A/N: How's the bidding going over there at the auction? Wow, you girls look great all dressed up in your snooty auction clothes waving those big paddles around. I have to say that I am blown away by how generous you are. Apparently, I'm not nearly as cheap as I thought I was. I'm working on a little surprise to express my thanks. Hopefully, I'll have it ready to post tomorrow.

Eric blocked the shower spray with his body while I got on my knees. I was hungry. He was horny. That worked out.

After the emotional make-up scene in my living room, Eric was waiting for me in bed in his birthday suit once I'd brushed my teeth and tried to repair my lopsided hair. The sex had a desperate, frantic feel to it. I felt like I had nothing else to lose and everything to gain and so I boldly showed and told him what I needed. He promised me he had been with no one else and I let go of my insecurities and believed him. The shy scared Sookie that he knew when we began the vampire film was long gone. I'd found the sexy, brazen women I'd discovered and loved that first day in the makeup trailer. I remember wanting to be her, and now I was, thanks to my perfect lover. Eric showed me that yes, sex is messy and wild and fun and funny. I almost felt sorry for people like Bill who never knew how that felt. They were missing out on one of the greatest gifts life had to offer. I was grateful that I'd found it with Eric.

Afterwards, we lay together and talked about our severe lack of communication. I was so completely off-base thinking that Eric wanted to end it after the film. He wanted it to get much more serious. He never told me because he didn't want to scare me with what he called his controlling behavior. What he never took into consideration was that he could only control me if I let him. I had the power to say yes or no to his plans—to tell him if he was going too fast or scaring me. These were all things that could be worked out and certainly didn't need to be the reason for things to end between us. It's so amazing and scary how close we came to losing everything just because of some silly miscommunication.

After our shower, we got dressed and walked down to Café Angelino on Third. It was a tiny little restaurant just off of Robertson with a covered patio and very authentic Italian food. It was fairly early for dinner, so we had the place mostly to ourselves. We twirled pasta on our forks and then exchanged dishes when I told him I liked his better. We talked about how much we had missed each other even though it had only been two weeks.

I told him what a pig Quinn had been, and he wasn't surprised. When I told him that Sophie-Anne had called him "hung," he said that mud added volume. I was sorry I had missed the spa. It sounded heavenly, but Eric assured me that Kauai boasted world-class spas as well. Plus Two Bunch Palms wasn't going anywhere. I was very excited about our trip. I'd never been, and had heard so many wonderful things about Hawaii and about Kauai in particular. I made a mental note to buy a guide book before we left so I'd know everything we wanted to see or do and wouldn't miss anything. Eric said not to worry if we did since we could go back any time we wanted. It's only a five hour flight from L.A.

Walking back to my apartment, Eric squeezed my hand and smiled and waved to the photographers on Robertson. We knew we'd be on the internet later, but neither of us cared.

I wanted a beach day on Sunday. Eric said yes. Monday was Ellen. Tuesday, Jay Leno. Wednesday, Conan O'Brien. And then Thursday, Kauai. We didn't know much of what was after that, but Eric promised he'd let me know and I promised to remind him if he forgot. Now that I had a better picture of what Eric was—a man who assumes people can read his mind, one who forgets to let people in on his plans, and one who makes big plans—I felt more confident that we'd have fewer misunderstandings. Instead of feeling insecure, I'd just ask him what was going on and he would simply tell me. If we had a conflict, then we'd work it out. It sounds so simple now, but it seemed so ominous when we were in the dark. Obviously, we're both people that have trouble talking about feelings, but now that we are both aware of it, hopefully, we'll work on it together.

I know we'll still face problems, just like every other couple, but I also know that we love each other and neither wants to feel again like we felt when we were apart. Holding his hand walking home, I thought of the way I'd felt after that first fateful day in the makeup trailer—so optimistic and happy, ready to open a new chapter in my life. Little did I know then what an impact that crazy day would have on my life. It marked the beginning of finding a happiness that I thought could only be found in fairy tales, or maybe in the movies. I looked up at Eric and told him I loved him. He just raised my hand to his lips for a kiss and sweetly replied, "Me too."

XXX

A/N: Thank you so much to all of you who read/reviewed/favorited/alerted Hair and Makeup.

The discovery of my love of writing began with fanfiction, and now I've published three novels, written a weekly newspaper column and magazine articles, and have many projects in the works. I recommend writing fanfiction to every aspiring writer I meet.

I hope you'll take a look at my books, all available on Amazon.

My latest series of novelettes take place in a small town in North Carolina where my hero has to save the girl and save the town after being turned into a vampire. It's light and funny with a sweet romance and suspense. "The Vampire of Waller County" by Suki McMinn is Book One in the Hogback Series. Book Two is "Christmas in Waller County." My talented brother painted the original art on the covers.

"Drop Dead Gorgeous" by Suki McMinn, my first book and Book One in my L.A. Vamps series, follows a supermodel vampire around Los Angeles. This is a contemporary adult romance with suspense. It has some humor, but is darker and sexier than my other series. This book found its original publisher among my fanfiction friends.

To learn more, just google Suki McMinn. Thanks for reading!