Chapter Eight - Another Unexpected Surprise

Erik picked up a bulky bag, slung it onto his shoulder, took Christine's hand, and led her out of his apartment and down the stairs. But when they reached the entrance hallway they didn't head for the exit Erik led Christine to another door. When Erik opened the door there was another staircase leading downwards. "Where does this lead?" Christine asked as they descended the stairs. It reminded her of when Erik had led her down to his lair. "This leads to the underground car park, Christine" Said Erik smiling at her. When they reached the bottom of the stairs the went through a door right in front of them and the underground car park they entered was filled with about fifteen cars that were all shiny and looked very expensive. Christine's eyes were wide as she looked at all the shiny models. Next to her was a black Porsche, in the row just ahead of her was a silver Aston Martin and a bright red Ferrari. "Oh…My…God" Christine exclaimed staring round. Erik chuckled "Everyone who lives in this apartment is very rich." Christine thought about that then look up at him "How rich are you Erik?" she asked curiously. Erik chuckled again and winked at her "Very" he replied.

Christine giggled and cleared her throat "So which of these flashy cars belongs to you?" she asked. Erik shook his head still smiling "I don't have a car." Christine's smile left her face. "Then why are we down here?" she asked "I have something that's more exciting than a car, and all I'm going to say is I'm glad that you're wearing jeans." Said Erik. "What is it Erik" she pleaded. He patted her hand "Come and I'll show you."He led her to a parking space which had the name "Foster" Above it. But the vehicle that stood in the parking space between a silver Volvo and a white BMW wasn't a car. It was a big black shiny motorbike. Christine's eyes almost popped out of her head. Erik chuckled at her expression "I know, the legendary Opera Ghost drives a motorbike, who would ever believe that?"

Christine didn't answer she clenched her fists and trembled like a leaf in the wind as the fear swarmed through her. Erik noticed her changed expression and slipped his bag off his shoulder onto the ground. He stepped in front of Christine and gently held the tops of her arms. "What's wrong, my dear?" he asked concerned. Christine looked up to meet his anxious eyes and uttered out the truth. And as she spoke her voice went up in panic. "I've never ridden on a motorbike and I've always been afraid of doing so. I mean more people have road accidents on motor bikes than they do in c…" she broke off and Erik took her face in his hands and. "Shh, Christine calm down! It's alright." Erik whispered reassuringly.

Then he leaned in close to her."Christine Listen closely to me. You will be perfectly safe and I give you my word that I am a safe driver. So you won't be in any danger." He kissed her tenderly on her full lips but she still looked unsure. He let go of her face and picked up the bulky bag again and opened it, he pulled from it a black helmet and held it out to her. "See? I have an extra helmet that you can use and as I said before it's good that you're wearing jeans." Christine stared at the helmet but didn't take it. She still had fear in her eyes and her face dropped. Erik sighed and put the helmet on the seat of the motor bike. He took Christine's face in his hands once again forcing her to look at him. "Christine, there is something between both my hands right now that I don't want to lose or come to any harm. So do you think I would allow you come to any harm?" she shook her head. "And do you think I would put you in a situation where you would easily get hurt?" she shook her head again. "I have been driving that bike for more than ten years and I have never had an accident. So if you just sit behind me and keep your arms round my waist then you won't fall off, ok?" Even though the fear was still inside her she knew that Erik spoke true when it came to her safety. So she gave in and nodded "Alright" she said quietly. He smiled and kissed her lips again.

Erik reached behind him and picked up the helmet from the seat. He gently slipped the helmet onto Christine's head and pulled down the clear visor. Then stood back to look her over. "You look sexy" he said with a cheeky grin. Christine could not hold back her amusement at the word and burst out laughing and so did Erik. Their laughter echoed throughout the whole car lifted the helmet visor back up. "What about your helmet?" she asked still laughing. "It's in here" said Erik and stepped up beside the bike. As Christine watched he lifted the huge seat of the bike open and underneath in compartment there was another black helmet. Erik took it out, Stuffed the bag into the compartment and shut the seat back down. "Here we are" he said. And carefully pulled it over his own head. "I guess you have to be careful every time you put that on." She said smiling. Erik nodded "Yes indeed I do."
And with that he mounted the bike and kicked it to life. The engine roared and revved. Christine backed away as he pulled up next to her. "Right on you get" said Erik. Heart pounding Christine climbed on to the seat behind him. "Now just wrap your arms round my waist, and just as long as you keep hold of me you won't fall off. But don't hold so tight and choke me." Christine giggled and secured her arms round him. "Ok, let's go!" Said Erik. And in a flash the bike sped off, Christine gasped at the strange feeling and gripped tight. They went up a curved slipway and were then facing a closed iron gate which led out onto the road. Erik pulled a small remote device from his pocket and pressed the single button on it. The gate opened and Erik pulled out and stopped by the edge of the pavement. He turned slightly and said "So where to Miss Day?" Christine pointed to the left. "Head to the north of Central Park" she said.

"Right, now pull down your visor" Erik instructed, Christine did as she was told. Then in another flash they were both flying down the road among the cars and taxis. Christine held Erik tight but then she realized that it wasn't as scary as she thought it would be. It almost felt as if she were flying with the wind blowing into her. She wanted to lift her hands into the air but remembered Erik's instructions to keep hold if she didn't want to fall off. She relaxed and watched as they flew past the familiar streets of New York, this was defiantly a great way to travel. Finally she turned back and laid the side of the helmet against Erik's back.

They drove for about fifteen minutes and with every minute the daylight was still fading into evening. When they reached the area Christine had said Erik parked the bike next to a long line of other motorbikes. Christine got off and stretched her legs which had gone a bit stiff and pulled off her helmet. Erik got off too and pulled down the stands that held the bike upright. Then he turned to face Christine taking off his helmet in the process. "So was that as bad as you expected?" he asked stepping up in front of her. "Christine smiled "No, actually it was quite fun." Erik wrapped his arm round her "You see? You shouldn't judge things before you've come to know them properly. Just like when you first knew me in the other time. If you had taken time to get to know me properly, then you wouldn't have become so scared of me." Christine's smiled dropped and she turned to look down at the pavement. Erik turned her back round to face him "I'm sorry I shouldn't have bought that up and reminded you of all the bad things I did." he apologised.

But Christine shook her head and shrugged off Erik's arm from her shoulder "No don't apologise Erik, it was my fault all those bad things happened. When you placed that ring on my finger all that time ago. I should have understood that was you confessing that you loved me, rather than what I believed. Which was that you were making me your prisoner." She looked up into his eyes that seemed to be questioning her words. She then wrapped her arms round his waist and laid her ear against his heart. "So never apologise to me about that other time Erik, I bought it upon myself to suffer and fear you. If I hadn't done it, all those people wouldn't have died. It was all my fault don't blame yourself" Erik immediately encircled his arms round her to hold her close and laid his cheek on her head against her soft hair. "Oh Christine, my Christine" he sighed. "Oh Erik" She replied. When they broke apart Erik placed his hand on her cheek and she placed her hand over his. And for a whole minute they looked lovingly into each other's eyes.

Author's Notes
Bet you weren't expecting that The Opera Ghost would end up driving a motor bike, well there you are.
I'm still finishing the next Chapter and that should come quite soon.
Keep leaving your Lovely Reviews xxx