A/N I just wanted to make this clear that this story is an A&C story so a HEA is 100% guaranteed. Many of you were asking me this so just thought to clear this up. Also Jose and Ethan are back ground characters and won't be appearing that much. Few main characters are yet to be introduced though. :)

* A teeny tiny extract from chapter 5 in the end* CHECK IT OUT!

CHAPTER 4- Just Imagine a color

Okay, so what if I liked Christian. I mean, he was decent, right?

He definitely had a way of getting under my skin and making me think about him, that's for sure. It's just… he seemed like one of those uncomplicated people you'd like to hang out with on a lazy afternoon. Plus, it didn't hurt that he was slightly gorgeous. And by slightly I mean mostly.

So, when Christian's generic sized box of flowers rolled in on a Monday morning I was… maybe… almost… a little excited to have a reason to call him. But not in a screamy-teenage girl kind of way. Just in the… normal way.

I tried to control my enthusiasm as I grabbed the phone and dialed the number I sort of… maybe…remembered it by heart. Come on, it wasn't a hard number to remember. Really it wasn't. I just happened to memorize it.

Someone answered on the fourth ring. "Yelllooooow." It wasn't Christian it was a girl's voice.

I froze. "Hello?"

"Hello?" She said back. Hopefully she was just the girl who lived with Christian.

Hopefully? I meant… whatever. I didn't care…

"Hi,"

"Hey,"

I rolled my eyes. "Ah… is Christian there?" I felt like a teenager again. I really didn't like it.

"He's sleeping." She told me.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh well… then…"

"Hold on, I'll wake him."

I didn't really want her to wake him, but since I could hear her walking across the floor to wherever he was sleeping I simply sighed. A door opened with a loud creak in the background. I strained myself to hear.

"Christian, get your ass up. You can't sleep 'till noon anymore. It's getting pathetic." I heard the girl say. There was a muffled response and then a loud yawn. "I'm going to pour cold water on you again."

"I'm awake, jeez." I heard his sleepy voice and almost laughed. "Why are you wearing spandex?"

I raised an eyebrow. "It's not spandex." She explained with a huff. "They're leotards, I've explained this many times."

"You look like you belong in munchkin land." He mumbled.

"I'm going to dance class, there are eggs on the stove, and don't forget to feed Bella."

"It's your dog…" There was a smack and a small grunt. "Fine, what does it eat? Toxic waste? Small children?"

"Funny. The phone is for you."

I heard the phone being passed and waited. "Yes?" Christian asked briskly and a little annoyed.

"Do you really sleep until noon?" I asked him.

There was a pause. "Ana my good friend, how is the day treating you?"

I laughed a little at the change of his tone. "Fine."

"Fine is a very vague response." He said back. I heard him walking across a hardwood floor. I could imagine him with sleep still clouding his eyes and hair messy from his pillow. "Try again."

I smiled. "Well, I got to work this morning and found my shop up in flames."

I heard his feet stop moving. "Are you serious?" He asked in complete shock.

"No." I chuckled. "It's been a pretty uneventful day."

I guessed he was in the kitchen since I could hear him banging pans around. "Don't do that. I feared for my flowers."

"Oh…" I sighed dramatically. "I thought maybe you'd be concerned more about me."

"Only a little."

"I'll take what I can get."

I could hear him smiling, I swear. "How are my flowers?"

"Fine." I said only to annoy him.

"I hate that word." He grumbled.

I might have been blushing, but I couldn't be sure. "Great, fantastic, splendid, amazing, magnificent…. I'm running out."

"Grand, majestic, sumptuous." He supplied easily.

"No, your flowers certainly aren't sumptuous. I got you the non-sumptuous ones." Ew, was I flirting. I shouldn't…

"Too bad," He sighed then there was a small bark. "Go away, dog." He murmured. "I can't believe I let you pick this thing. I've caused prettier road kill."

"That's horrible. But you have to admit, she's kind of cute."

He snorted. "Yeah, if I close my eyes."

"Don't be mean. Did she like her?"

"Who? Oh, yeah she loves it. But she still knew I forgot her birthday."

"Girls pick up on things like that." I said as Elizabeth walked in with her bright pink hair looking like a bird nested there. "Good morning, Lizzie." I added in a cheery voice.

"It certainly isn't!" She moaned before bursting into tears and running into the storage room. I blinked after her then rolled my eyes. Oh God no!

"Gotta go! I've got a crying employee on my hands."

He laughed. "What about my flowers?"

"Come pick them up." I told him while looking over at the closed storage room door.

"I have a better idea." He told me. "Why don't you bring them here?"

"I don't know where here is."

"I don't know where you are."

"I'll tell you."

"Or I could tell you where I am." He said smoothly. "Come on, I know you want to see me."

My eyes rolled. Boys. "And you know how...?"

"Boys pick up on things like that." He mimicked. "Besides I want to show you something."

I have to admit that I was curious.

Wouldn't you be?

I bit my lip. "What is it?"

"You'll have to come and see."

It was probably a bad idea, or maybe it was fabulous idea, but it was very hard to see the pros in getting emotionally attached to a guy I found drunk in a gutter. Plus, I was not going to sleep with him. I absolutely was not. "All right then." I said eventually. "It better be good. What's your address?"

I scribbled it down then hung up. Resting my elbows on the counter I tried to guess all the reasons Christian would need a box of flowers and what was waiting for me at his place. It made me excited in a sick sort of way. I bit down hard on my lip to stop myself from smiling. "Oh!" I realized Elizabeth was still sitting in the closet bawling her eyes out. I raced to the door and pulled it open.

Elizabeth was sitting on a bag of fertilizer with a wad of Kleenex in her hand. She looked up at me with large red eyes. "He asked me to marry him!"

Oh dear God…

I honestly didn't know what to do. I really wasn't one of those girls who always had valuable advice in the bottom of her trendy purse. "Um…" I said easing towards. "Who?"

She wiped her eyes. "It doesn't matter…"

I closed the door behind me and sat down next to her on another bag of fertilizer. "It doesn't?"

"What am I supposed to do? No one has ever wanted to marry me before."

Ditto. "Well, usually you say yes, or no." I looked down at her in confusion.

"Ana, you don't get it!"

"No, I don't. Mostly since you haven't even mentioned that you were dating someone."

She sniffled and tucked her hair behind her ears. "He's just this guy I went out with a few times and then I guess it got serious." She hiccupped. "And he's really great in bed." She added as a sigh.

"How long have you known him?"

"Two months!" She started crying all over herself again.

I blew my extra long bangs out of my hair and sighed. "Wow… that's… wow."

"I think I'm in love with him! Me! I thought I was a rational person."

I exhaled and leaned my back against the wall. "I don't think you can be rational and in love at the same time."

She continued to cry for what seemed like forever, so, I was grateful when I heard the tiny bell above the door jingle. "I'll be back." I said to her as I left the closet.

What the hell was I supposed to do with Elizabeth?

The man standing in the middle of the shop, with his back towards me, had bright blue hair reminded me of what Christian had said about his friend and Elizabeth the other day.

"I think Elizabeth's pink hair is starting to get on my nerves."

He practically gasped. "No way, you have a friend with pink hair? I have a friend with blue hair!"

I looked up. "Wow…" I rolled my eyes.

"We should get them together, and they can have little purple headed freaks. They'd be like Troll dolls."

I smiled thinking about Christian. The blue haired dude spun around and locked his brown eyes on mine. "Where's Elizabeth?" He asked frantically.

I raised my eyebrows… Oh! "No way…" I murmured then laughed. "You're the guy? Seriously...?!"

His eyes narrowed. "I hope so." He was tall, almost freakishly so and had a body of a bouncer to be exact.

"Who would have thought? Fuck!" Oh dear lord! This is definitely fate!

His eyes continued to narrow. "What?."

"Do you know Christian?"

He shot we a weird glance. "Yes… Are you Ana?"

I grinned. "He talks about me?"

"You've been mentioned."

Blush crept to my cheeks. "What does he say?"

He put up a hand. "That's confidential guy information. Where is Elizabeth?"

I was still high on the fact that Christian mentioned me. "Her location is confidential girl information."

He frowned and practically collapsed against the counter. "Please tell me where she is. I love her." How could I argue? He had blue hair for Christ's sake. Plus, guys are cute when they're completely defenseless and helplessly in love. I was about to confess when Elizabeth came out of the closet dabbing her watery eyes. The second she saw Mr. Blue hair she narrowed her eyes.

"Did you follow me?" She demanded.

He stood up straight. "No, I knew where you worked. You told me."

She huffed and tried to appear unaffected. "Well, what do you want?"

I laughed. "He wants to marry you, obviously." She shot me an evil look then turned back to him.

He took a step towards her and she quickly pulled out a long-stemmed daisy from a nearby bouquet. She held it in front of her as if it was a deadly weapon. He stopped as if it were. "Stay back." She warned and pointed the droopy flower at his heart.

"Come on, baby. I love you." He whined.

"I am not a baby! I am a woman!"

"Believe me, I know." He mumbled. Elizabeth turned red.

"Look, Ryan. I am very emotional right now so you should just go."

He was about to say something when Hannah waltzed into in the store (late again, obviously!). She stopped at the weird sight before her and raised an eyebrow. "Nice hair." She said then looked over at Elizabeth. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." She said puffing out her chest. "Ryan was just leaving."

I rolled my eye at the sight. "And so was I." I announced. "Hannah you're in charge. Lizze's a little emotional right now so...beware."

Moving to the front of the counter I grabbed the light box full of Christian's flowers and smiled at Hannah. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"Making a delivery." I said smiling. I was too giddy for my own good. "I'll be back later." It was sad that I practically skipped out of the shop. It was even sadder that I couldn't wait to get to there. Oh boy…

I really liked Soho. I loved the cobblestone streets and the old fire escapes. I was a little nostalgic.

Christian's building was… well old. The tiles on the floor were, dirty, cracked, or missing completely. I climbed the not so sturdy stairs to suite four.

Christian's apartment.

A large metal sliding door was there to greet me. I wanted to simply slide it open and walk in but my manners told me to knock. So I did, and immediately heard tiny barks coming from the other side. I smiled.

"Shut up! Please, just stop with the yapping." He moaned just before he opened the door. The minute he saw me his smirk turned on. "That was fast. Miss me?"

I scowled at him. "I had some free time." I told him as I shoved his box of lilacs in his face. "That's fifty-five bucks." The little ugly puppy jumped around my ankles and barked madly. I bent down to pick her up and cuddle her against my chest.

"Awww hey darling! I missed you." I cooed to the puppy.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asked as he left me by the door.

"Not really." I told him as I stepped into his apartment. Actually, it was a studio. And he was right, he was a painter. Literally, there were canvases everywhere. They covered the walls, making the place look like an art gallery. I slid the door closed behind me and placed the small hairless dog on the ground. She instantly scampered off to wherever Christian was. I took a step towards one wall covered with finished paintings and a fireplace. One of the paintings was of a girl with raven hair wearing a droopy tutu. She was curled asleep on a hardwood floor. I remembered her from the park.

When Christian appeared next to me I jumped a little. "You startled me."

"You're easy to startle."

I pointed to the painting. "I've seen that girl before. Her name is… Mel?"

"Mia." He corrected. "You've met her?"

"Yeah, in Central Park, she was with a little girl."

"Ava." He added. "She makes me want to rip out my hair, but at least she's cute."

I smiled. "How do you know them?"

"Mia lives here, and Ava is always around."

"Mia is the girl you live with?" That was so freaking weird to me.

"Used to be only on weekends now it's permanent." He rolled his eyes. "Now I'm not allowed to sleep in."

I looked back at the paintings. "Why is she sleeping on the floor in a tutu?"

"She dances a lot, sometimes too much. She was really tired after a performance and couldn't even make it to the couch."

"You're a very good artist."

He shrugged. "I do what I can."

I stared up at all the painting then remembered one of the reasons I was there. "You said you had something to show me."

He smirked. "I lied."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"I lied." He repeated.

I was annoyed but I could still feel a smile tugging at my lips. "Why would you lie?"

"To get you here."

"That's kind of creepy."

"Probably."

"Mostly." I corrected while chewing the inside of my cheek. "But, I guess that was kind of clever."

"Or maybe you're just not smart enough to intercept my lame attempts." He smiled.

"Attempts?" I asked narrowing my eyes.

He shrugged. "I'll get to them later."

"Do they require a bed?"

He hesitated. "No."

"You had to think about it."

"A bed would be a bonus."

I rolled my eyes. "I thought we had an agreement on the not sleeping together?"

He almost laughed. "You don't trust me."

"No." I answered truthfully.

"Any reason."

"Of course."

He waited a beat. It felt like forever. "Well, I'm telling the truth. I'm not trying to get you into bed."

I still didn't believe him. I just… couldn't. "Can I ask why that is?" I said turning to face him. He opened his mouth but I spoke before him. "I mean… Okay, this is going to sound really narcissistic, but I know what I look like."

He looked sideways at me. "Oh, the things you can accomplish with a mirror." He replied sarcastically.

My cheeks heated up. I was making a fool of myself but I couldn't stop. "No I meant I know what I look like to men."

He turned to face me, and folded his arms across his chest. He was amused. "Go on…" He urged.

I rolled my eyes. "Never mind."

"No, don't stop. I'm interested."

"Christian," I sighed. "I'm not very good with people, but I know what it means when a man gives me that look. And I've gotten that look enough times."

"And…"

"And… I don't really understand you, because you look at me like… that, but you don't want to sleep with me."

"And…" He said again.

"That's it."

He unfolded his arms. "No, that's not it. I can practically see it rolling around in your head. And I never said I didn't want to sleep with you. I just said I wasn't trying to get you into bed."

"That's the same thing."

He reached forward, took a painting right off the wall, and replaced it with another that rested against a few other paintings. "It's completely different. But you're right, you are something to look at, and I have very good eyesight."

"And…" I asked.

"And sure, my thoughts haven't been very innocent but hey, I'm only human." His mood had changed a little; he looked a little sad.

"But?"

"But I'm not trying to sleep with you." He paused a moment. "Hey, don't get me wrong I'm sure you'd be a great lover, but I'm not looking for one."

"Why's that?"

"Long story."

So Christian had a past…but well didn't everybody?

I shrugged. "People say that, but I bet you can sum it up in a sentence."

His eyes locked onto mine and held me still for a long moment. "I'd really like to draw you."

"Huh?"

He rolled his eyes but smiled. "That wasn't the one sentence summery. But I'd like to draw you."

Could it hurt? I mentally sighed, probably. "Only if you tell me the long story."

"Fine."

I smirked. "Great."

Christian put me on the couch. He made me sit very still and wouldn't let me fix my messy hair. I watched him grab a sketchpad and a worn artist kit. He sat on the other couch with his long legs folded under him. The puppy, who was affectingly named Bella hopped onto the couch and stared up at Christian with wide unblinking eyes. I tried not to laugh but failed as her tiny body quivered in excitement every time Christian glanced at her. The second he looked away her tail would stop beating and she calmed.

"She seems to have a crush on you." I said as he sharpened his charcoal.

"Most women do."

"Shows how much we know." I mumbled. "So, tell me the story."

"It's not that interesting."

"Someone else's sap stories are always interesting."

He shifted a little then sighed. "Girl I loved didn't love me back. It's happens to the best of us." He ended in a shrug. I knew better.

His eyes quickly flickered to my face then back down to his paper, his hands moved fast. I watched as Bella tried to slowly sneak closer to Christian on her belly. "That must have hurt."

"Got over it." He shrugged again. It was obvious that he hadn't.

My nose itched but I fought the urge to scratch. "What did you do?"

"Do?" He didn't look up.

"Why didn't she love you back? Did you do something stupid?"

He didn't say anything for a while. "Yeah, I did."

"What?" I pressed.

"Ana-"

Soar spot. "Sorry. I don't have a filter when I talk to people. It just comes out." I said quickly then added, "I don't have very good social skills...I guess"

A small smile warmed his lips. "You would never survive in the wild." I mirrored his smile. "What about you? Let's hear your sap story."

I felt that small punch of nerves. I thought about my father and that mother of mine…"Not much to tell."

That was a lie.

He looked up at my face and held his gaze longer this time. "Where were you born?"

"Montesano."

He stopped. "Really?"

"Yeah," I told him.

"When did you leave?"

I bit my lip, hard. "When I was eighteen."

He continued drawing. "Why at eighteen?"

My hands balled into fists. "I…my father died in a car accident."

He stopped again and looked up. He noted my stiffness and frowned. "We don't have to talk about it."

I hated when people did that. It always made me feel stupid and overdramatic. "I'm fine."

There was a moment of silence.

"All right." His head went back down to concentrate on his drawings and we lapsed into silence again. "Let's talk about something different, like," He thought about it for a long time. "The universe."

My muscled loosened. "The universe?"

"Yeah, the universe. What are your personal views about the universe?"

I didn't have any. "Um… like aliens and stuff?"

He laughed and looked down at Bella who had successfully managed to prop her long snout up on his leg. "Yeah sure, like aliens and stuff."

I licked my lips and thought about it. "Well, sure why not? The universe is a big place; it's kind of selfish to think we're the only ones."

He looked up. "Good point."

"What about you?"

He patted Bella's head and smiled. "Well, sometimes things like the universe keep me up all night in thought, but other times I feel like it's a waste of time. I'll never know the meaning of life, so why bother trying to find the answer." I didn't say anything. I simply listened. "Sometimes I think the universe is infinite and other times I don't. But it's hard to think like that."

I watched his hands work across the large pad on his lap. "It is?"

"It's impossible to think about something you don't know."

"How's that?"

"Our imagination is limited to our experiences and senses. Do you know what it feels like to have your hand chopped off?" He looked up to see me. "Imagine a color you've never seen?" He had the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen. I couldn't stop looking into his beautiful grey eyes. "What?"

"Close your eyes," He said and I did. "Imagine a color, one you've never seen in your entire life. One that can't be made with any of the other colors you know."

I tried, I really did, but I couldn't. "But it doesn't exist."

He chuckled. "Of course it does. I bet there are billions of colors we can't see. Do you know some insects like bees can see them?"

I felt like a kid in school learning something fascinating. "No, tell me."

He shrugged. "I saw this thing about bees on the discovery channel. Made me wonder what these other colors looked like."

My head was swarming with questions about colors and bees and the universe that I knew Christian couldn't answer.

I felt a little foolish. "I like you Christian, you're interesting."

He blinked and gave me a strange expression. "I'm just me."

We shared this awkward look for a long time. I couldn't look away. He had my mind swimming in bright colors.

But it ended quickly when my phone rang from somewhere deep in my purse. It took me forever to fish it out.

When I read the caller I.D. I almost threw the phone. Ethan…

I should have just ignored it, but I answered all while Christian's eyes were on me. "Hello?"

"Rose…" He said blankly. "Are you busy tonight?"

I sighed. Yes… "No…"

"Perfect. Wear a black dress with something red underneath. Nine sound good?"

"Perfect." I murmured. Then he hung up.

Another five thousand in my pocket.

I threw my phone back into the abyss and gave Christian a smile. "I got to go. I left the shop in the hands of my emotional friend and…" I remembered the blue haired guy. "Oh, I met your friend."

"Ryan?" He asked.

"How did you know it was him?"

He smiled. "I don't have many friends."

Same here. "He wants to marry my friend." I said standing up and grabbing my bag.

"Elizabeth is your friend?"

"It's kind of strange that we know a lot of the same people. How do you know Elizabeth?"

"Ryan lives and breathes Elizabeth. Literally! But I didn't know she was the pink haired girl you were talking about."

"Well what can we say? It's a match made in heaven I guess."

"I don't know how he performs basic human functions without her."

"That's kind of romantic, don't you think."

He stood up and turned the drawing to face me. It was a quick outline of my face and hair. He'd started on one of the eyes but hadn't gotten very far. It was good. I wish I had some sort of talent. "I don't know. I'm not really a hearts and flowers kinda guy." He admitted.

I looked at the drawing again, then at him. Bella jumped around his feet, eager to play. "I'm the same I guess. It looks good, sorry I have to leave before you can finish."

"You can't leave yet." He said.

"I can't?"

"I owe you fifty-five bucks, right?"

The flowers. "Oh right."

He dug his hands in his pockets and came up with a few bills from his- Prada- wallet. He handed them to me. It was sixty bucks. "Keep the change."

I pocketed the bills and smiled again at him. I slipped into my jacket and turned towards the door. I tried to think of something good to say. "Um… do you want me to come back… for the… drawing?"

"Sure." He smirked.

"When?" I asked almost desperately.

"Thanksgiving is next week." He said. "Are you busy?"

"No…"

"Mia going to make something. She's a lot better at cooking than me. You can come."

I'd never been invited to thanksgiving before. "Okay."

"Great…"

"Perfect…" In a weird attempt to say goodbye I held out my hand for a shake. He looked down and laughed. His hand engulfed mine and he shook. "Who knew two people could have some-what of a good time without being naked."

He laughed again, throaty and deep. "We should not have sex more often."

"As long as we use protection."

"Safety first." He sighed.

"See you later, Christian." I said sliding open the door.

"Yeah, you will."

I guess, in a weird way, that's how Christian and I officially didn't become lovers.

EXTRACT FROM CHAPTER 5

"Will you do me a favor?" I asked spinning around to face him.

He shot me a weird look. "Depends."

I bit my lip and felt a little giddy. "Will you kiss me?"

He looked confused. "Is that a trick question?"

NEXT UPDATE: JANAURY 1ST 2015

A/N So I was thinking about updating this story twice a week. I'm really happy that so many of you loved this story and want me to update everyday! That's soooooo sweet of you all but frankly guys I can't update daily because well if I rush this story then it will lose it's element and it won't be that good. But I pinky swear (LOL!) I'll update this story two times a week. For sure!

Ana13

Guest

X

Blueeyes57

Kiki

Shantiprime

Eagles1091

Khiyo gizele

Pielietje

Lena1034

Nataaaifcation

I can't thank you all for your wonderful reviews, I totally love reading them. They always make me smile and some of your reviews are like the cutest ever! (I can write a whole chapter on that LOL!)

Reviews are like encouragements for me to write more so if you people love this story and want me to continue then let me know!

REVIEW/ FAVE/ FOLLOW

Oh and I almost forget, so I got a review from Melz86 for Chapter 3

"I stopped reading at 'retarded'. I'm sure you could have written that chapter without that word."

Well firstly, that was never my intention, well I did apologized to the lady and once again I apologize to whoever and whomsoever felt that it was wrong of me to use that word. I really didn't mean to sound so insensitive about it.

Char x