Chapter 15: Worries
True to his word, Eric had taken me to register the gun in my name. And not too longer after that he took me to a property that he owned. His father had previously owned it but left it to Eric when he passed. It was huge property. There sat a huge castle-like home that had me in awe when Eric's car pulled up to it. He grabbed a duffle from the trunk and with his free hand took a hold of mine as we walked into the castle.
It looked like it needed a little upkeep on the inside but I could tell that Eric had come here recently. He mentioned vaguely that he was hoping to bring me here in the future. "Actually I had been hoping that I could raise a family here," he added and threw me a smile that nearly made me hum with desire.
Of course it was an hour drive from the city and I could see the practicality of Eric's loft versus living here. Though I wouldn't mind living in a place like this, it felt too quiet. There were expensive furnishings that Eric stated he hadn't bothered with since his Dad had passed. A lot of rooms he kept the same so there was probably a year or two worth of dust on things. He showed me a few rooms that looked absolutely breathtaking. One of the rooms he had pulled me towards the window where we could see a nearby lake. On the lake there was also a house that he hadn't stayed at for a while but promised that we'd go there one day, too. This all reminded me of something that Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice would possibly own. When I had mentioned that to Eric, he shook his head and chuckled.
"It would have been better if you said that this reminded you of Wayne Manor."
"Wayne Manor," I asked looking at him.
"Oh come on," he smirked, "Wayne Manor! The infamous home and hideaway for Bruce Wayne," Eric described.
"We're talking about Batman, right," I smiled shyly as he shook his head again before giving me a quick kiss.
"Yes, we're talking about Batman."
"But you're not so dark and brooding. I mean you have your moments," I teased as we exited the room.
We walked through a hallway and took the last door there which led us down a dark set of stairs. When we got to the bottom and Eric flipped on the lights I came face to face with a massive training room. There were weights in one section, punching bags in another, and another side lined with targets - animal, human and circular. Some were made of steel, others of paper and some were wooden.
"Wow," I stated as he let go of my hand and went to switch on another light.
When the lights came on I let out a hysterical laugh and clutched my stomach.
"Yeah okay, you're Batman."
There was actually a little section off to the side that went some steps lower and actually looked like a cave. The walls were covered in smooth stone all around. The floor - no surprise there - was a huge pool of water. In the middle of that cave-like room stood a platform above the water. And on that platform - you guessed it - were three computers and several screens. Eric motioned for me to follow him down the steps towards the computers. Before we touched the bottom step a small stone bridge rose from the water allowing us to cross.
"I'm wondering if you have Alfred hiding somewhere."
Eric shook his head and turned on one of the computers which made a few of the targets back in the upper room move. He grabbed a rectangular shaped glass only to have a voice ask for authentication. To my surprise he placed his hand on it and place where his fingertips were turned green.
"Does it say: 'Welcome home, Mr. Coulter'," I played off in a sensual tone - at least the best that I could manage.
He held it up to show that it only made a chiming sound. "Obviously it does not but," he went to pull me close to him, "I would not mind it at all if you said it."
"Mm," I moaned as Eric pressed his lips to mine.
Target practice was not what I had been expecting. I stuck mostly to the small gun that he had given me in his apartment. He did have me practice with a certain type of semi-automatic rifle. Despite the fact that the gun had little recoil - which Eric explained that most of them didn't have, at least not how it has been dramatized in movies - it still took a lot of muscle to control it. My shoulder and forearm were sore after that. Eric thankfully didn't have me use any more big guns for the rest of the day.
"You catch on pretty quick," he noted and gave his smile of approval as I handed the rifle back. "You did well for your first time."
I nodded and looked back to see that I had hit six out of fifteen targets near the center. "I'm hoping I won't have to use it." I glanced down to my right to see the smaller gun lying on the table, "Or this one either." Turning back to Eric, I asked the million dollar question, "Why does Mr. Marcus want me?"
Eric considered me for a moment and then turned back to the target after reloading the rifle. "Because I have you," he stated plainly.
My body jumped and I let out a squeak as Eric shot at the newly placed targets, thanks to his Batman computer. Each one was demolished before Eric continued to the next. He blew apart at the center, never missing a beat. I watched as the paper and the wooden targets were shattered. The bullets made noises in the metal targets causing me to flinch with every single shot. I looked over once the last bullet shell fell to the ground. Of course he would end up hitting fifteen out of fifteen. I gasped when I felt his hands wrap around my waist.
"I didn't scare you away, did I?"
"No," my voice was a bit scratchy. I cleared my throat and shook my head. "No, you didn't."
He kissed my forehead and released me to clean up the targets once again with the help of the computer. As he was putting the guns he brought out back into their proper spots I couldn't help but think that he really was good at his job. And that was definitely a good reason why his Aunt would want him back.
"He took you to his father's house," asked Edward when I went out with him and Myra a couple days later.
"Sh," I shushed him before turning to see that Myra was preoccupied with the guy at the concession stand. She was supposed to get free popcorn or something like that and apparently they didn't give one to her. If I was the guy, I would have just been done with it and let her have it. "I told Myra some of Eric's past but not all of it and," I turned back to him. "How is it that you know about Eric's father's house?"
"My father was in the same type of business, remember," he smiled and then looked to see Myra still arguing with the guy. "My father actually helped design a lot of the technical stuff for Eric's Aunt. I think he assisted Eric's dad with that house. His Aunt doesn't know about it."
"Your fathers were really close then?"
Edward nodded. "Mine, Eric's and Will's," he answered. "While my father handled the tech, Will's father is someone that they called the 'Practitioner'. If someone got shot or needed to be taken care of, he'd get a call."
"Like a doctor," I asked.
"In a way," Edward's head tilted back and forward.
"What do you mean by that?"
"He didn't just heal people. Sometimes he did the complete opposite."
"Oh," I said turning away.
"I know I shouldn't be interfering but don't give up on Eric just because..."
"I'm not," I shook my head. "I," sighing I waited and took a deep breath. "At first I was hesitant to get to know and not simply because of his past. There was the fact that my supervisor did threaten my job but I've learned to ignore her, mostly because they fired her."
And if you didn't know by now, we had returned to work after Christmas only to find out that Elsa would no longer be working at the Bank. I wasn't sure exactly why she had been suspended in the first place. Mrs. Rodriguez told me that she had some questionable practices but didn't go into detail with everyone. She did tell me - privately - that Elsa should not have told me the things that she did. But I had a feeling there was more to her story.
"I was scared," I continued to explain to Edward. "I had just learned what it was like to stand on my own two feet. Did you know when we first met that I had just been unemployed? And then there I was with a broken car," I shook my head. "My ex had cheated on me with a few different girls. I found out about one of them and then slowly one by one the rest of them all came out. They never confronted me and told me about it but his friend, sister and even his mother knew about the other girls and told me. Things would be less dangerous with him perhaps. At least I wouldn't have been in any bodily harm. But my heart and the rest of me were broken. With Eric though," I paused and smiled. "He is nothing like my ex. Despite the fact that I have some crazy guy and his minions out to get me, stalking me," I rolled my eyes and Edward chuckled. "Eric takes care of every part of me, you know? I can't give up on a guy like Eric."
"I sure hope not."
We both turned to see Eric standing there. He looked casual for once and I couldn't help but smile at how edible he seemed with his dark jeans and black button up. He had rolled the sleeves back to his elbow, causing me to admire his arms for a moment before they pulled me up into him. He planted a kiss on my cheek and then proceeded to sit in the chair I had vacated and motioned me to sit in his lap. I didn't think he was going to be this open with the public displays of affection but when I caught a few women looking our way I was glad that he was.
"Edward," Eric held out his other hand that wasn't around me and shook Edward's hand.
"How you been?"
"Good," Eric commented and then looked at me, "I'm better now though."
"Flattery will not get you into my bed," I teased.
"Will it get you into mine," he murmured, nuzzling his nose in my hair.
Ever since Christmas Eve, I had spent the following week sleeping over at Eric's apartment. And almost every single night of it was spent making love in his bed, on his couch, on the floor or even in the shower. I would go to sleep thoroughly satisfied. And it looked like tonight was going to be no different. Last night was New Year's Eve and we totally missed the midnight hour because we were too wrapped up in one another. I wasn't complaining and neither was he. His mother did call him the night before to inform him that Marcus had a meeting with his Aunt. I almost wanted to take the phone from him and ask her why she didn't wish her son a 'Happy New Year'.
"What did she want," I asked as he crawled into bed and wrapped his arm around my waist.
"My Aunt wants to meet you."
"But does your mother want to meet me," I questioned.
"She's in too deep," he whispered and I knew that he was in pain about the situation. His father had wanted all of them to get out of that life. "She no longer cares about my sister and her granddaughter. There's no reasoning with her any longer."
"Do you think that your Aunt may have manipulated her somehow?"
Eric's fingers that had been tracing along my hip stopped. He shifted until we were both looking at one another. "I had never thought about that. She is developing that serum and..."
"She could have tested it on your mother, perhaps by force or through other means. The only reason why your mother still retains some sense of her old self confirms that it isn't complete. She needs you to finish it, you said so yourself. It could have side effects."
"Such as my mother still being able to comprehend things," he nodded in understanding. "That could explain why she's been slipping." I touched Eric's arm and within seconds his face hardened. "I don't want false hope that she's still there."
"Eric, she's still your mother."
"They met with Marcus. She talked about him as though the incident was normal. He attacked you, tried to kidnap you! They're both sitting there, entertaining this monster like that didn't happen."
"Perhaps they're attempting to settle the situation or telling him to back off. You already expected your Aunt would not accept you back unless you bend to her wishes. Maybe she's doing this to get on your good side. Maybe she's not. We won't know for sure. We can't read minds. We concluded that the only two people who could get us out of this situation was each other and I for one do not intend to let anyone interfere with that. It's a New Year after all," I assured him.
Eric turned to me and smiled gently. "Do you have to be so optimistic?"
"I try," I shrugged. "Now," I shifted both of our bodies until Eric laid back in bed and I straddled his waist, "weren't we in the middle of something?"
He gripped onto my hips and flipped us over as I let out a small giggle. "We're about to be," he smirked before leaning down to kiss me.
There were whispered promises of love and forever, sweet touches that made one feel adored and deep kisses that caused one to float on a cloud. I had never felt so good that I cried from the emotions that Eric could make me feel.
"What are you thinking of," Eric asked breaking me out of the memory of the night before as he continued to hold me close.
I looked at him and smiled. It was the first time I had not thought about Cain in a while. "You," I answered as Edward groaned in annoyance.
"How in the world we ended up with you two on a double date is beyond me," he said.
Eric and I turned to him and just laughed.
Since dinner had gone so lovely with Peter and Christina a couple days ago, Myra had wanted to do another double date - or something along those lines.
"Christina explained it," I told her. "Her and Peter have some issues that I think they'll never settle on so..."
"No, don't tell me that! I want to be able to hang out with Edward's friends. I don't want it to be just me and Edward all the time, you know? I love him like crazy but I don't want him to choose between his friends and me. I mean," she quieted down a bit, "Christina is kind of like that, don't you think?"
"She's nice. A bit out there but she's nice," I shrugged.
"Will is whipped," she moved her hand in a straight line. "He wants to spend time with her then with his friends."
"Wouldn't you want a boyfriend who wants to spend time with you instead of always being with his friends?"
"Yes but I feel that if you do then you control the relationship too much and I think a guy is entitled to have a 'boy's night' just as much as we have 'girl's night'."
"I see your point," I nodded. "Hey, why don't I invite Eric?"
"What," she looked confused.
"Edward gets along with Eric. You even said so yourself that you thought they were friends at one point," I reminded her. I didn't know how much she knew about Edward's father and Eric's father being in the same line of work so I didn't say much about that. "And Edward did confirm that they used to play together when they were younger. I think Eric said their fathers used to like the same football team or something like that," I moved my hand back and forth dismissively.
"Eric Coulter, out of a double date with me and Edward," she stated, still looking confused.
"Yes," I smiled, "he is my boyfriend."
"I know, I know. It's just that," she rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this but he better not be all serious, like how he is when he comes into the Bank. He's a total jerk sometimes."
And that is how we found ourselves on a double date at the movie theater on New Year's Day about to watch Star Wars: Rogue One. None of us had seen it, mostly because Christmas holiday had been busy for a lot of us. With people breaking into my apartment, sending weird text messages and stalking me at the Pit, Eric and I had missed it the opening weekend. Myra and Edward had missed it because Myra had taken Edward to meet her parents. The theater was just as busy and the movie was still number one at the box office, despite some new releases like Assassin's Creed. Hector had desperately wanted me to go with him and his friends to watch it but as I said earlier things were crazy.
"Mr. Coulter."
Eric pulled away from me and smiled brightly. "Myra, right," he asked in a pleasant tone.
Myra was definitely caught off guard. I knew it had a lot to do with not just his casual attire but also his laid-back persona that he was emitting at the moment. I knew Eric could be all business when it came to work. And though I loved to see him looking sharp in his suit and tie, I always swooned seeing him in everyday clothes. This was probably the first time that Myra did. Yes, Edward was a good looking guy but I favored my guy more. The way Myra's eyes looked over him, I could tell that she was also. Gone was the outgoing and fiery tempered girl that I had come to work with and befriend and here was some little teenage girl staring at her crush. That was how I felt when I first went to dinner with him.
"Edward told me that the two of you have been dating a bit longer than Ana and I. It's good to hear that he's found someone that makes him happy," Eric smiled. He really was laying on the charm. I almost had to glance at him to check if he had used some sort of accent too. Or maybe it was just his deep voice that was sending shivers through me.
"I," Myra's mouth opened and closed like a fish.
"How was your trip to Erudite," he asked. "Ana was saying that you two just returned from there. I've been meaning to go back home to visit my family too but last time I went it was merely business. Did you go to see the 'Eye'?"
"Your eyes are beautiful," she murmured.
"Oh my God," I exclaimed. "Forgive my friend; she doesn't know where her manners are!"
"He looks different," Myra shook her head and then blinked her eyes repeatedly until Edward came to stand by her.
"You okay babe," Edward asked her.
I turned to stifle a laugh on Eric's shoulder before planting on a kiss on his lips. I took his hand, making the two of us stand as we followed Myra and Edward to the theater that the movie was showing in.
"I don't think your friend likes me very much," Eric whispered as we settled into our seats.
"Apparently my boyfriend is rather cruel when it comes to dealing with others."
"Me, cruel," he feigned sadness and then leaned down to kiss my neck. "Do you think I am?"
"Mm," I moaned softly.
"What are we," questioned Myra, "in high school? Save the PDA for later," she hissed.
Eric and I both laughed before pulling apart. We watched the movie with minimum interruptions, though at one point I swear his hand did linger too far up my thigh that I almost did tell him that we could leave. I thought to myself briefly that this was the passion that I was supposed to feel in a relationship, the excitement of being in love. I quickly stopped his fingers from igniting something in me and reminded him that we were at a theater and not his house.
Dinner had gone better than the dinner with Peter, Will and Christina. Myra sent text after text asking me if Eric was drunk, high or under some sort of spell because of his friendly demeanor. At the third insistence I replied that Eric was simply in love which made her swoon. Both Edward and Eric turned to her as I let out a laugh and shook my head at her.
It was good to see that Eric was also talking more with Edward. I had a feeling that just as Myra stated her concerns about Edward's friends, that Eric would need some male companionship as well. He didn't have too much friends - other than Brandon and Owen who worked for his Aunt. He trusted some guy named Max and also had some sort of agreement with Tobias. He also relied heavily upon my cousin and knew that he was responsible. But that was mostly from a business standpoint. They looked to be on friendly terms at the Christmas dinner but ever since Dillon told me that he was one of the people convincing Eric to go to a strip club, I tried my best to eye out my cousin every time I saw the two of them working together. Dillon knew all was forgiven but I still gave him hell for it. We are family and that's what we do. And of course that made me realize that perhaps Eric's reliance on my cousin was just that. He trusted Dillon because Dillon was my family.
I was glad that tonight it seemed that Eric had reconnected with Edward. They had made plans to go out the following weekend, either to get a drink or play some basketball - which I did not know Eric was into.
"I like all sorts of sports," he said as we got home that night.
My hands dropped my charger and looked over the closet where he was standing. I had always referred to this place as Eric's apartment; never did I call it 'home'. Well, I thought as I sat down on the edge of the bed. I had said that Dauntless like finally felt like my home on Christmas Eve, a week ago. A part of me was certain that Eric wouldn't have mind the least bit about me making this place 'home' especially since he had basically told me to move in. But at the same time I hated that there a small piece of doubt still lingering in the back of my mind.
"Hey," Eric stood in front of me. He knelt down and studied my face for a moment before reaching his hand up to touch my cheek. "I know what you're thinking."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Every time things are going well between us you space out and think about something bad. Whatever it is that you're thinking, Ana, you need to stop."
I closed my eyes and felt tears starting to form. "You're such a great guy, Eric. I just want this to work so badly."
"And it will. You need to stop finding ways to sabotage this. I'm in this, Ana. I'll give this my all but I need to know it won't be for nothing. Ana," he said my name in a tone that forced me to open my eyes and look at him. "Say it," he whispered this time.
"I'm in this," I replied, giving him a small nod. "I'm in this with you," I confirmed again before our lips met.
I called my father the next day as I was preparing breakfast. He informed me that Jonathan had gotten his job back at. I began to wonder why Cain or anyone in the Banner family would hire him again until my dad explained that the Banners no longer owned the lab. They had three of their sites that were purchased by another investor who let go several of the management members and hired back people who they had previously let go. Jonathan hadn't met the new owners yet but he was assured by one of them on the phone that he would no longer need to deal with anyone in the Banner family, including Cain's Uncle who had owned the place.
"Wow," I responded before letting out a snort. "Serves them right," I mumbled.
"Wildflower," he responded in a reprimanding tone.
"I know," I rolled my eyes though he couldn't see me. "We shouldn't wish harm on others, no matter how ill they are. Although you won't hold it against me if I celebrate this with Jonathan when I see him in April now, will you?"
My father chuckled and I could tell that he was probably shaking his head at me. "No, I certainly would not, especially after what that boy did to you and that his family knew about it. But you shouldn't make a habit of holding a grudge. I thought I raised you better than that."
"You did," I smiled as I set the plate down on the table. "I'm just reveling in the fact that they couldn't hide all of their dirty secrets. I may have been hurt but now I'm healing and it appears that they will be hurting now."
"Speaking about healing, your other brother has told me that you reserved two seats at his wedding."
"Ah yes, I invited my boyfriend to come with me. I thought that he could meet all of you and you all could meet him."
"Excellent idea. How are things going between the two of you?"
I sighed. "My purpose in calling was to speak about it to you. He's an amazing person, Papa. It's just that," I shook my head, "it's like a part of me is waiting for everything to go wrong. And I hate that feeling. I want to get rid of it but I don't know if I can."
"I hate to break it to you Wildflower but I don't know if you'll ever be rid of it until you acknowledge that Cain never cared about you."
"I know he didn't care about me."
"Do you?"
"He wouldn't have done the things he did unless he cared."
"He wouldn't have but baby you're holding on to a person who never was who you thought he was. All you saw was a young man who became your fiancé, who was ready to spend his entire life with you. But he is not that man now, he never was. I know that it's a harsh reality and you've heard it many times before, from many different people. Even after you have deleted the phone numbers, the text messages or even burnt the pictures, it doesn't erase who he was to you - the man you were in love with. But you need to accept that he is no longer that person. He didn't want to fight for your relationship. And a relationship is only worth fighting for if both of you are willing to go to war for it. This man that you're with now, Wildflower, does he fight for you?"
"He does," I answered, "every day."
"Then don't look back," my father cautioned. "You've opened one door but you need to close the other. Don't move things from one room to the next; leave them there where they belong - with him. He wasn't that guy. He wasn't what was right. But you had to go through that to realize what a good guy is. Remember that everyone wants happiness, no one wants the pain. But in order to get a rainbow..."
"You have to deal with the rain," I finished.
"You had to go through that storm, baby girl," he said. "In order for you to know what was bad and what is good. He wasn't the one, all his lies and insecurities that he left you with was just the rain. That wasn't your happiness, Wildflower. It never was. If you say he's an amazing person and that he's willing to fight for you then this is where you give it your all. Believe in yourself; believe that you can make it work. I have a feeling that this man you're with believes that already."
Two arms wrapped around my waist causing me to jump. "He's right you know," Eric kissed my shoulder and held me tightly to him.
"He does believe it," I replied softly as Eric turned me around. He smiled before resting his forehead to mine. "He's more than just a rainbow."
Eric's head moved to press a kiss to my cheek and then my jaw.
"Where does he work?"
"At Faction Engineering Industries with Dillon," I said as Eric kissed my throat.
"That's right I remember you telling me that. He's Dillon's supervisor or something like that right?"
"Yes," I gasped pushing Eric back just as he nibbled on my neck.
He chuckled at my reaction before going over to the kitchen island and making himself a plate.
"Does he get along with Dillon?"
"To a point," I answered. "I'm a little upset with Dillon at the moment. I mean I forgave him about it but..."
"He told you," Eric set down his plate and stared at me. I turned away and that was all the answer that Eric needed.
"But what," asked my Dad.
"His girlfriend and I work together and she told me she was kind of pissed about the situation."
"Don't get involved," he cautioned. "The two of them need to work this out. If she asks you for advice, try your best to stay neutral. Your heart is going to tug you back and forth anyways because on one hand you have your cousin and on the other you have a workmate who I'm pretty sure has become a friend to you. You're going to make calls on your previous situation as well if your emotions run high. You may also come to your cousin's defense. The best solution is if they do ask for your counsel encourage them to talk to one another before talking to other people. They need to communicate and acknowledge each other's feelings."
"Sounds like something Eric would want to do," I said as I looked back to see him still looking at me. "He always tells me to be honest and he'll be honest with me. I need to tell him how I feel or else he won't know anything. He doesn't like secrets."
"There shouldn't be a whole lot of secrets between a couple, though there are some. I still haven't told your mother what I got her for her birthday so," he said as I let out a small laugh and my father chuckled on the other line. "Have you spoken to Peter lately?"
"I saw him a couple days ago. He told me D.C. was boring. He brought me back a shot glass. I'm starting to have a collection of them," I turned away to the shelf in the kitchen where Eric had put up the first one that we had brought from our trip to Candor.
"I meant to ask about the shot glass I had sent up there a couple weeks ago."
"Mm, yeah! Eric was thrilled with it."
"I think you told me it was his father's favorite, right?"
"Yup."
"Well if Eric's father liked that one, then I got a bottle here that Eric might be interested in. It's a classic whiskey, not over the top. It's smooth and has that bite at the end."
"Sounds like something he would like."
"What would I like," Eric asked.
I stuck my tongue out at him and smiled when he rolled his eyes at me.
"Good, I'll have it ready for the two of you when you come up. I'm really looking forward to meeting him."
"He's looking forward to it too. We both are," I said. "I really miss you guys," my voice turned quiet and I felt Eric's hand rub my lower back.
"I miss you too my Wildflower. We all do. I think your mother is hoping that the baby arrives after the wedding so that she can attend. But you never can tell with these things."
"What are you hoping for," was my question knowing that with Joshua and Jimmy Bean my parents decided not to get the ultrasound. They were more than likely going to do the same with this child.
"Your mother wants another boy."
"Good lord do you folks need any more of those," I asked as my father laughed.
"I have a feeling that it is too. I think that one girl was more than enough for us to handle."
"Hey," I protested as he began to laugh harder.
"I'm just kidding with you. You know your mother and I love you. Your mother spoiled you rotten, even after Jensen and Josh were born. You were still and always will be our baby girl."
"Thank you Daddy," I said in a way that made Eric chuckle. Perhaps my father was right and sometimes I had been spoiled by my parents. In my defense though I was the only girl in the family and even though Jensen was just a year younger than - more like months younger than me - I still pretended to be the baby after he was born. And in a family where you have three older brothers it was easy to pout and get your way.
"You take care, you hear me? And all these worries you're having, it's natural to feel that way. But don't keep using that as an excuse to appreciate the good things you have in your life right now. Your brother Jack thought it was too soon for you to get into a relationship but I believe that it happened just at the right moment. He'll help you if you let him. He sounds like a great man, Wildflower. I can't wait to see the two of you. It'll be just a couple months away."
"It will be," I replied. "Thanks for the talk, Dad. I'll call you again next week after Mom's appointment. You can tell me if you're having twins!"
"I sure hope not! Though the gene is there on your mother's side of the family, it could happen. If it does, I'll warn you ahead of time. I love you."
"Love you too, Dad," I replied.
My father advised me to remind Eric that he was coming to meet not just my parents but also six brothers, which I had already done. Eric said he understood that there would be a few threats here and there. He would do the same - and has done the same - for his sister.
"Which reminds me," Eric began as we started to do the dishes. That was something that I appreciated too. There were times after dinner that we would clean the kitchen together or during breakfast he'd volunteer to get the dishes so that I could shower and get ready for work. He never acted like it was a hardship for him. "My sister is coming by while I'm gone."
I had forgotten that in two weeks Eric was going to be in Erudite for work. This time he would be gone not just for a day but for an entire week.
"She knows you're not going to be here," I asked as I dried my hands and then hung the dish towel.
"Yes," he sighed and then turned to me. "She also scolded me for being away from you for too long. So," he smiled softly and lifted his hand to touch my cheek, "I'm going to cut my trip short. I already cleared it with the management there. We hired back a few employees who the previous owners had let go. They know what they're doing so I'll be able to come back."
"That's great," I replied as his lips met mine. I pulled back before he could deepen it. "I was sort of hoping that you wouldn't be gone that long. At the same time, I kind of wanted it so that we could... or I could..."
"See if we could handle being apart that long," he finished for me. I nodded. Eric planted a kiss to my forehead. "I know that I won't be able to handle it. I could barely get through that one night without you. You've become an important part of my life, Ana Summers."
"So are you," I whispered.
"And in no way do I want to sound crude but," he took a step back and smirked, "my dick is going to hate this trip the most."
"Oh God," I rolled my eyes and walked away as Eric chuckled.
Did I ever tell you that ever since our first night during Christmas Eve, Eric and I have been screwing like bunnies? Well, we have been. And that 'screwing' part, I think I picked up from him. Every now and then Eric would let a few curse words fly. I wasn't used to it. My parents didn't raise me in such an environment and I informed Eric of that once - yes just once - and now he'll apologize for it or try to come up with his own words. I tried to get him to say 'donkey' but he said that wouldn't work.
"Why not," I asked him that night.
His hands left my waist and squeezed softly around my butt. "Because saying that my girlfriend has a nice donkey doesn't sound right at all," he answered with that tantalizing smile before he rolled on top of me.
"Hm," I sighed happily pulling away from his lips. "Are you sure you're real, Eric Coulter," I ran one hand through his hair and let it rest on his neck as he smiled at me.
"I thought we established that I'm Batman."
We both shared a laugh until I felt his lips on mine again.
"What are you thinking of this time?"
I shook my head to see him standing in the doorway to his bedroom as I tried to put on my clothes to get ready for work. If I didn't hurry, he'd end up taking them off with some excuse that we had a few minutes to spare - which we never did.
"About what my Dad said," I responded while buttoning my blouse. "About us," I added walking over to him. "It's natural to be worried and we will have problems, every relationship is not without its problems. But a relationship is only worth the fight if we're both willing to go to war to protect it. I want to protect this one more than I ever thought I would and," I took his hand in mine giving it a small squeeze which he returned. "And I know I have someone who wants to do the same."
Eric smiled. "I want to meet your ex."
"What," I asked wondering where he was going with this.
"I want to meet him and thank him for being a fucking ass to you," he said with a slight growl. "It gave me the opportunity to show you how you should be treated," his tone softened and he pulled my body against his.
"Now when you say things like that, I seriously doubt that you're real," I teased. "You really are too good to me," I said softly as our lips met.
"Yeah, well you're worth it," his lips moved against mine.
I hated that I was still scared but what I loved about it was that Eric would come in and chase those fears away. I had made it to work just in time and I think you know the reason why. After work at the Bank, I went to my shift at the Pit where we had another huge party come in and I was put on Lauren's crew. She did ask me for advice because lately her and Dillon had been arguing and she didn't know if it was because of the whole strip club incident or not. I told her what my Dad said and what Eric has been insisting that he and I do - be honest and explain your feelings. It was right after we were closing and I spotted Eric waiting outside that I realized when Eric returned from Erudite he decided to tell me about the strip club and how he didn't want to go because he knew how I'd feel. He was definitely going to fight for me, fight for our relationship. As if the fact that he took me target practice and to the gym wasn't enough already, but this time I knew that this man would protect me. It was good to feel so safe.