Chapter 09

Disclaimer – I do not own SVM/TB characters or stories. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made. I just want to play with the Viking!

Chapter 9

“I am sorry for that,” he began. Under normal circumstances, I would have melted hearing his voice directed at me, but I was so not equipped for him at that time. I didn’t want our first conversation to be in relation to an apology.

“Why are you apologizing? It’s fine. You didn’t want me in the scene, or Pam didn’t, or the director. It doesn’t matter. I’m an extra, and it’s not important. What’s important is that the scene was shot the way it was, and that it turns out well. Thank you for taking the time to say something. I appreciate it, but it was unnecessary.”

“It does matter. It mattered to you,” he stated.

“Yes, but…” I started, but he interrupted me.

“It matters to me.”

I tilted my head to the side and looked up at him trying to understand, like a dog trying to understand English.

“Why? You don’t even know me.”

“I have to go to the next location and I do not have time right now, but…,”

He paused for a moment, as if he were deliberating something. Then he took a step closer to me and leaned over slightly. His look became very serious. His eyes smoldered. I found myself staring into them as if I was trying to see the bottom of the ocean. They were almost hypnotic. I began to get little butterflies in my stomach standing so close to him as he continued to stare at me so intensely. I wanted to reach up, cup his face, and pull him down closer, if only to see what was under those blue waves brewing and crashing in his eyes. I wanted to kiss him. That’s crazy, right? I wanted him to want to kiss me.  Yep, definitely crazy!

Down girl! I told myself as I pushed those feelings away and crossed my arms to keep my hands in check. This was most definitely not the time to be thinking like that!

He began speaking in a very low, soothing voice.

“You will forget what Pam said and what I had to do. You were an integral part of the scene. I am impressed and proud of how you handled yourself. You enjoyed the filming and nothing upset you tonight. Tomorrow when you wake, you will look forward to coming to work. Tonight will be a happy memory and you will be as excited as if it was the first night all over again. You will remember that I…”

I interrupted him. I think he was trying to be encouraging, but, moreover, his words were simply confusing. More than likely, it was due to the fact that I was tired. My want to kiss him had not diminished and, as much as I wanted to stay and continue this conversation, I needed to go home and sort out how I felt about his need to explain.

“Look, you don’t have to try and make me feel better. Honestly, it was very kind of you to say anything at all, but I am a professional and not a part of the actual cast. I know my place and my job. I would like to agree with you, but I can’t and won’t forget what she said or the way she’s been acting toward me over the last couple of days. It did upset me, whether you want that to be true or not. Yes, I’m sure at some point in the future, tonight will be a very happy memory being the first night on set and working with everyone. Right now? Not so much. Tomorrow? I highly doubt it. She ruined an opportunity I had been given, and right now I’m hurt and a little pissed off about it. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. If you really want to help, get her to stop being such a bitch toward me.”

He stood upright and his eyes widened a little. Fuck! I shouldn’t have said that! I was tired and my filter was obviously on the fritz. It certainly had not been my intention to make him angry or offend him, especially after he had been so nice to me. I knew they were close and I didn’t want him to feel the need to defend her. He opened his mouth to speak, but I patted the arm of his jacket and continued in an effort to smooth things over moving back just a few inches.

“Don’t worry. I won’t disrupt anything. My work ethic hasn’t changed and it won’t. I’m just happy to be part of this while you are all here. No matter how small that part may be. However, I also know she’s your friend and I know that my opinion on the situation does not matter, not really. No apology was necessary, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness. You really are a very considerate person. Not many people would take the time out for someone insignificant to apologize.”

I blew out some air in a defeated sigh. This was not going well and I didn’t know if I was making it worse. I was rambling, and I needed to stop before my foot went back in my mouth.

“It is not thoughtfulness or consideration that is spurring this conversation. It is not that I did not want you in the scene…exactly. I believe you saw my attempt to come and talk to you. I could not as we were called back to ‘places’. Trust me. That was best for you. You need to believe that it would not have been a good idea,” he said.

I had seen him begin to come over, but I still didn’t know why. I decided what was best was to end the conversation.

“Listen, I need to go home, and you need to go so you aren’t late. Thank you again. If I’m called for tomorrow night’s filming, I will see you then. If not, I will probably see you at my next impromptu concert,” I smiled and winked.

Oh my God! I just winked at him! What is wrong with me?! I call his best friend a bitch, and then wink at him?! He probably thinks I’m a schizophrenic fucking lunatic!

He cocked his head slightly to the side and furrowed his brow. I realized my hand was still on his arm and quickly removed it somewhat awkwardly.

“You are a very interesting creature, Miss Kerrigan. Until tomorrow,” He nodded his head once and smirked. My insides melted with that smirk.

“Have a good night,” I said as I turned and started walking to the school.

“For the record,” he said to my back, “you are not insignificant,” and then very quietly added, “not to me.”

I could hear the smile in his voice and I smiled to myself as I continued walking. I didn’t realize it, but I had begun humming “Blue Eyes” as I walked away. When I got to the door, I looked back. He was still standing in the parking lot watching me. I reached for the handle, and looked back again, but he was gone.

A thought struck me as I stared at the spot where he had been. How did he know my last name? More to the point, why had he taken the time to find out?

I shook my head and something caught my eye. Someone was there just out of sight! I squinted and saw what looked like Tray’s large figure moving silently from the shadows back into the tavern. I was a little miffed that he had essentially been spying on us! I opened the door forcefully and went in.

~~~

I could hear people talking when I entered the hallway going toward the door to the wardrobe room, but they stopped as soon as I entered. I felt humiliated all over again, but I stood to my full height, which was quite considerable in my boots, and held my head high. I would not allow anyone to see me defeated or ashamed! I didn’t say a word when I changed out of my costume. I hung it up and left the room.

I met JP in the hall and handed him the keys. Once we made it to the car, I climbed into the passenger seat and the short ride home was spent in silence. I could tell he was bursting to ask me what happened in the parking lot. My mind was reeling. What could I say? I didn’t even know what had happened! One minute I was exhausted and the next I was practically purring like a kitten who was rubbing against him.

When we entered the house, I asked him to take a quick shower because I intended to use all of the remaining hot water.

“Oh my God, she CAN speak!” he put his hand to his heart as if he was having a heart attack from shock.

“Oh, fuck off,” I said casually.

I was tired, achy, and an emotional mishmash of feelings. A bath would have been more relaxing than a shower, but I wanted to scrub off the whispers and stares of pity and rinse them away down the drain.

I lay sideways on my bed in the dark listening to the shower run in the other room and closed my eyes. All I could see in my mind were those fathomless oceanic eyes. I wondered if there would be another opportunity for us to speak alone. I didn’t want to hear another apology, not from him, not even from Pam. I just wanted to put that behind me and move on.

I was still heartbroken and disappointed over losing the chance to work so closely with him. It would have been amazing.

Having him grab my arm and pull me through the bar would have been exhilarating and whatever happened in the next scene in his ‘office’…I could only imagine… One of my hands moved to knead my breast and caress the hard nipple thinking about what could have happened. I felt the moisture begin to pool between my legs. My other hand moved down and slid under the waist of my pants without my conscious consent. As I began to touch myself, I imagined it was his hand. I thought about what his touch would be like and the feel of him on my body. I began to move with the ministrations of my hand, sliding my fingers under my panties and rubbing circles on my sensitive nub.

He was so beautiful in the moonlight. Simply standing close enough to feel his breath on my face when we spoke had given me butterflies. Those butterflies could have very easily flown right down to my girly parts, in front of him, if I’d let them. I wanted him! I’d fantasized about him so many times it was impossible to count. Now my fantasy was more intense after speaking with him. So close, so close to his perfect body and his breathtaking eyes looking into mine. My fingers moved faster and my other hand joined the party pushing into my hot center. I could feel the pressure begin to build in my stomach.

If I wasn’t so mentally overloaded in that moment with him, I undoubtedly would have made a fool of myself. That is, if I hadn’t already done that during our conversation.

It was probably for the best that I wasn’t feeling his mouth on my neck drinking my fake blood. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have made it through the scene without making some sort of embarrassing sound or movement. I’m fairly confident that I would not have been very subtle in the orgasm that surely would have followed, especially if we were filming the ‘fuck’ portion of the ‘feed and fuck’ role. That thought intensified my need for release. Maybe he had to be brutal with the woman in that scene and he didn’t want to do that with me?

I was so wrapped up in my heated fantasy that I missed the shower turning off. I didn’t realize JP had come to the door of my room until he flipped on the overhead light.

I sat up blinded for a moment, quickly pulling my hands out of my pants, hoping he hadn’t seen. Damn, so close!

“You seem to be in a better mood.”

“Not really, but I don’t want to think any more about that part of tonight,” I said. I stood up and walked to the door. He stepped in front of me blocking the doorway.

“I do have my pristine image to uphold you know?” I said.

“Yeah, you’re a real delicate fucking flower!”

“Exactly!” I started laughing. He rolled his eyes, but started laughing with me.

“Guurl, there is something wrong with you. So, you’re seriously not going to tell me anything?” he asked.

“No. I don’t know, maybe. No,” I said with a non-committal shrug.

“Well, it’s good to know you’ve made up your mind,” He quipped sarcastically.

“Ass!”

“Tart!”

“Takes one to know one,” I smiled as I pushed past him and headed for the shower.

~~~

The water was heavenly and ran cold far too quickly. I could have spent another hour standing under the rain spraying down on me. I had cried a little, mostly out of frustration, but I didn’t break down like I felt like doing earlier. I supposed he was right. I wasn’t as upset as I had been. Now that I had time to get it out of my system, it didn’t seem as devastating. Sure, I was still disappointed and sad, but I didn’t feel like wallowing. I was now focused on the talk we had had and the fact that I had been mere inches from his face.

How could he possibly think I would just forget because he said I should? Did people always just do what he said? I thought about that for a minute. The director certainly had. So did Pam.

Well, there was no way in hell I was going to forget! He was 100% wrong on that front! Forget? Really? I would not forget what she said tonight or any of her other shenanigans since I’d met her.

I mentally pulled up my big girl panties and turned off the water. I stepped out of the shower and called out loudly with an exaggerated Southern lilt to my voice, “I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow.”

“OK, that’s enough of that, Scarlett. Get your boney ass out here. I’ve got wine!” Peej called from the other room.

That perked me up. I quickly got dressed in my pajamas and towel dried my hair.

When I entered the living room, there was a very large red wine glass filled with Merlot being held out to me.

I sat down, leaned against the arm of the sofa facing JP, and stretched my legs out with my feet on his lap. He handed me the glass.

“Dish!” he ordered.

“I do not have a boney ass and I will not be ordered around! You, sir, are no gentlemen,” I gasped, feigning indignation.

“And you, Miss, are no lady. Don’t think I hold that against you. Ladies have never held any appeal for me…Now DISH!” he said sternly, but his grin gave him away.

“Did you know that ‘Gone with the Wind’ is Sookie Stackhouse’s favorite book…or is it her favorite movie? Maybe it’s both? I can’t remember. I always loved that about her. They’re both at the top of my list, too.”

“Stop getting distracted by the shiny balls floating around in the air that no one can see but you, and tell me what happened outside!”

“I can’t.”

“Oh! For fuck’s sake!”

“No, really, I don’t know what it was. He was trying to make me feel better, I think. He apologized, which I thought was very sweet. Did you know that he smells clean?”

“Um, I would hope so.”

“No, I mean, crisp, like sheets that have been hung outside to dry.”

“You were smelling him? That’s an odd thing to do, Cricket. Did you freak him out?”

“His breath is sweet and his eyes are like crashing waves up close.”

“When did you smell his breath?  How close were you? What the fuck happened?”

“Did you know the people in the changing room were whispering about me? They looked at me with pity, like my dog just died.”

“Jackasses! Who cares about them? I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“Meh, that’s OK. It was just irritating.”

“Speaking of irritating…you are killing me!  What happened and why were you two smelling each other?”

“Well, I don’t know if he was doing that. God, what if he was? We were standing awfully close. I hope I smelled clean, too.”

“I can’t take it! Drink your juice, Shelby! When I get back, that glass had better be empty!”

“Oh! I love Steel Magnolias! We should watch that again soon!”

“For the love of God! Stop talking and drink your wine!”

JP rolled his eyes, stood abruptly, and left the room mumbling something that sounded like “…fucking pulling teeth, smelling each other…?” I ignored it and did as I was told. I drank my wine while my mind continued to ponder and wander as I finished it. I tried to remember the whole conversation, but the main thing that I kept seeing were those damn eyes. It was very distracting!

I shouted very loudly toward the door, “Did you know Tray was spying on us?! At least I think it was him! I guess it doesn’t matter if it was him or not!  Someone was spying on us!”

JP returned when I was reaching for the wine bottle to refill my glass. “No!” he said. I stopped my reach and sat up to look at him.

He was holding a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses in one hand and a bowl that held lime wedges and a salt shaker in the other. Two bottles of beer were pressed against his chest being held there with his forearm.

Well! Alrighty then!

He sat down, set everything on the table, and proceeded to fill each glass to the brim. He then handed one to me with a lime wedge. When I opened my mouth to speak, again he said “No!” and held out the salt shaker. I licked the back of my hand between my thumb and index finger. He salted it, and then did the same to himself. “Shoot!” he said. So, we did. Then we did another for good luck. We picked up our beers, clinked them together, and I took a long drink.

I opened my mouth again and he held up his finger.

“No,” he said calmly.

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

“No, I did not know he smelled like a sheet. No, I did not know Sookie’s favorite book, favorite song, or favorite fucking color! I did not know the other extras were assholes. I did not know that secret agent fucking double-oh-seven was watching in the woods. Furthermore, I cannot imagine one scenario in which you would have the need to smell him or vice versa! Now, will you please tell me what happened without asking me a bunch of inane questions that I don’t know the fucking answers to!?”

“Blue.”

“What are y…”

This time I held up my finger to stop him.

“Sookie’s favorite color is blue, Eric’s is red, and the spy wasn’t in the woods. He was in the shadows against the wall of a building in the parking lot. I saw him when he was sneaking away.”

JP growled and poured another round of shots.

“I don’t want to get drunk, Peej. I don’t know what’s in store for us tomorrow, and I want to get some rest without waking up with a hangover.”

“Then this will work out perfectly,” he said as he handed me a shot and we raised them up before doing the ritual of licking the salt, drinking the shot and sucking the lime.

“Every time you tell me something off topic, we are going to do a shot. If you don’t want to get drunk, then let’s focus on what happened in the parking lot. I’m dying to know and I’m sure we’ll have much more to talk about tomorrow. Tonight, I want to know what you talked about with him for half an hour.”

“Oh no, was it a half hour?! I hope he didn’t get into trouble. He must have been so late to the next location! Shit!”

As I was going off on my outburst full of worry, JP proceeded to fill up the shot glasses.

“No, that doesn’t count. That is a very important point. I told him to go so he wasn’t late. I was rambling and he was too polite to stop me so he could leave! Oh God,” I mumbled.

JP silently handed me my shot glass and looked at me expectantly.

“Fine!” I ground out and we drank our shots. I took a deep breath and began my soliloquy.

“OK. First, he apologized. I told him he didn’t need to and he told me that what had happened mattered to him. Don’t ask me why because he didn’t explain. Then he said he had to go, but he didn’t leave. He got closer to me and we talked very quietly, barely above a whisper. He was very nice, and told me to forget what Pam had said and what he did. Now, I think he did it for me.  I mean, having the director move me to the bar and not be the tramp in the scene was for me. I think so anyway.”

“So, what’s with the smelling?”

“It wasn’t like I was sniffing the air or anything. He was very close to me, so close, in fact, that I could have just reached up and touched him. I wanted to…”

“You didn’t, did you? I mean, touch him, you didn’t touch him, right?”

“No, of course not!”

“Continue.”

“Well, I rambled quite a bit. I was nervous. I think I offended him when I called Pam a bitch.”

“You did what!?”

“I called her a bitch. Well, it wasn’t like that, I said…it’s not important. The point is I said it and I think it pissed him off.”

“Well, duh! I told you they’re like family.”

“I know, I know. Anyway, after more rambling, I said I needed to leave and as I was walking away he said I wasn’t insignificant.”

“OK, well that’s a strange thing to say out of the blue.”

“No, it wasn’t, earlier I said…I can’t explain, but it was very sweet. Anyway, that’s when I left, he watched me go until I got to the door, then he left, and that’s when I saw Tray or whoever. That’s it. That’s the whole thing. Oh, and he knows my name.”

“Everyone knows your name.”

“No, he knows my whole name, not just Cricket. He called me Miss Kerrigan. Don’t you think that’s a little strange? Why would he ask anyone about me?”

“I don’t know the answer to that. It sounds like he might like you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“I’m serious. He may not like you, like you, in that way, but he obviously likes you enough to care that he hurt your feelings.”

“Yeah, I guess maybe that’s true.”

“Look, we’re becoming friends with the whole cast. I think you guys might become friends. It sounds like he wants to.”

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll see what tomorrow night brings. Anyway, you’ve gotten it all out of me. Thanks for listening.”

“Are you kidding? I had to drag it out of you!”

“I know. Sorry. I’m tired.”

“Me too. Let’s hit the sack.”

JP cleaned up our mess and I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair. When I was finished, I thanked him for cleaning, told him good night and went to bed.

~~~

Aurelia Gliwiski as Chelsea ‘Cricket’ Kerrigan

Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman

Sean Hayes as JP

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A/N: As always, a huge thank you to MsBuffy for her editing on this chapter. I couldn’t do it without her. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought.  🙂  Thanks for reading!