Perfect Valentine Chapter 6

SPOV

I closed my eyes and tried to let my breathing become steady again. As perturbed as I was with Eric taking this step without consulting me, I knew in my heart he was right. It needed to be done, the sooner the better. With a huff, I climbed out of the door Eric held open for me. I didn't know exactly what I was going to say. I would have liked time to rehearse in front of the mirror, which is what I usually did when I had to confront someone, but that point was rendered moot. Eric could tell I was apprehensive. His hand rubbed my back gently as we walked across the parking lot and up the steps.

Jason waited in the foyer, "There ya'll are. Thought I'd be the one late." His words dripped with sarcasm.

Eric extended his hand to shake Jason's, "Sorry, Jason, it's been a busy day, and your sister, well, she's a little miffed with me at the moment."

"Heh, well get used to it, buddy. Sookie's always been a moody one," he said, looking at me without a smile.

"Can we just go in and get this over with?" I asked, pushing through the door into the restaurant. We were seated immediately, and ordered our meals after a quick perusal of the menu.

"Now, what's so all-fired important that we had to do this tonight?" Jason asked, still not giving an inch off his haughty attitude.

Eric answered before I could say anything, "There seem to be some misconceptions concerning Sookie's prior relationship. You haven't been given all the information, and Sookie and I think it's time you knew the truth." He was squeezing my hand underneath the table, while I gritted my teeth.

"Misconceptions? Truth? Is somebody lying to me?" Jason looked interested at least.

"I didn't lie to you about anything, Jason. I just didn't always tell you the whole story about my relationship with Bill. Before and after the breakup. Not just you, I didn't tell anyone much." I decided to just jump in, it's supposed to be easier that way, isn't it?

"You and Bill, huh? I thought everything was great with you and Bill, until you decided to call it off. Was there something else? Because I know Bill still loved you, still says he does. And he didn't run around on you. So something must have changed your mind." Jason was still going to be reluctant to accept the truth, I could see.

I closed my eyes again and carefully considered exactly how I would proceed. "Okay, you're right, something changed my mind. I was tired of being treated the way Bill treated me. He took me for granted. He wasn't very attentive, didn't consider my needs."

"For Christ's sake, Sis, what'd you want? He took you to every gig. Let you hang with the band after. Most girls would be glad for that. I thought you were," he unwittingly listed two of the things that were, to me, part of the problem.

"At first, I was. But after years of never going anywhere except to his gigs, and hanging with the band, never any of my friends, it just got old. When I'd ask to go somewhere else, do something else, he never wanted to. Everything in our relationship was on his terms. It just wasn't fun anymore." I was beginning to get some confidence that I might actually make it through this.

Our food came and we ate for a few minutes without talking before Jason began again, "You said something about after the breakup. What's that all about?"

I looked down at my plate, took a deep breath, and replied, "For a couple of weeks after we broke up, Bill called, and came to my work, and just parked outside my apartment. He wouldn't leave me alone."

"He still loved you," he said quietly.

"Bullshit! He doesn't even know the meaning of the word. He didn't want to give me up, that's true, but love, love had nothing to do with it," my resolve was strong, I wasn't holding anything back now. I moved, got a new phone number, even alerted security at work that I didn't want to see him, before he finally backed off. Now, he's back. Thanks to your telling him about Eric and me, he showed up at the house last night!"

"I told you he still loves you," Jason could be so dense sometimes.

"And I told you he doesn't. He wants me, wants to own me. He wants a girlfriend who's always ready to meet his needs without having any of her own, and that was me, for way too long." My cheeks began to warm with the anger, the humiliation I felt. Eric squeezed my hand again, and ran his thumb gently over my palm. He hadn't said a word, hadn't even raised an eyebrow, or let out a sigh. He was letting, or making, me handle this part on my own. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was thanking him for forcing the issue. It did feel good to get it off my chest.

"I don't know, Sook, I don't get it. He never hit you?" Jason still had that puzzled look on his face.

"Never laid a hand on me in anger. He said plenty of hurtful things, always belittling me, and treating me like I was lucky he even gave me the time of day. And, you know, Jason, in the beginning I felt that way. No boy had ever looked at me, the geek with glasses, scared of men," my voice was trailing off, but I wasn't even close to tears. I silently congratulated myself for that.

"Yeah, I remember you were real shy about boys, and sex, and stuff. Never understood why. I never had any trouble there," he had what would pass for a pensive look, if he were capable of such.

I managed not to snort, but my tone expressed my feelings on that subject, "No, not you, Jase, no trouble like that."

He picked up his fork and took several bites before shaking his head and looking up at me, "So you're telling me Bill didn't treat you like a queen, even though he let on that he did? He was selfish while you were dating, and stalked you after?"

I nodded, "Basically. I was just tired of it. I had gained enough confidence to think I could do better, so I broke it off. To tell you the truth, from the way he treated me, I didn't think he really give a shit."

"Guess you were wrong there," he picked his fork back up and ate a few more bites. I guess the way to Jason's brain was through his stomach. "So, did you two hook up before or after?" He indicated Eric and me with a wave of his fork.

"Well…," I started.

"We met before, but didn't 'hook up' until well after," Eric interjected. Jason eyed him a bit suspiciously, and looked at me.

"It's true. We met at White Horse one night. I was already planning to break up with Bill, but hadn't yet. Eric listened to me talk, then gave me his number. He didn't pressure me. He let me come to him, and I did, eventually." I turned to look in Eric's eyes for the first time since we'd left the car. They beamed with pride.

Back to his plate of food, Jason seemed to mull over all he'd heard tonight, "Well, Sis, I just don't know. This is a lot to think about. Not that I don't believe you. I mean, I guess it's all true. It's just, Bill, you know, he's my bud, and I…well, this is just a lot different from the story I've been getting from him, you know?"

"I can imagine," I nodded, "anyway, now you know my side of the story. You can make up your own mind about how you feel. I'm not telling you to drop Bill. I didn't tell you about his creepy behavior before, because I knew you two were friends. You can decide how you feel about me and Eric, too. I would love for you to be happy for us, but if you can't, you can't. We're happy, and that's what matters most."

"Not making any promises, Sook, but I'll think all this over," he said finally, finishing his dinner, wiping his mouth, and moving to leave the table. "If you'll give me your phone number, I'll call you. I can't believe I haven't known my own sister's phone number in ten months!"

I programmed my number into the phone he offered me, and accepted the kiss on the forehead he offered, before saying good-bye. I watched as he left the restaurant, wondering what the result of his "thinking all this over" would be.

EPOV

I'd known from the very first night that somewhere under her shy exterior, Sookie had strength, lots of it. I'd seen it numerous times over the last several months, but I'd never been as proud of her as I was tonight. She needed that initial push, sure, but the rest was all her. I did nothing but hold her hand, and offer a sentence or two of explanation. She didn't shed a tear, didn't even come close. Whatever Jason decided to believe, no one could fault Sookie. She laid it all out, made no apologies, and left the rest to him. My chest felt as though it would pop the buttons of my shirt, it swelled so with my pride. I couldn't even tell her what I was feeling right now. I just hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. I knew she knew what I meant.

We ate a few more bites of our food, paid the check and left. When I climbed into the car, I reached over and patted Sookie's hand. She just looked back at me, "Yeah, yeah, okay, you were right. Don't gloat!" I looked out the driver's window so she wouldn't see my smirk, but she knew it was present. She slapped my arm, "Let's just go home."

Home. It sounded so unassuming, and yet, for me, for us, it was anything but. We were heading home, for the first time, to the same house. I smiled to myself and looked over at Sookie. She gazed out her window, not noticing my look. I wondered if the same thought had entered her head. The ride home was only about twenty minutes, but I noticed Sookie nodding off before we rounded the last corner. Poor girl, she'd had a rough couple of nights. I'd put her to bed as soon as we got back.

After helping her out of the car and into the house, I told Sookie we were going straight to bed. We'd had very little sleep the night before, and couldn't really afford another late night. She didn't argue the point. Going to the bathroom, she removed her makeup, brushed her teeth, and pulled on a nightgown. When she slipped into bed next to me, she snuggled in close. "Ummm, Eric, it's going to be so nice having you right here every night. Right here for me to …." As she spoke, she began to run her hands over my chest and upper arms. Oh, man, this woman was going to kill me.

"Yes, Sookie, it's going to be great. Now, you need to get some sleep, so stop this, and settle in," I tried to gently pry her hands from my body.

"Come on, Eric, just a little," she mewed like a kitten, but had to stifle a yawn at the same time.

"Not now, lover. Now close your mouth, close your beautiful eyes, and sleep. If you're a good girl, I'll reward you in the morning. I'll still be here then, remember?"

Already well on the way to dreamland, she murmured, "You're so mean to me."

"I know," I said, kissing her forehead, and pulling her close before snuggling in to the pillow for sleep.

I woke up, warm and…well, ready, before the alarm sounded. Judging from our position in the bed, neither of us had moved much during the night. I began kissing Sookie's hairline, forehead, and cheeks. She finally began to stir, emitting a low moan, and moving her hips seductively. She still hadn't opened her eyes, so I wasn't sure whether she was fully awake or not. I moved to her mouth and kissed it slowly. She responded, so I pressed more deeply, using my tongue to part her petal soft lips. She was awake now! She began to return my kiss in earnest, our tongues searching each other's depths. My hands roamed under her nightgown to caress her stomach, her breasts, her hips. Still she moved against me, and I lowered my hands to her butt, pulling her hard against me. When my erection pressed against her stomach, she opened her eyes and said, "Oh, good morning, Mr. Northman!" I couldn't stifle my laugh. I kissed her again, rolling her over on to her back, and lifting myself to rest on my elbows over her.

"Ready for your reward?" I asked, letting my eyes bore into hers. She only nodded in response. I lowered my face to hers, kissing her again, and slowly entered her. We moved together expertly. When I felt her body reaching its crescendo, I deepened my thrusts and felt her walls tighten around my aching member. My own release followed hers almost immediately. At just that moment the clock radio blasted us back from our euphoria. We held each other, laughing hysterically.

I showered and dressed while she made breakfast. Greeting me with a cup of coffee, she called my attention to the fresh fruit she'd cut, and told me I could make toast, or have oatmeal, as she had. I told her I'd take care of myself, so she could take her shower. The sun was beginning to turn the sky gray out her kitchen window, as I thought about the day ahead. It should be a fairly uneventful one. My meeting yesterday had been successful, and assignments had been made to delegate the upcoming projects, freeing me to spend more time with my pet project: Making Sookie Happy.

As I smiled over my mug of steaming coffee, Sookie came up from behind and placed her hands on my shoulders, "I'm glad you decided to move in, Eric. This just feels so right."

I leaned my head back for a kiss, and replied, "To me too. But I'm not quite 'in' yet. Your car is still full of boxes. How about we ride in together today?"

"Sounds good. I'll be ready in about thirty, okay?" she said, heading back to bathroom.

"Perfect. I'm going to get the rest of the stuff out of the Corvette," I cleaned up the kitchen and walked out to the car. There was a pickup truck, a large white one, idling on the other side of the street. It wasn't light enough yet to make out the driver's face, but it took off immediately, squealing the tires as it went. Eh, some neighborhood teenager, I thought, and carried in the remaining items from my car, placing them in the floor of the bedroom.

Sookie came out of the closet, dressed and ready to go. Yes, this was good, this was right.