I never saw the dawn coming on my first night, but I felt it. My everlasting energy came to an abrupt halt mid-kiss, and I felt myself fall instantly into the deepest sleep I'd ever experienced. I was just beginning to ask Eric if I needed to be underground or in a coffin for the day, but I wasn't able to get the words out before I was suddenly…well… dead. For the first time in weeks there were no frightening dreams, no bumps in the night (other than the bumping we had done all night, of course) only perfect, restful bliss.
On my second night as vampire I woke to a familiar sound, Eric's phone receiving a text message. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? He had woken before me as he was older and needed less sleep than most vampires and was texting his other 'daughter' for all intents and purposes, Pam. She had sent no less than 35 texts throughout last night, but he was too busy to answer her texts. Seeing that I was finally awake, he rolled over to my side of the bed (I loved the way that sounded - it was like he had always been on the other side just inches away from me) and was about to kiss me before I remembered my atrocious morning breath and covered my mouth instantly. He smiled his you-know-I'm-amazing smile and chuckled, "That's not something you need to worry about anymore." He was right. My mouth tasted exactly like it had last night, like Eric with a trace of B positive. It was delicious. "Sookie, my love, I've got to go to Fangtasia tonight to meet with Chow and Pam. May I show you off?"
"Uh, what?" It took a minute to process, but it came eventually. "What am I going to wear? I can't wear my Merlotte's shirt." I had plenty of other clothes to wear, but hardly anything appropriate for the big bad vampire I had become.
"Well…" he began, twirling my hair in his fingers, "I did have Tara drop off a few things today in the kitchen." You have to admit, he's good. "And if you don't see anything you like, then we can call Pam and see what she has for you."
Pam, one of the major attractions of Fangtasia, had a wardrobe of extremes. Her "work" clothes included patent leather everything with chains and spikes. Her "play" clothes looked like she had rummaged through Jackie O's Channel collection before she left the White House. Neither were very Sookie. But Tara's clothes were always perfect for whatever occasion came up, especially those involving Eric. She knew what Eric liked on me, and she knew Eric's credit card had no limit. Bill may have owned the strip mall where Tara's Togs existed, but Tara was totally Team Eric since he got rid of her "Mickey Problem" as we called it. Excited to see what Tara had dropped off, I ripped the satin sheet off my bed, hastily wrapped it around my naked self and sprinted downstairs faster than a Nascar race. Speed felt good. I'd have to try that again. My eyes immediately found the clothes Tara had left on the kitchen table, and Amelia holding one of the lacier short dresses up against her, checking her reflection in the mirror. Startled by my reflection standing behind her own, she turned. She and I both had seen the damage a new vampire can do, so I kept my distance until I could get some more B positive. I hadn't even tried other kinds, but I already knew that was my favorite. If I were to taste human blood straight from the neck, I'm not entirely sure I'd be able to stop. I wonder how long it takes them to get pale…I thought it was sorta instant. "Well good morning, sunshine! Or am I going to have to start calling you starshine now?" That was terrible. She's going to bite me. I wonder if it's the same as when Pam…mmmmm...
"Oh my stars, Amelia! Stop!" There was one good thing: my telepathy was back. All my life I'd wished it away until it vanished, and I kind of loved having it back. I still couldn't hear vampires though, or at least I couldn't hear Eric. But after having had his blood 4 times now, it wouldn't be hard to guess. His emotions came through to me as strong as my own now. Amelia handed me the little black dress she had been halfway modeling, careful not to get too close. I would hate for her to end up hurt because she trusted me too much.
"This one is perfect for tonight." She smiled. She had already bonded with the dress and was thinking about borrowing it sometime when I was asleep, shortly before remembering she was warned by Eric to never ever under any circumstance open my door before the sun had set. Or while he was in there with me. Which make me wonder, who all had he told?
"What's going on tonight?" I asked. I hated not knowing what was going on.
She cracked a smile. "Why it's your welcome back party, silly!" Amelia was extremely proud of herself for keeping it a secret this long. Apparently Eric had begun planning it the second Sam had called asking for his help. Which meant that Sam might be there! I grabbed the dress and sprinted back upstairs to go put it on. "Hold your horses! Some of us still have to get ready at human speed!"
It took me 24 minutes to shower, dry my hair, throw on a little makeup and wiggle into the black dress and matching stilettos. Since I didn't care for looking conservative tonight, I went for the black lacy push-up bra and matching panties. Why not? Eric deserved a nice surprise after the party. Eric had gone outside to make some calls when I was getting ready, and by the time Amelia had made her grand appearance in a little red silk dress with matching heels, Dawson, her new boyfriend who also happened to be a werewolf was waiting in the drive with his truck. I waved at Dawson from the house and then opened up the screen door and walked out onto the porch. Eric was sitting on the hood of his corvette (because something normal would just be…not Eric) and I went over to Dawson, keeping my distance. With newly enhanced hearing, I could hear his pulse, and my fangs were only seconds away from emerging and I stepped back an extra couple feet for good measure.
"Vampire looks good on you, Sookie." Dawson said. He was one of those strong and silent types, emphasis on the strong part. Weres were only beat in strength by vampires. A smile fell over my lips as I mentally envisioned challenging him to an arm wrestle. Eric snapped his phone shut and wandered over to say hi to the Werewolf. Normally Eric didn't bother mingling, but he seemed to understand that I wanted my new life to be as close to the old one as possible, and bless him, was making an effort. Unsure of what to do, he reached for Dawson's hand in a strange shake thing that confused the werewolf and Amelia, who was now standing at my side. Awkward she thought, and I laughed in agreement.
"Let's get going, babe! I can't walk in with Sookie, people won't know who the party is for!" She smiled and gave me a good elbow in the side so I knew she was kidding. She gave me distant air-kisses and skipped over to the passenger side of Dawson's truck and climb in gracefully. "See you in a few minutes, Sookie!" She hollered out of Dawson's window while buckling her seat belt. The engine roared to life a second later and they both waved as they headed towards the party in Shreveport. Eric had wandered back over to his corvette by then, and had return to leaning against the hood.
His eyes scanned me up and down and then up again. He seemed pleased with the dress. "Shall we have a drink, lover? I can't have you going to the party and killing all the guests." Oh that smile.
"I'd love one." Within an instant he had swept me off my feet again and carried me into the kitchen, effortlessly. I could get used to this. He opened the fridge after setting me down, and I leaned into the table to enjoy the view of him leaning over, looking for our snack. He pulled out a bottle of Burgundy Royale, a high-end bottled blood brand designed to look like a bottle of red wine, which came in handy when vampires found themselves in human bars and restaurants. He poured the bottle into two tumblers and stuck both in the microwave. I was curious to try it cold just to see how it tasted; by I had been assured by more than one vampire that the only way to drink it was at 98.6 degrees. He replaced the cork and set the bottle back in the fridge and pulled the glasses out of the microwave, handing me one. Eric had much more control over his premature fangulation than I had, and was able to drink it without showing any fang. I, however, had been fanging since he leaned over to get the bottle out. A little embarrassed, I drank quickly, and took his glass and my own and loaded them into the dishwasher. Turns out, household chores are an excellent way of storing your fangs in an upright and locked position. I'd have to keep that in mind.
"Shall we go?" I suggested, eager to see who all would be at the party. He was equally eager to show off his newest creation, and his first in nearly 100 years.
He came and stood in front of me, pulling my arms up and wrapping them behind his neck like we were preparing for a high school dance. Little kisses down my neck, and I was ready to head back upstairs and forget the party. One last kiss on my lips and then, "Oh I don't see why not. Pam's been waiting for this since she met you. She's quite excited to have a new vampire-friend." He grinned, and he managed to make it just a fraction of an inch wider, I might have mistaken him for the Cheshire Cat. He let my arms drop and caught my hand in his, leading me out to his little red corvette. I could get used to this.