saturday night and the moon is out

[feel_human]

Tucked away off the road in Bon Temps, there's a road house. Warm light spills from its windows, and the sound of a jukebox playing drifts out into the muggy Louisiana night. The regular assortment of trucks and Hail-Mary-please-keep-this-lemon-goin'-just-a-little-longer cars sit in the dirt parking lot; what amounts to about half the town's small population... or, at least, of those of the 'drinking age and above' persuasion.

Inside, it's a bar of the type scattered all across the American South: homey, no-nonsense. Booths and tables. A man in a plaid flannel shirt wiping the bar; a crossdresser in the kitchen singing Gospel hymns and rolling his hips in time with the words just to scandalize the prep cook. A handful of waitresses, bustling about.

Sookie makes her way briskly through it all, a tray balanced on her palm and her eyes kept stubbornly front, as voices swarm around her. Aloud, and... less so.

...I’m just going to have one beer tonight Jesus one beer that’s all...

...better not gripe about me eating fries not after what I did for him last night...

...I cannot wait to get the hell out of this podunk town...

 

 "Well, make sure you do, and before it’s too late," she responds, thoughtless, to the young man. "Because every year you wait? You just get more and more stuck here. Believe me, I know."

He stares at her. So do his parents.

So does the other table. And she realizes, too little too late, that he hadn't said that out loud, not at all. She laughs, uncomfortable. "I’ll get y'all some ketchup," she says, brightly, and flees, ponytail swinging against the nape of her neck as she goes.

Stupid, Sookie, she chides herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

 

Comments

[gavemea_45]

"I won't." He kisses her again, tilting her head back a little to deepen the next kiss, and pulls her flush against his body as he crowds her back against the wall.

[feel_human]

She whimpers, soft and low, as her back hits the wall and he kisses her again, deep and sweet and pulling her under inexorable as quicksand. Her blood is singing through her veins and her heart is flying, and she thinks it's got to be a dream, because no way could it be real.

But he's warm and solid against her body, and his arm is strong around her waist, and it sure as heck feels real. She stretches herself up as high as she can, up onto her tiptoes, and kisses him back, letting herself fall into it completely.

[gavemea_45]

She stretches up against him, trying to get closer, and Sam lets go of her head to put both arms around her. He dips his knees and hitches her up off the ground, setting her on the edge of the counter, then cradles her face with both hands as he kisses her again and again.

[feel_human]

He lifts her up easy as anything and sets her on the counter, then covers her with kisses until she's dizzy with them. She has just enough presence of mind to be grateful that she'd set the iron safely on its rest, because the last thing she wants to do is stop. Her fingers grip into the fabric of his doubled-up t-shirt, then spread over his ribs and back as she meets each kiss with eager ones of her own.

[gavemea_45]

“Sookie,” he murmurs, between kisses. “Sookie. I want—- do you —-“

He’s dimly aware that her grandmother’s right upstairs and could come down at any time, that they’d just met yesterday and he might be rushing her, but he doesn’t want to stop. He runs his hands down her arms to her sides, settling them on her hips, and coaxes her closer as he kisses her again.

[feel_human]

"Sam – I – "

Can hardly breathe, when he's kissing her so sweet and when his hands are tracing fire down her arms. They curve, big and warm and gentle, over her hips, and the rough material of his jeans brushes over the bare skin of her inner thigh as he pulls her closer. It sends a thrill through her – and a sudden flash of sense memory, unbidden.

(Uncle Bartlett loves you sweetie)

She gasps like someone poured a bucket of ice water over her head and pulls back, her hands flat on his chest.

[gavemea_45]

Sam freezes as she jerks back from him. "Sookie? Are you okay, did I - did I scare you, hurt you?"

[feel_human]

"No, not you – "

She swallows hard and tries to catch her breath. "Just – give me a second?"

[gavemea_45]

"All the time you need," he murmurs. Sam stays still for a second, then carefully raises his hands from her body and cradles hers to his chest, soothing without restraint.

"It's okay. It's okay," he repeats. He doesn't know what happened, but something did, and that's enough.

[feel_human]

"I'm sorry."

It comes out like a reflex, but she is sorry, sorry to see the concern in his eyes when there had only been warmth before; sorry to make him think he'd done something. "I swear, it's not you, just... somethin' from a long time ago."

His hands cover hers like he's cradling a baby bird. She focuses on the rapid tapping of his heartbeat against her palms, and does her best to banish the memories that keep trying to surface. "You didn't do anythin' wrong."

[gavemea_45]

Something from a long time ago, she says. There's a story there, and not a good one. Sam raises one hand and cups her cheek, moving slow and careful and gentle.

"Hey," he murmurs. "You don't need to apologize. It's okay. Whatever you need, Sookie, it's okay."

[feel_human]

"I'd rather it be what I want."

Because she does want, she wants his kisses and his arms around her body, and she wants to know what his mouth would feel like against her skin. She takes a shaky breath and exhales slowly, watching him back. "But I think what I need is to... slow down, just a little."

[gavemea_45]

His smile is sweet. "We can do that." Very gently, he threads his fingers through her hair and draws them down, spreading it over her shoulder, then pulls his hand back and rests it on the countertop beside her.

[feel_human]

That smile of his is so sweet she feels like a honeybee that can't help itself. Leaning forward and up, she brushes her lips very lightly against his, more of a promise than a kiss. "You're kind of a good boy, aren't you, Sam?"

[gavemea_45]

"Maybe?" He squeezes her hand, just a little. "I don't know. You'll have to tell me."

[feel_human]

"Looks that way from where I'm sittin'."

She reaches her free hand down to curl her fingers around the hand he has on the counter, and lifts it to press a kiss to his knuckles. The look she gives him is rueful. "I better... get back to that laundry before Gran comes back down."

[gavemea_45]

"Okay. Here--" He puts both hands under her shoulders and lifts her up and off the counter so she lands lightly on the floor without having to slide, then steps back and smiles down at her.

"What time do you need to head in to work?"

[feel_human]

"Not for a few hours yet."

She brushes down her skirt, self-conscious, and tries to slow her speeding heart. "Looks like I'll be busy here, but if you want to go ahead into town, I can get you a map, show you where the library is?"

[gavemea_45]

"Okay," he says again. It's a good idea, given that they've still got a vampire problem, and it might be she needs time to settle. Besides, that'll let him pick up a few things and prepare others.

"I'll do that, and meet you at Merlotte's before dark. Do me a favor? Do you have any silver jewelry - earrings, necklace, bracelets?"

[feel_human]

She shakes her head, rueful. "Sorry."

Silver's never really suited her. What little jewelry she has is gold, and not pure, either. "Maybe Gran has somethin'."

[gavemea_45]

He adds it to the mental list he's making and nods. "If she does and you could borrow it, that'd be good."

Sam gives her an encouraging smile. "Don't worry. It's just a precaution."

[feel_human]

She studies him, but he doesn't seem worried, so she relaxes, trusting his judgment. "Okay."

Sookie takes a few steps across the kitchen and pulls out the junk drawer, then digs around in it until she finds what she's looking for: one of the pamphlets they keep at Merlotte's, the kind with a town map printed on the back. Grabbing a marker, she brings the pamphlet to the table and circles a spot. "This is us, here. And over here – "

She traces along streets, then makes another mark. "This is the library. And – "

A last circle. "Merlotte's."

[gavemea_45]

It's not a large town, all things considered. Sam studies the map, then nods and folds it up to stick it in his back pocket.

"Guess I'd better get moving."

[feel_human]

"Okay."

She looks up at him with a small smile. "Then I'll see you later, Sam."

[gavemea_45]

He leans down to give her a butterfly-light kiss, then smiles back at her.

"Count on it."