Rekindling the Romance: An In His Honor One Shot

Eric’s POV

Tonight as I pull up the driveway to the garage and let out a sigh, I cut the ignition.  I love my family, I do, but sometimes I wish I could go back to the days when things were simpler.  Before our lives had become nothing more than soccer practices, PTA meetings, ballet recitals, playdates, and whatever other shit the kids have us running back and forth between.  I love my children, all five of them, but sometimes I wish Sookie and I could take a step back; get back to being us.  I couldn’t tell you the last time she and I had a night alone together.  Nor could I tell you the last time my wife and I have been intimate with each other.  Every time we try to start something, one of the kids always interrupts us.  It doesn’t help that her pregnancy with Ella was full of complications, and those issues have carried over now that the baby is born.  Ella is our last child; something went wrong during the delivery and they needed to remove Sookie’s uterus when they performed the Caesarean.  My wife’s been slow to recover, and I think she’s also struggling with the idea that she can’t have more children.  Like I said to her, the five children we have are more than enough, but Sookie just smiled wanly at me before locking herself in the bathroom.

That’s another thing that’s different; she never used to lock me out of the bathroom, only the kids.

I’m not saying everything is Sookie’s fault.  I’ve had my own issues the last few months.  There’s a lot of anger inside me because my sister refused to tell us she was sick and dying until it was too late.  Pam always was a selfish bitch, but this took things too far.  I know she wanted to die on her own terms, but I feel like she cheated me out of spending time with her.  To compensate, I’ve been throwing myself in work to take my mind off everything.  And the punching bag in the gym is certainly feeling the full force of my frustrations.  Sookie tries to be there for me when it comes to all this, but I don’t think she fully understands how I feel.  I know she lost Sam, her first husband, and Gran suddenly, but she still has her brother and other family members.  Pam was the only other Northman outside of my wife and kids.  I can’t begin to explain how alone I feel knowing that my parents and sister are all gone from this world.

My head hits the back of the headrest as I stare at the house Sookie and I bought when we found out she was pregnant with Michael.  The house looks like an old plantation; Sookie jokingly refers to it as ‘Tara’ from Gone with the Wind.  I remember the night we settled on the house, I’d carried her up with the staircase just as Rhett had carried Scarlett.  She’d laughed her head off and screamed at me to put her down since she was four months pregnant, but I carried her all the way up the stairs and to our bedroom where we celebrated owning our first home together.  In fact, we christened many of the rooms in the house that night.  Ah, those were the days!

“Dad what are you doing out here?”  Hunter stands on the other side of my car door with a look of concern on his face.  He’s grown up to be a handsome kid, blending the looks of his biological father and his mother perfectly.  Hunter may not be my son genetically, but he is my child.  He and I have a special bond that I’ll never have with the others.  I love all of my children, favoring none of them over the other, but my relationships are different with each of them.  Charissa is the apple of my eye, my little princess.  Michael is a quiet boy, preferring to watch everyone and not take part; he reminds me a lot of my father.  Alex is my little daredevil; he loves to play rough and get dirty.  I don’t know much about Ella yet, but she’s my baby girl; being the youngest will definitely give her special perks.

I get out of the car, slamming the door behind me.  Hunter looks at me worriedly.  He’s not nearly as tall as me, but he is definitely gangly.  He hasn’t quite grown into his body yet, but he will; it’s only a matter of time now that he’s a teenager in high school.  “You OK?”  His eyes are clouded with worry.

I smile at him tiredly as I ruffle his hair.  “I’m fine Smalls; just tired.  I got lost on a trip down memory lane for a moment.  I was thinking of the day we moved in here.”

“It was definitely a lot quieter then,” Hunter says with a chuckle as we hear wailing coming from inside the house.  Not sure which of the kids it is, but when one of them starts, the others aren’t far behind.

“I should get inside and help your mother,” I say as I begin to trudge up the walkway that leads to the front door.

“Hey Dad,” Hunter calls from behind me and I turn around to look at him with my eyebrow cocked in silent question.  “What are you doing for Mom for Valentine’s Day?”  At my blank stare, Hunter continues on.  “You know, Valentine’s Day?  Cupid’s arrow, love, and all that bullshit.”

“Watch your language Smalls.” I don’t care that he curses, since I say far worse, but Sookie will have his head and mine if she hears him.  “When is it?”  I rub my hand across the back of my neck as I feel a headache coming on.

“The fourteenth, same as it is every year,” he says like I’m an idiot and a roll of his eyes.

“What day is today?”

“It’s the sixth Dad; you’ve got eight days to come up with something,” Hunter explains.

“I’ll get your mom some flowers and candy.  Thanks kid,” I say and turn back to the house since the wailing inside is now coming in stereo, meaning at least two children are crying.  Besides, I’m sure Sookie knows I’m home, and she’s probably irritated that she has to deal with the crying children and cook dinner by herself.  Five kids, including a newborn and a toddler, is a lot for anyone to handle alone.  Sookie is far and away better at handling all of them together than I am, but even she needs help at times.

“No offense Dad, but those gifts are lame,” Hunter says as he jogs to catch up with me.  We’re standing on the porch, my hand on the doorknob ready to enter, when I stop to look at him.  “When’s the last time that you and Mom had a night out?  I think it would do the two of you some good to get away from all us kids.”

“It’s not that easy Smalls.  We’ve got the five of you to take care of.  No one will want to babysit on Valentine’s Day.  It was a good idea though,” I say with a tired smile.

“Dad, you and Mom aren’t like you used to be.  Every time I turned around, the two of you were kissing or sharing a secret smile.  It was disgusting,” he says with a grimace.  “I couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve seen the two of you kiss.  Hell, I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw Mom smile and mean it.  And you, well, you haven’t been the same since Aunt Pam died.  I’m worried about the two of you,” he admits and looks like a small boy again.

It’s extremely humbling to have a ‘Come to Jesus’ moment delivered to you by your kid, but he’s absolutely right.  Sookie and I aren’t the same anymore.  We’re becoming these two people I don’t recognize, and I don’t like it.  I want to get back to being us, two people so in love with each other they can barely keep their hands off each other.  She’s my best friend, my soulmate, and I feel like I’m letting her slip through my fingers.  We’re letting the everyday things get in the way.  If we continue to do this, we’re going to drift apart.

“When the hell did you get to be so smart Smalls?”  I look at Hunter with a mixture of gratitude and love.

“Probably comes from listening to all those audiobooks and music to drown out the sound of you and Mom coming from the bedroom,” Hunter says with a shudder and I can’t help but smirk.  When Sookie and I are in sync, we both tend to be very vocal during sex.

“We’ll have to stock you up on some more,” I say as my grin widens.  “If my plan works out, you’re going to need them.”  I laugh as Hunter shudders in horror and mumbles ‘gross’.

Before we go inside, I pull my son in my arms and give him a bear hug.  “I love you Smalls.  I promise I’ll fix everything between me and your Mom.  Thanks,” I say in his ear as I slap him on the back.

“Love you too Dad.” He pulls out of my arms and opens the front door so we can get inside to help the woman that we both love.  When I walk through the house, I find Sookie in the kitchen.  Dinner’s cooking on the stove and one kid is sitting on the counter crying with a scrapped knee.  Hunter’s right; I can’t remember the last time Sookie smiled a genuine smile.  She always looks tired and haunted.  Her body, while nowhere near as thin as when I first met her, is still amazing considering she’s given birth to five children, but I know she isn’t happy with it because she’s got a bit of a belly from where they cut her to do the Caesarean.  Her face is still youthful looking, except for her eyes.  When she briefly glances at me, she looks exhausted and downtrodden.  Thanks to Hunter, I’m going to work to put that sparkle back in both of our eyes that’s been missing for months.  I have an idea of exactly how to do it.  I’m only sorry that I let things get this bad between us.

***

Sookie’s POV

Dear God in Heaven, I’m so tired!  Please let me get a good night’s sleep for once.  I love my children, I do, but I would do just about anything to be able to sleep past six in the morning just once and not have a colicky baby wake me up every forty-five minutes.  I know Eric helps me as much as he can, but he gets to leave here five days a week to go to work.  There is no escape for me since I made the decision to become a stay at home mom when Michael was born.  I’ve never regretted my decision to stay home with my kids, because I really think it’s the best thing for them.  There are definite advantages to going to daycare; it allows children to socialize, develop communication skills and other building blocks that will help them further along in life.  However, I think that the best people to teach a child are their parents.  Not everyone has the luxury to do this; hell I couldn’t do this when Hunter and Rissa were babies.  But when Michael came along, Eric and I had sat down to look hard at our financial situation.  No offense to the daycare providers of the world, but they are the equivalent of highway robbers.  People in this country are struggling to make it every day as it is, and you want to charge an average of $250 per week per child, more if it’s an infant or if the kid still wears diapers.  One of the mom’s from Alex’s playgroup said she works just to pay for health insurance and daycare; in fact, she’s actually negative in the money once the government takes their part out of her check.  How sad is it that her entire paycheck goes to health insurance and daycare?  Eric and I are really fortunate that we could afford to live without me having to work.  Could you imagine how much money I would spend if I had to send four kids to daycare?

I don’t know where the idea that being a stay at home mom isn’t a real job came from, but I’ll be the first one to call bullshit on that idea.  I work just as hard as a person going to a regular nine to five; the only difference is that I don’t get paid for the work I do.  My reward is seeing my children healthy and happy . . . as well as thousands of smelly diapers, vomit in my hair, and who knows what the hell that sticky stuff is I found on the floor of the kids’ bathroom the other day.  Sometimes it’s better not to ask.  It wasn’t blood and all of my kids are still accounted for, so I’ll let it slide.

My kids range in age from fifteen to a couple of months old, but most of them are ten and under.  Hunter, God bless him, helps out as much as he can, but he’s got his own life now and I want him to do all those great things in high school that every kid should experience.  So he’s got sports and his friends; he’s even taking a girl to the Valentine’s Dance this weekend.  I can’t believe my baby boy is going on his first date with his first girlfriend . . . nope, not gonna go there.  I don’t have any tissues around and if I start thinking about how grown up my baby is, I’ll end up bawling.

And speaking of my baby, Ella has finally tuckered herself out and is sleeping peacefully in her crib which is located in our bedroom.  She’s the only kid we’ve kept in the same room as us and that’s because she’s been colicky almost since the day she came home from the hospital.  And it breaks my heart that Ella is always crying.  I wish I knew how to make her feel better.  The doctor insists nothing is wrong with her, it is normal for babies to have colic, but none of my other kids ever went through this.  My pregnancy with her was the hardest of any of my kids; when I went in labor with her, I started hemorrhaging internally.  They did an emergency Caesarean and had to take my uterus as well my gall bladder and appendix.  It was touch and go for a while; I’m still not one hundred percent OK.  I feel so rundown all the time; my body is taking longer to heal than ever before.

But the worst part is that it feels like my husband and I are drifting apart.  I’ve never felt so disconnected from him and that includes the time we were apart because he was deployed.  Between the difficult pregnancy, the kids, and Pam dying (when I get to heaven, I’m kicking that bitch’s ass with her beloved high heels for not telling us until it was too late), we haven’t been connecting with each other physically or emotionally.  I wish I could blame the lack of sex on us being tired from everything with the kids, but that’s never stopped us before.  Hell, Eric used to make an advent calendar to check off the days until my six-week checkup after delivery.  As soon as I got the all clear from the doctor, he would be on me like white on rice.  It’s a wonder we never ended up with a set of Irish twins.  But when my six-week checkup passed after delivering Ella, Eric didn’t even notice.  That’s not true; he was very concerned that both Ella and I were OK, but he didn’t immediately try to jump my bones.  In fact, we haven’t had sex since I was seven months pregnant.  Considering that Ella is nearly four months old, well, you do the math.

It’s not all Eric’s fault; I’m just as much to blame.  But it’s hard to get excited about sex when I don’t feel sexy.  I feel frumpy and barren.  When I look in the mirror I don’t see a woman in her thirties; I see an old hag.  And really, when we actually have the privacy to have sex, we both want to sleep.

Hmmmm, sleep is good.

I’m climbing up in bed when my husband emerges from the bathroom wearing nothing but a pair of thin plaid sleep pants.  It isn’t fair that he looks sexier now than the first time I saw him naked.  Sweet lord, his pants are hanging just below his waist, showing off that muscle I don’t know the name of but it makes me want to crawl on my hands and knees to him so I can lick and nibble every inch of it.  I draw in a quick breath and bite my lower lip.

Eric must notice my reaction because I see his cock stir under the cotton of his pants.  If his cock is a compass, than I must be north because it’s pointing directly at me.

Lucky me!

My husband crosses the floor quickly, coming to stand beside the bed and I scoot over so that I am on my knees in front of him.  You would think given how long it’s been that he would pounce on me, but Eric doesn’t.  He clasps my head between his hands, holding me as if I am a fragile piece of glass.  For the first time in months, I see his eyes sparkle with mischief and lust.  But there is something more there, something deeper, and it makes me want to cry.  My husband is looking at me as if I am the most precious thing in the world to him; he’s looking at me like he’s a man in love.  Tears fill my eyes because I can’t begin to express how much I’ve missed seeing this look.  Lately his eyes have been filled with weariness, exasperation, anger, and sorrow.  I’ve hated seeing him like that, but I didn’t know how to help fix him.

“I love you Sookie,” he whispers reverently as his lips descend on mine.  I want to pull him down and kiss him with all the hunger I feel, but he won’t let me.  Eric is in charge of this kiss and he’s keeping it soft and worshipful.  He is making love to me with nothing more than his lips, letting me know that I am the only woman he has ever loved and will ever love.  When he pulls away from my lips, I’m left wanting and needy but I also feel at peace.  I feel like the old me; the one that laughed all the time, and the one that was insanely in love with her husband.  You know, the girl who almost got arrested for public indecency because Eric was too impatient to wait for us to get home and decided that sex in an elementary school parking lot late at night would be a good idea.

I’ve missed this Sookie. And I’ve missed my husband too.

“I love you too Eric,” I say softly as I lean forward to kiss him again. My hands begin caressing the hard planes of his chest and torso, reveling in the feel of his perfect body beneath my hands. His hands move from my face, slipping down under the material of my shirt. The material bunches up around his wrists as he raises his hands to my breasts.

“Careful,” I warn him. Not only are my breasts extremely sensitive, but he may get more than he bargained for if he squeezes them.

“I remember,” he breathes against my lips with a chuckle. My lips spread in a wide grin as the memory of him freaking out after I had Rissa comes barreling to the front of my mind. The doctor had cleared me for sex and Eric was so excited that he jumped me the moment Rissa went down for a nap. He was fascinated by how large my breasts were and he wanted to pay them proper attention. Unfortunately, his attentions were too good and he got a mouthful of breast milk.

Knowing what I’m thinking about, Eric swipes his index fingers across my nipples, making them bounce and harden. I let out a cross between a groan and a laugh at his touch. Unfortunately, it wakes Ella and she instantly begins screaming her head off. With a groan of frustration, I flop back against the bed as Eric moves over to the crib to get our daughter. The thing about a colicky baby is that they cry for no reason for hours on end, and there is nothing you can do to soothe them. We’ve learned that Ella will quiet somewhat if she is lying against Eric’s chest. It doesn’t work if he has a shirt on; she needs to feel his warm skin against her cheek and hear his heartbeat. Holding our daughter, he sits on the bed with his back against the headboard. Ella continues to fuss in his arms, but it’s not the ear-piercing scream of a moment ago.

With a sigh of regret, I look at my husband and think of what might have been. He gives me a small smile, letting me know he too wishes we hadn’t been interrupted. “Next weekend I’m kidnapping you,” he tells me with a heated look in his eyes.

“Oh, and what are we gonna do with the kids?”

“Al and Maria will take Hunter and Rissa. Lala and Jesus have offered to take Michael, Alex, and Ella. We need to get away Sookie; we need to get back to being us. I miss the guy I used to be and I miss you,” he says as his hand reaches across the bed to grasp mine. “I miss the woman I fell in love with.”

Tears splash down my face, because I know exactly what he means. I can’t say anything because I’m too choked up by his words. I try not to cry, not to let out the anguish I’ve kept bottled up inside, but I can’t keep it in any longer. Seeing me cry renews Ella’s tears and she starts squalling and fidgeting against Eric’s chest, fighting to break free. He tugs on my hand to pull me closer to him, and I slide over to put my head on his shoulder. Ella looks at me with her bright blue eyes shiny with tears, her cheeks crimson in color. We both end up crying on Eric until we fall asleep.

***

Eric’s POV

We weren’t able to go away for Valentine’s Day, but I made damn sure my wife knew I loved and appreciated her now more than ever. The night before Valentine’s Day, I told all the children that they were not to pester their mother in the morning, that if they needed something, they were to come to me. I wanted Sookie to be able to have the opportunity to sleep in because I knew she definitely needed it. I had insisted earlier in the week that we move Ella back to her room. I think part of the reason she is so fussy at night is because she hears every little noise that Sookie and I make. Sookie was apprehensive about disturbing the other kids, but so far Ella’s crying fits at night have decreased.

The morning of Valentine’s Day, I woke up at six and quickly showered. When I exited the bathroom, I heard Ella beginning to stir on the baby monitor. She was cooing and gurgling, but I knew that could change in a heartbeat. I turned off the baby monitor and hurried to get my baby girl. Her face lit up in a big smile when she saw me and she screeched excitedly with her arms and feet wiggling animatedly. After taking care of my daughter’s needs, we headed downstairs in search of nourishment. I had a plan, and God willing, I was going to make it work. By the time Ella was fed, with more food on her face and hands than in her mouth, the other kids were rising for the day. The night before, I’d put together a French toast breakfast casserole; all I had to do was bake it in the oven. When Alex and Michael came downstairs, I put the casserole in the oven while they ate the fresh fruit I’d cut up. While I finished getting breakfast together, our two youngest sat in the living room watching a movie while the baby played with her activity set while she laid on the floor. Just as the casserole was coming out of the oven, Rissa came downstairs. I knew Hunter would sleep as late as possible, but I needed to get Sookie up soon for the surprise spa day I had booked her. While the three kids ate, I put Ella in her high chair with a few toys so she felt part of the group. While they ate, I took Sookie breakfast in bed. Seeing the surprise and happiness on my wife’s face because of something so small made me feel like an ass for getting so caught up in my shit. But the absolute euphoria on her face warmed my heart as I told her she needed to hurry because she had an all-day spa treatment at Reflections, the most expensive spa in the city. I wanted her to feel pampered, because she deserved to be treated like the princess she is. She worried about leaving me alone with all five kids, but I brushed her concern to the side. I can’t say that a day of just me with five kids went smoothly, but nobody had to go to the emergency room and the house was still standing when Sookie came back before dinner.

After dinner, we put on another movie for the kids so we could take pictures of Hunter and his date Amber for the Valentine’s Day dance. My wife must have taken a thousand pictures and nearly bawled when Hunter put the corsage on his girlfriend’s wrist. Sookie probably would have kept the kids there all night if it weren’t for Amber’s parents saying they needed to hurry if they were going to get the rest of the group going to the dance to the school on time. By the time they left, it was time for the nightly bedtime routine of fighting to get the kids washed, dressed, and put to bed. When all was said and done, I was exhausted and wanted to sleep. But my beautiful wife wanted to thank me for all the sweet things I had done for her that day. How could I refuse when my present was her wrapped up in sexy lingerie? The first time wasn’t my best showing of endurance, but I more than made up for it in the encore performance. Practice does make perfect, and we’re going to need to practice a lot to make sure we’re getting it right.

The week after Valentine’s Day has dragged by, but it’s been one of the best weeks I can remember in a long time.  Sookie and I are getting back to the people we were before the shit storm of the last six months descended on us.  We talk and laugh; we’re making the kids gag because they keep catching us kissing or pawing at each other when we think we’re alone.  It’s like the old days and I love it.  We may not have sex every night, but there’s no longer this distance in the bedroom that I felt before.  Sookie and I talk and laugh while in bed; cuddling up to each other and not lying on our respective sides of the bed as if the Berlin Wall were down the middle dividing us.

With Friday finally here, I leave work early so that Sookie and I can leave a little early for our romantic weekend away.  Lafayette already has Ella, having come to get her around lunch time.  Alex had preschool today and Michael was in elementary school; the bus will take both kids to Lafayette’s home.  The parents of Charissa’s best friend Deb actually offered to take Rissa for the weekend; there was a birthday party both girls were invited to Sunday and the parents were going to take them to the movies Saturday to see the Paddington Bear movie.  So that left Hunter at Alcide’s for the weekend, but between basketball and his girlfriend, I doubt Hunter will be at Al’s too much.

I open the front door of our home and pause for a moment to enjoy the absolute silence.  I don’t think it’s been this quiet since the day Sookie and I bought the place.  As I close the door, I notice our suitcases sitting by the door ready to go.  My grin widens when I see the gift basket I sent my wife.  Years ago when Sookie and I were a new couple, I had taken her away for a romantic weekend and had gifted her with items for the weekend.  It had served me well then, so I decided to do it again now.  My eyes are drawn away from the basket by the sound of heels on the wooden floors.  When I look up, Sookie is coming down the stairs and I swear we’ve gone back in time.  She’s wearing an outfit that is eerily similar to what she wore the night we left on our first trip together.  I remember perfectly well the sweater dress, fuck me boots, and lingerie that I thoroughly enjoyed removing from her luscious body.

“You seem a little eager for our road trip,” Sookie says standing on the next to last step as her eyes drift down my body to where my jeans have shrunk in size due to the one-eyed monster that wants to break free.

“I’m always eager to be with you Lover,” I say heatedly as I step closer to her.  I inhale deeply and my eyes close as I detect her perfume, something she used to wear quite often but had stopped while pregnant with Ella because the smell bothered her.  She wore it for the first time Valentine’s Day night and every day since.  I’ve bought this perfume for her several times over the years, and I know other women wear it, but when I smell it, I always think of Sookie.  It comforts and excites me all at once.

“You know the house is empty,” I say with a leer.  “How about a little pregame action before we start our trip?”

Sookie leans forward, placing her hand on my chest.  “Are you sure we’ll end up leaving the house if we go upstairs?”  However the excitement in her voice and the way she is biting her lip let me know that she is very much onboard with my plan.

“Who said anything about upstairs?  I plan to fuck my wife right here, against the wall, where anyone walking up to our door will be able to see,” I growl as I push her against the wall I’m speaking of.  My hands work their way under her skirt, brushing against her silky flesh in their quest for the Holy Grail.

“I want everyone to be able to hear you scream while I pound into this dripping pussy.”  A single finger slides underneath the barrier provided by her underwear and my breath catches as I feel the wetness pooling there waiting for me.  “You like the idea of people hearing you, or someone seeing how well I know how to fuck my wife?”  Sookie loves dirty talk during sex; the dirtier the better.  Nothing gets her turned on more quickly than me telling her in graphic detail the things I want to do to her body.

“I like the idea of my husband taking me hard and fast against the wall before we leave.  Then I like the idea of giving him road head as we drive to the beach house.  And I plan on fucking his brains out for the next forty-eight hours to make up for lost time,” she says in a desperate voice as her lips attach to the skin on my neck.  I have a feeling that both of us are going to be marked and bruised all over by the time this weekend is over.  I know my balls are going to be permanently blue if I don’t do something soon to give them some relief.

My lips crash down on those of my wife while my finger pushes through her slick folds to tease her entrance, running circles around the rim.  I can feel her walls pulsing, trying to clamp down on my finger and suck it deep inside her.  Sookie’s hands slide in the back pockets of my jeans, grabbing my ass and squeezing.  She lifts her right leg to wrap around my waist and grinds against my body as much as she can.

I withdraw my finger and my hands go to work on the button and zipper of my jeans, their movements frenzied because of my sexual need.  Before I can drop my trousers and boxers, the front door opens causing Sookie and me to freeze in shock.

“For the love of God, get a room already!  I swear you two are trying to kill me!”  Hunter’s disgusted voice sounds from the open doorway where he and Alcide stand.  Al is grinning like a lunatic while Hunter is doing everything he can to shield his eyes.

Sookie blushes hotly as she lowers her leg to the ground and pushes against my body to put some distance between us.  Distance is the last thing my body wants; my cock in particular wants to tunnel inside her and never come out.  “Someday Smalls, I hope you end up with a kid exactly like you,” I say to our son which makes my wife giggle.  I take a step back, having to adjust myself to accommodate the soldier at attention in my pants and glare at the boy.

“What are you doing here?”

“He forgot his bag for the weekend.  We came by to pick it up.  How were we to know you two would be in here instead of on your way to the beach?”  Alcide shrugs his shoulders as part of his explanation but grins without shame at having interrupted us.  The selfish bastard has always enjoyed cockblocking Sookie and me.  If he keeps this up I’m going to put athlete’s foot powder on his jock strap the next time we’re at the gym.

Sookie sighs as she moves off the steps to go to our luggage.  She slides her arm through the basket handle and grabs her purse.  “I asked you earlier if you had everything,” she says with a sigh.  Hunter shrugs in response and heads up the stairs to get his stuff.

I grab the suitcases, telling Alcide to lock up on his way out.  Sookie and I get our stuff settled in the SUV before walking around to climb in.  I open her door for her, and enjoy the beautiful smile she gives me when she sees the arrangement of flowers sitting on her seat.  Sookie lifts the flowers from the seat, breathing their fragrance in.  “You didn’t have to get me these,” she says as she climbs up in her seat.

I close the door for her and hurry around the hood of the vehicle to slide in the driver’s seat.  “I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to.  This weekend is all about rekindling the romance in our relationship.  I want you to feel appreciated and loved every minute of every day.  I never want to take you for granted again,” I vow fervently.

Sookie gives me a watery smile before leaning over the console to give me a kiss.  “I love you,” she whispers as she pulls back.

“I love you too,” I say as I turn the key in the ignition.

“And if you want to find some place so I can show you how much I love you that might be a good idea.  I don’t think I can wait to get to the beach house,” she says with a wicked gleam in her eye and a sexy smirk on her lips.

Who said romance is dead?  Not me that’s for damn sure!

~ The End

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