Waking up next to somebody is like a jolt to reality for me. My first thought was 'Did my puppy dog decide to sleep with me?' She's not allowed on the bed, but she'll jump up there if she's not in her crate-and if she really wants up anyway, she whines. Cute puppy...but no, there's a human in my bed: Erik. He sticks to his side like I stick to mine. Good thing, I guess, but my inner phangirl was kind of hoping...down the line...things could get less awkward and more comfortable. Nothing more than innocent, but I did fantasize about being held by an Erik from time to time. Wonder if there's a way to speed this process up...or should I take advantage of the time and get to know this Erik first? I mean, I have a stable mind and wits and reasoning about me, unlike Christine when she first got to know him.

My inner monologue was interrupted by a groan from Treble's crate. Oh, Treblemaker, you and your doggie senses. Erik will probably wake up.

Surprisingly, no.

I got up and pulled Treble out of her crate and out of my room so as not to wake Erik with her excitement in the morning. Breakfast was eaten (of course that's why Treblemaker was so hyper), I showered and dressed, and checked my to-do list-nothing for today, yay, and my email for news blurbs.

Erik was still asleep. Wow, lucky break for me.

I went downstairs to watch Netflix on my phone (Hey, it' talks to me and the TV doesnt.) I listened to an episode of Dreamworks' Dragons and was about to start another when I heard a little creek from the staircase. I dismissed it-my house cracks with the temperature changes, mostly the heat.

"There you are!"

"Oh hi, Erik!"

Upon reaching me, he perched on the couch next to me and wrapped his fingers around my forearm, gripping tightly as if anxious that I had left him. "How long have you been awake?"

"Uh, I don't know, couple of hours maybe?"

Erik released my wrist and wrapped an arm around me, holding me there. "I was rather alarmed when I awoke and you were not beside me, like you were last night."

Awww. Maybe I wouldn't have to worry about working hard for Erik to get attached to me after all. "Relax," I said. "I would have woken you up before I left the house-unless you attacked me when you woke up!"

"Oh, please don't!" he moaned. "Don't laugh about the monster!"

Sigh. I'm forgetting who I'm talking to. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm exaggerating. I might attack my sister when she wakes me up by saying that she interrupted me from the best dream and that she should get out of my room so I can wake up at my own pace. I'm tempted to 'attack' my alarm by throwing my phone across the room. You know-freak out."

Erik just sighed. "You are dressed. Have you eaten breakfast?"

"Yes. Do you want something? Or do you want to get dressed first?"

"I'll freshen up upstairs."

"Okay. Are you good-do you know where everything is in the bathroom?"

"Yes, I know how to work a shower!" Now, he sounds a little annoyed, like I'm being motherly or something.

I conceal my giggle the best I can. "Okay."

After Erik was ready, I made him a peanut butter sandwich. He insisted on trying it after hearing that I had one for breakfast. "Butter from peanuts...interesting."

"Do you want anything else on it? Honey, chocolate chips, jelly, marshmallow fluff..."

"Are all of those options typical?"

"Nope. I like chocolate and marshmallows. But honey and jelly are pretty common."

"I'll have honey, I suppose. You have quite a sweet tooth."

"It'll be the death of me, but hey, just gotta balance it all out and eat moderately healthy and then there's not as much guilt."

Erik chuckled. "Indeed."

Erik insisted I hydrate. Awhile after we ate, he suggested we stretch.

"Why?" I asked.

"I was told your chosen instrument for your music degree is voice. I am curious to hear you."

Um, Thee Phantom of the Opera wants to hear a phangirl sing? Angel, I hear you.

So we stretched before doing some breathing. I'm an air bender, like Bonnie the choir TA told me, I reminded myself. I'm like Toph except with air AND earth—breathing and a little echo location. I'm halfway to the Avatar! Oh wait, I'm supposed to focus on bending air right now.

"Very good," Erik said. "Let your body naturally expand." And then I heard him play a chord on the piano in front of him (he was sitting at the piano bench and I was standing next to the instrument). "Now: from Middle C, do-me-so-me-do, on ha. Show me how high you can reach...very good. Bb5. Now, slide from so to do on zoo, and we'll see how low you can reach. Start on the G above Middle C...aha, very nice-Eb3! Use your breath in your lower range as well...really wonderful range you have...Now, you seem comfortable in the soprano range, but have you ever been an alto?"

"I'm a mezzo soprano. I haven't worked on my break because in choir, I'd just use my head voice and then vocal coaches have just worked from that."

"Well, I can certainly find something for you. I've never worked with a voice so light as yours before...and you are very straight-toned...no, don't be sad, Lauren. You have presented to me a voice so unique that I have yet to discover how to work with it. This is exciting! Actually, will you allow me to explore a little of your preferred music? That would be a good place to begin."

"Sure! Yeah, totally! You can totally see my music!" I've always been really proud of my collection…the Phantom of the Opera wants to get a peek at my library? BFD.

Erik skimmed my Itunes, and commented that Enya could be a good vocal role model ("Although I would prefer that you have better diction.") I commented that Jackie Evancho's voice seemed too heavy for me, but Erik took down some titles from her album as well as some Il Divo and Andrea Bocelli songs.

"I would really like for you to try some older arias," Erik decided after deleting the playlist he had been working on. "Many of your contemporary classical artists sing as much earlier music as they do later music. As beautiful as these showtunes you have can be, arias truly present a technical challenge."

"Well, the magic internet can help." Cue Google.

With Erik's critique, we narrowed it down to:

"Deh Vieni, Non Tardar" by Mozart from "Le Nozze di Figaro"

(teasing love song; opportunity to smooth out vocal break)

"Batti, batti" by Mozart from "Don Giovanni"

(pretend I'm pacifying a jealous Erik! doable trills, big breath control)

"Una donna a quindici anni" Mozart, "Cosi Fan Ttute"

(urge to succumb to something; sing light, big range, breath control)

"These fit my range I think, and they sound like they'd be fun, but they seem really intense," I said. "Are you sure I can sing these? I mean, it takes me forever even to get my sound out in warmups."

"Can't an Erik have a little fun? Just until you receive your repertoire for next semester. What songs did your voice coach at the university have you singing?"

"You know about that?"

"Of course. I was given information on you before I agreed to visit. I know your school, your academic plan, your hobbies, your career goals-which I find no less than fascinating!"

"Yeah...sometimes I wish I could skip to grad school and get down to learning about music therapy, but I still have some semesters left of my undergrad."

"Yes...well, what songs have you performed?"

I listed them off. Some in Italian and some in English. German and French were supposed to come this next semester. "I'm singing one early in my masterclass when I go back. You're familiar with how the college's private voice studio works, right?"

"Yes, I know of your universities expectations. I also know that you don't take inflexible teachers well...especially one this past term."

The one that didn't want to follow accommodations set by disability resources. "Oh-He was, um, difficult to work with." Until DR kicked his butt. Mwahahaha.

"What did you think of that?" Erik sounded amused. "What did an independent woman of the 21st century think of that?"

He wanted to see something different than the compliant 1800's girl? Well. "To keep it PG-13, he can go suck a lemon. But replace the last word with-oh-something else."

Erik laughed out loud, and man did it sound good! (Okay, I'm attracted to fun laughs. But pretty much everyone has a fun laugh when it's genuine.)

A/N: The big opera singers have heavier voices and are really good at projecting over an orchestra; they also have a great deal of vibrato (there voice vibrates—too much vibrato can make the voice sound wobbly). My voice is a choir voice—light and straight-toned, which means lighter, not-as-effortless resonance and zero vibrato. I'd hear those big opera voices and feel a little small. Erik says he's excited about my voice, though! Yay!