Where the Heart Is

Chapter 17

“How much is it for a lap dance?”

Sookie rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a strip club, but if you behave yourself, I may just give you a private show later.”

“I will take you up on that,” he said with a leer, kissing her passionately on the lips.

She pulled away when the crowd around them started to whistle, blushing in embarrassment. “It’s my last week, don’t be causing any trouble.”

“You were just as much into that as I was, but when do you have a break? I’m lonely,” Eric finished with a pout.

Sookie knew she was never able to resist that, looking around to make sure she couldn’t spot Sam. He was probably still out running his errands. She got Amelia’s attention. “Cover for me, I’ll just be ten minutes.”

The brunette grinned. “I’ll give you twenty.”

Sookie nodded and grabbed Eric’s arm, pulling him to the supply closet in the back. It was a pretty tight space, but would do for the time being. As soon as she yanked him inside, they were on each other. Sookie never would have risked doing such a thing in the past, but whenever she was around him, she always found it hard to keep her hands to herself. It was obvious that Eric had the same dilemma. With a child in the picture, it wasn’t always easy to find some alone time, not that either one could regret being with Jessica. Especially after what happened with Crystal, when she wasn’t at school, they would hardly let her out of their sight.

Eric licked and sucked her neck, bunching her skirt up and not hesitating before thrusting three long fingers inside of her drenched core. Catching her moan with his mouth as she rode his fingers, feeling the warm wetness spill out a second later. It would be best if their shirts remained on, foreplay was about all they had time for at the moment.

Sookie threw her head back as she came down from her high, about to say the hell with it and fuck him right there, but the door being thrown open put anything else she would have done on hold. Sookie pushed Eric away, fixing herself in the process as she looked guiltily at her soon to be former boss.

“What’s going on in here?” Sam Merlotte wondered, but it was pretty clear to him.

“I was looking for some napkins since we’re running low; Eric was just giving me a hand.” Sookie cursed herself when she realized how lame that sounded, nudging her boyfriend in the stomach as he started to laugh. It was safe to say that nothing mortified him.

Sam raised his eyebrows. “I wasn’t born yesterday, Sook. This is something that can wait for when you get home, now go back to work. You’re not off duty yet.”

She nodded, letting out a breath when Sam walked away. “If you weren’t so damn hot, we would not be having this problem.”

Eric agreed. “Yes, lover, I take full responsibility.”

“It’s a good thing I quit because I probably would have just gotten fired.”

He waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Doubtful, Merlotte is too busy lusting after you. There’s no way he would have let you go.”

Sookie shook her head. “Sam’s just a friend, he doesn’t think about me in that way.”

Eric put his arm around her, kissing the top of her head. “My sweet Sookie, you are so adorably dense. You don’t have to be a mind reader to know that practically every man in this place lusts after you. It’s a good thing you won’t be working here much longer, I am the jealous type.”

She smiled. “I never would have guessed.”

“To be honest, I’ve never been jealous until you. It’s not a feeling I like that much.”

“I know all too well,” Sookie responded. With the numerous amounts of women who constantly hit on Eric, jealousy was to be expected. It was hard to imagine sometimes that he still chose to be with her, but wouldn’t dwell on that if she could help it.

* * * * *

“Your little girl is gorgeous.”

Eric rolled his eyes; he apparently couldn’t take Jessica to the park without getting hit on. He figured it would be safer now that Crystal was no longer an issue and couldn’t show up whenever she pleased, but he didn’t take in the fact the other barracudas who loved to pick him up. “Thank you, but could you move to the side? I’m trying to keep an eye on my daughter.”

She seemed stunned, taking off without another word.

Eric couldn’t care less, getting hit on in the past by random women never used to bother him, but now he had Sookie and realized just how irritating it really was. He smiled when Jessica came over. “Are you done already?”

She nodded. “A boy from my class is here, I don’t like him.”

That took Eric by surprise, she usually liked everyone. “Why is that?”

Jessica shrugged. “He’s mean to me.”

“Mean to you how? Do I need to have a word with his parents?” Eric didn’t like the sound of that. No one pushed his girl around and got away with it, whether they were a second grader or not.

She shook her head. “I just stay away from him.”

Eric took her hand as they left the park. He didn’t know if he could just let this go, but would see what Sookie had to say first.

* * * * *

“Okay, if I tell you what I think, do you promise not to get mad?”

“I do hate when you start a sentence like that,” Eric commented. “Why would I get mad?”

Sookie took in a deep breath before continuing. “When I was about Jessica’s age, there was a boy who liked to torment me. He would chase me around, pull my pigtails, the whole nine yards. And then out of nowhere during recess, he kissed me. Of course I punched him and that was pretty much the last of it, but this situation doesn’t seem that different.”

Eric’s eyes widened. “Are you saying this bully is picking on Jessica because he likes her? No, I refuse to believe that. She’s just a baby, boys are supposed to think girls have cooties at this age. I know I did. He’s probably just a little tyrant; things aren’t the same now as they were when we were kids.”

She held her hands up. “Whatever you say, I was just making a suggestion. If he bothers her again, we should talk to the teacher.”

Eric agreed, he refused to believe his little girl already had interest from boys. That just wouldn’t do at all.