Chapter Four

January 1st, 1990

It was the sound of the phone ringing that dragged Jackie back to the land of the living and away from the erotic dream that she had been having. Rolling over to grab the handset, she put it to her ear and moaned, "Hello?"

"Alright, girl, spill it!" Brooke Kelso said, a cup of coffee in her hand as she sat at home while her husband continued to lay in bed recovering from the festivities of the previous night.

Jackie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and struggled to sit up. "Brooke, I've only just woken up and I haven't had my usual morning cup of coffee. That being said, what exactly am I supposed to 'spill' about?"

Brooke grinned as she drank a mouthful of coffee. "My spies inform me that you and Eric were getting all hot and heavy at midnight and then left with him just after the rest of us left the Formans'."

Groaning as she fell back onto the mattress, Jackie growled, "I am so going to kill Fez, Michael and Mr Forman!" Rubbing her eyes again, Jackie then told her friend, "Okay, Brooke, lay it on me. Who said what?"

As she watched her husband finally pull himself and stagger out of bed himself, Brooke replied, "So, it started when I had a frantic call from Fez asking if I knew where you were as apparently you were supposed to go back his place after the party finshed and your car is still parked there, but you never showed up. That's when he mentioned you might not have gone back to his place as you might've still been pissed off at him over something that he and my idiot husband did while blindly off their faces. At that point, Fez realised that he may have said too much and hung up before I could ask anything else. So, that's when I went work on Michael."

Jackie winced. As much as she loved Brooke, she also knew what happened when you got on her bad side. "To be fair, being married to my husband has its own set of unique challenges, but he caved when I threatened to cut him off from all the things he loves and enjoys when it comes to being married to me," Brooke continued. "After finding out about the lesson you imparted to both Michael and Fez about interruptions, which I fully approve of, by the way, I then called Mr Forman who let me know that it was Eric who took you home after it was noticed that you'd had more than your fair share of the alcohol last night."

"Now. The Kiss. Spill."

Spreading out to awaken some very cramped muscles, Jackie relived the moment again as she had done so many times in her dreams. "Brooke, I swear to God, it was a spur of the moment decision, but when his lips touched mine, it was as if lightning had struck me all the way through down to my toes! I mean, Eric and I have been talking quite a bit since we reconnected at that event I hosted six months ago, but I never expected anything like that to happen!"

Brooke was happy for her friend that something good may have finally started to happen for her personally, but she was also worried. The last ten years with everything that Hyde had put her through had really taken a toll and Brooke had become concerned that Jackie might never achieve that one dream she had always wanted: a family and someone to love her for who she was. A torrid love affair-slash-romance with Eric Forman would do wonders for Jackie Burkhart's self-esteem.

"So, what now?" Brooke asked.

Jackie was confused. "What do you mean?"

Grinning, Brooke told her friend, "Jackie, Eric Forman is not the skinny, gawky, awkward teenager that you grew up with back in the Seventies. He's all man now, a lot older and a lot wiser than he was ten years ago and I think he may be in need of someone as well, even if it is only temporary. My advice? See where it takes you and enjoy the ride."

Taking a deep breath, Jackie released it with a sigh. "I'll think about it, Brooke. Lord only knows I could do with a distraction right now." Sitting back up, Jackie said, "You are an evil woman, Brooke Kelso, for putting such thoughts in to my head."

Brooke laughed. "Go have some fun, Jackie. We'll talk soon."

"Bye, Brooke."

"Bye, Jackie."

Hanging up the phone, Brooke smiled as she sat back, drank her coffee and thought about all the good that was going to come of this particular adventure.

Shaking her head to clear out the cobwebs, Jackie got up and stripped off her old cheerleading uniform. Taking off her bra as well, Jackie decided that she needed a coffee and a shower before she would be ready to face the rest of the day and the new year.

Opening her bedroom door, Jackie stepped out and headed for the kitchen. It was that sound that awoke Eric as he lay on the couch. It was the first time in months that he had finally been able to get decent night's sleep and he felt so much better than he had done in a long time. Taking a deep breath in, he exhaled and heard the sounds of coffee being made. Sitting up, he was not prepared for what he saw.

Jackie stood at the kitchen counter with no bra on, totally oblivious to the fact that he was still in the apartment. Remembering the time that they went skinny-dipping as teens all those years ago, it was then that he also realised that she didn't even know he was still in the apartment as she would have dressed more appropriately otherwise. It was at that precise moment that the rest of his bodily functions decide to make their presence felt as well. Grimacing as he knew what had to happen and what his friend's reaction was going be, Eric took a very deep breath and said, "If it helps, Jackie, you've still got it after all these years."

Her eyes widening in shock, Jackie yelped as she ducked down behind the counter. "Eric! What are you doing in my apartment, you perv?!" she growled, caught completely and totally off-guard.

"Sorry, Jackie. Didn't mean to embarrass you." Getting up, Eric picked up his shirt/pillow off the couch and placed it on the kitchen counter. "Use this, Jackie," he said. "I'll turn around so you can put it on."

Peeking her head over the top of the counter, Jackie saw that Eric had left her his shirt for her to wear and that he had indeed turned around. She quickly reached up and grabbed the shirt, throwing it on. Once it was buttoned, Jackie stood up and glared at her friend; her cheeks bright red and flushed. Eric wondered if that was because she was actually embarrassed or for other reasons.

"You still didn't answer my question, Eric," Jackie said, folding her arms across her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"You mean you don't remember?" When Jackie shook her head, Eric grinned. "The alcohol hit you about halfway through the drive home. When we arrived, I carried you from the car all the way up to here, put you to bed and went to sleep myself as I knew I'd fall asleep before I made it back to Point Place. Plus, I was worried about you and wanted make sure you were safe."

Despite being pissed off at Eric for scaring her, Jackie's heart warmed at the thought that he'd been worried about her. It had been a long time since anyone had told her that and she was thrilled to know that it was someone that she cared about as well. Then Jackie remembered something else."How did you get past Faith?" she asked. "She's not supposed to let anyone in who hasn't been signed in by a tenant."

Eric grinned again. "I resorted to bribery. She had my latest book tucked under her arm, so I offered to sign it if she let us in and I promised that you would be down when you got up to sign the register so that she didn't get in any trouble."

Gaspsing with pride, Jackie couldn't believe that this was Eric Forman standing in front of her! The old Eric would never have been able to pull that off when they were younger. This made Jackie only realise even more how right Brooke actually was. This was not the Eric Forman she had known when he'd left for Africa all those years ago. A man had returned in his place and it only made Jackie want to know more about what other secrets that this new and improved version had hidden away.

Suddenly, a cool breeze blew through the apartment and Jackie realised that she was still standing in her kitchen in her panties while wearing Eric's shirt. And she still hadn't had her coffee. "Okay, so what the plan for the rest of the day then, Eric?" she asked. "Any thoughts?"

"Well, the offer I made last night is still good if you're still interested." Eric stretched out the muscles in his arms, casuing Jackie to go weak in the knees again as she quickly realised just how all man Eric really was.

"Wh-what offer was that?" she asked.

"The one where I help you get this place set up. I distinctly remember you agreeing to accept my help when I mentioned about not having anything to do until next week when I left for my interview and the second half of my reasearch trip and you mentioned that you were off as well." Jackie thought for a moment before it clicked as to what he was talking about: their conversation out in his parents' driveway just shortly after that magical kiss they had shared.

Eric could tell that Jackie wasn't completely convinced, so he decided to sweeten the deal. "And, if you'd like, I'll cover all of lunch and dinner while I'm here." When he saw Jackie's eyes light up, it filled him with a level of emotion that he hadn't been expecting. He knew that the last few years had been extremely rough for her, especially after Hyde had put her through. He wasn't sure if she knew that he knew, but Eric didn't want to doing anything that cause her gurther grief or harm. He was definitely interested to see where things were going to lead to.

Jackie was having similar thoughts. It had been a very long time since she'd actually dated and was also interested in seeing where things were going to lead to. Plus, it had been quite some time since she'd actaully gone and had fun for herself and not because of work. Looking at Eric, she smiled and told him, "Alright, I accept."

"Great!" Eric's eyes lit up. "So what did you want to do first?"

Grinning, Jackie said, "Before we doing anything else, I need a shower. Once I'm done, it's all yours." With a cheeky grin, Jackie quickly moved ran for the bathroom before Eric could do or say anything. All he could do, in fact, was stare at those perfect legs and that pert behind that sat peeking out at the bottom of his shirt.

Jackie turned to look back at Eric one last time with that smile on her face before she closed the bathroom door. Once it was shut, Eric finally realised that he was holding his breath and exhaled, wondering if he really knew what he was doing.

Turning the shower on, Jackie quickly stripped off. Throwing her panties to one side, she was about to do the same with Eric's shirt when she remembered the way he'd smelled when he held her in his arms last night. Placing the collar against her nose, Jackie drank in that same smell oine more as if it was an aphrodisiac. Feeling those same sensations in parts of her body once more, Jackie quickly placed Eric's shirt to one side and jumped under the water for a very long cold shower.

Twenty minutes later, Jackie emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her as she went to find Eric. Wondering why it was so quiet, Jackie was surprised to find that he had fallen back asleep in the one seater next to the couch. Quietly walking over, she went to wake him, but stopped herself at the last moment.

It was the first time that she'd ever seen Eric asleep. The view alone was doing things to her she hadn't felt in years. 'Just when I think I have things under control, Eric has to go and do this to me,' she thought. Biting her lip, she was torn between waking him nicely and the desire to throw off her towel and be all over him like a horny teenager. After thinking about it for a minute, Jackie opted to go with a light mixture of both.

Walking over to Eric, Jackie climbed onto his lap and straddled him. Running her fingers through his hair, Jackie traced the lines of his face before making her way down to his chest; feeling the muscles that Eric had gained over the years. Making her way back to his face, Jackie could now see the lines that he had acquired also gave him a level of maturity that she never noticed before either.

Running her thumb across his bottom lip as she remembered the kiss from the night before, Jackie pressed her lips against his. Immediately, that same electricity that she felt the previous night seared straight through her entire body; once again reaching those secret places where she had never, ever expected to feel anything at all.

Eric felt as if he was reliving a dream, only to realise that – this time – the dream was very real. Wrapping his arms around the tiny woman on his lap, arousal surged through both of them. After what seemed like an eternity, the pair eventually came up for air.

The both of them breathing heavily, Jackie traced Eric's jawline with her finger. "So," she said.

Eric nodded."So."

"I don't want to rush into this. The last few years, they haven't been the best for me, Eric," Jackie told him.

"I know," Eric told her. "I haven't really had anyone in my life for quite some time, either. I don't want to rush whatever this is we have either."

Jackie's eyes lit up as she smiled when she heard Eric speak. The words he spoke, they spoke straight to her heart as if lifting a heavy weight off of it. "We'll eventually get to wherever it is we're going, Eric," she told him, caressing his chin with her fingers, "but just remember that the journey there is all part of the fun."

"Well, in that case," Eric replied with a grin, "I suppose I'd best have a shower and get dressed then so that I can take you out for lunch." Kissing each other one last time, Jackie broke the kiss and hopped off Eric's lap. Quickly running for her bedroom, she cheekily looked back and flashed her naked backside at him before closing the door. Groaning as he watched her vanish, Eric headed towards the bathroom with the intention of having the longest cold shower of his life.

Forty minutes later, Jackie and Eric were ready to head downstairs and out the front door for the lunch that Eric had promised. The thing that had surprised Eric was that Jackie'd had quite a lot of mens clothing on hand to supply him with once he'd had his turn at having a cold shower.

As he would be told by Jackie later on when he asked her about it, being godmother to Brooke and Kelso's daughter Betsy had often resulted in a number of nights where a babysitter was quite often needed for a young child when her parents quite often had a date night. More often than not, the Kelsos had been unable to return home after thier night out and would end up staying the night at Jackie's place; wherever it had been located at the time.

After the first couple of times, Jackie had ended up going out and buying a closet full of spare clothing for when the Kelsos came to visit. It had paid off in dividends over the years, especially due to the many ways in which Kelso would often hurt himself and need to be cleaned up afterwards.

Feeling refreshed and ready for whatever came at him, Eric was not prepared for when Jackie came out of her bedroom. Dressed in tight jeans, boots and a cashmere turtleneck top, her hairw was pulled back into a tight ponytail and she wore jewellery and makeup that really highlighted her features, especially her eyes.

When Jackie laid eyes on Eric, her heart almost stopped. He had changed out of he'd worn the night before and look just as drop dead gorgeous in what he wore now. Denim jeans and a nice pale blue button up shirt that he'd left open at the top, plus the boots and his brown leather jacket all made up for one hot stud standing right in front of her. Both of them realise at the same time that, if they weren't careful, they would never get out of the apartment at all.

"So lunch," Eric said, choosin his words carefully.

"Yes. Lunch," Jackie nodded as she grabbed a woolen wrap to cover her shoulders with. Eric pulled out his car keys and the two departed to enjoy the start of what they hoped would be something new and exciting in thier lives.