Here we go the disclaimer, I own nothing, never have, never will, wish I did.
Thanks to all those that reviewed. I do appreciate your comments very much.
Hope thank you for editing and propping up my ego when it was low from missed edit items. You are the best.
Everyone hang in there it will happen soon or later.
Erik introduces Kristine to Nadir and he in turns finds Meg in his unique way. Read on.
AU Rated M
Chapter 7 Meeting Nadir
Erik had stirred earlier and was looking at Kristine while she slept. Their previous night was spent wrapped in each other's arms. She wanted nothing else. When he re-dressed her, she was pleased with his resolve not to have sex just yet. It was the hardest thing he had ever done, but he would do whatever it took to make her happy.
Never had he been so content, never had anyone accepted him for anything other than a quick lay followed by a screaming departure. It happened most of the time after they took of his mask.
Why couldn't some women just leave his mask alone? Why did they have to see what was under it without his permission.
Erik had taken off the mask himself to show Kristine. She did stay, but for how long? Could she be different? He hoped above all else that she had it in her to possibly love him. She had taken his mask off with his permission last night, before they started their encounter. That one gesture pleased Erik. It meant she felt comfortable with him no matter what he looked like.
Erik watched Kristine in the early morning hours as she slept next to him. His arms were lovingly wrapped around her. Her hand lay protectively on his damaged cheek, while she slumbered.
Nadir was due in on the red eye flight from LA. He didn't like flying during the day when the planes were too full. He liked to fly in the middle of the night when most people preferred not too. Nadir could catch up on his computer time, messages and paperwork. He didn't sleep much when he was in the working mode.
He liked to get in, scout out the town and set it all up, so he could return to his desk for the next project. He could then leave others in charge.
Nadir wasn't sure just how long Peter would need him to stay. He wished 'Erik' would just use his real name. It caused so much confusion on Nadir's part to keep his names straight.
The flight attendant came over the intercom announcing the airplane was preparing to land. Tucking all his things away, he was wondering if Peter was going to meet him at the airport. He had promised to do that when they last spoke.
Nadir gathered his two bags from the baggage carousel. He went out front to look for Peter. Where was he? Why didn't he remember I was coming in on the red eye flight? Now I will have to rent a car. Nadir thought to himself while pulling out his cell phone, dialing Peter's number
As Erik lay looking at Kristine, he heard his cell phone ringing. Where did his cell phone get to? He gently pulled his arm from under Kristine's head, hoping not to wake her. He sat up digging into his pants pocket, when a hand gently began to pull him back on the bed.
"I need to answer my cell phone," he implored.
Kristine said, "Why?" as she kissed him passionately on the lips.
Erik sat up with a start, "Nadir! I was to pick him up at the airport a while ago, crap!"
"Who is Nadir?" Kristine asked as she stretched.
"He is my friend and producer from the movie company." Erik gasped. He kept digging in his pants pocket again for the annoying device.
"Hello Nadir, sorry I forgot what time it was. I slept in this morning." Erik fibbed. Kristine laughed as he spoke.
"Sure you did, I can hear someone. Is that room service or something else?" Nadir shot back thinking it was one of his many one-night stands.
"NO!! You single minded fool. I will explain later when you get here. Rent a car, goodbye!!" Erik spat back at him and closed his cell before Nadir could reply.
Erik didn't care. He wouldn't have Kristine insulted that way.
Nadir was shocked that Peter had spoken to him so sharply with venom in his voice. Never had he been on the receiving end of such words from his trusted friend before. Something was different.
I shall see what is up with you Peter, Nadir grumbled while he thought.
Kristine just looked at Erik with surprise. "What was that all about?" she quipped.
"You will see when Nadir arrives at the hotel. I need to get a shower and dress. Would you eat breakfast with us? I want to have you two meet, please?" Erik pleaded.
"Yes, we'd better get moving. He will be here very soon, don't you think?" she said sweetly. Erik nodded.
Erik and Kristine decided to shower in their separate hotel rooms. When they were ready; he would go get her and escort her to the coffee shop to meet Nadir.
My so called friend still has to rent a car, check into the hotel, and settle in before we meet for breakfast. Erik knew they had time, but if he had his way they would never make it down for breakfast. He kissed Kristine quickly as she scurried to leave his suite and get to her room.
Erik headed into the shower and felt the warm spray hit his body. He was still keyed up after having slept fully clothed with Kristine. His body needed more than it got. It ached for release. Now he had the time to take care of it himself. Erik didn't want to do it alone, but right now he had no choice. A certain part of his body was always springing into action with just the thought of her name crossing his mind.
He stood there lathering up his erection, pumping it harder dreaming of his hands all over Kristine. The more he dreamt of her the closer he came to his release. Just a few more pumps. He leaned back hard into the wall for support as his hands finished what his mind had started. He sighed as the last of the evidence washed down the drain.
He reluctantly had achieved his mission. It wasn't as satisfying as having a woman's body to fill, especially since aching for Kristine's the way he was. However, manipulating oneself could take away the headiest of tensions. He wanted a clear mind when he went to breakfast. Kristine would understand someday why a man had to give himself pleasure, just as a woman might do it for herself. It was natural and healthy.
Erik even imagined what Kristine might do in the shower. That posed a unique question and he would seek the answer someday soon. What he might find would surprise and eventually delight him to no end.
Erik finished his shower and felt so much better than before. He dressed and was ready to pick up Kristine. He made sure his mask was securely in place. He would be out in public today needing nothing to disturb his day with Kristine.
Two floors down in her own bathroom, Kristine was nearly finished and felt so much better. Her smile was light and slightly mischievous when she left the shower. Dressing in the clothes she had laid on the bed, Kristine added the finishing touches and she was done.
Hearing his unique knock let her know Erik was there. She was ready to have breakfast and meet this friend of his.
By the time they made it to the coffee shop, Nadir was sitting at the table slightly agitated because he had to wait on Peter. Looking down at his watch, his fingers were nervously tapping on the top of the table. When he glanced up again, Nadir saw Peter enter the room with a beautiful woman on his arm.
Hmmm, this will need some investigating, thought Nadir.
Walking over to his table Erik caressed her cheek with a kiss.
"Kristine Daae, may I introduce Nadir Khan," Erik said ceremoniously
Nadir stood and lightly bowed. He took her hand in his, gracing it with a light kiss on the knuckles.
"First off Peter, I am going to call you 'Erik'. I hate trying to remember what name I should use." Nadir said with a snap. "I have known you long enough, my old friend, to have earned the right to call you by your real name when we are not working. Peter is what I use on film sets. Erik is what I call my friend." Nadir wanted to start things off by taking command of the introduction or so he thought.
Erik looked at his friend and said, "Okay Nadir, Kristine knows my real name is 'Erik Destler'. I guess we can use that name now, but remember around anyone else I'm still 'Peter Malcolm'."
Nadir just nodded. Kristine laughed at the way these two were carrying on.
"Now Kristine, it is an honor to meet you. I see by the way Erik is looking at you that you must be someone very special. I have never seen him so happy around a woman before." Nadir wondered just what Kristine knew about Erik's life. Did she know about his face? Had she seen it? She must have. Look how serene and at ease she was with Erik. Her eyes seem to dissolve when Erik looked at her.
Nadir looked into her eyes and then at Erik. He could see they were very involved with one another and in such a short time too. My, she was indeed a remarkable woman.
Erik pulled her chair next to his draping his arm around her shoulders. Nadir could see his friend was now in love for the first time, since he had known him. It radiated out of every pore of his face. The mask couldn't hide that from Nadir.
Nadir asked Kristine how long she had known Peter and how they had met?
"Just over two days. We met when I went to get my lunch." She went on to tell Nadir the whole story.
Erik interjected, "If it had not been for a 'pesky luncheon fly', I might not have known her yet." Kristine hid her laughter trying to keep a straight face, as she remembered the 'pesky luncheon fly'. She let an odd shiver run through her; it was if someone were looking at her without her knowledge.
She continued, "Erik has told me about his life and his name. You are right to call him Erik. It truly suits him. I know his passion for music and in the past few years, I have heard most of his romantic love songs. I hope he writes more." Kristine stated with affection.
"How could I not compose love songs with a beautiful muse by my side to inspire me?" Erik boasted.
The waitress finally had the opportunity to take their order for breakfast.
Walking by the window was a figure of a man. He glanced inside to see Kristine seated near the window wrapped in Erik's arm. He stopped to look in from the side, out of Erik's view. He had seen them come off the elevator earlier.
Nadir looked up to see this face staring in at them. He turned back to ask Erik if he had experienced any trouble while in town.
Kristine replies, "No. Why? He hasn't had time to make anyone angry at him."
"Well," Nadir says, "you must have. Someone is watching you intently through the window over there."
By the time Erik turned around Raoul was gone. "Well, they have to make their presence known to me first." Erik said smugly.
Breakfast was served. Conversation and food filled the morning.
After they finished, Nadir excused himself to start his day's work. He began by lining up companies he had to see. His schedule was going to be tight, if he wanted to return to LA in two days. He needed to contact a catering service, motor home dealer, hotels, motels, apartment complexes, newspaper, TV station for local weather forecasting information, car and u-haul rentals, employment service agency, air transport company, warehouses, storage facility, beverage company, clothing cleaners and the list went on and on.
During his breaks, Nadir began to think about Kristine. He took into consideration just how she might be around Erik when they were alone. Nadir could see in her eyes she was taken with Erik's real personality, not just the cover he presented to everyone else.
And as for Erik, he was totally lost with a desire and passion for this woman. His eyes spoke the most to Nadir. He watched as Erik never took his eyes off Kristine when she spoke or when he spoke to her. Nadir even observed Erik making side-glances at her with a devilish smile on his face as they ate. Kristine would get a little blush on her cheeks. Nadir knew more was going on than Erik wanted to tell.
He was very glad someone had opened the door to Erik's heart. Too often he had been hurt by the one night stands. Erik tried to brush them off with a cold laugh. Not one of them would let Erik move past that first encounter, never returning his calls or telling him to his face that he wasn't good enough or handsome enough.
Not handsome enough? Well really, those women were insane! To Nadir, Erik was a good-looking man in the league with Gerard Butler, Brad Pitt, Matthew McFadden and George Clooney. The list was long. Erik had a warm heart, manners, and most of all a soul. Out there was a woman for Erik and Kristine fit his personal taste in a woman.
Nadir had filled his day up with appointments, and he was just about finished. His last stop was De Chagny International, with Raoul de Chagny at 5:00 PM. Nadir had arrived just a few minutes early, so he called Erik on the phone.
"What time should I meet you two for dinner?" he asked.
Erik thought for a moment, "Be at the 'The Mile High' at 7:30."
"Right, 'The Mile High' at 7:30 got it." Nadir said.
Raoul came out of his office giving Nadir a sideways glance. He had recognized Nadir from this morning in the coffee shop window. Raoul thought to himself, "Dinner with Kristine and that actor. She must be taken with Peter's charm what else could it be, not his good looks that was for certain."
"Won't you step into my office and have a seat? "Raoul said, charm oozing from his mouth. Keep up a good front, don't let on anything is upsetting you. His inwards thoughts were telling him to stay cool.
"Nadir Kahn," he said, extending his hand. Something wasn't right here, Nadir thought. What was nagging at him?
"Raoul de Chagny, at your service." taking Nadir's hand in a firm handshake. Keep this man in your sights and watch what you do and say. He could inadvertently tell you something about this actor, but most importantly Kristine, Raoul thought.
"What can my company do for you sir?" The spoken words just rolled out of Raoul's mouth like cream.
"The production company I work for will require flight services. I need to discuss the terms your company would charge to bring equipment and people up to where we are filming. I will have an independent carrier transport them into Telluride from LA, but for hard to reach locations; I will need someone to fly them up. Some of the terrain is not accessible and the trip by truck would damage the more delicate items. First of all can you fit us into your schedule? We would like to start in two months." Nadir informed Raoul.
"Let me look at the calendar and see what we have down during that time frame. How long would this service be required?" Raoul questioned.
"On and off for about four to six months depending on the locations and weather." Nadir stated. "We have a standard contract with lists of specifics we require." Nadir handed Raoul the papers.
"I will have our accounting department look over these requirements and see where we stand on pricing. With the cost of fuel constantly on the rise, this could make some prices subject change. Don't you agree that is important? It is almost a daily occurrence." Raoul stated.
"It shouldn't be a problem, if they are within a reasonable margin," Nadir shot back.
"Well then, I believe we are done at this point. I will contact you when we have a quote ready for you. Thank you for considering our firm while you are in our city." Raoul was dripping with charm.
Nadir rose to leave after shaking Raoul's hand. There was something about this man that made the hair on the back of Nadir's neck stand on end.
He looked familiar, but he couldn't place the face. No bother, he just looks like someone I have met before. Hmm this isn't going to go away. I will work on it later. Nadir thought. His brain wouldn't leave this lay for long.
Nadir's day had ended. He was ready to relax for the evening. Driving back to the hotel Nadir stopped at a convenient store for a bottle of water. He was parched.
Inside the store, he bumped into a woman in his rush to get back to the hotel. Her hands were full of a sandwich and tall coke. All at once it spilled all over this petite figured woman.
A scream followed, by some choice words that flew out of her lips, and then she said,
"Now look at me you clumsy excuse for a man. I'm soaked."
"Oh, I am so sorry for bumping into you," he pleaded apologetically.
He did like what he saw when he looked at her wet top. His eyes could see much more than intended, caused by the drenched fabric.
He kept gazing as she snapped, "You should watch where you are going!"
Just then, she looked up into his dark brown eyes and her breath hitched in her throat. She had never seen such dramatically handsome pair of eyes before in her life. They quickly popped up and began to search her petite face. He swallowed hard to regain his composure. He really did feel bad about what had happened.
"I am sorry for getting you all wet." He said. She could tell he was sincere.
"Well, no real harm done. I can wash this out in the laundry." From her viewpoint, she had no idea what she looked like. She just thought she was damp, not peak-a-boo wet. It never occurred to her otherwise.
"NO, please let me pay to have them cleaned, I insist!" Nadir implored. He pleasantly watched from his tall vantage point. A few men gawked wide eyed at Meg as they passed. She didn't seem to notice anyone else passing as she spoke to him.
"That's not necessary." She giggled. "I was going home with my dinner. I can take care of it myself."
"On second thought, would you let me take you out to dinner? I am meeting friends at 7:30 at 'The Mile High'. Please say yes? I would like to see your smiling face again. My name is Nadir Khan," he stated. He was dreaming of much more, but knew that wasn't gentlemanly; it was after all their first meeting.
"Well…. I would love to have dinner with you. Let me meet you there. I'll go home and change. By the way my name is Meg Giry," she cooed.
"I shall look forward to seeing you then. Let me pay for what I spoiled at the counter. That is the least I can do right now. Good evening." Nadir smiled. This will be a nice end to a hard day's work. He would enjoy gazing into these lovely light blue eyes while at dinner, he thought to himself. Judging by what else I just saw, she is not bad at all, hm mm.
He watched as the perky blonde bounced out of the store. A few men fell over one another turning to watch Meg getting into to her car and drive off. He didn't like other men staring at her, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Not just yet anyway.
This could be the start of something and you fool, don't forget to get her number tonight. He thought. Nadir was in another world at that moment just thinking about Meg.
Meg arrived at home to be met by her mother at the door as Marie was about to leave.
"What happened to you? Did you have a run in with a walking coke machine? Did you know I can see more than I want of your body, Meg?" Marie giggled under her breath, but the giggle soon faded. She wasn't sure her daughter knew what she looked like. Or did she?
Meg had a bad habit of being an exhibitionist at times. Marie knew of this when she overheard a conversation between two men Meg had dated. They were comparing notes. She wanted so to stop them, but the situation was not to her advantage. She worried for a long time. Now her worries would start all over again.
Meg sighed and replied not hearing everything her mother said. "No, just ran into the most gorgeous set of brown eyes you have ever seen, and they asked me out to dinner!"
It was at that moment she realized what her mother said last and looked down at her blouse, "Oh my God." She crossed her arms across her breasts ran into the house and flew up the stairs. She slammed the bedroom door behind her.
A smile had formed on her mother's lips as she climbed the stairs to Meg's door. She knocked before she opened it and said, "Well, don't be too late daughter and be careful. Do you know this pair of dark eyes? Do they live in Telluride? Work at the station?" She sat on the bed.
Meg replied while she prepared for a shower, "I assume he is new in town. I haven't seen him before." Throwing her wet clothes on the floor of her bathroom she continued, "Someone at work said there was a rumor circulating about a movie crew might be setting up for a shoot soon. Someone else indicated a man stopped into check to see if we would provide local weather service for his company. This must be him. He is dark and mysterious looking." Meg's eye brows went up and she looked 'dreamy' faced.
"Handsome is not strong enough to describe him. I am not sure how late I will be, and I will be careful. We are to meet at 'The Mile High' for dinner. He insisted after he ruined my outfit. See you, I love you mother. Will you be out late?" Meg headed into the shower stall and closed the door.
Before the shower started Marie replied, "No, I am going over to see a close friend in the hospital. I shall be back later. Goodnight dear, I love you too." And, with that Marie left.
She would keep a close eye on this man and his actions towards her daughter. I shall worry about this tomorrow, she thought.
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