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The next Friday night my cheek is all better and I’m waiting outside my house for Eric to come pick me up. We don’t really have a plan other than being together until I have to get home for curfew. I’m leaned up against a tree, humming a Phil Phillips song that’s been stuck in my head all day. When I see Mr. Northman’s car turn the corner I straighten up and smile.

The car comes to a stop right in front of me and after he leans over to unlock the door for me, I get in.

“Hi.” I slide across the seat to kiss him hello and then close the door.

“Hi,” he smiles, then reaches up onto the dash and grabs a flower I hadn’t seen there. “This is for you. I picked it out of Mrs. Fortenberry’s bushes. That’ll make Mom happy.”

“Thank you,” I laugh, and tuck the flower behind my ear.

“So I was thinking the diner for dinner, malts if you’ve already had dinner, and then we go park somewhere and talk,” he says. “Or kiss… it’s up to you.”

“Either sounds good to me.”

He starts driving and I scoot close to him again and kiss the side of his face.

When he shifts a little I ask, “I’m not distracting you am I?”

“Not really,” he says.

“You know we could just go to the drive-in,” I suggest.

“Sure, that sounds good. What’s playing?” he asks.

I giggle and ask, “Does it matter?”

“Oh! So you mean… yeah, I’m good with that,” he smiles.

I know how we are. We might watch the movie for a little while, but we’ll end up finding something more interesting to do. I direct Eric to the drive-in since he hasn’t been there yet, and we find a place to park. The movie is a double feature since it’s Friday night. We get out of the car and go to the refreshment stand.

“Should we just get popcorn or do you want some candy?” he asks. “Oooh they have nachos.”

“I’m just thirsty. I already ate supper,” I tell him.

“Well I want nachos,” he says and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “And maybe some popcorn and a big soda.”

“Then you should have it. I’ve been thinking about a cherry Coke all day,” I confess.

“That sounds good. Have I swayed you?”

“Not a chance.”

“Eric!” Claudine Crane squeals from a few feet away and my eyes roll. I can’t stand her.

“Oh, hi Claudine,” Eric smiles politely.

“What’cha doing?” she asks like he doesn’t have his arm around me.

“Just on a date with Sookie,” he says.

Claudine looks surprised and her eyes shift over to me for a second before going back to Eric.

“That’s too bad.”

“Why is that too bad?” he asks. “She’s my girlfriend.”

Claudine’s jaw drops. “But she’s… Eric, she’s… You don’t want to date someone like her.”

“I know exactly who she is, and she is standing right here,” he snaps at her.

“Why don’t you beat it, Claudine?” I suggest.

Her eyes narrow and she says, “Fine. I’m sure you have a busy night ahead of you.”

“Yeah, she does. With me. Do yourself a favor and beat it like she said.”

Claudine huffs and then turns to go.

“Goody two shoes,” I mutter and she shoots me a dirty look.

“At least I’m not a tramp,” she fires back and storms off.

Eric moves like he wants to go yell at her, but then takes a deep breath.

“Don’t worry about her,” I tell him. “She only goes after boys that are committed.”

“To an asylum?”

I laugh at that and wrap my arms around his waist. The line keeps moving and it isn’t long before we have our snacks and are heading back to the car. There’s some kind of monster movie playing, but I have no idea what’s happening in it.

“You should try these nachos,” Eric says.

“I’ve had them,” I smile and sip my cherry Coke.

“They’re so good.”

He’s cute with all of his excitement over his snack. I try to get into the movie, but we’ve missed too much of the beginning. When Eric’s finished eating he goes to throw away the trash, and while he’s gone I move to the backseat since that’s where I’m going to end up anyway.

When he comes back he gets into the front and then looks around frantically when he realizes I’m not there. He smiles when he sees me in the back.

“Oh I see,” he says, and climbs over the seat.

“You’re a goof.”

“And you’re the one in love with a goof.”

“I guess that makes me a goof too, doesn’t it?”

“Yup,” he smiles. “And I love it.”

I move over and rest my head on his chest. For a while we pay attention to what’s happening on the screen, but after about fifteen minutes Eric lifts my chin and kisses me. It doesn’t take long for me to end up pinned under him, but I’m not complaining. This is the best part of my week.

We’ve swapped a few kisses after school, but he’s usually in a rush to get home to change clothes for work, so we really only have the weekends to see each other. I miss the lake where we got to spend hours together everyday.

“I’ve been thinking about this all week,” he says as his hand moves up my skirt.

“Oh yeah?” I don’t need to guide his hand this time, it seems.

“I want to see that look on your face again.”

“What look?”

“The look when you orgasm.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know I get a special look on my face, but I guess that makes sense.

When his hand reaches me, he asks, “You okay with this?”

“Of course. You’re always welcome to see that face.”

“Good,” he smiles, and then his fingers start to move.

I don’t help him at all. I’m content to let him explore a little bit and try some different things. His head drops to kiss my neck and I’m sure I’ll have a hickey there tomorrow. My hips start to move in search of more friction and his hand moves under my shirt.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I wasn’t the first girl he’s done this with. Eric is a quick learner and he pays close attention to what I like and what I don’t. I’m so tempted to move his hand under my panties but I don’t think he’s ready for that yet.

My moans are getting louder as the tension builds up. It’s like the slowest, sweetest torture.

Eric moves his lips up to my ear and whispers, “You are so sexy.”

I turn my head and look into his eyes. No one’s ever said that to me before, but then no one has ever really cared about what I want until Eric came along. I lift my hand to touch his cheek and then kiss him.

He kisses me with so much passion, and I can feel his love for me in it. He moves his fingers faster and his hand comes up to massage my breast. I’m so close to my climax I can almost taste it. The kissing is what puts me over the edge and I have to pull away to breathe when my orgasm washes over me.

My eyes close and I see little flashes of color behind my eyes. Boy, this feels good.

“You’re getting very good at that,” I tell him as I come down from the high I’m feeling.

“Thank you,” he grins proudly.

I kiss him passionately for a few seconds and then break the kiss off gently.

“Now it’s my turn, if you’ll let me,” I say.

“Do you want me to sit up?” he asks.

“That would be helpful.”

Eric smiles and then sits up. I take a deep breath and hope I don’t screw up.

EPOV

I can’t wipe the smile off my face after giving Sookie an orgasm. It makes me feel more confident when she does, and I feel like I know what I’m doing. At least I’m learning. Once I’m sitting up I realize that Sookie looks a little nervous as she climbs onto me. I wrap my arms around her waist and ask her if she’s okay.

“I’m fine,” Sookie smiles. “Are you sure you want to try something new?”

“Oh are we going to?” I ask. “What are we going to try?”

“Since you’re using your hands, I thought I would, too.”

“Oh.”

Oh.

I’ve never done that, obviously. I’m excited and happy that she wants to try it, but I’m suddenly a little nervous.

“Is that okay? If it’s too fast, it’s okay,” she says.

“It’s okay,” I say. “It’s just… You’re going to see it.”

I can feel my face get hot, but I’m only being honest.

“I can keep my eyes on yours,” she says.

“You don’t have to. You’re going to see it eventually.”

She leans in to kiss me again and she doesn’t go for my pants right away. Instead she moves her hips in a way that feels really good. When her lips move to my neck, that’s when I feel her hands unbuttoning my jeans. I suck in a breath when she gets them undone, and when she reaches in I bite my lip.

Sookie keeps her eyes on mine as she finds what she’s looking for, and smiles as her hand wraps around me.

I groan immediately, and when she pulls me free of my clothing I look her in the eyes. She hasn’t looked down yet, but when she does I want to see her face.

Her hand starts to move slowly and when she glances down her eyes go wide.

“Oh,” she breathes.

“What?” I ask, thinking something’s wrong.

Her eyes meet mine and she’s smiling. “Bigger than I thought.”

“Oh,” I say, and try to fight a smile.

Her hand starts to move faster and she says, “Don’t be afraid to tell me if I can do something different.”

“Everything you’re doing feels good,” I say, and reach up to put my hands on her breasts.

She moans and goes back to kissing my neck while she strokes me. It feels so good to have a hand other than mine on me. Hers is so much smaller than mine, and softer too. There is one thing I want her to do, so I speak up with some difficulty because it’s hard to form thoughts.

“Sookie can you…” I pause to groan, and then continue. “Can you use your thumb? On… on the tip?”

She lifts her head and on the next upstroke she gently rubs her thumb over the tip and it makes her twist her wrist a little.

“Like that?” she asks.

My head rolls back and I groan again.

“Yes,” I pant. “And twist your hand like that again. That feels so good.”

“Okay.” Sookie does it again and goes to work on the other side of my neck.

After a few more twists I can feel myself getting close. My breathing gets shallower and everything Sookie is doing feels better and better. I figure I should probably tell her too because I’m sure she doesn’t want to get anything on her dress.

“Sookie,” I growl, and look down at her hand stroking me. The sight of it pushes me even closer to the edge and I know it’s going to happen any second now. “I’m gonna… I’m close.”

She smiles and produces a napkin from out of nowhere that solves the problem. Her grip gets a little tighter and she moves her hand faster, making sure to twist her wrist with every stroke. I keep my eyes on her hand until the last second, when I look right at her.

My body stiffens and my hips jerk involuntarily as I groan out Sookie’s name. Sookie catches everything with the napkin and her hand keeps stroking me slowly through the pleasure, making it last even longer. It’s by far the best thing I’ve ever felt. I can’t even imagine sex feeling better than this, even though I know it probably does.

After a minute Sookie asks, “So is that something you want to do again?”

I grin and ask, “Are you kidding?”

“Well, you’d be the first boy I’ve ever heard of to say no, but…”

“I’m not saying no,” I say. “I wish I could have that every day.”

She giggles and says, “Play your cards right and someday your wish might come true.”

“It’s a good thing I’m an excellent card player then.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup,” I smile. “I play a mean game of Go Fish.”

She laughs for a few seconds and then kisses me softly.

“You know your mom hopes we’ll get married someday,” Sookie says.

“Oh yeah?”

She nods. “She told me she hopes I’ll be her daughter.”

I smile when I hear that. I’m glad my parents are on board with the idea.

“I hope so too.”

“I’d be a lucky girl if that happened.”

“And I’d be a lucky boy.”

“Even with my crazy family?”

“They’re a part of you, so I’ll accept whatever they bring. But hopefully we won’t have to deal with the crazy part much.”

“They won’t have any control over me as long as I’m making my own way,” she says. “I’m determined to get out of there.”

“Good. It’ll be wonderful to see you have control of your own life. You’re going to be so great.”

“Now I just need to figure out what I want to do with my life.”

“Hopefully part of it is to be with me, but the other part? You do whatever you want. I’ll support you fully.”

“Even if I just want to get married and have a whole mess of kids?”

“As long as that’s what you really want, and as long as you’re happy with it, then it’s fine by me,” I smile. “Also as long as I’m the one you’re marrying and making babies with.”

“I knew there would be a catch.”

“It’s a fair one, right?”

“I think it’s safe to say you’re the last, and only, boy I want to spend time in a backseat with,” she says.

I’m not really sure what to say to that, but it makes me so happy that I feel like the only response is a kiss. So that’s just what I do.

♥ ♥ ♥

The next couple of months are the happiest I’ve ever had. Sookie and I are happy, in love, and we’ve learned to tune out people who don’t really like us together. We always go out on a date on Friday night, unless I have to close at the station. Even then, Calvin has told us he’s alright with Sookie hanging around with me until I finish up, as long as I do my work. We usually go out Saturday too after I finish unless I have a lot of homework to catch up on. Then on Sunday she’s started sitting with me and my folks and then going to lunch with us. She smiles more often now and I love seeing her so happy.

Sookie also got a job at the beauty parlor shampooing hair and making appointments. She likes the time away from home, and being able to save some money. I have every confidence that she’ll be able to get out of her house when she turns eighteen. I’m even going to hold off on getting a car so that I can help her if she needs it.

It’s a few days before Thanksgiving, and Sookie is going to her Gran’s with her parents for the holiday. My parents asked me to invite her over for dinner since she won’t be here for the holiday. I take my dad’s car over to her house to pick her up.

Like usual, she’s waiting outside for me and as soon as I pull up she comes out and gets into the car. She slides over to give me a kiss hello, and I tangle my fingers in her hair, holding her to me so I can kiss her longer.

When I finally release her, I smile and say, “Hello.”

“Hi,” she says with starry eyes.

“Mom made a small turkey so that we could have Thanksgiving with you,” I tell her.

“Awww that’s nice of her.”

“Just wait until you try her pie. Not as good as your Gran’s but it’s kept me satisfied all these years,” I say, and pull back out onto the street.

“I’m sure your mom makes perfectly good pie.”

“She did try your Gran’s recipe for tonight. We’ll see,” I say. “So how are you feeling about getting to see her again?”

“I’m excited about seeing her,” Sookie smiles. “I’m doing much better than I was when my parents sent me to her last June. I think she’ll be proud of the changes I’ve made since then. Plus she really likes you, so she’ll be thrilled to know we’re still seeing each other.”

“I hope we can see her again together sometime,” I say.

“We could go next summer,” she suggests.

“Just us?”

“Sure, why not? We’ll both be eighteen by then.”

“So like… we’d get a cottage or one of the cabins or stay in the house in separate rooms?”

“I was thinking we’d stay on our own. If Gran won’t let us have a cabin maybe we could rent a cottage for a few days.”

I smile at the thought of being alone in a cottage with Sookie.

“Maybe we should wait to have sex until then,” I say with a teasing smile.

We’re currently happy just using our hands on each other, and I feel like we’re both more than satisfied.

“I thought you wanted to wait until we’re married,” she teases right back.

“I’m not entirely sure that will be possible.”

Sookie giggles at that. “See? I am a bad influence.”

“In the absolute best way.”

“Too bad there isn’t more time before supper or I might get into some of my tricks.”

“Tricks, huh?”

“Uh huh.”

“What kind of tricks?” I ask.

“Sleight of hand, mostly.”

“And who have you been practicing on?”

“This tall, handsome young man with pretty blue eyes.”

“Does he look anything like me?” I ask.

“Except for the brown hair…” she giggles more.

“Brown hair? Who is this guy? I might need to kick his ass.”

“It’s not important.”

“Oh it’s very important.”

“He might be your evil twin.”

“As long as he’s not sexier than me,” I smirk.

“Not possible.”

“Then stick to using those tricks on me,” I smile over at her and pull into our drive.

“Yes sir,” she winks at me.

“You ready to eat?”

“Yes sir.”

We get out and head inside, and my mother quickly comes out and wraps her arms around Sookie.

“It’s so good to see you, dear,” she says.

“Thank you for inviting me, Helen,” Sookie says while hugging Mom back.

“You’re welcome,” Mom smiles. “James is in the living room if you two would like to go wait with him. Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes.”

“I can give you a hand if you’d like some help,” Sookie offers.

“Actually, I could use a hand,” Mom says, and wraps her arm around Sookie’s shoulders. “Eric you go on in and keep your father company.”

“Yes ma’am,” I say, and lean down to give Sookie a kiss before she goes into the kitchen with my mom.

I go into the living room where I find my dad sitting in his chair reading the paper.

“Hey Dad,” I say as I sit down on the couch.

“Hello,” he says, and looks over the paper at me. “Sookie in the kitchen with your mom?”

“Yeah,” I nod.

“If you don’t ask that girl to marry you, you’re going to break your mother’s heart. You know that, right?”

I chuckle and say, “Yeah, I know.”

He smiles and holds the paper up again. I turn on the television and watch a little bit of a program until dinnertime. Fifteen minutes later Mom is hollering at us to go wash our hands. Dad and I dutifully get up and do so, then head to the kitchen. The house has smelled great for hours because of the things Mom has been cooking, and my stomach is growling. When I walk in Sookie is taking off an apron and hanging it back up. She’s smiling, so I hope my mother wasn’t giving her a talk about me or anything. She can be a bit meddlesome, I’ve learned.

“Dinner smells delicious,” I say.

“Your mom is a great cook,” Sookie says.

“Thank you,” Mom smiles, and goes to the table.

Like always, Dad and I hold their chairs out for them before taking our seats. Dad says grace, and then we start filling our plates. There’s turkey, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, gravy, and my mother’s homemade yeast rolls. She got the recipe from her own mother, and they’re the best I’ve ever tasted.

“Eric, you may have to put me in a wheelbarrow to get me to the car,” Sookie warns.

“I may not be able to move to get you there,” I laugh.

“Just loosen your pants, son,” Dad winks.

Sookie laughs at that.

“Is that what you do?” I ask.

“I did that before I sat down,” he laughs. “I knew I’d walk away from the table five pounds heavier.”

“I don’t know where you put all that food,” Sookie looks at me. “If I ate like you I’d be bigger than a Macy’s parade float.”

“I’m a growing boy,” I smile as I help myself to a little more of everything.

“Hmph,” Sookie snorts.

“Oh he’s not kidding about that,” Mom says. “We spent so much on groceries when he was about fifteen and hit his big growth spurt. I thought he would never stop eating.”

Sookie just shakes her head.

“I went through it too,” Dad says. “Besides, you’re supposed to eat a lot on holidays.”

“Yup,” I say, and take a big bite of macaroni and cheese.

“It’s not fair,” Sookie says. “You boys hit a growth spurt and you feed it. If us girls hit a growth spurt we go on a diet.”

“You don’t need a diet,” I say.

“Spoken like a man.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you didn’t diet,” I shrug.

I love her, not her body. Though her body is pretty nice.

“I would,” Sookie says. “It’s one thing to have curves like Marilyn. It’s another to get chubby.”

“I always thought you looked more like Jayne Mansfield,” I say.

“You know what I mean,” Sookie smiles at me.

“I always liked your mother with a little more padding,” Dad says, and my jaw drops.

“Dad!”

“James!” Mom says at the same time.

“What? It’s true. It’s better than when you were really thin.”

Sookie watches the exchange with amusement.

“Well that’s nice of you, but it’s not appropriate to talk about at the dinner table,” Mom says.

“Yes dear,” Dad says with a sly smile.

“Sookie, I apologize for my parents.”

“Don’t you dare. Your parents are great,” she says.

“See, Sookie has the right attitude,” Dad smiles.

“Thank you, sir,” Sookie smiles at him.

“You’re very welcome.”

“Jeez,” I sigh.

“What’s your problem?” Sookie asks me.

“Just having one of those moments where my parents are embarrassing.”

“Well maybe someday you’ll get to pay it forward to your own kids,” Sookie suggests.

“You’d let me say what my dad just said in front of our kids?”

“Yes, I would.”

“You two talk about having kids?” Mom asks.

Sookie looks over at me before she answers, “Not really.”

“We know we want to be together for the foreseeable future,” I say. “We’ll see what that entails when we get there.”

“Good answer, Eric,” Sookie says.

“Thank you, doll,” I smile.

Sookie is the first to clean her plate and declare herself full. I follow soon after, and then we offer to help Mom clean up.

“Nope, you two go spend time together. Your father can help me,” Mom says.

“Okay,” I readily accept. “Sookie, I just need to run up to my room and grab something. I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be right here,” she says.

I jog up to my room and grab the small stack of letters I want to give Sookie and then head back down.

“Okay, I’m ready,” I say. “You good to go?”

“I am,” Sookie says as she stands up. “Thanks again for supper. I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving.”

“This was our Thanksgiving, darling,” Mom tells her.

“Oh. Well now I feel bad we’re leaving early.”

“Don’t worry about it one bit,” she says. “You two go have some fun before you have to go. I’m sure Eric will be positively glum without you.”

“Mom,” I sigh.

“It’s true,” Mom shrugs.

“I’ll be back Saturday afternoon. I think he’ll be fine without me for seventy-two hours,” Sookie says.

“You didn’t have to live with him after we left the resort,” Dad says.

“It’s just three days. You’ll be fine,” Sookie looks at me.

“I know,” I say, and take her hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Have a good night,” Sookie says to my parents and lets me lead her out of the house.

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