Chapter 13

Previous

The second I set foot in the kitchen in the main house it was obvious Pam knew what had happened. After a five mile run and more sex than I’d had in almost a year, I was starving.

“Got a side of beef in here?” Her fridge was commercial grade and stocked with just about anything I could imagine.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a few 32oz steaks in there if you want to fire up the grill,” she told me. “Is this thing with the girl a onetime thing?” Pam asked.

“Which girl?” I knew who she meant. Mmm… bacon.

“The pretty girl in my guesthouse that has stars in her eyes for you.”

“She does now,” I chuckled. Nearly a dozen orgasms would do that, though.

“She did when I walked in and you were suckling her tits this morning, too,” Pam shrugged. “I like her. She’s sister-in-law material.”

“Whoa, hold up. We’re nowhere near talking about getting married, Pam.” I grabbed a big gala apple and some cheese. That was a good snack for Sookie, right?

“I know you’re not. I’m just saying, if you did talk about that with her one day you have my vote,” she said.

“You hardly know her,” I pointed out and grabbed the aforementioned steaks. “You hungry?”

“Nope. How long have you been smitten with her?”

Was I smitten with Sookie? The sex was fuckin’ awesome and we were friends…

“I don’t know,” I shrugged.

“Either way, I’m glad you met her. I don’t know her well, but I read people well and she’s good people. You should take her to Fremont Street after the sun goes down,” she suggested. “Go get some football drinks.”

“You’re assuming either of us wants to put clothes on for that long,” I snorted.

“That good, huh?”

“Better,” I admitted.

“Maybe I’ll try to steal her from you,” Pam teased. “You also know being fully clothed isn’t required for Vegas, right?”

“Walking around butt naked and fucking in public isn’t allowed either. I’ll leave it up to Sookie what she wants to do,” I said as I let the fridge close.

“No, I guess not,” she chuckled. “Some of the hookers on the strip don’t always follow that rule, though. If you guys don’t make it out you’re welcome to crash here whenever.”

“Thanks. I’m sure we’ll be back at some point.” I looked through the cabinets for spices for the steaks. I was pretty sure Sookie could still have steak. Contrary to what she thought, I really was trying to be supportive of her change in eating habits.

“Good. Maybe I can get Stan to come home at some point to meet her,” Pam said. “He says hi by the way.”

“How often does he send the helicopter to fetch you so you can see each other?” I didn’t know for sure if he had a helicopter, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. There definitely was no shortage of cash to fund it.

“We spend at least a weekend or two days together every other week,” she told me.

“It doesn’t bother you that he’s nailing those broads?” I found the rub I was looking for and went to the wine cooler for a bottle of red.

“He doesn’t do it as much as he used to and no, it doesn’t bother me. Sex is just sex, Eric. I know where his heart is.” Pam got up from her spot at the island to grab the Worcestershire sauce from the fridge and handed it to me. “Steak is no good without this.”

“That’s what Dad always said. He was wrong too,” I smirked.

“Nope. It’s brings out the beef flavor.” Pam couldn’t cook; she had no idea what she was talking about.

“You know what makes it taste like steak? Steak.”

“Just like coffee brings out the chocolate flavor in chocolate, it’s the same theory.”

“Except you’re wrong,” I laughed.

“I’m not,” she shrugged. “You go ahead and feed your woman subpar steak. Don’t say I didn’t tell you so.”

“She’ll have nicely seasoned steak without that nonsense masking its flavor,” I replied.

“Mmhmm.” Pam didn’t believe me. “Did she call Captain Boring and tell her she spent the day boning you?”

“Not yet. I think she wants to do it face to face.”

“Aww, look at you finding a girl with manners and respect for people,” Pam chuckled.

“Aude had those things… most of the time,” I said.

“At least you know if she leaves you she’ll tell you face to face instead of sending you some shitty CD. She could have at least done it with good music.” Pam wasn’t an Aude fan.

“Seriously. Not even a Led Zeppelin song,” I laughed.

“What kind of music does the new girl listen to?”

“Not Rascal Flatts,” I answered. “Her taste is eclectic.”

“Which is probably why she’s so taken with you,” Pam smiled, patting my arm.

“Because her taste in music is eclectic?” I wasn’t sure how one had anything to do with the other.

“It all evens out somehow, Eric,” she said, waving me off.

Uh huh.

“I love you, Pam, but have you ever seen a Sprint commercial about the stupid rich people?”

“I am not trying to buy a bedazzled cat figurine,” she scoffed.

“Not yet.” I dodged the oven mitt she threw at me.

“Go cook your steak, asshole,” she grumbled.

“Go check your biceps. I’m seeing more jiggle there than I used to.” That time she whacked me with a spatula.

“I did my yoga this morning. My biceps are plenty firm,” she grumbled.

“I love you, Pammybear,” I said.

“Asshole.”

“Yeah, Sookie calls me that too.” I went to the pantry for a big Spanish onion and then found some green beans in the fridge. Mom used to sauté beans and onions in a little bacon grease and it was delicious.

I gathered up my supplies and headed back to the guesthouse. Sookie was scavenging in the fridge for a snack, I was guessing. “I brought you an apple and cheddar cheese. You can have that with a steak, right?”

“Yep,” she answered. “I’m just trying to make better choices, those are great choices.” She closed the fridge and took the apple from me.

“Can you have green beans cooked in a little bacon fat with onions?” I asked her.

“Yeah,” she replied, “Are you making it or should I?”

“I’d probably burn it,” I said honestly. “We can cook outside though if you’re willing to put some clothes on.”

“Of course I am,” she chuckled. “If there’s anything else you want that I don’t eat, I’m fine with making it for you too.”

“No, I think this is good,” I said while I went looking for a corkscrew to get the wine open. “My sister likes you, by the way. You have her approval.”

“Oh, I like her too,” she smiled. “I’m glad.”

“Karin will be the harder sell, but it’s a lot of bullshit. Her bark is bigger than her bite,” I warned. Actually, Karin would be fucking elated if I settled down and started raising little monsters.

“I’ve dealt with difficult siblings. It’s kinda… is it weird that we’re talking about me meeting your other sister?”

“Should it be?” I guess I figured she would anyway since we were friends. My mind hadn’t shifted her place in my life yet. Truth be told, I didn’t really know how to define her role in my life.

“I guess not,” she shrugged.

I found the corkscrew and opened the wine.

“Do you want some?” I asked Sookie.

“Hmm, I’ll have a little. I’ll be right back. I need to get dressed.” She patted my butt on her way out of the kitchen.

I grabbed a pair of glasses from the cabinet but only poured a little more than a finger’s worth in hers. I gathered up everything else and put it in the frying pan Sookie was going to need for the beans. When she came back, she took the wine glasses and the cutting board with the utensils on it and followed me outside. It was nice cooking dinner together. I figured out pretty quick that I could get used to it.

***

“You want help getting your stuff upstairs?” I offered when we got back to Sookie’s condo.

“I can carry it… unless you want to help?”

“I don’t mind helping. It’s up to you.” There was a distinct possibility I might not leave for several hours if I went up there.

She gave me a small smile and said, “Sure, you can help.”

I put the truck in park and turned off the ignition. Her bag was in the backseat instead of in the bed, but I grabbed it for her. We made it to Fremont Street long enough to get her a drink and for her lucky ass to win $700 on a single slot machine pull.

I followed her up to her place and forced myself not to pinch her ass on her way up. It wasn’t easy.

Sookie unlocked her front door and held it open for me. She followed me inside, closing the door and locking it.

“Are you staying a while, or getting home?” she asked as she hung her keys on the hook.

“I can stay a while if you want some company.” I set her bag on the couch.

“I kinda like hanging out with you,” she shrugged. “And what if Godric is naked when you show up? You wouldn’t want to see that, right?”

“Been there, done that.”

“Oh, well, if you’d rather look at his naked ass, the by all means…”

“Yours is better,” I assured her.

“Thanks. Do you want something to drink?” She unzipped her bag and started to pull clothes out to take to the washer.

“No, I think I’m good. I might borrow your bathroom, though,” I said.

“Feel free,” she smiled.

I made my way through her small condo to the guest bathroom in the hallway. There was just a toilet and a sink but that was all I needed. I washed my hands after I took a piss. Sookie was in the kitchen looking at the things she had in her fridge. It was comical how she jumped when I grabbed her ass.

“Hey!” she laughed. “You can’t go sneaking up on a girl like that.”

“Sure I can.”

“Not if you don’t expect to give me a heart attack one day. Are you hungry?”

“A little. You?”

“It’s definitely time to eat,” Sookie answered. “I was thinking about Cubans, well, my version of them if you want.”

“Sure,” I agreed. “I think I’m going to start looking at houses in the next week or two.”

“Oh yeah? Tired of living with The Hobbit?” she asked as she pulled ham from the fridge, along with some Swiss cheese.

“It’s not really that I don’t want to live with him, but I kind of miss having my own space. Plus I hooked up with a screamer,” I told her. Sookie wasn’t crazy loud in bed, but loud enough.

“You did, huh? Godric seems like the type to be into that kinda stuff. You should let her know that,” she said. “Unless you go to her house until you get a place.”

“I’m sure I will. I don’t know if she’s into audiences. Maybe she’s kinkier than I thought. She’s got such a sweet, girl next door demeanor, you know?”

“Hmm, one of those types. Maybe you should ask her. Are you into audiences?” Sookie stood on her toes to try to get her Foreman down from a high shelf.

“Not since college.” I went through the wild and crazy phase a decade ago. I had a few good experiences and a few not so good ones.

“Well, then I guess if you plan on hanging out with this girl a while a move is definitely in order,” she told me.

“I’m definitely considering it. I don’t know if she wants to hang out with me. She could be bored with me already.” I doubted that was the case but it was possible.

“A sexy asshole like you? How could anyone get bored?” she smiled. “Maybe you should ask her.”

“I will.” I wasn’t going to do it just then, though. I didn’t know if it was just sex or if it was something else. Pam had said Sookie had stars in her eyes but if that was true, I never noticed it.

I didn’t want to play games with her. I knew this was potentially the first relationship for each of us since our respective ex-shitheads, and I knew Sookie was still trying to rebuild her confidence. I also didn’t want her thinking it was about pity or something. We were friends so it wasn’t the craziest thing that we evolved into something else. I just wasn’t sure what it was yet.

Next