CHAPTER 2

All credit belongs to ELJ. I don't not own the characters.

ANA

As quickly as possible, I run out of his bedroom and make my way downstairs. My bladder is screaming at me for not emptying it when I had the chance. I had to be nosy and snoop where I had no business snooping.

I just couldn't help myself. Everything is just so beautiful. The yard was perfectly manicured, with a huge swimming pool covered in some sort of pink flowers. Who knew Gail was such a girly girl? And the owner of the house? So sexy and mysterious that I just couldn't help my nosiness and invade his privacy. And I was careless and stupid enough to get caught.

After being outside for hours and having Mr. Grey's eyes on me the entire time, I just had to escape and relieve myself. Instead of finding a bathroom in that enormous house, I just had to snoop. There was no one in the house, so I thought I was safe. I had no idea he would follow me. Did he follow me? Maybe he just wanted to get away from all those women downstairs, but why now? Why not earlier? Why did he come inside as soon as I did? Maybe he was watching to make sure I didn't take anything? Does he know? Not that I would take anything of value. He probably assumes everybody wants something from him.

Get a hold of yourself, Ana. Christian Grey is not following you. But then why was he looking at me the entire time? Every single time I looked his way, his eyes were on me. At some point I think I saw his eyes assess me from head to toe, and I saw something in those gray eyes. Something akin to desire, but I looked away as quickly as possible, not believing what I think I saw, and started a conversation with one of Gail's cousins. But when I quickly turned around again, he was looking at me again.

I look around frantically for Gail. I find her having what looks like an unpleasant conversation with Elliot. I can't hear what they're saying, but Gail isn't happy. The fact that Elliot just shrugs his shoulders at her and laughs makes her even more unhappy.

I walk over to them, and they quickly end their conversation, both of them giving me weird smiles. Elliot quickly walks away towards his brother, who has now come out of the house.

"Gail, I think I'm going to head out. Where's Jason? I want to say goodbye to him too," I tell her. I avoid telling her what happened inside. I'd hate for her to be upset at me for what I just did. I'm kicking myself now because I could have put Gail in a bad situation with her boss, but they seem to be more like family than employee and employer.

"Why are you leaving so early? We're going to bring the party inside soon." Before I can answer, Jason comes walking back from the front of the house.

"I'm sure you want to spend quality time with your family," I say. I remember she mentioned that her sister and cousins would be spending the night. Gail and Jason have a smaller house on the property. One of the perks of working for a billionaire is free housing apparently.

"Don't be silly. You're welcome to spend the night too. I have clothes you can borrow," she tells me, while putting an arm around my shoulder.

Over the past three months, I've really come to love Jason and Gail. At first, I thought Jason was hitting on me when he started talking to me at the café. But when he mentioned my pastries tasted almost as good as his fiance's, I automatically relaxed. The look on his face when he talked about Gail was one of pure devotion. And he talked about her a lot. Besides that, there was just something friendly and harmless about him. He told me he was an ex marine, and I told him my dad was ex army. One day, he brought Gail to GEH and he asked me to join them for lunch. We ordered food from a food truck outside, sat on a bench outside, and talked. I instantly bonded with Gail and we became fast friends. We had brunch several times, just the two of us. We've gotten pedicures together and I've told her all about my life, my losses and my regrets. Mainly just one clusterfuck of a regret, but Gail does what a good friend does. She listens. She gives advice when necessary, and she provides a shoulder. Having Jason and Gail is like having an older brother and sister, which I appreciate since I'm an only child.

My other closest friend is Jose, my childhood friend, whose parents own the café where we work. Unlike Gail, Jose is protective of me. Instead of just listening, he tries to fix things. And he's quite bossy, but I love him more than life for his loyalty. Besides, he knows everything there is to know about me. It's safer to just keep him at this point.

"Uh, can I use the bathroom in your house before I go? I couldn't find it in that giant house Mr. Grey has." How the hell can one person live in that place? I'm sure that house has its own zip code, but then again, he probably entertains a lot. Didn't those women say he had a private sex room? I wonder where it is in that house? Is it a dungeon? Is there even a basement in that house? Or maybe he has a wing dedicated to his special activities. Does he have one of those sex swings? I give myself a mental shake. It's none of my business and I refuse to judge.

Gail walks me to her house and I quickly find the bathroom. I breath a sigh of relief once I empty my bladder. Gail's house is not as small as I thought. The downstairs is huge and has an open floor plan. All of her finishes are high end, and her furniture looks expensive. Grey is quite generous with his employees. And they are so loyal to him. Maybe he's not as scary once you get to know him, not that I want to get to know him. I'm keeping my distance.

I walk back outside, and I spot him immediately. My mouth goes dry and I involuntarily bite my bottom lip. The butterflies from earlier return to my stomach and I feel a dull ache between my legs. Did that his pink polo shirt always stretch out across his chest just so? Did the muscles in his arms bulge out like that earlier? I lick my dry lips and continue to look at him. He's talking to his brother and Jason, with EJ sitting on his shoulders. I crack a smile because EJ is pulling his hair and Grey is making funny faces, pretending that he's hurt. He then takes EJ off his shoulders, tickles him before he sets him down.

His eye catches mine briefly but I quickly look away and approach Gail.

"I have to run, Gail. I'll see you next week for our weekly lunch date. I'll give you all the details about my date tomorrow. Wish me luck." She pulls me into a hug. "Tell Jason I'll see him Monday at work."

I don't give Gail a chance to try and talk me into staying. I walk as quickly as possible to my car. When I make it to the front of the house, I let out a huge sigh of relief.

I get in my car, the old piece of crap that I've had for three years now, and turn the key, only to hear it sputter. I try again, and I get the same noise.

"Fuck!" I say out loud as I rest my head on the steering wheel. "Fucking piece of shit!" That settles it. I'm getting rid of this heap of junk immediately. I say a silent prayer and try and start the car again, with no success.

"God damn it!" I really need to get out of here. I don't want to think about him or that kiss. I really don't want to think about how his lips felt on mine or the taste of his tongue. I don't want to think about how his lips were both firm and soft at the same time. And how his hand was on my face, stroking my cheek so tenderly. I never thought he'd be a gentle kisser. Didn't the women say he wouldn't kiss them? Maybe that's why they're so bitter because that kiss was amazing.

And I especially don't want to think about how good his body felt against mine. Or how sexy he is. Or how I just want to stroke his messy head of hair. I especially don't want to think about how he's the first man who has made my body respond in a certain way. Nope! Don't wanna think about it at all.

I exit the car and slam the door as hard as possible in my frustration. I walk back to the party and find Gail and explain about my heap of junk.

She promises that Jason will fix it for me tomorrow and wants me to come inside to swim in the indoor pool. She even mentions a hot tub. An inside and outside pool? For one person? Maybe his lady friends like these things. I wonder if he ever has more than one at a time? They said no, but maybe his proclivities have evolved. I free my head of these thoughts. I said I wouldn't judge!

I don't even have a chance to respond to Gail. She takes my hand and drags me inside the main house. Several of the other guests follow us as Gail leads us to the part of the house that contains the indoor pool and hot tub.

Gail takes us to a room that contains bathing suits. She hands me several and tells me to pick one. I notice they are all brand new, complete with tags, and happen to be my size. I choose a modest blue one piece and quickly change. Gail, her sister Susan, and about 10 of her cousins and friends change too. Unlike me who is unsure about being here, especially with what just happened with Mr. Grey, they are all happy and laughing. If my phone wasn't dead, I'd call Jose to come and pick, but he's in Montesano visiting his parents this weekend, so I'm stuck here. I'd call an Uber if I wasn't dead broke and this wasn't an exclusive gated community. Fuck!

My only consolation is that I'm sure Mr. Grey won't come down here with all the women. Jason's not here, so maybe all the guys are hanging together while the women have some girl time. Once I convince myself of that, I relax.

"That looks good on you, Ana," Gail says to me. I look down at the swimsuit and shrug.

"It's just going to be us girls?" Please say yes.

"Jason might join us. He loves the hot tub. I'm not sure what Mr. Grey's going to do."

"Maybe I should just wait for you at your place. I'm sure Mr. Grey wants his privacy." Although this house is a big as the damn airport. We could be down here and not disturb him a bit, but I would just be more comfortable away from him and his probing gray eyes. And if he continues to look at me like he's been all day, I might just lose my mind.

"Oh, he loves having guests," she says nonchalantly.

"So, he entertains a lot?" Why am I asking this? I don't care what the man does, but he's such a mystery. Even though part of his life was made public in such a humiliating way, there's just something about him. I just know there's more to him than what's shown on tv, but it's not my place to find out. I don't care. I have enough of my own shit to deal with.

"Mainly family but trust me. He won't mind us being here. He gave me and Jason permission to use this house for the party. He's extremely kind, Ana. Who else would do this for their employees? Come on."

"Come on, girls," Gail's sister Susan says. "Let's get some more drinks. Gail's going to make us margaritas." Everyone cheers, and since I love margaritas, I follow them to the pool. Gail disappears and comes back ten minutes later with two pitchers of margaritas and glasses.

"I don't think this will be enough, Gail," some woman shouts before she jumps into the pool.

After two drinks, I feel so much more relaxed. I decide to get one more drink and get in the hot tub and relax. It's not often I have access to a hot tub. Gail and the rest of the guests are swimming in the pool, and so far Jason hasn't come down here. As I get into the hot tub, I instantly kick back. I'm sure Jason, Elliot, Mr. Grey and EJ are hanging out together and won't want to come down here with a bunch of women.

Once I convince myself of this, I close my eyes and enjoy the bubbles in the hot tub. I don't think I've ever been in one of these before, but I love it. Gail and Jason are extremely lucky to work for Grey and enjoy all these perks.

Hell, he even came to his housekeeper's bridal shower. Who does that? And he's paying for their wedding and honeymoon.

As aloof and mysterious as he is, he seems to be pretty generous with his employees.

I did a little research on GEH and there is little to no turnover at the company, though I read that business did suffer once his proclivities were revealed to the world. Several conservative companies pulled from deals, but I think things are on an upward trajectory now.

I know he worked hard to repair his image, though I don't think his image needed to be repaired. I don't think he's done anything wrong. It's those women who should be ashamed of themselves for trying to make money by exploiting him.

The fact that Jose's parent's got a lease in his building at a subsidized rate is one example of the type of person he is. I know he's involved with WSU and has set up several scholarships. But prior to any of that, he donated to multiple charities, mainly those helping women and children. These are not the actions of a bad person.

With my eyes closed, I finish my drink and would get another one except I'm too relaxed to get up. A hear a child's laughter and the sound of little feet running around.

I open my eyes to see EJ in his bathing trunks, running into the room.

"Come on, Tay!" he yells. "Pool!"

Jason grabs him and puts on a vest before he takes him into the shallow end. I smile to myself at the sight. Elliot comes running behind his son and Jason, and I must say his body is quite nice, especially his arms and shoulders. Unlike Jason, Elliot is tattoo free. His stomach is flat, and his entire torso is tanned. He runs in and yells "canon ball" before jumping in, splashing all the women. He swims towards his son and takes him from Jason.

I grin at the scene and close my eyes again thinking that whatever woman ends up with him will be one lucky lady. I hope he ends up with someone as carefree as he is.

I see no sign of Grey. He must be working or doing whatever the hell he does in this compound. I close my eyes and relax into the hot tub. I have so much crap that I need to deal with, but I'm putting those things our of my head for today. Today, I relax. And drink.

"Do you mind if I join you?" I hear a deep voice say. So much for him staying away. I know who it is immediately. I can feel my body start to react and I will my nipples not to harden. They don't listen to me. I cross my arms over my chest and open my eyes.

God damn!

I really should have kept my eyes closed.

Did I say Elliot looked good? He has nothing on his brother. Now I think Elliot looks like a boy when his brother is all man.

He stands there in front of me in a pair of dark blue swim trunks, and nothing else. Not only is his stomach flat, but it's defined. Jose would faint at the sight of Mr. Grey's six pack abs. I feel my heart start to accelerate and my mouth start to water. Down, girl. This is NOT the man for you. He's handsome and kisses like a god, but his idea of a relationship is vastly different from mine. Although, I've never had one, but what I'm looking for and what he can offer me are two different things. What did one of the women say? He would punish them for breaking certain rules? I would have a problem with that.

He continues to stand there, waiting for me to answer. Watching me with those intense gray eyes.

"What would you do if I said no?" I ask him.

He smiles at me, and that one smile is almost my undoing.

"I guess I'd just have to convince you that having me is a good idea." Having him? I bet.

"It's your hot tub, Mr. Grey. In fact, I should be asking you for permission to be here, not the other way around," I say to him. He doesn't need my permission to get in his own damn hot tub. Beyond that, I'm certain he's not the type who asks permission for anything. Rich and powerful men like that just do whatever the hell they want.

"Permission granted," he says.

The next thing I know, he's in the tub sitting across from me. The water feels even hotter now. Our eyes meet for a minute. I'm inexperienced when it comes to men. The fact that I'm a twenty three year old pathetic virgin attests to that, but I'm not naïve. I know when a man wants me, and this man does. And for some reason my body does weird things when he's around. Ever since the first day he came in for coffee and a muffin, my body reacted to him. I had to switch to a padded bra to hide the fact that my nipples would get hard whenever he would order his food. And each time I would hand him his order, his finger would touch my hand. I almost had to change my panties a few times.

And those times I would go in his office? My body would also react even though he's never been in his office with me. I would smell him everywhere. Hell, I sat in his chair so my body could touch somewhere where his body had been. I smelled his cologne hoping the smell would stay with me for the rest of the day, but the cologne did not exactly capture his specific smell. It was close, but not the signature Christian Grey scent.

I close my eyes to break our stare. We're both silent for several seconds. Or, several minutes. I have no fucking clue.

"Why won't you look at me?" He asks.

Because if I look at you, I would get lost in your gray eyes. I would forget my own name and make a complete fool of myself.

"Ah, I'm just trying to relax." I sound so fucking lame.

"You can't relax if you look at me?" He asks. No, Mr. Grey. I can't.

I open my eyes and meet his gaze.

"I'm looking at you now. Are you happy?" He smiles, and I see a dimple on his left cheek. How did I never notice the dimple before? It makes him almost boyish, not the stern business man that I see every day.

"Very. I'd be even happier if you'd come sit next to me." This time the smile is gone. The predatory look is back in his eyes.

"I don't think that's a very good idea."

"Why not?" I wish I could say because I have a boyfriend or because I'm in some sort of committed relationship, but that would be a lie.

"Because I choose to sit over here." Emphasis on choose.

He smiles again, but this time, the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"I see what you did there," he says, and I shrug. "You think I'm anti-choice?"

I decide to act obtuse. "I'd really rather not get into a discussion about politics right now. I think it's against the law to talk about such things in a hot tub." I see his lips twitch again.

"You're being evasive. That's cute. Now I can add evasiveness to your list of charming attributes. You know what I mean. It's not a political question. Do you think I'm anti-choice?"

"I have a list of charming attributes? And I didn't even know you were paying attention."

"I have a very long list. It includes things such as beautiful, sexy, sheepish, blushing. You get the drift. Now, stop dodging the question. Do you think I'm anti-choice?"

Oh my god!

"I don't know what you are."

"But you think you do. You think you know all about me. Between your snooping, and what you hear and read about, you think you know all there is to know about me."

"I told you I got lost in this humungous house trying to find a bathroom," I lie. I can feel my face turning pink, but I refuse to admit I was snooping.

"And I told you, you're full of shit. But, we digress. I don't want to strip you of your choices. You have it all wrong."

"Well, what do you want?" I ask him. Why the fuck did I even ask that question? I know what he wants! He wants to take me to his sex dungeon, tie me up and do all kinds of things that would make my body implode, and then dump me and go on to the next woman. That's what he's always done.

He locks his eyes with mine, sending shivers all over my body. Despite the extremely hot water, I get goosebumps all over my body.

"I want you," he says plainly while holding my gaze. One thing I can say about Christian Grey is that he doesn't mince words.

"You're very direct," I say to him.

"I am."

"So am I. And the answer is no." I say to him. I prove my point, I close my eyes and lean back in the tub, doing my best to show that I'm unaffected by his words.

"Why not?"

I sigh.

"I already explained that when we were upstairs," I say to him doing my best to sound annoyed.

"You mean when you were snooping around in my bedroom? And don't bother lying again by telling me you got lost. You found your way into my bedroom because you want me. You think I can't see how your body reacts towards me?"

"I'm sorry for that," I say to him.

"Look at me," he whispers, and I do. "Don't be sorry for wanting me."

"I'm sorry for going into your bedroom. And don't put words in my mouth. I never said I wanted you. And to be clear, you can want something and know you can't have it all at the same time," I say. I'm not sorry at all. Given half the chance, I'd go right back up there and snoop to my heart's content.

"I guess that's where you and I differ. I don't stop until I get what I want. And no apology is necessary. Especially when it's not genuine." His lips turn into a smile. Not knowing what else to say, I simply nod.

"You and I differ in a lot of ways, sir," I say. I hear him inhale at my last comment. I look a him again and his eyes have darkened. This time he closes his eyes for several seconds before he reopens them. It's almost like he's trying to reign himself. What the fuck did I say to get that kind of response?

"You can ask whatever you want," he says.

"I don't want to ask anything."

"I'm giving you an opportunity I've never given anyone. No question is off the table. You're going to pass that up?"

I know what he wants. He wants me to ask about his lifestyle, but I won't. That's none of my business, and I honestly don't want to know.

"Why do you have such a huge house when you're the only one who lives here?" I ask. I've been wondering that since I came here.

"Totally not what I was expecting you to ask. I don't know. I had to get out of my penthouse because reporters were hounding me there and sneaking into the lobby, following Gail into the garage. I needed something private, and it needed to have a separate house for my staff." I don't buy his explanation. There has to be more to it than that.

"That's it? That's the only reason?"

"Do you have any other theories?" He asks sounding bemused.

"Well, it's just that this is a family home, and you're a single guy."

"Single guys can't like space?"

"Space to do what?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

He lets out a humorless laugh.

"There it is. No, I didn't get this house for that. Even if I did, it's not a crime."

"I'm not judging," I say holding my hands up.

"Everybody judges, but I've stopped caring. I'm not hiding anything," he says. "Go ahead, ask away."

Why are you so damn sexy?

How did you get into this?

How did your parents feel when they found out?

What's the most erotic thing you've done?

How big is your dick?

Can you show me said dick?

Can you kiss me again?

Why do you like to dominate women?

What's the hardest you've ever come from one of your sexual encounters?

How quickly can you make a woman come?

Can I see you naked?

I've fantasied about having a man's head between my legs. Can you help me fulfill that fantasy?

Is it BDSM or nothing?

Those are all the things I want to ask. That last question upsets me because why would I even ask something like that since I'm not interested. I'm so not interested.

And while I want to see his dick, he'd probably make me sign a contract before he can show it to me.

"You can't tell me to ask and then accuse me of judging you in the next breath. But honestly, Mr. Grey, there's nothing else I want to ask you about your private life. It's none of my business what consenting adults do behind closed doors. It's nobody's business." I want to tell him that I'm sorry for him about how this came out, and he didn't deserve that, but he doesn't strike me at the type who wants sympathy.

"I want it to be your business," he says. I'm taken aback by his bluntness, even though I shouldn't be.

"Why?" I whisper.

"Because I think you're the single most beautiful creature I've ever seen. Because I lose my mind whenever you blush. Because-"

Before he can continue, EJ interrupts.

"Uncle Chrissy! Come swim!" He yells from the edge of the pool. I see he's on Jason's shoulders. Elliot swims over to him and has a smile on his face.

"Leave your uncle alone, son. He's busy working on an acquisition." My face blushes when everyone turns to look at us in the hot tub. I see Gail smile and exchange a look with Jason, but I'm not amused. Is this what I am? An acquisition? Something to be gained? Like a piece of property? This is how he sees me?

"Come on! Swim! I want to swim with you!" EJ yells, waving his uncle over.

Mr. Grey turns away from me and smiles at his nephew. He runs a wet hand through his ginger hair, dampening it.

"I'm coming, bud!" He yells back before standing up and getting out of the hot tub.

He turns towards me and captures my gaze with his piercing gray eyes. My heart rate immediately accelerates. His gaze causes me to become immobile. I couldn't stand or speak even if I wanted to.

"And I'm coming back for you, Anastasia Rose Steele," he says as he walks away and jumps in the pool.

A/N: And here is chapter 2. This is my one shot in the very first Sisterhood challenge. This is a story I've thought about for a while, and it worked with the very first challenge prompt. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and want to go along for the ride with me. Like with my other stories, I don't know how long this is going to be, but I never plan on leaving a story unfinished. Thank you for reading and reviewing. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this story.