Just a short little story that came to me while celebrating the 4th of July. Hope you enjoy!

It was a hot summer day in Chicago. The fourth of July had finally arrived for the eagerly awaiting citizens in the city. It was time for the annual firework show in the city park. Adults and children from all of the factions gathered together to celebrate the historical significance of the date.

Tris was sitting alone at a table in the canteen eating her breakfast. All of her friends were attending the festivities and had left early to get a good spot to watch the light display. Not wanting to feel like a third wheel around her friends, since they all had left in pairs with their significant others, she opted to stay home and spend the day in the compound.

Tris' self-pity party was interrupted by the familiar voice of her co-worker, the ruthless and cold-hearted dauntless leader Eric Coulter.

"Tris! What are you doing here? I thought you were going to the park with your friends!" Eric said as he placed his tray on the table and took a seat across from her.

Tris sighed before responding. "I had plans to go with Christina but Will was able to trade shifts so he could go with her instead. I didn't want to look like the poor pathetic single friend they dragged with them because they felt sorry. Besides I didn't feel like watching them grope each other the entire time either." Tris wrinkled her nose and shivered at the thought. It's not that Tris was a prude about showing signs of affection but she preferred to show it behind closed doors in private without interruptions.

Eric chuckled. "Yeah, me too. It fucking sucks to be the odd man out."

Tris snorted at his statement. "Oh, come on Eric. I find it hard to believe you would ever be the odd man out. I've seen plenty of women throw themselves at you in the Pit. I'm sure any one of them would love to be your date."

"While I'm sure they would love to be seen anywhere with me, they're certainly not interested in me."

"Are you kidding? How can you say they aren't interested in you when they fawn all over you?" Tris wrinkled her nose again as she reflected on the scenes she had witnessed during her time in Dauntless of poor, pathetic women shoving their breasts into Eric's face or grinding their asses against his groin trying to get his attention.

Eric shook his head in disagreement. "They aren't. They're only interested in what my status as a leader in Dauntless will get them. They have absolutely no interest in me as a person. Trust me, I learned that one the hard way."

"I'm sorry Eric. I hadn't thought of it from that perspective."

Eric leaned across the table toward Tris and placed his hand on her forearm. "Tris, if you never take another piece of advice from me ever again, just please consider what I'm about to tell you. Be careful when it comes to your personal life. Now that you're a leader, people will try to use it to their advantage and I don't want to see you get hurt by it." Eric squeezed her arm gently before he removed his hand and sat back in his seat.

Tris pondered over Eric's words carefully as they continued eating their breakfast in a surprisingly comfortable silence.

Unable to control her curiosity any longer, she asked. "Is that what you meant that you learned it the hard way? Did someone try to take advantage of you through your position?"

Eric sighed. Knowing Tris' selflessness was still ingrained in her from her days in Abnegation, he knew she would not let it go until she felt that she had helped him in some manner. He finished chewing the food in his mouth and took a swig of coffee before he finally decided to tell her his story.

"Yes." Eric took a deep breath and rubbed his face with his hand. "It was during my first year as a leader. Needless to say since I was quite an arrogant asshole since I was the youngest Dauntless leader in the history of the faction, until you came along." Eric paused to wink at Tris, "I loved the fear I instilled in people and never imagined anyone would dare take advantage of me."

Tris chuckled. "I hate to be the one to break it to you but you are still an arrogant asshole."

Eric placed his hand over his heart feigning hurt. "Tris, you wound me! I will have you know that I'm not arrogant anymore, just an asshole!" Neither Tris nor Eric could contain their laughter over his self-assessment. Once they calmed down, Eric continued with his story.

"To make a long story short, her name was Jade and she was a few years older than me. I really thought I was hot shit since I was able snag the attentions of an older woman. Needless to say she was just using me to work her way to the top of the command structure. She appealed to my Erudite upbringing and convinced me it was in my best interest to keep our relationship a secret because that way the other leaders would believe that I was dedicated to my duties and not distracted by a relationship. Her reasoning was logical so I went along with it because I thought we were in love and she was looking out for my best interests. The real reason she wanted to keep it quiet was because she fucking Harrison behind my back. She was just using me to gain access to him and get his attention."

Filled with a mixture of anger and hurt, Tris reached out to Eric and placed her hand over his. "Eric, I'm so sorry. I've never heard of anything so cruel. You deserved someone so much better than that conniving bitch."

Eric placed his hand over Tris. "Thanks. But I didn't tell you this for your pity. It was a long time ago and I'm over it. I just want you to understand that there are people out there just waiting to take advantage of others. I want you to be careful so you don't experience the same fate."

"I would never insult you by pitying you Eric. It's compassion that I feel for you. And thank you for sharing your story and I appreciate your concern for my well-being."

"I know you are a true Dauntless in your heart but I still see your selflessness. It's nothing to be ashamed of nor should you try to hide it. It's just part of what makes you you. I just don't want that special quality to cost you heartache."

Tris nodded her understanding and suppressed her curiosity about what happened to the woman for a more appropriate setting.

Once they were finished, Eric offered to dispose of their trays and returned with a cup of coffee for each of them. He took a seat beside Tris this time.

"So, what are your plans today since you aren't going to the park?"

Tris pondered for a moment. "I hadn't given it any thought actually. I guess go and get a head start on next week's paperwork. Might as well be productive today since it doesn't appear that I'm going to get any better offers."

Eric stole a quick glance at Tris who was swirling her coffee around in the cup. He had been waiting for months for an opportunity to present itself to ask Tris out on a date and unknowingly she just gave it to him. Over the last few months of working with Tris, Eric's feelings for her became stronger. He never acted on them because he knew she needed time to work through her breakup with Four.

The breakup had happened shortly after initiation ended because Tris chose leadership as her career rather than becoming a tattoo artist like had Four wanted so he could keep an eye on her. (The Leadership offices and housing wing had its own monitoring system which Four did not have access to.) Although Tris was a talented artist, anyone who knew her was well aware that it would have been well below her abilities and just a mediocre job for her. Leadership was where Tris belonged and Eric was proud of her for standing up to Four and choosing what she wanted rather than cave to his demands. Since Four refused to support her in her decision, Tris ended their relationship.

Eric knew from experience, it was not easy to get past your first real relationship and he didn't want to be a rebound for Tris. He wanted a real relationship where he could treat her like his queen. Therefore, he opted to keep his growing feelings to himself and settle for being her friend for the time being. However, Tris just presented Eric with an opportunity that he couldn't afford to let pass. So he summoned all of his Dauntless courage and gave Tris what she wanted - a better offer.

Tris swallowed the last of her coffee and stood up. "Thanks for the coffee, Eric. I'll see you in the office tomorrow." She waved and turned to leave but stopped when Eric spoke.

"Tris, would you like to attend the fireworks show as my date?"

Tris froze in her spot. Not believing she heard Eric correctly, she slowly turned back to face him, her eyebrows shooting up to her hairline. "Excuse me?"

Eric cleared his throat as he tried to suppress a smile at her surprised expression and he restated his question. "I asked if you would like to attend the fireworks show as my date."

"Date? Like a real date?"

Eric couldn't help but smile this time as he noticed a blush slowly crawling up her tantalizing neck to her gorgeous face. He quietly reveled in the fact that he could elicit such a reaction from her. He quickly thought of teasing her about it but decided it was in his best interest to not piss her off. He was quite aware of her temper from the broken nose she had given him during training after a poorly worded critique. Deciding to stay in her good graces, he answered her question and to prove his sincerity, he stood up, walked to her and took her hand in his.

"Yes, Tris. A real date where a man asks a woman that he really likes out for an evening so they can get to know one another better. A real date where the man holds the door open and pulls out the chair for the woman. A real date where the man and woman hold hands and hug each other. A real date where the man will give the woman a goodnight kiss on the cheek just to let her know that he doesn't expect anything else when the date comes to an end."

Eric raised Tris' arm towards his mouth and placed a soft kiss on the inside of her wrist as a sign of his genuineness. Tris couldn't help the massive smile that grew on her face while Eric stated his reasons.

She mewled softly at the surge of electricity from the feel of his lips on her skin. "Why…Why me?" she stuttered from the pleasure still coursing through her body from his touch.

The sound Tris made when he pressed his lips to her wrist went straight to Eric's groin and it took every ounce of willpower he had to keep a certain part of his anatomy from reacting. He focused all of his concentration on convincing Tris to accept his offer.

"Why you?" Eric asked as he shook his head and chuckled in disbelief that Tris would have to ask such a question. "Because Tris, you are beautiful, sexy, intelligent and brave. Because you have the most adorable pouty lips that I desperately want to kiss. Because you stand up for what you believe in and refuse to back down. Because I know you wouldn't be using me for my status in Dauntless. And most of all because you are not afraid to tell me when I'm wrong. Oh, did I mention that you are beautiful and sexy as hell and how much I want to savor those delectable, pouty lips of yours?"

"Yeah, I think you might have already mentioned that last part." Tris said as she glanced between Eric's eyes and his lips while she sucked her own bottom lip in between her teeth while trying to process everything Eric had just admitted and once again fight the blush that refused to leave her alone.

Eric refused to give up until Tris agreed to go out with him so he continued. "There's an old saying that the third time is a charm so I guess I will have to ask again. Tris, will you be my date tonight?"

Realizing she had not given Eric an answer yet, Tris shyly looked down at her feet before gaining the courage to look Eric in the eyes with her decision. Smiling from ear to ear, she said, "Yes, Eric. I would love to be your date tonight."

Eric couldn't contain his happiness and pulled Tris into a hug. "I promise you will have a great time tonight."

Tris smirked as she pulled back enough to see Eric's face. "If I don't, then I reserve the right to choose the venue for our next date."

"Next date?" Eric asked as he cocked an inquisitive eyebrow, extremely pleased that she is planning another date with him already.

"Mmhmm," Tris hummed as she snuggled back against Eric. "It took you long enough to ask me out so don't think I'm going to let you go that easily now that I finally have your full attention."

Eric chuckled as he realized just how sly Tris had become since joining Dauntless. She had managed to orchestrate the entire scenario. Instead of having jumped on an opportunity that presented itself to him, he had taken the bait that Tris had so enticingly dangled in front of him. Ordinarily Eric would be pissed that someone had managed to manipulate him however he decided he didn't really mind it this time since it allowed to get what he really wanted in the end – Tris Prior.

Author's Note: It's been over a year since I posted anything so my writing skills have become a little rusty. Now that I have finally graduated from nursing school, passed the NCLEX and received my license, I finally don't feel guilty for writing stories rather than studying or practicing my skills. So I hope to be posting more in the near future. Thank you for reading and feel free to review!