Christine's POV
That evening, just before the sun set, I made my way down to the Coney Island gateway. The beach was already closed for the night, but the bathhouse was still lit. I could even still hear the water running from inside along with someone singing. But wait… I knew that voice. Erik? Curious, I went inside, his singing becoming even louder. What was Erik doing in here? Suddenly, the water stopped, and Erik's singing turned into humming as he came walking out of a stall with a towel wrapped around his body. He didn't even notice me, and approached one of the sinks where his mask was placed.
"Erik?"
The sudden sound of my voice caused him to gasp, and he turned to face me.
"Christine, what are you doing here?"
"I came to see you. Remember our date?"
Erik reached inside of his coat that was hanging over one of the nearby stalls and checked the time.
"Forgive me." he said. "I didn't realize it was that late."
"What were you doing in the shower?"
"I had to mix cement today." he said, combing his pale locks. "My whole body was covered in white dust. I don't think it would have been appropriate to go out with you in such a condition. I kept an extra pair of clothes in my work locker, just in case I ever need to get changed."
"I'll go outside and wait for you then." I said. "You'll need your privacy to get dressed."
"I won't keep you waiting too long, love."
There was that term again - "love." I happily sighed, and walked outside to wait for Erik. I leaned against the railing of the boardwalk, facing the ocean that was crashing against the deserted sandy beach. Erik emerged just as the streetlamps came on, making his entrance out of the bathhouse rather eerie. But then again, wasn't Erik's entrances to everything always the same way? Why did lights always flicker, come on, or go off when ever Erik entered or exited places? I wasn't sure. He came out dressed in a long, black overcoat that came down to his knees, and a white shirt beneath it that was fastened halfway up his chest. He was masked, and his wig was back on his head, making him appear to be the same Phantom I've known for years. He extended his gloved hand to me and we began walking off in another direction of Coney Island I had yet to see. I thought we were headed to Feltman's side of the park, but Erik was leading me off the boardwalk and towards the streets that were lined with bars and fancy restaurants. The streets were less crowded than the boardwalk, giving Erik and I a break from the pushy crowds.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To eat. I have another place in mind, a place that we have yet to visit."
I didn't know what Erik had in mind, but when we came to a small restaurant named "Totonno's Pizzeria," I could only wonder what sort of food this place served.
"Totonno's?" I questioned.
Erik nodded upon holding the door open for me. As soon as the door opened, the wonderful smell of baking dough and cheese surrounded me. Behind the counter there were a few busy chefs, talking in a language I recognized only from lessons with Erik - was this Italian? Erik sat me down in a nearby booth, and approached the counter to order our dinner. They seemed very friendly, and smiled as if they were talking to a completely normal man. When Erik came back, he took a seat across from me, and interlocked his gloved hand with my own.
"Erik, how do you find these places?"
"Usually on my lunch breaks at work." he said. "I am a constant wanderer."
"Yes, I can see that."
"But on the other hand, if I wouldn't have wandered off, I wouldn't have found all these wonderful places."
"Right."
It was then that one of the chefs came out and placed two cups of water down in front of us.
"Thank you." Erik said, handing me my cup.
"So how was your day at work?" I asked, sipping from the ice cold water.
"Work." he replied, a small smile tugging at his malformed lips.
"You didn't bring any home with you right?"
Erik shook his head.
"No, he didn't give me any."
"Well, seeing that you were covered in white dust, perhaps Mr. Gumpertz thought you to be a ghost."
Erik chuckled at my joke, and knowingly squeezed my hand.
"I don't quite think that's the reason why."
"So what kind of food do they sell here? Or are you not going to tell me?"
"Well, I'm not sure how it tastes, but I figured it was better to try it together."
I smiled warmly, and squeezed Erik's hands with my own.
"And what is this thing we're trying together?"
"It's called pizza."
"Pizza?"
Erik nodded.
"Yes, very popular here in Coney Island."
"Well, I'm sure it will taste wonderful then."
"We'll see."
"If it's anything like the seafood dinner we had at Feltman's a while ago, then we're in for a treat."
"It may not be steak and seafood, but I'm sure it's delicious."
Just then, a circle shaped entrée was placed down in front of us. It was a rather large piece of dough covered in sauce and cheese, cut into eight pieces. Erik thanked the chef once more, and looked up at me from the pizza. It smelled wonderful, and I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into it.
"Let's eat then." Erik picked up one of the slices, the stringy cheese clinging onto the slices beside it. When he placed the slice on my plate, he then served one for himself.
"Where are the forks and knives?" I asked looking around our table.
"There are none."
"I'm beginning to think that people in America don't know what silverware is."
"No, love. Everyone is constantly on the move, people need food that they're able to eat on the go. There are plenty of pizzerias on the boardwalk and usually if it were my lunch break we'd grab a slice, but I enjoy sitting down and enjoying our time together. Which is why I decided to bring you here."
I picked up my slice, and bit into it, savoring the saucy and garlicky taste. It was absolutely delicious, and I loved it even more than hotdogs. When I dared to look at Erik, he was biting into his slice, the tomato sauce staining the bottom of his mask. There was no one else eating inside the pizzeria, giving Erik the opportunity to remove it. He placed it aside, and wiped his sauce stained mouth with a napkin.
"That blasted thing gets in the way of everything."
I smiled, and continued eating my slice.
"I don't think Coney Island foods were made for men in masks."
"No, not at all."
But I didn't mind him eating in front of me maskless.
"Do you like your pizza?" I asked.
"Yes, it's very good."
"I think we found our new favorite meal."
"I have a lot of new favorite meals."
When Erik and I couldn't eat anymore, he took the remaining three slices up to the counter and had them boxed up. Afterwards, he paid and escorted me out.
"So where are we going now?" I asked, noticing that he was leading me further down the street.
"I need to show you something."
Soon, we were away from everything, restaurants, shops…even people. I didn't know why we were here, but Erik was leading me to a part of town that had boarded up shops and burned down buildings.
"Erik, why are we here?" I was frightened by how dark it was, and found myself clinging to his arm just to feel safe.
"It's quite all right, love." he assured. "I know you're wondering why we're here. I brought you here because I bought it."
Erik had to be joking. Why would he buy such a place?
"You're joking?"
I looked up at him, and he was staring at me, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
"But how? And why?"
"I got an advance from Mr. Gumpertz. I sought out this property a few days after we arrived."
"Erik, we needed that money. We needed that money for rent, for everything, for this child."
To calm my nerves, Erik stood in front of me, his finger coming up to press against my lips.
"Christine, please, let me explain. I bought this property because I plan to build a new world, my world. I bought the property, and have only enough money to start."
He pulled me along until we reached an old, deteriorating motel.
"You see this?" he asked, pointing to the horrid shack. "This will be my first investment. Isn't she beautiful?"
"Erik, I can practically smell the mold."
"Ah, love," he circled me, placing his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look upon the decaying building. "The problem is, that you don't know how to look with your heart. You look with your eyes too much, so much that you can't see the beauty within the beast."
He pointed to the front of it.
"Imagine it, Christine, a pool right there…"
He pointed to the roof.
"Six hundred and sixty six rooms, lavish suites, room service, a bar right inside the hotel."
I turned in confusion.
"A hotel?"
"Yes, The Phantasma Hotel."
"Phantasma?"
"Yes, Christine, that is what my world shall be called. 'Phantasma.' Oh, it will be wonderful! A place where freaks and normals will work together, a place harvesting wonders beyond anyone's imagination. It will be our world."
This was all wonderful, but I couldn't help but bring forward the fact that we were living in a cramped motel room, with another mouth to feed on the way.
"Erik, what about us? What about our life?"
"Christine, I'm going to start the hotel. By this rate, I could have it up and running by the start of summer. With the money coming in from the people staying here, I could not only get us out of that motel, but also have a steady income pouring in to continue working on more things. I'm going to put an ad out, letting everyone know that they are welcome to come to Phantasma to open their shops, their stands, their shows… It's sure to become the greatest place to go in all of Coney Island."
I had to admit, Erik was extremely smart. With the way he was talking, he'd be the richest man in Coney Island, even richer than Mr. Gumpertz. Which reminded me.
"Erik, what about ? You promised him his own park!"
"He doesn't need to know, Christine." Erik said. "I'll keep working for him until my hotel is complete. Afterwards, I'll lay him down the news… softly."
"Erik, he's going to be so angry."
"Somehow I don't think angry is the right term….Perhaps 'furious'?"
"Erik, you can't just swindle him out of his 'Dream Land Park.'"
"Oh? And why not? He can find a thousand other immigrants willing to build him an amusement park. Why should I give him my ideas? The ideas that could be flourishing in my park? The ideas that would make me rich? Look, enough about him, I wanted to bring you to this very hotel, because I want to promise you that I'll build us an apartment on top of it. An apartment that will be big enough for the three of us."
"Really?" I gasped. "Live in the Phantasma Hotel?"
Erik nodded.
"And to make it easier for you to work, of course."
"Work?"
"Yes, you are to be my trusted assistant, if that suits you. I'll have you working in the hotel office, making reservations and assisting me with what ever I shall need. If you want, that is? I know how boring things get staying in our room all the time."
I was so excited, so excited that I threw my arms around him.
"Oh, Erik, yes, yes!"
"I guess this means you're interested?"
"Absolutely."
"Well then, I shall start construction on the hotel as soon as possible."
"Oh, Erik, you're absolutely brilliant. Did I ever tell you that?"
Erik stood there in front of me, a lovey-dovey smile spreading across his masked face.
"No, love, I believe you haven't. You know what? I want to show you something. As my assistant, I shall be needing your opinion."
Once again, Erik led me to another side of the deserted property. It was right where there was a dock where you could stand to look out upon the ocean.
"What are we doing here?"
"I was thinking a rose garden right where you're standing, and a fountain that lights up at night."
I looked around me, my cheeks turning red from all the excitement.
"That sounds lovely."
And then Erik pointed to a large open space behind me.
"And right there, and opera house."
My heart stopped within my chest. An opera house? I was gazing out at the open space, trying to envision such a place. Yes, there were theaters in Coney Island, but no opera houses, not yet anyway. I felt Erik standing behind me, his cold hand placing themselves on my shoulders.
"Where else can anyone in Coney Island come feast their eyes on Mister E's diva Christina Mulheim?"
I gasped at the very words. Me? Return to the stage? Sing here? In Phantasma? I spun around, looking this wonderful man in the eyes. His heart, oh, his heart was so pure. Why could I never see into his heart before?
"You'd really do that?" I breathlessly asked.
"Christine, you are a songbird, one that can never be caged. Who am I keep such a precious gift all to myself? No, you must share your gift with the world - if you would want to, that is. Erik would never force his Christine to do anything she wouldn't want to do."
"I…I would love to sing again in front of an audience."
"It is also a way you could meet other eligible suitors."
Erik said this as if it were poison coming from his mouth. He broke away from me, and turned, gazing at the remainder of his future park. Eligible suitors? No, I knew I would never want to be with another man, only Erik.
"I'm still holding to my word, Christine." he promised. "When ever the time comes that you find someone else, I will still hold true to my end. I will annul this marriage. I have seen many of eligible businessmen in Coney Island. A Mr. Samuel runs his own chain of cotton candy stands."
"Yes, but I'm not interested in Mr. Samuel." I said, slowly approaching him.
"Well, there's also Mr. Rightly, he builds coasters."
"I bet his coasters are wonderful, Erik, but I'm not interested in Mr. Rightly." I was so close to him now, so close that I turned him around so that he was facing me. "I've already chosen a man, but this man must also choose me."
I saw the lifelessness in Erik's eyes instantly fade away, being replaced with a light that can only be described as being absolutely beautiful. He placed both of his gloved hands on my cheeks, looking into my eyes as if I had just given him everything the world could ever offer.
"Oh, Christine, I chose you the moment I married you. Yes, our marriage might have only been for documentation, but I still carried my vows as if they were real. I love you, Christine, always and forevermore."
And then we kissed. Our kiss was more passionate than anything ever shared between us. That very kiss sparked my heart, and I wanted more, I wanted to feel more. I may not have thought of it as love, not yet, but I knew right then and there that I needed to have him. We broke away, gasping for breath, and looking into one another's eyes as if never wanting this moment to end. Though, whatever light that was shining over Coney Island instantly went out, leaving us in complete darkness. I groaned, and pointed to an empty space that was up ahead.
"Erik, would you do me a favor?"
"Anything, love."
"When you build Phantasma, please, for both our sakes build a bloody clock tower that chimes in every hour."
Erik laughed at my joke, and joined his hand with my own to lead us back to our motel.
"I promise, and it will be the most wonderful clock Coney Island will ever see."
When we made it to the gate of our motel, the only thing that was lit up was the patio where a group of freaks, peaches included, were sitting around playing a game of cards. As soon as Peaches saw me, she looked up from her hand of cards.
"Christina, nice to see you and your husband walking around. Why don't you come play a round with us?"
I looked up at Erik to notice that he looked extremely tired. I knew it had been a long day for him, and that he needed his rest. The longer I stood there at a standstill, the faster Erik bent down to my whisper into my ear.
"Love, if you want to stay a while, go ahead. I won't stop you from staying."
But I felt terrible about leaving Erik alone. No, it wasn't right.
"Thank you, Peaches, for the offer, but my husband and I are very exhausted. Perhaps another night."
"Very well, have a good one."
Slowly, Erik and I walked up the stairs to reach our room. Once inside, Erik placed down our left over pizza on the counter as I headed to my room to get changed. After slipping my nightgown over my head, I brushed my teeth and headed back towards the kitchen in hopes of finding Erik there. But sadly, the lights were off, and he was nowhere to be found. I didn't want things to be the way they were anymore, I wanted them to be different. I wanted to sleep with him, I wanted to lay beside him at night! I no longer wanted to lay in an empty bed, wondering if he were around or gone for work. No, I wanted to feel his every movement, his every breath, I wanted to be beside him. The door to his room was closed, but I didn't hesitate on entering, nor did I go back to bed. I opened his door, to find him pulling down the covers on his bed and fluffing up the pillows.
"Erik?"
He spun around, his nightshirt open, exposing his pale chest.
"Yes, Christine? Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong, I was…" I paused. How was I going to pull this one off without upsetting him? "I wanted to ask if it would be all right to possibly sleep with you?"
Erik stood there, not knowing what to say.
"Is that what you truly want?"
I nodded.
He seemed astounded by my answer, and he motioned me to the bed.
"Of course, Christine. Choose any side that you'd like. I shall join you in a moment."
I did as he asked, and crawled into his bed, laying on the left side. After removing his mask and wig, Erik too, joined me. We laid there in the dim lamplight, looking into one another's eyes. We were actually laying together. Yes, we had slept beside one another before, but that was out of necessity - reasons that often made me feel awkward. But now, there was no reason, it was just because… because I wished to do so. But why couldn't this be all I wanted? Why couldn't I just roll over and go to sleep? No, I couldn't. Not after that kiss we shared just over an hour ago. I was craving more, and I knew if we went that far, I would know… I would know if these feelings were out of love for Erik, or out of lust.
But how to start? I knew Erik would never dare start such a thing with me. To test things, I snuggled closer to him, so close that my head was resting on his shoulder. Erik's eyes were closed, and I heard him lightly sigh to this gesture. Even in darkness, I could see his pulse lightly beating in the side of his neck. How I should have stopped and just went to sleep, but I couldn't! This felt so right, and I wanted more. I tasted his pulse, my lips placing themselves over his flesh, feeling the pulsating of his heart thudding against my bottom lip. He gasped loudly, and opened his eyes, unsure of my intentions.
"Christine, what... what are you doing?"
But how was I to answer that? I couldn't tell him, or else it would make it seem as if I were forcing him into something.
No, I wanted this to be mutual for the both of us. Instead, I decided to see where things went.
I kissed him. Oh, how I kissed him, my tongue darting into his mouth, as he did the same. We left off where we did just an hour ago, only this time, we had the privacy and room to do what we wished. I laid there as he rolled over on top of my body, his elbows supporting most of his weight as he trailed his kisses down my neck. I moaned in ecstacy as erotic shivers shot up and down my spine.
"Erik… oh, Erik." I called his name, by hands running through his wisps of graying hair.
My moans were only making matters worse. Erik was using his teeth, running them gently over my flesh, and god did it feel breathtaking! But no, it was me who wanted to have him, and so I would get my way. I gently pushed him down on the mattress, and crawled atop of him, doing the same thing that he had just done to me. I sucked at his neck, his collarbone, his ear, everything that I could get my mouth on. I could feel his heart racing, so fast that I began noticing that he was having trouble breathing.
"Oh, Christine…" he breathlessly called my name, begging me to never stop.
"Touch me…" I begged him in between kisses. "Touch me…"
His body stiffened beneath me, but I wouldn't let him react in such a way. I rolled over onto my back, letting him once again lean over me. He seemed frightened, but I wanted this, I needed this!
"…are you sure?"
I could hear his heart pounding now, but when I told him it was all right to touch me, he leaned over me, my hands beginning to remove my nightgown. I didn't even have it down my shoulders, when Erik's hand came up and grasped at his chest. He immediately turned away, nearly falling off the bed.
"Erik!" I pulled my nightgown back over my shoulders, to assist him. He just sat there gasping for breath, and rubbing his chest. Damn me! Why had I forgotten about his heart? I should have stopped when I heard it nearly bursting out of his chest.
"I…I'm sorry." he gasped.
I ran to get him a glass of water, coming back and handing it to him.
"Are you having another attack?"
"No." he said. "I was close to it though."
"I'm sorry, Erik." I crawled back in bed, watching him as he slowly drank his water.
"No, it's all right, Christine. I should have stopped it the moment it went any further than kissing."
He rose from the bed, and headed to the door. Where was he going?
"I need some air." he cringed. "Just get some sleep."
And just like that, he was gone before I could even stop him. I knew Erik was angry, but not at me, but at himself. He couldn't even bring me pleasure, even when I begged him of it. Oh, my poor poor angel…
Ok everyone, please review! It's my birthday weekend so I decided to update now cause I won't be home until my birthday on Monday. You all know what I want for my birthday...Reviews! You guys do great with that already, and I thank you for taking the time to do so. Oh, and as you all can probably tell, I did "Borrow" a line from the movie avatar. For those of you who have seen the movie, I don't need to tell you which one it you all!