Chapter 10: The Next Best Thing
The next day, Erik went into his english class reluctantly. After last night he didn't know what to expect of today. She strutted into class just a little before the bell and walked up to the desk next to him to sit down. She gave him a warm smile and he shyly returned it. "How was your night?" He asked trying to start conversation. "It was great because I spent it with you." He didn't respond. Not knowing how to. "God I love having you as a friend." She patted her hand on his shoulder. Erik realized that he was starting to get accostumed to physical contact now that he was spending some time with Christine. The teacher walked in and they both turned foward at the same time. "Class, new project. Now it will be a lot of work but I have faith in you guys to do a thorough job since you are my best class. You will be partnering into groups of your choice and then reviewing any topic of your choice. But the catch is, it is a 10 page review." Christine heard a couple of groans from the other end of the class. "You may choose your groups now and start to brainstorm your ideas. I will give you 15 minutes." Erik saw from the corner of his eye that Christine was looking at him. He turned his head, "Where's Meg?" He figured she would ask Meg to be partners. "She's absent, do you want to be my partner?" He stuttered, "Uh, sure. So do you have anything in mind." She nodded enthusiastically, "Actually I have a really great idea that I think you might enjoy." He perked up in his desk, "Oh really? And what is it that you think I might like?" Her lips were brought to Erik's attention. They were almost shimmering. She most have applied lip gloss on today. Never the less he stared at her lips imagining what they must feel like. "Erik?" He snapped his eyes up to hers and swallowed hard. She looked down and blushed realizing what he was staring at. "Well, this thing takes a certain amount of time to plan so when I planned it all I'll tell you. I would like it to be a surprise." He spoke, "And how long will I be expected to wait for this surprise?" Christine noticed he seemed to be very talkative today. She tapped her finger on her forehead to show that she was thinking, "You should know by the end of the day." He nodded, satisfiied. "I will drop by at your dorm." "I will be looking foward to that." The teacher interrupted their progressing conversation, "Alright class 15 minutes is up I hope you all have some sort of idea for your project."
Erik closed the door to his room after walking with Christinne to their dorms. He smiled at the conversation they were having. She was telling Erik how much of a drunkie Meg could get at parties. Christine was pretty funny, in fact now that he thought about it, she was the first person to actually make him laugh. The way she looked at him made him feel special like someone actually wanted to talk to him. These thoughts brought his feelings for her to come up to the surface. He was trying to ignore his feelings for the past few days. He knew she would never like someone like him. She was too good for him, he didn't deserve her. He sat on the couch in attempt to stop his self loathing but it only brought up another topic. "What was Christine planning to surprise me with?" He thought aloud. He grew eager as the hours went by and she still did not show up. He layed down growing tired. It was about 5 and there was no sign of Christine. How long did it take to prepare this surprise? He felt his eyes start to droop but widen after a minute as a sound came from his phone. Beep beep beep. He hated the ringtone. It was a text, a text from Christine. He felt his heart jump as he opened the message right away.
Hey! You can come over to my place now.
He got up and looked himself over in the mirror. He noticed a strand of his hair that was about to fall in his face. He slicked it back and made sure to fix his shirt. He walked out of his dorm and lightly knocked on the door. Within 5 seconds the door opened slowly, revealing Christine. Erik observed that she had indeed changed her clothes since she got out of school. He looked down and noticed there was two points sticking out of her shirt. Being that he had no experience what so ever with women, it took him a few seconds to realize what they were. He looked up at her, startled and alarmed at what he just saw. He felt heat going to his face while he felt a strange sensation in his pants. He looked down at his pants horrified and swallowed hard trying to make this unwelcome guest go away. Christine stood puzzled, looking at him questioningly, "What's the matter?" She was oblivious to the arousal that Erik absentmindedly had felt. She had noticed that he was looking everywhere in the room but her, "You don't have a br-" She bugged her eyes out looking down at her very evident nipples and frantically looked around to her dresser. "Oh god. I'm so sorry. This is so inappropriate." She ran into her bathroom and quickly put on her bra. She came out looking very embarrassed and Erik was fidgeting trying to forget the disturbing and very inapproriate things that his mind has been thinking when he saw her shirt. Christine didn't know why his reaction was so dramatic, if a regular guy saw her without a bra on he would have stared at it and tried not to mention it to her so that he could look at her more. Yet again Erik wasn't like most guys. She almost felt flattered at the amount of discomfort he was going through. "Sorry about that. I usually unwind," she put emphasis on the last word, "after school and since Meg is at her mom's recooperating I guess I changed into something rather not appropriate for a male friend to see." He nodded solemnly and made eye contact with her, "Yes male friend." She patted his shoulder, "And you say it like it's a bad thing." And then the awkward moment had past, Erik was back to his tense self and Christine was Christine, joking around with him and Erik secretly enjoyed it. "So anyway, Christine what do you want to tell me." "First off, next time I call you over hear you can use your keys I won't mind, that's why I gave them to you in the first place." Erik was baffled at how much she trusted him. "And second," she layed down on her bed bringing her feet into Erik's lap, "I thought it would be a great idea for us to go to see an opera together and then review it." His face lit up but she quickly interrupted, "But there's a catch. I researched operas and the tickets are really experience and apparently popular since the shows are sold out until next month and that would be past the due date on this project so I got the next best thing." He moved his legs to sit up taller, making her legs slip to right over his crotch. He coughed signaling Christine to move her feet. She looked down pleasantly at her feet and then quickly moved them to his knees again where they had originally been. "Well I hope you like broadway plays because I got us two tickets to Les Miserable for this weekend. Ramin Karimloo, personally my favorite person in the world because he's so attractive but let's not get myself carried away here, will be playing the lead." She waited eagerly for his response. He stood up immediately and began pacing, "Christine this is way too kind of you. The tickets must have been a fortune and to waste it on someone like me." She stood up right in front of him, oddly closely to him and placed her shoulders around him for a hug, "Trust me, you're worth it. You're such a good friend and this is just another way to repay you for saving my life." Still having her arms wrapped around his she looked up at him and smiled meaningfully. "I really think we would have a great time there, just you and I." His mouth watered at the idea of him taking Christine on an almost date. Well she wouldn't think it was but it's the closest he'll ever get. She batted her eyelashes which immediately drew Erik's attention, "I do hope you like Broadway musicals." He reassured her, "Oh yes, yes very much so," he awkwardly brought his hand up and patted Christine on the shoulder. Then he took a step back, leaving space in between. She sighed at the lack of space knowing that this was the most it would be for them. He wouldn't let anything else happen would he? Christine wondered. He sighed, "Well thank you for the tickets. I'm heading off to bed." She went up behind him, turned him around and kissed the cheek with the mask on it, he stiffened and his cheeks grew red. "Goodnight Erik. I'll see you tomorrow." She blew him a kiss. He nodded awkwardly and as soon as she closed the door let out a sigh. She made him feel so many emotions for her. She left him short of breath. The effects she had on him. Erik scolded himself silently as he slipped back into his room.