Hello All! I have another mini-chapter of Eric and Sookie getting to know one another… Just a little bit of fluff to hold you over until the next mega-chapter! Enjoy-
Ch. 5
Sookie tossed and turned flinging her limbs into various positions trying to find some sort of comfort. It had only been an hour since Alcide was hauled out of her room, Claude exited gracefully after molesting Sookie's scalp, and she had humiliated herself (yet again) in front of Eric.
Eric was actually one of the reasons she was losing sleep. At first Sookie would close her eyes and replay the images of him wearing only that tiny towel around his waist while flashing her that sexy smirk she loved so much. Then the fantasies would fade into the reality of how foolish and immature she acted whenever Eric was around. Sookie smacked her palm to her face realizing Eric probably only associated with super sexy sophisticated women, like lingerie models, college educated lingerie models! ..probably. Sookie was beneath him in all aspects, except literally lying beneath him, where she actually wanted to be.
She did a summersault out of her fort and jumped up to move around her room. Perhaps the increased blood flow from exercising would take her mind off of her enticing yet unobtainable roommate. After about three forward lunges around her bedroom, depressing thoughts of Bill resurfaced. Sookie had listened to one of the four voicemails he had left her that day and it practically brought her to tears. The highlights of his message included a detailed description of how poor Sookie was in bed, how embarassing it was to be seen around her in public, and how the rest of her life would be spent alone because no man would ever take interest in a used up 2nd grade teacher with absolutely nothing to offer.
Grunting in frustration, Sookie tugged at handfulls of her blonde hair. She couldn't understand how much she could cry over a man she KNEW wasn't worth the tears! It was obvious she wouldn't be getting any sleep any time soon, so she threw on a large t-shirt and tip-toed down the hallway into the kitchen.
Her fingers gently caressed the brick wall as she blindly sought out the light switch. As the room filled with light she almost cringed at the mess her and the boys had left behind. She picked up the pizza box from the floor and tossed their used paper plates in the trash. The beer bottles could be tossed in the morning since she didn't trust herself to throw them quietly enough for her roommates to sleep through, especially with her current Bill annoyances. She checked the large freezer and pouted when she didn't find any icecream. Of course there wouldn't be any tasty desserts, these boys were all fantastically in shape! Her shoulders slumped as she rummaged through the kitchen for anything resembling comfort food. She settled for a bag of popcorn.
Sookie held her breath hoping the popping from the microwave wouldn't wake anyone up. She didn't appreciate being woken up at almost four in the morning by inconsiderate roomies, and Claudine did it almost every night—er, morning, while Sookie crashed on her couch. Yep, she would be burried up to her eyeballs in used tissues and Claudine would kick open the front door, groping and undressing whatever man had caught her eye that day. At least she'd remember to wave to Sookie as she sheep-dogged her next sexual conquest towards her bedroom.
Sookie pushed her thickly framed glasses back up the bridge of her nose smiling. Claudine was a great friend and Sookie admired her ability to find romance in even the most brief encounters with the opposite sex! She grabbed the finished bag of popcorn gently by it's corners with her fingertips and grabbed a bowl from the cabinet, making her way to the living room.
She was lucky enough to spot her favorite movie amongst their expansive DVD collection and wasted no time in loading it into the game console to watch. Her copy of the same movie was currently buried in a box holding up Sookie's Fort. 10 minutes into the film and Sookie began tossing Kernals into the air and catching them with her mouth. She was so focused on her new favorite sport she didn't hear Eric's feet padding down the hallway towards her.
"The 13th Warrior?"
"JESUS CHRIST, SHEPHERD OF JUDEA!" Sookie jumped from her cross legged position tossing her bowl of popcorn into the air. Eric caught the bowl easily, but the Damage was already done.
EPOV
She was adorable. Her hair was even more drunkenly tangled. Popcorn was everywhere, but mostly piled on her lap. She was wearing a large men's t shirt that read "That's What She Said". It only took a second for her face to turn bright red from embarassment.
Eric walked around the couch and scooped most of the popcorn off the sectional and back into her discarded bowl, and held the bowl towards her so she could dump her collection of popcorn into it, too. Eric's eyes almost bulged out of his head as she stood up holding the corners of her long shirt up to her waist. It only took a second for her to dump her popcorn back into the bowl, but in that second he got a great glimpse of the tops of her smooth, tan thighs and those sexy Wonder Woman panties. It wasn't until she flopped back down into the couch before he realized he wasn't really breathing. Perhaps "adorable" wasn't really the best word to describe this minx.
Was it really possible that she could have no idea how she affected the men around her? He smirked as he took a seat beside her, checking her out again from the corner of his eye. She was still blushing and biting her bottom lip. She probably barely realized she had flashed her new roommate. Sookie tried in vain to tug her long shirt further down her thighs. She was extremely beautiful. Eric had yet to see her wear makeup, but she somehow always seemed to be glowing. Sookie didn't seem to own any designer clothes, which was odd since Eric was sure she was Claudine's friend and that girl didn't speak unless it was about fashion.
"So I thought all girls watched Dirty Dancing after a bad break up?" Sookie laughed heartily before lightly clasping her hand over her mouth.
"I actually love that movie," she whispered, "Nobody keeps Baby in a corner!" She giggled softly and Eric had a hard time fighting back his smirk. "Nah, I uh- couldn't sleep. This is one of my favorites, actually."
"I love this movie, too." Eric found himself whispering back to her. Neither one wanted to wake their roommates, enjoying the private moment between themselves.
"Oh that's right, you're Swedish, er..so I've heard!" He turned his head towards her as she spoke and Sookie nervously avoided the eye contact. "Well, of course you are! Look at you! Such a big, strapping, VIKING of a man!" She was attempting a joke, but Eric didn't correct her.
"You've asked about me then?" Sookie looked away again, smiling.
"Of course I did. My Gran requested background info on all of my new roommates in case I go missing. Of course she'd prefer it if you were all gay, as not to take advantage of a young lady in the city." Eric took the opportunity to tease her some more. Making this girl blush was addictive! He inched towards her on the couch until his knee rested atop her exposed thigh and his face was mere centimeters away from hers; his nose softly grazing her cheek.
"What makes you so sure I'm not gay?" he whispered. Sookie's eyes widened in surprise, or fear? Her blush was back and deeper than ever.
"Um, Alcide? He said you're a very skilled womanizer." Eric stoned his features to hide his disdain for Alcide at that moment. Why the hell was he trying to cockblock him anyway? It's not as though Eric was trying to pursue the new roommate, or was he? Eric could only smile reassuringly. "But, I don't know, Eric. I've yet to see you bring a lady home. Then again, I've only lived here about three days!"
"And What do you think of me Sookie?" Eric slowly pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear and continued running his fingers through her hair. Eric's new goal was to stain Sookie's face permanantly pink. Sookie gulped, playing with the ends of her grey t-shirt.
"Well, you're obviously quite the flirt." He continued running his fingertips through her hair, waiting for her to continue. "And, you only live once, so if meaningless hook-ups with super gorgeous girls makes you happy, then go for it! And you're young and pretty," She risked eye contact again, and Eric smirked "…and successful, so no doubt women flock to a guy like you!" He was already so close, but he leaned impossibly closer, his warm breath on her cheek. "I'm not really too interested in those qualities, though." Sookie took a deep breath. "But, hey! It really doesn't matter what "I" think of you, it's what you think of yourself, right?"
Eric smirked. She was kind of babbling, but she was honest to say the least. He pushed a larger portion of her wavy blonde hair back over her shoulder before removing a piece of popcorn from her hair and tossing it into his mouth. Her blush returned.
"Well, you most certainly SOUND like a teacher." Sookie smiled. Eric eased away from her and settled back into the couch, turning his attention to the tv. She had pretty much told him she wasn't interested. It'd be best not to jump into bed with your fuck-hot roommate, anyway. She'd just get attached, or emotional and jealous, and then you'd have awkward moments in the laundry room and kitchen. Sex was off the table, but he was sure sex with Sookie would be great on their dining room table. Still, Eric liked teasing her. "Sookie the school teacher with an obsession for Vikings."
"I'm not obsessed."
"I am." Eric's eyes left the tv to connect with her bewildered deep blue eyes instead. He pulled a sleeve up over his bicep to reveal a tattoo of a blonde warrior-like woman. "Valkyrie, a chooser of the slain. Just a small tribute to my heritage." Sookie's eyes widened.
"Valkyrie? Like the club? That's YOUR club?" Sookie sat up excited while Eric grinned.
"Have you ever been?" She nodded but suddenly looked away, biting her lip. "What? You didn't like the club?" She shook her head.
"Oh, no, it's not like that. I don't want to get anyone in trouble, but there's just this one bartender there that's a bit...forward, towards me." Eric thought about which bartender would be harassing Sookie. She was blonde, so definitely Chow's tastes. That bastard Charles Twining would easily fall for such a woman, sweet and innocent was just his type.
"Eric, don't get me wrong! She's very beautiful, I'm quite flattered, really! It's just, all the free drinks, makes me feel guilty, like I owe her? Maybe sexually? She's very pretty, hell, I might just take her up on her offer since apparently I'm just damaged goods anyway. I've never really had the opportunity to experiment during college. Maybe those drinks were to loosen my inhibitions so she could take advantage? Oh no, you're not going to fire her for giving out free booze, now are you? Because if that's the case, then I definitely paid for them!"
Eric interrupted her nervous ramblings with a low rumbling chuckle. She smiled and looked away nervously again.
"That's just Pam. She's actually my cousin." Sookie smile widened and her shoulders seemed to relax a bit. "And you don't owe her anything." Eric thought back on what she had said. "Damaged goods?"
"Oh. Yeah. Something stupid Bill had said in a voicemail." Sookie drew her knees up under her chin. Eric reconsidered his position. This was easily the longest conversation he had ever had with a woman he didn't plan on seducing, other than Pam of course. Normally, ex-boyfriend monologues were his cue to head to bed, but this was the second time he had witnessed this beautiful woman put herself down.
"You listen to his voicemails? Fuck that guy. Fuck his voicemail!"
"Yeah! Fuck his couch," Sookie whispered. She was trying to joke her sadness away but failing miserably. Eric placed a hand on her elevated knees to get her attention. Sookie straightened out, reluctantly, so Eric turned her chin with his fingertips so she'd face him.
"From what I can see, Bill's a fool to ever let you go, and "I" don't even know you. Damaged goods? That's bullshit, I mean, I know some guys who'd pay top dollar for a lap full of your popcorn." Sookie's smiled, even though her eyes were still brimming with tears. Eric decided to address how she described herself whenever she first moved in. "And Sookie? Average is the last word i'd use to describe you, and you'd better believe you'd intimidate any hot dates that come over if all you're gonna wear is a t shirt and those sexy Wonder Woman panties." Sookie's practically jumped back from Eric's grasp, laughing as she covered her face in embarassment. "And that include's CLAUDE's dates, too!" Sookie punched his arm playfully before standing up, taking her bowl with her.
"Thank you, Eric. I think I can probably sleep now, do you want me to turn this off?" She motioned to the tv behind her, Eric shook his head. He'd watch a bit more until it got to his favorite scene. She walked behind his couch towards the kitchen, kissing the top of his head. "Night, Eric." He smiled.
"Goodnight, Sookie."
