Chapter 12: Gimme Three Steps
"You have plenty of courage, I am sure," answered Oz. "All you need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty." –L. Frank Baum
SPOV
I fell asleep in the car on the way home. I felt like such an idiot for letting things get so blown out of proportion earlier in the day. I completely overreacted to what was a nice gesture on Eric's part and I felt awful for it. But I was glad he called me on my bullshit instead of letting it slide the way previous boyfriends would have. Actually, previous boyfriends probably would have called me a bitch and broke up with me.
Maybe that's why I did it. Maybe I needed to see if he would stick around. Oh that couldn't be good. He loved me and I knew it. I felt it every time he looked at me. Why did I need to stir up petty drama? Maybe I should be in therapy.
"Sookie, we're home," Eric shook my shoulder gently when he pulled into his garage.
I yawned and stretched as best I could in the passenger's seat. "Already?"
"Come on, we can go right up to bed if you want," Eric promised me and it sounded like the best thing I'd heard all day.
Getting out of his car always sucked but it was even worse when I was half asleep and wearing a dress. Eric grabbed the containers of leftovers Della had sent us home with and then led us into the house. Eric went to the kitchen with the leftovers while I trudged upstairs. Granted I'd done a lot of physical activity in the last forty-eight hours, but I'd managed to get my eight hours the night before, not to mention all the little catnaps between rounds yesterday.
Why the hell was I so tired?
I didn't even want to get undressed. I just wanted to climb into bed and pass out. But I forced myself to take off my dress and hang it up. I was going to have a ton of stuff to take home with me the next day. I'd only been at Eric's for the last day and a half and it felt like I had enough clothes for a week chilling around his bedroom. Oy.
I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and washed my face. By the time I got back to the bedroom, Eric was already stripping the bed of our dirty sex sheets—good thinking, boyfriend- and putting fresh ones on. "Need some help?" I yawned.
"I got it," Eric said without looking up as he tucked proper hospital corners in at the foot of the bed.
I smirked at the idea that he probably would have dropped the mattress on his hand if he saw me standing there in my hot pink bra and panties. I didn't even consider putting on pajamas. There wasn't much point. Assuming Eric didn't end up taking them off for me in the middle of the night, I was going to have to shower in the morning. Why not save myself the extra step and just sleep naked?
Besides, I'd kinda discovered I liked sleeping naked. Why I'd never given in a shot before, I wasn't sure. Maybe it was because my brother was allergic to knocking, even after he moved out of Gran's house. It never occurred to him that I might either be naked, or with someone when he just let himself into the house. Lord help me if he ever walked in on me having sex. Talk about permablush.
I pulled off what was left of my clothes and that definitely got Eric's attention. "How am I supposed to let you sleep when you're all naked?" Eric narrowed his eyes at me.
"Would you rather I get dressed?" I arched an eyebrow at him. "Besides, you can control yourself. I have faith in you."
"It'll be a lot easier if you're not naked," he grumbled and then flopped back onto the bed.
"Fine," I shrugged and headed for my bag. "I'll put a nightgown on."
Before I could get the cotton over my head, Eric was grabbing me around my waist and pulling me back to bed. "Don't you dare."
I laughed and dropped the nightgown on the floor. He was incorrigible but I'd goaded him. I should have known better.
"Now I can reinstate my 'no clothes in bed' policy," he wiggled his eyebrows at me and I rolled my eyes.
"Seriously?"
"Fuck yes!" He nodded with wide eyes.
"Fine, so long as you realize that naked time does not mean you get to sex me up whenever you feel like it." I looked him dead in his eyes.
"I can live with that," he leaned in and pecked me on the lips. "Besides, just looking at you is fun for me."
"Careful, sugar lips, that sounds like a line," I snorted.
"Sugar lips? Veto," Eric shook his head.
"Poodle?"
"Fuck. No." He glared at me and I laughed.
"Cuddle bug?" I suggested and he didn't flat out reject it. Did we have a winner?
"Just don't use it in public," he relented when I made puppy dog eyes at him.
"What about snuggle bunny?" I teased and the narrowing of his eyes in my direction told me I was pushing my luck. "I promise to only call you that around your guy friends."
Yeah, I got pounced after that. So much for going to sleep early.
o.O.o.O.o
My alarm went off waaaay too early the next morning. I was cuddled all nice and warm against Eric and then that damn alarm started chirping on the nightstand on my side of the bed. I groaned and blindly reached for the phone. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to reach it from where I was laying. Lucky for me, I was in bed with Stretch Armstrong, and he was able to reach it just by rolling over me a little.
Hello, morning wood, it's nice of you to make an appearance again today.
While I would have preferred staying in bed and helping Eric deal with his not so little problem, I really couldn't be late for work again so soon. Dr. Ludwig wasn't a total slave driver but she didn't like anyone taking advantage of her either. I reluctantly got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom to shower up. I had little finger shaped bruises on my hips that had sprung up overnight but I wasn't surprised.
Things had gotten a little crazy after Eric pounced on me and the fact that I wasn't walking with a limp was a bit of a shock. The hot water felt good on my slightly sore muscles but I didn't let myself linger for as long as I wanted to. God only knew what traffic would be like on I-20 and I was going to have to stop for coffee on my way to work. Half the time I tried to use Eric's much fancier coffeemaker, it didn't work right and I ended up with a mug full of sludge. I liked my coffee strong, but I had my limits.
I combed out my hair and pulled it into a French braid fast as lightning. I didn't bother wearing makeup to work since I was around sick kids all day and I'd already been peed on by more than a dozen baby boys. No point in getting dolled up for that. I put on my favorite Mickey Mouse scrub top and a pair of matching hot pink drawstring pants. I climbed up onto the bed beside Eric and brushed some of his hair away from his face.
"Eric, I'm leaving in a minute. I'll call you later, okay?" I whispered near his ear and he grunted. I kissed him softly and then jumped off the bed before his ninja quick arms could pull me down on top of him.
I gathered up the things I absolutely had to take with me that afternoon and decided the gown I'd worn on Friday wasn't one of those things. I made a mental note to buy a second charger for my phone so I could leave it at Eric's place. Unplugging it was a real bitch. Eric rolled over behind me and not two seconds later, he was pinching my ass.
"Hey!" I glared at him over my shoulder.
"I'm not even going to try and apologize," he said with a sleepy smile, his eyes still closed.
"Yeah, I know you're not." I shook my head and gathered up my stuff. "Sweet dreams, puddin'!" I called out over my shoulder as I headed down the hall.
"Veto!" He shouted back and I laughed all the way down the stairs.
Traffic on I-20 wasn't too bad and even though I stopped for coffee and a bagel, I had about ten minutes to spare when I got to the office. Already there were a few patients waiting outside for their appointments. If Dr. Ludwig was running late, which she usually was on Monday mornings, they were going to be waiting a while. As always, sick kids waited in one waiting room and the healthy ones waited in another. I don't know how much good it did, but I guessed it probably helped a little to keep them separated.
The day went by relatively quickly, considering the fact that Dr. Ludwig was fifteen minutes late getting to the office. It never ceased to amaze me how fifteen minutes could put us behind by more than two hours. There were three other nurses on staff, as well as a receptionist. Claudine was the only one I would consider spending time with outside of the office. We went to lunch together once in a while, when the schedule permitted, and had been in charge of organizing all office parties. Tanya and Amanda preferred to do their jobs and go home so they weren't quite as social. So long as they were good to the kids, I didn't care.
I called Eric on my drive home. He was still at his shop, putting up a shipment he'd been waiting for when I called. "How was your day?" He asked me first thing.
"Well, I didn't get peed or puked on, so I consider it a winner. How about you?" I asked and wished I could kick my shoes off. Even with the amazing massage Eric had given me, my feet were still sore from Friday night. Damn heels.
"Had to kick a couple of kids out of the store today. Apparently they didn't think the whole no smoking thing applied to them," Eric grumbled. Eric didn't like smokers to begin with, and he sure as hell didn't want them in his book store. Couldn't blame him there.
"I'm sorry, sweetie," I pouted for him.
"It's no big deal. I've dealt with worse in the past," he sighed and then said, "I miss you."
Yep, my heart totally melted. "I miss you too."
"When do I get to see you this week?"
"I have dinner plans with Tara tomorrow but how about Wednesday?" I suggested.
"I have inventory on Wednesday." The pout in his voice made me smile.
"Well I could keep you company. I promise to be a good girl and let you work," I said in a voice that completely betrayed my promise.
"Only if you promise to wear a skirt of some kind," he requested. I had a pretty good idea of what he had in mind but I simply agreed. "Then it's a date."
"Yes, it's a date."
"I love you," he told me and I could have kicked myself for not saying it back when I had the chance.
I would not say it for the first time over the phone. Stupid sexy man distracting me from saying the important things instead of things like, "Yes, harder!" Ugh. Sometimes I really wondered where my mind went.
o.O.o.O.o
After work on Wednesday I stopped at home to change out of my scrubs and pack a bag to take to Eric's. I put on a cute little red, white and blue plaid sundress with one of those elastic busts and barely there straps that crisscrossed behind my back. I traded in my sneakers for a pair of flip-flops and just for the heck of it; I slipped on my Gran's ring. I had made the resolution with myself that I was going to stop being such a dummy and tell Eric I loved him already.
Since I was sure Eric had some sort of diabolical plan in mind, I also traded my basic, cotton bra and panties for something a little sexier. I was fully prepared to sacrifice the red lace boyshorts I slipped on to the sex gods if need be. How was it that seven months had gone by and it hadn't seemed that long, and now it had only been two days since the last time I had sex and it felt like two decades? So not cool.
I switched purses since the one I had been carrying didn't match and picked a red one out of my closet instead. It was a pretty, deep red leather bag that matched my dress perfectly. Gran would have been so proud of me. I piled my hair up on top of my head and pinned it in place, leaving just a few wisps down near my face. I brushed my teeth and slicked on a coat of lip gloss before getting back in the car and heading on to Shreveport.
I stopped for takeout Chinese food on my way and figured if Eric wasn't hungry, at least I had lunch for the next day. The shop was already closed by the time I got there. He closed early on the days he did inventory, or so he told me. Usually the place was closed up at six. The store was open later on the weekends, which was when they did the most business anyway.
Eric was behind the counter when I got there, fiddling with his laptop. "Dinner is here if you're hungry," I announced as I walked toward him with a big bag full of takeout.
"Starved," he smiled at me and then groaned when he took in my dress. "You remembered."
"Darlin' I've been thinking about what you've been planning since Monday." I leaned over the counter and kissed him hello. "Work first, play later. Think of it as incentive to finish up."
"You're evil," he narrowed his eyes but then the smell of the Chinese food caught him and he was all about digging through the bag. "Did you get me-"
"Beef with peapods, yes, I did," I smiled at him.
"That's my girl," he kissed me again.
We went over to the vintage couches he had set up for people to sit and read on, and ate dinner together. We ate right out of the cartons with chopsticks, stealing bits from each other's containers as the mood struck us. I filled him in on my dinner with Tara and her insistence that she meet him.
"I think she's excited that I'm not dating a scumbag for a change," I told him and took a drink of my water.
"Have a history with that, do you?" Eric wasn't judging me but then he never did.
"I've made some less than stellar choices where boyfriends are concerned, present company excluded, of course," I winked at him and plucked a peapod from his carton.
"I think we all do that. Makes it easier to spot the right one," he stole a piece of my sweet 'n sour chicken.
I reserved commentary on whether or not Eric considered me to be the right one. He informed me he'd heard from Pam and she was shocked to learn Eric and me were still together. I knew the story about Pam and the history she and Eric shared. He'd stressed the point that whatever romantic history they had was in the past and her stints as a house guest had her sleeping in a guest bedroom only. I didn't have a problem with that.
It was perfectly acceptable for people of the opposite sex to be just friends. I had a few guy friends myself, starting with Alcide. Don't get me wrong, Alcide was a good looking guy, but that didn't mean I wanted to bang him. And since I'd known him for as long as I had, it would have been like boning my brother that's just…ew.
When we were finished eating, I cleaned up while Eric got back to work. The quicker he finished up, the quicker we could get home. I offered to help in any capacity I could but since I didn't really know his system, I wasn't very helpful. So instead, I grabbed a book from one of the shelves and started reading. Music was playing softly and I was on the verge of falling asleep when Eric shook me awake.
"Chow completely fucked up the last batch of counts he did and I have to find about three dozen missing volumes so I'm going to be a while. If you want to head back to my place you can, but I'm going on a coffee run. Do you want anything?" Eric was kneeling down beside the couch.
"No, I'm good. I'll wait here for you," I smiled at him.
"Okay, I'll be quick," he kissed my forehead.
"I love you," I said before I could stop the words from tumbling out of my mouth.
He froze for a second, his eyes meeting mine. "Say that again?"
"I love you. I meant to tell you the other day-" I didn't get to finish because his mouth was definitely all over mine. Sweet baby Jesus, it was one of those almost sloppy kisses guaranteed to make my panties go poof!
"It doesn't matter. I love you, too." He brushed some of my hair out of my face. "I'll be right back."
I lay there on the couch, silently kicking myself for not just telling him sooner but the important thing was that he knew now. My eyes drifted closed again and when I heard the door open a few minutes later, I figured it was Eric. I stayed right where I was on the couch, thinking he would come find me when he was good and ready.
Instead what I heard was the sound of glass breaking in the back. I shot up off the couch, unsure of what to do. Apparently whoever was in the store had no idea I was there. I looked around for a weapon of some sort but the only thing I saw that might do any sort of damage was an old dictionary and if I threw it, whoever was in the shop could shoot me before it hit them.
My gut told me to hide but my body wouldn't follow that command. Instead, I crept along the bookcases and watched as two teenagers pilfered their way through the more expensive comic books that Eric kept locked up. The two boys couldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty. One was obviously Hispanic and spoke with a slight lisp. The other one was taller but it was hard to tell what race he was, exactly. They both had dark hair and eyes. The taller one was twitchy and wearing a Saints jersey. The younger one had a jailhouse style tattoo on the back of his neck but it was hard to make out exactly what it was.
They didn't seem to have weapons on them, but they could have had them tucked under their shirts. I crept back toward the front counter and grabbed my cell phone out of my purse to call 911. The smartest thing for me to do was to hide. Unfortunately, before I could dial out, my phone rang. Big Ten Inch by Aerosmith cut through the silence and I scrambled to stop the sound. Eric was calling.
Fuck! What do I do?
If I answered, the ringing would stop and the boys would probably come looking for the source of the noise, just like they would if I ignored the call. But if I let it ring and left it right where it was while I hid, they could steal my phone and come looking for me anyway. Shit, shit, shit.
Purely on impulse, I answered the call and brought the phone to my ear. "Eric," I whispered but he started talking.
"I'm glad you answered. I just realized I forgot to lock the door. You should be safe but-"
"Someone broke in." I whispered just as the boys came around the corner.
Guns. They both had a gun. Fuck.
"Hang up the fucking phone!" The Hispanic one shouted.
"What the fuck was that?" Eric shouted. "Sookie, what's going on?"
"I said hang up the phone!" The Hispanic one cocked his gun and I ended the call. "Toss it over here."
I tossed my phone toward the two boys and kept my hands up. "I'm not going to fight you. Just take what you want."
"Open the register," the tall one demanded.
"I can't. I don't work here. This is my boyfriend's shop. I'm just here to keep him company," I burst into tears and hoped that wherever Eric was, he wasn't too far away.
"Don't fucking lie to me, lady, now open the fucking register!" The tall one stepped closer to me, waving his gun in my face.
"I can't!" I sobbed.
"Down on your knees!" He shouted with the gun aimed at my head.
It was actually a good thing he gave me that order because my knees were buckling anyway. I got down and kept my hands up.
"Face the wall," he instructed and I felt the muzzle of the gun against the back of my head.
I squeezed my eyes closed and all I could think was that I was glad I'd told Eric I loved him. If I died right then, at least he wouldn't have to wonder about it. Of course, those thoughts only my made me cry harder.
"Please don't kill me," I begged, keeping my face aimed at the wall. "Take anything you want, just don't kill me."
"Give me your ring," the tall one demanded and my heart lurched.
Gran's engagement ring. It was supposed to bring me luck and now, assuming I survived and ever got it back, it would be tainted by this whole experience. All the same, I slipped it off my finger and handed it over.
"The earrings too," the Hispanic one lisped and I reached to take them off once at a time. They weren't worth much but the boys didn't know that.
I was shaking like a leaf and I could hear the roar of Eric's Corvette. I'd know the sound of that monster anywhere. Just when I started to feel some kind of relief that maybe I would get out of this unscathed, I remembered the guns pointed to my head and hoped that Eric wouldn't come rushing in and get himself shot.
But then there was a stinging pain in the back of my head and everything went black. After that, I didn't think anything at all.
Reader: OMG NO! SCROLL DOWN! THERE HAS TO BE MORE! *clicks furiously*
Emmee: Nope, that's it for today.
Reader: But you can't leave it like that! That's just evil!
Emmee: There will be a new chapter tomorrow. I warned you there would be angst.
Reader: *huffs* You didn't say anything about a cliffhanger... bitch.
Emmee: *shrugs*
I have a bunch of research to do today for another project so I won't have time for teasers. Great timing on my part, huh? I swear that's not intentional. However, there really will be a new chapter up tomorrow. Thanks for reading!