Editor's Notes: My homework load this week has been light and I'm having all kinds of dreams about the way the story should go, so I've been writing like a madwoman the last few days. Enjoy and review! :)
(Also, for those unaware, "slore" is a lovely combination of the words slut whore. And whom might that name be used for? Hmm...)
As a result of their dinner disaster, Christine endured another restless night. She dragged herself to school, half-considering canceling all of her classes for the day. It was still early when she got to her classroom, the only benefit to not sleeping well was being able to get out of the house at an ungodly hour. When she walked in, she was met with quite the surprise.
The largest bouquet of flowers she had ever seen awaited her, she gasped at the sight. Lavender hydrangeas, blue irises, red roses and sprigs of baby's breath made up the extraordinary arrangement. There was no note, but Christine could only think of one person capable of such an expensive display.
After standing there for several minutes, just staring at her gift, Christine finally began getting ready for her class. When she checked her school email she found the note meant to accompany the flowers.
Christine,
I do not know how to express how truly sorry I am for the way the evening turned out. Please accept the flowers and my deepest apologies for upsetting you last night. If there is anything I can do to make up for this mistake or if you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to let me know. I hope that there may be a time for you to come to think of me as a friend. My number is (701) 987-2651 and you know where my office is.
Sincerest Regrets,
Erik DeLorme
She was so touched by his efforts, now feeling the full force of the guilt over her behavior the night before. Unsure of how to find a way to properly thank him for the flowers, Christine sat staring at her computer screen until she realized that all of her students were seated and the class had technically started five minutes earlier. The staring teenagers helped bring her back to earth and she immediately began the lecture for the day.
Erik was not a sound sleeper on the best of nights and Tuesday evening was certainly not kind to him. He tossed and turned for hours, unable to get that hurt look out of his head. Something terrible had happened to her, and based on her reaction, it had to be recent. Part of him was feeling almost jubilant at the fact that they had been out to dinner together and until his horrible mistake, it had gone very well. They were both enjoying themselves, laughing, and he knew that couldn't just be a coincidence. They were good together. Well, until I ruined everything. She may never forgive me. I have to fix this. It was about three o'clock in the morning when he gave up trying to sleep, put his mask back on and went into his home office to turn on his computer. He spent an hour on an online flower service, trying to find the perfect bouquet of flowers to have delivered to her at the school. If he ordered soon enough, the arrangement would be at the school by the time she arrived this morning. The accompanying note was going to be too long to be included in the arrangement, so after ordering the flowers, Erik immediately opened his email. The letter took him much longer to compose than he expected, the words just never coming out quite right. Finally, he had to find a way to finish because the sun was due to come up and she would be arriving at the school very soon.
He quickly dressed and got to MRU fairly early, having several private lessons scheduled for the day. With the showcase only a few months away, the top students were in close contact with Erik, needing this performance to help guarantee them a job after graduation.
Erik was busy for the entire morning. It was exhausting to try and appear at least slightly approachable to the students and with one lesson lined up after another, his energy and patience wore thin. By lunch, Erik's head was pounding and he still had 5 more lessons before his day would be over. Happy for the break, he lay on his plush sofa and tried to relax. Though he didn't get very far. Only a few minutes after he had closed his eyes, there was a quiet knock on his office door. Too tired to even answer it, Erik shouted at the irritant to come in.
"This better be good."
There was a large thump, shuffling, the sound of plastic hitting the floor and a classic, "Shit!" in response.
Erik looked up to see Christine fumbling around in his doorway, two plastic sandwich containers open on the floor, the pieces of two turkey and cheese croissants scattered about the floor.
"Sorry! Sorry, sorry. Oh geez, I'm so sorry."
Christine was trying to get the sandwich pieces back in the containers, unaware that when she grabbed the croissant, a streak of mustard remained on her fingertips. However she did feel the texture of the mustard when she absentmindedly wiped the hair from her face. Defeated, Christine sat and leaned against the doorframe. After a moment, she peaked out at a dumbfounded Erik from under her dark lashes.
Who promptly started to chuckle at the destruction before him.
"Don't laugh! I was just trying to thank you for the flowers…brought you lunch. You sounded upset…didn't want to bother. Ugh! And now I have mustard on my…!" She huffed and started rummaging in her purse until she pulled out Erik's handkerchief.
Erik came over and stooped to meet her at eye-level where she sat.
"I thought you might need this again."
With a wry smile, Erik took the handkerchief from her and wiped the mustard from her forehead. She smiled slightly at him.
"Thank you for bringing lunch. It was a nice surprise. Certainly unexpected after the way I made you feel yesterday."
"Listen, I am so sorry about that. It's just still really raw and I can't— "
"Don't. You don't have to say anything. I'm just sorry I brought it up, whatever it is."
He held her arms and helped her stand with him
"Now, why don't we go have that lunch?"
"Um…yes. That sounds…nice." She swallowed loudly and hoped that he could not hear how loud her heart was beating. How long had his face been that close to hers? He was so near that she could see that the eye behind his mask was a slightly lighter blue than the other. So beautiful. She breathed him in, loving the dark, masculine sent of him.
Erik cleared his throat and abruptly dropped his hands from her arms, sure that his closeness was making her uncomfortable. He bent to pick up the trash from the floor and quickly went to throw it away. When he returned to her side, Christine had grabbed her purse and was ready and waiting for him at the door. The two were quiet as they made their way to the small bistro, only speaking to order duplicates of the turkey and cheese croissants and drinks. Erik led her to a table towards the back of the café and they sat down to eat, grins spreading across their faces.
"Okay, so, being that it will be your masquerade-themed showcase, do you wear a costume?"
"Hmm, that is the best part. Plus, disguised, no one can recognize me well enough to ask a multitude of ridiculous questions about 'my vision.' What about you? As the designer you have to come and dress accordingly."
Christine smiled wide.
"Oh, I am coming. I'm planning to go hunting for a dress and mask this weekend. My friend Meg is looking for one too, we're going together. Without her, I would probably end up looking like a brown paper bag, though I'm not sure that even with her help I can avoid that."
"You may need help, Christine, because your judgments are starting to make you sound a tad preposterous."
He lifted his eyebrow at her as he sipped his coffee and she rolled her eyes in response.
Christine was kicking herself for continuing to point out her many shortcomings, though it wasn't as if any of them weren't true. Right? I mean, at least I'm honest.
After a while, Erik checked his watch to find that he would soon need to leave. His next lesson would be arriving in his office in just a few minutes.
"Christine, I have to give a private lesson shortly, so I must go now. Thank you for lunch, I look forward to seeing you again…for our next meeting."
Their easy camaraderie forgotten, Erik stiffly got up from the table and nodded a farewell to Christine. He always seemed to forget his place and allow himself to be free with her.
"Oh, okay. Um…thanks again for the beautiful flowers, they're gorgeous."
Erik gave one last small smile to Christine and then hurried out of Notes & Paint and back to his office. Christine still had several minutes before she had to get back, and so she remained in her seat, enjoying the stillness.
Meg, who had been working through lunch with one of her students, was trying to get to the café for a quick bite before her next class. As she hurried through the courtyard, she saw Erik slipping back into the music building and thought it odd to be seeing him out on campus around lunchtime without Olivia draped on his arm. To her immense pleasure, Christine was still sitting in Notes & Paint when she burst in.
"Hey, girlfriend! Quick, stand with me while I order something to go."
"Hi! Oh, I've missed you these last few days!"
Christine quickly got up and embraced her friend, happy to steal a few moments with her.
"So you'll never guess who I saw walking into the building just now, sans red-headed slore."
She eyed Christine as she spoke, noticing her eyes sparkle at the mention of her dark-haired fantasy gentleman.
"Um, actually he was here with me earlier. We had lunch together today."
Meg's mouth dropped.
"And…dinner together last night."
Just as Meg was about to squeal in response to this news, Christine slapped her hand over her friend's mouth.
"But, it was just business! There is nothing going on, I swear. Plus, he's dating her, remember?"
"Well, I'm frequently with the people in the music department and I have never, I repeat never, seen Mr. De Lorme out with anyone other than Olivia. Me thinks the times are changing."
She winked at Christine as she spoke in her sing-song voice and quickly ordered a wrap from the person at the counter. The girls said their goodbyes and Meg kissed Christine on the cheek before darting back to her class.
Glad with the way her day was unfolding, aside from her disastrous first try at lunch, Christine hummed to herself as she walked to the Graphics hall to finish out the afternoon.
