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Author's Chapter Notes:

Wow, 300+ reads for 2 chapters! Thank you to MJFreak23 and jkl567 for sticking with me! You guys are the best. Also welcome to any new reviewers! You guys motivate me to do my best. Love y'all!


Irina had been sitting on the doorstep for several minutes when she felt the chilling feeling in the air increase. She shivered slightly and completely slipped her coat on. ‘Ah, that's more like it. I don't want to get sick or even worse, freeze to death.'  The wind picked up and blew heavily, nipping at her ears. ‘I knew I should have brought my hat. ‘  She rubbed her hands together to stay warm, frowning when she noticed how long Maestro was taking to come to the door. ‘If he had been anticipating my arrival, he should have answered it by now. I wonder if he forgot...or perhaps he's not available.' She knew the last possibility was highly unlikely, though, since he struck her as someone who rarely left his home, if at all. ‘Hmm...maybe I should try again, just in case he didn't hear the first time. ‘  She stood up and stretched her legs which had begun to fall asleep whilst she was sitting.  Just as she was reaching out a hand to ring the doorbell once again, she heard footsteps walking towards the door and spotted a familiar figure peeking through the curtains. She pulled her hand back and let out a sigh of relief.

It turned out Irina retracted her hand in the nick of time, for right after she did, the door opened. There stood Maestro, dressed in his black pants and white frill shirt. The moonlight shined on his face as well as his shoulder length black wavy hair. His lips slowly curled into a smile at the woman before him. "Well, hello, Irina. I am pleased to see you again. " He wrapped his arms around her in a quick warm embrace and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek.

Irina felt her cheek becoming hot when Maestro's warm lips touched it. His arms around her made her heart pound rapidly and produced a swarm of butterflies in her stomach.  ‘Gosh, I could just melt into a puddle right now. Not to mention my heart feels as if it's going to stop beating any minute. What if I forget how to speak proper English or something?' In turn, she squeezed him gently and planted a kiss on both of his cheeks, making him turn red in the face.  "Hello, Maestro. I'm happy to see you, too. " She let out an awkward giggle at how shaky she sounded and avoided his eyes, not wanting to see how unimpressed she made him by displaying her less than elegant side.

Chuckling quietly, Maestro placed a finger under the woman's chin and tilted her head up so she was looking at him. "Relax. It's all right. There's nothing to be nervous about. Come inside. I'm sure you must be feeling a bit cold." He stepped back so she could enter.

Irina got goosebumps from Maestro's touch. She had been so busy zoning out and trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach that she barely heard what he said. She was alert enough to hear the last part. When she saw him step aside, that was when she realized he was inviting her inside. ‘If only I could get my legs to cooperate and not give out on me.'  "I am a bit." She slowly entered the large mansion, holding onto the wall as she did and wiping her feet. ‘Whew! That wasn't so bad.'  She looked around the living room and liked what she saw. It was fancy and had expensive looking items, but nothing overly ostentatious. She inhaled a deep breath and let it out, taking in the scent of her surroundings. ‘Mmmm, I've never noticed before now, but Maestro's house smells magnificent. And it's very warm and cozy, too.' She gave Maestro a sideways glance.  

Maestro closed the door with a flick of his hand, and turned to Irina. "You all right?" he asked her. "You seem a bit flustered."

Looking a little sheepish, Irina managed a weak smile as she looked him in the eye. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about how breathtaking your mansion is, that's all."

Maestro blushed a little, but he was smiling. "Well thank you. So can I get you anything? A cup of tea, perhaps? Or something to eat?  I still have some of the donuts you gave me. By the way, thank you again. I love them."

"You're quite welcome. I'm glad you liked them." The red head scrunched up her brow in thought.  "No tea, thank you, and I'm not hungry right now. I would like a cup of cocoa, though, if that's all right with you."

 "As you wish. I take it you're not very fond of tea?"

Irina started to sweat nervously. She studied Maestro's facial expression and couldn't tell whether she had offended him or not. "Oh, I love tea actually. It's just that I had a cup of coffee this morning and I think that's enough caffeine for one day. "

Maestro knitted his eyebrows together and nodded. "I understand. Well, I will have it ready for you shortly."

Irina let out a sigh, relieved that she hadn't said anything wrong. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. In the meantime, have a seat and make yourself comfortable."

"All right," agreed Irina. She sat down in a large leather sofa, not wanting to risk spilling anything on the fancier looking one. She stretched her long slim legs out, crossing them at the ankles.  Her feet were killing her and she so badly wanted to take her boots off, but she didn't think the living room was the most appropriate place to do it.  She gave a small wince. ‘At this rate I'm going to have poor foot circulation.'

Maestro smiled and went into the gourmet kitchen to prepare the cocoa.

Irina slumped a little in the couch and leaned back against the pillow. ‘Mmmm, this couch is so comfortable. I hope I don't fall asleep on it.' She let out a sigh as she pondered the day's events---from the long boring day at work to her less than pleasant encounter with her possessive, abusive ex-boyfriend. ‘Speaking of which, I wonder if Eric is still lying unconscious in my front yard. I had made sure my magic wouldn't do too much damage.' She shook her head to rid her mind of thoughts of Eric, mentally telling herself to forget him. No way was she going to let his foolishness spoil her good mood. She was starting to feel a bit drowsy whilst she was slouching, so she pulled herself into a more upright position.  It wasn't long before the kettle whistled and the smell of cocoa reached her nostrils, tickling them as she sniffed. ‘Mmmm. It smells heavenly.'

Several minutes later, Maestro emerged from the kitchen, holding a cup of cocoa and a coaster, as well as some napkins. He handed the cup of cocoa and the napkins to Irina before setting the coaster down on the coffee table. "Here you go."

Irina smiled. "Thank you." The smell of the cocoa was so arousing she had the urge to drink it right then. However, she looked down and saw that steam was rising from the drink, so she knew it would be wise to wait.

"You're welcome. Take care not to burn your tongue."

Irina shuddered at the thought. "Of course not." It was one thing she was happy to say very rarely happened. She pinched the tip of her nose. "You don't need to remind me twice," she playfully retorted, setting the cup of cocoa on the coaster.

Maestro chuckled lightly. "Quite the sassy one...but I like it."

"Oh?" Irina raised an eyebrow. "So you do, huh?" she asked, winking and smirking.

The mysterious Maestro flashed her a charming smile. "Indeed I do." He sat next to her. He had the sudden urge to hold her hand, but he didn't want to freak her out. ‘Come on, Michael, control yourself. You don't want to scare her away.'  He lightly licked his lips. "So how about you tell me about yourself while you're waiting for your hot chocolate to cool?"

Irina began to feel butterflies fluttering in her stomach once again. She scooted a bit closer to Maestro so their thighs were slightly touching and cutely scrunched up her nose. "All right. What do you most want to know about me?"

"Well I would like to know everything about you in due time, but for now, just tell me what you feel comfortable about revealing."

"Okay."  Irina collected her thoughts whilst placing a long wisp of hair that was hanging down in the back, into her hairclip.  She wasn't ready to tell him she was part sorceress. Not yet. ‘Oh dear. He's going to be bored to tears by the other things about me...but since he has asked....'  "I'm a legal secretary, I love to draw, paint, read, listen to music, and take long walks on the beach. I also love watching movies, particularly horror and animated ones." 

"Ah. It seems we have several things in common. I also love music, reading and painting. And I love children. If you don't mind me asking, where are you from originally? "

"Of course I don't mind. I am originally from Belarus. I have been living here for the past fourteen years, since I was nineteen years of age. It is very different, but I like living here."

Maestro gave an awed look. "Wow. " He now realized Belarusian was her native language and not one she learned to speak. Her soft accent explained it as well, which he happened to enjoy listening to. ‘I wouldn't be surprised if she is fluent in other languages, too.'  "Belarus, huh?"

"Yes," Irina answered before nervously looking down at her lap, then up at Maestro. So far he had not scoffed at anything she said, but her insecure side wondered if she were on the verge of scaring him off. "There's not too much more to know about me. I'm not very interesting, I'm afraid."

Maestro looked at her as if she had grown an extra head or something. "Nonsense! I have never crossed paths with anyone as interesting or as intriguing as you are. Not to mention beautiful."

She widened her eyes. "Me? Beautiful and intriguing?" she squeaked out, her crystal blue orbs still full of uncertainty. "You are not just saying that to flatter me, are you?"

Maestro gave Irina an amused look before clicking his tongue. "I flatter no one, my dear," he replied, gently stroking her hand with his own.

Irina gave him a hint of a smile, and felt her skin tingling at his touch. ‘Is he trying to make me melt through this couch or what?'  "Well, that's good to know. And thank you for the kind words. They mean a lot." 

"You're more than welcome," said Maestro, smiling. He unconsciously gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Is there anything you would like to know about me?"

Irina gasped softly when Maestro squeezed her hand. ‘Good glory. Is he trying to give me a heart attack or something? His hands are so nice and soft, though.' She squeezed his hand back. "Yes, actually there is. " She thought of how to phrase the question she had for him.

"Go on."

Irina rubbed her thumbs together slowly. "So, you live here alone, correct?"

Maestro shook his head, his curls swishing. "I am not necessarily alone. I have my family, and my servant Arisa, both of whom you will have an opportunity to meet in due time."

The red head felt shivers going down her spine at the mention of his family. She was tempted to ask who they were, but decided not to. ‘I have a gut feeling they give off that spooky vibe he had at first. I would love to meet this Arisa person, though.' "All right. I look forward to it." She hoped she didn't come across as sounding less than thrilled.

"Trust me when I say it will be worth the wait."

"Hmm. If you say so."  Irina was very wary, but at the same time willing to keep an open mind. She was not one for passing judgment on people without getting to know them first. "Thank you again for opening your home to me, although you usually don't care for visitors."

"The pleasure is mine." Maestro looked thoughtful as he proceeded to explain, "I enjoy visits from the children so I won't say I completely dislike visitors. In fact, I welcome them because I am so lonely. It's just that most of the adults in this town treat me with disrespect, especially the mayor. They view me with contempt. They constantly refer to me as a freak and a monster."

"How absolutely atrocious."  Irina could see in Maestro's eyes that he was hurt by all the insults although his tone was nonchalant. She began to think of what she would say and do to the adults of Normalville if she crossed paths with them and they were mistreating him. ‘They're lucky they're not in my presence right now.' "I want you to know I can relate to feeling like an oddball and being ridiculed by judgmental people. "

Maestro cocked an eyebrow. He found it interesting that she had endured the same things he was presently going through, and also sad.  "Oh?"

Irina nodded. "Throughout my youth I was mocked and bullied because of my appearance and wardrobe. My classmates called me names like Casper because my skin is porcelain white, Witchy Woman because I wore gothic clothing and carrot top because the color of my hair was so orangey. "

"That's not nice," commented Maestro.

Irina chuckled bitterly. "No it's not. However, I was able to deal with the name calling for the most part. I merely laughed at how infantile they were. But over time, it got much worse than that. There were times they threatened me, saying if I didn't change the way I dressed, they would call government officials to have me burned at the stake. Also they played all kinds of nasty pranks on me, like they would put frogs in my locker, pull my chair from under me when I went to sit down and pour crazy glue all over my shoes." She cringed slightly at the memory.

Maestro briefly covered his mouth in shock. "What?! That's terrible."

"It kept up like that until one day I couldn't handle it anymore and in my anger I did something I regretted later. Let's just say I gave them a reason to think I'm a witch. "

Maestro gave the red head a sympathetic look, although he himself suspected she was not a mere mortal. ‘I feel a strong aura emanating from her.' He had thoughts of asking her about it, but decided to let her tell him when she was ready.  "Wow. That must have been a really difficult time for you." ‘I must say, my misfortune is nothing compared to her trauma. I would hate to be in her shoes, although I have ways to cope with it.' He got a mysterious look in his eyes.

"Not particularly. I had been accepted at a university here in the United States, so I was glad to leave Belarus after completing high school. Everything began to fall into place, but by then, the damage was already done and it led me to become a total loner. My co-worker Carol was the first friend I made."

"I see." As pained as Maestro was by Irina's past, he was glad to have crossed paths with someone who understood what it was like to be an outcast. Now he knew why he clicked with her so quickly. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me about your past, although it must have been difficult for you to speak of."

Irina gave Maestro a reassuring smile in spite of it all. "No no, it's fine. I just want you to know I feel your pain, and you know what? I think it was fate that we met, so we could be there for each other." She gazed up at him with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Maestro smiled softly at her and gently stroked her face. "I agree. And I would like that." He stared into her eyes and she in his. She felt like she could look in them forever. ‘Those gorgeous brown eyes of his...if I were entirely human I would be hypnotized.'

Irina broke the stare and looked away, her eyes landing on the coffee table. That was when she remembered she had set the cocoa down to cool. "Whoops! I almost forgot about the cocoa. "

Maestro giggled a little. He just loved Irina's happy-go-lucky attitude. "Yes, you may want to check to see if it has cooled down enough. You don't want it to get too cold."

Irina tried not to swoon too much over his giggle, but it was proving to be difficult as she was melting inside. ‘It's so adorable.' "No, definitely not. It can't very well warm me up then." She picked up the cup, hoping the conversation had not been too lengthy. She brought it to her mouth and took a sip. To her relief, it was just right. She let the warm liquid slide down her throat. "Mmmm, this is very good."

Maestro smiled, pleasantly surprised. He was afraid he had lost his touch after relying on his chef for so long. "Thank you. I'm glad it has met your approval."

Irina smiled back. "It most certainly has." She took another sip, and then drank the rest of it. She rested the cup down again. She noticed she got her plumb colored lipstick all over the rim. She shrugged her shoulders. ‘Oh well. Bound to happen.'  "Well, I'm finished now. Do I have anything on my lips?"

"Hmmm..." Maestro suddenly forgot himself and smirked slightly, having dirty fantasies of what methods he would like to use to remove particles of food from the red head's face if they got into an intimate relationship. ‘Stop it! This is no time to be having such dirty thoughts!'  After he silenced the voice in his head, he gave her face a quick glance over. He noticed a small spot on the edge of her lips as well as the fact that most of her lipstick had come off. "There is a bit of cocoa on the left corner of your lip."

Irina gave him a grateful smile. The last thing she wanted was for something to be out of place on her and he ended up staring because he couldn't figure out how to tell her. "Thank you. " She took a napkin and wiped off the corners of her mouth, as well as the remainder of the lipstick. She picked up the empty tea cup.

"Here, I'll take that," offered Maestro. He took the cup away from her and started to walk towards the kitchen.

Irina reached out a hand to him, as if to say stop. "W-Wait. I can wash it. I just need an apron so I won't get bleach on my clothes."

Maestro gave her a look that said to relax. "No need to. You are a guest here. My maid will take care of it." He disappeared into the kitchen.

Irina watched him go. Although she was grateful, a small part of her still didn't feel right about leaving work for the maid to do. ‘Maybe it's because I never had anyone wait on me like this before.'  She sighed, peeking at the time on her watch. It read a quarter after seven. ‘Oh. Still early.'  She smiled a little when he returned from the kitchen a few seconds later.  "So what shall we do now, Maestro?"

He furrowed his brow in thought. "Would you like for me to take you on a tour of the mansion?"

Irina smiled brightly. She had been hoping he would ask that.  "Yes. That would be lovely."

Maestro smiled back. "All right, then. Let's go. " He offered a hand for her to take. She smiled and took his outstretched hand, sighing softly. He led her away from the living room, and through the halls of the massive mansion. He showed her the restroom, the basement, the art room, and all of the guestrooms. He would let her stay in one of the spare bedrooms if there came a time when he wanted her to stay overnight. ‘I would really like to ask her to stay tonight, but I don't want her to think my motives are less than pure.'  He let out a sigh.

Irina was admiring the final downstairs guestroom. All of them were very luxurious and about the size of a walk-in closet. ‘Fit for a princess.' She had been mesmerized by the art room, too, and loved seeing all of his work- in- progress paintings. She was about to tell him how beautiful she found everything to be thus far when she heard him sigh. His entire demeanor had changed. She sensed he was worried about something. "Maestro? What's wrong?"

He turned around to look at her. A look of concern was etched onto her face, tempting him to speak his mind, but he wasn't sure how she would react. "Don't worry. It's nothing." He plastered a smile onto his face to reassure her.

"Okay..." Irina couldn't put her finger on it, but she was sure Maestro had something on his mind that he was afraid to share with her. ‘I wish he would just tell me. I might be able to help. ‘ She decided to just drop the subject for now. ‘I will ask him about it before I leave.'

Maestro fell silent and led Irina out of the guestroom without so much of another word. He next took her to his library, snapping his fingers to brighten it up a bit.

Irina gazed around the library and let out a soft gasp. There were thousands upon thousands of books -more than she would ever be able to read in her lifetime even if God forbid she became fully immortal. "Wow, this is magnificent!" she exclaimed softly. She wondered how many books Maestro had read.

Maestro turned to face her with a genuine smile on his face. "What do you think? You like it?"

"Are you kidding me? I love it! I am sure there are enough books to take my mind away for hours."

Maestro let out a soft chuckle. "You're so cute." Ordinarily he had the library all to himself and liked it that way, but he was beginning to think it would be nice to have someone to share it with. ‘She does share the same love for reading as I do.'  "In that case, during your visits, you are welcome to come and read whenever you'd like, or you can accompany me when I'm reading in here. "

Irina was still blushing from when he called her cute. Her lip curled up slightly at his invitation. ‘I was hoping he would say that!' "Thank you. I would like that very much."

Maestro smiled. "I knew you would. Now let's continue, shall we? There is still much more I have to show you."

"I look forward to it. Everything I have seen thus far is mind-blowing. You have wonderful taste."

Maestro started to blush furiously. "Awww shucks." He let go of Irina's hand and covered his face.

She giggled to herself.  She thought of conjuring her fan and smacking him with it, but she didn't want to raise any more suspicions than she probably already had. "Now now, none of that. We have some exploring to do, remember?"

Maestro uncovered his face. "Of course. Sorry."   He took Irina's hand again, pulling her out of the library.  They walked past the ballroom. "Obviously I don't need to show you the ballroom. You are already familiar with it."

Irina gently squeezed his hand. "True. So then, where are you taking me?"

Maestro gave her a mysterious smile and simply told her, "You will soon find out." He continued to walk with her.

It was all Irina could do not to roll her eyes. ‘I swear, Maestro is something else.'  Soon, he was pulling her into a music room, turning on the lights. In the midst of it were a grand piano, an organ, and some sheet music on top of both instruments.  "Whoa. You mean to tell me you are a musician?"

Maestro gave her a lopsided grin. "Indeed I am. When I'm not scaring off trespassers, painting or reading, I'm working on music and dancing."

Irina nodded. "Oh ok. How wonderful."  Then she let out an"Oh!" when a realization hit her as to why he was called Maestro. ‘Silly me!'  "So is that why you're called Maestro? Because of your musical talent?"

Maestro smiled at her perceptiveness. "How right you are, milady. " He hesitated as if he were debating whether he should say whatever it was he wanted to.  "Would you like for me to play something?"

"Yes, please, if it is no problem."  Irina didn't want to put him on the spot if playing music in front of people made him feel nervous or self-conscious.

Maestro furrowed his eyebrows and laughed a bit. "Of course it's no problem. Don't be silly." He went over to the keyboard and sat down in front of it. He peered over his shoulder at the red head. "Any requests?"

"Hmm." Irina tapped her chin.  There were quite a few songs that came to mind, but there was one in particular she struggled to teach herself, and it was her favorite. "Beethoven's Fur Elise, please."

Maestro's eyebrows quirked a bit and he smiled. "Good choice. " He turned back around and flipped through a few of the papers until he found the sheet music for the song. He set it in front of him. That done, he began to play the composition, very softly and slowly at first. As he got into the melody, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

Irina listened intently as Maestro played the song. She felt her legs tingling as well as shivers going down her spine during parts where the volume increased. She couldn't help but admire the way he worked his fingers on the keys, and how passionate he looked with his eyes squeezed shut. ‘Oh my, he plays with such precision, one would think he is Beethoven himself.'  She got a dreamy expression on her face as she pondered what it would be like to waltz around the ballroom with him to this particular song. ‘Just the thought of it makes my knees weak.'  She pinched herself before she could become too deep in the dream state. ‘Goodness, what's wrong with me? Why am I so dreamy over him already?'  

It was a good thing Irina came back to reality when she did because Maestro was in the process of wrapping up the song. She watched as he slid his fingers across several keys for the end note diminuendo.  Once he was done, she gave him a round of applause. "That was splendid. I thoroughly enjoyed it."

Blushing profusely, Maestro got up from the seat. "Thank you very much, I think." He gave a slight bow.

Irina shook her head and chuckled at his modesty. "Come on now, you can do better than that. Your playing is a masterpiece and no, I am not just saying that.  You have captured all of the potential emotions of the song very well. "

Maestro wasn't entirely used to compliments, but he could tell from Irina's tone and the look in her eyes that she meant it. "Well, I sincerely appreciate the praise. So I take it you are partial to the song?"

Irina nodded. "Quite partial. While I can play a bit of piano by ear, playing this song is a real humdinger for me. " She gave a bitter laugh. "And it wouldn't do any good to give me the sheet music for it, because I cannot read music." 

"Hmm." Maestro looked thoughtful. "Perhaps I can teach you one day."

Irina's eyes brightened a bit. "That would be nice. Thank you."

"The pleasure is all mine. Now I shall give you the upstairs tour. Wrap your arms around my waist and make sure your grip is tight."

"All right..." Irina wasn't totally sure, but she had a rough idea of why Maestro gave such instructions. Even so, she snaked her arms around his waist, holding him tightly. ‘Is it possible that he intends to teleport upstairs? I guess I'm about to find out.' She felt him wrap his arms around her waist, too. One thing she had not noticed until now was that the difference in height between them was relatively insignificant, especially in comparison with her ex. It was noticeable but not enough to make her 5'6 stature seem dwarfish or petite. "Okay, Maestro. I'm ready now."

The warmth he felt from Irina's arms around him was identical to when he sat by the fireplace. ‘Come now, Maestro, no time to be distracted.' "Hang onto your hat. You're in for a long ride." Concentrating his energies, he transported himself and Irina upstairs. Once there, the two of them parted from each other, Irina panting a bit. He brushed a strand of hair from her face, tucked it behind her ear and gave her a look of concern. "How are you feeling? Do you need a moment to recover?"

"I am a bit dizzy, but other than that, I'm fine. We can keep going."

Maestro opened his mouth to express his doubts. He didn't want Irina to lose her balance. He decided not to say anything, for he came up with an idea. "Do you need me to carry you until your dizziness fades?"

"Um..." Irina had mixed feelings about his offer. As much as she was tempted to say yes since she loved being in his arms, she didn't want him to strain himself. On the other hand, she didn't feel like standing around waiting for the vertigo to pass, plus she knew he was being kind. "You can try. I must warn you, though, I am not exactly as light as a feather. I don't want you hurting yourself on my account."

Maestro smiled at her concern for him. "It's all right. I am sure you're not that heavy." With very little trouble, he swept her into his arms bridal style. "See? You're fine. You're not heavy at all." He proceeded to carry her away.

 Irina wasn't sure what to say to that. True, her 115 pound frame would be considered very light by most standards, but she was still unsure. "Well, if you say so." She slowly wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and laid her head on his chest. She listened to the sound of his beating heart. ‘Mmmm, he's so nice and warm.'  She also had to fight the urge to play with his hair.

Maestro looked flustered as his heart began to race. Her touch was having more of an effect on him than he cared to admit. "How do you feel now? Are you still dizzy?"  he asked the red head, trying to rid his mind of the frivolous thoughts.

"No, I feel fine. You can put me down now." She didn't sense that he had strained himself, but she didn't want to take any chances.

"All right." Maestro gently set Irina down.

"Thank you for the lift, though." She smiled up at him.

Maestro smiled warmly. "You're welcome. Come on. " He took Irina's hand again and led her over to the next row of guestrooms.

Irina perused each guestroom she was led into. They wowed her just as much as the ones downstairs. ‘I wish I had brought my camera with me. I can't believe I didn't think of that before. I have to remember for sure next time.'  She intended to show the pictures to Carol on the day she worked up the nerve to tell her about Maestro, opting to just hold on to them until then. ‘Telling her about Maestro and his home won't happen anytime soon, I'm sure.'

Maestro finally led Irina into a bedroom that was so large it looked like two walk-in closets combined. It looked very elegant, with the figurines and the bedspread. There were several landscape paintings and posters of Disney characters hanging on the wall. The room was also a bit messy, with a chair next to the bed covered with clothing and the comforter looking a little mussed.

Irina presumed this was Maestro's bedroom. She found it unusual he was showing it to her this soon, but she was secretly grateful as she was curious to know what his bedroom looked like. Her jaw dropped open at its size. ‘Wow, this room is so large. I hope I don't get lost in it or something.'  She raised an eyebrow slightly when she saw the clothes covering the chair. She didn't expect that he would be on the messy side at all, considering how clean the living room was. The Disney posters surprised her as well. ‘There is much more to him than I have realized.'

"This is my bedroom," Maestro informed her. "I apologize for the mess. I never let anyone but my maid and servants up here but somehow I felt compelled to make an exception for you. "

"I figured as much. And it's fine. I have seen worse before. Besides, my room can be just as messy at times." Truth be told, Irina was a bit unsettled, but she wasn't going to let him know that unless he made it a habit.

"I see. Well, I appreciate your understanding."

"Of course. Like you said, you originally had no intention of showing me until the last minute."

"Well in any event, I will try to have it in better shape next time."  All of a sudden, Maestro found himself thinking that if he was ever fortunate enough to be in an intimate relationship with Irina, he would want to watch her sleep or wake up with her in his arms on the very rare occasions he slept.

"Okay." Irina looked at her watch again, and this time it read approximately nine o'clock. ‘It certainly didn't seem that long.' "So are you going to tell me what was on your mind earlier?"

Maestro sighed heavily. "You're quite the persistent one, I see."

Irina looked at him with shifty eyes. "I suppose I am. But I cannot help but worry when something is obviously wrong and you won't tell me. I only want to help."

Maestro could see that Irina was not going to let up until he did tell her something. He also knew she meant well. He sat on the bed and gestured for her to do the same. She sat next to him. "Look, I speak the truth when I say nothing is wrong. It's more of a question that was lingering on my mind."

"Hmm? Go on. I'm listening." Irina turned sideways on the bed so she was facing him.

"I was wondering if you would like to stay here overnight at some point."  Maestro spoke slowly, as if he were afraid she would say no in a less than gracious manner.

‘So that's why he appeared so pensive.' Irina looked at him as if to say, ‘I can't believe he got me worried over a simple question like that.'  "Well if that's the case, why didn't you just ask me? I would love to. But..."

The small smile that had crept upon Maestro's face faded. "But?"

"Are you sure you're fine with that? I don't want to impose on you."

Maestro laughed and playfully tweaked her nose. "Of course I'm fine with it, you silly woman. Do you honestly think I would have extended the invitation if I truly felt that way?" His tone of voice was dripping with amusement.

Irina giggled. "I suppose not." She stopped laughing when she thought she saw he looked hurt. She didn't want him to feel that way. "As for your invite, I accept.  Just give me a date and I will make sure my schedule is clear." Her schedule was flexible anyway since she usually didn't spend time with anyone except for Carol.

"How about next weekend?" suggested Maestro. "It's going to be Halloween and I will be hosting a party for the children. I could use your help."

Irina furrowed her brow, thinking about whether she would be free or not. She usually spent Halloween alone, unless Carol asked her to help pass out candy or something, but she hadn't done that in several years. "That's perfect. I definitely will."

Maestro's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Good. I look forward to it."

Irina smiled. "As do I." And it wasn't just because she loved being around children, either. She was also looking forward to some more alone time with him. She finally saw how painful his loneliness was, and she was honored that he chose her to be the one to soothe it.

 

 

Chapter End Notes:

(Carol)

Carollikeness

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