Finding the Beauty Underneath

IX

I woke up to feel warm, steady breathing on the back of my neck. I opened my eyes. I could see that Erik's strong arms were around my waist in a tight embrace. Our bodies were pressed together, his front to my back, due to the small size of the bed, but I honestly did not care. I smiled to myself. Oh, how scandalous I was last night! I would never have dreamed I would have done anything like that with a man I had known for such little time. And with the Opera Ghost of all people. I kept my eyes closed and let out a content sigh as I savored the peacefulness of the situation. Not a sound could be heard save for our breathing.

Just then, I felt Erik's lips graze the back of my ear as he mumbled something in his sleep. I looked over my shoulder to see Erik looking incredibly tranquil with a small smile on his delicate lips. He looked a lot more complacent compared to yesterday when I had found him sleeping while hunched over his desk.

His eyes slowly opened to reveal his warm brown irises. A wide grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as hesoftly said, "Good morning, Emilie."

My smile grew wider. "Good morning to you too, Erik."

We both giggled like children.

Erik took his arms away from my waist and stretched his body as much as he could under the covers. He smiled and gave me a quick peck on the lips then sat up in the small bed. I stretched out my arms as well before propping myself on my elbowsand saying, "So, what shall we do today? Did you have any plans?"

"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I made plans for today before I knew that we were going to do. . .that last night. I was planning on running some errands today."

"What kind of errands?"

He chuckled. "I need to purchase some things is all."

"May I go with you?"

Erik's eyes suddenly grew serious as he looked down at me. "No." he said firmly.

My smile waned. "What? Why not?"

"Like I have said before, my dear, no one knows you are here and I would like to keep it that way. It is also morning which means the people who work here will be up and about which would make things even harder if you accompanied me. . .I just want to keep you safe down here, Emilie." he answered slowly.

"Oh, but Erik, I'll-"

"Please, Emilie. Just trust me."

He pushed the covers away from himself and quickly stood and turned his back to me. He did not say anything nor face me until he had grabbed his undergarments off of the floor and slipped them and his slacks on. He looked around before asking, "Do you know where my shirt is?" I took a quick look around then picked his shirt off of the floor and handed it to him. "Thank you," He slid on the white shirt and started to button it up.

"What am I to do while you are gone?" I asked. "And how long will you be away anyway?"

"You can do whatever you wish. Just be careful." He paused what he was doing to make eye contact with me. "And please don't hide again. I'll only be gone for an hour or two." Erik then grabbed his vest and started putting it on.

"I thought you trusted me." I said quietly.

He stopped buttoning his vest and looked down at me seriously again. "Of course I trust you, Emile." he said.

"Then why can't I go with you?"

He sighed and resumed what he was doing with his vest. When he finished, he sat down next to me on the edge of the bed. "I trust you. It is other people I don't trust." He took his hand in mine. "I couldn't live with myself if you were hurt."