Entitlement Chapter 002

Part 2 If Only

 

 

Pam turned Eric’s rearview mirror toward herself and checked her lipstick as the Corvette screamed around the corner.

“OK, now, explain to me again why we left the club?” she asked

“It seemed to be the thing to do…”

“You mean it seemed like what she wanted you to do…”

“We’ll give the police a little time to harass the patrons, then we’ll go back and calm them all down. There are RMs in the armrest there if you’re thirsty.”

“You do realize you failed to make her cry?”

“I didn’t have a full 10 minutes.”

“I thought that was more than ten minutes. It seemed more like 15.”

“It was less than 5, I’m sure. We barely got started.”

“What exactly were we starting?” Pam couldn’t resist teasing Eric when he was trying to gloss over something like his attraction to this blonde girl. He was trying to act detached, but she wasn’t buying it.

“The conversation.”

“Oh, is that what that was? So you think if you had what you would agree was a full 10 minutes that you could have made Sookie cry?”

“If I really wanted to, yes, of course. I decided early on, however, that it might be better to befriend her and find out more about her gifts.”

“You knew about her gifts early on?” Pam felt everything in the car shift as Eric sped around another corner. He was apparently making a big circle.

“Come, now, Pam, we both knew she was neither human nor vampire…”

“True, she didn’t seem quite human. So how do you suppose she knew about the police? I’m quite sure she’s not a policewoman.”

“No, certainly not. She was far too innocent to have been a police officer.”

“Innocent? Are you sure about that?”

“Not yet, but I’ll know very soon. You memorized her address, of course?”

“Yes, of course. Should I add her to the mailing list?” She was going to make him ask for it directly.

“And…?” Eric was becoming irritable. Why was Pam asking so many damned questions?

“I’ll enter it into the computer when I get back to the office.”

“What was her address, Pam?”

“She’s not really local…”

“Pam…”

“Hummingbird Lane in Bon Temps. Does anybody really live in Bon Temps? I can’t imagine it. Isn’t it rather… backward?”

“I’m sure it must be or she would never waste her time with Compton. I’m sure that’s indicative of the lack of suitable companions in the area. She didn’t seem the type to go for a drunken redneck or a tight-laced bible thumper, and those are the only varieties she’s likely to encounter there.”

“She didn’t seem to want to let go of his hand when she sat down. Maybe she likes Bill…?” Pam knew this was eating at Eric.

“I am sure that, compared to the dregs of Bon Temps, Compton stands out. Among vampires, of course, he’d hold little interest for such a woman. My guess would be that he is the first vampire she has ever encountered.”

“Is it even possible to be so isolated? Surely there must be some in that area?”

“Bon Temps is not nearly as progressive as Shreveport.”

“Shreveport is “progressive?”

“Compared to a backwater like Bon Temps, yes, it is. I’d never be able to run a business in that area without constant harassment by locals. In Shreveport, we only have an occasional run-in with authorities, but the church groups and other fanatics don’t pay much attention to us aside from the occasional bomb threat. We’d encounter a good deal more violence in an area like that.”

“Alright, I can understand how a person might be born in an area like that, but I don’t understand how a person could stay in such an area. She’s 25, after all.”

“Yes, I find that strange as well. I would expect a woman like that to move on to bigger and better things once she reached adulthood. Perhaps she has family obligations that keep her there? That’s only the first of many questions I’d like to know the answers to,” Eric was talking to himself now, not really thinking about what he was saying in front of Pam. “There is so much I want to know…”

“So you’re planning to call Bill Compton, I take it, and ask about his little friend? You’re his Sheriff, after all, you can order him to give her to you, even if she is his…”

“She’ll come to me of her own accord.”

“She will?” Pam was amused at his determination. She hadn’t seen him this way in a long, long time.

“Absolutely.” Eric turned back into the lot behind Fangtasia.

The police were checking the last of the IDs carried by Fantasia’s patrons and had only cited two people for exchanging blood in public and sex in one of the bathroom stalls. Eric recognized a Sergeant from a previous raid who had been reasonable, and he approached him with confidence and courtesy.

“Good evening, Sergeant Chaffins. Did you find everything in order?”

“A little sex and blood in the bathrooms, but that could happen anywhere. We handed out some tickets and we’ll have to give you a written warning, but other than that, everything seemed fine.”

“Is this going to become a monthly event?”

“I hope not. There’s real crime we need to be spending time on. We’ve never caught an under-aged person in this bar and the only “crimes” we’ve ever encountered were consensual acts between adults. I honestly don’t know why they keep sending us in here.” That wasn’t true and he and Eric both knew it.

“The upcoming election might have something to do with it, I suppose. I don’t blame your men, Sergeant, I know that there are members of the City Council who think being tough on us will gain votes for them.”

“Have you ever considered getting involved in local politics? Maybe you should run against Slater next time around.”

“I’m a business man – I don’t aspire to political authority, though it would be nice to have a vampire on the council. We are wholly unrepresented.”

“Listen, I can’t tell you this officially, and I’m not going to name any names, but you might want to spread a little money around. A few well-placed campaign contributions would probably save us all a lot of grief.”

“Yes, I think you might be right. I’ll do some research and see if I can’t make life a little easier on us all. Would you and your men like to stay for a drink, on the house?”

“No, thanks, Mr. Northman, we’re on duty and we need to get back to the precinct and file our paperwork. You wouldn’t believe how much paperwork one of these stupid raids generates.”

“I can imagine. Well, thank you for making it as painless as possible.”

“Thanks for your cooperation. Have a good night.” Officer Chaffins shook Eric’s hand and went back to the other officers who were preparing to leave. Eric walked around and apologized to the humans for any inconvenience and handed out some drink tickets and free admission tickets so they could come back another night. He was scary when he needed to be, and gracious when it seemed profitable. He left Pam in charge and went home for the evening, no longer thinking about the book he was planning to read.

It was nearly one o’clock in the morning when he drove his car into his garage and then took to the sky. He flew at a leisurely pace so it took him about 15 minutes to get to Bon Temps. It was a nice night, after all and he didn’t have a specific timetable. He was sure he’d be back to his house before dawn, and if not, there’s always the ground, though he preferred not to shelter there if he could help it. He didn’t like getting dirt in his hair.

He was outside of Bon Temps when he spotted a car that reminded him of the car Bill had had when they last crossed paths in New Orleans. He followed it and found it went off the road in a very deserted area that were illuminated only by distantly placed lights of the sort that come on automatically at dark. Apparently there were only two houses in the immediate area and one of them had the porch light on as Bill got out of his car and went to the passenger door.

Eric hovered over the trees as he watched Sookie and Bill fight on her front porch. Eric laughed to himself. He had already managed to turn her off. From what he could glean from the argument, Sookie was unimpressed with Bill’s friends – not surprising, considering the young trash Eric had seen him with, like that tacky Diane who made Eric’s flesh crawl – he threatened a cop in front of her and scared her to death and the moron didn’t even let her pick the music on the car radio. What guy doesn’t know to let the girl pick the music in the car? Tuvan throat singing? Eric had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing out loud.

The gist of the fight was that Bill and Sookie had nothing in common. Eric shook his head. He’d almost feel sorry for Bill if he didn’t have a claim on something Eric wanted. Bill was apparently too young to understand how to tailor his personality to the girl, rather than try to change the girl to fit his personality. Not that Eric would lie to Sookie, but he knew better than to scare a girl so early in the process of seduction, and he was quite sure this was early in Bill’s relationship with Sookie from the way she was describing things. Eric just hoped this hadn’t turned her off of vampires for good.

Bill left in a huff and Eric moved closer to the house as Sookie turned off the porch light and locked the front door. He could hear her lightly running up the stairs and saw the light go on in the room at the back of the house. Eric could hear another human breathing, apparently asleep, so there was someone else in the house.

He moved silently around to Sookie’s room, staying back a bit in case she was next to the window when he got there. She was standing in front of her closet, taking off that lovely dress. Oh, Yes! It was far too brief but Eric got a glimpse of those perky breasts as she stripped off the dress and put on a thin cotton gown in a pale pink color that was as delicate as the girl wearing it. Suddenly, she looked at the window and Eric moved quickly into the shadow of the house.

Sookie opened the window and looked out. She saw movement in the shadows, but she couldn’t see what or who was out there. “Bill, is that you?”

“I am not Bill.”

Sookie gasped and jumped back from the window. Her mind was racing. Someone was out there.

‘No, that’s impossible! I’m on the second floor!’ She thought quickly trying to picture the outside of the house and reassuring herself that there was no porch roof or anything a person could use to climb up to her window. She could hardly breathe.

“Sookie?” the deep, soft voice spoke to her. He knew who she was! She panicked and turned her light off. She wanted to lock the window but she was afraid to go near it. Every possible scenario was running through her mind – rape, abduction, a stalker, or an unknown admirer wanting to serenade or seduce her. OK, she decided that one came from reading too many romance novels. Whoever this was, he knew her name and he wasn’t coming in yet. Maybe he couldn’t? She suddenly remembered Bill telling her that a vampire can’t enter your home without an invitation. Was there a vampire outside her window? What if someone followed her home from Fangtasia?

She thought for a minute. There were tons of willing donors at Fangtasia, so why would anyone follow her, knowing she was with Bill? Suddenly, Bill’s words, “you look like vampire bait” came back to her. Was she more desirable than the other scantily clad women at Fangtasia? How could that be? She didn’t fit in there at all.

“Sookie, come to the window,” the voice called softly to her. Her heart was pounding.

“If you’re trying to glamour me, you’re wasting your time. That doesn’t work on me.”

“So I noticed. If it did I’d already be in your room.”

“What do you want? I don’t even know you.”

“Have you forgotten me already, Sookie? We just met a few hours ago.”

Who did she meet tonight? Pam, Long Shadow, Eric. It certainly wasn’t Pam. Long Shadow was scary and asked Bill if she was his meal – eww! Eric was – oh, my god, she thought, what if it’s ERIC! She closed her eyes, remembering how beautiful Eric was sitting on his throne under the lights. She could barely breathe in his presence and she was terrified the whole time she was near him that Bill would see her attraction to him. She didn’t even know a woman could want a man so intensely without even knowing him. The force of her own attraction to Eric stunned her. She was glad he didn’t have a chance to ask her to leave Bill because she couldn’t honestly say what she’d have done if he did.

“Come to the window, Sookie.”

“Eric, is that you?”

Eric smiled. She knew it was him. This was progress. “Yes, Sookie, I wanted to make sure you got home safely. You left rather abruptly.”

It was ERIC! Why would he follow her? What was he doing here?

“I –I, uh,”

“I hope that little visit by the police won’t keep you from coming to see us again.”

“Oh, no, that was, uh,” she couldn’t think of what to say to him.

“Sookie, you know I can’t come into your house without an invitation, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know that.”

“Do you have a chair in there? Bring it by the window and talk to me. I can’t hurt you.”

“Why are you here?”

“You left too soon. We didn’t get to talk. I told you I wasn’t finished with you.” His voice was smooth dark chocolate.

Guh! Her panties were dripping. Women just don’t feel this way about men they’ve just met, right? How is it possible to feel such… such LUST for a man just because he’s beautiful? Please, don’t let him ask me to invite him in because I think I might actually do it!

“How did you know where I live? Did you follow us?”

“No, I didn’t, I had to take care of matters with the police. Pam told me your address and I thought I’d drop by and see if you were alright. Are you alright?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine, I’m just…”

“Do you have a chair there, Sookie?’

“Yeah, I do, but…”

“Come sit by the window and we’ll talk.”

“I’m not dressed.”

“I won’t peek.”

“Yes, you will,” Sookie said with absolute conviction.

Eric laughed softly, “yes, I suppose I will. You have a robe, have you not?”

“Yeah, but it’s hot.”

“Now you’re making excuses. I thought you liked me, Sookie. Was I mistaken?”

“I don’t know you well enough to like or dislike you, Eric, we just met.”

“It would seem only fair, since I’ve come all this way, for you to sit with me a few minutes and talk.”

Eric heard her walk softly across the room and he heard the leg of a chair scrape the floor. She set the chair near the window and sat down, and Eric drew near the side of the house, resting his forearms on the windowsill. “There now, isn’t that better. Now we can chat for a bit.” He was pleased to notice she hadn’t covered up the thin gown she was wearing. His mouth was watering but he tried to keep his fangs from coming down.

“I don’t understand why you’re here. There were lots of girls in the club that wanted you…”

“Yes, but I didn’t want them. Do you want to know a secret, Sookie?”

“Uh, I guess so.” Why was this beautiful vampire at her window telling her secrets? Was this a dream?

“I don’t like women in black clothes. They bore me and they usually wear too much make-up.”

“Bill said I looked like vampire bait…”

“That’s a crude way to put it. You looked very pretty and feminine in that red and white dress. Any man would have noticed you.”

“Most of them wouldn’t follow me home, though.”

“True, but I am not most men.”

“No, you’re a vampire.”

“I’m more than that, Sookie. I’m much, much more than that, and I’d like to be more than that to you.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“But I want to. That’s very rare.”

“What do you mean?”

“Most people don’t interest me. You interest me.”

“Because I wore a dress to your club?”

“That’s only one of many reasons. How did you know about the police?”

“Oh, uh…”

“Don’t lie to me so early in our relationship, Sookie. You be honest with me, and I’ll be honest with you, alright?”

“Alright…” Yeah, she was thinking to herself, like I could say ‘no’ to you!

“Now, I know you have at least one of two skills. You are either gifted with precognition or telepathy. Which is it?”

“Telepathy.”

“So you hear thoughts?”

“Yes.”

“Can you hear my thoughts?”

“No, it doesn’t seem to work with vampires. That’s why I like you all so much.”

“But it works with humans?”

“Yes.”

“All of them?”

“As far as I know.”

“Interesting.”

“Is that why you followed me home?”

“No, it’s not.”

“Well then, why are you here?”

“I wanted to know if you were telling me the truth.”

“When did I have a chance to lie to you?”

“You said you were Bill’s human. That wasn’t true, now, was it, Sookie?”

“Well…”

“You’ve never had sex with Bill Compton, have you, Sookie? Be honest.”

“Well, no, not yet.”

“Who have you had sex with, Sookie?”

“That’s none of your business!”

“What would it take to make it my business?”

“Huh?”

“What kind of relationship would you and I have to develop for it to be my business?”

“There isn’t one. Even if I married someone, who I was with before him would be none of his business.”

“Have you ever been married?”

“No,” she said as if it were ridiculous.

“Have you got any children?”

“No, of course not!” She was a little offended by that question, and Eric took that to be a very good sign, indeed.

“Who else is asleep in the house?”

“My grandmother. She raised me.”

“Where are your parents?”

“They died when I was little.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Do you have siblings?

“I have a brother but he has his own place. Why are you asking me all of these questions?”

“I’m curious. I want to know more about you.”

“Do I get to ask you questions?”

“Yes, if you’d like.”

“How old are you? Bill said you were the oldest thing in Fangtasia.”

Eric snorted a bit, “I suppose to a youngster like Bill, I seem very old indeed.”

“How old are you?” Sookie said with wonder in her voice. Bill was a youngster? Holy hell!

“This is a secret – you promise not to tell?”

“Yes,” she said breathlessly, her eyes huge as she looked into Eric’s pretty blue eyes. He’s so beautiful!

“I’m over a thousand years old.”

“That’s not possible!”

“It is not only possible, it is a fact. Have you ever read about the Vikings?”

“Yeah – big, scary blond warriors who sailed on ships and raided settlements all over Europe?”

“I was one of them, over a thousand years ago.”

“But you’re so pretty!” The words were out of Sookie’s mouth before she realized what she was saying.

Eric smiled softly at her. “You think I’m “pretty?”” He teased her.

She got just a little defensive. “Well, you know what I mean – weren’t they big hairy beasts?”

“Some of them. Am I not hairy enough to be a Viking?”

“Well, you’ve got long hair, but it looks soft, and you don’t have a big beard. You aren’t rough looking.”

“I was back then. Standards of grooming have changed a great deal since then. We didn’t have razors and shampoo and conditioners for hair as we do now. Life was very hard then.”

“That’s what Bill said when I said he looked older than he said he was.”

“What – that life was harder?”

“Yes.”

“Bill has no idea what hard really is. He lived in relatively modern times. He has no concept of the hardships we endured.”

“He told me vampires get stronger and more powerful as they get older.”

“That’s true.”

“You, you’re even stronger than Bill?”

“Many times over.”

“Is that why he’s afraid of you?”

“I’m Bill’s Sheriff. He answers to me.”

“Who do you answer to?”

“My Queen.”

“There’s a vampire Queen?”

“Several, actually, and Kings, too.”

“In America?”

“Everywhere. We are all over the world.”

“Where does your Queen live?”

“New Orleans. Would you like to go to her estate? I can get us an invitation to her next party.”

“A vampire party?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Would there be humans there?”

“Oh, yes, she always has humans around, especially young, attractive ones.”

“Is she beautiful?”

“Very.”

“Would I be safe there?”

“If you were with me, you would be very safe, Sookie. I wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt you.”

“It’s all so different…”

“Different than what you are used to?”

“Yeah.”

“Bill is the first vampire you ever met, yes?”

“Yes. I mean, I met some others at his house the other day, but they were just awful!”

“Was one of them named Diane?”

“Eww, yes! You know them?”

“I know of them, which is more than I care to know. They’re very young and trashy – not really worth my time.”

“Am I worth your time?” She was surprised how much she wanted to know the answer to that question.

“I don’t consider our time together wasted – do you?”

“No, I don’t.”

He smiled at her softly, pleased that his powers of seduction had not deteriorated. “When you said you were Bill’s, do you know what that meant?”

“That other vampires can’t feed from me?”

“It means a little more than that, Sookie. I was afraid you might not understand what you were saying. You were allowing him to claim that you belonged to him sexually.”

“What?”

“That’s why I asked if he was attached to you. If you were his human, I could order him to share you with me, or to give you to me, if I wanted.”

“So you wanted to…”

“…taste you, and get to know you, but I must admit, I didn’t believe either of you when you said you were his. Everything about you seems… untouched.”

“You mean dumb?”

“No, not at all. Just not experienced in the vampire world. You seemed innocent.”

“I’m not a little girl and I’m not stupid.”

“If you were either of those things, Sookie, I would not be outside your window.”

She blushed when he said that, and couldn’t look him in the eye. “I still don’t understand why you’re here and I don’t understand why I’m sitting here talking to you.”

“Do you believe in fate, Sookie?”

“Fate? I don’t know – I never thought about it much.”

“What would you say if I said I think you met Bill Compton so he would bring you to my bar to meet me?”

“I’d say that’s a pretty good line, but it’s still a line.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I’m a human girl, talking to a vampire who claims to be a thousand years old, who is hovering outside my bedroom window just hours after I was introduced to him. Most people would think I’m crazy for not locking the window and hiding until dawn.”

“You are not most people, any more than I am most men.”

“I don’t know how you can possibly mean that.”

“Let’s look at this logically, Sookie. If I wanted a meal, I had many options in Shreveport, did I not?”

“Yes, you did.”

“If I believed you were Bill’s and I wanted blood or sex, I’d have ordered him to give you to me, would I not?”

“Maybe, but you didn’t really have time to do anything but ask us to sit down.”

“True, we were interrupted. Would you believe me if I told you that by the end of the evening, I would have figured out if you really belonged to Bill or not?”

“Yeah, I can believe that.”

“So by the end of the night, I would have known that you do not belong to Bill Compton. Now, Sookie, tell me, why would I care?”

“That’s the part I don’t get.”

“You underestimate yourself, Sookie. Do you not realize how attractive you are?”

“So you’re here because you want me for what?”

“Companionship, perhaps. As you said, I don’t know you yet. All I know is that I want to know more. That hasn’t happened in a very long time.”

“But if I was yours, then could other people order you to share me or take me from you?”

“Others might try, but I wouldn’t allow it.”

“How do I know that?”

“You’d have to trust me, Sookie.”

“It’s awfully soon for that.”

“Yes, it is. I don’t know if I can trust you, either.”

“There’s nothing I could do to hurt you, though.”

“You’re underestimating yourself again.”

“But…ahhhh-hhhh” Sookie let out a big yawn.

“It’s very late, and you are getting sleepy.”

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“What are you doing tomorrow night, Sookie?”

“I have to work…”

“Where do you work?”

“Merlotte’s. It’s a bar and grill a few miles from here.”

“What is your job there?”

“I’m a waitress.”

“I thought you had a brother – is he younger than you?”

“No, he’s older.”

Eric stopped to think about that for a minute, but he quickly got refocused. “What time will you get home tomorrow night?”

“About 8 pm. I have the early shift.”

“What if I meet you back here tomorrow night at 8:30 and we will talk some more?”

“You just want to talk?”

“Yes, is that so strange?”

“You don’t want to like, go to a movie or on a date or something? I mean…”

“Are you asking if I want to date you?” He liked the sound of that.

“I guess I’m asking what your interest in me is.”

“I would think you’d consider it far too early for me to answer that question.”

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

“I have enjoyed our talk, Sookie, and I want to talk some more. If I come back tomorrow, will you open the window and talk to me?”

“Yeah, I guess… I mean, why not?”

“Alright, one more question and I’ll say good night.”

“OK…”

“Have you ever ingested Bill Compton’s blood?”

“Yeah, actually, a lot of it.”

“How did this come about?”

“I was attacked and he saved my life.”

“Who attacked you?”

“People who tried to drain him to sell his blood. I stopped them and they came back and tried to kill me.”

“So these people targeted you after you saved Bill from them?”

“Yeah.”

“Interesting. Alright, then, I will see you back here, tomorrow night, at 8:30. Agreed?

“Agreed.”

“Good night, Sookie. Have pleasant dreams.” He was gone in an instant.

Sookie went to bed but she knew she wasn’t going to sleep any time soon. She felt like she was on fire. She was attracted to Bill when she met him, but it was nothing like this. She guessed that with Bill, it was more curiosity – he was something new and different. After spending some time around him, though, she really didn’t feel any real compatibility with him, especially after the crap he pulled with that poor cop. Tuvan throat singing? What the fuck!

Eric! She felt like her whole body was alive in a way she never felt before. Not that she didn’t get a thrill from Bill – he was definitely sexy, but what she felt for Eric was overwhelming. She was both relieved and disappointed when the club was raided. She was relieved because if Eric had patted his lap, she’d have hopped right up there and to hell with William Compton. She was disappointed because she wanted to know more about Eric and to see if he was going to continue to show an interest in her. He as much as told Bill he wanted to have sex with her, right? And she couldn’t believe she said “Yes, I am his!” It was out of her mouth almost as a reflex. She didn’t want to say that to Eric, but something in her was terrified of him. She realized, though, that she wasn’t afraid he’d hurt her. She was afraid of her feelings for him. She never felt anything like this before. She didn’t know people could feel this way.

He came to her window! She turned over on her side and her kitty, Tina, jumped up on the bed and snuggled in next to her.

“Did you see him, Tina? Wasn’t he beautiful? He had that whole club full of sexy women, but he came all the way here to my bedroom window just to talk. He has to really like me, right? It’s not just because of my telepathy or anything like that – if I understand what he told me, he could just order Bill to bring me to him or whatever. But he came here! And he didn’t even ask to come into the house! He was a perfect gentleman. He said he just wants to talk! I don’t remember a man ever actually asking me questions like that. Most guys talk about themselves.”

Eric was coming back tomorrow night. Bill – shit! She totally forgot that Bill was supposed to speak to the Descendants of the Glorious Dead tomorrow night! Well, she didn’t really intend to go anyway, since she fought with Bill. There was no way in hell she was going to stand Eric up when he was willing to just stay and talk to her. Hell, hardly anybody ever talked to her. Eric didn’t even mind her disability and he didn’t think she was crazy. Other people would think she was crazy for trusting Eric but it just felt so natural talking to him.

A Viking vampire! How cool was that? Even if he was exaggerating, the idea was so cool. A man like that must have been everywhere and done everything, but tomorrow night, out of all the things he could do in the world, he wanted to float outside Sookie’s bedroom window and talk to her. That sounded crazy, but so what?

She felt a little giddy. Why would a man like that show so much interest in her? She wondered what he saw when he looked at her. When she looked at him, she saw power and experience and elegance and a door to a whole world she knew nothing about. Bill seemed a little bit that way at first but his glamour faded when she met those three horrible vampires at Bill’s house and found out he actually slept with Diane. Eric didn’t like her, either. That was a definite plus.

Eric must have been with hundreds, if not thousands of women. She couldn’t believe a man with his experience cared about little Sookie Stackhouse in any shape or form but he did.

She always felt a little guilty about touching herself, but tonight there was no way around it. She needed an orgasm or she’d never get to sleep. Ok, maybe she needed two. Actually, it turned out to be three, which was a sort of “personal best” for her. After round three, she finally drifted off to sleep and before long, she was dreaming.

“Sookie, come to the window.”

Sookie was standing in front of a window, but she was in a strange place. It was her room, but it wasn’t, in that way that only makes sense in dreams. She was wearing a long, transparent white gown that left nothing to the imagination, but it was blowing in the wind coming through the window, as were the billowing white curtains that hung there. Sookie walked to the window and saw Eric flying there. It occurred to her for the first time that Eric could fly, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world because he was Eric and Eric could do anything. She opened the window, and he reached his hand in toward her. She took his hand and he slowly floated into the room.

“Are you the one?” she asked him, looking up into those impossibly blue eyes.

“Yes, Sookie, he’s the one you are waiting for,” a woman’s voice, one Sookie had heard before, whispered in her ear as Eric took her in his strong arms and gave her a kiss that seemed to last for hours.

When Sookie woke up, the sun was streaming through her window, but she could swear she still felt that kiss on her lips.