Catalyst Ch. 19

Chapter Nineteen: Proper Perspective

Jason’s POV:

On Sookie’s birthday, I run to this real good bakery I was told about by a girl in my Western Civilizations class last semester. She said their peach cobbler was ‘to die for’, and that’s exactly what I want to give my sis on her birthday. I even called ahead to the restaurant Eric got us reservations to and asked if I could bring it. They said fine, but no styrofoam containers.

I can do that. The cobbler’s put in a nice, pink box with packaging twine, so I think it’ll look just fine at this fancy place we’re goin’. I still find it funny a couple vamps are so intent on makin’ sure we eat all the time.

When I get to the apartment, I put the cobbler on top of the fridge and grab the broom and dustpan. I run around the place like a madman with a bottle of windex. I clean the place ’til it’s spotless, ’cause Sooks is usually the one doin’ all the housekeepin’. Once the place looks pretty damn good, I run to my room and get Sook’s present off the top shelf of my closet. It ain’t hid so good, but she’s never been one for snoopin’. She’s just unlikely to accidentally find it here when she comes and gets my laundry. Shit! Laundry! Should I run a load for us? I think about the prospect of handlin’ my sister’s underwear and cringe. Some things are probably left a mystery.

I’m just comin’ back into the livin’ room when Sookie shuffles out of her bedroom, rubbin’ sleep from her eyes. It’s almost eleven, but I know she stays up ’til nearly five in the mornin’ talkin’ with Eric now that school’s let out. “Happy birthday!” I shout at her for the first time that day. She laughs and comes over to hug me, givin’ a big ol’ yawn as she does. I hug her back and hand her the gift in my hand.

“What’s this?” she asks, sittin’ on the couch with it and unwrapping my present. When it’s open on her lap, she looks at it in surprise. “Wow,” she says breathlessly. “How’d you get this? I thought it was lost for good!”

“You wouldn’t believe it if I told ya,” I laugh as she carefully takes the locket outta the box.

“Seriously,” she opens it and looks at the engravin’ to make sure it’s the genuine article, “how did you find this?”

“I didn’t. Eric did,” I confess. “He was in the attic crawl space seein’ if there was room to do somethin’ with it. Guess the guy doesn’t believe in storage… Anyway, he was walkin’ the room and saw a gap in the boards, thought it might be rottin’ out. Then he saw this hangin’ by the catch on a splinter. He brought it to me and asked if it was somethin’ of ours since it used to be our house. I swear to God, I ’bout fell over when I saw it. Mamma lost it when you were six. Remember? I bet Daddy scoured their’s and Gran’s house for a year lookin’ for it.”

The rose gold of the locket shines dully at us as Sookie opens it again and just stares at the inscription with amazement. ‘For my love’. Daddy spent a lot of money to get that for our mamma. When she lost it, he ’bout had a heart attack….

“I guess, in a way, it’s from me and Eric. We’ll split it. I give you the locket, he gives you the words. Fair enough?” I laugh.

She giggles around a sob, but nods, holdin’ it up and claspin’ it behind her neck. It falls just past where her collarbones meet, and seein’ it on her reminds me of just how grown up she is. Dang, I just can’t get over it!

“It’s okay, Jason,” she stands up and hugs me again.

I clear my throat, tryin’ to dislodge the lingerin’ emotion, and ask, “So, what do ya wanna do for your birthday?”

We opt to go to a movie, and she convinces me to see ‘Pearl Harbor’, claimin’ I’d like it ’cause of the historical aspect. Goes to show Sooks is not plannin’ on becomin’ a history teacher. It was a flippin’ love story with a million and one historical inaccuracies. It was all I could do not to cringe the entire time. Thankfully Sookie didn’t seem all that impressed with the movie either, so I don’t gotta put up with her gushin’ about it all through breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Instead we talk about the start of next school year, and we both get a bit riled up anticipating her college career startin’ a year earlier than we’d planned. She’s already got a full scholarship to Endene University, but I don’t know that she applied anywhere else. That bothers me a bit, but I let it go. I went to Endene and got a good education. I know she will too.

“I’m feelin’ real confident about my first year,” Sookie claims as we finish up our early dinner. I break out the box of cobbler and Sookie claps her hands excitedly.

“Oh yeah? That’s good. I just found out I gotta push my student teachin’ to second semester,” I confess.

“Why!?” Sookie asks anxiously.

“‘Cause football. It’d be impossible to work the student teachin’ hours along with the football schedule. Me and the councilor have been goin’ back and forth with it for a while. I was gonna try and push through it so I could graduate midterm, but now that we ain’t hurtin’ on the money front, I decided why put up the strain? I’ll have a lot more energy for the kids, and I really want to take in everythin’ I can,” I explain.

Sookie nods, “That sounds smart. So, does that mean you aren’t takin’ classes this summer semester?”

“Nope. I’m gonna take ’em in the fall. Round myself out, y’know?”

Sookie smiles as I cut her a piece of cobbler and put it on the bread plate she didn’t use. I get my own piece and we talk excitedly about her upcomin’ first year of college.

“So, you still plan on becomin’ a teacher?” I ask quietly.

“Of course! Why?” She frowns at my question now.

I shrug, “I just wondered ’cause you said you was marryin’ Eric in a couple weeks… his way… You won’t really need a job when you and him are married.”

She smirks and shakes her head at my point, “That doesn’t mean I’m gonna be some vamp housewife! I want to work and help students learn and grow! I don’t just wanna sit around bein’ pampered all the time. I wanna make a difference.”

Her response makes me smile, although, I wonder how Eric will feel about that. Knowin’ Sooks, if she knew she didn’t need the money, she’d probably go to work at one of the worst schools in Louisiana to try and make a difference. That’s just the way she’s always been. Tutorin’ classmates when she had the time. Readin’ to the kids at the library on the weekend when she had a spare minute… She just started doin’ that again after my injuries was all healed up. She had to stop when money started gettin’ tight, and I knew she felt guilty not bein’ there no more, but she had to pick up more hours at the diner. Then I went and got shot, and she didn’t wanna leave me more than she had to. Once all the crap cleared, though, she was back at the library readin’ to the kiddos on Saturday mornings.

Sooks calms down when she sees me smilin’ at her and she just shakes her head. “I guess I never really thought about what I do and don’t have to do when I marry Eric.”

“Y’know, talkin’ ’bout this marriage thing is gettin’ me a little anxious,” I grumble into my cobbler. When she gives me her puppy dog eyes, I relent and ask, “You still gettin’ married our way?”

“Yup, and that date is stayin’ the same as it always was. December 12^th,” she tells me firmly.

“Eric comin’ over tonight?” I ask.

“Only for a little bit to wish me a happy birthday. He knows today’s your day,” She smiles at me real sweet.

“Wanna pop in a real movie when we get home?”

“Which one?” She tilts her head curiously.

I think a minute before sighin’. “Whichever one you want, I just gotta beg it’s not another chick flick. Over two hours of that garbage left me ready to puke.”

She giggles, “How about Jurassic Park?”

“I can definitely do that one,” I nod agreeably.

“Then that’s what we’ll watch.”

We finish up our dessert and head out. Eric’s already left his credit card with the restaurant, so we just get up and leave with our box of peach cobbler. I drive us back to the apartment, and Sookie pops in the DVD we planned on watchin’. Just when the raptors are takin’ on the T-Rex, Eric shows up. Sookie gives me an apologetic grimace and leads him to her room.

I just roll my eyes and turn up the volume. The movie’s got a good soundtrack, so I just blast it to cover up whatever the hell is goin’ on in my baby sister’s bedroom. I just focus on the blastin’ roars and music, not listenin’ for anythin’ else that alludes to what’s happenin’ behind closed doors. She’s officially an adult now, and I’m her big brother, not her daddy. Just don’t think about it.

The end credits aren’t even rollin’ when Sookie slinks outta her bedroom. I’m a bit surprised they’re already done with whatever they was doin’, but Sookie looks disappointed. Eric looks… Amused?

Sookie walks her man to the door, poutin’ when he gives her a kiss goodnight. He just smiles, smooths her hair and gives her another quick kiss before leavin’.

“What’s wrong?” I ask when she closes the door behind him. She fiddles with her fingernails a minute and goes to the fridge. “Sookie?” I get up from the couch and follow her into the kitchen, but sit on a barstool at the breakfast bar to give her some space.

“Eric doesn’t want me to come over this weekend,” she whispers and takes out a tub of ice cream.

“Why not?” Crap, I hope she can’t hear how relieved I am!

Sookie’s face goes bright red. “Umm.”

“I don’t wanna know, do I?” I grimace.

“Paraphrasing? He said we’ll be Bonded in two weeks, and he thinks waitin’ ’til we spend our first night together would be more special for me then than now.”

I chuckle, shake my head and smile at Sookie, “You got a good man there, Sooks.”

“Why ’cause you’re my big brother and you prefer that I not spend the night with a man?” she snaps.

“Hey now! Hey now!” I laugh even harder. “I just meant that I think he knows you’d regret it if you slept with him before you were married! Especially with your vamp marriage only weeks away!”

Sookie pouts again, takes a deep breath and lets it out real slow, “You’re right… I’m just disappointed. I didn’t mean to snap like that. I’m sorry,” she apologizes, but still has the same cute, little pout.

Lettin’ out a groan, I mope out of the barstool and wrap Sookie up in my arms, “It’s cool. You’re nervous and excited and a whole buncha stuff I don’t wanna think about.” I take the ice cream outta her hand and put it back in the freezer. “You don’t need to shovel that crap in your face to feel better, Sis. C’mon. Let’s pop in another movie; somethin’ stupid. We’ll just sit and talk this shit out.”

This is the last conversation I wanna be havin’ with my baby sis, but she don’t got our mamma or gran, and Pam wouldn’t get the morals at war in Sookie. I at least get it even if I don’t give a shit about it. I pop in ‘Blazing Saddles’, and flop onto the couch. Sookie nuzzles into my side, and I wrap her back up in my arms.

“Okay, now you wanna explain what’s goin’ on with this weekend? I thought the new plan was you was waitin’ ’til June twelfth and that was the whole reason you bumped up your vamp weddin’ in the first place? So you wouldn’t break your ‘no premarital sex’ promise.”

Sookie frowns, “That was the plan, and the whole reason we bumped up the date of our Bonding. Only… The past month or so… Eric’s been makin’ it real hard to not want to do… that…”

Obviously I know it’s not about pressurin’ ’cause Eric wouldn’t have told her not to come over this weekend if he were tryin’ to get her in the sack early. I find it kinda funny that Sookie, my Sookie, is the one tryin’ to get in someone’s pants. Course, it’s Eric, so it don’t count as unladylike in my book. She made him woo her good and proper before givin’ him any sugar. By today’s standards, she played the game right, and I’m proud of her for that.

“Well, I guess it just means you’ll be givin’ it to him pretty good on the twelfth bein’ all pent up like this,” I shrug.

“Jason!” She gives me a wide-eyed mortified look and I laugh.

“What? He’s right. You’d feel awful if you came so far, bumped up your weddin’, and still managed not to hold out for the nuptials. So, suck it up. It’s only fifteen days. Two flippin’ weeks, and you get to have endless amounts of guiltless sex. Which means more to you?”

“You’re right,” she mumbles.

“It’s just too bad you don’t got nothin’ to distract you. Y’know? If you was doin’ your human weddin’, you’d be plannin’ it out and totally distracted from this crap,” I chuckle.

“Good point,” she grumbles again, and stares at the TV.

“So, why’d Eric come over tonight if he was just gonna tell you no to this weekend?” I ask.

Sookie’s face tinges a bit pink, “Second blood exchange,” she tells me after a moment.

“That’s cool. I ain’t ever drank their blood. Had it injected into me, but never tasted it. Is it all coppery and cold?” I ask.

She shakes her head, “No, it’s like perfect room temperature, and Eric’s tastes like a really dark chocolate. Not, like chocolate flavor, but you know how the darker it is, the more bite it’s got? Kinda like that… It’s all thick and syrupy… A bit of a metal taste, but I’d say it’s more of an undertone than the main feature. It makes my throat and stomach feel real warm, like drinkin’ tea or somethin’.”

I’m noddin’ like I understand, but I really don’t. Pam had told me that unless I’m dyin’ or seriously injured, I’ll probably never taste vampire blood until I’m turned. That suits me just fine. I don’t get the sexiness behind it like Sooks seems to. Maybe once I’m a vamp it’ll start makin’ sense, but right now it’s just bizarre.

“You’re thinkin’ ’bout that a lot lately,” Sookie whispers. “Becomin’ a vamp….”

I shrug in reply, “Well, yeah. When you think about it, it’s really only a couple years away! That’s a big deal, and I should start thinkin’ ’bout what that’ll mean, y’know?”

“You won’t be able to have kids,” Sookie mopes.

“Sooks, no kid I could make would ever turn out half as good as you were. If I had a baby girl, I’d be a walkin’ heart attack the rest of my life. No doubt about that. You was a good kid, never caused any trouble. I’d probably breed a hellion that I was constantly havin’ to get outta trouble. Nah, you was enough to give me a taste of bein’ a daddy. I’d much rather be the ‘cool uncle’ for the kids you manage to pop out,” I tease her with a wink. “Besides, that Bondin’ business sounds pretty badass when it comes to romance. After a few centuries or so of scourin’ the globe, screwin’ around, I might find the girl of my dreams and get to do the Bondin’ thing.”

She smiles at the idea, noddin’ in agreement. I know she’s pretty stoked about the Bonding thing, and in a way I’m excited for her too. I’m scared too. Not because I think Eric will ever let her down, but because I know how she is about guilt trippin’ herself. Once I’m a vamp, and everyone she knows and cares about is completely invulnerable, she’s gonna be lookin’ at herself as some sort of burden. I already know I’m not the best of help for this, so I can only hope that she’s talkin’ these things out with Eric.

Pam’s POV:

Real estate, commercial properties, licensing, taxes, permits… How does Eric get me to do all this shit!?

I hear the door of the farmhouse slam and look up to see Eric storming in. Raising my eyebrows in surprise, I watch as my Maker stomps up to his office. All right, I am intrigued, I concede, leaving my pile of ledgers and paperwork on the large kitchen counter and chasing after Eric up the stairs.

“Where’s your little Bonded-to-Be?” I ask when I’m leaning into his office’s doorframe. “I thought you were taking her back to the condo for some deflowering?”

Eric snarls at me grumpily, “I cannot do it.”

“Erectile dysfunction? You know, they say it strikes men over the age of a thousand quite frequently,” I deadpan.

Eric snorts on a surprised laugh, “No. With our Bonding only two weeks away, I could not let her go through with it. We will be technically married by that ritual, and I know that knowledge will soothe Sookie’s puritanical upbringing.”

“So, you just popped in, did the second blood exchange and popped back out?” I ask in surprise. “No other popping? No playtime? No orgasms? Poor girl,” I tsk disapprovingly.

“I do not plan to touch her for the next two weeks,” Eric declares.

“You are going to wreck her pussy if you go along with that plan,” I tell him point blank. When he glowers at me, I confess, “Eric, I have never seen you like this. Not in the nearly two centuries I have known you. Don’t hide from her and keep her wanting all this time. When you are Bonded, all of her frustrations will be amplified, and I guarantee if you leave her wanting for two weeks, your control will be nil. You haven’t fucked since the first week of December. I know you have gone celibate longer than that, but do you also remember the damage your first fucks sustained after you broke celibacy? Sookie cannot be glamoured. She will remember you going full demon on a night she will remember clear as day for years and years to come.”

“What do you suggest, Pamela?” Eric snarls demandingly.

I shrug. I can’t suggest he go take his frustrations out on some random woman. He is about to be Bonded, and would likely confess to Sookie that he screwed some stranger weeks before their Bonding. That will fly about as well as a Sookie with a broken pelvis.

“Don’t just keep your hands off her for the next two weeks. Play with her, prepare her further. Let her suck you off a few times so you are not so… So….” I wave my hand as no words can describe my Maker in this moment. I don’t want him to ruin this for Sookie. She already feels rejected by his actions this evening. The last thing she needs is an unreserved demon rampaging her unexperienced body the night of what she sees as her wedding.

Eric groans and presses his hands into his face. I have never seen him anxious about sex. It is a concern for mortal men, not the Viking Sex God. No woman has forgotten a night with Eric Northman without the aid of glamour. That is why it is difficult to understand his hesitations. Pleasure, enjoyment, and plain old fun are easily had with my Maker. He is the master of making a woman, and occasional man, feel like the sexiest, most desirable creature on the planet when he shares his bed. Hell, I’ve seen him bed multiple women simultaneously and still leave them all with the feeling that they were individually special and alluring.

So what’s the big fucking deal? I wonder in frustration. It’s not that Sookie is a virgin. He’s had plenty of those, and knows the best ways of keeping discomforts absent with or without the use of glamour or the anesthetic we can produce.

A realization strikes me as I try to solve this mystery, and it causes a bemused smirk to pull at my lips. He wants this to be special for himself as much as her. This woman will be his Bonded, and in becoming such, she will bestow gifts upon him and his bloodline that none of us could have dreamed to wish for. He will be making actual love to a woman; not just fucking or pleasuring. Great, all emotional bullshit I have no idea how to console, I think in further frustration.

“I am going to go see your Sookie,” I announce. I cannot help Eric, but I can at least see if I can help Sookie take her mind off Eric’s rejection.

Eric looks at me in surprise, but says nothing as I leave the house. Soon I’m arriving at the duplex, and Jason answers the door when I knock.

“Hey, Pam,” the boy greets me with a chagrinned expression. “I can’t really-”

“I am here for Sookie, not you, Stackhouse,” I announce.

Jason raises his eyebrows, but leans into the doorframe to give me silent access to the apartment. I slip past him and head to Sookie’s bedroom. I can smell blood from their earlier exchange in the air and it makes the glands of my fangs give tempted throb.

I knock briskly, and Sookie opens the door with a sigh before returning to her bed, “Hey, Pam,” she greets despondently.

“Hello to you too,” I grouch at her less than vibrant mood. “Well aren’t you the glowing little bride?”

She rolls her eyes at me, but I ignore her attitude. “Did Eric send you to check in on me?”

“No, I chose to when he said he planned on keeping his hands to himself the next two weeks,” I tell her and she grimaces. “I think it is a stupid idea, but Eric has a great deal more control than I do. I suppose he has factored in how your excitement will play into the Bond, but I wonder if you have?”

“Have what?” Sookie asks me with a frown.

“Thought about how this Bonding will effect your first time with Eric,” I tell her patiently.

“I don’t know,” Sookie shrugs. “I don’t have a baseline or anythin’.”

“That is very true,” I frown. I suppose it is a good thing, after all. She has no idea what she is getting herself into. She doesn’t really know how anything is suppose to feel or work. Eric has always been her lantern in the dark emptiness of her knowledge of these things. “So, do you have any questions? Anything you might want a female’s point of view about?”

Sookie looks me up and down for a moment before asking, “You’ve had sex with Eric before, right?”

My eyebrows raise at the inquiry, but I confess easily, “Yes. Many times, mostly when he first made me.”

“Was it uncomfortable? Is Eric big? I mean, he feels, like, huge to me, but I don’t know if that’s, like, normal, or above normal, or just freakishly above normal. He just feels so big and thick when he’s pressed up against me and I don’t know how that’s suppose to fit in here,” she cups her lower belly and I see her anxiety rising with her voice. “I have no idea how to give a blowjob! Does it hurt the first time? Like for real? Or is that just romance novel bull? What if I’m super nervous and I can’t get turned on? What if it doesn’t fit-”

“Oh, please stop,” I hold my hand over her mouth, unable to listen to another concern. “Let me see if I can address your fears in the order you spewed them out.” Sookie pulls her lip into a tight seam with her teeth clamping them closed. “No, it was not uncomfortable for me the first time I was bedded by Eric, but I was not a virgin then. Eric has always been a prideful lover, so he takes his time preparing his partner. Yes, Eric is quite big by any regular standard, but not freakishly so. You and I will discuss fellatio techniques at a later time, or you can ask Eric to help you. Yes, it will fit in your pussy. No, it should not hurt the first time since Eric will be the one doing that to you, but some women do find it uncomfortable. Believe me, Eric will not try to penetrate if you are not ready, and you will lose your nerves once you fall into the intimacy.”

“I’m scared it won’t feel good,” she whispers her confession.

“Hasn’t everything Eric’s done to you felt good up to this point?” I ask simply. I know she is experiencing common, human concerns. I also know that I am the only experienced female in Sookie’s life. That is why I chose to come this evening, to alleviate her mortal fears, and warm the cooling feet of the Bride. Thankfully, despite the nervousness, I can tell that she is excited and eager to learn.

“Yeah,” she mumbles.

“Then why do you believe it will not feel good when you have sex?” I continue patiently.

She shrugs again and mumbles, “A lot of girls my age don’t think sex feels all that good.”

“That is because they are being fucked by inexperienced boys,” I explain.

“I guess that’s true,” she replies thoughtfully, placing her chin in her hand and she contemplates my answer.

“Sookie, I am going to give you the best advice I have when it comes to sex,” I inform her, smiling when Sookie leans in slightly with impatient curiosity. “Stop thinking so much. Stop preoccupying yourself with making it good for Eric, or worrying that you are doing or feeling something immoral. Sex is about pleasure. There is no ‘good’ or ‘bad’; only what feels good and what does not. The next time you start worrying if something is right or wrong, ask yourself if it felt good. All right?” She nods slowly, her lips pouting out thoughtfully, and I can tell that this advice will take her time to truly absorb and follow. “Do you want to know something you can do for Eric that will really rile him up? It is very easy to do, and Eric will want you all over again if you do this.”

“Okay!” she chirps excitedly.

“After you two finish, make sure he has a good view between your legs, and let him watch you push his cum out,” I tell her.

I watch amusedly as her jaw slings open and her eyes make a strange expression of confusion and mortification. It really is delightful to witness.

“That sounds gross,” Sookie whispers after a moment.

“Why?” I ask with a shrug.

“He likes to see… That?”

I shrug again, “Certainly. He finds it pleasurable to watch his spendings drip from his partner. Affirming, I think. He may try to coax you into doing it for him, and I thought it would be better if you could get your disgust out of your system now. I know how squeamish you can be.”

“What other stuff does Eric like?” she asks me quietly.

“I will not give you a roadmap, Sookie,” I tell her firmly. “Learning your lover’s body is a journey, not a destination. Besides, you need to learn how to speak with him like this. I merely thought practicing with me would help. I will tell you things you can try, but aside from that one little detail, I will not share another secret so blatantly.”

She pouts again, “Well, I guess I can do that thing… If Eric thinks it’s sexy, then I think I’ll feel sexy doin’ it for him.”

“There you go!” I grin at her. “Let’s go shopping!”

“Wha-? All the sudden like that?” Sookie yelps as I grab her by the wrist and drag her toward the door, only stopping long enough to let her slip her shoes on.

“Yes! I am going to take you to a nice lingerie store and we are going to pick out your bridal underwear! We are going to find something that makes you feel sexy and excited to do what you will be doing!” As we storm toward the front door, I yell to Jason, “I am taking your sister shopping for her birthday!”

With that, I drag Sookie to my car, throw her in the passenger seat and tear off toward the strip mall that has an adult shop in it. In a worst case scenario, I can always see if there is something online to purchase for her.

“Is this a sex shop!?” Sookie hisses as I pull up to the neon lit window.

“Nothing too elaborate, but in a word ‘yes’. It is a sex shop,” I tell her as I turn off the car.

“Pam, I can’t go in there,” Sookie whines as I am forced to exit the car, open her door and drag her toward the store.

“Sookie, it is all lingerie, costumes, lubricants and maybe a few everyday role playing props,” I assure her. “No giant dildos or intimidating vibrators. We would have to go a few blocks west for anything like that.”

“What are role playing props?” Sookie whispers as I open the door.

I shrug, “Handcuffs, ropes, blindfolds. Nothing scary.” Sookie wraps her arms around my left arm tightly as I lead her to the bra and panty sets. She is like a scared little rabbit in this store. Her eyes are darting around like she expects her old pastor to pop out and begin shaming her, but she came in with very little complaint. I have to give her credit for that. “The key to this is picking out something that will wear naturally under your clothes. You want to arrive at his place already feeling sexy and confident, hopefully already a little turned on.” I am flipping through several set hangers, holding material against Sookie’s skin to see how it contrasts. She can wear surprisingly sharp contrasts to her skin without her own coloring being overwhelmed.

I flip through the selections, working my way around the circular rack before finding the perfect selection. Sookie clings to my arm throughout the entire circuit, but by this point I hardly notice her presence as I am in the zone.

“This will be perfect!” I declare, holding the set up against her. It is brilliant white; virginal in color, but seductress in cut. The white glares against her tan skin, and I am all too aware how Eric will howl when he sees the crisscrossing ‘cage’ of the posterior. He will likely make her pose bent over something just to view the effect across her full, heart shaped bottom.

“How the heck am I s’pose to wear that?” Sookie asks, in alarm as I put it in her hands for critique. I quickly explain how to put it on, and Sookie shakes her head, “That’s not very practical.”

I roll my eyes, “This is not for daily wear, Little Sookie. This is entirely practical for feeling sexy and driving Eric crazy!” I love the pale pink accents adorning the set. Very sweet for my favorite Barbie doll.

Sookie moans shyly as I find her size and then drag her toward the sales desk. I pay cash so Eric will not see where I took his innocent Bonded-to-Be, or guess what I brought her here for.

“You will want to wear this with a dress. What about that one I bought you for Christmas?” I ask.

“Umm, I actually tried to wear it today,” Sookie murmurs. “My boobs don’t fit in it.”

I frown and glance at her chest. She does not look all that much bigger than she did at Christmas, and I know I left a little growing room as she was still putting her weight back on.

“How does it not fit you? I left plenty of space for you to expand into that dress for when you put on the rest of your weight,” I tell her petulantly.

“Seriously, my girls look like they’re bein’ squeezed into that dress,” she tells me.

I laugh, “That is the style, Sookie. That dress lifts and pushes your breasts together.”

“Oh,” she frowns as I begin driving. I laugh at the thoughtful face she makes.

“You wear that with these sexy undergarments on the twelfth. I will see you the sixteenth,” I wink at her and Sookie’s face reddens comically. Aside from the advantages her Bonding with Eric will give me and Godric, I am actually more anticipatory toward the questions she will have for me when her and Eric finally detach themselves.

What fun she will be when she finally has her eyes fully opened.

On to Chapter Twenty!