Chapter 10

Warnings for this chapter: None really, except mention of sex.

By the time Halloween comes around again, my life has changed majorly. I now work at the restaurant with Elsa. Mr. Ellery is a million times nicer to have as a boss than Ivan ever was. The pay isn't as good but my quality of life is so much better that I can't even complain.

Kristoff and I have been on seven dates between the day he turned up at our apartment and now. He's taken me to the movies, to dinner twice, to the zoo (Elsa came too because she loves elephants), ice skating, to the arcade and once we just walked around the park for two hours, chatting about everything and nothing. Each time he drops me off at home, he gives me a soft kiss on my lips and tells me he can't wait to see me again. Even after seven dates, my heart still flutters when I think about it.

Tonight is Halloween night, and it's on a Friday. One of our co-workers told Elsa and me about a party that's happening at one of the clubs downtown. There's going to be all kinds of contests and people are going to dress up and drinks are half price. Before now, I never would have even considered going. None of that would have been up my alley before now. I'm still not sure it's up my alley, but I'm feeling more and more like a, quote-unquote, normal person and this seems like something normal people do for Halloween.

Kristoff has agreed to go with us, acting as our designated driver in addition to my date. I'm not sure I'll actually drink anything since I like to keep my wits about me at all times, but you never know.

As we get ready for the party, I ask Elsa if she wishes she had a boyfriend. Her hand stills momentarily as she applies mascara to her lashes, but her eyes are soft and she smiles at me in the mirror. 'No', she says, 'I don't feel the need to have a boyfriend right now.' Her eyes twinkle and she teases me, telling me that I'm a handful and a half to keep up with and a boyfriend would just distract her from keeping me out of trouble. I pretend to swat her with a hairbrush.

At nine o'clock, Kristoff's Acura pulls up in front of our building and a mermaid and Wonder Woman climb in. Kristoff admires my superhero costume as I slide into the front seat beside him, Elsa folding herself neatly into the back. We drive in comfortable silence and I reflect on how lucky I am to have a boyfriend who accepts my close relationship with my sister. After everything we've been through, I'm not sure I could stand to let her go right now. For crying out loud, we still share a bed! If I don't have a point of contact with her, I can't sleep and Kristoff, bless him, just takes it all in stride. Of course I haven't yet shared a bed with him, so that does make a bit of difference.

We stay at the club for almost three hours. It's still going full bore when I find Elsa and pull on her arm, looking into her face and saying nothing, knowing that my facial expression will convey what I'm not vocalizing. I want to go home. It's loud, people are getting very drunk and starting to eschew normal social norms and etiquette. Clothes are falling off right and left and the smell of sweat is in the air. All these are things that hit way too close to home for me, given my recent exit from the, uh, entertainment profession.

Kristoff, dressed like a circus ringmaster, has not left my side all night. He places his hand on the small of my back and gently guides me out the door. We end up going to a 24-hour diner in the city and eating breakfast food at three in the morning. Kristoff tells us stories of Sven when he was a puppy and all the shenanigans they got into, and I'm snorting into my hot chocolate and Elsa's giggling, too. Elsa tells Kristoff about the gerbil I had when I was a kid and how it escaped from the cage once. Elsa and I looked everywhere for it but we didn't find it. Finally, two days later, it turned up in Mom's laundry basket and she flipped. We both still laugh whenever we think of it.

Kristoff drives us home after that, giving me a sweet kiss at the door and giving Elsa a one-armed hug. I can't wipe the dopey grin off my face the rest of the weekend.

—

Three weeks later, just before Thanksgiving, Kristoff invites me to his house. He lives in the top of a high-rise, which I find hilarious because the mental image of Sven careening clumsily around a penthouse is just too much.

The view is spectacular. It's almost sunset and we bundle up in jackets and stand on Kristoff's balcony, staring out at the city. I knew he was wealthy, owning a corporation and all, but I had no idea he lived in this kind of luxury. He's always such a down-to-earth guy. Sven is seated beside my feet, panting happily, looking like he's smiling. We watch the sunset in comfortable silence, Kristoff standing behind me with his hands on the railing on the outsides of my folded arms, his breath occasionally tickling my ear.

That night I truly experience making love for the first time. It's so different than what I was experiencing at Ivan's. Kristoff takes his time with me, loving and honoring every inch of my body before taking me over the edge with his mouth and hands. His arms hold me close as he gently buries himself inside me, over and over, dropping his head against my shoulder as he hits pay dirt. I follow right behind him, unable to believe the sensations coursing through my body. I never knew it could feel like this.

That is the first night in years that I sleep without my sister. I fall asleep in Kristoff's arms and wake up at almost midnight, panicking, and grab my phone to call her. She answers, sounding half asleep, and I ask her if she's okay. She says she's fine, she knows I need to be somewhere else tonight, and that she'll see me tomorrow. Her voice is soft. I know she misses me, and I miss her, but we will survive without each other. I know we will.