Chapter 27

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Eric makes good on his promise to leave me thoroughly fucked, and yet when I wake up in the morning he’s somehow rubbing up against me like a cat in heat.

“Pancakes or magic?” he offers when I stretch a little.

“Mmm… coffee,” I mumble.

“That’s not an option,” he says and I feel his lips turn up in a smile against the back of my neck.

I do a little rubbing of my own and ask, “Please? I need it.”

“Mmm, nope. It’s now or never. I have to pick up Alyssa in an hour and a half.”

“Sex and pancakes is a great way to start the day,” I say with a lazy smile that Eric can’t see since he’s behind me.

“I promise coffee with the pancakes too.” He nuzzles his nose into my hair and his hand slides up my stomach to grip my left breast.

“Mmm… then sex me up, boyfriend.” I arch my back and press my ass against him.

Thirty minutes later Eric is mixing pancake batter and I’m sipping my coffee on the counter next to the stove.

“Are you ready to learn now, or are we waiting to teach you the art of pancake making?” he asks, flicking his eyes up to smile at me.

“Show me what you got,” I say, but stay right where I am on the counter.

“Have you ever tried to cook them?”

“I usually end up burning them and undercooking them at the same time. I’m a nightmare.”

“Okay, you probably have the pan too hot when you’re making them. You have to watch them too when they’re in the pan.”

He pours a medium sized pancake in the pan and then he tells me to watch for the bubbles. “When the bubbles pop and stay hollow you can flip them.”

“And the batter won’t go flying everywhere?”

He chuckles and says, “If there’s batter going anywhere you’re doing it way wrong.”

I sigh and say, “I think I’m destined to be pretty counter decoration and not a cook.”

“We can’t all be perfect,” he says and flips the pancake that’s a perfect golden brown.

“You make it look easy.”

“I’ve been doing it for twenty-five years, it is easy at this point. Can you reach over and grab a couple plates.”

“That, I can do.” I reach to my left to get them for him.

“How many do you want?” He pours more batter into the pan after flipping one onto to a plate.

“Three. My love of pancakes knows no bounds.”

“You’re in for a treat then.”  My mouth waters when he reaches into the cabinet on the other side of the stove to grab chocolate chips.

“Oooh, do those go on top? I don’t think I’ve ever had chocolate chips in my pancakes before,” I tell him, and Eric looks at me like I have two heads.

“You’re shittin’ me right? Chocolate chip pancakes are a staple at my house. The only reason the first one doesn’t have them was so I could show you how they’re supposed to look.”

“Gran used to put blueberries in pancakes when they were in season, but never chocolate chips. I never thought to do it since I can’t get them right,” I admit. “Clearly I’ve been deprived.”

Eric sprinkles a handful of chips into the pancake and then flips it. “Your life is going to change in three minutes. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Looks like it.” I slide down off the counter and get the gallon of milk out of the fridge to pour myself a glass. “Want some milk?”

“Nope, I’m not a fan. I’ll be fine with coffee.”

“Suit yourself.” I put the milk back and take my glass and cup of coffee to the table. Then I grab silverware for us. When I get back to Eric’s side he’s got another pancake in the pan. “You’re awesome for making me pancakes.”

“Save your praise, pretty girl. You haven’t tasted the amazingness that is a chocolate chip, vanilla pancake.” He grabs a fork and cuts a piece. He offers me a bite with no butter or syrup and I raise an eyebrow. “Taste, and tell me what you think.”

I take the bite he offers and it’s immediate, fluffy heaven on my tongue. I moan as the pancakes practically melt in my mouth.

After I swallow I say, “I would pay you in blowjobs to make these for me every morning.”

“You’d have to move in with me first,” he comments.

“You wouldn’t commute?” I smirk.

“I love you, but fuck you if you think I’ll fly or drive to California everyday for a blowjob. You can come here,” he grins and leans over to kiss me. “They are amazing blowjobs though.”

“Then I guess I’ll just have to add these to the pro column for moving,” I smile.

“You have a pro column? What else is on that list?” he ask, shamelessly trying to get compliments from me.

“I’d be closer to you, which implies great sex and an awesome person to hang out with,” I tell him. “I’d get to live somewhere new…”

“And now pancakes. My ass didn’t even make it to the list? I have a great ass.”

“Your magic cock made the con list,” I tell him. “And you have a fantastic ass.” I pinch it.

“How did that little slice of heaven make the con list? I can take it away and you can take it off the list.” Eric’s plated three more pancakes and I’m nibbling on the first one he let me taste.

“First of all, nothing about your cock is little. Second of all it can be a big distraction and I can’t just fuck you for the rest of my life,” I explain.

“No,” he shrugs, “You can sleep sometimes too.”

“That’s sweet of you, but I need a real job here,” I point out.

“I have connections, I can help you look for something,” he says more seriously. “I know you’d be bored here with nothing to do when I’m not here to service you,” he winks and takes the last pancake from the pan.

“There’s that,” I laugh, “And I can’t let you support me. I’m a big girl capable of making her own way and pulling her own weight.”

“Do you know, I don’t think I’d even notice. I take care of so many other people financially you wouldn’t even hit my radar. But I know you wouldn’t be okay with that.” We grab our plates and move to the table.

“No, I wouldn’t be. If we were married and there was a baby to stay home and take care of that would be different,” I say as we sit.

He stays quiet which is weird. Eric talks even when his mouth is stuffed full of food. He waits until he’s done with half of his food before he asks, “Are you ready for those things now, or when my divorce is final?”

“No, not yet. I want to finish school and have a normal job for a while,” I tell him, and he looks relieved. “And I’m sure you don’t want to go there again so soon after being married for so long. Hell, you might wake up one day and realize this is just one big rebound.”

“Nah, I know this isn’t a rebound. And I just don’t think we’ve been at this long enough to talk marriage, but when we’re both ready I would marry you.”

“I agree.” I lean over and kiss him. “Now quit your yapping and let me eat so I can blow you in the shower for these pancakes.”

“Okay,” he grins and takes a huge bite.

EPOV

“Are you ready to meet her?” I ask my daughter when she hops into the Escalade, tossing her overnight bag in the back. I wanted to have one last talk with her before she meets Sookie.

“Yes I am,” she says.

“She’s nervous; she really wants you to like her.”

“Why wouldn’t I like her? You like her and Levi was practically in love with her…”

“That’s really awkward,” I laugh. “She nervous because she knows you’re the most important girl in my life and this is the first planned meeting so she’s had time to get nervous. I keep telling her you’ll love her too, but she can be stubborn, like you.”

“I’m not stubborn; I’m determined,” Alyssa says.

“Peas in a pod,” I mutter under my breath. “You guys are just alike. It’s almost scary.”

“So when is she going to live with you?”

“I don’t know yet. She has a semester left before she finishes school and unless I can persuade her to move sooner I think she’ll move in when she graduates.”

“Mark and Jamie told me to get pictures of her boobs,” Alyssa tells me.

“They’re going to meet her while she’s here. They can wait,” I snicker. I’m not surprised at all.

“Dad!” Alyssa glares at me. “You aren’t really going to let them do that, are you?”

“If… No, of course not,” I catch myself. I won’t really let the boys take pictures of her tits, but I had to stop a non kid friendly joke.

“You better not. Even I know that’s messed up.”

“Why would I let my kids take pictures of my girlfriend, Lyss. What kind of sicko do you think I am?”

“You’re dating Levi’s girlfriend,” she shrugs.

“Technically I knew her first,” I offer.

“So does that mean you met her before you moved out?”

“I did, but she wasn’t my girlfriend,” I reply honestly.

“Chris says you cheated in Mom.”

“Chris also says Mom cheated on me,” I counter. “That doesn’t make what I did right though.”

“Who did you cheat with?”

I sigh, I don’t want her to think less of Sookie, but I won’t lie to my daughter. “Sookie.”

“But you just said she wasn’t your girlfriend then.”

“She wasn’t.” I really don’t know how to explain this. “We did have a physical relationship, but I was married to your mother so…

“So then how did you cheat if she wasn’t your girlfriend?” Alyssa looks genuinely confused.

Fuck my life. It was so much easier when she was six and I could distract her with dolls or sparkly things.

“I did things with Sookie that I didn’t do with Mom. Things Mom wouldn’t approve of.”

“What kinds of things?” she asks.

“Things a twelve year old doesn’t need to know about,” I say in a warning tone.

She huffs and looks out her window.

“You can take your huffy attitude somewhere else, Alyssa. You know some things are things you don’t need to know about.” She won’t know about them ever if I have my way.

“Fine. So how did you meet this ungirlfriend you cheated on Mom with?” Her tone matches mine.

“I met her at Uncle Al’s bachelor party.”

“Is she a stripper?” she asks, and I lift an eyebrow at her. “What? I’m not a little kid anymore, Dad. Besides, Ryan was over last week talking to Jamie about some club he went to.”

I’m contemplating my answer when my phone rings.

Alcide. I love this man.

“What’s up man?” I answer, trying to hide the sigh of relief.

“Not much. I’m surprised you answered. I figured you’d still be in bed with Sookie. Maria wants me to invite you two over for dinner while she’s in town,” he says.

“I have Lyss, she’s coming over to meet Sookie today.”

“Doesn’t have to be tonight. How long is Sookie in town for?”

“Until I let her go home,” I joke.

“Got her tied to the bed?” he snickers.

“Not right now, but later I plan on it.”

“Nice. So dinner? I’ll tell Maria yes but you’ll get back to me on the night?”

“Yeah, I have to talk to her about it. She’s meeting the rest of the kids this trip and I don’t want to overwhelm her. I’m sure she’ll agree though,” I tell him. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind a drink and some girl time after she meets the twins.

“Ballsy of you to save the twins for last,” he says. “At least they might make Ryan look like a piece of cake. You know that little shit interrogated Maria?”

My barking laughter startles Alyssa. “He caught Sookie with a hangover. His tactics are evil, but that kid makes me smile.”

“That’s brutal. I don’t think I could handle him with a hangover,” Al chuckles.

“It didn’t end well,” I admit. “I’ll tell you about it later though.”

“Fair enough. Hug the princess for me,” he says as I pull up outside my building.

“Lyss, Al loves you and I have to hug you later,” I direct at Alyssa and then tell Alcide, “I gotta go, we just got home.”

“Good luck,” he says, and then hangs up.

Alyssa gets her bag from the back and jumps down from the car.

She follows me up to my apartment and when we walk in Sookie is in the kitchen getting a glass of water.

“Honey, I’m home,” I say with my little princess at my side. “Sookie, this is Alyssa.  Lyss, meet Sookie… my girlfriend.”

For a few seconds they just stare each other down. Sookie breaks first and smiles at Alyssa.

“It’s nice to meet you, Alyssa. Your dad has told me a lot about you,” Sookie says.

Alyssa keeps staring at Sookie but doesn’t answer her. Instead she looks at me and says, “I’m going to go put my bag away.” Then she turns and leaves the room.

“She hates me,” Sookie sighs.

“I’ll be back.”

I follow Alyssa to her room and I find her putting her clothes away.

“What’s wrong?” I ask and take a seat on her bed.

“Nothing,” she says.

“You’re lying. Why don’t you like her?”

“Who says I don’t?”

“Fine, then lets go back out there and start over.”

“When I’m done with my clothes.”

“No,” I say firmly. “You can do this later. Right now you’ll come back out to talk to Sookie. We both know you aren’t this rude, Alyssa. Let’s go.”

I stand and press my hand in her back to lead her to the living room.

When she’s face to face with Sookie again Alyssa says, “Nice to meet you, Sookie. You look like you could be my big sister.”

Sookie blinks, unsure of what to say.

“Alyssa, what in the hell is wrong with you?” I growl, making her jump a little. She’s never this rude to anyone.

“You cheated on Mom with her,” Alyssa says like that explains everything. “You broke a promise to God, Dad.”

Then Alyssa bursts into tears and runs to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Oh, fuck me.

“Sookie, I… shit. I have no idea why she’s acting this way.”

“It’s okay,” she says, but I can tell she’s disappointed. “Maybe I should just spend the night at a hotel so you can spend some time together.”

“No, Sook she was fine on the way here.  She wanted to meet you. I have no fucking clue why she just flipped.”

Sookie thinks for a minute and then suggests, “Let me talk to her alone.”

“Are you sure? She won’t even look at me right now. Lord fucking knows what she’s going to say to you.”

“I can take it. Besides, it can’t get much worse.” Sookie comes over to give me a kiss. “If I don’t come back within an hour assume the worst.”

“Okay…” I say skeptically. “Good luck in there.”

“Thanks,” she says and gives me one more kiss before going to Alyssa’s room.

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