Author's Notes: HI!!! Remember me?? Let me just say a big, huge I'M SORRY for dropping off the face of the earth, but I do have a good reason! I scored a great job and started up summer semester at school (which is supercharged for lack of time) so my life kind of went into warp speed after that. I swear I have loads more stuff coming up for this story, I've got little half chapters written all over the place. So don't give up on me! :)

At her apartment, Christine went straight back to her bedroom to gather her things. Erik could hear her rummaging around and even caught wind of some of her frustrated whispers to herself.

He had noticed her more anxious energy on the way over and he had to admit, he felt a little nervous himself. This surprised him, given the fact that he had already told her all about himself, which turned out to be a much easier experience than he had ever imagined.

I should have just told her from the start, I should have known she'd understand.

But what he didn't understand was why he was getting more and more nervous as the minutes ticked by. If the largest complication had already been dealt with, what more was there to be nervous about? He had a beautiful, tender-hearted woman out with him for dinner and she would even be coming back home with him afterwards.

Oh.

She would be coming home with him.

And there's only so much kissing a person could do before they needed more.

Oh!

Erik stiffened as the realization struck him, and he was glad Christine wasn't in the room see his reaction.

Why are you acting this way, fool! She's already seen the worst part and accepted you without faltering, what else is there to be afraid of?

But he knew very well what he was afraid of. He was only human after all.

He didn't get a chance to sink fully into his thoughts because Christine shuffled out of the room then, bag in hand and wearing her chocolate coat.

"Sorry I took so long, I just didn't grab the appropriate things last time." She gave him a hesitant smile. If only he knew what appropriate items she had grabbed this time…

"Shall we?" His strong voice squeaked a little as he took her arm and led her back out of her apartment.

The car ride to the restaurant wasn't quiet, but it was certainly tense. Every word they spoke to each other was charged with what they weren't saying.

"S-s-so, what restaurant are we going to?" Christine asked Erik.

"I thought we could try Il Muto's again since our last visit was on much different terms."

"You mean, when I was only your employee? And now I'm your…?" Her words stopped short as she realized that they hadn't yet defined their new relationship.

"Well you certainly aren't just my employee now," Erik smirked at her.

Christine didn't say anything more about it and Erik reached for her hand in an effort to reassure her. He didn't clarify what their relationship was, because truth be told, he wasn't sure. He would have loved to call her his girlfriend, though after their time together this afternoon, the term seemed to fall flat in comparison to his feelings for her.

"Well, at least I won't be running to the bathroom in tears again." She chuckled.

"You never know, I may say something inexcusable again."

"Erik…"

He felt her squeeze his hand and he glanced at her to see her large green eyes looking at him.

"Nevertheless, tonight will be much improved from that night."

"Much, much improved," He heard her whisper to herself and a thrill shivered through his body at the implication.

He pulled the car into a spot in the restaurant's parking lot and was at her door before she had even reached for the handle.

"Oh! Thank you." She smiled sweetly at him.

They walked hand-in-hand into Il Muto's and were quickly led to a table towards the back of the restaurant. A small lamp lit their table and the twinkle lights strung throughout the establishment glittered softly.

As they waited for their drinks, Erik reached across the table to hold her hand. He traced the lines of her palm and saw goosebumps creep up Christine's arm.

"Oo, that tickles." She shivered a little and her cheeks flushed slightly.

Erik loved that color on her face and found himself wondering what color her cheeks might flush a little later that evening.

In an effort to calm himself, he tried to steer the conversation in a direction that wouldn't make him sweat in anticipation.

"So why don't you tell me about your outfit for the showcase? I imagine you and Meg have already started talking about it, you are women after all."

"How very observant of you." She winked at him. "But you're right, we've actually already been shopping in search of our dresses. Meg found something right away, naturally. I haven't been so lucky yet."

"What does Meg's look like? Does she have a mask? That's the most important part."

Before Christine could go into detail about the dress, their drinks came and they ordered their food. After their server left, though, she jumped right back into the conversation.

"Meg's is gorgeous. It's this dark purple number with lots of glittering pieces on it. It'll be fun to find her mask. We'll probably try again in a few weeks once she's back and settled from her trip."

"Well, what are you looking for?"

"God, anything, really. I never find anything that fits or looks decent, so I'll be lucky to find one, let alone a selection to choose from."

He shook his head at her, skeptical.

"I highly doubt you look anything less than absolute perfection."

Christine blushed again, and quickly looked down to her soda and took a long sip as she avoided his eyes.

Erik, however, wasn't looking at her eyes. He couldn't stop looking at her mouth as she generously sucked on her straw.

"Um…uh…what, um, what colors are you going to look for?"

"Oh, um, I'm not sure. I like light, pale colors and really dark, rich colors. I mean, I'm a designer so I kind of like every end of the color spectrum."

"You know, I have a mask from one of the shows I composed years ago. It was just a small performance, but I was given several pieces from the costume department that got left behind."

"Really? That is so neat. What kind of mask is it?"

"It just goes across your eyes, it isn't a full face mask. It's white with small eyelets and rhinestones and it has some white and seafoam-green feathers in it." He had remembered he had the mask just a few days earlier and hoped she might wear it. He knew she'd look lovely in it.

"Wow, it sounds beautiful."

"If you like, you can certainly wear it. It's not like I'm going to be wearing it anytime soon."

They both laughed at that.

"That would be great, Erik! I can't wait to find a dress to match it. Now I have something to look for."

He was glad. He liked pleasing her this way, he just wasn't sure if he could please her in other ways. The thought made him swallow hard.

Their food came then and the conversation stopped for a few moments while they ate. Erik noticed that Christine did not order a small salad like Olivia had always done, a practice that had irritated him to no end. He was happy to see her eagerly digging into her normal-sized entrée like any other human being.

Their easy exchange was lighter throughout the rest of the meal, just remarks on the weather and the quality of the food. The check came and went and before Erik knew it, he was offering up his arm to her once more as he led them out of the restaurant and to the car.

He was quiet as they walked, his mind spinning with the task upon him. He stopped to open Christine's door but she stepped in to take control, quickly closing it back with her hip and standing up on her tip toes to kiss him full on the mouth. Erik felt the rush of excitement rip through his body at the surprise attack and he slid his arms around her waist and pressed her against the car.

He broke her kiss to taste the skin on her neck and Christine moaned softly in response.

"Let's go," he whispered in her ear, then reopened the door for her.

He got in the car, fully aware that his ache for her was not subsiding. The engine roared to life and he looked over to see Christine shaking slightly in the passenger seat, her cheeks flaming red. They were silent on the drive back to Erik's house, which wasn't a huge surprise since Erik sped through the night like the car was on fire. He pulled into the garage, practically ripping Christine from the car, lifting her up so that she was straddling his waist as he walked into the house.

Christine began kissing his neck, unaware the way her body moved against him as she did so. Erik slumped against the wall at her movement, unsure that they would even make it to the bedroom at this rate. He considered stopping right where he was and taking her here in the hallway.

No. I won't let it happen that way. Not tonight. Tonight it will happen the right way, my way.

Determined, Erik reached the master suite successfully and carefully laid Christine down atop his massive bed. He crawled above her and slipped his tongue inside her mouth, letting it work its magic as his hands explored the rest of her. His roaming hands left trails of burning flesh along her ribcage and Christine ached for him to keep searching. Her sweater, now suffocating her as her need to be free of it began to climb, had been pushed upward as Erik's exploration of her skin continued and with one final tug he removed it from her. Christine gasped in surprise, this uninhibited side of him stirring more unwelcome emotions in her.

In return she had removed his own sweater and started to work on unbuttoning his shirt but in his excitement, Erik ripped it from his chest. The buttons flew about the room and Christine smiled nervously once before Erik occupied her mouth once again.

"You don't know how long I've waited for you, for this." He moaned into her ear. His hands had already freed her of her jeans and camisole and he looked into her eyes as he went to unhook her bra. But the fear that suddenly and unexpectedly flashed through Christine's eyes steadied his hand.

"What? What is it?"

"I-I-I'm sorry, it's nothing." She stammered at him, reaching for his hand so that he might continue without asking questions. She couldn't possibly tell him what had so inconveniently invaded her thoughts. He couldn't understand.

But he did not let her persuade him to continue. Erik cupped the back of her head in his hands and kissed her softly on the lips, letting his nose touch hers gently.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do with me." He said to her.

"Erik, it isn't that, really. I'm fine." She reached out for his lips, but again he did not comply. She let out a sigh, knowing she was about to humiliate herself and ruin the entire evening.

"I just…I'm not…her. I'm not her, Erik. I don't look…don't…anything. I'm just…sorry."

Bewildered, Erik looked at her for the rest of her explanation, but she said nothing more. Instead, Christine rolled away from him, reaching for her sweater as she stood away from the bed. She began picking up her clothing that had been thrown about the room, but before she could gather all of it, Erik was at her side.

"Christine, I don't understand. I thought…I don't understand what just happened?" He leaned in close and she tried to back away, her skin coming into contact with the cool wood paneling of the wall.

"Christine, please. What did I do to make you turn from me like this? Please." Her eyes avoided his and the hurt and confusion was bubbling up within him.

Erik had reached up to touch her, but withdrew his hand and began to back away from her. He didn't know what she was thinking, but she obviously wanted nothing to do with him. Before he had completely turned from her, though, her reasoning came out, like blasts from a shotgun.

"Olivia. Olivia! I'm not! Olivia!" She took hard breaths as the emotion ran thick from her lips. "I've never! I can't! You won't!"

She clung her bundled clothes to herself, her wide eyes welling up with tears.

Instantly, he understood. He was next to her again, cooing softly to her, touching his forehead to hers.

"Christine, Christine, Christine, shh, shh, shh."

"I'm sorry, Erik. I'm sorry. I'm just…afraid." Her voice cracked as she spoke and she hated herself for always making such a scene.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her softly once more.

"Let me look at you." He said.

"W-what?"

"Let me look at you." He said slowly as he took the clothes from her hands and dropped them at his feet.

She looked scared as she stood before him, but she did not turn away.

"This is what I want," he said to her. "This is the body I want to see, the woman I want to love. Any other was a mistake. You have nothing to be afraid of. Nothing."

And with that, Erik went to her, kissing her eagerly. Christine responded to him, gripping his shoulders, his back, anything to hold onto him.

"Take me." She whispered. Erik did not need any more persuasion than that.

He stripped her of her remaining clothing as she stood before him and drank in the sight of her naked body. Christine's eyes were now red pools of desire, her fear fueling her need for him. Erik's own need was growing as well. He picked her up and lay her on the bed once more. He removed the rest of his own clothing and began kissing his way back to her. Tenderly, his lips grazed her entire body, from her small ankles, all the way up to her collarbone. Christine's quiet whimpers were the only other sound besides his own rapidly pounding heartbeat as she began to move against him, begging for him to complete her.

Erik answered her silent request.

He looked into her eyes as he moved between her, and felt her deliciously sink her nails into his skin as he slid inside of her.

"Erik." She said his name over and over again, her words meeting every wave of her desire. Erik, having waited too long for this moment with her, felt himself fading fast, especially at hearing his name come so heated from her lips. He began to move faster with her, Christine's hips meeting his at every thrust.

Erik felt the moment upon him and pulled Christine up so that she straddled him as they sat up. They both cried out as they met their peak as one, breathing heavily as they came down from their moment of ecstasy.

They both lay back down together, Christine curled into the crook of his arm, her cheek resting on his chest. She listened to the beat of Erik's heart as she lay there, her own heart beating in time with his. Basking in the glow of him, Christine couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips.

"Incredible." She sighed.

"Yes you are." He said.

End Notes: Hope you all liked this chapter...HAWT but not too hot ;) You can't have it all at once, now can you?? Let me know what you think, please! As a nervous Christine would say, "R-R-Review!" :P