The Games We Play

by cembria

Sookie and Eric are from rival families and meet when he is sent to seduce her. How will they make the strife between their families work for them? Nerdy Eric, Magic the gathering D&D playing, batman loving nerd. EPOV AH/AU oneshot

"He did it again! That son of a bitch!" I heard my father scream from his office. He could give me 3 guesses, but I would only need one to know who the son of a bitch he was screaming about was. I got up from my desk and slowly walked into his office like I was approaching and agitated animal in the wild.

"Stackhouse?" I asked tentatively.

"Of course its Stackhouse! That man has been stealing things out from under me since college. First it was Michelle, then the internship, then the job at Area 5, now its…" MY father was going on a tirade about his nemesis, but I really needed him to get to the meat and potatoes of the problem so I interrupted him.

"Every other bid we make, I get it. He's a Wiley son of a bitch who has been fucking with you since you were 19. Now what happened?"

"He snapped the De Castro account right from under me. I have been courting that for months, then boom, they take a meeting with him and they decide to go with him instead." My father said as he flopped in the chair running his hand through his graying blonde hair.

"What do you want me to do about it?" I ask crossing my arms.

"There is only one thing he truly loves in this world, I want you to fuck with something of his." He said with venom in his tone.

"Michelle?" I ask confused, my Dad had been bitter about Corbitt Stackhouse stealing his college girlfriend for almost 40 years.

"No, that ass hole cheats on her constantly. I'm talking about his daughter. Seduce her, break her heart." I pull back and squint my eyes and stare at him a little shocked. Now I'm no saint. In fact, I'm not even a good guy. I have left a trail of many a broken heart because I don't commit to a single woman no matter how many times we've gone out. I was non exclusive to the point of refusing to have sleep overs with a girl named Tara for two years before she finally had it with me, once. However, this seemed especially wrong even by my standards.

"I don't know if thats a good idea." I said shaking my head still making a face.

"It's a great idea, it's the only idea. He doesn't care about anything else. Not even that dunce son of his. The only thing he even gives half a fuck about is that girl. Eric, I need you to do this." He was almost pleading now and I rolled my eyes.

"Can't we just poach another one of his accounts?" I asked hopefully.

"No, it's just tit for tat at this point. I need to bring him to his knees, Son." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I could at least feel it out, meet the girl then come back and tell him she wasn't interested. She had a boyfriend or husband for all I knew. Cheating was not something I was going to do or participate in. My own fathers cheating sent my mother spiraling. Where as I understand suicide is a symptom of a larger mental health issue. No one can cause a suicide, the conditions he caused in their marriage was certainly a factor in my mind as to why she took her life.

"I'll meet her, but if she isn't interested, or taken theres nothing can do." I said, letting out a huge annoyed breath.

"Perfect, she owns a store that sells herbs and rocks or something." He said waving his arms and turning his computer monitor towards me. I leaned forward and looked at the screen. Brew Ha Ha was the name of her store. It sold tea and tea blends as well as new age magic crap. He smiled for a moment. Brew Ha…. Bruja was Spanish for witch or enchantress. Not sure how many here in Louisiana would get it, but he thought it was a clever play on words. It could be perceived both way because Brew ha ha was its own thing too.

Cute, I thought.

"I'll visit the store and strike up a conversation. No promises." I said standing up.

"Go now." He barked.

"I cant, I have work to do. Its one o'clock." Giving him an 'are you stupid' look.

"Don't look at me like that." He yelled at me, which was fair. "This is your top priority now. I'll have Sam maintain your accounts for now. Lord knows your brother is useless for much else." He said with disgust. Sam may not have been the smartest, best looking, tallest or most athletically inclined, but he really didn't have to talk about him like that.

"Be nice to Sam or I'm out on this right now." I said using my leverage to get something for me out of this.

"Theres nothing to be nice to…" he whined like his oldest Son was shit on the sidewalk making me roll my eyes.

"I mean it, stop treating him like shit or I'm not doing anything beyond my job description show you." I seethed, steeling my body and talking a wide threatening stance.

"Fine. Now go meet the girl." He pleaded shooing me out of his office. With yet another sigh I walked back to my desk and grabbed my keys and phone and headed out to go buy some tea or eye of newt under false pretenses.

When I pulled up to the store it was obvious it was owned and ran by an eclectic person. The outside was made to look like an old timey brick alley, despite being part of a strip mall. The entire store was every magical trope and stereotype. All of the different loose teas were in tiny cauldrons, there was indeed a magical rocks section that had little placards that said what each rock was supposed to do. There were little bottles of elixir, but it turned out those were mostly different things for health and most were loaded with CBD and different legal forms of THC. I smiled a little that I was trying to seduce some witchy little pot head. Hanging dried plants and the odd decorative taxidermy rodent were the chosen decor. The lighting was rather dim and everything was dark colors. The whole place was giving witch in the forest.

"Can I help you?" I jumped a little at the sound of the soft voice behind me. I was so lost taking in everything going on around me I didn't notice her come up behind me. I turned around and took in the sight before me. My eyes probably went wide, because she was HOT. She was short, well everyone is short to me, but she was short in general. She was wearing a gauzy white dress that hung off her shoulders with wide sleeves. She was very obviously not wearing a bra. She had tons and tons of thick, curly, long blonde hair. Her eyes were big and blue, she wasn't wearing too much makeup, just enough to accentuate her naturally pretty face.

"Hi…." I said like an idiot, but it was all I could get out. She had clearly already cast some kind of stupefying spell on me.

"Hi." She replied back with a huge smile. "Can I help you?" She asked again, in her stupid, evil, sweet, soft light voice that I loved and hated already. I wasn't doing this to her. My brain was screaming at me to just leave her alone. My mouth apparently didn't get the memo because it just started just yapping away.

"It's my first time in here. The outside looked really cool." I was bumbling and had lost all of my skills in regards to talking to girls apparently because she melted my brain and it was slipping out my ears onto the floor as I stood here staring at her like a moron.

"Thank you! I did the exterior myself, and the interior, I do everything." She giggled and it was so freaking cute. I needed to leave immediately, she did not deserve this.

"This is your store?" I asked, despite my brain yelling.

LEAVE

LEAVE NOW

DO NOT CONTINUE

"It is. I opened it with my college fund because my father is a dink and just put the money in a trust accessible to me at 18, and didn't put any stipulations on it, he's very disappointed." She said giggling again, but that was fascinating information. She opened this instead of going to college. I wanted to know how old she was without outright asking, so I decided to ask how long she had been open and do a little math, since she implied she opened it at 18.

"How long have you been open?"

"About 7 years."

"So it's been a success, I guess you didn't need college then." I said meeting her smile, and widening my stance to make myself shorter, because I noticed she was cranking her neck all the way to be able to look at me.

"I guess not, he doesn't see it that way because I was supposed to go to school and go become a shrewd, calculating, business woman, willing to fuck anyone in the proverbial ass at a moments notice, and his number 2. He's stuck with my Older brother now instead. You look familiar…." She said cranking her head a little to the side and looking deeply into my face. I know she had never met me, but she was clearly picking up on my resemblance to my father. Which was making me nervous and making the LEAVE warning lights in my head go off even harder now.

"I don't think I've ever met you. I'd love to hear more about this ass fucking though." I said like an absolute idiot who was ignoring ALL on my instincts at this point.

"I only ass fuck my business adversaries, and I do it raw and bone dry." She said with a sly smile making me laugh.

"I'm not sure my ass is ready for that." I was bewitched by her. She was making butt sex jokes. She was so so perfect and I could now never touch her because I had been sent here to fuck her over and the amount of lies needed to make this work would never hold up. I'd lose either way. I'd either never have her and be left wondering for the rest on my life what she was really like below the surface and naked, or I'd find out how great she is and really know what I've lost when it inevitably blows up in my face.

"It's not." She said after looking around my side to peek at my ass making me laugh again.

"I'm such a piece of shit." My mouth betrays me and the thoughts I'm thinking leak out.

"What?" She asks confused.

"I'm Sven Northman's youngest son. He sent me to try to seduce you or some shit to piss off your Dad. I can't do this, I'm so sorry. I have to go." I said turning around and trying to navigate around the displays to get around her so I can run out of the store. Apparently, I picked just wondering and wishing over knowing what I lost when it blows up in my face. It snuck up on me, but not a terrible choice.

"Wait!" She yelled, suddenly appearing in front of me blocking my exit. Sneaking up on me again. Is she a witch, can she teleport? "Will you please join me in my office. I think we should talk." She said meeting my horrified face with a warm smile and reaching out for my hand. When she touches me it feels like she shoots electricity right through me. Before I know it she's dragging me across the store, through a door and into a room with a ton of large cushions in different colors on the floor and a laptop set up on one of those lap trays you use in bed. There were sheer drapes on the walls. The whole room was giving Arabian nights.

"Shoes." She said pointing at my feet as she slid off her own sandals and lounged across a few cushions. I toed off my shoes and left them next to hers and took a seat? Lounge? Went full on giant squid on a beach? I needed like 6 of the cushions under me to lay out like she had and everything else made me feel even more ridiculous.

"This is your office?" I asked breaking the silence while she stared at me. She really had no right or business to be looking so etherial and beautiful laying there.

"Yeah, I mean most of my business is done online. My store front only does 20% of my sales. I mostly lay around back here, do inventory, smoke weed and wait for the occasional looky Lou customer. I pack and ship all my orders from the day before in the mornings, so my afternoons I just mostly chill and watch tv or read."

"I knew you were a lil pot head." I said grinning and still trying to adjust to find a comfortable position.

"It's not something I hide." She shrugged. "You have a lot of limbs." She continued getting up on her knees and helped make me a little pillow nest to lay in, which again I found adorable and I was getting her hot little hands touching me and I finally got to smell her, yes she smelled of weed, but she also just smelled really good. Spicy like cinnamon.

"Better?" She asked after she felt I was sufficiently settled.

"Yeah." I said waiting for her to talk, because I am obviously not pulling the shit I came here to pull.

"Soooooo, I don't work for my Dad for a reason. My Mom has been pulling his strings to mess with your Dad since she was in college and she was manipulating him to do her assignments for her. I however am NOT into bullying people for decades on end and being a flaming hot bitch to men who's only crime was having a crush on me. My mother and I hardly speak unless its a high holiday and I absolutely couldn't get out of it. My father is her glorified lacky. Honestly, it's pitiful. My brother is no brighter than my Father and just goes right along with it too. Just a couple dimwitted extensions of my mother. I don't think your Dad has the wrong idea, just bad execution. " She finished, my mouth was hanging open. I had only heard my Dads version of events. This actually makes me pissed off for him. Corbitt IS a son of a bitch.

"So what do you propose?" I asked, actually pretty comfortable. She reached into a drawer and grabbed a joint and lit it it, taking a deep drag before she offered it to me. I took it and took a puff too. Why not, I had nothing else going on today.

"The real problem here is my mother, being 26 I am being harassed to find a man and settle down. No one would chafe her cootch more than me getting moony eyed over a Northman. It would conflict my father, because if he continued to do her bidding it would hurt me by proximity, because it hurts you. Despite him being a sad, weak, little bitch boy, I am probably the thing he loves the most. He may be disappointed I'm not scheming, conniving and scamming with him, I'm still his baby girl." She finished and my eye brows shot up and she took another drag on the joint and offered it back to me. I took it and thought for a moment while I took another drag.

"So you want to fake date me to fuck with your parents in defense of my father who has been wronged by them for decades?" I asked, the pot was starting to get to my head after I took a third drag so I handed it back to her knowing her tolerance if probably much higher than mine.

"It doesn't have to be THAT fake. We can enjoy our time together. I'm not much of a dater. I started this situation at 18, it has been all on me and my Mother promptly kicked me out and cut me off when they found out. So I had money issues for a few years that were pressing. Now, I am the only person who works here So I'm here 7 days a week. I don't really meet anyone. The last date I went on was to prom and he got drunk and threw up down my back. 95% of my customers are women. The other 5% are gay. You are the first man I have spoken to in weeks. I wouldn't even know how to act, so I don't know… you'd have to do a fair bit of the heavy lifting." She said rambling. She snuffed out the joint and set it on a little tray that looks like a shell and started crawling over to me.

"I've never had a girlfriend. My Dad cheated on my Mom, then she killed herself not long after so I don't commit so I won't break a woman like that too." I said way way too honestly, leaning my head back and closing my eyes which were heavy now.

"Mmmm, I'm sorry. I think you're better than that though. You wouldn't fuck with me under false pretenses. You are honest and have integrity." She said crawling into my pillow nest and on top of me. I kept my head back and eyes closed, but I wrapped my arms around her small frame and held her to me.

"Okay." I said just holding her while she rubbed on me.

"We should have talked, THEN smoked." She giggled on top of me.

"Yup." I said with a smile, my eyes still refusing to open.

"Wanna be my first kiss?" She whispered at me like she plotting a coup.

"Theres no way no one has kissed you. You're too hot."

"I've been away from the male population my whole adult life. There has been no one for me to kiss." She reasoned.

"Then kiss me." I said, why shouldn't I? Hot girl, hot girl asked if I wanted to be her first kiss. First kiss puts me in a great position to get her to want to kiss me more. Her mouth met mine in a soft, sweet tender kiss and I moved my hand up to the back of her head. Kissing her back. The first anything always makes someone want more and more. I remembered the girl I lost my virginity to, I was obsessed with her for years, probably because she was the first girl to touch my dick. If I'm the first person to…. Then it hit me and I pulled back.

"You have never had sex." I said with a gasp, opening one eye to look at her.

"I haven't had the opportunity yet." She said, dipping her head and kissing me again, which I wasn't going to say no to. If I can get her to have sex with me, maybe she'll want to have sex with me forever? Woooooow, I'm high as a kite, because I'm considering dabbling in monogamy with a girl I barely know.

And because I'm a dumb ass I decide to add tongue to the kiss and pull the front of her dress down and grab her tits. She wasn't wearing a bra, it was practically an invitation, and she wasn't stopping me. I pulled back from the kiss and dipped my head to pull one of her nipples into my mouth, using my other hand that wasn't on her tit to hike up her long skirt so I could get my hand under it.

"Mmmmmm, Eric?" She said with a questioning tone.

"Yes?"

"Today isn't the day for sex. If I just wanted it over with I could use tinder. I only want to have sex if I'm in love. As handsome as you are, and as much as I love your kissing I'm not having sex with you." She said looking so hot. Her curly hair was big and even more wild looking and I finally opened both eyes and got a look at her exposed chest, really really nice rack. Like absolutely choice.

"I'm very lovable." I said with a smile and squinted eyes. I'm sure my appearance matched my state of lacking sobriety.

"I'm sure you are, but you don't love me and probably won't."

I took a moment to think… were they smart thoughts? No. But it was thinking none the less.

"Can I keep kissing you?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Can I keep grabbing your tits?"

"Sure." She gave me an approving nod.

"Can I eat your pussy?"

"Probably not today."

"So later?" I asked with a wink

"Maybe." She giggled.

"Can I finger you?"

"Again, probably not today." Another giggle…. Perfect.

"Want to touch my dick?"

"I've never seen one in person." She said chewing her lip. I used my thumb to pull it out and kissed her again before I said.

"Maybe tomorrow." I offered, I didn't want her pawing at my dick if I wasn't allowed to reciprocate.

We kept kissing and groping in the pillow nest she built me until we both nodded off. I woke up to her trying to get off of me, but I tried to stop her from leaving me. I had sobered up, but I didn't want her to go.

"Someone came in the store." She whispered, which made me release her. I also grabbed the front of her dress and pulled it back up over her chest. "Oops… good call. Thanks." She giggled again as she got up and walked out into the store. I just laid there and thought for a little while about what was happening. This was most definitely NOT how I saw the day going, I wasn't mad about it though. She was only gone about 30 minutes before she walked back in. Her hair was still a big ass mess. I hadn't dated a girl with hair THAT curly before and I could already tell I was going to like it.

"Can you come to my office tomorrow? Or… how do you do things in daytime hours? What if you get sick?" I asked confused because her hours are 10-7 every day.

"I have a friend named Amelia who watches the store when I really have to do something. Why do you need me at your office?" She knelt down next to me and I decided to see if she was as receptive to me sober so I pulled her back down to me, and she went willingly which made me smile.

"To talk to my Dad. Yes, pissing off your parents with me is a good start, but if you could swipe their prospects list that would be even better. He might have even better ideas, and frankly I think he deserves to know your mom is a raging cunt so he can get over her once and for all."

"Okay, I'll come. I don't know where it is. I haven't been paying attention to this kind of stuff since I was a kid. I think I've met your Dad before. It's weird, its like I remember meeting you, but it was 20 plus years ago, so it obviously wasn't you. You must look a lot like your Dad."

"I do, I'm just a much taller wider version of him. My brother Sam looks like our Mom. Probably why our Dad hates him." I was rubbing on the soft bare skin on her shoulders while she smiled and sat straddling my chest.

"My Dad hates my brother because he sees so much of himself in him. He knows hes a dimwitted henchmen deep down." She giggled and scrunched her body when I ran my hands down her sides accidentally tickling her. That made me smile. Knowing she's ticklish is good intel to have.

"They way you talk about your Dad and brother is hilarious." I said.

"They are the Bane and Sentient plants to my mothers Poison Ivy." She laughed. She's making Batman references.

Marry me

I want her to marry me

I want this woman on a permanent basis.

If I pick her up, throw her in my car and tie her to my bed does that make me a villain?

"Marry me?" I blurt out apparently still a little bit high, or just still sober and stupid. She was making me stupid before I smoked.

"We need to hold that card close to our chest to potentially be used later." She laughed out. Her body jiggling in my face beautifully.

"Tell me when to put it on the table." I said matching her smile. I'm only half joking at this point. If she had agreed to marry just now, I MAY have gotten on a plane with her to Vegas. That reality did freak me out a little bit.

"Okay. I should be done packing orders by 12. So take my phone and add your number." She leaned over and grabbed her phone off the small table her laptop was on and handed it to me. "Then text me where to go and I'll be there after 12 based on however far away it is from here." She said.

"It's 12 minutes away according to GPS." I said adding my contact information… all of it. Phone number, work number and extension, email, work address, home address. I even took a quick selfie and added a contact picture. I handed her phone back to her.

"You made your name "Love of my Life" in my contacts?" She laughed out.

"We need to make this believable." I tried to justify. Motioning between us.

"I feel like I'll just be Sookie Stackhouse in your phone for it to be believable."

"Your name is Sookie?" I asked, and started laughing. I hadn't even gotten her first name yet and I was already planning to take her hostage and keep her

"I forgot to tell you my name." She laughed too.

"In your defense, I smoked with you, made out with you, groped you, offered you my dick, took a nap with you, asked you to marry me and invited you to meet my father and it never occurred to me I didn't know what to call you." I barked out with a laugh.

"Is that normal behavior for you?" She asked still smiling.

"No, not at all. I have never slept next to a woman before. I definitely don't ask people to marry me, and I have never brought a woman to meet my father." I answered honestly.

"Oh, but the making out, groping, dick offering and weed smoking is pretty in line with your average behavior?" She asked.

"All but the smoking, Thats infrequent enough for me that I'd consider it out of the norm." I said nodding my head.

"How many women have you slept with?" She suddenly asked and I felt the smile melt off my face and turn to one of concern. I was kind of a hoe. Seeing as she attributes sex to love, she's probably not going to want to be with someone with kind of whoreish ways. I must be sitting a little too long contemplating my life choices, and thinking about all the women who were bad sex or unsatisfying who weren't really worth adding to my tally, which I hadn't even really considered putting a number to until now, because she said.

"You don't want to tell me, or cant tell me because you don't know how many there are?" She was still straddling my hips. I felt my hands grip her a little tighter in hopes of holding her so she couldn't run away from me before I said.

"Both."

"Oh." She said taking her eyes off my face and looked down. "I guess that is in line with not having exclusive relationships."

"Sookie…." I started, not really sure what to say to salvage this, or redeem myself.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow after twelve." She pulled out of my grip and popped up. My hands still grasping for her as she escaped me. "I have to lock up. It's closing time. I'll see you tomorrow." She said with another smile, but this one was insincere and it had no warmth to it. I stood up and put my shoes back on. She walked me to the door and I leaned down to kiss her, but she turned her head and I Got her cheek. It made my whole chest go tight, and my arms started buzzing. I could tell I had blown it with her already, because I never had a chance with a girl like her to start with. The girls I hung out with were just that, girls. Sookie was smart, ambitious, driven, naturally beautiful, she was kind and compassionate, she had her life together and didn't need her hand held to survive.

She was exactly my type, but I wasn't her type.

I walked back to my car and I heard her turn the lock on the door as I left. My head was hung a bit and I just went home. Normally I would go to the bar, but at this point that just felt gross. It was bad enough laying in bed actually trying to think of a ball park number for myself and I started getting pretty disgusted when I really thought about quantifying it.

It was almost 1 the next day and I was pacing near my desk. Sookie hadn't come yet and I was scared she wasn't going to come at all. My phone rang and I picked it up so fast it almost flew off my desk.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Northman, there is a Sookie Hale here to see you." I smiled, she's using a fake last name to keep her off our logs.

"Send her up." I said and hung up my phone before I went to go bounce by the elevator waiting for her.

When the elevator door opened I was a little shocked. Her beautiful Curly hair was pulled tightly back in a bun, making her look really severe. I didn't care for it. She was wearing a blue pencil skirt and a white button down blouse. Again, I didn't like it. I briefly wondered if this was more her normal dress and if the other was like a costume for work.

"Hi." She said smiling at me. She was also holding a laptop and some files.

"Hi." I said back, mimicking our interaction from yesterday.

"Sorry I'm late. I was committing some light corporate espionage." She handed me the computer and the files.

"What is this?" I asked as I walked us towards my desk.

"That, is a networked computer. It's my brothers. He will never admit to losing it so it's good to go and you should be able to get into anything including his email. The password is 123456, and those are the names of every employee who works for the Stackhouse Group. I thought maybe you could do some poaching."

"Oh my God…" I was shocked, stunned, thrilled, horny…. Just so many things. "How?"

"I waited until people were leaving the building for lunch and I swiped a badge off the bag of a lady walking past me. I am obviously in disguise as you can see." I nodded, feeling better this is not how she dresses, I really didn't care for it. "I walked into my brothers office and swiped the laptop. Then I went down to HR and asked when they were going to hand over the employee roster Mr. Stackhouse asked for 3 days ago, like I was all pissed and they just handed it right to me. Then I walked out. I thought I was going to have to work a little for the password for the computer, but there is a sticky note of the keyboard with it written on it, So I never got my hacker moment." She said with a huge grin on her face.

"I want to kiss you so bad…"That was the truth, I had wanted to kiss her every moment since I left her last night, but now it was basically a need.

"Gimme that sugar, baby." She said with a smile holding her arms out to me.

I did not hesitate. I set everything down on my desk, I picked her up in my arms, and I kissed the hell out of her. Her arms were around my neck, her hand was on the back of my head lightly scratching my hair.

"Ahhhh hemmmm." I heard a throat clearing and I hesitantly pulled back and looked back over my shoulder at who it was.

"Hi Dad." I said setting her down

"Hi Mr. Northman." Sookie said brightly, extending her hand. My father tentaitivly took her hand and shook it.

"Hello, Sookie." He said almost nervous.

"You remember me." She beamed.

"I do, the last time I saw you, you were…."

"I was 15. You stormed in to my Dads office to scream at him for being a son of a bitch. It was take your daughter to work day."

"I remember, you whooped and told me to hit him with the chair you slid over to me." My father said making an almost wistful smile.

"Why have I never heard that story?" I asked looking at Sookie with Awe.

"You were 19 and at college. It just never came up." he said his eyes never leaving Sookie.

"I brought you treats." She said looking smug.

"Yeah, she broke into her dads office, stole a networked laptop with her brothers credentials and the entire employee roster so we can poach." I said his eyes turning to me wide and his mouth dropping open.

"It's why I'm in this goofy disguise." She said motioning to her outfit and reaching into her shirt snapping her bra strap as she made a face, which made me chuckle.

"Why? Why would you do this? Did he sleep with you?" He then turned to me and made an astonished face and whisper yelled "are you that good?" Which made me bend over laughing and sookie giggled.

"We only made out and he got some boob touching. I did this because my Mother is a mega bitch who has been pulling my father and now my brothers strings to fuck with you for years. She has been being a mega bitch to you since she was manipulating you into doing her assignments for her in college. My father isn't the mastermind, she is. Honestly, my father isn't smart enough to think of half the shit they do to menace you. I do not, will not and never have participated in that. I'm actually cut off and disinherited. my mother has BIG issues with me. I avoid her at all costs." I wrapped my arm around her shoulders while she spoke.

"So when she…. And I…. When Eric was….." I watched my father go pale and look at me almost scared.

"Yup, she slept with you when Eric was in high school just to ruin your marriage. My Dad knew, it was was a whole plan. You shouldn't have cheated, but my Mom was being an evil calculating bitch. I was 12 when she did it, but it was my recollection you seemed a little 'too happy'. So she sucked you back in just with the intentions of blowing up your personal life."

Furious

Rage

Ear ringing levels of anger.

Of course, being emotionally ill equipped to handle such feelings I decided to start swinging at the person delivering the nightmare news that Michelle Stackhouse, the fucking succubus she is manipulated my Dad into cheating on my Mom which started the tornado of shit that eventually led to her taking her own life.

"You knew about my mother…" I seethed.

"I mean, I didn't know who you were when you walked in, but thats a big reason I wouldn't let you leave."

"You let me lay there and touch the daughter of the woman who led to my mothers death?" Stupid conclusion to come to, but I did it. I was just angry.

"Eric, son…" My father tried to interject.

"NO! DONT ERIC ME!" I screamed before turning back to my target. "You're a fucking soul sucking succubus too. A god damn stackhouse siren, no wonder I felt so damn drawn to you. Your family must put coke in your lip gloss or something to get unsuspecting men fucking hooked on your bullshit. Fuck you, Sookie. Fuck your, Mom. Take your shit back and get out. You descendant of psychopaths. I am so relieved I didn't sleep with you." I picked up the laptop and files and shoved them in her arms. Tears were rolling down her face, she looked incredibly hurt, but in that moment I didn't care. I turned around and walked across the floor to the stairwell and walked out.

I heard the door open the floor above me and my father call out my name.

"Eric!"

"Nope." I called back moving a little faster.

"ERIC!" He boomed, making me stop mid step. He caught up to me and held my shoulders.

"Eric what are you doing?" I closed my eyes as he shook me a little.

"I don't know." I admitted. His hands are still on my shoulders.

"Eric, she told you the truth. She committed a crime for you because she knows how wrong her mother was. She could have gone right to her father, but she didn't. Instead she was making out with you at your desk after robbing her conniving family to avenge your mother." He said shaking me a little harder now starting to hurt me a little. I opened my eyes and shoved his hands off me.

"I know."

"You made her cry."

"I know."

"She didn't deserve that."

"I KNOW!" I yelled, closing my eyes again and leaning against the wall in. The stairwell.

"You know why I never told you about that day in Corbitts office?" He asked, taking a step back from me.

"Because he sent suicide prevention pamphlets to my office. She wasn't joking that day. She was furious right along with me. She screamed at him with me. She tried to hand me a weapon and when I wouldn't take it she threw the chair at him herself. She was only 15 at that time. It wasn't some cute story, I never wanted to tell you." He said now resting a hand softly on me.

"She left at 18 and started a business with her college fund. They cut her off, she said she had money problems for a few years." I said, starting to put the pieces together.

"I imagine, She wasn't mentioned in their Christmas card for years."

"I really liked her, and I called her a succubus and accused her of coke lacing her lip gloss." I said as the reality set in.

"One second she was committing crimes for you and sucking your face off, then the next you were brutally attacking her. It was not an easy watch." My father said grabbing my arm and practically dragging me back up the stairs. I stayed silent and followed him. I got a healthy amount of stares as we walked back in. The laptop and files were still on my desk, with a note on top of it.

Eric,

I know what has happened to your family has been unforgivable. Nothing can ever undo what the Stackhouses have done to you guys. I use the last name Hale for a reason. I know you cant forgive the swamp I was born out of, and I don't expect you to. The computer and files are yours, you deserve them and the upper hand. Thank you for everything. I really enjoyed our night last night and the first kiss and all the kisses after meant a lot to me. I'm kind of a withdrawn person. Even if it was only for a moment, thank you for seeing me. I know I didn't deserve to touch you or have you give me something as pivotal as a first kiss, but I appreciate it none the less.

May your vengeance be sweet,

Sookie Hale

"Dammit, Sam! I told you not to let her leave!" My father screamed at Sam throwing his hands up and rolling his eyes.

"What was I supposed to do tie her up and hold her hostage." Sam asked curling his lip angrily.

"I would have, it's actually crossed my mind a few times already." I said absently as I read her note again. I handed my Dad the computer and the files, grabbed my keys and ran out the door. I drove to Brew Ha Ha and swung the door open, probably a little too hard when I got there shaking some of the little bottles on the table next to the door. There was a tall slender short haired brunette behind the counter.

"Is Sookie here?" I asked walking up to her.

"She isn't coming back today." She said eyeing me suspiciously.

"She's not answering her phone." I said.

"I imagine not….. Eric." She said my name while giving me a hard look and placing both hands on the counter.

"So you know what I did….. Amelia." I replied remembering what sookie said her name was.

"I do, you're a real bitch. Do you understand how cruel it is to compare Sookie to her mother? To say that she is like her?" She practically yelled at me, but I deserved it.

"I need to see her, I need to apologize. I got a lot of information and snapped at the messenger." I had to take a few deep breaths. I really wanted to shake this woman and make her give me Sookies address, but that didn't just seem counter productive, but also impolite.

"Yeah you did, She went into her Dads office for you. They have a restraining order against her. She could have gone to jail!"

"What?" That was a little shocking.

"Yeah, she's messed with that stuff before. You think your family is a favorite target of Michelle? She tried to hire someone to rape Sookie. Thats how crazy she is. She had you all back there in her space, trusting the shit out of you." She was still yelling at me and I was still going to just take it.

"She hired a….. just…. Wow. I just want to apologize, please." I begged, it was a full on beg. I had no shame in that moment.

She pulled out her phone and started speaking pig latin into it.

"ookie-Say, Eric-way is-way ere-hay e-hay is-way insisting-way on-way eeing-say you... ell-way ou-yay ont-day ave-hay to... e-hay eems-say remorseful... ust-jay ive-gay im-hay our-yay address-way, e-thay uy-gay o-whay aid-say you're ust-jay ike-lay our-yay mother?... ine-fay, ut-bay ou-yay ext-tay e-may every-way 15 inutes-may or-way im-way oming-cay over-way apped-stray."

I'll admit, my pig latin was rusty, but I got most of the gist of that.

"Here." She said sharply after scribbling on a piece of paper.

"Whats this?" I asked, pretty sure I had her address.

"Her address. Dont make me regret it." She pulled a gun out from under the counter and placed it on the counter. I took the slip of paper and pulled back from the counter, and her uncomfortable brand of crazy.

"Thank you." I got out of there as fast as possible and I put her address into the GPS. WOW…. Sookie did NOT live in a nice part of town. Maybe I should kidnap her and tie her to my bed. For her safety.

I got into her building and noticed the elevator was broken, okay. To the stairs… a little shocked that she does 6 flights of stairs AND there were two people passed out in the stairwell I finally got to her floor and unit. There was a guy passed out laying across in front of her door. Do I move him? Do I knock? I really didn't know what to do, but her door swung open when I was hesitating. The guy flopped into her apartment, which made me reach down and drag him back out into the hallway. She just sighed.

"Come in." She said motioning me in. Her hair was back to being big and curly. I loved it. She was wearing silky orange shorts and a matching tank top. Again, no bra and I loved it. She lived in a small studio apartment. It was giving dorm room. She obviously put more of her decorating energy into her work space, probably because she was there more, or she kept getting robbed here so she doesn't keep nice things. One or the other.

"I am so sorry. I took my anger out on you just because you were there. You didn't deserve that." I said quickly not wanting to give her anymore time to get angrier at me.

"Okay." She said with a shrug and walked back to sit on her bed. I followed her, but I didn't sit.

"My Dad told me what really happened in the office the day and Amelia told me your Mom hired someone to rape you."

"Mmmm, yeah. The only person she hates more than your Dad is me." She said shrugging and lookin down at her hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry." I said pleading with her. She sighed again and patted the bed next to her. I took the invitation and slipped my shoes off and got in.

"You told me the truth yesterday. Almost right away. You couldn't be deceptive. Thats why I kissed you. I wanted to trust you. I cant really just trust anyone because I never know if something to a ploy by my mother." She said looking up to see my face. Her using past tense stung… wanted to trust me… wanted to.

"I want you to trust me. Please, Sookie I am so sorry. You are nothing like Michelle and if you want to cast some love spell on me, do it, I'm coming willingly." I said, and that was the gods honest truth. She had me, hook , line and sinker. Sookie had me fucked up and I had only known her 24 hours.

"I'm not really a witch." She giggled, which I took as a green light to wrap my arms around her and pull her to lay down on top of me. She didn't wrap her arms around me, but she didn't fight it or get up either.

"Are you sure? Because you have bewitched me." I said running my hand along her cheek.

"Errrrrrrrrric….." She said softly.

"Mmmmmm, I love it when you say my name, do it again." I joked and ran my hands over her back giving her goose bumps , which made me feel really satisfied that she was having as strong a reaction to me as I was her.

"I haven't forgiven you yet. You called me a succubus." She said softly relaxing her head into my shoulder. The gesture gave me some relief knowing she wanted to be touching me.

"You aren't a succubus, you're an angel. You're MY angel." Thats right possessive pronouns are being tossed around by me. This is my girl now.

"Oh I'm YOURS?" She asked lifting her head up and meeting my eyes.

"Yup, you're cooked. You cant live without me. I'm going to make you Sookie Northman." I was being completely serious, but she laughed and playfully swatted my arm and laid back down now wrapping her arms around me, the gesture made me sigh in relief.

"Yeah, I'm the one obsessed." She laughed.

"You are, you're incredibly clingy too. Following me around, always hanging all over me. You need to settle down." I said with a smile so she knew I was obviously joking by describing my own weirdo behavior.

"I'll try, but its not like I'm the one that begged one of your friends for your address then drove to your apartment and insisted on coming in so I could beg for forgiveness after being a mega bitch. Also, you're holding me." She said as she lifted her arms and legs off my body and held them out like she was flying and I just held her tighter.

"I'll bring you home with me if you want. I put my address in your phone." I offered, as long as I was acting out of character I might as well go whole hog.

"I know you don't want to give me much information on your lifestyle, but I don't want to go snuggle on your bed where other women have been with you." She stated this politely, but her hands were back on me, scratching my scalp and tussling my hair.

"Ha, I DO NOT bring women home with me." I barked out a laugh.

"What? How?" She seemed confused.

"If I bring them home then they know where I live and then I run the risk of them showing up again. You would legitimately be the first woman to enter my house other than my maid, but she comes twice a week when I'm at work. I've never seen her in person, just my security camera at the door. My Dad, Brother, and friends come over, never women. My home is too important to me." It was true, I don't invite any dates or 'fun' back to my home. I love my house too much to risk having to move because of a clinger.

"But you want to bring me to your house?" She asked again confused.

"Yeah, and keep you. Which reminds me, why do you live here. Its dangerous and run down?"

"Sheesh, Eric. Tell me how you really feel." She said a little bit offended.

"Sorry."

"No, It's true. My parents consistently trash my credit. I cant move because no one will rent to me in a decent area. I'm hardly here and sometimes if I'm too anxious to come back I'll sleep at the store. I've been here since I was 18. I don't keep anything valuable here. It's just where I sleep and shower." Her admission made me tense, and angry.

"Then come stay with me." I offered, whole hog. I was going whole hog.

"I cant come stay with you, Eric." She laughed.

"Sure you can, you're my girlfriend."

"I'm not your girlfriend." She giggled again.

"Okay, well I'm your boyfriend and we can discuss you agreeing to be my girlfriend later."

"You're not my boyfriend." She laughed again making me smile.

"Ummm, Thats not up to you. I decide who's boyfriend I am." I said with confidence and a smirk.

"I don't think thats how this works."

"How would you know? You've never had a boyfriend." I said raising my eyebrow.

"You've never had a girlfriend." she threw back.

"I'm working on that." I said pulling her face down to kiss me.

"So smug and confident." She said softly as she pulled away from my kiss.

"I know what I want. I'm pretty spoiled, I tend to get my way most of the time." Also true statements. I was very much the spoiled youngest child. Right now I want Sookie.

Gimme

Gimme

Gimme

"I'm not moving in with you." She stated sounding resolved, so I recalibrated my plan.

"Then just stay tonight. You can sleep one night in a nice, big, comfortable bed and there will be zero meth heads passed out outside the door. I promise." She was thinking about it, that was a good sign.

"I was just going to go back to the store after closing….." She said still mulling.

"Or, you can come home with me and I can order us food and we can hang out in my home which has never been besmirched by the presence of another woman."

"So, what you're saying is its full of boy farts." She said with a smile.

"I will open the windows." I said with a chuckle.

"What kind of food?" She asked.

"Whatever your favorite food is, That's what we're having." Obviously, I needed her to want to come and I'm pretty food driven so I thought it might help.

"You don't even know what my favorite food is, what if you hate it?" She asked as she started kissing down my neck. I smiled, I had her in the bag.

"I like all food, I just like eating."

"Mmm, you're a big boy that makes sense." She said as she kissed over my cheek and landed back on my lips. For someone new to kissing I really liked her style. She was really good at kissing how I liked to be kissed.

"Whats your favorite food?" I asked. Feeling bold enough to run my hands under her shirt now.

"Mexican food, specifically enchiladas. I really like cheese and thats a great cheese delivery system." I nodded approvingly. I also liked Mexican food and I too was a lover of cheese. I think it belongs on everything.

"Sometimes I just melt some cheese on a plate and eat melted cheese." I offered, it was one of my top 5 snacks.

"I do that too!" She said with an excited gasp. "It's a secret habit though. I don't tell people about it."

"Well, now its OUR secret. I'll have to take you out for fondu some time."

"What is fondu?" She asked and my face lit up. Oh did I have a treat for her.

"Fondu is a pot of hot melted cheese that you dip stuff in. Thats it, the whole meal is stuff dipped in melted cheese. Thats going to be our third date."

"When is our first date going to be?" She asked looking all freaking cute as a button, even when I had my hands on her boobs.

"Our first date was yesterday, today and tonight is our second date. Tomorrow night, when I pick you up from work to take you to dinner will be our third."

"You seem so sure, I didn't agree to any dates with you yet." She was smirking and running her hands up the front of my shirt which she had just untucked from my slacks.

"Pllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeease?" I said sweetly with a grin squinting my eyes.

"When I bring you home for thanksgiving it won't even be fake to mess with them." She mused.

"Oh no no no, Sookie Hale. We will mess with them, but we will also be dating. I really really like you."

"Thank you for not calling me a Stackhouse." She said rewarding me with a huge hug and a kiss.

"Can I call you a Northman?" I asked only half joking… well, maybe not even half. It was 15% joke.

"You're so silly. I can see how you get a lot of girls."

"First, past tense. Got girls, I'm not out getting any girls but you now. Second, you make me beg you. I do not beg under normal conditions. I'm not silly or sweet. This is just for you." I assured her.

"So it was just like a switch? You saw me a flipped a switch and decided you HAD to have me?" She asked skeptically. I mean, she wasn't far off. I wasn't keen on the idea of seducing her for nefarious reasons to begin with. After I saw her, I was pretty intrigued. Honestly, it was the joke about ass fucking me raw and dry that made me decide I HAD to have her as she put it. The later batman references just sealed the deal. I was sure when she saw my bedding was batman she would understand.

"Sort of, I liked your sense of humor… thats what got a finger on the switch. It flipped when you started making Batman references. I really like batman. When you kissed me I poured glue on the switch to keep it permanently in an on position. You kiss me exactly how I like to be kissed, and since I was your first kiss I didn't want to share your perfect for me kisses with anyone. When I yelled at you today I had instant regret and I sort of freaked out that I had completely blown it with you. Also, you already know all of the skeletons that could potentially fall out of my closet later. Primarily because you are related to most of them." She was looking at my face like she was trying to read my mind to test if my words were sincere.

"Between 250 and 400." I offered as a sign of good faith, plus she had to know eventually. My 'Number' clearly mattered to her.

"What?" She asked confused.

"The number of women I have slept with. I had to really think about it. I'm also not very proud of it. Its pretty gross. I had 3 stead friends with benefits for a year or two each, so one, two three. I lost my virginity to a girl named Aude, I guess she was actually my girlfriend, but it wasn't really discussed. We were 15 and I consistently slept with her for about 6 months. I'm 30 now so 15 years of having sex, minus the 4 years I was having sex with only 1 person even if they weren't my girlfriend, it's not like I was taking them on dates or to my house. I just showed up for sex. So, 11 years, averaging 3 women a month, 12 months in a year. Thats 132 months… so give or take thats 396 estimated, but there were a lot of repeats that I would go back to occasionally. Thats because it's easier to get a girl to come back for seconds than it is to get her to agree to a one night stand. If I had to really put a number on it to narrow it down I'd say between 250 and 300." All I could do is be honest and let her know how I came to my conclusion. It would be no ones fault but my own if she didn't want to be with me now. I made the choices I made and I need to live with them. She probably did me a favor really making me think about what I was doing.

"I thought you didn't want to tell me?"

"I didn't, I still don't. It's gross and repulsive and I don't have a good excuse. I don't want you wondering or making me a better guy in your head than I actually am." I was back to holding her as tightly as could be without hurting her in the effort of keeping her from running away from me.

"We can go to your house. I need to pack a bag and you'll need to drop me at the store in the morning."

"What?"

Shock

Confusion

Excitement

Gratitude

Curiosity

Thrill

Concern

"You're making a lot of faces, whats going on in there?" She asked tapping my head lightly with her index finger.

"I'm just having feelings, not really thoughts. I didn't think you'd still want to be near me if I told you."

"I cared more about the honesty and openness, and less about the content. Thats a lot of people. I don't think ive even seen 250 men in person in the last 15 years." She said as she got up off me and started pulling things out of the small dresser against the wall.

"I used to go out to bars and clubs a lot." I provided so she could better understand where I was finding women with relative ease.

"And you are clean? In the dick region?" She asked.

"I get tested monthly. Yes I am."

"You would need that." She giggled.

"I am also a no exceptions condoms user. Mostly because I didn't want an accidental child, but also so my dick wouldn't turn green and fall off because I was a whore." She was taking off her shirt, which I guess I've already seen it so why bother covering up. She slipped another billowy dress on and reached under to slip her shorts off and let it fall to the floor. This dress was long again, but a sage green color with brown lace trim on the bottom.

"I've been on the pill since my Mom tried to have me attacked, just in case. Now it seems like it might come in handy." She put the silk nightgown in her hand into the bag, as well as another dress and then she went to the bathroom and grabbed some things from there.

"So you're saying I don't need condoms with you?" I wouldn't mind it with her, she was a different story.

"No." She giggled. "More just its handled on both sides. I still want more than a fuck of convenience and passing interest. I've gone too long for it to not be a big deal now." I 100% agreed. When she finally gives herself to me its going to be the most romantic night of her fucking life. I was prepared to not just engage in monogamy for her, but I will also be dabbling in the art of woo'ing.

"I intend to deserve to be with you. I'm monogamous now." That wasn't just an assurance, it was a promise. I wasn't a fucking cheater, so I didn't agree to things like that lightly.

"I'm still not your girlfriend." She giggled.

"Please be my girlfriend?" I asked sweetly, sitting up on her bed and crossing my legs.

"Thank you so much for asking, yes I will be your girlfriend." She was grabbing her phone charger and I started laughing.

"Thats all it took? I just had to ask nicely?"

"I don't like bein'bossed around." She said with a simple shrug, Like it was the most obvious thing in they world.

"Will you please move in with me?" I asked nicely again, maybe I had cracked the code.

"No." She giggled.

"Worth a try." I said getting up and putting his shoes back on. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." I walked with her to the door and opened it for her. There was now a second zombified meth head laying in the hall outside her door.

"Are you sure you don't want to live with me? I don't think I'll ever be able to sleep again if I know you're here." I said stepping over the bodies and taking her keys from her to lock her door for her so she didn't have to lean over them.

"I have lived here 8 years. Yeah, I get broken into all the time, but I haven't been murdered yet." She said like it was all fine, dandy or normal.

"It's the 'yet' that has me concerned." I said holding her hand and we walked down the stairs passing a prostitute who was negotiating rates with a guy.

"Hey Sookie." The prostitute greeted her.

"Hey Chardonnay, how are ya?" Sookie said stopping to speak to her hooker friend.

"I'm good, gettin a lot business. Who is this?" Chardonnay asked Sookie pointing to me. There was no way that was her given name.

"This is my boyfriend, Eric." Hearing her say it made me smile.

"He looks really clean." What a weird way to describe someone, but I guess looking at the greasy balding man next to her that was negotiating for her services for the night, I guess I can understand how "showered" seemed impressive.

"He is, I'll see you around. Stay safe." Sookie said with a wave taking my hand back and continuing down the stairs with me out to my car. I opened the door for Sookie and helped her in, because its a rather large SUV and she is a rather small person. Also, great excuse to touch her butt.

"Chardonnay's real name is Hadley, She's my cousin on my fathers side. She was also excommunicated from the family. Different reasons though. She was kicked out for telling on our uncle who was molesting her because he had expressed that I was going to be "next". Try not to judge her. She's about 8 years older than me and she saved me, literally at her own expense." She must have seen the horrified look on my face because she continued. "She won't live with you either, for her Sex work is her work. We've talked about it, she loves what she does. She has a cam site and everything. As long as she's happy and not being forced into anything. It's fine."

"Wow…. I still don't like that you live there even if your cousin lives in the same building." I said driving the fuck away from that hell hole.

"Oh, she doesn't live there. She just works there." Sookie said like that somehow makes it any better.

"That makes it worse, you understand that, right?" I was already making plans to see her every single day and do anything in my power to prevent her form ever sleeping there again. I cant have my girl literally living in trap house apartments.

"I see your point." She said, but I was going to let it go and not pester her about it. We haven't been together for a full 48 hours yet, and she made it clear she doesn't like to be bossed around.

"So, does Hadley come to Thanksgiving?"

"No, if she did there would be something redeeming about the day. Honestly, I only attend every 3rd year or so. Usually when my father has sufficiently guilt tripped me. This year my Mother wants to trot me out like a broodmare and present me to the prize studs she had selected for me. She thinks I'll be more 'malleable' if I settle down." My head snapped to her and my eyebrow raised.

"Thats just… I already called dibs on you."

"Ahhh yes, the unbreakable seal of dibs." She laughed and I smiled.

"I'm also calling shot gun."

"Shot gun for what? The first ride?" She was shaking with laughter now.

"All the rides, all the rides Mrs. Northman, all of them."

"I'm not Mrs. Northman."

"Fine, Almost Mrs. Northman." I conceded with a smile.

"What if I don't want to change my last name?" She said hotly.

"You already use a pseudonym, it's not like you are attached to your last name and don'y you want the same name as our babies?" I turned into my neighborhood and I looked at her next to me, she was looking pretty happy.

"Legally getting rid of Stackhouse as my name is tempting, I don't think I agreed to harbor your young for 9 months though." She winked at me and I pulled into my garage.

"I am willing to earn the privilege of going dutch on a human with you." I took her hand and led her into my house.

"Going dutch on a human… oh my God…." She was still laughing when we walked in.

"This is my house, it is meth head free."

"Wow, fancy…. Oh, you do like Batman." She said as we walked into the living room and see's the batman throw pillows on the couch. Poster of the killing game cover art on the wall and different Batman statues displayed everywhere.

"I love Batman, he's my favorite character." I said as I pointed out my Batman cookie jar in the kitchen.

"Tell me you have a really fancy Batman suit."

"I do, follow me." I smiled and led her into my Office where my Batsuit is on display in the corner.

"I have a Catwoman costume. I keep it in my closet at the store." I gasped… I literally gasped and clutched my chest.

"Seriously?" I asked, dear God don't let her be messing with me.

"Seriously, I spent so much on it it's just my permanent halloween costume at this point."

"Which era cat woman?"

"My hair is curly so I went with the 1998 run Catwoman that was drawn by Jim Balent." She said so casually. I just collapsed on the ground right there. She didn't just have a Catwoman costume, she was a comic fan.

"Thigh high boots?" I asked weakly from the floor while she just ignored me and flipped through my long boxes of comics.

"Yup, and the whip." I rolled over and crawled dramatically to where she was standing by my comics and begged her again to marry me.

"Please, please marry me."

"Mmmmm, no. not right now."

"Are you busy? What can I do to open up your schedule? How big a diamond do you want? No…. You don't want a diamond at all…. You probably want one of those raw stones." I'm already mentally designing her ring in my mind. Is there going to be enough room to engrave 'please don't leave me.' In the band?

"You're right, I wouldn't want a diamond and I prefer raw unpolished stones." She just stepped over me and left the room. I peeled myself off the floor and went looking for her. I found her upstairs in my bedroom. The carpet is black, the walls and ceiling are black, my bedding is black with a large bat logo on the comforter. The walls have small shelves with spot lights on them with different batman and batman related statues on my walls. The skyline of Gotham city is painted on the wall behind my bed.

"Wooooooooooow…. You know what, I'm starting to get tempted to live here." She said when I walked up and wrapped my arms around her.

"Now you understand why I don't let just anyone come here. I love my house." I leaned down and kissed her neck and slid my hands down her sides, ghosting the sides of her breasts.

"You have really cultivated a vibe. I dig it."

"Not too nerdy?" I asked, feeling a little uneasy and exposed. Not even most of my friends know about my bat house. Outside of my family, only Bobby, Andre, Trey and Rasul have been here and thats because on the 1-10 nerd scale they are also 10's and we generally meet here to play MTG or D . Their homes are just as nerdy, if not worse than mine.

"This isn't nerdy, This is awesome. Is your house too Awesome? No such thing." She turned her body to face me and I scooped her up and threw her into the middle of the bed and crawled up over her. I couldn't wait until I could have her writhing under me in my bed.

"Mine, mine, mine, made for me…." My thoughts were just exiting my mouth at that point while I rubbed myself all over her. She pulled me to her and kissed me, wrapping her legs around my waist.

"Do you have anything from Bruce Wayne of Earth 32? I'd love to read that." She said when she broke our kiss.

"I do, I absolutely do. I have the whole run. Here…" I pulled out my phone and pulled up door dash and opened it to the good Mexican restaurant. "Pick what you want to eat and ill go get them for you." I walked down stairs to my office to go and get the comics my GIRLFRIEND wants to read of mine.

I grabbed the run and carried them back upstairs and climbed into my bed next to her.

"Here, also Yevetta texted, she wants to know if you want to come over and have her ass." She handed me my phone while she made a very unimpressed face.

"Sorry, I'll block all the numbers from girls like that that I have in my contacts, but they might trickle in and have to be blocked as I go for a while. I have no interest in her ass and her preoccupation with anal has always been a bit off putting. Look at the text conversation with her. I haven't been replying to her." I offered.

"Thank you for the blocking of old bedmates, no thank you to reading the conversation. I'd rather not see that. I'm going to pretend you didn't exist until you met me when at all possible." She said which made me smile. I handed her the comics and gave her a quick kiss, picked my food and ordered it. I got up and took off my work clothes and came back in just some lounge pants. I couldn't help but smile when her breath caught when she saw me come back without a shirt on. Thats right, she is just as into me as I am her.

I curled up next to he and laid my head on her stomach while she read my comics and we waited for food. The whole act was intimate to me. I was suddenly hit with a wave of terror at the reality of just how intimate this was for me. I had never had intimacy with a woman before. Women don't actually get to know me. Sex to me isn't a super intimate act, its just sex. Being in my house, in my bed, reading my comics, knowing about my family….. wildly intimate.

"Are you okay?" She asked pulling me out of my terror spiral.

"Probably."

"You got really wound up all of the sudden."

"It really hit me that I was dabbling in intimacy for the first time and it's scary for me." I said honestly, whole hog.

"Eric, you humped everything with a vagina within a 20 mile radius. How are you scared of intimacy?' She asked confused setting the comic down to look at me.

"Not sex, intimacy. You being in my house, in my bed, reading my comics, knowing me as a person, understanding all of my family stuff. It's really intimate for me. I don't tend to let women know who I really am. This is all new territory for me and I am scared I'll fuck up, or you'll think I'm weird. I haven't even gotten to telling you I have a group of guys who come over on Thursdays and we play MTG Commander or D ."

"You really don't equate sex with emotions do you?"

"I didn't, no. it just felt good for a bit and I could, so I did."

"But sharing your space and stuff with me is a really big deal for you?"

"Huge, huge deal. Never before done level of a big deal."

"I feel special." She said with a bright smile.

"You are special. I don't want to just have sex with you and move on."

"Aww, you don't want to have sex with me?" She said acting cute.

"You shut your lips, I didn't say that." I said with a chuckle still laying draped over her with my head on her stomach. "I said I don't JUST want to have sex with you. I want a lot of things from you. Like right now, just laying and holding you while you read my comics feels amazing."

"You like snuggling, you're a snuggle bug." She said as she brought her hands down around me and started scratching my scalp again, which I LOVE.

"No, I like snuggling YOU. You're the only person I have snuggled before."

"So you would just have sex, then run away?" She asked with laughter in her tone.

"Yup, I left my socks on for a hasty retreat."

"Are you wearing socks right now?" She asked

"Nope, my feet are fully nude. Just for you." Just then the door bell rang I and I got up to go get out food. I was pulling it out on the counter when Sookie walked in wearing a silk nightgown that was in a pale pink and a matching pair of slippers that had feathers on them. She looked so so good. I was also giving thanks that my girl seemed to be allergic to bras.

"Thank you for dinner." She said as she got on the stool at my island that was next to where I was standing.

"Thank you for coming with me and letting me buy you dinner." I said giving her a quick kiss before I handed her some real silverware, because no one likes that plastic shit.

"You have a lovely kitchen, do you cook much?" She asked me as she took a bite and made a moan which could only be described as… erotic and wholly inappropriate for the dinner table. I coughed a little, but managed to collect myself and answer her.

"Uuhhhh no, I don't cook ever. Most of those cabinets are actually empty." I admitted.

"No pots and pans?" She asked with an amused look.

"I have A pan." I got up and and opened the cabinet my batman cake pan was in and I showed her. She threw her head back and laughed.

"I should have known, most of them are empty… so whats in the ones that do have stuff in them?" She asked as I came back and we kept eating.

"Dice, magic cards, D campaign books, table maps and models and stuff to lay on the maps to make them 3d, liquor, coffee mugs…. Ummm oh! Warhammer 40k miniatures, we don't really play that as much anymore. We converted some over to D ."

"Someday, I would love to play games like that with you. I won't intrude on your boy's night though."

"You aren't intruding!" I almost yelled. "Come over Thursday after work, it'll be our 4th date. Bring Amelia, just make her leave her gun at home."

"Are you sure?" She asked tentatively.

"Positive, some girls may make it more fun."

"Did Amelia pull a gun on you?" Sookie asked suspiciously.

"She didn't point it at me, she just set it on the counter before she gave me your address."

"Sorry, do you have a no guns in the house rule? Should I have dropped mine off at the store?" She asked and my eyebrows flew up.

"You carry a gun?"

"Eric, you have seen where I live. Yes, I'm armed. I don't leave my gun there because my apartment gets broken into pretty frequently and I don't want it stolen. I also work in a retail store alone where I don't get a ton of foot traffic, because I do most of my business online and treat my store front as more of inventory storage that sometimes people come and look at." She said in a very matter of fact way that really concerned me. My girlfriend was basically never fully safe.

"Has anything ever happened in your store?" I asked, really not liking that her apartment is consistently robbed.

"No, and hopefully it never does, but I take no chances." I nodded and took a deep breath.

"I hate your apartment, what if someone breaks in while you're home?" I asked.

"Thats what the gun is for, they usually leave as soon as they see I'm going to put up a fight." She said. My eyes went wide, my mouth dropped open and I jumped up off my chair.

"Your apartment had been broken into while you've been there before?" Was it the second time I had yelled at her today? Yes, but this time was justified. She did jump a little, and I felt bad about that. I didn't want her to be scared of me. Her apartment, yes. Me, no.

"Only a few times in the last 8 years." She said so casually like it was nothing,

"It's happened more than once? Oh my God, Sookie…. Please. If you won't move in here, let me co-sign an apartment for you so you can move. Please…. That is not normal. You have been living like that way too long, you think it's no big deal." Aaaaaaaand, I made her cry. He head dropped and she started crying softly. I hung my head and I walked over to her and I wrapped my arms around her and apologized. She did hug me back and didn't run away, but now she was crying into my chest and I could feel her tears on my skin and I absolutely hated it. I wanted her to stop crying so bad it hurts.

"I'm sorry…." She whispered when she finally pulled back and used a napkin to wipe her face.

"No, I'm sorry I yelled at you again. I really have to stop that." I smoothed… or as smoothed as can happen realistically with her hair, because its just… big.

"It's true, I'm just used to it. I don't keep anything valuable there, not even most of my clothes. I sleep most nights in my office, its why its all pillows in there. I just…. I can't let you help me like that. I'm sorry, it's a me problem. I'm not a super trusting person, and if you hadn't been so aggressively honest with me even when it was uncomfortable for you I wouldn't even be here. I just depend on myself and I am comfortable with that. I'm sorry." I just nodded and pulled her back to me and gave her a kiss on the to of the head before I sat back down and we went back to our meal.

"So, tomorrow night fondu…" and I talk you into sleeping here. "Thursday, game night." And I talk you into sleeping here. "Friday, what do you want to do?" I asked, whatever it is I'm going to end it with talking her into sleeping here.

"You don't have to take me out or do something with me every night." She said… but oh yes, I do. Its the preamble to me talking her into sleeping here, which is my top priority right now.

"But I want to, what else am I going to do?" I asked her.

"I don't know, whatever stuff you normally do?" She suggested.

"Oh, go to bars and troll for chicks?" I asked with mirth.

"No not that!" She said with a smile playfully slapping my chest. "I don't go out that often. I am a homebody, again inherently distrustful. Sometimes I hang out with Amelia, but I mostly lay in my back room at the store and watch movies on Friday night. Sometimes I internet shop for clothes." She said, I can work with this, hell I'd give her my credit card and she can shop to her hearts desire from my bed.

"You can watch movies and shop online from my bed." I suggested.

"You can come be a flailing giraffe in my back room." She said back.

"I can do that." I said, really it was better than her apartment. I have no problem sleeping on the floor of her "office" in a pillow nest with her as long as she isn't alone at that apartment.

"You don't really have to do that." She said sheepishly.

"I want to, I just want to spend time with you." I said sincerely, that was actually the truth.

"I'll come here after work and we can watch movies and I can shop from your bed. I can cook breakfast on Saturday, but I'll need to bring pots and pans and groceries." She giggled the last part.

"I'll be off work a few hours before you. Text me a list of what you want and I'll go buy it. I've lived here for 5 years, it's probably time I buy a pot or pan for my kitchen, and groceries." I said, freaking pumped at the idea of her cooking for me.

"Are you sure?" She asked a little nervous.

"Am I sure I want to facilitate my girlfriend being able to cook us breakfast when she's at my house? yes Sookie, Yes I'm sure."

"Oh okay." She laughed and started cleaning up her food. She only at about half and was putting the rest into the fridge. The fridge which only has beer, bottled water, Celsius, and a bag of marshmallows because I like cold marshmallows. "Really Eric?" She said pointing to the inside of the fridge.

"You knew exactly who I was when you fell in love with me, Sookie." I said making her roll her eyes and set her food in the fridge while I threw my container away because I apparently eat three times as much as her. She walked back out of the kitchen and went to go up the stairs. I hurried to follow behind her. I didn't see any lines from underwear when I was staring at her ass as we went up the stairs to go back to my room. Is she adverse to underwear in general, or just bras and this is a coincidence? Is she wearing some special kind of invisible underwear? Did she just forget to pack them and is just working with what she has? Is she doing this on purpose to torture me?

"What are you thinking? You're making a face." She said pulling me out of my thoughts as she crawled across the bed to get into the side furthest from the door she has seemed to have adopted as HER side of the bed.

"Are you wearing underwear?" I asked, still going whole hog. Why bother lying? My filter has regular failures in front of her. I have next to zero finesse when it comes to Sookie.

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't like them."

"And bras?"

"I don't like them either."

"I hate bras and underwear too." I whole heartedly agreed with her.

"I'm sure you do." She snickered.

"Thats why you wouldn't let my put my hand up your skirt! Because you were bare assed!" I declared as I slid into bed with her.

"Mostly, but also I wasn't going to let you finger me a few hours after I met you." She said as she grabbed the comic she had been reading again.

"I offered to eat you out too." I reminded her.

"I didn't want to take advantage of you." She smiled again.

"Sookie, I will gladly go down on you whenever you want. Anytime, all day and night long. I will call into work and bury my head between your thighs. Just give me the word." I would too, I have tons of vacation time saved up. I never take days off.

"Eric!" She yelped.

"What?" I played stupid. I knew exactly what I was doing.

"Eric…" She sighed and looked troubled. I took a more serious tone and turned on my side to face her.

"What are YOU thinking? Whats wrong?"

"It's just…. You know how to do all these things. I have no doubt you can make it feel really really good for me. I just have no idea what to do with you, for you. I'm scared I'll be a disappointment." She said and frankly, it was one of the stupidest things I had ever heard. I decided to tell her as much.

"Thats one of the stupidest things I have ever heard. How could you ever be a disappointment?" She started fiddling with a piece of her hair and timidly said.

"I don't know, I don't even know how to even touch you."

"You'll figure it out, or I can tell you. I don't want you nervous about being around me. I'll never pressure you. I want you, yes. I want you BAD. This is all on your timetable though. I'm just telling you whats available on the menu and also getting you acquainted with the idea of me going down on you because its really high on my list of things I want to do to your body, but I can wait." I said as I reached out and slid her across the bed to me and wrapped my arm around her.

"Is there anything not on the menu?" She asked still looking nervous, but she was at least asking questions and talking.

"Anal, it's just not for me." I said, with a smile.

"Thats good, because I don't think I want anything in m butthole." She giggled when she said butthole.

"I just cant get over that its a butthole. Why play in a sewer when there is a state of the art playground right next door?" I joked which made he laugh and put her own arm around my waist.

"Anything else not on the menu?"

"I don't like hitting. I don't find the idea of hurting you sexy. Maybe some light spanking, but I have had women ask me to literally knock them around or choke them. I take no pleasure in that. It makes me uncomfortable." There were actually a few women I walked out on during sex because they wanted it rough to the point of it just feeling abusive and I wasn't interested in that, nor going further with a woman who got turned on by me being abusive. Plus, choking someone just seems fucking dangerous at all times.

"Also good, I don't want you to hit or choke me. Maybe a spank or two… not too hard." She was still smiling, I ran my hand down her back to her butt and gave her a light swat, which made her bury her face in my neck and I smiled against her.

"I love this, Sookie. Just holding you against me right now is really satisfying for me. You're already making it feel good for me." She looked up and scooted up so she could kiss me and I welcomed it. I could kiss her for years at a time and be perfectly happy.

"I love this too. You make me feel good." I smiled and kissed her again. I decided to cool it down while she was leaving a sex conversation on a good note.

"Lets relax, then go to sleep. Im going to play my game." I waved my phone around a little. "You can read, or here is the tv remote. Feel at home." I handed her the remote. She just put it on HER night table and went back to the comics, which I loved. She curled up under my arm and laid on my chest while she read and I played my game on my phone. We both got tired not too much later and put our things down and went to sleep. I was honestly a little shocked at how easy it was for me to just hold her to me and feel perfectly comfortable sleeping in bed with her.

I took her to work the next morning and she kissed me before she got out of the car like it was perfectly natural. I loved it, I wanted to drive her to work every day now.

Work sucked. I was tasked with digging through Sookies idiot brothers laptop and emails. The amount of porn sites and only fans he is subscribed to and paying for is outrageous. For every work related email, there are 3 porn related ones. He also has some really questionable tastes in erotica. Yuck.

I did some shopping to get stuff for my kitchen before I had to go pick up Sookie after her store closed so we could go to dinner. Fondu was amazing. It was also sexy as hell to watch her eat it. I was able to talk her into sleeping at my house again, but we had to stop by her store on the way home so she could get some clothes. She has a full and rather well organized closet in her office.

Thursday morning I dropped her off at work again, best routine ever. She had confirmed with Amelia that they were both coming tonight. Amelia is going to pick Sookie up from her store after it closes and they are going to come to my house. Sookie also likes pineapple on pizza so I will no longer be the lone man out amongst my friends. I'm not sure how Bobby, Andre and Rasul will react to having girls there. Trey will be fine, he's more like me, where we have completely normal looking facades to our very very nerdy insides. The other three are intense power nerds you can identify just by looks. They are my best friends though and I wouldn't trade them for anything. Sookie and Amelia are hotties who would make most men nervous. Sookie fucks me up all the time just breathing the same air as her and we aren't even having sex yet.

She did let me rub her through her shorts last night though and she groped me a bit, which for me was and exciting advancement for us, especially because she just started pawing at me when we were making out. I wasn't even been suggestive or dirty talking. She was just into it and going on her instincts. Progress was progress. I was happy at whatever pace she was setting.

Trey arrived first, as always and helped me set up the table. Bobby and Andre next, because the drove together, and Rasul last. Rasul gives strong strong Aziz Ansari vibes. I hadn't told any of them anything other than we were expecting two more tonight. Despite me having given Sookie a key and garage opener, they still knocked on the door. I went and opened it. Sookie was wearing a billowy orange skirt with a high slit up her thigh that had a large gold buckle on the side. Her Top was a matching orange and could only be described as a strapless bra with long wizards sleeves. She was wearing a bunch of gold necklaces with different styles and stones all layered together. Her hair was down, big and curly just how I liked it. Her makeup was light, basically just eye liner. She was so stinking hot. She immediately took off her little high heeled gold sandals, which made her especially short next to me, but thats really my own fault for taking it way too far when I was growing.

Amelia had her long black hair down and very severe short bangs. Her makeup was heavier and more gothic. She was wearing a black mini dress with some sort of BDSM looking harness on the top of it. She was wearing thigh high platform boots and red fishnets. I was just now noticing she has a ton of tattoos. Sookie looked like sunshine and Amelia was the darkness.

I leaned down and gave Sookie a kiss and I put my hands in her hair a little and said.

"I love your hair so much."

"Thank you." She giggled and I walked them into the living room where the table was set up holding Sookies hand.

"These are the extra two for the night. This is my girlfriend Sookie and her friend Amelia." To say the guys looked shocked would be an understatement. First, they weren't dressed nearly as casual as we were, but I had learned that this was Sookies baseline for clothes. It was this and silk nighties. I don't think she owns sweatpants or a t-shirt. Amelia was all vampy the last time I saw her too, I think its safe to say she, like Sookie doesn't have a casual setting.

"This is Trey." I pointed to my lumber jack looking friend. He was shorter than me, but still tall by normal standards. He worked as a mechanic, so he had muscles built by hard work. "This is Rasul." Who looked like Aziz Ansari, fedora and all. "This is Andre." Andre was wearing denim shorts and he had a legends of Zelda shirt tucked in belt and all. His hair was long and a little greasy. "And Bobby." Bobbys looks were deceiving, he looked like your average neck beard, really over weight and all, but he was a crazy nice guy. As far as friends go, he's probably one of the best you can get.

"It's nice to meet y'all. Eric has had such nice things to say about you." Sookie said brightly, Still holding my hand.

"Are we playing D or Magic tonight? I brought my own decks, standard and commander if it's magic. If we are doing D I have a couple of character choices so I'm not stepping on any toes from the established group." Amelia said holding up two deck boxes. Wow…. She was good to go.

"Cookie, do you have a deck?" Andre asked.

"Sookie." I corrected.

"I'm sorry, Sookie. I wasn't trying to be rude. I really did just mishear Eric, when he introduced you." Andre apologized sincerely and a little too profusely. His mother was an overbearing harpy. I had met her a few times when she had shown up trying to find him. She was unwilling to let him go have an adult life, her apron strings were made of adamantium, and it had taken a serious toll on his social skills, especially with women.

"It's no problem, Andre. It happens all the time, they sound a lot alike." She said in her sweet soft little voice and walked over to pat his arm. He darted to where her hand was touching him like it was made of silver and he was a vampire being burned by it. He took a step back and a deep breath and regrouped.

"Do you have a deck?'

"I do, I play mono red goblins."

"Do you know how to play commander?" Rasul asked.

"My goblin deck is a commander deck. Krenko, mob boss is my commander. Both my decks are gobbling though. I just like my gobbies." She said grabbing her overnight bag and fishing out a deck box that looked like a red dumpster and held it up. "I custom made all my tokens too, see they all have pictures of those naked cats on them, because in my opinion, thats the closest thing to a real life goblin I will ever encounter." She pulled out a stack of tokens she had made and I was in awe.

Marry me

Marry me

Marry me

"Marry me?" Trey said from behind me. To say I swung around and looked murderous would be an understatement. If he kept that shit up I would never invite him over again, and I might actually kill him.

"No, Eric already has dibs on marrying me. He's been asking a bunch already." She said reaching out and taking my hand. I gave him one more hard look and pulled her to me, bent down and licked the side of her face and said.

"Mine."

"ewwwww." Sookie giggled and wiped her face, but she didn't pull away. Amelia, was smiling at me, but seemed to be inching her way over to Bobby.

"Where did you find them?" Rasul asked, as he circled Amelia like a predator. She pushed him away and went to stand behind Bobby. Both were much shorter than her. In her shoes she was over 6', flat footed I would guess she was 5'10" or so. Rasul was only a couple of inches taller than Sookie, and Bobby was only a couple of inches taller than Rasul.

"I own Brew Ha Ha, Eric came in and the rest is history." Sookie said giving a very sanitized version of events.

"What is Brew Ha Ha?" Bobby asked, he was still sitting and Amelia had now taken the seat next to him and scooted her chair closer to him making him look uneasy. Seriously, this group did not get around girls much.

"It's a new age kitch ,and tea shop stuff. I also sell CBD, and hemp derived THC stuff. I cater to Wiccans, hippes, and pot heads who don't have a medical card."

"Oh thats cool, I'll have to come check it out some time." Bobby said politely. Seriously, nicest guy I know.

"I'm there sometimes too. I just cover for Sookie. I'm a tattoo artist." Amelia said leaning into him seductively as she reached for his deck to look at it. I looked over at Sookie as I observed her friend definitely hitting on Bobby and Sookie pulled me down and whispered in my ear.

"That's her type, her last boyfriend Hugo gave the same energy and look as Bobby. I have never seen her with anyone other than a chubby, nerdy, nice guy." I smiled and surpressed a laugh. Good luck to Bobby, because Amelia looks dangerous.

"Oh Tattoos, thats cool. I like your ink." Trey said to Amelia taking the seat on the other side of her, but she looked decidedly unimpressed with his presence.

"Thank you." She said tightly and turned back to Bobby.

"Do you have any tattoos?" She asked. I sat down across the table from them and pulled Sookie into my lap and slid my hand up her thigh tracing the slit of her skirt up her hip to where her nonexistent panties should be but never will be. Andre clearly saw what I was doing because he jumped with a squeak and scurried to the seat at the head of the table.

"No, no tattoos." Bobby said shaking his head bemused.

"Do you want one?" She asked leaning into him with a smile. Her black lipstick making her teeth almost glow.

"I have a few tattoos." Trey said, which made me again have to suppress a smile and laugh. My dude doesn't have a chance, and is clearly not used to the idea of losing the girl to a guy like Bobby. Realistically, Bobby is objectively the better catch if you don't give excessive points to looks and height.

"Good for you." Amelia said, barely turning to him and gettin up to sit on the other side of Bobby to get away from Trey. Sookie gave a little laugh this time. "So Bobby, do you want one?" She asked again.

"I….I…. Don't know. I haven't really thought about it." He stammered.

"Here, give me your number and we can think about it together. If you don't want one we can just hang out." She said trying to look adorable, but really she still just looked dangerous and like a lot more than Bobby could handle, but hell, maybe that would be good for him.

"Umm… sure, cool." Bobby said taking her phone with his hands shaking and texted himself from her phone so she would have his number.

"Super cool." She smiled again and slid his deck back to him.

"Lets play magic tonight. We have enough for a mini tournament. Three sets of two, then we'll play 3 man for the winner." Andre suggested.

"You going to be the game master?" I asked Andre, he was always the game and dungeon master. He knew all the rules to everything.

"Yeah, lets pair off. Trey vs. Amelia, Bobby vs. Sookie, Eric vs. Rasul. We'll play best of three." Andre said and everyone got up so we could all sit across from out respective opponent. I was sad to let Sookie off my lap, but it was even sexier watching her not just play magic the gathering, but play it really well. The only reason she lost was because she was playing against Bobby who was just frankly, a really good player.

I beat Rasul and Amelia absolutely destroyed Trey… like decimated him. Her skill and deck probably rivals Bobbys.

We took a break before playing three man to eat pizza.

"I cant believe you found someone to agree with you about pineapple on pizza." Andre said shaking his head. He had started to relax now that he see's Sookie and Amelia really are here to enjoy the game and not just be hot sexy ladies. I would have still invited them if they were, hell I didn't even know they were going to come with their own decks, but now I'm even happier I did. They both fit in really well. It was really cool for my girlfriend and my friends to get along. Especially, because I have never brought a girl around before. I wouldn't even really want to. This part of my life, my friends and my interests has always been super private. I didn't have to hide pieces of myself from her and it gave me a huge thrill.

"It's salty and sweet, whats not to like?" Sookie asked.

"It's hot fruit." Rasul said like he was disgusted.

"Apple pie, pineapple upside down cake, bananas foster, baked apples, blueberry cobbler….. there is a huge precedent that hot fruit is delicious." Sookie said defending our tastes in pizza. She is so so perfect.

"Those are all desserts, this is a savory application." Rasul said like he was defending his thesis.

"So you have never had a meal thats a little salty and sweet? What about biscuits and gravy? Maple sausage? Vodka sauce on pasta, really… anything made with pumpkin or a bell pepper."

"Where did you go to school?" Rasul asked with a smile looking amused.

"I didn't, I got kicked out at 18 and never finished high school." Huh, I didn't know that. I figured she had finished high school at least. Not that it mattered, she was clearly intelligent and she was great at running her business. I know she had built her own website, because I had asked.

"Really? You know Eric has a masters degree, right?" Rasul said, making me shoot him a hard look. I didn't like him acting like her lack of formal education would be an issue for me. She had a much much different set of circumstances than I did.

"Rasul! Stop!"

"It's okay, Eric. Also, good for you. I didn't know that." Sookie said patting my leg. "I had a unique home life situation. I got held back twice in school because issues at home affected my performance in school. I wasn't even a junior when I turned 18 and my parents, specifically my mother couldn't get me out of her house fast enough. I was fortunate to be able to stay with a cousin for a few months. Luckily, my college fund was just in an account in my name. They were legally obligated to give it to me. There were no education stipulations to how I had to use the money, so I opened my store with it. I knew I would always be unemployable because of my lack of education so I decided the best course of action was to create a job and income for myself. I have added to and changed my business model over the years to stay profitable, but over all I don't think being a high school drop out has adversely affected me. I am still learning new things all the time, just not in a classroom." Her voice wasn't angry or hurt, she was just letting him know she wasn't stupid.

"School isn't for everyone. I'm dyslexic so I never went to college. I was done and over it by the time I get out of high school. I taught myself web design and I make a decent living maintaining websites now. I have friends in the same industry who actually went to school for it and they aren't as stable as I am." Bobby said.

"My degree is in Sociology, I don't use it. Im a mechanic because the jobs I could use my degree with don't pay enough to pay my student loans. I might as well have just not gone to school, all it did was fuck up my ability to afford to live because I'm stuck paying student loan payments each month that are more than my rent and a balance that never goes down because the interest is so messed up. I'll be paying them until I'm dead. I cant even save to retire because that money has to go to my eternal student loan payments. " Trey said supportively, I smiled and squeezed her thigh.

"I dropped out too, just because I wanted to though. High school didn't serve a purpose for me because I have ALWAYS wanted to be a tattoo artist. I dropped out at 16 and focused on the stuff that would get me closer to my goals." Amelia said, she was decidedly less polite and was making scary eyes at Rasul.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it so rudely. I wasn't calling you stupid. I guess I'm just shocked Eric has a girlfriend at all. Also, I am apparently still very very stupid despite my education." Rasul said properly chastised.

"It's okay, I know you didn't mean anything by it. I was just explaining." Sookie said sweetly, taking another bite of her pizza before she turned to me and asked. "What are your degrees in?"

"My under graduate is a double major in Business and marketing. Then I have a masters of business administration "

"Where did you go to school?" She asked and I shrunk a little and murmured.

"I went to MIT, then I got my MBA from Stanford."

"Ohhhhhh, you a fancy boy." She she said with a whistle teasing me.

"I was the best at wasting my Dads money." I nodded.

"Hmmm, probably a selfish plot by him because now you work for him. Have you made him his money back on his investment?" She asked and I barked a laugh… She's not stupid at all.

"I like to think I have turned him a profit on his investment." I nodded.

"We could look at the accounts you have brought in and maintain and quantify if he has indeed seen a return on his investment or not." She said.

"You understand what he does for a living? Because none of us really get it still." Trey said smiling at Sookie.

"Eric focuses on growth and acquisition of businesses and intellectual property under the Northman collective umbrella. He either invests in or outright buys smaller companies." Sookie said, of course she knows what I do. I do the same thing HER family does. I do the job her parents wanted her to have with them.

"I still don't get it." Trey said with a chuckle.

"Eric wears suits to work, thats all we need to know." Andre laughed and shook his head.

"Yeah, if anyone asked me what my Boyfriend does, I just say he wears suits and does business stuff." Sookie giggled.

"I tell people my girlfriend is a small business owner." I informed her, I hadn't had anyone ask me what she does yet, but thats what I would say.

"Sorry I don't wear suits." She smile.

"Please never wear a suit. Office attire isn't your best look. I like this stuff way better." I said waving my hand over her and fluffed her hair a little.

"What do you do for a living, Rasul?" Amelia asked.

"I manage the budget for the Shreveport sanitation department."

"So you're a garbage man." She said with a snark, clearly unimpressed with him.

"No I'm an accountant." He clarified.

"A garbage accountant." She said and Sookie turned and buried her face in my chest to hide her laughter.

"I deserve this." Rasul said.

"You suuuuuuuure do." Amelia nodded. "Andre, what do you do for a living?" She asked.

"I buy and sell magic cards, Pokemon cards, and comics online." He said, Andre was the best at getting you something. If you wanted some obscure card, he could get it.

"You have a big inventory?' She asked.

"Larger than my Mom likes. It takes up my entire basement."

"You should open a store front. You could charge entry for tournaments and sell cards and stuff. You are really good at running games." She said supportively.

"I agree with Amelia, thats a great Idea." I said, nodding vehemently. He WAS a great game master. His knowledge was unmatched and he had the inventory already in his possession. He also had the network of players and customers already. Everyone who was into table top and comics in the area already know Andre.

"My Mom wouldn't like me being away from her so much." He said I said, adamantium apron strings.

"It's always an idea." She said with a shrug, not pushing it.

We finished eating and went to go play three man, best of three to get our winner. Amelia ended up winning the night, which was actually really cool. She was super fun to play against. I wasn't on my best game because I insisted on having Sookie sit in my lap and it's hard to remember to hit all your triggers when there is a really hot girl sitting in your lap. I didn't care though. I didn't want her sitting anywhere else.

I was able to convince her to stay the night. Amelia lived in the other direction from her so it makes Amelias drive home shorter if she stayed with me. Bobby and Amelia agreed to hang out the next night before they left. Over all it was a really good night.

We walked upstairs together holding hands after we cleaned up together, which felt excitingly domestic. WE had OUR friends over at OUR house, and now WE are cleaning up before we go to bed in OUR bedroom. I walked into my closet and left her to dig through her bag. I made a mental note to put her things away in my closet tomorrow when I get home from work before I go to get her.

I changed into pajama pants and I was SHOCKED when I walked out and I saw Sookie on my bed, completely naked. I say shocked, because I have been doing a lot of pushing and dragging her along in this relationship. She's always hesitant and bashful, I don't always know where she stands. Most of the time I feel much much more into her than she is into me, but right now she's completely naked lounging on the top of my bed….. OUR bed.

"Are you okay?" I asked, you know because I'm an idiot and of course thats what I would ask the girl I have been wanting to see naked who is finally naked for me.

"I am, c'mere." She said beckoning me over to her. Like a moth to a flame I was drawn to her. She was the best looking naked woman I had ever seen. I don't know if it was because her body actually was just that bangin' or because I was ass over tits into her, and my emotional investment made her just 100x more attractive to me. Whatever it was it didn't matter. I was getting on my bed and laying next to the most beautiful woman. Had ever seen and she was naked, naked just for meeeeeeeeeeeee!

"Lay on your back." She demanded. I complied, normally I liked to be in charge and the more dominant one, but bossy Sookie was a'okay with me.

"Bossy."

"I'm the boss of you." She said as she threw a leg over me and straddled my waist. I wasn't 100% sure what she was doing, where she was going, or how far she wanted this to go, so I fought all of my instincts and left my arms by my sides.

"You are the boss of me." I agreed with her, she very much was. It was almost frightening how much Power she had over me after such a short period of time.

"Touch me." She demanded and dropped her head to kiss me. My hands couldn't get up onto her fast enough. I ran them over her ass and between her legs, but I didn't do more, not until she told me to.

"Tell me what you want, Sookie." I breathed out, dropping my head back as she lightly dragged her nails down my chest.

"I want to make you cum." She whispered in my ear like she was going to get in trouble if anyone heard her. I smiled, I wanted nothing more than for her to get me to cum. I wanted her to cum too though.

"Only if I'm allowed to get you off too." I whispered back to her, as I kissed down her neck and continued running my hands up and down her body.

"Do you really want to?" She asked quietly, chewing on her bottom lip. I pulled it out from between her teeth and kissed her, sitting up and holding her flush to me.

"Sookie, it's only good for me if it's good for you too. Thats what I'm into. Getting you off gets me off."

"Okay." She said still whispering, but reached between us and rubbed her hand on my extremely hard dick. I flipped us over so she was under me and I kissed her deeply again. I smiled into her mouth when her legs came up and she used her little feet to push my pajama pants down. I helped her get them off of me so we were both laying there completely bare. She reached down again and this time wrapped her whole hand around me and tentatively stroked me. I reached between us and put my hand over hers to show her that I wanted to be gripped tighter, and she did. She kept stroking me and it made me groan and drop my head to her shoulder.

"Sookie, that feels good." I hadn't had a hand job since high school, but it was the best feeling sexual experience that I had had in years if not ever. Again, not sure it it was just Sookie was naturally talented and just gave a good hand job, or if I had feelings for her so she could basically do no wrong. Regardless I loved it.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes, Sookie. I'm sure that you grabbing and stroking my dick feels good." I chuckled a little, but quickly stopped when I moved my hand between her legs and rubbed her clit a few times before I slid one finger into her and saw the face she made and her sexy little gasp.

"Is this okay?" I asked moving my finger in and out and moving my thumb to her clit.

"Yes, Eric. You rubbing on my clit and searching out my G spot is okay." She said mimicking me which made me smile. I did finally find her G spot which made her drop my dick and arch her back. I wasn't even mad at it. The way she looked while I was trying to get her off was a work of art.

I kept watching her and repeating the things that got a reaction out of her until she was literally gripping at me and riding my hand. She was impossibly tight already, but when she came she gripped my fingers like a vice and I couldn't wait until I could have my dick in her and feel that. I could wait though. It would be worth the wait. I kept my hand in her stroking her through her release, wave after wave going through her. The unintelligible sounds she made when she came would be something I know I was going to think about non stop.

"Wow…" She said sitting her head up and looking at me. I'm sure my face could only be described in that moment as shit eating. I was pretty proud of myself right now. "You shouldn't have done that. I'm going to want that all the time now." She said still a breathing a little heavy.

"I mean, thats my plan." I said matter of factly. She took a deep breath and got out from under me and rolled me on my back.

"Tell me what to do." She said quietly as she moved her body down mine and put her hand back on me, stroking up and down again.

"Squeeze harder." I said closing my eyes and just enjoying the feeling of her on me. I was a little surprised when I felt her mouth close around my tip. I gasped, which must have startled her because she pulled back and said.

"Sorry."

"No no, do it again. It felt really good. I was just surprised. Please don't stop." I begged again. I'm always begging with her. Way way too much power over me. Thats for sure. Like the perfect angel she is, she put her mouth back on me and started sucking me up and down, using her hand on what she couldn't fit in her mouth. I was grunting and groaning, grabbing her hair to gently help her set the speed I liked, but she didn't really need that much instruction. She had me on the edge faster than I ever had been from just a blow job before.

"Sookie, I'm gonna….. you need to move." I said, breathed, grunted… the words were definitely not the clearest, but She didn't move, this girl sucked me harder and faster until I came and then she fucking swallowed!

Marry me

Marry me

Marry me

"Oh my God you are good at that." I said as I pulled her back up to me and I rubbed my face on her chest and neck like I was an animal making her with my scent before I kissed her.

"Are you sure?" She asked again.

"Please stop doubting if I'm into this. You're sexy Sookie, you got me off and I loved every second. Deal with it." She smiled and I noticed I had really fucked up her hair. I wanted to take a picture of her, but I also felt like she might take it wrong if I asked to take a picture of her while he was naked. So I decided to just take a really good look at her and commit it to memory before I pulled her next to me and brought the covers over us.

Sookie and I went on like that for weeks going on into months. We spent every night together, I was able to get her to stay with me every night except 1, and I followed her to her apartment and slept with my eyes open guarding her. Luckily, she gave it up after that, but she didn't full on move in with me. At least she wouldn't admit she lived here, despite most of her stuff taking residence in my home, her sleeping here every night, having her own key, parking her car next to mine in the garage, her cat woman costume being displayed in my office right next to my Batman costume, and us buying her a sewing machine to make one of my unused bedrooms into a sewing room for her. I wasn't going to push it with her on semantics. She lived here, I knew it, she knew it, we just didn't say it.

We also still did game night every Thursday. Amelia had gotten her claws into Bobby and he was almost as fucked up for her as I was for Sookie. Seeing Amelias tall, slender frame hanging all over Bobby was still a trip, but I loved it for him and she was as into him back as he was her. When Sookie said he was just her type, she really meant it.

Sookie started cooking and attempting to teach me how to cook. She was concerned I would meet an early grave if I kept eating out for every meal. I did not mind having my girl cook for me and I didn't mind spending time with her in the kitchen. Any time with Sookie was a good time.

The best time was when Andres Mom Sophie Ann Stormed into Sookies Store when we were making out and doing other stuff in the back room and accused her of trying to seduce her son. It took me yelling that Sookie was my girlfriend and she was interrupting a bomb ass blow job to get her to accept Sookie wasn't the problem with Andre.

With the help of the laptop and employee roster Sookie had swiped I had been able to be a complete menace to Stackhouse industries. They couldn't breathe right now without me ruining their plans. My father had never been more pleased. Sookie had actually hired a part time employee named Holly so She could spend more time with me and didn't have to be at the store 7 days a week. I was concerned she was going to be over extending herself, but apparently she had just never done it before because she had nothing better to be doing but be at the store. She was actually making a shit ton of money. Especially, after Bobby helped her make her website even easier to use and got her custom tea blends listed on Amazon and helped her set up a YouTube channel so she could drive traffic to her site. If things kept going well Holly would be going full time and she'd need to hire someone just to pack orders.

We hadn't had full on sex yet, but it didn't matter. What we were doing was the best sexual experiences of my life! When she is ready to have sex I have no doubt in my mind it will become the best sex ever.

Unfortunately, we have come to thanksgiving and her Mother has made it clear she has a man coming to offer her. Too bad, so sad. Sookie is mine. Sookie has only agreed to come if she can bring a guest. This plan was all well and good in the beginning, but at this point everything was going so well, I really just didn't want to fuck around with her family at all. I didn't want to go have a meal while another guy hits on her. I didn't even care about sticking it to her mother anymore. It wasn't going to change anything and there wasn't anything she could really do anymore now that we had destroyed her edge over us in business. My father was immune to her and her bullshit now. Hell, even Sam managed to start actually being decent at his job for once. He and my Dad were getting along and they both loved Sookie.

"Do you really want to do this?" I asked while we were driving to her parents house.

"Not really, but I feel like we should. If for nothing else, just one last middle finger, then we go ghost."

"I mean, if we just don't show up what can they really do?"

"I'm not eager to find out. Anyway, my lease is up next month." She said making me perk up and switch to a much much more pleasurable topic.

"Oh is it?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking about moving." She said looking at me with a coy smile.

"You know, I'm looking for a roommate."

"Oh are you? How much do you charge for rent?"

"The house is paid for, but I do charge snuggles, kisses, hugs and between the thighs time."

"Mmmmmm, thats in my budget. What about sex? Do I get sex?" She asked and my head jerked to her. I was struggling to keep my eyes on the road.

"It's all the sex you want. I promise."

"I want sex tonight." She said sweetly, like she didn't just offer me the thing I desire most in the world.

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious, I don't want this whole day to be a wash. when we get home, I want you inside of me. I love you, and you have been in love with me for months."

"True, very true. You saying you love me is fucking me up right now. I'm going to be hard the whole time we're at your parents." I was grinning like a fool. Sookie loooooooooooves me. She want to have seeeeeeeeeeeex with me.

"Don't worry, as soon as my mother speaks you'll go soft. " She said with a sigh.

"Hey, I love you." I said grabbing her hand and holding it.

"I love you too. I love you so much." She said squeezing my hand.

We made the rest of the drive in silence. Her parents house was a hour outside of town. Which I couldn't understand, an hour long commute one way to work, no thanks. If for some reason the location of my office changed and I was no longer 10 minutes away, I would quit my job. My house is perfect and I already own it. A long commute to work is unreasonable to me.

We pulled up to Sookies parents home. It was elaborate and ostentatious. My own father lived in a nice house, but this shit was a mansion. It might as well be a hotel. When I was young my parents had wanted to live in a neighborhood where Sam and I could run around and play with other children. I had picked my own home for the location and the layout. It was significantly under the budget of what I could afford, but it was the perfect house for me.

"Did you grow up in this house?" I asked still shocked by the obnoxious opulence of it all.

"Yeah, it gets worse. Theres literally servants and my mother is TRASH, so she treats them like slaves.'

"Wooooooooow…. I thought I was over the top having a maid come twice a week." I said mentally preparing myself to get out of the car.

"You are, we're perfectly capable of doing our own laundry and sweeping our own floors." She said giving me a smile.

"Our laundry and OUR floors." I repeated wiggling my eyebrows.

"Mmmhmmm." She nodded with an excited little smile.

"In OUR house, that we live in together, because we are in looooooooove." I said dramatically making her laugh. What a beautiful sight. I got out and came around to open her door and help her out. We walked up to the door arm in arm. I was in a silvery gray 3 piece suit with a black tie. Sookie was coordinating with me wearing a floor length silver gown that had a square neckline, and was almost completely backless. Now, thanksgiving in the Northman home is more of a sweatpants and t-shirt event. When Sookie told me the attire would be formal, I was a little taken back. This is an eating holiday and you cant really eat yourself sick in a suit and formal gown. The one saving grace was Sookie had left her hair down and wild. At my request. She was going to straighten it, but I took her flat iron and ran away from her screaming that she wasn't committing a crime that serious on my watch. Her hair is perfect and after the very very disturbing experience of seeing it in a slicked back bun after she robbed her father and brother for me, it was something I never wished to see again. Big curly pony tail? Great. Claw clip holding it back cute. Her curls completely hidden? Unacceptable.

I rang the doorbell and it swung open. We were greeted by an older black woman who gave Sookie a warm smile.

"Mistress Sookie, how lovely to see you. How are you?" Sookie stepped in and gave her a hug.

"I'm good Octavia, this is my Boyfriend Eric." Sookie introduced me. I held out my hand to shake hers, but she just looked at it for a long moment before she nervously took it and shook my hand.

"It's nice to meet you." I said.

"You too, Mister…."

"Just call me Eric." I smiled again, but she looked concerned.

"His last name is Northman. Honey, she cant just call you Eric. It's okay. I'm sorry. Octavia, I'm sorry." Sookie looked so forlorned. I could already tell this was going to be a long day. Good thing Sookie offered sex to me, because I needed something to look forward to.

"Mr. Northman, Mistress Sookie. Why don't you join the rest of the party in the parlor." Octavia said with a flourish and small bow.

"I know the way, thank you, Octavia." Sookie said politely and took my hand to lead me across the large marble foyer.

"Sookie, what the fuck was that?" I leaned down and whispered to her.

"Eric, my parents live on a different planet. Everything is super formal here."

"Lover, I don't think I have the right manners to be here." I was getting concerned now.

"But you went to Stanford."

"For school, I wasn't Hob nobbing." I let her know.

We walked into what I now know is a parlor and there was a small group of people sitting on furniture that looked beautiful, expensive and very uncomfortable.

"Sookie, Darling." Her mother Michelle greeted her.

"Mother, how are you?" Sookie asked adopting a weird high society tone to her voice mimicking her mother. I did not like it.

"Who is this? I thought you were bringing a friend, not a man."

"This is my Boyfriend Eric Northman." Sookie said, now with her own smirk.

"I beg your pardon…." Michelle said stunned.

"Eric Northman, pleasure to meet you." I said extending my hand again and Michelle looked at it like a piece of shit and just lightly touched it with her finger tips making for the most awkward handshake of all time that Sookie snickered observing.

"Corbitt!" Michelle turned around and barked. Sookies father got up and slowly walked over.

"Hello pumpkin." He said kissing Sookies cheek.

"Corbitt…. This is Sookies BOYFRIEND Eric NORTHMAN." She said Boyfriend and Northman like the words made her physically ill.

"Oh, well if that a'int some shit." He barked.

"Corbitt! Language, oh my heavens!" She said literally clutching her pearls.

"Sorry, Doodlebug." She turned her narrowed eyes away from Corbitt and turned back to Sookie.

"Alcide will be here soon. You look unkempt. Come with me we will straighten your hair to make you look presentable." She grabbed at Sookies Arm and I Couldn't help it I put my hand on hers and said.

"No, her hair is perfect." Sookie smiled at me and wrapped both of her arms around mine and held me like I was a security blanket. Michelle clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to stay with Eric. I don't need to meet Alcide. Things with Eric are very serious. We have been living with each other since June." HA! I knew we were living together! And she knew it too. I looked down at her trying to convey my triumphant smugness at hearing her admit that.

"You have not…." Her mother said horrified.

"Oh, we have. If I have it my way we'll be married before the end of the year. You know Sookie though, she likes to make me work for it." I said still looking pleased as shit.

"Awwww, congratulations Sis." Sookies idiot brother Jason said as he walked up. We know each other professionally. HE gave her a little half hug which she returned.

"No, no congratulations. You are NOT marrying him." Her mother declared.

"Why not? I'm pregnant." Sookie said with a straight face, and I started shaking with laughter. She isn't pregnant, but I'm not going to correct her, or blow her story.

"YOU ARE NOT…..!" Her mother said in horror, leaning back into Corbitt like she was fainting.

"I am, thats why I felt it was prudent to come this year and introduce him to you." Sookie said edging closer to me. I shifted her to be on my other side further from her mother.

"You will not be having that baby. I will not allow it." Now that shit felt like a whole threat. Fictitious baby or not, this bitch wasn't threatening Sookie or my pretend baby.

"Oh, you won't allow it? Is that a threat to my baby and my girl?" I asked venom in my voice.

"Don't you catch tone with me, little boy. Corbitt, I want him out." She spat. Corbitt came and tried to move me, but I'm twice his size so he couldn't budge me.

"Michelle, your home is tacky and gaudy. You have terrible taste. Your husband is a cuck and you are a whore who looks like you are stuck in a wind tunnel because your plastic surgeon nipped too much. You will not threaten Sookie, or our baby or I will take every dirty little family secret that Sookie and Hadley have told me and make them public. I will ruin you personally. After I do that I will dedicate my life to continuing to bury you professionally. Hey, Jason. How are things going at work?"

"Ummm, not great man, not great." He said his stupid little vacant eyes staring at me.

"You may have had some weird ass thrall over my father, but I don't give a flying fuuuuuck about you and I have no affection for you to prevent me from going as hard as I want to. Fuck you and your stupid little games. You think you are so cute with your scheming, but you aren't. You're just sad and a hag with nothing more in your life than to mess with people for entertainment." I finished pointing and looming over her, now an inch from her face practically growling.

"How dare you…." She started.

"Sookie, go get in the car." I said, well…. Frankly a little too harshly, but I knew she wasn't taking it seriously.

"Yes, Sir." She said smiling and following me out compliantly, which I knew was another fuck you to her parents because Sookie doesn't listen to shit ever. She does not like to be bossed around. We walked straight out not even getting her purse that Octavia took at the door. I opened her door and helped her in because she couldn't really move in her dress. When I got in I said.

"Shit, I have to go back for your purse."

"Naw, its empty. It was just for looks."

"Convenient." I said taking some time to cool down. We had been driving about 15 minutes when Sookie broke the silence.

"Eric, that was the sexiest thing I have ever seen. The whole time in my head I was just chanting marry me, marry me, marry me over and over. I have wanted to see my mother get dressed down my entire life. AND you got us out of there way way ahead of schedule without us having to eat whatever turkey foam compote she was going to try to pass off as food. I love you so fucking much."

"That happens to me all the time. I always want to marry you."

"Pull over behind that farm, Eric."

"What why?"

"Do it now!" Sookie yelled and I complied. She started unzipping her dress and I just looked at her. "Get in the back." She demanded.

"Sookie, we're not having sex for the first time in the back of my car." I said figuring out what she wanted.

"Yes we are, take your pants off. I need you now." She said as she climbed naked over the seats into the back of the SUV and laid the back row flat. Well, I guess we were doing this right now. I didn't want to say no too many times and have her rescind my invitation to her pussy. I stepped out, since climbing over the seats wasn't really and option for a man my size. I took my jacket, vest, tie and belt off before I opened the rear door and got in, closing it behind me.

"Sookie, are you sure?" I asked again, running my hands down her drinking in her perfect body. Let me tell you. She had it right about mixing sex with love. Sex without feelings is freaking lame. I have never for a single second missed it.

"I have never been more sure about anything." She said reaching up and unbuttoning my shirt and sliding it off my shoulders, tossing it behind her, before she lifted off my under shirt and sent it flying the same way.

I pulled her to me and kissed her while her hands snaked between us and started undoing my pants. We broke only for a moment so I could maneuver my pants off. I wasn't graceful, but hey, it was a small space and I have a lot of limbs. I went back to kissing her and put my hand between her legs only to find she was already cray wet.

"You are so wet for me already."

"I told you that was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. I would have let you fuck me right there on the floor of the parlor if I didn't think, Daddy would have gotten his gun."

"I love you so much." I said with my hand still between her thighs, but she pulled me away from her and grabbed my cock, guiding me to her entrance.

"Please, Eric." She begged, I couldn't say no to her. Or think straight. She wanted me and I wanted her. I slowly pushed into her letting her adjust, I'll be honest, the faces she was making were quite the ego boost. Now I'm not wielding some 12" mega dick. I am above average and proportionate. I was under no illusions her first time was going to be that good for her, so I was just going to focus on us being connected and loving her and being grateful that she picked me.

When I was finally all the way in and she started moving a bit herself to indicate she was ready for more, I started moving slowly. I moved my hand to where we were joined and started rubbing her clit to make it as good for her as was possible. I was kissing her and telling her how much I love her, how perfect for me she is. To say I was surprised when she ended up cumming on my dick would be an understatement. I was so surprised in fact my own orgasm snuck right up on me and I ended up cumming inside of her. I had been planning on pulling out, but you know… best laid plans and all that.

We were just laying together after we finished wrapped around each other when she said.

"You shouldn't have done that. Now I'm going to want that all the time."

"That was the plan." I chuckled, Lord knows I'm going to want it all the time. I already did even before now.

"Want to go get married?"

"Don't tease me about that, Sookie." I said seriously.

"I'm serious, lets get married."I sat up a little and looked at her.

"I have a ring for you at home." I said and she smiled.

"Can I have it?" She asked.

"Absolutely. I am so pumped you're on board now." I said handing her my button down and putting my pants and undershirt back on.

"Seeing you make my dreams come true defending me and our fictional baby. I just knew I needed to stop holding back, you're it for me. You're my perfect." She said and I gave a smug smile. She loooooooves me.

We drove back home discussing wedding plans and what we would bring from her apartment to our house. Nothing, the answer is nothing, her whole apartment is a throw away.

When We got home I ran straight inside and went to my office and grabbed her ring off of the top shelf behind my desk and went and gave it to her. It was a raw moonstone in a gold setting and it had two thin gold bands and two thicker twister bands that had other stones accentuating them. Why give her 5 rings for her engagement ring? Well, Sookie likes to stack and layer her jewelry and I wanted everything on THAT finger to be from me and only me. When she saw it I knew I had made the right choice because she stared excited shaking and screaming and immediately ran off to go call Amelia.

After the holidays, in which we DID NOT return to the Stackhouse estate. We were on our way to Gen Con in Indianapolis. Amelia and Bobby came with us. Sookie and Amelia were in the back together because they wanted to talk wedding stuff on the way. No problem with me, Please do plan our wedding. I couldn't get married to her fast enough. She didn't want a Vegas affair, but she did want to keep it small. We had agreed on a wedding in our backyard with just Us, My Dad, Sam, Amelia, bobby, Trey, Rasul, Andre, Holly and Hadley.

"Why don't we do a D adventure where the objective is to get you guys married. We can all dress as our characters, write characters for the normies, get Andre ordained and at the end have him legally marry you guys. I'm sure Andre can write a campaign that gets you married. He makes the best games I've ever been in." Amelia said and I perked up, thats exactly what I want, but I want Sookie to have her dream wedding so it's her call.

"Oh my God, I love that, Eric can we do that? I love that! We can be married in game and out forever!" Sookie squealed. She's perfect, made for me.

"Hell yeah we can do that! Rogue and a sorceress getting married. Eric and Sookie. I love it." I'm really glad she didn't bite when I asked if she wanted to go to Vegas. This was going to be way better.

"Good thing you're both elves. You can have kids in the game. When Sookie gets pregnant we can make the baby a character and do a run where she gives birth." Bobby said.

"Bobby baby, you are so hot." Amelia said licking her lips. God they were the freaking odd couple, but good for them.

"I like the idea of in game matching our real lives." Sookie added looking wistfully out the window. Hopefully imagining carrying my baby. A little stealthy spell casting elf.

"What are you thinking for the cake?" Amelia asked.

"Can we get one shaped like a D20?" Sookie asked. Bobby looked over at me approvingly and we had a silent conversation about how cool our girls are.

"I love it. You know, we could get polyhedron shaped like ummm… terrarium looking things and do the flowers inside of them." Amelia suggested.

"Oh my God, I love that. I want the whole backyard to give mystical forest." Sookie was positively beaming.

"If we do it after dark we can do twinkle lights and strategic spot lights. Really control the ambiance." I interjected.

"I love it, after dark then. That's also good, because then we don't have to wake up early or anything. We can be well rested." Sookie was at shaking level of excitement. That shit lit me up because she was excited about marrying me. I'll admit, I spent a long time a little insecure because it always felt like I was the one pushing, driving and pulling her in the relationship, but now I'm positive she loves me as much as I love her. It just took her longer to loosen up and trust me, which after meeting her parents and knowing the full background of her upbringing, I get it.

Sure, losing my mother was terrible. My Dad's betrayal of her took a lot to get over, but I wasn't systematically abused my whole life to the point my mother tried to have me raped, destroyed my opportunities, and was so psychologically cruel I self isolated because I couldn't tell who was on my parents side or not. I'm actually pretty sure thats why she was initially interested in me. There would simply be no way a Northman would be working as an extension of her mother covertly. In fact, I was there to fuck around with her to piss her parents off and told her as much. I have always considered myself a pretty honest guy, but coming clean immediately to her was probably the best decision I have ever made in my life.

"Whats the food going to be?" I asked. What can I say, I'm a hungry boy. I will need food.

"MEAD!" Sookie yelled.

"Yeah Sook, mead… he asked about food." Amelia laughed. Sookie had mead for the first time at Octoberfest with me and she has been trying to find mead opportunities ever since.

"Lets do like a royal feast. Roasted meat and stuff. Thats sounds fun and on theme." Bobby suggested.

"Bobby Bear you are so smart." Amelia said reaching forward and rubbing his arm. She was using a baby voice I now know she has reserved just for him. Again, happy for them.

"I like that idea, but I don't want to spend my wedding day cooking."

"I'll have it catered. All you are doing that day is marrying me, I don't want you lifting a finger." I assured her.

"Exactly Sook, if anything does happen I'll handle it as your lady in waiting. Eric, who is your best man equivalent?" Amelia asked me.

"I should ask my brother….." I said looking over at Bobby.

"But you aren't going to because you think Sam is an idiot and he has a bad habit of staring at Sookie like she's a steak and he's a starving dog, so who is it?" Amelia asked cutting through the bullshit.

"Probably Bobby if he wants to. Realistically, I'm the closest to him."

"I would love to be your minister of duty. Also, you're my best friend too." Bobby said and we both started laughing. He is my best friend, that is if you don't count Sookie, but what she and I have is so much bigger than best friends the title seems too small for her. Plus, Amelia is her best friend.

"Whats our wedding budget?" Sookie asked me.

"I have a lot of money, get whatever you want." I said with a shrug. It's true, I had more money than I knew what to do with. I'm not a spendy guy for the most part.

"Oh, no I have a lot of money too. My store does really well, Eric. I just… we should discuss spending now that we are getting married." Sookie clarified.

"You guys don't talk about money?" Bobby asked shocked.

"It hasn't occurred to me, Eric buys stuff, I buy stuff. He knows I like to internet shop, he just brings my boxes in for me. He gets his comics and whatnots. I don't know… I know his house is paid off, he knows my credit is shit because of my mother, but I don't really use credit because I can just buy stuff." Sookie said with a shrug… thats basically my reasonings. I just never thought of it. My bills are all auto draft, I don't really think about it and I just assumed Sookie was good on money with the amount of clothing and jewelry she buys.

"I just figured she was good on money. Do you want money, Lover? Should I pay a bride price?" I offered with a snicker.

"Maybe." She giggled. "We should sit down and look at each others finances soon. I save and invest, do you?" Sookie asked.

"Yup, 70% of my checks go right to saving or investments. It all happens automatically. The rest goes into two accounts, one that auto drafts my bills and the other is what is attached to my debit card I use for spending."

"I do something similar, but I don't pay bills because I live with me and you won't let me and you put me on your phone plan and insurance. Maybe I should pay a bill?"

"How much do you take home a year?" I asked.

"Ummmmmm… 90k'ish. This year will be more because i've had a really good year." She said proudly… well, I make almost 4x that so no she won't be paying bills.

"I make more than you, no need to pay bills." I said with a dismissive wave.

"How much more?" She asked and Amelia leaned forward pretty interested.

"4x more, before bonuses, which very." I said sheepishly.

"God Damn Eric!" Amelia yelled, Bobby was just nodding approvingly as if to say good for me. "Why don't you live in a bigger house?" Amelia asked.

"Because he loves his house. He likes the location because its close to work and there are a lot of families so when we have kids they will have friends. He also loves the layout. He bought exactly what he wanted, not just what he could afford because he could." Sookie said speaking right from my mind.

"I really love my house." I confirmed

"Sookie you don't even have to work, you could activate sugar baby mode." Amelia said astonished.

"Okay, how about you stop tattooing." Sookie said back crossing her arms.

"Noooo, never." Amelia gasped.

"Exactly, I would never give up my store. I love it. I'll buy a travel cage for our baby and bring it with me." I snickered at her calling a portable crib a travel cage.

"Are you guys going to have a baby right away?" Bobby asked.

"It's up to sookie, she's a bit younger than me so her uterus will still stay fresh for a while." I said diplomatically, but really my caveman brain wants her pregnant now so everyone know she's mine and there is physical proof. I also saw somewhere that a woman carried the DNA of her babies father in her for decades after, and yeah… I want sookie to carry my DNA literally marked by me.

"I want to be pregnant sooner than later, but I think I want a year of undisturbed fucking first." Sookie said, but she whispered the word fucking… like we care.

"I can get behind that." I said, I have no issues with perfecting our baby making technique for a year before we really get down to it. Oh no, I get to have tons of sex with my wife who just started having sex in general so right now she's obsessed with it to the point she regularly wakes me up in the night for sex. Poor, poor me.

"Are you and Bobby thinking about settling down?" Sookie asked Amelia with a sing song tone. Turn about is fair play. I glanced over at Bobby and he looked uncomfortable at best.

"We haven't discussed it, we're just…. Together." Amelia said unsure.

"You're my girlfriend, right?" Bobby craned in his seat to look back at her.

"Of course!" Amelia yelled. "What else would I be?"

"I don't know, we just hadn't discussed it." He said with a shrug turning back around looking a lot less nervous this time.

"I'm not ready to get married or have kids. I JUST got the money together to start the process of opening my own shop. I want to focus on that right now. I have this…" Amelia said as she unbuckled and turned in her seat pulling her pants down and I moved my eyes to the road and I kept them there. I was not looking at Amelias bare ass. I had no idea what she was doing, but I wanted no part. That shit was a trap if I ever did see one. Never look at you Fiancé's best friends ass, and definitely don't look at it when its bare. That shit is a TRAP!

"Oh my God, Amelia! Your ass says "Bobby's!"" Sookie screamed. I still wasn't looking but I did laugh, Bobby turned bright red.

"You could say, I'm happy." Amelia said as she pulled her pants up and buckled back in.

"Why on your ass?" Sookie asked.

"So he can cum on it like a target when we do it doggie." Amelia said just oh so casually. It sent me flying. That shit is hilarious. Bobby got even redder and shrank in his seat.

"Good for you, man." I chuckled out while I tried to get control of my laughter.

"Thanks." He muttered as he rubbed his forehead with his eyes closed.

"Eric, when are you going to let me tattoo you?" Amelia asked changing the subject.

"As soon as Sookie lets you tattoo her." Sookie had no intentions of getting a tattoo. Neither did I, much like inflicting pain during sex, I had no interest in inflicting pain on myself either. I don't enjoy pain, the end.

"Thats not fair! She's scared of needles." Amelia whined.

"I think its fair, I didn't say no, I just set a really unrealistic yes."

"Asshole." Amelia muttered.

"So I have been told." I said with a smile.

We got all the way to Gen Con and checked into our hotel. Tonight we were just going to mill around Indianapolis and hit the con in the morning. We went to our respective rooms and changed. I opted for my standard casual uniform of Jeans and a batman t-shirt, tonights was long sleeved because I was feeling fancy. Sookie was a long layered cream colored dress that she was wearing a black corset over. She looked a little bit like a pirate when she put her boots on. She had her hair down, but pulled back from her face with a thin gold headband that matched all of her jewelry and the belt she added to her waist.

We met up with Amelia and Bobby. Amelia was going full morticia Adams in a long velvet black dress with long sleeves. It was low cut so you could see all the tattoos on her chest and neck. Her hair was stick straight and her bangs had obviously been freshly trimmed because they were even shorter than normal. She was wearing her platform boots as usual, which put her about 7" taller than Bobby and almost eye to eye with me. Bobby was in jeans and a t-shirt that just said "Amelia's" on the front in big white letters.

We headed out to just go walk around. After we found a restaurant and ate I noticed a guy that was just eyeing Sookie. Now she's a stunning woman, she's going to get looks and it's not like she's looking back because she's rubbing all over me as we speak, but it was weird because he seemed to be everywhere we went. We stopped and looked at an Ice cream shop and discussed if we wanted to do this or pastries when suddenly I heard a loud pop and the window in front of us shattered.

On instinct I reached out and grabbed Sookie holding her to me covering her body with my own. I heard someone Scream "GUN", and heard another lot pop. Then I felt a searing pain and my knees started to bend and I couldn't stop it. I heard my name being screamed and three more loud pop's….. then everything went black.

"Echo… you need to wake." I opened my eyes and I was laying in a meadow. Over me I saw the beautiful Sorceress of the earth Elves, Eden.

"Princess Eden, it cant be time already." I reached for her and pulled her down to me, moving my black leather bag and daggers to the side.

"It's time, my mother will wonder what has been keeping me." She said dipping to give me a kiss. He beautiful blue gown shimmering in the sun.

"Run away with me, please." I begged. I knew she couldn't. She couldn't run away with a rogue, a thief, a scoundrel. She wasn't just the keeper of magic for her kingdom, she was its future ruler. I wanted her to be mine though. I had fallen in love with her the night I had gone into her castle to steal a scroll I had been hired to steal. She had caught me, but instead of calling her guards, we spent the night talking. I had returned at every possible opportunity after that. Unfortunately, She was coming to the age she needed to take a husband, someone who could rule with her.

"I cant…." She said her eye's becoming glassy and her head tipping down to hide her sorrow.

"I love you…." I said, like it would change the lot we had rolled in life. Fated to love, but never be able to be together.

"I love you too…. But if my mother ever finds out, she'll have you killed." Eden wept into my shoulder.

"She would have to catch me first, my love." I said with mirth. It was true, the Queens men were famously incompetent.

"Echo, short of your line taking a kingdom, theres no way." She whispered, laying a soft kiss on my chest. In that moment I had made up my mind. I would take a kingdom for myself so I could wed my beautiful, bewitching, sorceress who had spellbound my heart to her.

"Then I will take a kingdom for myself so we might be wed." She looked up a little amused, but also concerned.

"How?"

"I'll wing it, it's how I work best." I said with a sly smile. She kissed me again and said.

"I must be going."

"When I return for you, I will be a king and I will make you my Queen. Your mother will kneel to me." I promised her, looking deeply into her eyes as if to etch the promise into her soul.

"I love you, Echo."

"Echo…."

"Echo.."

Beep beep beep

The beeping was incessant, I didn't know where I was, or how I ended up playing D in my sleep…

"Eric." What, Eden? No wait… Sookies D character is Eden, that is Sookie. The fuck is going on?

"Eric, please wake up. It's your Lover, don't you want to be with me?" Sookie pleaded. I could heard the tears in her voice. I do want to be with her. I always want to be with her.

"Sookie…" I croaked out, my eyes still closed.

"Oh my God… Thank you, thank you." Sookie cried her voice full of relief as she kissed all over my face.

"I'll go get the doctor." That was my Dad's voice, but why would he be here? Why am I here? Where am I?

"Where am I?" I asked after sookie put a straw in my mouth and I took a drink. I could finally blink my eyes open and the room was bright as hell.

"You're in the hospital. You were shot." Sookie said her face was contorted in pain, tears running down her face.

"Are you okay?" I asked lifting my heavy arms and trying to search her for injury.

"Of course I'm okay, you're the one in the hospital bed."

"What happened?"

"My mother put a hit on me to make sure our fictitious child would never be born. Her hit man was shit, missed the first shot, then hit you because you covered me with your body. I'm so sorry." She sobbed.

"Did they catch him?"

"Amelia shot him, She was arrested, but Bobby got her out and after they found out he was a murderer for hire, hired by my mother, they dropped her charges." Sookie said, I reached up and tipped her tears. Absorbing the information that sookie was giving me.

"They arrested your mom?"

"And my Dad and brother as accessories." She nodded.

"Did the guy survive?"

"No, Amelia takes a two in the chest 1 in the head approach to people shooting at her friends."

"Good. How long was she in jail?"

"3 days."

"How long have I been out?"

"7 days." She burst into tears again and I just held her. Fuck… hitmen, getting shot, Amelia killed a man. That shit is bananas.

"Thats wild…." I didn't know what else to say, wait. "Fuck, we missed GenCon." That was apparently hilarious because Sookie started laughing.

"We can go next year." She smiled and assured me.

"Mr. Northman, it's good to see you back with us." A tall woman with long dark hair said as she came in. "I'm Doctor Crane, you gave us quite a scare."

"Am I okay?" I asked.

"I think you will make a full recovery. You lost a lot of blood. The bullet hit your lung and liver. We had to do two surgeries to repair the damage. We had you sedated for a few days so you could heal, we were just waiting for you to wake up on your own for the last few days. You have quite the little woman here, she never left your side." She said with a huge smile while she shined lights in my eyes and poked and prodded me.

"Thats my Sookie." I said with pride.

"Yes, she's a sweet woman. Before your father got here she sat outside your room. She wasn't family so we couldn't let her in, but she was insistent on being near. How are you feeling?"

"I feel…. It hurts, and horny? I want to have sex with Sookie." I declared making her laugh. Sookie took a little button off my bed rail and moved it out of my reach.

"No more morphine for you." Sookie said shaking her head.

"We will continue pain management, no sex with Sookie for a while. We need to monitor you a few more days." Dr. Crane said before she went to a computer in the corner and made a few notes. Suddenly Amelia burst in wearing what could only be described as normal people clothes. It was….. unnerving to see her in pink yoga pants and a grey shirt. I looked over at Sookie who was also looking weird in yoga pants and a shirt. I didn't even know she owned pants.

"Eric, you're alive!" Amelia said rushing to give me a hug. Bobby was coming in behind her and gave me a pat on the arm and a relieved smile.

"I am, thanks for the cover fire, killer." I told Amelia and she gave me a devious grin.

"This exact situation is why I am always strapped."

"How often do you have to take out hitmen hunting your friends?" I asked laughing, but wincing because it hurt.

"This is the first time, but aren't you happy I was prepared?"

"I am, thank you Amelia." I nodded.

"Tell him Sookie." Amelia said seriously.

"Tell me what?" I asked nervous, what else could be going wrong?

"We have to name our first daughter Amelia."

"Yeah, that seems fair." I agreed.

"Annnnnnnnd…." Amelia prompted Sookie more and I just looked at Sookie with an expectant face.

"And I agreed to a tattoo." She said sheepishly.

"Well, shit." I said.

"Yeah, I asked how I could thank her after the dropped the charges and let her out of jail. She said first born girl and a tattoo….. I mean, She saved our lives, Eric." Sookie was pleading with me.

"No no, its fair. What are we getting?" I asked. She did save our lives, Amelia earned this.

"I'm getting "Echo" on the inside of my wrist." She said with a small smile.

"I guess I'll get Eden on the inside of my arm since I said she could do a tattoo on me if she was able to get you." If I had to get a tattoo, getting Sookies D character name on me was going to be the way to do it. Amelia for sure earned it.

My week in the hospital was boring as hell. My Dad brought my laptop so at least I could do some work while I was here. Holly was holding down the fort for Sookie at her store, along with Amelia and Bobby who pitched in too, After I got out of the hospital I still couldn't travel back to Louisiana so we ended up staying another two weeks in a hotel until I could sit in the car and do the drive, we still had to bring my car back. Sookie drove, which was funny to see because we had to buy her a little booster wedge thing so she could see over the dash board. My SUV was definitely not a car she would choose for herself. We ended up having to break up the drive over two and a half days.

I wasn't thrilled about getting shot, or my fiancé having a HITMAN sent after her, but it was a relief that the Stackhouse crime empire was no longer breathing down our necks waiting to pop out at us. It was over for all intents and purposes. At least her mother was never going to see the light of day again. Their company was tits up too. Upon the arrest of all of their executives it brought to light some pretty large scale embezzlement to help support their insane lifestyle. To say professionally things were going well for me would be an understatement. We were having to hire like crazy to handle the windfall of new business. We rented the entire floor below our existing office to expand into. There was talk of moving the office entirely, but I made it clear I would quit if my commute was longer than 10 minutes.

Sookie expanded her store also in the months following the attempt on her life. She knocked down the wall between her store and what used to be a vape shop and added more merchandise and a few tables for her new hot and iced tea bar where she could showcase her custom tea blends. With being in the news it gave her store a huge boost in the press. She has had to hire an entire staff now just to keep up. She kept her office for just her with her pillows and weed smoking space.

Amelia got a space in the same strip mall Sookie is in for her tattoo shop. Bobby of course made her website and she is doing really well. She has a couple of artists working for her now too. The best part is Bobby has rented a space to work out of, he has his computer set up and all his junk that runs his business and he has a little office in there. So now they work together…. But don't really work together. She still hasn't talked him into a tattoo yet, but I'm positive she's wearing him down.

Sookie and I made good on letting her tattoo us. Sookie got 'Echo' on her wrist in cursive, its very petite and demure. I love it. I got 'Eden" on my forearm just below the inside bend of my elbow so even if I roll my sleeves up at work its still covered. It hurt and I hated it, I will not be getting another tattoo. I wasn't going to say no to Amelia for what she wanted as a thank you though. You kill the man who shoots me, I'm willing to do just about anything you want to show my appreciation.

Oddly, where as both Sookie and I have been dealing with some lasting mental scars from the whole incident. Amelia is fine as fuck with it. No remorse, no regret. She's glad he's dead and sleeps just fine at night. I however have nightmares Sookie is shot instead of me, Sookie has nightmares I died, or just reliving the memory of doing CPR on me in the street while they waited for the ambulance. Neither of us can tolerate crowded places anymore. I particularly do not care for people being behind me that I don't know. I'm not scared to leave the house per say, but I'm not going to the mall or walking around downtown. A bar sounds like my own personal hell. I like to keep my back to a wall when we go out to eat or when I go to Sookies shop. It has gotten a bit better, but the anxiety is still there.

That brings us to today, our wedding day. Andre has refused to talk to Sookie or I about D AT ALL since we asked him to write us a wedding campaign. He didn't want to give anything away, and he didn't want us giving him ideas. He wanted it to be a complete surprise. The only change we had to make was we had to invite his Mom Sophie Ann. She wasn't going to let him stay out past 10, and since we aren't starting until after dark we probably won't be done by then, let alone married. It was Sookies idea to invite her, and she personally did it. We didn't have wedding invitations because everyone who is invited is at our house at least once a week anyway, but sookie crafted a special invitation for her and buttered her up about creating such a talented son and blah blah blah… whatever it takes. Andre is a very good friend of ours and we would want him there even if he wasn't the one creating our wedding campaign and marrying us in general. When he got ordained he had himself ordained as a High Priest, which made us all snicker a bit.

Sookie and I didn't spend the night apart, We did try though… for traditions sake. Sookie came back 20 minutes after she left crying and I wasn't doing much better. I was wearing a track in the carpet pacing as soon as she left. Is is codependent? Maybe. Trauma bonding? Probably. Are we going to stop it? Nope, absolutely not. Amelia and Hadley, Sookies ladies in waiting spent the night here and did all their nails and skin buffing or whatever. I sat in my office and played games on my computer. Then I sat in the living room with them and played games on my phone. Then I moved upstairs and played games on my switch. I had a really good night, and watching them try to wax each other was hilarious. RIP to Hadleys skin on her right armpit.

Trey and Bobby are helping me with the almost unreasonable amount of buckles on my Outfit. It's all black, lots of leather complete with a hood and cloak. It's not easy to get in and out of though. It's the perfect outfit for the wedding though because when I envision my character, this is it. I am Echo

Everyone else is really killing it with dressing as their character. My Dad and Sam look ready for a renaissance fair, but thats close enough. They are here and appear to be happy and ready to participate. Holly you could tell heard she was going to be a monk and did her research and made her outfit accordingly. Sookie said she had been asking at lot of questions about D So she could be ready to enjoy it. Andre clearly handled Sophie Anns costume personally, honestly she looked great. I knew Sookie would be out any second so in the interest of authenticity, I went and found a shadow to skulk in.

Amelia came out first in her Paladin gear, looking set and ready to protect Sookie, Hadley was in brown robes as a warlock… Finally Sookie walked out. She was in an Ice Blue sparkly gown that hung off her shoulders but had long elegant sleeves. She was wearing a silver crown that looked like tree branches twisted together and the silver leaves were crusted with crystals. She looked exactly like she did in my coma dream. I couldn't wait to marry her. I almost wanted to skip the campaign and just marry her already and run away… Almost.

I saw Sookie looking around so I stepped out of the shadow I was lurking in and she giggled and walked to me, wrapping her arms around me and letting me dip her and giver her a kiss.

"You look so good." I said as I brought her back up to her feet.

"You look good too. I wasn't expecting to be this turned on by you dressed as a rogue. I'll never not be horny when we play D now." She said giving me a lusty look as she raked her eyes over me.

"Good, that was my plan." I said with a smile and I led her over to the long table set up in the middle of the yard.

"Can I have everyone find their place cards and Take their seats." Andre said, he was wearing white robes for his new, officially recognized position as high priest. Everyone milled around until they found their seats. Sookie and I were at the head of the table. Amelia and Hadley closest to her on her side. Bobby and Trey closest to me on mine. Everyone else was sort of random, but it seemed like Andre had us split up in a sookie side and an Eric side. Sophie Ann was next to my Dad and they looked like they were flirting, which I found weird and unnerving.

"So, for tonight because we have a lot of guests who haven't played before and aren't as familiar with the characters we will be using our real names with our characters, so everyone can follow along better." Andre started. We all nodded and understood that made sense.

"Because we have 12 people total in attendance and 11 playing I have split the campaign, half will be loyal to Sookie and half allies of Eric. The goal is to bring both factions together, ending in their eternal union. All who are ready to begin, say aye." Andre explained and everyone said aye, so he started.

"Our story begins when Sookie is being betrothed to a prince from another kingdom. Her mother is forcing the union. Despite Sookie having fallen in love with the rogue Eric, they cannot be together because he has no kingdom to offer to gain her hand. Our objective for the allies of Eric is help him seize the kingdom Of Valloria that neighbors Sookies kingdom of Faerie, so Eric can unite the two kingdoms by marrying her. Sookie, your loyalists will be charged with sabotaging efforts to stop Eric from within your kingdom, and subvert Sookies evil mother, if not outright kill her."

"Oh my God, its my coma dream… did you tell him?" I leaned over and whispered to sookie.

"No, he refused to talk about anything related to this. He said he had plans and didn't want them ruined." Sookie was just as surprised as I was. I really couldn't believe it. My wedding was my coma dream. Hell yes!

We spent the next 4 hours playing the most intense campaign of my life. Everyone was on edge and there was even one point where my Dad rolled a 2, and he failed to put Sookies mother to sleep with his harp and he slammed his fist on the table. Finally, I had my kingdom and My girl. The game was over and it was time to actually get married.

"Sookie, Eric will you please stand as I bless your union?" Andre said and we stood up and stood under the twinkling arch on the platform that was just behind the table. "I am here today to join these two in holy matrimony, as they have vanquished their enemies and gained loyal allies. Sookie, do you take Eric Ragnar Northman to be your lawfully wedded husband, now and forever, in sickness and health, richer and poorer, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Eric, do you take Sookie Adele Hale to be your lawfully wedded wife, now and forever, in sickness and health, richer and poorer, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Eric, repeat after me as you put these rings on her hand." He handed me her rings, and I picked up her hand. "My soulmate, let these rings bind us."

"My soulmate, let these rings bind us." I slid her rings on her hand and she was grinning and shaking with excitement.

"Sookie, repeat after me as you put this ring on his hand." Andre handed her my ring. It had viking runes engraved on it for love and protection. "My soulmate, let these rings bind us."

"My soulmate, let these rings bind us." She said and slipped the ring on my finger. This was perfect, this was right.

"By the power vested in me by the state of Louisiana and as the supreme high priest, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride."

And Did I kiss my bride. I kissed the shit out of her. That kiss was practically indecent! I don't care though. If I'm going to kiss my wife, I'm going to kiss my wife!

The next year was perfect, we fell into a good routine and we fucked like animals on every surface we could. We continued to have weekly game night and we made changes to our work schedules so we could spend a good deal of time together. Andre DID finally open a game and comic store. He also moved out. My Dad started dating Sophie Ann not long after the wedding and with something new to focus on she was willing to loosen her grip on Andre. Unfortunately, this has come at the expense of her now keeping tabs on me and Sookie like we are also her children, but its a minor inconvenience. Amelia and Bobby got engaged last month, he finally let her tattoo him. He got the 5 different Mana's from MTG tattooed on his chest, when she finished he pulled out the ring and she went ape shit. They ARE doing a wedding in Vegas, but they are doing it over halloween.

Sookies family went to trial about 5 months after the wedding. Her mother got life in prison with no chance of parole. Her brother got 6 years, mostly because he is such a moron. He basically had his defense of being stupid. Her father got 30 years, which at this point in his life is probably a life sentence. We only attended the trial when we were called to testify. We didn't attend the sentencing. Frankly I was just pissed and Sookie was conflicted, its just not how she wanted to see everything end. We ended up going to my mothers grave and seeing her the day they were sentenced and told her it was over. Sookie said she was just too precious to tolerate the pressures and pain of this world, and honestly… maybe. I still hate what my father did to tip her over the edge, but at no point in my life do I have memories of her being at peace or completely stable. It's probably why I panic a bit when Sookie cries… it puts me on edge because of how watching my mother struggle with a lifetime of intractable depression affected me.

That brings us to today, I just got home. Sookie should be home soon too. I went and got changed and cleaned up before I sat on the couch to wait for her. She walked in and said.

"Hey, I picked up a new card for your deck."

"Sweet!" I yelled popping up. She pulled it out and handed it to me.

It was a 0/4 colorless artifact creature called crotch goblin and the picture was an ultrasound. I was a little confused until I looked at the abilities and It said

'Haste, flying, reach, comes out tapped. Untap spring 2026. Feed Sookie to keep baby Northman on the battlefield.'

"Holy shit…." It clicked, Sookie is pregnant, and she made a magic the gathering card to tell me.

Perfect

Perfect

Perfect

"I want to double marry you." I said giving her a huge hug.

"Are you excited? I'm excited."

"I'm so excited…. We need to call Andre so he can start working on the campaign for the baby shower." I carried her up the stairs to get my phone. I am just so freaking pumped. Sure, there have been ups and downs, I go shot for shits sake… but damn is Sookie isn't just the girl of my dreams.

Made for me.

Echo and Eden forever