Sookie

I did fail my Accounting midterm. I asked the professor if there was any way to earn extra credit, but she said no. So I made it my mission to do my best on the final. I scored a 98, but that still only got me a C in the class. That was the first C I had ever made and it made me so mad that I'd let Bill upset me so much that it cost me a like that and I vowed that nothing like that would ever happen again. I wouldn't let it happen.

After a month or so, I ran into Eric one day on campus. He was sitting on the grass in front of the student union reading and he was so beautiful it just took my breath away. My heart had hardened after the whole Lorena incident and for the first time since that night I felt a little flutter of my heart and a little whoosh in my coochie. What can I say? The man is physical perfection. I took a deep breath and walked up to him. "Hi Eric."

"Sookie!" Wow. That smile. "How are you? Have a seat."

I plopped down beside him on the grass. "I'm good. How have you been?"

It was so good to see him. I tried not to think about the last time I had been with him. I was still so embarrassed. I knew that I should thank him for taking me home that night and staying with me and taking care of me, but the thought of bringing all that up was just too much. I really just wanted to forget all of that night. We made small talk and he told me about an art history class he was taking and it was so cute to watch how enthusiastic he was about it. I lost track of time looking into those blue eyes. Before I knew it, I had to go to make it to my next class. I stood up to leave and so did he. He took my hand in his and I felt my heart race. "I was hoping to hear from you, Sookie. I'd love to see you sometime. Maybe we could have dinner, go to a movie?" Oh my god, is he asking me out? I could feel my cheeks turning red.

"Yeah, maybe. That sounds nice. I'll call you. I still have your number."

"Great. I'll look forward to hearing from you soon then."

And then he leaned in and gave me the softest little kiss on the lips. I think I stopped breathing and my heart stopped, but I managed to say a little "bye," as I turned to walk away.

Eric

I waited and waited but there was no phone call from Sookie after that awful night with Bill and Lorena. Did I really expect that she would call? After all, I was probably a reminder of the whole Bill thing for her. I really wished I had her number, but I didn't. And maybe the last thing she needed was some guy who wanted to sweep her off her feet and be her new boyfriend when she was still messed up from her last boyfriend. Damn that Bill. Motherfucker.

Then I saw her one day on campus. I heard my name and I knew her voice and it made my heart jump and then seeing her standing there made something else jump as well. God she was so gorgeous, and she didn't have a clue. She sat down and we talked for awhile. I was very careful to not mention Bill or anything Bill-related. I wanted her to think of me separately from that whole fiasco. I was separated from it actually. I hadn't seen Bill or Lorena once since that night. I wanted to ask her out, but didn't want to seem too pushy. I figured that she would still be a little skittish—it hadn't been that long since she was hurt. So I asked, but then left it up to her to call me. She seemed happy about the idea of a date and I felt encouraged enough to give her a kiss before she walked off. I watched her go and couldn't wipe the smile off my face for days.

Sookie

I couldn't stop thinking about Eric. He was ridiculously good-looking. And was so sweet to me. But why would he want to go out with me? I thought back to how many different girls he must have slept with in the time I had known him, and it was pretty intimidating. It grossed me out actually. Could I ever really date a guy like Eric? Seeing Bill with Lorena had hurt me so badly. And yet here I was considering a date with the biggest Casanova on campus. What was I thinking? I remembered that kiss behind the convenience store and it made my palms sweat. Then I remembered that night I watched him sleep and almost jumped on him. My god, that felt amazing. But then I thought about that awful night in my room and how he had removed my hand from his hard-on and that made me want to crawl under a rock. I spent a few days bouncing back and forth between yes, I absolutely want to go out with Eric and no, I absolutely could never go out with Eric. Then my decision got a lot easier the day I saw Bill.

I was leaving the library one night walking to my car and he was walking right at me. I knew he had already seen me and he knew that I saw him, so there was no getting around it. I stopped and said hello. He asked if we could go somewhere for coffee and I said no, so he settled for walking me to my car. I had not given him permission to walk me to my car, but it was a public sidewalk, so what could I do? He said he missed me and he was sorry and he still loved me. None of it had any impact. My heart was stone to him. He said, "I hope you know that I'm not with Lorena. She was just hanging out at the house a lot because of Eric." I held my breath. "I guess they had had a fight or something and he wouldn't let her give him head and she wanted to get back at him, and well, you know what happened. Anyway, I'm so sorry, Sookie. Please give me another chance."

"I'm sorry too Bill, but I can't." I said goodnight at my car and he stood there while I drove away and I felt like I would never want to go on another date for the rest of my life.

Eric

I waited. No call. After a few weeks, I started to feel like a schmuck and gave up. I really thought there was something there between us, but apparently it was just one-sided. I went back to my usual meaningless fucks, even though there weren't nearly as many of them as when I had lived at Bill's. But apparently I just wasn't going to get a shot at my dream girl after all.