A/N: I think pretty much all of you are excited about the date, so here it is! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

Thank you to FDM for her beta skills and kind words!

Chapter 8 – First Date

The next morning Sookie gave her statement to Kenya, and got the opportunity to meet Tracey. She read her mind to be sure, and found that the girl would likely need lots of counseling, but she hadn't been molested. Tracey's parents thanked Sookie again before they left, and then Sookie was discharged. Sam came to pick her up, and on the drive back to her house she told him some news.

"I can't block anymore."

"At all?" Sam asked.

"I can manage something flimsy, but other than that I haven't been able to."

"You take a week or so off work, okay? Stay home and rest up."

"Are you sure it won't put you in a pickle?" she asked.

"Nope. It's only a week, and you need to get better."

Next was the even bigger confession.

"I, uh, have a date. On Saturday," she said quietly, and tried not to read into the way Sam's hands gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"Yeah? With who?"

"Eric."

"Dammit, Sookie!" Sam yelled as he hit the wheel with his fist. "You know the kind of reputation he has with women. He's using you."

"Right. Of course he is. It's impossible for a man to just genuinely be interested in me and my company."

"You know what I mean, Sookie. Don't give me that crap."

"At the risk of sounding cliché, you don't know him like I do. He wants someone different from what he's used to, and he enjoys my company. I enjoy his too."

"What about his thoughts?"

"I can't read him."

Sam deflated when she said it, and let out a sigh.

"I guess there's really no hope for me then, huh?" he said. It was the first time he'd said that he wanted her aloud. "Why does it have to be him? Why couldn't it be some religious, chaste, perfect guy? At least then I wouldn't feel so bad."

Sookie was silent for a moment, and in that time Sam pulled up to her house and parked.

"Do you really see yourself as better than him?" she asked quietly. "I'm not blind, Sam. You're not exactly chaste yourself. You think I don't know about Daphne, or Susanne, or Arlene, or hell, even Tara? I didn't think less of you for it, and I don't think less of him. I won't be with you because it's too difficult with my ability. On top of that, you're my boss, and my friend. I don't want to lose you as either of those things. Thank you for the ride home, and I'll call you in a week."

Sam sat in a shocked silence, ashamed of himself as we watched Sookie walk into her house.

On Saturday morning Sookie woke up with what felt like hundreds of tiny butterflies in her stomach, and the feeling made her nauseous. She calmed her stomach with some toast and coffee while watching the morning news, then promptly spit the coffee all over the toast when she saw her face on the screen.

"Reports state that a civilian who worked with the offender saw some evidence that he had Tracey Jones. The civilian, Sookie Stackhouse, then enlisted the help of her boss, Sam Merlotte, and together they apprehended Derek Holt and found Tracey locked up in his home."

"Seems we have a couple of local heroes," smiled the news anchor. "Tracey is now home with her parents, and they say she's already doing better."

"Holy shit," Sookie said as she wiped the table down with a towel.

Five minutes later the phone began ringing, and it didn't quit until she unplugged it an hour before she had to start getting ready for her date. People were calling from all over. News stations, reporters, town gossips, old friends. The most important one to Sookie was the call from the editor at the local newspaper saying they would love for her to send in her portfolio again. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that yet. She desperately wanted to be published, but she didn't want it to be because she was now touted as a local hero.

She took a deep breath and as she let it out, she let all her stress out with it. She had a date to focus on. A date with a very gorgeous man whose thoughts she couldn't read. With a smile on her face, she went to the bathroom so she could shower and get ready.

Sookie decided to wear the white dress from her first visit to Fangtasia for their date. It had been part of the reason he looked at her in the first place, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't want him to look again. She blow-dried her hair into soft waves, and put on just a bit of eyeliner and mascara.

At eight o'clock on the dot, Eric arrived in his cherry red Corvette and knocked on the door. He was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans, and a light blue button up dress shirt. His hair was pulled back into a knot low on his neck, and a few strands of hair framed his handsome face. Sookie watched him drink her in, starting at the bottom and working his way up to her eyes, and when he knew she saw just what he had done he simply offered her a smirk.

"You look good enough to eat," he said.

"Thanks," she smiled. "You as well."

"Don't let me stop you from taking a nibble at any time."

"Okay, Romeo," she laughed. "I'll just grab my purse and we can go."

Eric offered her his arm when they walked down the stairs, and helped her into the car before folding himself into the driver's seat.

"Where shall we go?" he asked.

"Well, there is a slight hindrance to this whole thing. Since getting hit on the head, I haven't been able to block."

"Even just one or two people?" he asked, shifting in his seat to face her more.

"I've only been around a couple of people at a time since then, and I can only manage a very flimsy wall, like it's make out of straw. Thankfully nothing has changed with you. You're still locked up tighter than a bank vault."

He smiled and said, "So crowds are out of the question. How about we get some fast food and take it to the park?"

"That sounds great," she said, grinning.

Eric took them to the local Wendy's drive through, and then to the park where they ate in the car.

"I can't believe you're letting us eat in here," Sookie said before taking another bite of her burger.

"Why's that?" Eric asked, and popped another fry in his mouth.

"My brother doesn't allow food in his truck, and it's nowhere near as nice as this."

Eric shrugged and smiled almost shyly at her.

"It doesn't bother me," he said, and then changed the subject. "I saw the news report tonight. How do you feel about being a local hero?"

"Weird," she said. "I don't feel like a hero. My phone was ringing off the hook today too. Reporters and town gossips. The newspaper even called and said they'd like to see my portfolio again. Apparently, all I had to do was save a life to get them to publish me."

"So, you can get published now," Eric said.

"Probably, but I'm going to turn them down."

He whipped his head to the side and stared at her.

"What?" she chuckled. "Don't look so shocked. I don't want them to want to publish me just because of what I did. I want them to publish me because they feel my work merits being published. I'll prove that with our interviews."

A smile crept across Eric's face and he faced forward again to finish his meal in silence. When they were done, Eric helped Sookie out of the car and they threw their trash into a garbage can.

"Shall we?" Eric asked, offering his arm to Sookie.

She smiled as she took it and they set off to take a slow walk on the lit up path around the pond in the park. There were only a couple of other people there, so the mind-reading wasn't so bad.

"Are you still good?" Eric asked after another couple passed by them.

"Yup. They weren't so bad. He was thinking about sex, and she was thinking about how to get him to stay for breakfast."

"I know it must be a burden for you, but it really is amazing, hearing people's thoughts."

"I suppose it is, in a way. I have been able to do some good with it, but I still don't like it."

"I hope that someday you will be able to control it without hassle, and use it for good when you choose."

Sookie stopped walking, and stood in front of Eric. Looking up at him with determination in her eyes, she said, "Kiss me."

In response, Eric simply raised an eyebrow. She knew he wanted to, but he wasn't sure why she was demanding it.

"Before I get any more emotionally attached to you, I need to know if there's even a possibility this can go farther. You have to kiss me for me to know that, so kiss me."

He still didn't say anything, but a small smirk formed on his lips before he wiped it away and placed a serious expression there. His large hand came up and brushed her hair off her cheek, and then he caressed her soft skin with his thumb. Sookie's eyes closed as he leaned in and, tentatively, their lips touched. They were still for just a moment, and when Sookie reached out with her mind and found Eric's fortress still sealed up tight as a drum, she pressed against him. Her hands went up to his shoulders, and his other one came up to the other side of her face.

Eric took her top lip between his, and she naturally took his bottom one. Their kisses were slow and sweet like that for a few seconds before something snapped in Sookie. It hit her that she was kissing a man, and only heard silence in her head. Not one to waste an opportunity like this, she immediately opened her mouth, allowing Eric to unleash all of his skills on her. His fingers tangled in her hair, and his tongue swept into her mouth, tasting, caressing.

Sookie followed suit, and soon she felt that she was pressed firmly against his body, the evidence of his arousal making itself known. She gasped at that, and abruptly broke the kiss. Eric's eyes were still closed, and they were both breathing heavily. Sookie let out a giggle, and his eyes snapped open. He stared at her intensely, obviously affected by the kiss, and confused about why she was giggling.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was just thinking that you were right. If your fortress had fallen at least I'd have been good and kissed once in my life."

A grin broke out on Eric's face, and he loosened his grip on her, allowing her to step back.

"Am I guessing correctly when I assume that my fortress did indeed stay intact?" he asked.

"Yes. All I heard was my heartbeat in my ears," she giggled. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I can't stop giggling."

"That's an easy one. I'm such an amazing kisser that I've put you in a state of euphoria," Eric teased, causing Sookie to laugh harder.

He smiled down at her for a moment, and then his expression grew serious once more as he placed his hands on her face again and lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was slow and sweet, a way for them to get to know the feel of one another in a new way. They kissed endlessly, until a few young teen passersby catcalled at them and shouted for them to get a room. Sookie blushed and looked away, and Eric smiled at her.

"Perhaps I should take you home," he said, and Sookie looked at him sharply. "Not for that, Sookie. It's just time."

"Okay," she agreed with a smile, and they walked hand in hand back to his car.

"I've never been on a date before," Eric confessed as he drove her home.

"Really? Just the love 'em and put forth no effort kind of guy?" she blurted out without thinking.

"I take it you believe the rumors about me," he said without glancing at her.

"I'm sure some of them aren't true, but I have seen it happen."

That time he did spare a glance. "How so?"

"Dawn Green," she said. "I work with her, and she was thinking about you and how she needed to go back to Fangtasia so she could fully experience you. Dawn's kind of a broadcaster and I saw a lot of images."

"When did this happen?"

"Just before I went to Fangtasia the first time."

"Was that part of the reason you decided to come?"

"Don't turn this into something dirty, Eric. Just how much about those rumors is true?"

"Do you really feel you need to know this?" he asked.

"If you ever want to get very far with me, then yes. I don't mind that you've been with a lot of women, everyone has a history, but I do mind if you were unsafe with them because that affects me."

"I have slept around, that is true. But I've used protection every time, and I get tested after each one."

"Each and every one?"

"Despite what you may have heard, I don't actually have sex with a different woman every night. Once every couple of months is more like it. At first it was like that, but it hasn't been for a while now."

"So Dawn was going to be your next once-every-couple-of-months," she asked, still unconvinced that he wasn't a huge man whore. A person just didn't get the kind of reputation he had without earning it.

"No, she wasn't actually."

"Then why would you take her to your office and do the things you were doing? I saw the images in her mind, Eric."

"Because what happened was all that was supposed to happen," he said, his voice tight, as though he really didn't want to be having this conversation.

Sookie stared at him, trying to decipher what he was trying to tell her without coming out and saying it. Supposed to happen …

"You planned it," she said. "You mean that all the girls that brag about being taken to your office were only taken there so you could keep up the hype and mystery?"

His silence spoke volumes.

"Jesus, Shepard of Judea," she sighed, and looked out her window. "That's disgusting. I can't believe you would use those women like that. It's one thing if you're just screwing everyone, but to manipulate them into bragging by doing … that. It's just wrong."

"I do what I have to do to make a living, and it's nothing more than what anyone in this world would expect of me. I just thought you were above judging people."

"You know what? I'm not above it! When I couldn't block people, all I would hear were judgments. They were judging their family, their friends, the stranger across the street, me, and I had to pretend like I wasn't aware of any of it.

"You have no idea how hard it is to see images of what a complete stranger would like to do to you in the bedroom, and still act somewhat normal while they're talking to you. Or what it's like to know that the new man in town is a pedophile who's never been caught, and there's nothing you can do about it. All I've ever known is the direct truth, and I finally meet someone with the ability to lie to me. I don't like it, not when I know the vast difference between what people say, and what they really think."

At that point they'd been parked in front of Sookie's house for a moment, and Eric got out of the car. Sookie huffed and did the same, but as soon as she was out Eric had her pressed against the side of the vehicle.

"What I really think is this: I want you, I want you more than I've ever wanted any woman in my life. I want you because you're different, and because you can hold a conversation with me. I want you because all you have to do to get me hard is flick your tongue out to wet your lips. I want you because it's easy to be with you."

He paused for a moment and stepped closer to her, close enough that their bodies were touching, but not quite pressed together.

"And here's some more truth for you. I lost my virginity to Pam, six years ago. She was the only one I was with for more than a year, but it had never been in a romantic way. After we opened the bar she encouraged me to sleep with the willing and build a reputation, as well as get a bit of experience. I enjoyed it for a while, but I tired of it quite quickly, and for the last two years I've settled for an occasional fuck in my office with another nameless woman in a string of nameless women who want me for what I pretend to be. What I do to get women talking may seem sketchy to you, but it's a business tactic to me, and believe me, those women don't care.

"Lastly, and this is purely to avoid any future conversations like this, I feel that you should know that I haven't fucked a woman in over three months, and I haven't brought one to my office since before I met you. Do with that information what you please."

Sookie stared up at him with her jaw slightly hanging open. He leaned forward, and for a split second she thought he was going to kiss her again, but then she realized that he was reaching into the car through the open window. Eric stepped back with her purse in his hand, and passed it to her.

"I hope to see you again soon," he said quietly, and then he got into his car and drove away as Sookie stood and watched.

"Well, shit."

A/N:

A very kind reader, Laura BF, made me a wonderful banner for this story! If you'd like to see it go here:

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Just replace every (DOT) with a .