"Jason stop!" Sookie screamed. Jason was looking to start kicking so she threw herself over Eric.
"Jason we can explain." Eric said finding his bearings again after the shock of getting knocked on his ass by Sookies brother.
"Explain what? How do you explain stealing my sister away and marrying her after knowing her only a month?" Jason seethed. Sookie was draped over Eric and not moving so he had no option but to stop trying to beat the object of his hatred.
"What, a month? Jason I've known Eric 6 years. That's not the point though. We can explain this. We aren't really married, well, we are, but not really. Just please stop and let us explain." She said trying her best to stay calm herself. "Please go sit on the couch and cool off for a few minuets then we can talk."
Jason nodded, but not before he reached over and knocked Erics wallet, keys, watches and cufflinks that were on the table by the door on the floor in one last petty move. Sookie just had to roll her eyes, of course he had to do one more thing. Ever the need for the last word.
"Eric are you okay?" She whispered.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Wasn't expecting to get laid out by your brother, but fine. This whole situation has really just not gone how I thought it would. What google alert? Why would us getting married be news?" His eyes went wide "Jonas made a press release." Sookies hands went to her mouth.
"Oh my God, so like everyone knows. Northman Studios isn't small Fries! This is actually news news." She whisper screamed.
"Its okay, its going to be okay. Lets focus on Jason. One calamity at a time." Eric said rubbing his hands up and down her arms. Sookie led Eric into the kitchen and made a baggie full of ice for his face. She was shaking and he felt terrible.
"Im so sorry Sookie. We can undo this, we'll undo it. I don't know what I was thinking." He said.
"No, its just…. You're famous."
"Im not famous, I'm notable." He corrected in a business tone.
"What's the difference?" She said exasperatedly.
"Most people don't recognize me." He said still trying to sooth her.
"I guess you've always just been, you know, Eric and it never really registered in my brain what the state of your real life is." she said deflating.
"Listen, you are one of the few people to have ever seen the real me. In these walls, that's me. The rest of it isn't my real life, that's smoke and mirrors and a big reason this all started was I didn't want to be going in any further." She nodded and he pulled her in for a hug. She broke away and took his hand leading him to the couch where everything that was obviously Erics in the living room had been pushed to the floor. They sat down and Sookie handed Eric the ice and said.
"Jason, I need you to promise to listen to me. No jumping to conclusions."
"Ill try." He said in a tight tone.
"No, you'll do it or I'll beat you with that fireplace poker." She said, the look on her face was dead serious. Eric took note, do not piss off Sookie and hide the fireplace stuff.
"Fine."
Eric and Sookie spent the next two hours explaining in detail how this whole situation came to be. He was now far more relaxed and had accepted Sookies offer to go make him a plate of food and get him some sweet tea. When it was all said and done he wasn't thrilled, but he understood.
"Listen, while you two were whispering in the kitchen after I got here my agent called. They are asking me to make a statement on y'all gettin' hitched. We're all in this now so what do I say? I aint sayin' I wasn't there." Jason said, now more resigned to just play along. At least for Sookies sake. She seemed like she really wanted to be doing this for some reason.
"Umm, just say walking me down the aisle was a bright spot after losing our Gran and that you are happy for us, or something like that." She said.
"I would'a come Sook, fake court house wedding or not. I would'a come. From now on, please full disclosure. We shared a womb for God's sake. Please let me know what you're doin' and definitely let me know when guys who have massive crushes on you rope you into elaborate schemes to evade their parents. I hated finding out news about you online instead of from you." Sookie made a series of nervous noises and said.
"Eric doesn't have a crush on me. You're, stupid." She started giggling "stop it you're so dumb, oh my God." Eric just sat there looking contrite, staring Jason in the eyes. He was uncomfortable with just how much Jason had seemed to deduce about his feelings for Sookie. To say he has had a crush on her for a while would be an understatement. He initially broke up with Sophie because it got to a point he couldn't stop thinking about her and started going way out of his way to have opportunities to speak to her, including walking out on dates with Sophie on several occasions. Its why he had her picture on his desk and told everyone she was his girlfriend. He could have made someone up, but no, he picked her because he wanted her.
"I mean it Sook, talk to me, include me." Jason said with urgency in his voice reaching to hold her hands.
"Okay, I promise. Please don't come in punching Eric again." Jason shook his head.
"Nope, I'm not sorry this time and i'll do it again if I need to." Eric just shook his head nodding holding his ice pack on his face and said
"Noted." Jason got up and said.
"I gotta go, I'm playing the Braves day after tomorrow. I wasn't plannin' on coming out here and the team doesn't exactly know I did. I love you." Sookie stood and hugged him. Eric stood and held out his hand and Jason slapped it away.
"Oh no, Buddy. I'm still in a 'fuck you' mood about you. You can go eat shit." Sookie gasped and said.
"Jason, apologize!" He shook his head.
"No way, I love you and ill talk to you later." He hugged her one more time and pointed at Eric "you can get fucked." Eric just shrugged. There was really nothing he could do in this moment, but it really upset him that her brother hated him. Sookie thought her brother hung the moon so it was really important to him that Jason liked him, which he does not. They walked Jason to the door and saw him out. When they got back inside Sookie looked at Eric and said.
"I'm so sorry. I'm real embarrassed." Eric shook his head no and said.
"No don't apologize. I deserved the punch and I should have made sure he was at least semi in the loop. He and I are both 'newsworthy' people. I should have anticipated it. In fact, Amelia had mentioned that my father might make a press release, but I ignored her, which as we all know is always a bad idea." Sookie nodded
"Thats for sure. She's always 6 steps ahead on everything. She gave me a tissue the other day before I even knew I needed to sneeze." Sookie took a deep breath "I'm sort of over today, I'm going to bed." She turned and went up stairs. At the top of the stairs she turned and said "are you coming?" To Eric. He scrambled to get his phone and lap top and quickly locked the door and set the alarm.
"Yeah, I'm coming." He said.
Was she sleeping in his room again? She tended to do that when Pam was out for the night. Did Jason putting his crush on her out in the open make things weird? I mean, yes they are already married and living together and living through a very elaborate scheme based on about 3 dozen lies he crafted over multiple years, but did that mean he could never have her? Was it a terrible idea to try something and potentially lose everything he has with her? He still hasn't forgotten that kiss from the elevator. In fact, it's his very favorite thing to think about. Did a small part of her actually want him or was it all just a show for the camera? His thoughts must have been playing on his face when he walked into his room and saw Sookie getting ready for bed, because she said.
"Penny for your thoughts?" He shook his head deciding on what to say. He decided to go with what he felt was the least risky.
"Why did you make out with me in that elevator?" She looked nervous.
"Poor impulse control?" She said with a question in her tone. He smiled.
"So you have impulses to kiss me?" She walked right up to him, now in he pajamas which was just a loose fitting tank and shorts and said.
"Listen, yes sometimes." Eric beamed at her "its embarrassing, but Jason wasn't on point saying you had a crush on me. I have the crush on you and I don't know, I agreed to this whole thing because I really really started liking you even more when we started spending time together in person. Now we're in a really weird position and now I'm saying really stupid stuff right to your face." She started turning beet red "I'm embarrassed and my brother punched you!" At this point she was so embarrassed that she started crying and covering her face.
"Listen, why would I make you make fake wife if I didn't have feelings for you?" Eric stalked over to her tossing the ice on the dresser. "Ill tell you something. when I initially broke up with Sophie before Jonas got involved I did it because I was thinking about you all the time. I couldn't wait to have an opportunity to talk to you again and I walked out on numerous dates with her because I got that opportunity." her breath caught in her throat.
"But you're so handsome, and successful. You have all manner of beautiful women at your reach. I'm just, Sookie."
"The fact that you are "just Sookie" is the whole reason I like you. You are beautiful, you always have been." He said and sookie scoffed.
"We both know that's not true." He grabbed her face and lifted it to look at him.
"Yes, you have been. I didn't even know this is what you looked like now when this all started. I have always found you beautiful. I'm never taking that picture off my desk. Its my favorite." She looked down again.
"I wish you would, I was so fat then and awkward." Eric pulled her into him and said.
"You mean beautiful, happy, full of life and just radiating joy." She buried her head in his chest and sighed.
"Pam really hates the idea of us being anything other than friends."
"Im getting that from her too. How about we just take everything said tonight as information gathered and tuck it away for later." He said. Sookie nodded and added.
"She doesn't know I sleep in here when she's out, or that we kissed and this whole conversation should probably also go in the basket with all that other stuff we don't tell her." Eric nodded agreeing.
"Okay, so we'll have our relationship and you guys have yours. I'm sure you don't tell me everything you and Pam do and say." Sookie thought on it for a moment as she got in bed and said
"Yeah, I mean we definitely don't tell you everything. I'm sure she's off having personal stuff with Amelia that I won't know."
"Exactly, we're cool. Its all cool. Cool cool cool." Eric said as he got in and used his phone to turn all the lights off and close the blinds. Sookie giggled
"Ill never get over you being able to control the house from your phone."
"Want me to set it all up on your phone?" He asked. Sookie scoffed and said
"No, but thank you. Ill just keep using light switches like a peasant."
They both laid in the dark for a while silently. Occasionally, one of them would stir. Finally, Eric broke the silence and said.
"So, how bad are your impulse control issues overall?" She giggled.
"Pretty bad."
"Can I make them worse?" He asked rolling over to her.
"I don't know how much worse it gets from humping you in and elevator." She could see his faint smile in the dark.
"I haven't heard the word hump since I was in high school." She giggled and said
"Well, there's no other way to describe what I did to you." He shook his head and said.
"Not to me, for me. I loved it." She giggled again.
He couldn't resist anymore, he leaned over her and captured her mouth. He positioned himself over her, his arms sliding all over her. Her legs came up and wrapped around him. They were passionate and furious, until they heard the alarm go on and someone turn it off. They heard laughing down stairs. They shot away from each other and Sookie went to run out of the room only stopping to turn and whisper.
"This time you humped me." She went out shutting his door softly and went to the stairs to see Pam and Amelia. An obviously drunk Pam came and waved from the bottom of the stairs and said.
"Sookie! We have champagne! We're going swimming come with us!" Sookie smiled and went to get in her bathing suit.
Meeting them outside they drank their champagne, laughed and generally had a good time playing in the pool like kids. Eric occasionally looked down at them from his bedroom. He was irritated at Pam for breaking up their kiss and making him have to sleep alone, but he also loved hearing Sookie have so much fun. He thought about going downstairs, but he thought watching his assistant and his sister make out would be too weird or make Amelia uncomfortable because he is at the end of the day her boss. Sookie also had a crush on him, they had kissed or "humped" as she put it twice. He had the entire weekend to sit with this information before he had to be back in on Monday. He started making plans to ask Sookie to come have lunch with him on Monday, you know so she could put in some wife appearances.