Girl's Night Out

[Christine Montgomery]

"A cage is a cage Dorian, you can dress it up anyway you like. And I didn't have to slip past any guards. I'm of age. Which gives me the power to decide who stalks me. I've allowed Lex to accompany me, Alek too since they don't seem to abhor my company as much as you do."

She finished the first glass and poured another, "As for 'as long as it takes', it's taking too long. I've given M all the time I'm going to. I'm going to live my life Dorian, no one's going to stop me, not the Ministry, not my parents, not M and not you."

[Dorian Humbert]

"I don't abhor your company," he said through gritted teeth. Her refusal to understand why he couldn't be with her was infuriating and tiresome. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and looked over at Christine as he exhaled.

[Christine Montgomery]

"Yes you do." she said knowingly meeting his eyes, she leaned in toward him "You hate it because if you see me you want to touch me, if you touch me you want to kiss me, and that just ties you up inside. Loving me goes against everything that you are, and you hate that you can't control it. Wanting me makes you feel dirty and ignoble."

Her eyes traced his face lovingly before turning hard, "And it shows all over your perfect face. The struggle, the shame, the tight coil of nobility strangling you. You hate my company, and if you're honest with yourself...a part of you must hate me too."

A single tear reluctantly fell from one eye while the other eye threatened to spill another. She stood abruptly and headed for the jukebox deciding to ignore him and the revelation she just had.

[Dorian Humbert]

She had nearly everything right, except the very end. He didn't hate her company or her. Instead he hated himself for being who he was. Lex had admonished him plenty for being too proud or too honorable to simply be with Christine. Everyone knew it was what he wanted. It was hardly a secret as he moped around the office day in and day out.

His eyes followed her to the jukebox and watched as she selected some songs that she thought would take her mind off of his presence, which she clearly found unbearable. Dorian sighed. He needed a drink. He pulled the bottle and glass she had left on the bar closer to him and helped himself. He took it in one fell swoop and set the glass back on the bar top, then turned to watch Christine again.

[Christine Montgomery]

She was gone from the Jukebox when he looked up. Instead she had made her way to the pool table and was ingratiating herself among a group of players. She wore an innocent smile and decadent gleam as she proceeded to show off.

Soon she was laughing and enjoying herself, at least pretending to. She had hoped to ignore her unwanted bodyguard and the feelings he evoked.

She made some comment about the song that was playing, and then found herself on the dance floor swaying with a 6'2" mass of pure sex appeal. She felt nothing.

[Dorian Humbert]

Dorian however felt everything. He watched her anxiously as she joined a group playing pool. Every laugh and every smile made his chest tighten, wanting nothing more than to join her. But the most trecherous feeling of all came in the form of jealousy as he watched Christine dance with another man. He could feel his heart twisting in a sort of agony that was so intense he couldn't comprehend it.

A pained look washed over his handsome face as the couple moved together on the makeshift dance floor. Dorian would do something reckless if he continued to watch, so instead he turned his back the Christine and stared across the bar. Damn his luck as the wall behind the bar was nothing but one long mirror in which he could perfectly see Christine press her body against the handsome stranger. Dorian grabbed the bottle of bourbon and poured a heaping glass, then proceeded to drink his jealousy away.

[Christine Montgomery]

She rocked side to side, her arms resting around the stranger's neck, she was unsure of herself until she found Dorian's eyes in the mirror. For one forbidden moment it was his chest she was pressed against, his arms that wrapped around her. She exhaled the breath she had been holding and kept her eyes on his in the mirror, the longing clearly evident.

In her mind he stood up, he turned toward her and took her from the poor substitute she danced with. He held her once again safe and strong, but tender and gentle. He danced with her and like he promised touching her led to kissing her and they lost themselves in one another, but as the song ended she realized it was only in her mind.

[Dorian Humbert]

He glanced up dutifully from time to time to make sure she was safe and hadn't snuck off without his knowing. But every glance was a dagger in his heart as Christine looked so happy with this other man. He imagined ripping them away from each other and punching the man in his far too handsome face.

Dorian poured another glass, his third so far this evening. If Christine kept this up it wouldn't be his last.

[Christine Montgomery]

Sometime between him looking away to pour another drink or drink his envy away, Christine left the man she had been dancing with. When Dorian looked up again Christine would have been gone.

She appeared on the other side of him, " You could ask me to dance yourself, instead of staring daggers at Cameron."

[Dorian Humbert]

For a split second there was a terror in his eyes as Christine's reflection was no longer visible in the mirror. But fright didn't last long as he quickly realized Christine was once again back at the bar, standing next to him.

He hung his head. "You know I can't," he said, a great sadness present in his voice.

[Christine Montgomery]

"No." she said regaining her sense she licked her bottom lip and chewed on it slightly, a habit she had picked up when she felt insecure. "Of course not." she berated herself.

"I'm ready to go home now." she said pulling together from her disappointment avoiding looking him in the eyes.

[Dorian Humbert]

The disappointment in her voice was heart breaking, but at least they would be leaving and he would not need to torture them much longer. He nodded and stood, giving her an apologetic look. The three large glasses of bourbon had more of an effect on him than he realized and it hit him as he stood. He took a breath to compose himself before escorting her home.

He stood on the massive exterior entryway to her castle. He was once again reminded how different they were, but his inhibitions had since been diminished by the alcohol.

"Christine, I..." He wanted to apologize but the words wouldn't come out. Instead, he reached out and touched her face. It wasn't long before he had his lips pressed to hers.

[Christine Montgomery]

She was silent on the way home. She mulled over the reasons Dorian thought they couldn't be together and squashed each one with logic, then she sighed with the realization that logic had no part in it. Dorian wouldn't be with her again out of logic, he loved her. Love would have been enough if it was simply logic standing in the way. Instead it was something inside of him. Some deep conviction that held him back, and she realized he wouldn't be the man she loved if he didn't have those deep convictions.

She hovered at the entryway. He saw a palace, she saw a prison. But she was resigned and took a few steps forward to leave, she didn't want to say goodbye again.

Her eyes were blurry from the tears that refused to fall, she didn't even know what was happening until he kissed her. It felt so foreign and so familiar at the same time. She pressed into him, letting her weight fall against him and kissed with all the fervor of a man dying of thirst seeing water for the first time.

[Dorian Humbert]

His arms wrapped around her unconsciously, his actions completely instinctual at this point. He missed her. His body ached to be with her again but a nagging sensation at the back of his brain started to sound. He ignored it as he attacked her, knowing what he was doing was wrong. But it felt so good, how could it be wrong?

[Christine Montgomery]

Somewhere in the back of Christine's mind she told herself to stop. She told herself that this wouldn't change anything, he'd realize what they had done and he'd feel shame while she felt hope. If she loved him she'd stop him from hurting further.

But God it felt good to touch him, to have him touch her.

He let her press her into the alcove which gave them a modicum of privacy.

She kept saying she would stop things before they got too far, but the other thought running through her mind was that this could be the last time she kissed him. Passion turned to anguish, and anguish turned to desperation.

[Dorian Humbert]

Dorian ran a hand through her dark locks as his free hand roamed the curves of her body. He kissed her lips, her ear, her neck. Her skin was salty and warm. He pressed her body against the wall with his, his hands still roaming over her in a desire to feel every inch of her body once again.

Her body against his didn't seem to be close enough. He had starved himself for so long and now he had her again. Dorian was about to make a terrible mistake.

[Christine Montgomery]

Christine was lost in the physical sensation of Dorian's mouth on her body. She brought his body closer to hers by wrapping a leg around his. They were close to the point of no return, though Christine would have argued their kiss was a point of no return considering their hunger for one another.

Sanity returned at the last moment, not sanity, but love. Love was the only thing strong enough to override their lust.

Christine wrenched herself away from his mouth.

She was now gasping for breath "We can't..."

She hated herself in that moment, her selflessness was beyond physical pain.

[Dorian Humbert]

It didn't register immediately that she was pulling away from him. He had her up against the wall, his body pinning her in place as he moved his lips over her skin. But her words echoed the nagging sensation at the back of his mind.

His lips hovered over hers as he stared into her eyes, then suddenly the guilt ripped through him and he pushed hinself away from her.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me." Dorian wouldn't normally act so rashly. He was thankful Christine had brought him back to his senses before he made too big of a mistake, but he was mortified at his actions nonetheless.

[Christine Montgomery]

Now that he wasn't pressed against her she felt the cool night are like a slap in the face. She felt bereft, empty, as though she had been suddenly stripped of her skin to the raw exposed core.

"I hate this." she said her voice thick with unshed tears.

[Dorian Humbert]

He wanted to fix it, to make her feel better somehow but there was nothing he could do. She didn't stop him because she didn't love him. She stopped him because she did love him. She knew Dorian would never be able to live with himself if they had gone any further. He would have broken every moral fiber within him and Christine loved him too much to let that happen. Dorian felt like scum for even getting as close as they had.

"I know," he answered, avoiding her eyes. "I'm sorry," he said again. He couldn't apologize enough and yet he knew he needed to leave before they had the opportunity to do anything else. But his feet wouldn't move.