BAM! Bet you all figured It'd be a couple more weeks before an update, but here you go-Chapter 9! (I own nothing)
Chapter 9
Sookie just stood outside of his door, too shocked to move. She just walked in on Eric during a very private moment. Suddenly, kissing the guy didn't seem so bad! Moments passed and she remembered to breathe, but the sexy visual of Eric in his entirety had been burned into her memory. Of course he must have felt embarrassed, but Sookie was incredibly turned on by the sight. Should she tell him that? Would that make things less awkward between them?
Movement in Eric's room made Sookie even more curious so she pressed her ear to the wood. There was a lot of grumbling, shuffling, slamming of another door. She began to nibble her lip. He was angry but she refused to chicken out and run away from this inevitable conversation. She waited for a few minutes outside until the sound of his movements stopped.
After Sookie's breathing evened out she hesitantly knocked on his door. Eric grumbled out a "come in" so she fumbled with the doorknob before covering her eyes and then entered the room. Blindly, she walked in, still knocking along the wall with every step.
"Sookie, you don't have to keep knocking once I say 'come in'." She let out the breath she had been holding and peeked through her fingers to make sure everything was normal and that Eric was decent. He was no longer wearing his shirt and Sookie blushed realizing he had probably used his tainted shirt to help clean the rest of himself off. She bit her lip as she searched for the perfect words to begin probably the most awkward conversation of her life. Eric wasn't exactly in the patient mood.
"What did you come here for, Sookie?"
"Oh, I just wanted to apologize for-"
"There is nothing to apologize for."
"Oh-hoho YES there is! I never should have walked in here without knocking! I mean, I didn't mean to see any of your-"
"SOOKIE, Stop. It's Fine."
"No, Eric! We should probably talk about this." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, wincing as though he had a headache.
"Sookie, there's nothing to talk about." Eric walked around her and slid open the entrance to his Batcave (closet), reached in and grabbed a black shirt and threw it on.
"Look, I know I saw your, stuff, and it was a total accident..." Eric tried to walk past her out of his bedroom but she stood in the doorway.
"Sookie, you're blocking the door." Sookie looked surprised that he was leaving so late in the evening but sheepishly stepped to the side.
"Oh. I didn't realize you were leaving. Do you have a date our something?"
Eric shrugged and sort of nodded his head. Of course he didn't have a date! Who plans a date for a Sunday night? No. Eric was embarrassed and pissed off at the current lack of control in his life. He planned to spend the night in Pam's spare bedroom, and he prayed she wouldn't ask too many questions as to why.
"I see, well tell 'that guy' to behave!" as she motioned awkwardly towards his penis. Eric ground his teeth in frustration.
"Sookie..." he warned.
"Eric, I'm so sorry," she blurted out, "Honestly. And I didn't mean to laugh-" Eric's fists were now balled in anger. All he had wanted was for her to drop it so they could move on. He couldn't even get out of the building since she seemed hell bent on humiliating him further. He snapped at her more than he should have.
"THEN WHY DID YOU LAUGH, SOOKIE? Was there something funny about my-"
"NO!" Eric squared his shoulders and narrowed his eyes at her. She began to blush, flustered to talk about his manhood out in the hallway for other roommates to possibly hear.
"Of course not, it's very handsome." He quirked an eyebrow. "Substantial..?" A corner of his mouth lifted in a half smirk. Sookie blushed but maintained eyecontact before confessing what she really thought about his member.
"It's a..." He crossed his arms in front of his chest waiting for her to continue. Her cheeks burned but she refused to back down, afflicted or not. "It's a Gracious...Plenty."
Eric shook his head and grinned. He had never really felt himself described in such a way, but he needed to cool his head and get Pam's expert advice on everything Sookie Stackhouse. Dear Abbey always provided a new perspective. Eric reached out and innocently ruffled her hair.
"I'll be back later." Sookie bit her lip and watched him walk towards the front door.
"Yeah, but I might not-" The door slammed before she could even finish her sentence. She huffed before the sound of chuckling behind her made her cringe and slowly turn around. Claude was leaning against his bedroom doorway, his shoulders shaking as he laughed to himself. He nodded his head for her to follow him into his room so she dragged her feet and went in after him.
"That was SO horrible." He shook his head at her and she groaned loudly and covered the top of her head with her hands.
"What am I gonna do? He's never gonna speak to me again! I'm so embarrassed!" Sookie jumped/sat back onto Claude's silky sheets and he sat cross legged on the wood floor in front of her, physically tucking his feet up into a yoga position.
"It's not a big deal. I've seen Eric's stuff like a million times." Sookie's eyes widened. Eric's shown his junk to Claude? Had she heard wrong about his preferences?
"You have? I mean...how?" Claude shrugged and pulled at the imaginary loose fibers of his sleep pants.
"Knew him in college. Gym locker rooms, swimming pools, penis fights. It just happens." Sookie's nose crinkled as she imagined what exactly a penis fight was. She took a moment and questioned whether she should tell Claude the whole story. As far as she knew, he might have only gathered she'd seen his equipment. He probably had no idea she had caught him right after...completion. She figured he didn't need to hear all the details, after all, his alliances are probably with Eric. She was just the new girl.
"I need your help." She pleaded to him with her eyes and Claude flashed her a closed-mouth smile.
"Alright. So what happened after you walked in?"
"I don't know. I kind of..laughed?"
"SOOKIE! You can't laugh at a naked man. ESPECIALLY Eric. Eric is delicate, like a flower. Now listen to me," Sookie nodded, "you're just going to act like this never happened."
"What? We live together, we're like a family. Families talk about things." Claude shook his head again.
"Nooo. Families ignore things until they go away." Claude might have had a point. Every conversation with Gran for the past couple of years had nothing to do with Bill, and now that he was history she suddenly had her real family back. She nibbled her lip, overthinking it, wondering why Gran (the strongest woman she knew) would choose to ignore the Bill situation altogether?
"He's probably going to stop talking to me." Sookie blinked back her frustrated tears and Claude shook his hand at her to knock off the crying.
"So did he say where he was going this late at night?" She frowned and shrugged.
"He said he had a date." Claude pushed back his silky bangs with a smirk. There was no way Eric had planned a date so far in advance, especially on a Sunday night. Nope. Whenever Eric picked up a woman it was always after randomly running into someone, followed by a quick witty conversation dripping with sexual innuendo, and then they'd do the deed. Every time, the Lucky Lady just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Never in all their years living together had Claude seen Eric actually pick up the phone and specifically dial a woman's number. He studied Sookie closely and noticed she seemed too concerned with Eric. Hmmm. Why else would she be so upset he had a "date"?
Whatever Eric was up to, there was no way he would be coming home tonight, and Sookie the sweetheart would only stay up all night for nothing. Claude stretched and decided he would help her out. He had never met a woman like Sookie, and if anyone were worthy enough of someone as wonderful as Eric, it'd be her. He reminded himself that Rome wasn't built in a day and figured she could use a bit of distracting before actually putting his plans for the two of them into motion.
"Sookie, would you like to get out of the house for a bit? Maybe we could go for a drive?" She smiled and bounced up and down on his mattress.
"Actually! I have NEWS! I got a very surprising text during dinner, so now we have plans until the wee hours of the morning! But yes, we will have to take a drive soon! Who's driving? ONE-TWO-THREE, NOT IT!" Claude had no idea what she had planned for them, but her enthusiasm for her surprise was infectious.
"Okay. Tell me more, Stackhouse!"
Eric grumbled to himself, rubbing his palm against his right eyelid as he entered their apartment. The night before had only gotten worse after leaving Sookie behind in the hallway.
So he had lied when he implied he had a date, unfortunately his cousin Pam actually had a date scheduled for that night and Eric regretted crashing it the minute he walked in on the two lesbians rolling about on Pam's hard-wood floors.
The women disentangled themselves and redressed in their scraps of underwear right in front of him, and Eric resisted the urge to vomit after seeing so much of his dear cousin. They assured him that he didn't have to leave since they had been at it for hours and could use the break to talk about his Girl Troubles.
So there he sat, sipping wine from one of Pam's Star Wars collectables cups, sandwiched between two lesbians in lingerie as they repeatedly insulted his gender and tried to explain Sookie's behavior being irrational due to the "Female Condition".
After one uncomfortable night on Pam's poor excuse of a couch, he decided that in order to continue with his plan to make Sookie fall for him, he'd have to convince her to forget all about catching him with his pants down..and covered in fluids.
He threw his keys onto the side table near the front door and heard the distinct sound of a fork clanging against a plate. Eric found Sookie sitting at the kitchen counter/island wearing a tiny Betty Boop pajama ensemble. He flashed her a smile, wondering why her bedhead wasn't half as bad as it usually appeared after she woke up. In any case, she looked beautiful. As always.
The aroma of the coffee Sookie had just brewed cause goosebumps of Want to appear on his skin, but he decided a shower would have to be his first order of business; maybe even a nap since his horrific night at Pam's completely wore him out.
"Late night?" She was blushing and doing her best to maintain eye contact. She was nervous. "SLEEP OVER PAAARTYYY!" she cheered in a sing-songy voice. Since Eric wasn't sure how to begin the conversation he mumbled out something about needing to go to his room.
As he walked down the hall towards his room he heard her continue eating her breakfast. He didn't really see what she had made, but whatever it was smelled amazing.
Eric took a breath and smiled. Things weren't too bad back there so maybe convincing Sookie what's best for her wouldn't be all that complicated. He had come to grips that she was just awkward in general, last night certainly didn't help things, but she had made their relationship uncomfortable from the get go. Eric smirked to himself thinking about how interesting things had become since she came into his life.
-And then it all went to hell...
Eric was just about to step past Sookie's room and noticed the door was ajar. Automatically his eyes sought out the inside of her bedroom. He had wanted to see how things looked now that she had more of her own things. Which pictures did she use on the walls? Where did she position her desk?
Before he could search out any furniture, his eyes widened in shock seeing some tanned, blonde man, wearing only jeans and sprawled out comfortably on top of Sookie's sheets.
Anger. Rage. Confusion.
What the fuck? He was just so sure Sookie wasn't that kind of girl! Not even a full day had passed and she had brought home another man?
Eric didn't even bother going into his room, he stomped back to the kitchen to give Sookie a piece of his mind!
She saw him coming from the corner of her eye and hurriedly swallowed her current sip of coffee.
"Well you certainly had a busy night!" He shouted as he towered over her.
"Yea," she smiled, "didn't get a WINK of sleep!"
Eric became furious! He had actually started to feel bad for his past one night stands because she was such an innocent school teacher, so quick to judge him, And now here she is! Smiling away, like she hadn't just fucked some other guy?
Sookie cocked her head to the side, trying to figure out Eric's deal. She summed it up to being embarrassed over the monster cock/happy ending she walked in on.
"So, um, I've got something from my classroom that made me think of you..!" She reached into her enormous purse that he didn't remember seeing there before. She reached in, shuffled around, and finally pulled out some stupid wand with feathers and beads glued onto it.
"What the fuck is that?"
"It's a feelings stick. Whoever's holding it can say Whatever they're feeling or thinking without being judged by anyone else.." She held it out to him and he scowled back and forth between her and the stick.
Really? Did she really think he was going to hold her stupid stick and Talk about his Feelings?
Part of him did want to rip that stick out of her hands and chew her ass out for denying their chemistry and suggesting they forget the kiss! He wanted to yell at her for pretending to be some sensitive teacher with her stupid little crafts to 'listen' to his feelings, when she was obviously just a hypocrite, one who obviously hadn't listened to a word he's said, probably ever! He wanted to tell that bitch to knock before entering a room!
No. He just didn't have the balls to tell her he was hurt. This was the first time he had ever been so strung up on someone and he couldn't believe he meant So Little to her if she'd hook up with someone else when all he could ever seem to think about was her.
Since he couldn't man up and begin to tell her all the things eating away at him, he grabbed the Feelings Stick, held it in front of her face and snapped it in two, dropping the pieces onto the counter and storming out of the apartment.
Sookie's shoulders slumped and she sighed. Well, that wasn't the first time someone had broken her feelings stick, luckily the travel sized feelings stick was still intact.
So the stick was probably a terrible idea since she wanted to have an "adult conversation" with Eric, the star of her fantasies.
She cursed herself and wondered why she had to make things so much worse than they already were? It must be him. Eric is the coolest man she had ever met! He's young, successful enough to run his own club, has women wanting him left and right, he's hilarious and cool, confident, kind of arrogant, but still sweet and thoughtful. He plays the guitar, or at least he owns a guitar. Even when he tried to explain how uncool he was, he was still ridiculously cool. Just being himself is enough to make her feel like a gawky teenager all over again.
Since it was too late for her to follow Claude's advice, it was time to ask Claudine what she should do next. Sookie vowed to do Whatever it'd take to make things right with Eric.
Sookie went to the sink to take care of her dirty dishes feeling thankful she didn't have to make breakfast for everyone else. Her Guest had arrived at almost 4 in the morning since last-second flights to the city are much cheaper if you have no problems departing at ungodly hours.
Claude hadn't left her side since the hallway debacle and even went with her pick up Sookie's Surprise at the airport. He said there was no way in hell he would miss "such a touching reunion".
At first she had been hesitant about their meeting, praying he wouldn't be the overbearing protective asshole she had come to love, but he was nothing but charming and seemed to be on his best behavior. Actually, He and Claude got on like a house on fire!
Many a beer was shared and while the party was in the living room, Sookie always kept one eye on the door waiting for Eric. Alcide came out dressed for work at about 5am, introductions were made and Sookie's heart soared seeing that everyone could get along. It seemed as though every day she was discovering another thing her life would be missing if she had stayed with Bill.
After the gang had made plans to get together again that night, and Alcide had left for work, the other boys headed off to bed. Claude had to be up at noon for an important shoot, anyway.
As much as she hated leaving him all by himself in the apartment, she really did need to talk to Claudine. She took a quick shower, dressed in a jean skirt and a 3/4 sleeved deep blue athletic Jersey that reads "Sportsmanship is for Losers", and slipped on a pair of navy blue flip-flops. She quickly wrote out a note for the half naked man on her bed letting him know where she had disappeared to and even left him her key to the place before threading her fingertips lightly through his blonde hair, careful not to wake him. It had gotten a bit longer than he used to keep it, but she smiled to herself thinking it looked nice on him. She checked her watch and figured it was time to head out. She lovingly kissed the top of his head and sent a quick txt to Claudine to see which studio they were going to meet at.
"So let me get this straight, you barged into his room and saw the guy naked?"
"Yes! And now he's acting totally weird, avoiding me, and he's never going to talk to me again! It's terrible, Claudine! I'm so sorry, it's just that I'd hate to have to move out..." She held up her hand to shut Sookie up.
"Ugh, you made that noise you make, didn't you?"
"What noise? I don't make a noise.." Sookie shifted around uncomfortably as Claudine was being worked over with a series of brushes and powders.
"Yea, you do. That noise giggle you make when you're uncomfortable?" Sookie blushed and looked away. Claudine smirked knowing she was right.
"Sookie, it's fine. You're worrying too much. Guys are easy, you've just gotta even the score. You've seen HIM, now let him see You."
Sookie gulped. She did vow to do whatever it'd take...
Pam had FINALLY ditched her annoying booty-call, Elaine, and Eric actually got a couple hours of sleep. Like the loving cousin she was, Pam made him a cup of coffee and asked how badly things had gone with Sookie.
"What do you mean?" He sipped his coffee and stared at his hands.
"Don't play dumb, cousin. You couldn't wait to get out of here and fix things with her, only to come back with your tail tucked between your legs!" He scoffed.
"Nooo, I couldn't wait to get out of here to avoid your DATE and her terrible Dr. Phil advice..."
"Tell me what happened." Pam was completely serious. Eric had never once asked her for advice on women before, not because he Knew women, only because he didn't really give a fuck about their issues. She found herself disappointed Eric had come back so soon instead of whisking the gorgeous She-Nerd off into the sunset! So she was cynical and cold on the outside, deep down she was nothing but a hopeless romantic, though she'd never admit to it in a million years...
Eric studied his cousin for a moment before hunching forward over her dining room table. His large hand swept through his blonde hair before he gave in and told her about his current predicament.
"I went home to clear the air. There was another man in her bed."
Pam was shocked. That was the last thing she had expected to hear. Sure, she didn't know Sookie very well, but she seemed too wholesome to bring home a stranger.
"Well, she deserves it." Eric looked even more confused.
"Huh?"
"Eric, the girl just got out of a long-term relationship with an asshole who didn't deserve her. She owes it to herself and her bruised ego to just fuck a stranger senseless."
"Thanks Pam, that was real helpful."
"Well, it could be a good thing," he eyed her, waiting for her to continue. "It could be that you mean too much to her for her to simply use you for sex. The price would be too high if you two were to ruin your friendship over her getting buck-wild only to validate she is still an attractive woman." Eric cringed thinking about Sookie being "buck-wild" with anyone but himself. He shook it off, Sookie was probably a gentle lover anyway, nothing about her seemed like she was capable of getting freaky in the bedroom.
"I'm still not impressed, though. Even if that was her reasoning behind the fuck, she doesn't respect you enough if she had to do it under Your roof! Why didn't she think to do it at HIS place instead of letting you catch them in bed together?"
"Well, they weren't together when I saw him." Pam raised an eyebrow. "But he was almost naked on her bed."
"Was he atop the sheets or under her covers?" He was starting to see where she was going with this. -And no, he wasn't under the covers.
"I don't know, FUCK! What does it matter, Pam?" She smiled evilly.
"You're right. It doesn't." Eric wasn't expecting that. "So, what's the plan now, stud?" Eric buried his head in his hands.
"Go with the original plan? Treat her like one of the guys in public, shouldn't be too hard."
"And when you aren't in public?"
"Avoid her at all costs."
Eric spent most of his day hiding out at Pam's and found himself wishing he had a reason to go into work that night.
It was getting dark out and Eric decided to pick up some grub from a nearby deli since he didn't feel like crashing a dinner with the roommates that Sookie had probably prepared. He kicked a rock out of his path, pissed off that Sookie was such an amazing cook.
As he was about to pay for his sandwich, a hand clapped over his own, brushing aside his debit card. Eric was surprised to see the face of...Christ, what was her name again? She had worked for him once as a dancer at The Valkyrie. She was probably older than him but wrote enough makeup to hide it well. She was short, thin, wiry black hair with an extremely white face.
He tried to remember her name but could only remember firing her because of all the customer complaints. Men claimed she was too aggressive and then would start shit with their wives, girlfriend, etc. Eric had no desire to deal with her bullshit and let her go. If only it were that easy to get rid of Sookie Stackhouse.
The woman pulled out a wad of money tucked between her breasts and winked. Normally the move would seem tacky and Eric would back away from the stench of her desperation, but he stood there mentally comparing her chest to Sookie's while the woman paid for his meal. Finally, he remembered his manners and tried to thank her.
"Thank you...uh?"
"Thalia..."
"That's right. It's been a while since you've worked at the club, how've you been?" She smiled a little too sweetly.
"Life's been good. How are things at Valkyrie?" He took a bite of his grinder, honestly hoping it would make this conversation end faster.
"Club's still a success. Pam's trying to convince me it's time for a second location." Eric was taking large bites as they walked down the street.
"Ya know, Eric, there are quite a few rumors going around about you and I." He swallowed his bite and grinned. He was no stranger to women flirting with him, and he had heard most of the rumors she was talking about. "Yep, they say you and I fucked in your office and since our passion was too distracting during normal business hours, I was canned so you would still seem..." she licked her lips sensuously, "Professional."
Eric tossed the empty sandwich wrapper into a nearby dumpster. He knew what she was after (she wasn't being very subtle about it either) and figured he might as well. It's not as though Sookie was interested in him anyway.
"Oh, is that what they say?" She laughed harder than necessary and punched his shoulder.
"It's too bad I had to do the time but didn't get to enjoy the crime.." Eric bit back the urge to correct her, luckily his phone went off and distracted him. Alcide.
"Hey Eric, you coming home anytime soon?" He couldn't be sure, but Alc definitely sounded inebriated.
"Yea, headed home now." He winked at Thalia and she giggled, flirtatiously twirling her hair. "Why?"
"Ohh, Sookie made the most out of this world meatloaf! We're all fighting over the last of it, but Sook made it up into a plate for you in case you were hungry when you got home."
Eric wasn't sure how to feel. He wanted to put his feelings behind him, but it was still sweet if her to think about him.
"Have at it, man. I've already eaten. Be home in a few." Thalia waited until his phone was tucked back into his pocket before asking.
"Didn't know the boss had to Check In." She wound her arm through his and stared up into his eyes as they continued to walk.
"Roommate. Just makin' sure I've already eaten, but I'm thinking of taking dessert to my room." He winked and that was all the encouragement she needed. Thalia hailed a taxi.
As they entered the building, the doormen and guys at the security counter greeted Eric a bit more friendly than usual. Thalia looked impressed but Eric caught a glimpse of Sookie's fancy picnic basket and the guys were all munching on homemade cookies and other pastries. He scowled at how fake Sookie was, baking goods to feel less whorish for bringing a man home last night.
The entire elevator ride was spent feeling each other up, Eric squeezing her ass, wishing it were more like Sookie's. Now there was an ass worth grabbing. They entered the apartment and were met with crazy drunken cheers from the living room. Thalia tried to smooth out her hair to seem more presentable.
"Hey Eric, glad you could make it!" Alcide jumped up and started dragging him into the living room, completely ignoring Eric's guest. "Come on, come on, there's somebody you gotta meet!"
Sitting on the sectional next to Claude with a beer in his hand was the same blonde haired man from before. He jumped up as soon as his eyes landed on Eric-nothing but smiles.
Fuck. Eric definitely didn't want to meet the man who fucked his girl. The fact that he was still there, schmoozing with her roommates proved he was going to be more than a one night thing for Sookie. To keep from scowling he turned back to Thalia.
"Why don't you wait for me in my room, I'll be there in a minute. Last door, end of the hall."
"Um, actually, Eric, where's the bathroom?" He gave her a reassuring smile.
"Second door on the left." She smiled and made her way down the hall. Eric was just thankful she wasn't acting pissy for not being introduced to the guys. She knew what this was.
Smiles walked over to him, holding his hand out to shake.
"Hey man, you must be Eric! Heard a lot about you!" Eric reluctantly shook his hand but still put in the effort to crush and intimidate the other guy. He was short, probably a bit taller than Sookie, but judging by his handshake, he was still pretty strong.
Eric wanted nothing more than to disappear to his room and have meaningless sex instead of standing there with the man Sookie would rather be with.
"Name's Jason. Listen, I just wanted to thank you for all you've done and thank you for taking care of my baby sister."
...Sister?
Eric's eyes widened as he realized this was Sookie's brother, not her spare booty call. Fuck, if he had taken the time he could have easily seen the resemblance between the two!
So Sookie wasn't the heartless bitch he had her pegged as. His heart clenched thinking that there might still be a chance for them yet! Eric stared down at the hand he was shaking. This was Sookie's family and he knew how important her family was to her. Eric dragged the man forward into a very intimate hug, surprising him to say the least.
"Wow, ya'll must be real friendly in Sweden!" Eric practically threw him out of his arms when it dawned on him he may have gone a bit overboard with the meet and greet. Eric rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed, as his eyes searched the room for Sookie. She wasn't there.
"Where Is Sookie?"
"Oh, think she said she had something to show you-" Claude cut Jason off.
"She's waiting for you in your room."
Fuck.
Eric took off running towards the hall. He had forgotten all about Thalia! If he was going to have any chance with Sookie, he had to get Thalia out of the apartment before Sookie could see her.
Almost as if in slow motion, he saw it all go to shit. Thalia came out of the bathroom and took the two steps over to his bedroom door and reached for the doorknob. He called out her name, but it was too late. She pushed open the door and there was Sookie-
Completely Naked.
Eric had stopped running, he just stood there with his mouth hanging open starring at Sookie's perfect body on display as Thalia Shrieked in surprise.
Sookie bent down to grab THE tiny towel as she scrambled to cover herself and maneuver past Thalia. As soon as towel-clad Sookie was in the hallway, she pushed some of the hair out of her face, turned to the woman she had never seen before in her life and cordially introduced herself.
"HI. I'm Sookie. Welcome to our home." With that, she stepped into Claude's bedroom and slammed the door.
"Who the fuck was that?" Thalia hissed.
Mwahahaha, tune in for the next chapter where You get to hang out with Jason Stackhouse! .
