Chapter 9: Ex To See

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“Damn, she corners like she’s on rails,” I commented as I turned down the street Coco Bar was on. The Firebird was a gorgeous car I’d wanted to drive for years. Somehow Sookie started pulling her head out of her ass and finally let me drive her.

 

“I have no idea what that means,” she laughed. With the windows down her long blonde hair was flying all over the place.

“It handles well,” I clarified.

 

The night before was nice. Getting to know each other again started off in a pretty cool way. I didn’t remember ever learning any of things I learned about Sookie the night before. It was also nice hanging out with her, not starting the night with the promise of sex. Don’t get me wrong, she was amazing at the sex. Just talking and enjoying the beach was good though. Especially because I want to actually try to have something with her.

 

When I parked the car Sookie waited for me to open the door for her. I held out my hand to her and we started to walk toward the bar. Since I was driving a car that wasn’t my own I didn’t plan on drinking any more than one beer. It would be a nice departure from my drinking until I fuckin’ black out when I was at the bar. I hadn’t done that in a while, though.

 

As soon as we walked in I noticed Sookie looking around like her head was on a swivel. I shrugged it off. Maybe she was expecting someone, or she was looking for a good seat for us.

 

“You want a drink?” I asked her.

 

“Sure. I’ll try one of those Rumrunners,” she said, pointing to a signature drink in one of those souvenir glasses that kind of looked like a giant bong.

 

“Okay. You want to go find us a good seat?”

 

“I can do that.”

 

I smiled and moved on to the bar. Dawn was working but she was at the other end. I ordered our drinks from Chow. While I was waiting I turned back to see if Sookie had a seat for us. She did. She was sitting there and it looked like she was staring daggers into a guy with a pretty little redhead about four tables over. I didn’t think anything of it. I got our drinks and paid for them before going to sit in the chair next to her.

 

“Your rumrunner,” I smiled as I set it down.

 

“Thank you,” she said with a smile. Sookie leaned over to kiss my cheek when I sat down next to her.

 

“When is the band supposed to start?” I asked. I settled my arm on the table next to me. Sookie’s eyes were cut to the side, staring at the same people. Did she know them?

 

“Uh, eight, I think.” She scooted a little closer to me.

 

“Have you seen them before?” I rested my hand on her shoulder and started rubbing lightly. The night before we didn’t do much more than hold hands. I wasn’t trying to get all handsy with her. She was soft though, it felt nice to touch her.

 

“No, I just like Jimmy Buffett,” Sookie told me. She took a sip of her drink and moaned. “This is really good.”

 

I leaned in and whispered, “If you keep making noises like that you’re going to make me embarrass myself in public.” It was very visible when I got a hard-on.

 

“Oh yeah? How so?”

 

“There’s going to be an eight person tent in the front of my jeans,” I smirked.

 

“That doesn’t sound like an embarrassment as much as it does a reason for every guy in this bar to be jealous,” she replied.

 

“I don’t want to put any eyes out,” I chuckled. “If I move too fast past someone sitting, it’s possible. Plus, hard-ons are for alone time.”

 

Sookie giggled and said, “They sure are.”

 

She had a cute little giggle.

 

“Is it going to get to spend some alone time with you tonight?”

 

“I don’t know yet.” She took another drink of her Rumrunner and her eyes cheated to the side again.

 

I looked back and spotted Red and her dad. Oh… maybe not her dad. At least I hoped not with the spot she was kissing. I chuckled to myself as I faced forward again. It didn’t escape my notice that Sookie was glaring at them. She didn’t look too pleased.

 

“Are you okay?” I asked, resting my hand on her thigh.

 

Her expression changed and she smiled at me. “I’m fine. How’s your drink?”

 

“It’s a beer,” I shrugged. It tasted like every other Blue Moon I’d ever had.

 

Her eyes shifted again and then Sookie got even closer and rested her head on my shoulder.

 

Okay…

 

I didn’t expect her to get so snuggly. I was generally the cuddler. Especially in public. I shook it off and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. It felt good to have someone close. I liked Sookie, usually. Sometimes she got a little weird and snappish, but that didn’t make her a bad person. She was pretty and when she let herself relax she was really fun to be around.

 

Then all of a sudden she was kissing on my neck. Slow, wet kisses that weren’t going to prevent the tent situation. I squeezed her a little tighter, tilting my head to give her better access. I wanted to ask what she was doing, but I stayed quiet. I wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

 

“If you keep that up we’re going to miss the show,” I whispered.

 

“No we won’t,” she replied between kisses. Her mouth moved closer to my ear and she added, “But I am thinking about how hot it would be to get under the table and suck your cock right now.”

 

That did it. My cock came to life in a big way. So much so I had to shift to block the tent.

 

“If we wouldn’t get arrested I’d tell you to get down there and have fun,” I replied, turning to catch her lips in a lingering peck.

 

She nipped at my lips and then her hand was on my thigh, dangerously close to the tent.

 

“Mmm, we may need to take a break, pretty girl,” I purred. I was ready to take her to the Firebird and fuck her silly.

 

“I’ll try to behave, sir.” A shiver ran through my body when she said that.

 

“Good girl,” I whispered, reaching up to run my fingers through her hair.

 

She gave me one more lingering peck and then her head was on my shoulder. Her hand, however, seemed to be going rogue. I grabbed her wrist to stop her hand before she reached my rapidly growing erection. She tried tugging it away, but I didn’t allow her to. I needed a small breather. She smelled way too good and her hand was still stroking my thigh lightly.

 

“How are you doing on your drink?” She still had most of her Rumrunner sitting there. I knew it was fine.

 

“I think I’m good here, unless you’re trying to get me drunk,” she answered.

 

“Nope,” I replied. I noticed Sookie stiffen a little before she sat up, moving away from me. She covered her jerky movements by grabbing said drink to take a sip. I didn’t think anything of it until the redhead walked by. Sookie’s eyes stayed on her from the time she came into sight and then walked all the way to the bathroom. Sookie’s head snapped back and her eyes locked onto the older guy sitting a few chairs away from us…

 

Oh holy fuck.

 

“Sookie,” I said, trying to get her attention.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Is your ex here?” I asked point blank, looking into her eyes.

 

“What?” She was a terrible actress.

 

“Your ex. Is that him four tables over? The one you’ve been watching all night?”

 

She took a deep breath like she was contemplating her answer but it was a simple question. The answer should have been a concise no.

 

“Eric, I…” Sookie trailed off. I’d take that as a yes.

 

“And you’re using me to try to make him jealous?” I predicted with an arched eyebrow.

 

“I’m here to hear the band.” Bad, bad liar.

 

“You decided to come see the band after you found he’d be here, right? You’ve been watching him since we walked in.”

 

“I have? I’ve just been looking around.” It was obvious I wasn’t buying it.

 

“If you want to make him jealous, we’ll make him jealous,” I sighed. I would give her this and then move on. I knew what it was like to want someone that didn’t want you. I was pretty much in that situation with Sookie.

 

She finished off her drink in record time but didn’t say whether or not she wanted to make Father Time jealous.

 

“I’m going to go get another drink. You want one?” Sookie offered.

 

I leaned over as I reached up to grab the back of her head. I surprised her with a hard kiss on the lips.

 

“Allow me,” I said with a flirty smile before I stood up. “Another Rumrunner?”

 

“How about a Malibu Sunrise?”

 

“You got it, pretty girl.” I ran the tip of my finger along her jaw, down to her neck. I turned to saunter away, making my way to the bar. I went to Dawn’s side and leaned in, waiting for her to see me.

 

“Hi, handsome. What can I get you?” Dawn asked.

 

“A Malibu Sunrise,” I answered with a small sigh.

 

“Uh oh. What’s wrong? Blondie have dino breath?”

 

“Blondie is my ex,” I started. “She just got caught doing something not so… nice is the best word I can think of.”

 

“She giving some other dude the freaky eye? I’ll spit in her drink if you want.”

 

“As tempting as it is, don’t. I’m not going to be talking to her after tonight,” I shrugged.

 

“Too bad,” Dawn said.

 

“How about you talk less and serve more?” There was a munchkin standing next to me. Sookie’s ex.

 

“How about you stand on phone books so I don’t hurt my neck looking over the bar for you?” Dawn retaliated.

 

I chuckled as I looked down at the little old guy.

 

“Dawn, put dickhead’s drink on my tab,” I smirked.

 

The old man looked at me like I tracked in dog shit.

 

“No thanks,” he said. “You’re with Sookie. No wonder you’re flirting with the rube. She never did learn her place.”

 

I stiffened up some. What the fuck was she thinking trying to make this dick jealous?

 

“And where exactly would her place be?” I asked curiously.

 

“On her back, her knees–”

 

I didn’t realize what I was doing until I had my hand around his scrawny fucking throat and Dawn was coming over the bar to pull me back. It didn’t matter what the fuck Sookie did, no woman deserved to be treated like that, or be talked about like that.

 

“Let me go, Dawn,” I growled, I wasn’t going to go through her. Unlike some assholes, I actually respected women.

 

“No can do, killer,” she replied. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave, little fella.”

 

“Me? I was accosted by this troglodyte and I’m being ejected?”

 

“Yes. You and your pretentious dime vocabulary aren’t welcome.”

 

My eyes flicked to where Sookie and I were sitting. The look on her face told me she saw what happened. It didn’t matter much. If she had a problem with me attacking the geriatric, so be it.

 

“I’m going back to my seat until he’s gone,” I told Dawn. “I’ll be back for the drink.” I needed to be away from him stat.

 

“I’ll have Enda bring it to you,” Dawn said.

 

“Thanks.” I turned, trying to shake it off and made my way back to my seat. I sat down without saying anything and kept my eyes on the stage. It was clear Sookie was waiting for an explanation.

 

“What the hell happened?”

 

“Your ex is a dick,” I shrugged.

 

Sookie sighed and said, “He comes off that way but once you get to know him–”

 

I could feel the anger bubbling up when I looked at her. My fuckin’ ears were getting hot.

 

“He’s. A. Dick,” I growled. “Do you want to know what he said to me? That you didn’t know your fuckin’ place, which was on your goddamn back. If you want to be with a disrespectful asshole like that, good fuckin’ luck.”

 

Sookie looked over at the bar and I saw tears fill her eyes. She turned in her seat and stared at her feet.

 

“There’s a reason I wasn’t kicked out,” I told her a little softer. I was livid, but it wasn’t her fault he was an epic asshole. Fuck, I was too fuckin’ nice for my own good.

 

Her hand rose and Sookie wiped tears off her cheeks. She kept quiet and her eyes on the ground.

 

“Do you want to leave?” I asked without touching her.

 

She nodded.

 

I stood up and took her hand to help her stand. I caught Dawn’s attention to motion toward the door so she knew we were leaving. I walked faster than I normally would, practically dragging Sookie behind me. I didn’t see where the douchebag was. I was walking too fast to see anything much other than the door. When we got to the car I opened Sookie’s door for her, closing it behind her. I walked around to the driver side and got it, firing up the car. The Firebird purred like a kitten.

 

It took all of my willpower not to burn out as I took off. I actually kept it pretty easy on the way back to my place. Neither of us talked. I assumed she was pretty fuckin’ embarrassed by Old Timer. I would have been too.

 

“You want to stick around?” I asked quietly when we got back to my place. I shouldn’t have offered, but she may not have wanted to be alone.

 

“I don’t know why you’d want me to,” she said just as quietly.

 

“Because what you did was fucked up, but what he did was worse. I know how I would feel if I was in your shoes… you’re just… you can stay if you want.” There was no way to describe why I didn’t mind her sticking around.

 

“Maybe he was right,” Sookie said. “I wouldn’t be in this mess if I did what he said.”

 

“Come on. Let’s walk down to the dock,” I said. She was in a bad spot. The Sookie I knew wouldn’t do the shit she was doing.

 

“You shouldn’t be nice to me. I don’t deserve it. I’m sorry, Eric.” She wiped more tears off her cheeks. “I just don’t know why I keep picking guys that don’t love me back.”

 

“How about you let me decide who I want to be nice to,” I started. “Come on. Let’s go. Take your shoes off and we’ll walk out. The ocean helps.”

 

She took her heels off and left them in the car. Sookie got out and seemed to be hiding behind her hair. I didn’t try to stop her. I did take her hand again. When we got into the house I kicked my own shoes off. I led Sookie out the back door and down to the walkway that led to the little dock. We stayed silent the whole time. I didn’t really have much to say. I was mad at her, but I was even more mad for her. I may have been an asshole and a drunk, but I never treated her like a whore, of that I was certain.

 

As for her picking guys that didn’t love her back, in my case that had nothing to do with her and everything to do with the shit that happened to me when we were together. I couldn’t love myself at the time so there was no way I could have ever loved her. She was a good girlfriend and as angry as I was, there was still that little nagging part inside of me that said I still wanted her back. We never got to reach our full potential, and I had a feeling if we allowed ourselves to forgive, we could get there one day.

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