CHRISTINE POV
I sat in front of my vanity on Friday, sighing in frustration as I tried to manage my unruly curls. It had been four days, and Madame Giry still hadn't even let me try to dance… I know I bruised my ribs, but I needed to rehearse! And now I only had an hour to get ready for my dinner with Raoul, and I still had ugly bruises and scrapes all over my face. I pinned my curls into an elegant side sweep and pinned a silver flower into it.
I gave up on my hair and started dabbing foundation lightly on my face, wincing every time I hit a bruise. It took me nearly twenty minutes to put it on, and all it did was fade some of the scrapes a little bit. I applied my favourite white and silver eyeshadow, black eyeliner and mascara and a delicate pink liptstick.
Finally, at ten to seven I pulled on the purple cocktail dress I had bought just for the occasion. Raoul had said to dress up, and I hoped he really meant it, since the dress had cost me about $250.
It was stunning. The bodice had a sweetheart neckline, with delicate crystals all over it. A crystal belt sat delicately on the top of the gorgeous tulle skirt. I topped the whole thing off with a diamond necklace that had been left to me by my mother, Meg's diamond earrings she had gotten for her birthday and a pair of purple strappy heels.
"Christine! Raoul's here!" She yelled, and I heard his wonderful voice on chatting on the other side of the door.
"Coming!" I yelled out as I stood next to the door.
"Now Raoul," I teased, "You better not have lied about dressing up… Or else I'm going to feel really stupid."
I slowly opened the door, and walked out…
I wasn't disappointed. Raoul looked stunningly handsome in a tailored classic tuxedo, with his normally messy hair slicked back. He smiled broadly went he saw me, looking at me with pure adoration.
"Christine," He breathed, holding out his arm like a gentlemen. "You look absolutely beautiful."
"Thanks," I blushed, "You look pretty handsome yourself."
"Have a good time Christine!" Meg called as we walked out the door.
"Bye Meg!" I called behind me as we left down the stairs.
"So where are we going?" I asked coyly, as we reached the first landing… Stairs were not fun in platform heels.
"You'll see," He smiled secretively until we reached the lobby.
He led me to his Jaguar and opened the door for me. Once I was in he slid into the other side and pulled away from the curb.
We chatted easily as he drove through the bustling streets of New York. Before too long we pulled up to the curve of Daniel, I gasped as he opened my door and helped me out of the car.
He held out his arm for me and I took it, gazing around in wonder. He passed his keys to a valet, who drove his beautiful car away.
He led me through lovely glass doors into an exquisite lobby, where a sharply dressed host stood behind an intricately carved podium.
He smiled at us. "It's nice to see you again Mr. de Chagny, and Miss…?" He looked at me quizzically.
"Christine Daae." Raoul answered for me, with a huge smile. "Can we have our usual table please Edward?"
"Of course Mr. de Chagny." He answered, leading us into the giant dining room.
A stunning crystal chandelier hung in the middle of an extravagantly decorated dining room. Edward led us over to a white-clothed table in the corner of the room. Red roses adorned the center of the table and delicate crystal champagne glasses sat in at the place settings, along with more cutlery than I had ever seen in my life.
Raoul pulled out my chair for me and sat down across from me as another sharply dressed waiter came and took our order.
"Champagne sir?" He asked formally.
"The usual please," Raoul stated nonchalantly, and then looked at me.
"And for you miss?" He asked me. I couldn't order alcohol since I wasn't twenty-one yet.
"A virgin martini," I smiled charmingly as he walked away.
"So how are you Christine?" He asked, looking at me intently.
"Frustrated," I sighed, "My dance instructor won't even let me try dancing again, even though the new opera opens in three weeks and I still have to rehearse, and…" I cut myself off abruptly. I had just about told him about Erik!
I attempted to catch myself smoothly, "And I really didn't want to have bruises and scrapes across my face for this date." I looked down at my lap.
"Christine," He reached across the table and stroked my cheek. It hurt a little bit, but I didn't mind. "You look stunning."
I grabbed the hand that was touching my face and rest our clasped hands on the table. "Thank you."
We stared at each other intensely for a moment before I decided to lighten up the mood. "So how do they know you so well here?"
"I come here with my mother every month. We came nearly every week before I moved out." He smiled. "Once you taste the food you'll know why… Do you know what you want to eat?"
"Why don't you order for me since you seem to be such an expert?" I smiled flirtatiously.
"I'm hardly an expert." He answered modestly, "But I think you should get the eight course tasting dinner… The food is absolutely marvelous."
Edward came back with our drinks and took our order, then promptly left. I wasn't used to being addressed as "miss" and treated like royalty, so the entire experience was incredibly flattering. Raoul and I chatted easily through the eight course meal, although he kept the talk superficial… Not delving into my time with my father or anything too important, just asking mundane little things about myself.
"One good thing did come out of this though," I smiled and gestured at the tensor bandage still on my wrist. "I went to visit the lady I saved the other day, and she is the sweetest lady I have ever met in my life. Her daughter and grandchildren are all big shot doctor-lawyer types, and never visit her, so I'm going to start seeing her weekly."
"That's nice," He said enthusiastically, but the enthusiasm didn't quite reach his eyes. I could tell he didn't actually care that much… Disappointment stirred in my stomach, but I pushed it away… Maybe he just wasn't enthusiastic about things like that.
"So anyways," He continued. "My family has been coming here since it opened…" He continued, and I tried not be irritated that he changed the subject to suit himself.
He ordered several more glasses of champagne, and Edward recommended some of their special virgin drinks for me, which I easily tried. I was already feeling incredibly conscious about how much a place like this cost, and kept trying to decline the extra drinks, but Raoul insisted.
By the time we were finally ready to go, it was past ten o'clock. Raoul barely glanced at the bill as he passed Edward his credit card, but I managed to catch the price written at the bottom of the receipt…
$765! I nearly choked on the last sip of my drink. Raoul paid as much for one dinner as I paid for my rent… A blush crept up my cheeks. How could someone spend over $700 on me?
"Are you ready to leave Christine?" He smiled, pulling out my chair as I nodded. I took his arm as the same host led us to the door, where Raoul's car was already waiting.
"You must be hot stuff here!" I whispered in his ear, and he laughed.
"My parents are important patrons… They just want me to tell them how wonderful my experience was." He whispered back before helping me into the car.
As we pulled away, I sat in silence, still feeling incredibly guilty about the price of the meal.
"Is anything wrong Christine?" He asked after a few moments of silence. "Did you not enjoy the food?"
"Oh no!" I exclaimed hastily, "I had an absolutely wonderful time… I guess I just felt kind of guilty about the price is all." I blushed furiously at the end.
He chuckled. "When it comes to you, money is no object." He smiled charmingly, gently laying his hand on top of mine. I smiled back at him, entwining my fingers with his.
"Well the food was delicious." I smiled. "And the company was even better… I missed you Raoul."
"I missed you to Christine," He said solemnly. "When will we see each other again?"
"Well, I have rehearsal tomorrow, but if you wanted to stop by in the morning at about nine I could show you around the opera house since I can't dance right now anyways." I smiled… Maybe something good had come of Madame Giry refusing to let me dance.
"That sounds great." He said, "Tomorrow is my day off, so that would work perfectly."
We pulled up at my house far too soon. I was enjoying being with Raoul a lot, and really didn't want to say goodnight.
"Would you like me to walk you up to your apartment?" He asked quietly as he helped me out of the car.
"I would love that." I smiled as he took my hand. As we walked upstairs in comfortable silence, I marveled at how quickly Raoul was becoming an important part of my life again. After talking to him and simply being around him, it was as if we had never even spent any time apart.
Strangely, Meg was already sleeping as I opened out apartment door. I motioned to Raoul to be quiet as I turned to face him… For some reason, I wasn't ready to let him leave.
"Hey Raoul," I whispered, "Would you like to watch a movie?"
"Absolutely," He whispered, and I led him over to our small couch.
"Do you care which one?" I asked, kneeling in front of the tv.
"Nope," He answered quietly. I grabbed the first movie I saw, which happened to be 50 First Dates.
"I'll be right back…" I started. "I'm just going to change into some comfier clothes."
"I have a change of clothes in the car I'll go grab." He said and walked quickly toward the door.
"Wait!" I called as quietly as I could. "Take my key so I won't have to let you in."
I quickly went into my bedroom, pulling on a pair of my yoga pants and a tank top. I pulled the pins out of my hair and started to quickly put it into a decent looking French braid. By the time I had tamed my hair enough to have it braided, Raoul was already waiting for me on the couch.
He patted the couch right next to him, and I curled up beside him, his arms eagerly coming around me. It was a wonderful feeling.
By the time the movie was half over, I was feeling drowsy, and my eyelids started to droop. Before too long I drifted off to sleep, still in Raoul's arms.
I awoke to sunlight streaming through the open window, disoriented as to why I was on the couch… And lying across a man's chest.
It came back to me in an instant. Raoul and I had dinner together, I invited him to watch a movie, and oh my goodness… I must have fallen asleep on him! I blushed furiously as I quickly sat up; I had fallen asleep on Raoul, and then he had fallen asleep… I had slept the night practically lying on Raoul… This was the first time I had ever stayed the night with a guy.
"Christine?" He mumbled, his eyes slowly drifting open. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," I whispered as he slowly sat up. "I am so sorry about falling asleep on you."
"S'okay," He smiled groggily, "That was the best sleep I've had in two years."
"It was for me too." I giggled, just as Meg walked out of her bedroom.
She stopped dead in her tracks, eyeing Raoul and I's disheveled states. She raised her eyebrows as she looked at me, then looked at Raoul, then simply stated, "Okay then…"
"Don't you make assumptions Meg…" I glared at her as Raoul chuckled behind me. "We definitely did not do what you thought we did."
"Oh?" She began pouring herself a bowl of cereal, a smirk plastered across her face.
"No we didn't." I stated firmly, putting my hands on my hips.
"Raoul's still here in the morning… Your clothes are all wrinkled… Your hair is all messed up… His hair is all messed up… What am I supposed to think?" She smiled at me again, perching on the arm rest of the couch. "Did you seriously lose your v-card?"
I blushed furiously. "Meg! We did not have sex!"
Raoul started laughing behind me, obviously finding our uncomfortable conversation amusing. I whirled on him. "What's so funny?!"
"Nothing!" He exclaimed, holding his hands out in front of him.
"Well," Meg stood up and plopped her half-full bowl in the sink. "I just hope for both your sakes you used protection… Pregnant dancers don't go over so well."
I blushed even deeper. "We did not sleep together Meg!" I exclaimed, then paused for a moment. "Well, I guess we did technically sleep together… But just sleeping is what I mean! We slept together but we didn't SLEEP together… Oh my goodness, I give up!"
I plopped down on the couch, with my head in my hands.
"Don't be ridiculous Christine." Meg laughed, "Of course I know you two didn't have sex… I know you well enough to know that! I just wanted to see you squirm."
I glared at her. "That's just hilarious." I spat, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
She ignored me, as usual. "Now you might want to get change if you want to go down to the café before the theatre with me." She turned and faced Raoul. "You're welcome to come too."
"Sure." Raoul smiled, "I should probably put my dress shirt on though."
"Dress shirt and jeans," I grinned. "Classy,"
"Well I'm not wearing the suit." He retorted as he went into the bathroom.
I ran into my room, quickly pulling on a black camisole and navy blue, full length cardigan. After pulling on some skinny jeans, brushing my hair out and applying a bit of mascara, I was ready to go.
Raoul and Meg were already waiting for me when I finished, chatting easily.
"Well, let's go." I said enthusiastically as the three of us walked out the door. Once we hit the lobby, Raoul grabbed my hand. I smiled up at him as Meg rolled her eyes at us.
"Ugh," She groaned, walking ahead of us. "Couples! This is why I am happily single."
"Oh yeah, that's the reason!" I elbowed Meg playfully. We laughed as we walked into the café, walking straight up to the counter where Sophie was working.
"Morning Sophie!" I exclaimed.
"Morning! I've been so worried about you Chris, Meg told me the other day that you'd gotten hurt! How are you doing?" She began scrubbing out coffee mugs.
"I'm fine," I sighed. "Already healing."
"Good," She smiled, looking appreciatively at Raoul. "And who is this fine gentleman?"
Raoul chuckled, "I'm Raoul," He held out his hand to shake Sophie's.
Sophie shook his hand enthusiastically, grinning. "I'm Sophie." She turned to look at me. "Quite the catch you've got here Christine!"
I blushed lightly, smiling up at Raoul. "I really do."
"Oh my goodness Sophie!" Meg exclaimed. "They've been being all couple-y all morning and they just got together last night… It is so annoying!"
"Just because you can't get a boyfriend…" I muttered with a smile.
"I resent that remark." She grabbed a plastic butter knife and pointed it in my direction.
"Enough ladies," Sophie chuckled, "I'm assuming I'm getting you two the usual?"
Meg and I both nodded.
"And what can I get for you?" She turned to Raoul.
He looked at the menu for just a moment. "A London Fog please."
"Coming right up."
Sophie whipped up our coffees in no time, and before we knew it we were heading through the cold to the theatre.
AN: Here is another update on Friday, just as I promised Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Once again, I can't describe how much I appreciate you taking that extra time to review my work; it really helps if I ever get writer's block.
So the first three reviewers get previews again and if I get enough reviews I might even update on Christmas, and on next Friday as a little Christmas gift to you all
Please review, and thanks for reading!