A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews! I woke up this morning and my inbox was completely flooded with alerts and adds and I just can't say thank you enough! I'll respond to them soon, promise.

Shout out to the lovely Northwoman who took the time to review almost every chapter as she was reading along yesterday - you rock!

As always Charlaine Harris owns all characters except a choice few - please don't sue me!

Chapter 28 – EPOV

The grin on Trey's face when he opened the door, and Amelia attacked him, was huge… I don't think I'd seen him this happy since the new version of World Of Warcraft was released. I got a little worried when I heard ominous sniffing coming from the back seat, but as soon as I heard the giggles that went along with it I started relaxing again.

With a grin at my best friend twirling in glee with his girl in his arms I honked the horn and pulled away. Pam and Sookie making plans on teasing Amelia kept us all amused and I almost felt sorry for her, before I remembered that she was just as bad and probably would have done the same thing if she was the one in the car.

We were waiting in line for tickets to the movie and I was trying hard to control myself while Sookie was dancing and grinding in front of me. I don't think she even knew what she was doing. I couldn't wait to get her out on the dance floor with a little bit of liquid courage, I had the feeling we wouldn't be safe for public viewing for very long, but I couldn't care less. She was six kinds of hot and I get to see her naked…

I had to stop her moving against me after a while. My pants were getting tight and I knew I wasn't going to be getting any relief in the near future. I couldn't help laughing at the fact I had to tell her why her dancing was a problem, despite all the evidence she'd received she still had no idea what she did to me.

Her little display of ownership at the ticket window made me smile. I only had eyes for her and I didn't even notice the girl at the window was flirting until Sookie started marking her territory and being affectionate.

I loved that she was possessive of me, but I couldn't help teasing her a little for it. "What was that?" I asked with a laugh

"It's not my fault my fiancé is a hottie" she laughed, blushing a little "Besides, she was totally flirting with you" she said with a pout and a raised eyebrow as if she wanted me to deny it.

"I didn't say I didn't like it, I just wanted to make sure you knew you had nothing to be jealous of" I replied with a grin, wrapping an arm over her shoulder and hoping she realized just how much she meant to me.

We met up with Mom, Pam and Adele and shuffled into the theater. I raised the armrest so that I could hold Sookie during the movie, I had heard that it was a little gruesome in parts and I knew she didn't do well with thrillers. I held her close and repressed a smile when she hid her face in my chest.

Everyone seemed to love the movie and they were talking ridiculously fast on the way out of the cinema. How did women manage to understand each other when they were talking that fast? I was confused before we even walked out the door, so I just let it wash over my head and directed everyone to a café for some lunch.

I probably should have been paying more attention while they were discussing their shopping plan because I somehow ended up agreeing to help Pam pick out a new phone without Sookie to help keep me calm. "I will come with you if you promise we won't be going into any stores with shoes, handbags, jewelry, makeup or perfume counters" I said with a sigh, kicking myself again.

After Mom and Pam promised they would stay away from those stores while I was with them, they dragged me away while Adele and Sookie set off for Borders. I couldn't help shooting a sad panda look at Sookie wishing she would save me… unfortunately it only made her laugh.

"Oooh Pretty!" Pam squeaked as she ran over and picked up a phone exactly the same as the one she had except pink.

"Pam, it's the same" I laughed "try this one" I suggested pointing out the newer model that had a bigger screen and better camera, although I was sure to regret the camera at some point.

"Does it come in pink?" she asked

I checked the option on the box and shook my head "No sorry, purple, red, and orange, but not pink"

"Then pick again" she pouted, moving on to the next phone she liked the look of.

Just when I was about to start pulling my hair out, she found a phone she liked, that came in pink, that she would be able to use with out extensive training from me…I sighed in relief as she made her purchase, I think the salesman that was walking around with us might have had a few grey hairs at the end of it too.

Sookie and Adele showed up a few minutes later just as we were exiting the store, I took the bags from them and held in a groan at the weight. The amount those two read in a week could sink a ship I'm sure. With a little fast talking Sookie and I wandered off to put the stockpile of books into the car so that we could do a little more shopping without being loaded down.

I couldn't help kissing her like we were alone when she admitted to missing me while she was at the other end of the centre. She was so sweet she made my teeth hurt sometimes, but more often than not it just made me love her more.

"Eric" she groaned as she pulled back to draw breath "we're in public, you can't go kissing me like that"

"Why not?" I asked with a chuckle "you're going to be my wife, surely I'm entitled?"

"I don't want to be one of those couples that have no sense of public decency when it comes to displays of affection" she scolded, frowning a little and shaking her finger at me.

"We could carry on this conversation in the car" I suggested with a wiggle of my eyebrows "Would that be private enough?"

She laughed and stopped dead in her tracks, spinning to face me. "Point One… you're a dirty, dirty boy, and if it wouldn't turn you on I'd spank you," she smirked starting to count things off on her fingers "Two, we're in a shopping center. That is no where near private. Three, our families are waiting for us. Four, the windows aren't dark enough and Five we don't have any protection and I'm not in the mood for oral"

My jaw nearly hit the floor with her last points and I burst out laughing at the saucy wink she gave me before she turned to keep walking. My girl was a nympho… yee frikin haa!

"Besides, I was saving car sex for when I visit so we can break in your corvette" she shot over her shoulder, pretending to run away as soon as the words left her mouth with a little shriek of laughter.

I chuckled and walked after her catching up quickly and wrapping my free hand around her waist. "The corvette isn't really built for sex" I whispered in her ear "At least not inside"

"We'll see" she said with a wink "I'm pretty flexible"

I had to shake myself a little at the images that bought to mind and she laughed at me. When we finally made it to the car, Sookie took pity on me and we had a hot little make-out session in the back seat before going back to the others.

"How do you manage to work me up so quickly?" I groaned as she ran her fingers through my hair to fix it up.

"I don't!" she protested "You start it! Grabbing the back of my head when we kiss makes me crazy… I almost want to bite you. So you're lucky you're not covered in hickies!" she added with a warning finger shake.

I laughed a little at the idea of her biting me and had to admit it turned me on just a little… "I don't know that I would mind that, as much as I should…" I smirked, giving her a wink and sliding out of the car to straighten up my clothes. It definitely wouldn't do to go back and have Pam's eagle eye catch a missed button, I'd never live it down, and neither would Sookie.

"I'll give you a little one on your stomach before you go to NY so you have something to remember me by" she laughed, poking her tongue out and fixing up her own clothes quickly. "Do I look presentable?"

"No… you look like I should take you home right now and give you a good seeing to" I growled, pulling her against me again "But as you said… we have our families to think of"

"Frickin' families" she grumbled, wiggling out of my grasp and out of the car. "Remind me again why we're not still tangled up in there?"

"Windows aren't tinted enough" I laughed, closing the door behind her and locking up again.

Her warm little hand slid into mine as we walked back toward the mall. It was amazing to me that such a little bit of contact could have such a calming effect on me. I didn't feel right if she wasn't in contact with me, as pathetically sappy as that sounded, even to myself.

"How was shopping with Pam?" she asked

"Urrrrrgh" I groaned "she is evil personified. I swear she does it just to make me want to pull my hair out"

Sookie laughed at that and hugged herself to me "Well try to keep your hands away from your hair, I kinda like it better attached to your head" she teased, standing on her toes to kiss me quickly.

"You and me both" I laughed, patting her on the butt when she tickled my ribs. "no tickling"

"You never let me have any fun" she pouted, before giggling merrily to show me she was kidding… I swear she's going to make my head explode one day.

We wandered around the shops for a little while looking for the others, who seemed to have migrated since we left for the car. I didn't think we had been gone that long, but apparently it was long enough for them to get bored.

Sookie decided she needed to get some new earrings, so although I had earlier made Pam and Mom promise not to take me there, we stopped in at a jewelry store for her to pick something out. She was a lot faster than I thought she'd be, obviously she knew what she wanted before she went in, which I couldn't say for my family.

I looked in at the computer games to see if anything new was out that I might want to try, Sims 2 seemed to have a heck of a lot of expansion packs, so that was out… hmm Age of Empires had a new version available. I made a mental note to check out the reviews when I got home, I loved RTS games.

I loved wandering around with Sookie, spending time with her like a normal couple was really nice after the less than normal start to our relationship. It made me happy to know that she was just as comfortable hanging out with me as she was talking to me on the phone. I'd had other online friendships that hadn't worked out well in real life, so we went back to being online friends only, even though they only lived a block away.

Sookie was looking through a new age type shop that sold scented candles and incense among other things so I took the few minutes to make a call to Pam while Sookie sniffed at the different flavors available.

"Pam? Where are you guys?" I asked when she answered the phone with a laugh

"Mom and Adele are playing 'Whack a mole' it's great!" she cackled as I heard Adele whoop with laughter in the back ground.

"Are you serious?" I laughed "What on earth made them decide to do that?"

"I have no idea, but its frickin funny!" she laughed, "come meet us, we're near JC Penney"

"What's so funny?" Sookie asked with a smile

"Apparently my mother and your grandmother are indulging their inner child." I laughed, taking her hand again as we started walking. "They're playing 'Whack a Mole' and Pam can't stop laughing"

"Are you joking? This I have to see" she laughed as she sped up and dragged me toward our destination "You have a camera built into your phone yeah?" she asked, I nodded.

"Good, because we need proof of this" she laughed and pulled me into the game zone looking for the others.

We found them a few minutes later, having a rematch that was quickly paused when the flash of my phone taking their photo snapped them out of their gleeful giggling.

"Eric you delete that photo right now!" Adele said with a determined glare.

"Sorry, can't!" I laughed "Sookie said I had to take it or she'd dump me"

"I said no such thing!" Sookie shrieked, slapping at my arm "But I did say he had to take it, and if he deletes it I'll just take another one" she said with a laugh, poking her tongue out at Adele who just laughed and returned to whacking moles.

Twenty minutes or so later Mom and Adele decided they needed Sookie to come to a craft shop with them while Pam needed my help elsewhere… I was starting to think they were ganging up on me today, why was I being dragged all over creation?

"Why is everyone so set on keeping me away from Sookie today?" I asked Pam as we walked to wherever we were going.

"What do you mean? I think you're a little paranoid there" she laughed "I just wanted your help with some things and it's not like I have another nerdy brother to help me pick out a phone"

I laughed and gave her a one armed hug… she was right, I was just jumping to conclusions… then Pam dragged me into Victoria's Secret and dropped me in the middle of the lingerie section.

"Wait here" she commanded, walking off to look at a rack of bras on the other side of the shop

I was the only guy in a shop filled with women's underwear and I was without a chaperone… whatever I had done to upset karma I was really really sorry about it and started making deals with God when three sales women pounced on me…shit

"Could I help you look for something sir" One asked, batting her eyelashes at me

"Is there anything you're interested in?" another asked, playing with her hair

"Are you looking for anything in particular" the third asked, licking her lips.

"Ah, no thanks" I said quickly "Just looking… for my fiancée" I added quickly when they all seemed to get simultaneous predatory looks in their eyes… I was fucking scared.

I felt like a big juicy steak being dangled in front of three hungry lionesses and I wondered how I was going to get myself out of this mess with my dignity and clothing in tact when they redoubled their efforts.

They were starting to close in on me, picking up items nearby and dangling them in my face trying to interest me in buying them… uh… no… no… and definitely not.

"Shoo!" Pam said commandingly, coming up behind them and scaring them off. If I wasn't in shock from her timely rescue I probably would have hugged her.

"Why on earth did you think you would need my help here?" I asked with a nervous laugh. Suddenly the idea of the girls ganging up and torturing me for some reason, no longer seemed so far fetched…

"I didn't need your help" she said with chuckle "In case you forgot, your room is on the ground floor at home and you will be down there alone with Sookie. I thought you could buy her something…nice."

I couldn't help being a little taken aback that my little sister was so interested in my sex life, being that she never seemed to care before, but she did have a point. "Have I ever told you, you're an effing genius?" I asked, giving her a grin.

"Not recently." she laughed and wandered away again picking up things here and there before wrinkling her nose and putting them back.

I wandered around the store, pretending that I belonged there, I had found it was the best way to deal with pesky salespeople who wouldn't leave me alone… sometimes I cursed my height and blonde hair for making me stick out, even if it did help in other situations.

After picking up a satin slip I liked the look and feel of and a couple of bra and panty sets that would look fuckawesome on Sookie, I headed over to check my choices with Pam, knowing that if they were awful it would be better to know before rather than after I bought them.

"Eric" she sighed "I don't know why you're asking my opinion…you're such a merdwhore that you've probably removed just as many bras as I have"

"Merdwhore?" I asked with a laugh

"Yes… merdwhore… the term used to describe the strange creature who happens to be both a nerd and a man whore." she laughed "You have to admit, it fits"

"I admit nothing" I laughed, "that aside, my choices are ok?" I asked, presenting them again for approval

"They're all very nice, she'll look hot in that" she said, pointing to a set I had picked out that had sheer cups on the bra and matching boyshort underwear. "I think I need some of those for myself" she added wandering away to look for them.

I was glad Pam approved of my choices, as much as I knew what I liked to see on a woman, I didn't want to get too many things, in case Sookie thought I was trying to change the way she dressed or something. There were so many things in here that I wanted to see her in though that it was hard to stop myself… a sheer flyaway babydoll headed the list… I could feel a Sookie and Eric internet shopping trip coming on when we had some alone time.

I finally stopped looking when I found a wraparound dress in a crimson red that I couldn't pass up. It was a soft jersey knit that would hug her in all the right places and was so soft it felt like silk. I couldn't wait to see her try it on.

I went to the register and laid out my purchases, having had enough of the strange looks I was receiving from the other patrons of the store I wanted to get the hell out of Dodge. I kept the talk to a minimum while my items were rung up and went to wait out the front of the store on a handily placed bench while Pam finished her shopping.

"What have we here?" I heard Sookie ask behind me.

I spun to see her smirking at me, with Mom and Adele chuckling beside her...

"Did you know she was going to do that?" I asked

"Uh huh" she nodded, laughing wickedly "Pam, Amelia and I had a bet that Pam could make you cry while we were shopping today"

"Ohhh, you're evil!" I said, narrowing my eyes at the three giggling women.

"And you!" I said as Pam swanned over "The evil ring leader!"

"It wasn't me!" she laughed "It was Amelia and Sookie, I just happened to walk by while they were setting up the rules"

"Hmmm… I think I'll have to withhold judgement until we retrieve Ms Broadway" I said stroking my chin in thought to get another laugh from them all. "What have I ever done to you that you'd pick on me like that?" I asked with a pout "Why don't you just kill me next time…"

"Awww honey…" Sookie laughed, hugging me quickly "you're just so much fun to tease."

I poked my tongue out at her and handed her the bag from Victoria Secrets before helping her to stand. "Coffee?" I asked them all, making them laugh again that I could brush it all off… Women.

We walked back to the café near where we had parked the car, ordered some coffee and relaxed a little before heading back to the Dawson's house. I shot Trey a quick message to let him know we were on the way back so that he could start saying his goodbyes.

I felt badly for taking Amelia away, and I might have driven a little slower than I needed to, so that we would be able to give them more time together.

"Eric!" Maggie yelled, throwing the door open when I knocked and pulling me into a hug

"Hi Maggie" I chuckled, hugging her back "It's good to see you… this is my sister Pam, my Mom Alexis and of course you know Adele and Sookie" I said introducing everyone.

"Of course this is Pam, she looks like you, only prettier" Maggie said with a smile, pulling my stunned sister into a hug too

"It's so lovely to finally meet you Alexis" she said gently, hugging Mom too "You've raised a wonderful young man"

"Thank you Maggie" Mom said with a gentle smile in my direction "I'm very proud of him"

"You should be!" Maggie laughed "Now come on inside, dinner will be ready in about another ten minutes and you must be tired from shopping all day" she said, hustling us all inside and into the living room where Trey and Amelia were sitting happily cuddling on the sofa… awww.

"Dude" Trey said with a smile, getting up to hug me "Good to see you"

"You too." I laughed "I take it you had a nice day around the house?"

"Frickin awesome" he laughed "I can't believe Mom pulled one over on me like that"

I laughed again and reminded him of the Thanksgiving surprise that she and Adele sprung on me. I quickly introduced everyone around again. Adele and Mom wandered off to the kitchen to find Maggie, Sookie and Amelia where whispering hurriedly to each other and Pam seemed to have been hijacked by Heidi and Lucy for a tea party.

I was talking to Trey about the new Age of Empires when I snapped a quick picture of Pam pretending to drink her tea… she shot me a dirty look that only made me laugh because I knew she was loving it just as much as Heidi and Lucy did.

"Dinner!" Maggie yelled from the kitchen and the house suddenly filled with the thunder of teenage boys running for food, while the rest of us wandered in at a more leisurely pace.

"Thank you so much for including us for dinner Maggie" Adele said with a smile "I know I wouldn't have felt like cooking when we got home"

"Ahh" Maggie said, brushing the thanks off with a wave of her hand "It was nothing, you know I have to cook enough for an army to feed this lot anyway" she chuckled ruffling Patrick's hair, much to his disgust… he was taking an avid interest in my sister.

I cleared my throat to catch his attention and shot him a look… he put his head down and concentrated on his food, while Pam elbowed me in the ribs and chuckled under her breath.

Sookie was delighted at being surrounded by the Dawson clan and her eyes twinkled merrily when she caught my eye. She was going to make a fabulous mother some day… I was determined to work extra hard to make sure that day would be sooner rather than later. I was sick of waiting for our lives to start, I wanted to get going already!

Dinner finished and the table was cleared, I settled in to talk with Trey a little longer while the girls had a chat over hot cups of tea… what they could possibly have left to talk about I had no idea, but talk they did.

"So I'm going to work my ass of when we get back to NY" I said, firmly "I want to finish my doctorate so I can come back and live with Sookie."

"Right there with you E" he said, leaning in and lowering his voice "I think the sooner I'm home the better, I'm getting sick of this long distance stuff, I want to be with Amelia for real."

"I know exactly what you mean" I said with a sigh "It sucks being so far away, but I'm glad you make each other happy" I added with a smile.

"I say the sappiest things sometimes… I almost have to wonder if I'm turning into a chick" he laughed

I laughed with him "Funny how the right woman can make you completely wimp out and not give a shit"

"You're telling me!" he laughed "I don't know how you lasted so long before meeting in person"

"We started off as friends" I shrugged "It was more important to me that she was comfortable with a relationship with me than getting my arms around her… as much as I like holding her, her feelings come first" I admitted

"I'm so fucking screwed" he sighed happily in reply, stupid grin plastered on his face and eyes glued to Amelia.

"You and me both" I said softly, looking over to Sookie and falling in love all over again.

Awwww! Aren't the boys just too cute!