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Not my characters. They belong to HBO or Charlaine Harris.

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It was the next morning and I slowly felt myself leave behind my dream because I heard some sort of ringing. The phone ringing downstairs had woken me up and I was surprised because this particular phone call was for me. Gran had climbed the stairs, assuring whoever was on the phone that she was bringing the phone to me. "Almost there. Ok, hold on."

I hopped out of bed wondering who could possibly be calling me. "Sookie dear, phone call for you!" She said through the door, just as I went to let her in. She handed me the phone and I mumbled a quiet hello.

"Hello, Sookie?" A smile broke out on my face. I had the fleeting thought that I was going to get all wrinkly because of all of the smiling I had been doing.

"Oh, hi Eric!" I said, wondering why on earth he was calling me so early. "Can you hold on for a second?"

Gran was still standing in my room, so I held the phone to my chest and gave her a pointed look.

"Ok, ok, I'm leaving!" She told me as she walked out the door and down the stairs, leaving the door open. I crossed the room and shut it tight behind me.

"Eric, are you still there?" While I was a bit annoyed about being woken up, I was very interested in why he was calling me. Probably about our date which made me smile more. Maybe he was just as excited as I was?

"Yes, Good Morning Sookie. I'm sorry, did my phone call wake you up?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, but it's fine. I had to get up soon anyway." I said, hoping I didn't sound rude. I needed a better filter, I thought to myself.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't even realize the time." He apologized.

"Er-" I tried to cut him off, but he kept on talking.

"That was very inconsiderate of me. I should've waited."

"Er-" Again, I tried to stop him, but with no success.

" I can call back later…"

"Eric!" I said, laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. "It's fine, I can talk now!"

"Oh, ok. Sorry." He said, in a low voice, as if embarrassed.

"Stop apologizing!" I said, still laughing.

"Fuck….oh sorry….Shit….I didn't mean to swear. I'm going to stop talking now." I was laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes.

"Eric, it's fine. You're fine. Now, why did you call me?" I asked him, taking a deep breath,

"Oh, right. Well, you did agree to go out with me on Saturday and I was wondering what time would be good for you? What is your favorite type of food? Or would you prefer to see a movie? Or we could go bowling?" He was all over the place, and it made me smile again to see how much effort he was putting into this. I really hoped that his silent thoughts would continue so we could have a nice time.

"7:30 would be great!" I said, laughing again. "I think dinner would be fine. I'm very casual, so anywhere is fine. Except Merlotte's, I spend too much time there."

"Oh, ok. Well, how about Chinese food? Middle Eastern? Greek?" He said, listing of many different types of foods, sounding anxious.

"I'm good with anything really." I said, wondering why he seemed so nervous. "What about you? What do you want?"

"Anything's fine with me as well." He said. "I know just the place."

"Ok, well, do you want to meet there? Actually, my car isn't working still, and I don't like to leave Gran without a car for too long in case something happens." I said. "Would that be a problem? To come and get me?"

"No, of course not. I was already planning on coming to get you."

"Oh, okay. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you! Love you." And with that I hung up.

And as soon as I did, my eyes got really big. I JUST TOLD ERIC NORTHMAN I LOVED HIM! OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL WAS WRONG WITH ME? I barely even knew him! I should call him back and tell him that it was just an automatic response because the only person I talked to on the phone was my Gran.

Yes, that was what I would be doing.

I pressed talk just as the phone began to ring.

"Sookie?" I heard the phone say. I lifted it up to my ear.

"Oh, I'm so embarrassed! I'm sorry! It's just that I only ever talk to Gran on the phone and it's just what I'm used to saying on the phone." My face felt very warm.

"I assumed as much. It's fine. I didn't want Saturday to be awkward, so I decided to call you back." He said, sounding like he was amused.

"I was just about to call you back, but you beat me to it." Talking to him on the phone was so much easier than it was in person. It felt...comfortable….unlike the few times we were in the same room. When we were together, I always felt flustered.

"Ok, well now since that is all cleared up, I'll see you then." He said, and it almost sounded like he was smiling. "Bye, min kärlek."

I hung up and wondered what the different names he had been calling me meant.

"Sookie! I made breakfast!" I knew that Gran was just trying to get me downstairs to tell her about my phone call with Eric.

"Coming, Gran!" I yelled back at her, pulling off my nightgown and dressing in some jeans and a light blue long sleeved t-shirt. I would have to get ready for work later on.

When I got to the kitchen, Gran was just flipping pancakes off the pan and onto a dish.

"Here you go, honey." She said, and I took the plate from her after I crossed over to kiss her on the cheek and say good morning.

We sat down at the table and I didn't say anything until finally Gran broke the silence.

"Well? What did Eric want?" She said, sounding like she would just burst if I didn't answer.

"You mean, you didn't listen in?" I asked, teasing her.

"Me? I would never!" She said, laughing. I knew she wouldn't, but she knew I wasn't serious.

"It was Eric, which you knew. He asked me out on yesterday, and I agreed. Remember I told you he stopped and gave me a jump last night? He told me to call him when I got home and then asked if I would go out. He's coming by on Saturday at about 7:30 to pick me up." I said, while I reached for the milk. I left some details out, but I figured a girl is entitled to SOME secrets.

"Oh! How exciting! Your first date!" She said, and rushed off to her room. "I have just the thing. It's old, but it's in very good condition."

She came back into the room with a white dress that had red flowers on it. It was so, so, pretty and I was wondering where she had gotten it from.

"This was mine when I was younger. You can wear it with a sweater. I know you have a red one that would look very nice with it. Black would go good too. Just a bracelet would look very nice with it. I can help you curl your hair if you want."

"Gran, this is all very nice, but we are just going out to eat. I don't need to dress too fancy."

"Sookie, it's not fancy. It's just a dress. A sweater and some flats will make it look very casual." She said, looking very happy to be sharing this dress with me.

"Gran, thank you! This is perfect. Are you sure?" I asked her, just in case.

"YES! Sookie, I want you to wear this. What time will you be home? It will take at least 45 minutes to curl those long golden locks you have." She wasn't kidding. My hair hung well past my shoulders and was really thick.

"I should be home no later than 5 on Saturday and Eric said he would be by at 7:30. That should be enough time." I said, and stood up to put the dishes in the sink.

"Sookie? Do you think, that, um, you want to wear makeup?" My Gran asked from her seat at the table.

"Maybe a little mascara. Why?"

"Well, I think some red lipstick would look just darling with that dress. I'll give you some money and you can stop on your way home." Gran said, standing up and going to the stove to bring the pan over to the sink, where I had started washing the dishes.

"Oh, that's ok Gran, I'll be eating anyway, so I don't think it matters."

"Sookie! You don't really plan on eating on this date do you?" She said, sounding shocked.

"Yeah, why not? I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not, Gran. If Eric doesn't like my eating habits, then that's just too bad for him." I said, wiping my hands on the dish towel and turning towards her. "Why would I want to be with someone who can't accept me for me?"

"Well, I guess you're right. I just remember when I was a girl, you never ate on a date. I guess things are different now." She said, sighing. I could hear in her mind that she was thinking about my grandfather.

"I'm going to go jump in the shower. See you in a bit." I wanted to give her some space. My grandfather had died about 6 years before from a heart attack and Gran missed him everyday.

I came back downstairs about a hour later, dressed and ready to run some errands before work. Gran was in the kitchen on the phone, so I kissed her goodbye and headed out the door.

"Sookie! Wait! Hold on Maxine, I need to tell Sookie something before she goes to work." She motioned for me to come over to her as she set the phone down.

When I reached her, she placed a $20 bill into my hand and blew me a kiss with her other hand while winking. I laughed and gave her another kiss.

I headed first to the post office to mail some bills for Gran and then to the library to return books. I pulled up to Bon Temps Rx next and parked Gran's old station wagon right in front. I got out and walked inside heading first to the makeup aisle to select a lipstick. Gran had said red, but I was just going to get some sheer gloss. Red lipstick just seemed so messy. I saw a headband that would match my dress perfectly, so I selected it as well.

I turned to leave the aisle when I passed the "Family Protection" merchandise.

I stopped for a second my eyes growing big. What if Eric expected sex on this date? I wasn't nervous before, but now I was! I couldn't have sex with him. I would for sure hear his thoughts then! I would just have to call and cancel. Yes I would do just that. But the thought made me feel so sad. I didn't have long to think about it though.

"Sookie?" I felt my face flush when I heard him say my name. I dropped the things I was holding, including my purse, which wasn't zipped up and slipped out all over the aisle. My wallet, gum, various lotions and chap sticks. And Tampons. Why on EARTH did I have 7 tampons in my bag? Did I think I was going to bleed out or something?

"Eric...hi.." I said, slowly turning around, and then bent down to start cleaning up the mess I made, stuffing my stuff back into my purse, my face flaming red.

Why on Earth was he here right now?

ESPECIALLY WHEN I HAD BEEN STANDING STARING AT CONDOMS. This was so mortifying and awkward.

"I thought I saw you come in. I thought you were going to be at work?" He asked, bending down to help me clean up the mess I had made. He picked up my wallet and all the coins that had fallen out, avoiding the tampons...

"Yeah, I was heading there, but I had to make a stop first. I should be going." He was holding my wallet, so I grabbed it out of his hand and walked away very quickly. But since he had trees for legs, he was very able to keep up.

"Oh, well, I was just thought I would say hi. I didn't, mean to startle you." He said, running his hand through his hair.

I approached the checkout lane and the cashier, who was a woman in her early 40's. She quickly bagged up my items and then I walked out to my car, not saying a word, with Eric right behind me. I opened up the back down to set my bags down on the backseat.

"Sookie? Are you ok?" He asked me, while I stood next to my door with him on the other side of the car.

"No. I'm very embarrassed. But I'll be ok!" I said, laughing nervously.

"Well, if you are sure you are fine, then I will let you get back. I am glad I ran into you actually. I did not get a chance to mention this to you. Stay away from Bill Compton." He said, very seriously.

"He was weird!" I blurted out. "He stayed behind after you left on Monday and was leaning on my car. He wanted to talk to me I guess. But, like, don't approach a stranger in a parking lot late at night? Like, who does that? I honestly thought he was going to attack me or something!"

I hadn't noticed the angry expression that had formed on Eric's face.

"HE DID WHAT?" He gritted out between clenched teeth. I had never seen him so angry. "I will tell him to stay away from you. You do not have to worry about him. I am sorry you felt so threatened. Please tell me if he bothers you again?"

"Sure, I will. How do you know him anyways?" I said, closing the back door, and opening the driver's side door, ready to jump in. I really had to be going, or I would be late.

"He is a colleague of mine." And he said no more. So far, I had thought Eric to be quite boyish and harmless, but he looked absolutely lethal during this exchange. I sent up a silent prayer that he never looked at me with such anger. I think I was figuring out that you did NOT want to be on Eric Northman's bad side.

"Oh, ok. Well, I have to get to work. It was nice seeing you again." I said smiling up at him. I had the urge to kiss him or hug him again, but I suppressed it.

His features softened and he smiled back at me. "Yes! I hope you have a good evening at work."

I got in and shut my door, started the car, and then waved at him through my window. I mouthed goodbye to him, and drove off.

I could still see him standing there in the rear-view window.