A/N:

If some of you are just now getting review replies from me from a couple chapters ago, I apologize. The alerts finally started popping into my inbox. Apparently the site has been a bit alert fail.

Again, THANK YOU for the amazing response to this story! I'm so happy everyone loves it so much! I apologize to those of you that were surprised by the angst last chapter. But really, that was the only angsty chapter in the story, so I didn't want to categorize the whole story as angst or drama for one chapter. I hope you understand.

On with the happy!

Chapter 5: Fragile: Handle With Care

I fell to the couch numbly, and sat there for a while. I didn't cry, I didn't get angry. I had nobody to be upset with but myself, and I wasn't really in the mood to be mad at me.

I'd fucked up, plain and simple. I was a firm believer that everything happened for a reason and I refused to regret starting what I had with Eric. I couldn't bring myself to not regret what had just happened though. It was still too soon to see any positive outcomes from it.

When I finally got off the couch, I went straight to my freezer and pulled out the bottle of vodka I kept there. Then I got drunk. I hadn't been drunk in a while, but I'd probably just fucked myself over by dismissing Eric, so a little alcohol seemed like a good solution.

After one drunken pity party, and one hellacious hangover the next morning, I decided to move on. It wasn't likely that I would see him again. I didn't know his phone number, where he lived. Hell, I didn't even know where he worked. Eric definitely had one up on the knowledge part of our… thing.

One week later, I got my first UPS delivery from the new guy. He was surprisingly good looking, but he eyed me like he wanted to act out a porno. Eric wouldn't have done that. After he left I put out a new notice that everything should be delivered FedEx again. That guy was about fifty and married with kids. I could deal with that. Mr. Rape-y eyes? Not so much.

Amelia tried to cash in the rain check, and I considered it for a brief second, but ultimately couldn't do it. I was being ridiculous again, but the knowledge that Eric hadn't actually been dating other women was eating at me. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it. I asked for another week, and then I would go out with her, but no promises of getting back into the dating scene were made.

The morning of the day I was set to go out with Amelia was a crappy one. The weather was finally turning bitter cold, and I still didn't truly feel up to going anywhere. I pulled on some sweats and my heavy robe to walk down to the mailbox. There was the normal junk mail, a couple of bills, and a small package with no return address. On the walk back to the house I looked at the handwriting again and my heard skipped a beat. It reminded me of Eric's tattoo.

I walked a little faster, and as soon as I entered the house I tossed the rest of the mail onto the kitchen table and sat down with the package still in my hands.

"It's just a package, Sookie, open it," I said aloud to myself.

With shaky hands, I tore open the end and shook out the contents. There was a red piece of construction paper, and what looked like bits of string. Confused, I opened the folded paper and my breath caught in my throat.

It was a heart with little holes punched out, and string tied in them. Written on the heart in Eric's beautiful script were the words:

Sookie,

I love you, and I can't get you out of my head or my heart. So I'm giving it to you… with strings attached. Please keep it safe. It would be a shame for it to break again.

Love,

Eric

I almost cried. We'd talked once about cheesy gestures, and my fondness for them. He obviously remembered. I frantically searched the package for any sign of an address or an additional piece of paper, but there was nothing. In my haste, the heart had flipped over and I saw that on the back of it was a phone number with the words, "Call me."

I knew what I had to do. I pulled my cell off its charger and dialed the number. He picked up after two rings.

"Hello?" he asked, and I almost melted. It was so wonderful to hear his voice again.

"I need your address," I said.

I could practically see him smiling on the other end of the phone call as he rattled it off to me.

"I'll be there in two hours," I said, and hung up.

Quickly, I jumped into the shower and took a razor to my legs, since I hadn't done that in a week. Disgusting, yes, but it wasn't like I had anyone around to notice.

I reluctantly pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt, because while I would have preferred a dress for easy access, it was just too cold. After grabbing my purse and stuffing the last magnum into it, I was out the door and on my way to Shreveport.

I didn't know the area Eric lived in by the address, but I was sure I knew how to get there. When I got into the neighborhood, I realized that it was definitely time to ask Eric what he really did for a living. The houses were huge and fancy, the driveways full of nice, new cars. After driving around in circles for a while, I finally spotted the house that matched the address.

It was beautiful. I didn't get that haughty, fancy vibe that I got from most of the other houses in the area, but rather a homey vibe. I loved it immediately.

Suddenly, I was struck with a wave of confidence, and I used that to get out of the car and walk to the front door before I lost my nerve. I rang the doorbell and almost instantly the door was yanked open.

Eric looked almost as shitty as I had for the last week, but he also looked as hopeful as I felt.

"I really don't want to embarrass myself, so I'm just going to ask one thing," I said, smiling when he nodded. "Are you and I the only ones here?"

"Yes," he confirmed with a huge grin.

"Good," I said, and then I attacked him.

I jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. My lips pressed against his in a hard and needy way, and to my utter delight he kissed me back, just as hard and needy. Eric kicked the door shut and pressed me up against it, and I dropped my purse to the floor.

"I love you so much," I said between kisses. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you away."

His kisses trailed down to my neck as I spoke, and he nipped at my skin lightly when I said that last part.

"Damn right you shouldn't have," he said, and before I could get angry and untangle myself from him, he continued, "And I should have told you the truth about myself a long time ago. I'm sorry too."

I touched his face and stroked his cheek with my thumb.

"I understand why you didn't tell me. I was being ridiculous about everything. When you're with a man for almost two years and you find out one day that he hid an entire other life from you, you kind of have trust issues."

"That's exactly why I should have told you," he said, and there was regret in his eyes.

"Hold up. We both need to stop this blaming ourselves thing. I think it's safe to say we both know what went wrong and we're both sorry we acted like idiots, me more than you," I smiled. "But this all happened for a reason, I have to believe that."

"Does this mean you're my girlfriend now?" he asked with a goofy grin.

"Only if you are my boyfriend," I replied.

He kissed me again in response, and this time there was even more need in it. I ground my hips against him, and his breathing picked up.

"Couch?" he asked quickly.

"Bedroom," I requested, and from the look on his face I knew he understood the importance of that. I was allowing us to do this in an intimate setting, and I couldn't have been more ready.

"You sure?" he asked sweetly.

"Yes, just grab my purse first. The last magnum is in there," I grinned. He grinned back and set me on my feet. I pulled the condom out of my purse with a smile, and kissed him again.

"Where to?" I asked.

"Allow me," he said, and suddenly I was in his arms again, and he was carrying me bridal style through his house.

I ran my fingers through his hair, which he'd left down, and kissed his neck until I felt myself being laid down on a bed.

"So, this is my room," he said as he climbed on top of me.

I looked around. We were on a giant bed in a huge room. There was a flat screen on the wall, and a huge closet as well as a big, dark-stained dresser.

"I think it's time you tell me what you really do for a living," I said, gaping at him.

He chuckled, and ran his hands up my back underneath my shirt where he unclasped my bra.

"I'll explain later. It's been too long," he said, pulling my shirt off, and then my bra.

"I won't argue," I said as my hands went to his jeans and unbuttoned them.

A minute later we were both naked, and Eric was kissing his way down my body.

"I've missed this," he muttered, and then he was devouring me. I'd missed it too, and I let him know through my loud moans. He didn't stop until I got off, and then he started frantically searching for the condom.

"It's on the bed somewhere," I said, and began helping him search. If we were cockblocked by a hidden condom I would be so pissed. After a few frustrating minutes of searching Eric found it on the floor under his jeans.

"Aha!" he exclaimed happily.

"Oh, thank god," I said, and fell back onto the pillows.

"I could have ran to the store to get some if we didn't find it," he said as he rolled it on.

"With an erection like this?" I teased as I wrapped my hand around it.

"Okay, maybe you would have had to go get them," he said, teasing my entrance with his tip.

"I guess it's a good thing we found it then, huh," I said impatiently, trying to get him to push forward slightly.

He teased me for a moment longer, and then his expression turned serious. He kissed me, slow and sweet, pouring all his love and affection into it.

"I love you," he said, and before I could return the sentiment he slowly pushed into me.

Sex with Eric had always been fast and urgent, and I'd constantly tried to think of it as a means to an end. Now I saw that it never was. I cared for him, deeply, and somewhere between that first romp on the couch and the last time we'd done it, which just happened to be against a wall, I'd fallen for him. By some miracle, he'd fallen for me too.

This time, the sex was different. He was taking it so slow, like he wanted to remember every last detail. I met each of his slow thrusts, enjoying the feel of him inside me. I wasn't sure I'd find anything but him satisfying ever again. This was lovemaking, and it was wonderful. It was filled with meaningful movements, whispered declarations, and sweet kisses all the way to the end.

The ending itself was mind-blowing. It had never been that intense, and yet so simple at the same time. It wasn't about getting our own pleasure anymore; it was about wanting to give pleasure to the one you loved.

"Oh, so now you want to cuddle," Eric teased me when I snuggled into him after he came back from disposing of the condom.

"Yes I do, and you'd better get used to it," I said.

He chuckled and pulled me into his body.

"I think now it's time you told me what it is you do for a living," I said.

"I suppose it is," he agreed, and then we moved on the bed so that we were facing each other. "I don't actually do anything."

"You expect me to believe that?" I asked.

"Yes," he smiled. "I got trust fund money from my mother, along with her life insurance, and that alone could allow me to live comfortably for quite a while."

"But not live in a house like this with no job."

"No. This was my father's house. He owned several businesses in the area and made quite a lot of money. In order for me to take over all of it, he made me get a job when I was a teenager. He said he wanted me to understand what a real job was like so that I wouldn't take the things I had for granted. I worked in a grocery store for a while, and a fast-food restaurant, and then when I turned eighteen I started working for UPS. My dad was good friends with the guy who runs the local branch."

"How long did you work for UPS? You're what… twenty-six or something? Oh goodness I don't even know your age," I said and buried my face into a pillow.

"I worked for them for six years, and I'm now twenty-eight," he said. "And don't be embarrassed. I don't know how old you are either."

I looked at him in astonishment. "How did we fall in love if we don't even know the most basic things about each other?"

"Because we did. We have plenty of time to learn the other stuff," he smiled.

"I'm twenty-five," I said. "Now keep going with your story."

"I worked for UPS for six years, and then my father died of a heart attack so I quit to take care of everything. I received life insurance from him, and all of his investments fell to my name as well as all of his businesses. Pretty much the only work I do is a monthly visit to the businesses to make sure everything is running smoothly. I have a good friend that's an accountant who keeps track of all the books, and there's a trusty manager at each one. I just kind of sit back and make money."

"If I didn't know you, I'd call you a pompous ass."

He laughed. "Yeah, I probably would too."

"I have a question," I said.

"Okay."

"The last time we saw each other you asked me if I didn't want to be with you because of your job. That didn't strike me as odd then, but now it does," I said cautiously. "Is there some history there?"

"Yes," he smiled weakly.

"Will you tell me about it?"

"I had a girlfriend when I was working for UPS. Not the entire time, just towards the last six months or so. She knew who my father was, and she assumed I was just one of those kids who would never have to work and go work with the parent. I think she thought that I was being rebellious in my working as a delivery driver, that I would reject anything my father gave me. So she always pushed for me to quit driving, and go to college for business or something. When I refused, she broke up with me."

"Did you care for her?"

"Yes, in the beginning. The she showed what she was really like, so it didn't hurt when she ended it. It just showed me that I'd have to be careful about who I dated. A few months later my father died, and it wasn't until she got wind that I would be taking control of everything did she try to comfort me."

I frowned. "I'm sorry you had to deal with a woman like that."

"It was more than just her. These last four years have been filled with women that only want the money I have."

"Filled, huh?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"I'm not a whore, Sookie. I didn't say I dated all of them, there were just a lot of women who hit on me for my money."

"How many women have you been with?"

"Seven, including you," he said. "What about you?"

"You already know the answer to that."

"The ex, and me?"

"Yes, I didn't have men hit on me all the time for my money," I said, and rolled over.

"Oh hell no, you are not going to get mad at me for having a higher number than you. It's only seven, Sookie. That's practically a virgin these days."

He spooned up behind me and pulled me tight against his chest.

"Why are you upset?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. "I just don't want to think about you with other women, especially after we just made love for the first time."

"You asked," he said, and I huffed. He was right, I had asked, but I hadn't expected to be so annoyed at the answer.

"I've never loved anyone but you, Sookie. None of those girls lasted because I didn't care for them very deeply. They always got comfortable and then let their true colors show."

"And what if you haven't seen my true colors yet?" I asked.

"I think I have. Even in the very beginning I could tell that you weren't the kind of woman to have a no strings kind of thing. You had no idea who I was, and you didn't care what I did for a living. I know that you're kind and generous just from looking into your eyes. I love you, Sookie. That's not going to change."

I turned in his arms to face him, and planted a kiss on his neck since it was the part in front of me.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I know I'm being ridiculous again, and I suppose you'll just have to get used to that because I seem to have made it a habit with you."

"It's okay, but I reserve the right to always call you out on it," he said.

"Deal," I laughed.