A/N: Charlaine Harris owns all of her characters. Evil genius that she is, she has created the Sookieverse for our pleasure.
This and the next few chapters are SPOV. She's a new girl in town and she is going to meet Eric for the first time under unusual circumstances.
________________________________________________________________
Chapter 1.
William. He owned the biggest Ford dealership in Smyrna. Although that was the first fact I learned about him from his sister, it did not impress me, much. But it pissed me off that he'd been ignoring me for a week. What had changed? After six weeks of his undivided attention, I'd finally agreed to sleep over last weekend.
Sighing again over the fickle nature of men, I continued searching Lacey Street for my objective. Eventually, I spied the small, inconspicuous sign for the shop I remembered at the end of the street. I checked the storefront. Did they still have what I needed? It had been more than two months since I had been in this part of town after moving to Decatur. I wasn't sure they'd still be in business. Yep, there it was; I was set. Will would find me irresistible when I was re-born as a blonde. Then, once he'd had just a taste of the new Sookie and was smitten as a kitten, I'd kick him to the curb. Permanently.
Resolute, I stepped up to the heavy glass door, a remnant of a more prosperous time in this forgotten section of downtown, and grasped the handle. Although I tugged hard and twisted the brass knob repeatedly, it resisted my erstwhile efforts. I stopped, embarrassed. Maybe I needed to push it? Determined now, I focused all my upper body strength on releasing that damn handle. Nothing.
I stopped, wondering 'Was the shop closed?' No, the hours of operation were clearly posted. Eyes shaded, peering into the depths, I could see a body moving in the background, the light rather dim. In spite of offering exactly what I was seeking, the now empty shop seemed a little forlorn. I refused to give up, and started pounding on the glass. Demented? Maybe yes.
The figure in the back moved slowly toward the front of the shop, and flipped on a light switch, weakly illuminating the interior, which appeared empty.
Waiting for what I assumed to a freakishly tall woman in a blue smock, black slacks and long blonde hair to wend her way to the front, I turned around to scan the street, impatiently checking my watch. It was nine thirty in the morning and the shop opened at eight.
She started pulling on the heavy door. I helped by pushing on my side, my eyes glued to the handle as I gave it my best effort. If I was expecting anything when the door finally gave in, it wasn't what, or who, greeted me.
"Honey, it sticks when the weather gets so damp." The voice was surprisingly deep, accented, and my eyes flipped up to those of my savior. Yikes.
'She' was a male, oh my yes. Very male, with blue and purple highlights in his blond do, the black clip holding his feathered bangs off his face, and what I was certain was Revlon's Navy Waterproof Thick Lash Mascara emphasizing his sparklers, a sapphire blue so unusual, I knew I'd never forget it. Yeah, this guy was truly unforgettable. Too bad.
The massive paw he extended to me in welcome had black nail polish on the index and thumb finger, from what I could see. S'okay, he seemed to be running true to form. I would have expected Maraschino Cherry, but Midnight Black was acceptable.
I introduced myself, a little shy now that I realized I would be speaking with a member of the opposing team, even if he appeared to be a defector. It was just a bit cringe-making. But then I thought of my own personal demon, all thick dark hair with dark eyes, pale skin and chiseled abs, and my backbone straightened.
"I'm Sookie." Big grin, slight dip of the head. "I moved to the City a few months ago and saw you offered a special for a complete day of your services. Umm, are you open? I'd be a walk-in. Is anyone working today?"
Immediately realizing my mistake, I could feel my cheeks starting to burn. He was someone, but I didn't feel comfortable having him work on certain parts of me.
"Pet, the shop is closed today; all the girls are either off or presenting a morning show on color over in Druid Hills." In addition to an accent noticeably not from these parts, I saw he had on a pink nylon bracelet. I recognized it as one being distributed by the local radio stations to raise money for breast cancer research. It fit. I started to relax. He was safe.
He had continued speaking, and catching up, I heard that the 'delayed opening' sign advising of the shop's closure should have been put up last night. He shook his hand lightly, and I was shocked to see I was still holding it. I dropped it like a hot potato.
"If you'd like to come inside, I'll just check the schedule for an opening?" He beckoned me in, and without hesitation, I followed him to the reception area. It was more modern inside than I realized. I thought of Tabitha, a personal hero, and wondered if she'd been called in on the decor. The color scheme was gold, navy and cream, with cinnamon accents. Surprisingly, it had a masculine flavor. Well, perhaps not so surprising. Compensating, I speculated, even if he wasn't aware of it.
"Sookie, do you have a last name, sugar?" Pencil poised over the large white appointment book, a look of concentration on his unfairly attractive face, I twisted around from my inspection of the premises to see that he was preparing to add me to the schedule tomorrow. I could live with that.
"Stackhouse. Are you the receptionist?" He had luminous skin, I noticed. I knew I wanted the same facials he'd been getting. He really was lovely.
"Sweetheart, I am the owner. The former owner retired last year, and I took over the business. We were closed for a while for a renovation and just re-opened in April." He gave me a very lascivious smile. What a waste of a smile, for both of us.
"Too bad the boys did not extend the reno to your front door." I knew he would appreciate the nod to general male ineptness; we were all bitches underneath the skin, right? I got a knowing smile in response, so I continued in a friendlier tone.
"Are you new in town? I moved here not long ago, myself."
"Did I forget my manners? Call me Irick. I-R-I-C-K. I am so pleased to meet you, Sookie. I hope we'll be good friends." 'Thank god for the spelling lesson', I thought. I also couldn't help but notice, to my silent amusement, that I'd made a small error; what I'd thought were black cotton slacks when viewed from outside the shop, were in fact a skin-tight crushed velvet material. When he turned around to grab the white-out bottle from behind him, I noticed the fit over his ass was quite perfect. Something I'd never get to enjoy, I reminded myself. The view from the front framed another treat that wasn't on the menu.
"So, honeybunch, I'll see you in the morning at nine. Can you clear your schedule until five or five-thirty tomorrow?" He smiled at me, most winningly.
I decided to follow his lead. "I'm off tomorrow. I work at the cosmetics counter at Belk's in Phipps Plaza. I sell Shiseido. Do you know the product line?" I figured it was a safe bet he would at least be familiar with one of the Atlanta area's flagship stores.
He looked at me for a long minute. "So why would you want a visit with me?" How quaint. "Won't you receive a discount at Belk's spa for these very same services?"
I thought about crossing my eyes, just to break that accusatory stare. His hand was on his hip, his elbow making an appealing handle if I'd been standing closer.
"If I told you, Irick, I'd have to kill you." I smiled, a conspiratorial gesture. Then I leaned in closer. Yum, he certainly smelled good. I couldn't identify the scent, but I bet his shop sold the stuff. They always did. "It's an old story. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow."
I gave him my number for his records and made my way back to the troublesome door, rather impatient for him to pull it open. It was a lovely day, and now I wanted to find a café. I had never eaten at fast food establishments, and didn't plan to change my habits just because I'd left Shreveport for the lights of Atlanta.
I had been lonely for the first month, but I'd been prepared for it when I made the move to the bigger market. Now that I'd found a duplex to rent in Decatur, the longish drive north each day into the outskirts on the 23 with a jog over to the Plaza wasn't intolerable. And my rotation always gave me one day off each weekend. I'd worked at Belks for more than three years after graduating from the fashion program at Shreveport Community College. Belks offered a generous matching funds program for college tuition if I made it into management. I planned to be offered a management trainee position within six months. Someday I would run my own store, my imagination running wild with how much power I would possess in such a position.
After I found a small café for an early lunch, I concentrated on my plans to win back William's attention while I ate my garden salad, no dressing. Once I had the full makeover treatment, my plot required I drive into Atlanta. He'd be at one of three local clubs he preferred.
Will was too old to frequent the post-college crowd venues where he'd taken me after his sister, Halliday, had introduced us, but that didn't slow him down. Halli was the reason I wasn't going to Belk's spa, of course. She managed the evening shift of the operation and I couldn't tip her off to my still hazy plans to recapture him. I'd heard she was out on vacation, but I didn't trust the information. If I ran into her, I'd probably have to answer a lot of embarrassing questions about why I wasn't seeing her brother. Better to stay off the Store's fifth floor.
Since I was working a shorter shift that day, I still had time to explore a little. I couldn't help noticing there wasn't much to do in the downtown area, the curb-captured trash a little too thick for such a prosperous suburb, while the stores were a bit faded as happens when there are more fashionable malls nearby. Even the restaurants were a little too local to attract anyone from residential areas after dark.
I started a mindless humming. Moving. It felt so good. Beneficial, too. I still needed to lose the ten pounds I'd gained last year when my high school boyfriend Sam had dumped me. Looking at it from my new mature perspective, I knew leaving Shreveport might have been prompted by my desire to avoid running into Sam and the pain it had caused. I no longer cared, now. Meeting William had given me a new perspective on how my life could go. Heck, maybe someday I'd end up living in Europe and selling my own line of skin care products to the Swiss. It could happen.
And with that, I headed off to my job, satisfied with my decisions so far and ready for my makeover tomorrow at Irick's shop. Who knew? He could be my first real friend in Atlanta. I could use one.
______________________________________________________________________________
A/N:The next several chapters are all Sookie POV. Errors are so mine.
Was this how you saw Sookie and Eric meeting?