The next Friday, Catherine busied herself with cooking and baking for the date. She made an Italian dish of some sort and a chocolate cake with homemade icing. When she finished, she looked at the time. It was a quarter to six.

Just enough time to get ready.

Catherine quickly did her makeup and slipped into her little black dress.

—————

Matthew wrung his hands together nervously, messing around with his mask. After a moment's hesitation, he knocked on the apartment door.

—————

Catherine took one last look in the mirror. "This is it," she thought. She moved to the door, took a deep breath and opened it. "Hello, Matthew."

Matthew's jaw fell ajar. He could gawk at her hair, her dress, her beautiful form, but her eyes captivated him, the black of the dress bringing out every color full fledged. "Wow," Matt stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. "You look...wow."

"Thank you," Catherine blushed. "Would you like to come in?"

Matt didn't know how to speak. What was there to say? "Wow," he whispered awkwardly, stepping inside and handing her a single red rose.

"Um...dinner is ready but we can wait if you would like."

He gave a small nervous laugh. "Whatever you would like. I'm your obedient servant."

"We could eat and then watch a movie after," Catherine suggested.

Matt gave a small nod. "As you wish. Smells amazing," he commented, removing his long black coat.

"Thank you. It's my friend's recipe. I hope you like Italian."

"Love it," Matt grinned. "I spent a month an Italy when I was younger. Beautiful country."

"I'm actually half Italian. We visited Rome a few times. It really is beautiful."

"Ever taken a gondola ride? Those narrow rivers, twinkling moonlight, standing above the world," Matt sighed. "Closest I've ever felt to understanding Erik."

"Never," Catherine replied with a small smile. "I want to though."

"I'll add it to my list then," Matt said as he sat down at the table.

"Ooh. You're list. Sounds so official," Catherine laughed as she served the well-prepared food.

"Not really," he said with an embarrassed laugh. "It's just a collection of things I need to do with you, see them through your eyes."

"That's sweet. Caleb never did anything like that."

"I'm sure he did," Matt shrugged. "Some guys just don't talk aloud as much."

"Do you like it?" Catherine asked, gesturing to his plate.

"It's the best meal I've had in a long time," Matt complimented after taking his first bite.

"Save room for dessert. I made a chocolate cake," Catherine smiled.

"You outdid yourself, Cath," he grinned, shaking his head at having such a beautiful friend. "So...what do normal people talk about on dates?"

"Um...their lives, I guess," Catherine shrugged. "Here's a fun anecdote: I used to have depression."

Matt's face fell serious. "I know." The thought of Cath crying chilled him to the bone.

"You...know?"

"Sorry," Matt murmured. "Just, you tug at your sleeve, pulling your sweater down whenever certain topics comes up. That means at some point...you had something to hide."

"Oh...my sister was the only one who could cheer me up. Usually by singing Phantom of the Opera."

"My dad," Matt confided, "taught me Music of the Night on piano when I was seven. Only thing that could calm me down from temper tantrums."

"That's sweet," Catherine smiled softly.

"And your dad?"

Catherine looked away. "He left a week after my sister died...She died about nine years ago. I rarely ever visit the cemetery. I can't bare it."

"We just can't seem to get a break, can we?" Matthew sighed.

"It doesn't seem like it...What happened to your parents?"

"My mom and dad were fine, really," Matt shrugged. "Just, mom always thought giving me music lessons was out of the budget. Dad disagreed. Before I knew it, I was twelve and my mom was living in another state."

"Is your mother still alive?"

"Probably," Matt shrugged.

"Were you and your dad close?" Catherine asked after a moment.

"What is close?" Matt sighed. "He was my dad, my manager, my confidant. That was about as far as it went."

"It must have been really hard on you when he died. I know that it was tough for me when my mother died four years ago...Do you want to eat our cake while we watch the movie? I was thinking we could watch The Phantom of the Opera so that I can study the music," Catherine suggested.

Matt swallowed his food and nodded. "You could learn a lot from Sierra's breath control. When I was in West End with her, she was a goddess."

"The stage version? Did Mariah put you up to this?" Catherine chuckled.

"Cath, you're a stage performer," Matthew laughed.

"But the movie is so much better," Catherine pouted.

"Yes," Matt shrugged, "as a movie, but you need to focus on your articulation and breath control if you're ever going to continue using the same amount of power for two and half hours straight. We can watch both, if you would like."

"I can live with that," Catherine agreed. "I'll go cut the cake. Make yourself comfortable." She cleared the plates and walked into the kitchen. Setting the dishes aside, she whispered to herself, "What am I saying? What am I doing? Why am I so nervous? He looks so...so...perfect. Why does he have to look so hot?"

Matthew gave a small smile as he over heard her. "Do you want me to do those?" He asked, leaning against the doorway and pointing to the dishes.

Catherine nearly dropped one of the dishes in the sink. She spun around and asked, "How long have you been standing there?"

"I just thought I'd help with the dishes," Matt said with a smile.

"Um, sure," Catherine replied, blushing slightly.

Matthew came behind her, and gently coiled his arm around her waist unintentionally as he turned the water on. "There," he murmured.

Catherine grabbed his arm and held it close to her, gently reaching up behind her and putting her other hand to his unmasked cheek.

"Cath," he said with a little smirk, "I'm trying to do dishes here."

"I know," Catherine said with a smile that he couldn't see.

"The sooner I finish the dishes, the more time we have to watch both movies," Matt noted.

"Very true," Catherine sighed. "You keep working, I'll be right back."

Catherine stepped out of the room and called Mariah. "Help. I'm making an idiot of myself here," she said when her friend answered the phone. "I don't know what to do or what to say and he looks really freaking hot and I want to kiss him so bad."

"So," Mari laughed, "then tell him that. Matthew Collins is the most caring, nervous, timid freak there ever was. I'm pretty sure if you asked him to paint a rubber duck right now because you liked, it he would do it."

"I can't tell him that," Catherine sighed. "Do you really think I should?"

"What? Ask him to paint a rubber duck?" Mari teased.

"No," Catherine moaned, rolling her eyes. "Should I really tell him that he's hot and I wanna kiss him, or should I wait and just kiss him out-of-the-blue?"

"You've got to wait for the right moment, Cath," Mari sighed. "This is one thing you can't plan out. When the time comes, when that seems the only way to say what your feeling, then you'll know."

"Okay. Thanks, Mariah. I have no idea what I'd do without you. He really liked the food, by the way. Thanks for the recipe."

"Thank Rachel Ray," Mari laughed. "I'll talk to you later, Cath."

"Okay. I'll let you know how it goes," Catherine sighed nervously, hanging up and going back into the kitchen to finish the dishes with Matthew.

"I'm sorry," Matt stammered with a nervous little laugh. "I've never really done this...ever. I'm probably doing everything all wrong."

"No, you're doing just fine," Catherine chuckled.

Matt gave a sigh of relief. "What are you doing with a guy like me, Cath?" He asked with a small laugh, shaking his head and feeling dumbfounded.

"What do you mean? You're amazing in more ways than I can count."

"Cath, you deserve someone who looks like Caleb, who can open up and tell you everything like Caleb." Here, Matthew's eyes shifted across the room, darkly searching each corner with an eerie countenance. "A man who doesn't have secrets he's forced to hide from you."

"Hey," Catherine said as stopped and put her dry hand on Matthew's chest, "I left Caleb for a reason, remember? I left him because I love you. I don't care about any secrets you have, because believe me, I have them too. I love you and I want to be with you. If anything, you're the one who deserves better."

The two sat in the silence, the water from the faucet running steadily behind them.

Matt placed his cold, large hand upon her soft and warm, small one, holding it tenderly. "Thank you," he whispered, his eyes giving emotions of gratitude beyond what words could hold.

Catherine, at this moment, understood what Mariah meant. She grabbed Matthew by his suit jacket and pulled him in close, pressing her lips into his gently.

Matthew stiffened, his muscles tensed as doubt stifled his every movement. Yet, as her strong fists clung tightly and surely to his jacket, thoughts in general seemed to give way as he melted into her touch. "Catherine Daei," he laughed through a small smile. "What have you done to me?"

"I've given you my heart," she smiled. "You go sit down and I'll cut the cake."

"Just a small slice," Matt commented, giving her cheek a nervous kiss. "I've eaten a weeks worth of food over dinner."

"Alright," Catherine laughed. "Go, sit." She cut the cake and brought the plate over to Matthew, who was sitting on the couch. She then put on the stage version of The Phantom of the Opera and sat down beside her love interest.

"Alright, now right there," Matt commented nearly, standing up in excitement. "You see how she changes the amount of classical vibrato in her voice, and yet the power of her tone remains the same? The inflection and emotion she channels whilst maintaining the same amount of direct energy on each note? That's the difference between an broadway artist and a singer."

Catherine sighed and rolled her eyes. "Must you always be in teacher mode? Can't you just be in boyfriend mode for ten minutes?"

"This is boyfriend mode," he scoffed, faking offense. "I'm introducing you to something that I'm highly interested in. And warning you that, should you choose to spend time with me, be ready for teacher mode. I'm nothing, if not honest."

"Is that why you refuse to tell me about Mel?" Catherine muttered inaudibly.

"Hm?" Matt smiled, reaching for the popcorn. "Listen, if it would serve to ease your troubled mind, we'll have no more talk of vocal instruction tonight."

"Thank you," Catherine replied, thankful that he didn't hear her previous comment.

Author's Note: The picture to follow shows Catherine's black dress.