On Wednesday afternoon, Erik receives a phone call from Rosaline. He is partly surprised to hear from her during the work day, considering it is still school hours and she is probably in the middle of teaching.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Erik's says into his phone, as a way of greeting her.

Rosaline lets out the most adorable, childish laugh before she even has a chance to say anything.

"I suppose I just wanted to see if that offer to have me over for dinner was still available?"

"You know it is, but before we get into that I must ask, how are you calling me? Are you not at work at the moment?"

"I am, its currently lunchtime so I figured I might use what spare few minutes I have to call you." She easily replies.

Erik smiles to himself, upon hearing that Rosaline was thinking about him in her spare time. The thought alone is enough to make Erik feel wanted, which is something he's wanted from Rosaline for what has felt like the longest time.

"Well then, I'm all ears sweetheart. How has your day been so far?"

"Wonderful actually, my students have just selected their new adventure books for their reading groups. They're excited to get started and so am I." She beams.

"I'm glad to hear it." Erik tells her with a sense of pride.

"If you're free tonight, I'd love to have you over for dinner?" Erik reminds Rosaline of her previous inquiry.

"What time?"

"I can have Harold pick you up at say six o'clock? It'll give us enough time to chat, enjoy some dinner together and then I can drive you home myself before it gets too late. I know you have work tomorrow, so I don't want to keep you too late." Erik says in a considerate tone.

"That would be great, I'll message you my address when I finish up work this afternoon." Rosaline sweetly promises.

"Before I let you go sweetheart, I just have one more question to ask?"

"Sure."

"What changed your mind about coming over? Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled you are but I guess I just got the impression that you weren't entirely convinced when I first suggested the idea last weekend?" Erik explains.

To Erik's surprise, Rosaline doesn't miss a beat.

"Let's just say I wanted to see you and I don't think I could have waited another week to pass before that happened." She answers, with more confidence than Erik was expecting.

"Well in that case, I can't wait until tonight to see you my dear. Take care." Erik responds, before ending the call.

After ending his conversation with Rosaline, Erik immediately sets to work organising what he'll cook for dinner this evening. He obviously wants to make a a show of his culinary skills, but deep down he knows Rosaline would probably be just as grateful if they ordered takeout. That was one of the many beautiful qualities that Erik admired about her. Unlike many of the women Erik use to surround himself with, Rosaline was content with the bare minimum. It was refreshing to know that Rosaline was hanging around Erik for genuine reasons and not because she wanted something from him. Given the direction his thoughts were currently guiding him, Erik couldn't help but think about Bianca and her sudden departure the other evening. The entire ordeal left Erik feeling uncertain about Bianca's motives. Having had the past few days to mull over it in his head, he was now convinced that she was planning something. He was completely in the dark about what it might potentially be, but the thought alone was enough to make his skin crawl. Forcing himself to push those dark ideas aside, he instead heads into his kitchen to start preparing this evenings meal.

A few hours pass, in which Erik has settled on cooking lemon and herb chicken with a selection of colourful vegetables. As the chicken and vegetables are currently in their final moments of roasting in the oven, Erik takes this opportunity to dash upstairs and quickly change into a clean pair of black chinos and a blue sweater. After tousling his hair a little and spraying on some aftershave, he hears the doorbell ring. Smiling to himself as he makes his way downstairs, he's delighted when he sees Rosaline standing behind the door and Harold just a few metres behind her.

"Evening Harold, thank you for picking up Rosaline here. I'll drive her home myself when the nights over." Erik says to his driver, with an appreciative wave of his hand.

Finally, and only after dismissing Mr Arnold for the evening, does Erik shift his gaze and direct his attention to the beauty standing in front of him. Dressed in a beige skirt that hugs her curves, a soft black woollen jumper and a pair of dark heeled ankle boots, Erik can't remember a time when he saw a woman look so tempting.

"You look ravishing." Erik compliments her, while stepping out past his front door to wrap his arms around her.

Holding her tight, against his chest and breathing in her scent is enough to make Erik swoon. He can hardly believe sometimes at the luck he has received in meeting a person as pure as Rosaline.

"It's good to see you." He hears her whisper against his neck, after a moment of silence. Erik takes this chance to pull slightly away from her so that he can see her at a full view. Smiling at her choice of words, Erik takes the plunge and seals his lips against hers. He can tell that she's partly shocked by his forwardness but soon after, eases into the soft kiss. Erik loves how tentative and inexperienced Rosaline seems, even if at times it is a complete contrast to the confidence he finds in her words. She's an enigma that he can't seem to want to ever part from.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" Erik finally asks after their shared, intimate moment. Clasping her hand in his, he leads her inside his home and locks the door once they've both entered. Only once they've walked into his kitchen, does Erik notice the bottle of wine that is sitting on his tabletop.

"Did you bring this?" He questions with a raise of his brow.

"I noticed you liked drinking wine that first night we went out, so I thought I'd bring you some." She shyly admits.

"That's very thoughtful of you, thank you sweetheart." Erik replies, while moving to place a chaste kiss against her temple. Offering her a seat on one of the breakfast bar stools allows Erik to talk and work at the same time. He's in the middle of plating up both their meals when a thought strikes him.

"I know we've already been over this, but I just want you to know how much I appreciate you being understanding about the other day. I hate breaking my promises, especially to those I care deeply about, but I'm hoping this dinner might be the start in letting me make it up to you." Erik tells her with a sincere look.

"Erik, it's only fair that I give you space if that's what you need at the moment." Rosaline answers in an sympathetic tone.

"But that's just the thing Rose, I don't want space, especially not from you." Erik explains in an exasperated voice.

Erik stops what he's doing for a moment, when he notices that Rosaline has gone completely quiet. He stops fiddling with the napkins in his hands and instead turns his gaze to look at her. What he doesn't expect to see however is the most endearing and nervous smile he think he's ever seen on her.

"Rose?" He quietly prompts.

"Did you just call me Rose?" She finally asks him, as a deep blush begins to form on her cheeks.

Erik pauses for a second to consider her question. He mustn't have noticed it before, but it's true, he has in fact called her Rose twice now without even really thinking about it.

"I guess I did." Erik acknowledges.

"Is that alright?" He adds with a hint of uncertainty.

"No one has ever called me anything but Rosaline." She informs him, before surprising Erik yet again with her next statement.

"But I love how the nickname sounds coming from your lips."

It takes Erik barely half a second to reach Rosaline and to grasp her in his arms. He tilts her head softly, only slightly before pressing his lips against hers in a sensual, long awaited kiss. Erik can't help but run his hands along her spine and feel the softness of her hair, as it hangs against her back. The delicateness of her body, as it pushes against his is a feeling that Erik never wants to forget. He doesn't really know how or why Rosaline fell into his life all those weeks ago, but for whatever reason, she's turned out to be exactly the kind of miracle he always wanted but never knew he needed.