I do not own these characters, nor do I receive any profit from this story.
"Oh my God, Eric!" Sookie laughed as he placed another giant stuffed animal in her arms, joining the other three already there, as well as the two smaller ones she had clutched under her arms. She peeked at him from behind a bright blue, fuzzy ear. "Mercy! That's enough!"
Eric grinned, baring perfectly shaped white teeth. "That's what you get for challenging a vampire at the fair," he smirked, watching with amusement as she juggled the over-sized toys in her arms.
"I only said I bet you couldn't do it again," she laughingly complained. "I didn't expect you to prove yourself five times in a row!"
"I can't have you doubting my abilities, now can I?" he grinned wickedly, taking the largest of the bears from her struggling grasp.
"You've certainly proved you can give a girl all she needs to cuddle at night," Sookie responded with a happy smile, snuggling her face into the stuffed toys.
"Not yet, but I'm willing to wait for my chance," Eric spoke lightly, but the double entendre behind the words was unmistakable. Sookie's face blushed pink as his meaning sank in.
"You've been lucky so far tonight," she said softly, giving him a warm smile. "Let's hope your luck holds out, shall we?"
"It's not luck," Eric replied huskily. "It all comes down to skill, darlin'."
"What we're doing next requires no skill at all," she replied, ignoring his implications. "Let's put these in the car and then we're going to ride the Ferris wheel," she said gleefully. "It's my favorite ride. I love being so high above everyone else."
The vampire tucked the pleasing nugget of information away and walked alongside Sookie, the giant toy still cradled in his strong arms. He wondered briefly where they were going to put all the toys, but soon saw there was no worry. The red bear under her right arm was given to a small child, a girl barely able to walk alongside her parents. The incongruous purple turtle was doled out to a small boy, along with the pink horse for his sister.
"That was nice of you," he said as they finished their walk. "You're keeping the others?" he asked, nodding at the two still clutched in her arms.
Sookie smiled brightly. "These two are for Arlene's kids. I'm keeping the bad boy in your arms."
"Bad boy?" Eric asked doubtfully, holding the toy up to get a better look. "It's a rodent, Sookie. A blue mouse."
"I know," she replied happily, reaching out to stroke the creature's long nose. "I think I'm going to call him Thor."
"No," Eric denied instinctively. "It's a mouse. You can't name a mouse after the god of thunder, Sookie."
"But just look at him, Eric," she protested, reaching to take the animal from his arms. Turning it around to face the vampire, she continued her argument. "He's not just a mouse. He's a mighty, fearsome mouse. He's going to watch over me while I sleep. He's Thor; not Fluffy or Squeaky."
"But it's a mouse, Sookie," Eric repeated. "You don't have to call him Fluffy or Squeaky or Sleepy or Dopey, either, but you can't call him Thor."
"Sleepy and Dopey were dwarves, Eric, not mice," Sookie rolled her eyes at him as if her argument made perfect sense. She looked at the rodent in her arms and frowned. "Did you hear that, Thor? Eric is calling you a dwarf."
"I'm not calling anyone a dwarf," Eric protested. His eyes narrowed as he gazed at the offending rodent nestled against her. "But I refuse to call a mouse Thor."
"Then you can call him whatever you want," she replied with a laugh. "I'm still going to call him Thor."
His mouth opened to continue the argument before he snapped it closed, realizing he was engaging in a ridiculous argument he had no hope of winning. He shook his head, giving up the fight.
"Very well. His name is Thor," he conceded, even though the idea still rankled. The Viking didn't believe in much, but the gods of his human years were held close. The vampire thought everyone needed something to believe in, and the Norse deities were it for him.
"Thor!" Sookie hooted out before starting to laugh. "Oh, God! You should have seen your face, Eric! 'You can't name a mouse after the god of thunder, Sookie.' Absolutely priceless!" Her blue eyes twinkled and flashed as she laughed at him.
"Minx," he growled, taking a step toward her. "You think you can laugh at me?"
"I am laughing at you," she pointed out, laughing even harder. She shifted the toys in her arms to wipe away the tears gathering in the corners of your eyes. "Come on! It was funny, Dopey."
The corners of his mouth tilted into a smile as he looked at her happy, laughing face. There weren't many who'd be as brazen as she. Eric found it was an aspect of her personality he was starting to truly appreciate. And she was right – it was funny.
"Has anyone ever filled you in on the favorite pastimes of vampires?" he asked casually as he unlocked the car door.
"Other than drinking blood and sex, not really. I wouldn't have thought there was another common trait amongst such a diverse population."
"Blood and sex are high on the list, of course, but what vampires truly excel at," he said as he took the toys from her hands and placed them into the car, "is plotting revenge."
Sookie grinned and insolently stuck a small pink tongue out from between her parted lips. "Am I supposed to be afraid, vampire? Shall I shiver in my boots?"
Eric took a good look at the brown leather cowboy boots in question. Strong, supple tanned legs were shown to perfection under her short denim skirt and the deceptively demure button down shirt she wore; one which occasionally rose just high enough for Eric to catch a glimpse of her tanned, smooth belly. The boots completed the look to perfection. He decided in that moment that one day, in the not so distant future, he was indeed going to make the fairy princess shiver in those very boots.
Tucking the thought away for future perusal, he took her hand and started walking back to the fairgrounds. It had been a fun, relaxing evening, even though it was a destination he never would have chosen. Hell, he didn't even know there was a fair happening, but it had been the best night he'd had in a very long time.
"You don't need to be afraid," he assured her with a wink and a smile. "You might want to be wary, however."
"Give it your best shot," she replied with a deceptively sweet smile on her pink lips. "I can take it."
The comfortable, back and forth teasing between them continued as they waited in the line for the next ride to start loading. Sookie couldn't believe he'd never bothered to experience a Ferris Wheel before and ribbed him good-naturedly about the sheltered existence he'd led. Eric, in turn, asked the petite telepath if she thought she'd meet the height restriction for the ride, earning him an elbow to the ribs. They were both laughing as the attendant showed them to their seat, instructing them on how to buckle up.
"Wait until we get to the top," she told him excitedly. "It's amazing being so high up. You can see for miles and miles."
"I'm sure it must be," he replied with a smile. Her enthusiasm was infectious.
"Here we go," she exclaimed as the motor started to crank and the carriage began to sway. Her small hand found his and squeezed hard. Eric wrapped his long fingers around her hand and held it as the carriage began to rise higher.
"Oh, look at that," she cried out, pointing at the city lights stretching out to the right. "It's so beautiful."
"It certainly is," he agreed quietly, watching the joy light her beautiful face.
Her head tilted back as she took in the twinkling stars above, her expression serene. "It's almost like you can touch the stars, isn't it?" she asked wistfully. Eric's eyes never left her, his expression contemplative.
Sookie chatted happily about the view the entire time, pointing out various things to Eric as they came into sight. Her expression fell for a moment when she felt the wheel give a lurch.
"It's always over too soon," she said wistfully. "This is our last trip to the top."
"Do you trust me?" Eric asked, making a snap decision.
Sookie looked directly into his eyes as she answered him. "Yes, I do. Why?"
Eric shrugged out of his leather coat and placed it around her shoulders before unbuckling their safety harness.
"Put that on and then come sit here on my lap," he told her, earning him a sharp look. "Trust me."
Sookie slipped her arms inside the sleeves of his coat, resisting the urge to bury her nose into the garment, before moving carefully to sit across his lap.
"Put your arms around my neck," he instructed.
"If this is your revenge, Eric…" she said as she wrapped her arms around his strong neck.
Sookie could feel the vibrations from his laughter and pressed closer to his wide, rock-hard chest, deciding she liked the feeling.
"Trust me," he repeated. Silence surrounded them until the carriage reached the top once more. "Hold on tight," he told her as the wheel rounded the top. "Don't let go." Wrapping his arms tightly around her, the vampire shot into the sky. Shock ran through Sookie as they left the safety of the carriage and a belated squeal escaped her lips.
"We're flying!" she screamed out, her legs coming up to wrap around his hips. "You can fly!"
Eric chuckled and held her closer. "Are you warm enough?"
"I think so," she told him. "I don't really care. I'm flying, Eric!"
Eric zoomed higher into the night sky before flying them around the outer edges of the fair, giving Sookie the bird's eye view she always dreamed of. She clung to the vampire tightly as her head spun back and forth to catch as much of the amazing view as possible.
"More?" he asked, receiving an emphatic nod in response. In truth, Eric was enjoying the flight as much as the excited fairy in his arms, if for different reasons. This close, her scent was even more appealing, surrounding him as thoroughly as the warm body wrapped around him. He didn't want it to end yet; dreading to feel the coolness taking over the residual warmth she would leave behind when he was forced to release her from his grasp.
"Absolutely," she cried out before reaching up and placing a swift, sweet kiss on his cheek. "Thank you. This is amazing!"
Even the cool air whipping past them couldn't dispel the warmth Eric felt from her innocent, sweet gesture. The effect the fairy princess had on him was quite remarkable; the vampire could not recall a single instance he'd ever felt precisely this way. Only the fear of crushing her prevented him from holding her even tighter, even closer to his body.
Their flight lasted another ten minutes or so, with Eric doing some acrobatic tricks high in the air, making Sookie laugh and squeal until tears ran from her eyes. Bringing them down slowly, Eric landed just beyond the back parking lot, his feet effortlessly finding the ground beneath them. The unlikely pair stood entwined for a moment before either spoke, but their eyes remained almost uncomfortably locked together.
The vampire and the telepath were an unlikely match; anyone would be likely to agree. But in this moment, all either of them could think of was how amazing, how perfect the other was. It was a strange, foreign feeling for both; neither the vampire nor the telepath had ever experienced the bittersweet stirrings of first love. Both were ill-equipped to deal with the tsunami of raging, swelling emotion building within.
All the vampire wanted to do was bite her and fuck her and rub himself all over her.
The telepath thought she might like that, too.
Eric finally broke the silence that was threatening to consume them. Needlessly clearing his throat, he said, "Do you want to go back to the fair?"
Sookie shook her head slowly.
"What would you like to do?" he asked quietly, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. Sookie was still clinging to him as she had been in the air. He was loath to end their contact and resolved not to let her go until she moved first.
"How about you take me home?" she replied. "I think you've earned that invitation, don't you?"
This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but I hope you liked it anyway!
How do you like how their romance is playing out?