Chapter 10

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SPOV

 

It’s early Tuesday. I don’t have to work until later so I’m in my pajamas still. Joey is fed and she’s watching one of her cartoons while I fold laundry. I’m in the middle of taking a stack of folded pants to Joey’s room when my phone rings. It takes me longer than normal, but when I get to it I see it’s Eric’s mom.

“Hello?” I answer on the fourth ring.

“Hi honey, how are you?” Mrs. Northman asks.

“I’m good, Mrs. Northman, how are you?” I ask with a smile.

“I’m great, thanks. I was calling because I think I may have found something that would work for you and I was hoping you might have some time either this afternoon or tomorrow to come in to the office so I can test your typing skills,” she tells me.

“I have to work in a few hours, but I can come in tomorrow morning,” I say. There wouldn’t be anyone to cover my shift if I called in today.

“Great,” she says in a way so I can hear her smile. “Now the job I have in mind for you is in the corporate office of a restaurant chain. It’s in accounts payable, but it pays very well, the benefits are fantastic and there is a daycare facility on site that you could enroll your daughter in so that you would be able to see her on your lunch breaks.”

“That almost sounds too good to be true,” I say, fanning my eyes. This is exactly the kind of job I need. Joey and I barely scrape by as it is.

“The company started out as a small mom and pop operation and they’re still very family oriented. They sort of run the company like a lot of the internet companies, you know the Google types where there are plenty of perks and things like that to motivate their employees to work hard and remain loyal. They also like to promote from within and they offer tuition reimbursement so if you chose to go back to school, they would help pay for it and if I position as an accountant opened up you would have a good chance at getting the job. As it stands right now, you’d be looking at making eighteen dollars an hour to start, plus two weeks of vacation time, a week of sick days and they allow for a week of personal days as well so you would have a total of four weeks of paid time off.”

“I know I don’t have the job, but thank you,” I smile. “I…” I don’t know what to say, or how to express my gratitude. I know it’s her job, but it still feels unreal. “What time should I come in tomorrow to test?” I ask instead of gushing about how amazing she is.

“Whatever time is good for you. I know how tricky it is getting little ones going in the morning. The office opens at eight, so any time after that is fine,” she tells me. “I’d like to get you scheduled for an interview on Thursday with the company if all goes well tomorrow.”

“Okay, I can be there around eight. Do you know how long I should be? I have to work at eleven,” I explain.

“I will have you out of here by 9:15,” she promises. “If you can just bring me a hard copy of your resume and any references you might have, I would appreciate it. I’ll also need you to bring two forms of identification so I can fill out some paperwork.”

“Great. I’ll be there in the morning. I can’t wait. If there’s anything else you need me to bring you can call me at the shop after ten, or you can have Eric tell me.”

“Very good. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Sookie,” she says in a cheerful tone.

“Me too, thank you again, Mrs. Northman.”

“You’re very welcome, dear. Have a good day.”

We hang up and I immediately squeal as I run through the house, scaring Joey half to death. I haven’t worried about getting a new job in so long; I don’t know how to act. I go right back to my room and I start ripping through my closet looking for something decent to wear. This is not just getting ready for a job prospect, but meeting Eric’s mom. We’ve never actually discussed titles, but I’ve heard him call me his girlfriend in passing and I kind of like that title. Sam was my last boyfriend and we all see how that turned out.

Speaking of Sam. I need to call him to see if he’s still going to get Joey when he’s supposed to.

I pick my phone up again and scroll through my contacts. When I find Sam’s name I hit send. It’s eight-thirty on a Tuesday morning, but ask me if I care that he’s sleeping. Nope.

He picks up his phone on the third ring, but I only hear shuffling.

“Hello?” I snap into the phone.

“Goddamn, why are you yelling?” he groans. Oh good, his hangover voice. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to be an adult, Sam. I just need to know if you’re picking up Joey Thursday.” I don’t offer for her to talk to him now that I know he’s in no shape to have polite conversation with his daughter.

I hear a female voice muffled in the background and then Sam stumbling around wherever the hell he is. It takes him a minute to answer me.

“Uh… yeah, I can get her Thursday,” he tells me.

“Great, be here at six. She will be fed by then,” I say.

“Yeah, okay,” he grumbles. “Anything else that couldn’t wait until later?”

“I’m sorry, I just forget about the time. I’ve been up since five-thirty, so my day is half over. Well, I need to get ready for work. Thanks, Sam,” I say in a cheerful tone just to piss him off.

I hang up on him and go back to check on Joey. I already have her dressed and ready for Mrs. Fortenberry, even though I have a couple hours before I have to get to work. I fire off a good morning text to Eric and then I finish working on laundry until I need to get ready for work.

***

The typing test went well yesterday. I type a lot faster than I expected which worked out in my favor. Eric’s mom stayed completely professional the whole time. At my interview this morning I learned it was Lafayette’s I was interviewing for and it made me want to get the job that much more. I hope the interview went well. I’ve always been told to just be myself and give honest answers. I did, we’ll see how that turns out.

I expect Sam to be here any minute to pick up Joey and Eric and I have a date planned so he’s sitting in the living room with Joey while I finish packing her bag. I haven’t heard from Sam telling me he’s not going to make it so that’s good. For once I let her get excited about going to spend time with her dad.

Shockingly the doorbell rings ten till six and I hear Joey squeal and start yelling Daddy as she runs through the house. She knows not to open the door for anyone, even if she thinks it’s Sam so when I meet her at the door she’s bouncing at my side when I open the door to Sam Sr. Sam’s dad.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask him.

“Sam had to work so he asked if I could pick her up. He feels bad for flaking in you all the time.” Right. Sam’s dad is a good man, and I know he’s just sticking up for his son.

“He said that?” I ask and I can tell by the look he gives me that it was his idea to pick up Joey.

“I’ll bring her back Sunday as planned,” he tells me. He looks at me for a moment before adding, “We miss her, Sookie. I can’t count on my son to bring her to see us…”

“Sam, you can get her whenever you want, just do me a favor and don’t stick up for your son.” I take a deep breathe, because it just pisses me off that even when he has her he probably sticks her in front of the TV and ignores her. “You already know her schedule, right?”

“Yeah.”

I look down at Joey and ask, “Do you want to go with Grandpa Sam?”

She nods enthusiastically. She’s always loved Sam’s parents.

“Alright, baby, go say bye to Eric.” She runs off to find Eric.

“Who’s Eric?” Sam Sr. asks.

“My boyfriend.”

“Can I meet him?”

“Why?” I ask.

“I just want to know who my grandbaby is around,” he says. I don’t think it’s necessary, but I sigh and I go back to get Eric.

“Sam’s dad is here, he wants to meet you,” I tell Eric. He’s sitting back on the couch, watching something on TV.

“Okay,” he says agreeably, and gets off the couch. He follows me back to the front door with Joey trailing us.

“Sam, this is Eric. Eric, this is Sam Sr.” I introduce them.

“Nice to meet you,” Eric says politely and offers a hand to Sam Sr.

Sam takes Eric’s hand and gives him a firm shake.

“I just wanted to look into the eyes of the guy hanging out with two of my favorite girls,” Sam Sr. says with a half-smile.

“No problem. It’s too bad it’s not Sam Jr. here picking up Joey,” Eric says through a slightly clenched jaw.

Sam sighs and says, “I know, and if I could talk some sense into that boy I would. I missed my little princess, though.” He rubs Joey’s head and looks over at me. “Can we talk about visitation arrangements when I drop her off?”

“Of course,” I smile. She gets to see my parents all the time, so it’s only fair.

“Thanks, squirt,” he says and leans in to give me a hug. He picks up Joey and holds her out to hug and kiss me.

“Love you, baby. I’ll see you Sunday.”

“Love you too, Mommy. Bye, Eric,” Joey waves.

“Later tater,” he says, and holds up his hand for a high five.

Joey grins and gives him the high five before Sam Sr. walks away with her.

“It’s something, I guess,” I tell Eric as they drive away.

He pulls me into a hug and kisses the top of my head. “Yeah, it is better than nothing. It’ll be good for her and I know you need the break.”

“Sam’s parents have always been good. I know she’ll have a lot of fun,” I sigh. I take Eric’s hand and I walk into the house.

“I’m sure she will,” he agrees. “How would you like to have some fun?”

“I would love to have some fun. What do you have in mind?” I ask as we walk into the house.

“I can think of a few things. Do you want to go out or stay in?”

“Hmm, we can go out if you want. I’m easy,” I shrug and my phone rings. I look and see it’s Mrs. Northman. “Hello?” I answer.

“Hi, Sookie, it’s Karin,” she says cheerfully. “How are you?”

“I’m great, how are you?” I ask politely.

“Great. I’m calling with fantastic news,” she says.

“Hit me with it. I’m a big girl, I can handle it,” I joke.

“Well, you may want to sit down,” she chuckles. “Dawn absolutely loved you and she think you’re perfect to join her team, so Lafayette’s is offering you a full-time position that will start at twenty dollars an hour.”

I’m silent. I should’ve been sitting down.

“What?” I ask in awe.

“The job is yours if you want to take it. You’ll have a starting salary of $38,000 per year, four weeks of paid time off, health and dental insurance, 401k savings options, tuition reimbursement and after a certain amount of time there they also offer profit sharing but that’s a few years down the road,” she tells me. “Plus, there’s a space for Joey in the daycare center in the building if you want to enroll her there.”

“I…” I look over at Eric and my heart is pitter pattering. “I accept. I would be a fool not to.”

“Wonderful! Congratulations, sweetie!” Karin says with excitement. “I’ll pass the word on to them that you’ve accepted and I’ll get back to you with your start date. They know you need to give notice at your current job and they’ll take that into consideration. Dawn will most likely contact you to discuss the childcare stuff since she has more information about that than I do.”

“Thank you again. I need to go breathe,” I laugh. “I hope to see you soon.”

“You will. Congratulations again,” she says and then hangs up.

“Good news?” Eric asks with a smile.

“You’re officially the best thing to ever happen to Joey and me. I got the job. She’s going to have steady benefits and I’ll be able to have her onsite with me. Thank you so much, Eric,” I say sincerely. I’m crying now.

Eric pulls me into a hug and says, “Sookie, that’s great. I’m happy for you. You did it all yourself, you know. I just gave you an email address.”

“Still, if you didn’t give me the email address I wouldn’t have just accepted an amazing job.”

“Well then you’re welcome,” he smiles and kisses my forehead. “No more working nights and having some crazy ass schedule.”

“Jo’s going to be very happy. She thinks Mrs. Fortenberry smells like bad soup,” I laugh. “Now, we have something to celebrate.”

“Yes we do,” he agrees. “We could try that dancing thing you don’t get to do very often.”

“We could,” I agree. “I don’t even know where any dance clubs are. Are there any bars around that have dancing?”

“I’m sure we can find one,” he says casually. Then his smile takes a lusty turn and he says. “Or I could go for a liquor run and then cash in my striptease…”

“There is that,” I smile back and press my tits into his chest. “That dancing does sound a lot better.”

“It’s your choice, Toots,” he says.

“We can go out to a club another time. Tonight can just be for us,” I purr and my hand slides up to the back of his head to pull him down for a heated kiss.

Eric growls into it and rubs up against me for a few seconds.

“And we can celebrate with apple juice. I don’t want you to go anywhere,” I whisper against his lips.

“Fine with me,” he says.

I pull away and take his hand to lead him into my bedroom. “What kind of music do you want me to strip to?” I ask him and motion for him to sit on the edge of my bed while I grab my MP3 player.

“Whatever inspires you,” he answers.

“You could just sing,” I laugh as I start scrolling through.

“I could, but then you might have one of those spontaneous orgasms.”

I laugh harder and I decide on a song.

“Classic 80’s stripper song. Warrant’s Cherry Pie,” I wink. “Should I put more clothes on to start with?” I’m wearing a strapless dress, bra and panties. I haven’t put shoes on yet.

“Your choice, but for the record I do have a very good singing voice,” Eric informs me. “You just haven’t heard it yet.”

“Good to know, maybe you can sing along,” I grin. There’s something extra sexy about a man that can sing.

“I think my brain will be too focused on seeing your tits to be thinking about lyrics, Toots,” he smirks.

“What’s with the Toots?” I ask and lean over to kiss him. “Not that it bothers me, I like it.”

“Grandpa Northman has been calling my grandma that since they were sweethearts back in high school. They’ve been married for sixty years,” he says with a little smile.

“I love that,” I say and kiss him again. Eric is the kind of guy I wouldn’t mind being married to for sixty years. “Alright, you ready for crappy dancing?”

“Lay it on me.”

I wink as I back up and hit play. I shake my hands out when the ‘Dirty, Rotten, blah, blah, blah’ is going. When the music starts I give Eric some of the Shakira action and I begin swaying my hips. I turn around so he can get a good view of my ass as I shake it for him. Just to tease him a little I slowly inch the skirt of my dress up my thighs. When I reach just below my butt I flip it up, flashing my lace covered ass at him. I look over my shoulder and his eyes are just where I expected them to be on my rear end.

“You ready for the real fun?” I ask as I turn and stalk toward him.

His eyes are a bit glazed over and he nods his head slowly.

I’m not happy with my body, but Eric has always shown appreciation for it. I hook the top of my dress and push it down over my breasts, earning a sexy growl from Eric. I keep pushing it so it falls off of my hips leaving me in my bra and panties.

“I’ll even let you touch,” I whisper as I turn and rub my ass over his thighs.

His hands land on my hips so I begin to roll them a little more, moving up and down his thighs. When I feel his erection I grind into him.

“This song needs to be over faster,” he grunts and moves his hands up to my chest.

I reach back and unhook my bra. He pulls his hands back long enough for my bra to drop and then they’re right back where I’m sure he believes they belong.

“Almost,” I say and pull away altogether. I keep my back to him and start to peel my panties off. As I push them down my thighs I bend at the waist giving him a perfect view of my ass, and as I lean down farther I’m sure he can see just how wet I am.

He growls and while I’m still bent over, I feel his tongue take a lick up my lower lips.

That wasn’t expected.

“Song’s over, baby,” I say as I step out of my panties. I stay in my bent position and moan when he grabs my ass and pushes my lower cheeks further apart so he can get his mouth even closer.

“You can celebrate with apple juice,” Eric says. “I’m happy right here.”

With that his tongue flicks against my opening a few times before he begins to nibble and suck on my lips. I moan and I have to rest my hands on the floor so I don’t fall over, although I’m sure he’d come right along with me. Eric pulls back and he gets me turned around so I’m bent over my bed. He ends up on his knees behind me and gets right back to work.

His tongue moves expertly up and down my slit, licking and teasing me until I’m panting. I look back to see him suck on two of his long, thick fingers to get them nice and wet before they slide into me and begin to pump in and out slowly.

“Oh wow,” I pant.

I spread my legs wider and I reach under my body to help him along by rubbing my clit. He’s watching our fingers move and I can see the lust pouring off of him.

“Eric, I want you inside of me,” I tell him. I love it when he gives me head, but I miss having his hips slapping into mine.

He withdraws his fingers from my pussy and sucks them clean with a sexy little groan before he stands up and goes to the drawer for a condom.

“Get comfy,” he says as his pants drop. His shirt goes flying a second later while he’s kicking his jeans away.

I climb up on the bed and I roll onto my back. My legs fall open and as I watch him move to join me I rub my clit some more before dipping two fingers inside of myself.

“I want to kiss you while you fuck me,” I tell him in a breathy tone. My head drops back and I arch, trying to get my fingers in deeper.

He growls and says, “Or I could just watch you fuck yourself. That’s pretty sexy, Toots.”

“Whatever you want, Eric,” I pant. My thumb hits my clit and I rub slow, gently circles. “This is exactly what I was doing when you called while I was in the bath.”

“Then we match,” he says as his hand wraps around his shaft and starts to stroke.

“Bring that here,” I groan and my eyes are on his cock.

“I have a better idea,” he says, and pulls me up so I’m straddling his thighs, making us eye to eye. His lips brush against mine he shifts to put his cock at my opening.

“I always love your ideas,” I whisper into his mouth and I begin to rock my hips so his tip works its way in alongside my fingers.

“Fuck, that’s tight,” he hisses and thrusts a little deeper.

I start to move with him, both of us panting and moaning. I keep my fingers in as deep as possible and I nibble on his bottom lip. I don’t think I’ve ever had someone feel so good inside of me. My kisses move down from his lip to his chin, down to his Adam’s apple and I suck lightly, without leaving a mark.

“I love the way your cock feels in me,” I breathe against his skin.

“I love it too,” he says in a tense voice. His hands grab my ass and help me move up and down his length.

“Mmm,” I moan. I pull my fingers out and as I suck on his neck I offer my fingers to him. He growls as he takes them into his mouth one at a time, sucking them until they’re clean. My hips begin to roll on each down stroke, allowing me to grind against him. Jesus, I’m ready to cum already.

Eric catches my lips and I can taste myself on him when he kisses me deeply. His hips start to move faster and his grip on my ass tightens to keep me close to him.

“Cum for me, baby,” he pants against my lips when the kiss breaks. “I know you want to.”

“Yesyesyes!” I chant and I bury my head in the crook of his neck as my orgasm washes over me. My body seizes and my pussy is squeezing his cock like a vice. “Cum…” I pant.

Eric lets out another one of those strangled groan/growl kind of noises and I feel him twitch inside me right before he cums. His arms wrap around my back and his fingers tangle in my hair to pull my head back so he can lay the mother of all kisses on me, stealing what little breath I have left.

When I pull back to breathe his lips trail down my neck and his hips are slowly moving still.

“So… good,” I pant and wrap my arms tighter around his shoulders.

He groans his agreement and shifts us so I’m on my back and he’s hovering on top of me. His lips make it to my nipple and he toys with it for a few seconds before he has to pull out of me to get rid of the condom.

“Don’t move,” he says as he rolls off my bed.

“I couldn’t if I tried.”

I stay right where I am until he comes back and snuggles into me with his head on my chest. We stay silent as his fingers dance up and down my side and stomach. This is perfect. This man is perfect, and I’m lucky he walked into my store that day.

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