Following the dinner date that Erik had prepared at his house a few months ago, he had become exceptionally busy with work and was trying to tackle that whilst still making time for Rose. Unfortunately, Rosaline was in much the same position which made Erik wary of their newfound relationship. It was only a week prior that Erik had officially asked Rosaline to be his girlfriend, which she happily accepted with a shy smile and blushed cheeks. Despite the fact that it had taken months to come to this point, Erik was positive that their feelings for one another were passionate and growing stronger everyday. Although they both continued to keep some personal secrets close to their chests, they didn't allow it to distract or influence how they felt when in the company of each other. As far as they were both concerned, no secret would ever be too great to stop them from wanting to spend a future together. As of the current moment, Erik was in the middle of a photoshoot for the launch of the new Burberry men's winter collection. He was dressed in a simple pair of pinstriped slacks and the labels signature beige double breasted trench coat.

"And that's a wrap!" Calls the photographer after sparing a quick glance at his camera.

Erik pulls away from the provincial column he was occupied against for the past few minutes, before thanking the photographer and walking towards his trailer. After opening the metal door and changing into a more casual outfit, he takes a seat on the chair in the corner of the small space and takes out his phone. Finding Rosaline's name within his contact list, he hits the call button, hoping by some miracle she won't be too busy to accept his call.

"Erik." She smiles into the phone.

"Hi darling, I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time." Erik tells her.

"I can always spare a few minutes for you." Rosaline assures him.

"How was the photoshoot?" She asks.

"Great, we've just wrapped. I'm actually sitting in my trailer as we speak. I'll be ready to head home as soon as I finish up with you." Erik informs her.

"That's very sweet of you to call me first." Rosaline acknowledges in a kind voice.

"Rose, you should know by now that I'll always make time for you. You mean so much more to me than you know." Erik sincerely says.

"Erik..." Rosaline breathlessly whispers after a solemn moment.

"You can't say things like that and not expect me to become teary." She weakly says through a sniffle.

"I just don't want you to ever have to question or worry about how much I adore you." He justifies.

"I know that you do." She confirms through happy tears.

"I can't stand the thought of you crying when I'm not around to wipe your tears. Please stop, sweetheart. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you would be interested in coming over for dinner tonight? I have something important that I want to discuss with you." Erik questions Rosaline after she's calmed down.

"I suppose I could reschedule having drinks with Meghan tonight. She asked me earlier today if I wanted to have a girls night, but I think we both know I prefer your company to anyone else's." Rosaline boldly admits.

"I've been hearing so much recently about this new friend of yours Rose. I would like to think that as your boyfriend you still prefer spending time with me." Erik tells her.

"Of course I do. It's just that I don't have a lot of girlfriends as you know and Meghan has been wonderful these past few weeks. She's like the best friend I always wanted but never had." She confesses almost sadly.

"I'm happy that you've found yourself a close and trustworthy friend sweetheart. You know I want nothing but the best for you, but just remember there are certain things that only I can give you." Erik cheekily reminds her.

"Like what exactly?" Rosaline retorts in a girly voice.

"I guess you will just have to come over tonight in order to find out." Erik easily quips.

"I'll see you later this evening then handsome." Rosaline sweetly replies.

"See you then sweetheart." Erik responds, before disconnecting the call.

Packing up the last of his things, Erik exits his trailer, says a final few farewells to the crew on set of his photo shoot and makes a dash for his awaiting car. After engaging in a few minutes of small talk with Mr Arnold as they begin their journey home, Erik rests his head against the leather of the seat and allows his eyes to momentarily close. After a tiring day on set, Erik wants nothing more than to go home, indulge in some greasy food and curl up against Rosaline on his couch. In thinking about Rose, Erik can't help but consider the latest addition to her group of friends. Over the span of a few short weeks, Rosaline had managed to acquire quite the perfect friendship with Meghan. Although Rosaline has only ever spoken highly of her, Erik couldn't help but feel a little jealous over the fact that she now had also been spending time with her and other friends as opposed to just him. In hindsight, Erik knew his behaviour was bordering possessive and was probably quite foolish but he couldn't help that he was smitten with his girlfriend and wanted to spend every spare minute with her. Since the increase in his recent workload, Erik had made it is prime goal to set aside time for Rosaline each week, which was why when she occasionally told him she would be spending time with her friends instead he felt particularly disheartened. All Erik wanted was the opportunity to continue showing Rosaline how much her loved her, even though he was yet to tell her those all important three little words.

Having become lost in his own thoughts, Erik barely notices it when the car stops moving and Mr Arnold parks adjacent to his house. After thanking him for the drive, Erik steps out of the car and walks directly upstairs to bask in a much needed hot shower. Dressing himself in a loose fitted cotton shirt and a pair of joggers to match, Erik makes his way downstairs and into the living room where he chooses to watch some nonsense television show until Rosaline arrives. Thankfully, the hours manage to tick by faster than he anticipated and soon Erik finds himself answering the door. Before any words are able to be exchanged between himself and Rosaline, Erik elegantly pulls Rose into his awaiting arms and places a warm and igniting kiss against her lips.

"Someones happy to see me." She playfully counters, whilst walking inside.

"Always." Erik smiles, before closing the front door after her.

"I was thinking we could just order in a pizza or something? I've had the longest day sweetheart and didn't really feel bothered enough to cook. I hope you don't mind?" Erik explains, while taking a seat beside Rosaline on the couch in the living room.

"I don't mind at all. In fact, I think I'd prefer that next to home cooking at the moment. I've sort of been craving something cheesy all week." She admits.

"How about I order you a large cheese pizza then, just for you?" Erik suggests.

"You certainly know the way to my heart, or stomach I should say." Rosaline jokes.

Erik smiles at her, as she makes herself comfortable on his couch. Although Rosaline made a joke about knowing the way to her stomach and not her heart per se, Erik hopes that someday soon she might be able to return the same strong feelings he shares for her. Although Erik already has a pretty good idea as to how she feels about him, he can't help but want to hear the words 'I love you' escape for her mouth. Given his lack of genuine, romantic relationships in the past, Erik knows for certain that when the time comes for him and Rosaline to admit their truest feelings for each other, there won't be anything holding him back from asking her to share in a future with him.

A while later, when both Erik and Rosaline have each cleaned up helpful sizings of pizza, they find themselves cuddling and making out on the couch under a blanket like a couple of hormonal teenagers. For whatever reason, Erik reluctantly pulls himself away from Rosaline when he senses that she is no longer reciprocating their kiss.

"What's wrong?" He huskily asks her with bruised lips.

"Nothing, I just remembered something." She softly answers.

"Was is it?" Erik responds, looking partly confused by the sudden change in pace.

"Didn't you mention that you needed to tell me something important tonight?" Rosaline reminds him, before watching as some of the colour drains in Erik's face.

"I did, actually." Erik nods.

"Well, was is it?" Rosaline exclaims when Erik hasn't made an attempt to elaborate. Before answering her question however, Erik grabs ahold of her delicate hands in his and takes a brief minute to mentally prepare himself, as he has no idea as to how Rose might react to his proposal. For all Erik knows, Rosaline might be positively excited to go ahead with his idea, but on the other hand it might only trigger some of the doubts about their relationship that he knows she has been trying hard to suppress as of late.

"I want you to meet my family. Mum and dad specifically, but I'd also really love it if you could meet Lucy, Oliver and Isabella of course. I want them to meet the woman who has made me so incredibly happy these past several months." He proudly tells her.

For a solid few minutes, there is nothing but silence between Erik and Rosaline. Neither has taken the opportunity to say anything, largely out of fear in case they say the wrong thing, but Erik knows the longer this silence expands between them, the worse the outcome may potentially be.

"Say something." He gently says.

"I'm afraid." She retaliates in much the same tone.

"Of what?" Erik frowns in confusion.

"Of what they will think of me, of us?" She motions between the two of them.

Erik pauses to take in her words before releasing his grasp on her hands and instead embracing her in a tight and comforting hug.

"Sweetheart, no matter what I tell you I know you will continue to have doubts about us and what other people think about us which is fine because that's your prerogative. But I guess what I'm trying to say is please don't allow those negative thoughts to come between what we have and what we know is real. If I know my family as well as I think I do, then mum and dad will accept you with warm and loving arms, just as I have. They won't judge us based on our age difference, they don't care about that. They just care that we make each other happy." Erik explains as best he can.

Regrettably, he soon discovers that Rosaline has begun to weep and tremble like a child in his arms. Doing his best to soothe her worries with kisses placed against her temple, what he doesn't expect is for her to quickly reach an understanding about what he said.

"I'm sorry that I've allowed the influence and judgment of others to dictate my feelings for you, but you have to know how scared I am to disappoint anyone." She begins.

"I just want to try and do the right thing by everyone but sometimes I know I can't and it kills me to think it's because I've been selfish and only thought about my own wants and feelings." Rosaline continues between sniffles.

"The truth is, I would love to meet your parents and sisters family Erik and I hope more than anything that one day I'll be able to look at us and what we have and not feel guilty because the reality is I shouldn't have to. I admire and care about you not because of your age or wealth or anything else but because of who you are and who you are to me is perfect." She finishes while using the ends of her sleeve to wipe the few remaining tears from her eyes.

Overcome by the emotion expressed through her words and the fragility in her voice in admitting such honest truths, Erik doesn't think before closing the distance between them and sealing their impending future and happiness with an eloquent kiss.