Yeah. I know I said I wouldn't upload until March.
But this chapter had to be written as soon as possible. I practically run out of my first exam and started writing it. It took me less than 5 hours. I'm proud of me :D
But the next chapter will be uploaded in March. Not before. I hope.
Thanks for all of your reviews and for keeping up with me and my story. I am happy that some of you understand the concept of reading what you like and ignoring what you don't.
And I was also very happy to see that one of my most favorite authors is reading my story, ItsAStrangeDay! Go check out her stories, they are freaking awesome!
See you at the bottom.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, not yours. E.L. James owns all.
NOT BETA'ED!
4. House party
On Thursday morning, Leila and I are having breakfast at our small kitchen island. Leila has made her special recipe, French Toast. It tastes fantastic. In front of me lays the Seattle Times, which features an article about Trevelyan Enterprises and its CEO. Apparently Mr. Trevelyan – a rather handsome man portrayed in a picture besides the article – has expanded his company within a few months to Asia. He is known to be a philanthropic, generous and efficient man who has a rather interesting social life – at every social event he is accompanied by a different, hot model. The article bores me as soon as it only focuses on Mr. Trevelyan's choice of women rather than his work. I push the newspaper away from me and blow softly into my hot tea before taking a sip. When I notice that Leila, who has made my tea, has given me her favorite cup – pink with silver glittering hearts – which she normally protects like her firstborn, I am suspicious.
First she has made French Toast, then she gives me her favorite cup – something is up.
It's also very suspicious that she is unusually silent. Normally she would have bubbled about something that was on her mind and I would have pretended to be interested. This makes me sound like I am a bad friend but I really don't care about the technical differences between expressionism and impressionism. I didn't study history of art like she did.
Instead of talking, she is pretending to concentrate on her phone, while she keeps looking at me from the corner of her eye. My heart skips a beat. A million thoughts running crazy in my head. What happened? Why does she behave like this?
I decide to break the unbearable silence.
"What is it, Leila?"
She slowly turns towards me, our wooden bar stool creaking a little under her, and bites her lip while she gives me a worried look. Her teeth smudge her lipstick.
"I have to ask you something." Leila whispers. Either she is going to ask me to kill someone or she is making a huge deal out of whatever it is. "Christian is hosting a party this Saturday. He invited us."
A party at Christian's. Now the potential task to kill someone sounds more appealing.
I groan, "Leila, you know that I don't like parties." Especially those which are hosted by my best friend's boyfriend for whom I kinda have feelings.
Leila puts her hands on my arm, a pleading look on her face.
"I know! But he is hosting the party so I can meet his friends! I already asked the others, they are all coming! Well, Kate is going to be late but she will come too!"
"Can't you meet them by yourself? He met us last weekend without any support of his friends."
"He invited you. He said that my friends are his friends."
"That's nice of him. But you know how I don't like parties and stuff." Socially awkwardness is an incurable illness. Or it felt like it.
"Please, Ana." she begs. "It will be super easy. Just us and the guys from the bar. You remember them, don't you? I will be by your side all evening."
"I don't think Christian would appreciate it if you spent most of your time with me."
"If it makes you happy, then I am willing to risk that."
I look at her begging face, her lips slightly pouting and her puppy dog eyes. Damn.
"Okay, but I won't dance. No need to humiliate myself."
Leila hugs me joyfully and soon she is back to her usual self – bubbling about a young artist whose paintings are going to be featured at the museum.
Christian's apartment is located at an eminent area of town, making our own neighborhood look pathetic. He lives in the fifth floor of a ten story building made out of dark brick and black iron. It looks very industrial from the outside.
Ethan parks the car near a playground and from there we walk towards the entrance. He and Mia were nice enough to pick me up because Leila had decided to help Christian preparing snacks and drinks – an excuse to spend more time with her beau. I didn't own a car myself and usually Leila would drive me wherever we were going.
"I wonder how his apartment looks like. I bet it is a typical single guy place. You know, rarely decorated and a fridge filled with beer and water." Mia speculates as we make our way towards the entrance, a path with bushes on each side. The pebble stones beneath our feet crackle with each step we make.
"Isn't that a cliché, honey?" Ethan gives her a loving look.
"Cliches came to life for a reason. Christian looks like a simple guy."
Christian was anything but a simple guy, I thought. He may look like a simple guy but I guessed that there was more behind his cool exterior. Of course, I couldn't make much assumptions. There was still so much to learn about him.
Ethan rings the bell to Christian's apartment. After Christian buzzes us in, we take the elevator to his floor where he already has opened the door and greets us with a smile on his lips. He is wearing light jeans and a dark red pullover with black geometrical symbols. His copper colored hair wild on his head, a few strands on his forehead, gray eyes looking softly at us. Behind him we can see a small hallway leading to an open living area and three doors which probably open to other rooms. Sounds of people talking, laughing and music can be heard.
"Welcome to my humble place." Christian jokes as he greets us with a handshake.
"Hey, Ana." he gives me a big smile as we shake hands. I smile back and hurry inside, already blushing heavily. Christian takes our coats and tells us to head to the living room where Leila, Jason and Elliott are having drinks. They are sitting on Christian's dark blue couches, holding their drinks in their hands.
Unlike Mia speculated, Christian's apartment doesn't look like a bachelor pad. He has two couches facing each other, between them there is dark wooden coffee table with snacks, empty plates, drinks and a pizza box on it. Beneath the couches there lays a dark gray-ish carpet with green stripes, matching the pillows on the couches. Christian has a little bar area on the right of the siting area, with shelves on each side where his immense collection of books and other clutter is positioned. From here I can't see the titles but I am eager to find out about his choice of books. Right in front of the doorway stands a sideboard with a chic TV on it, facing the couches. The room is lighted by a modern ceiling lamp and a floor lamp by the bar. A window is facing towards the door, giving us a view of the playground where Ethan parked. From the stereo on one of the shelves the voice of Beyoncé can be hear – obviously Leila is in charge for tonight's music.
Leila is the first one to notice us. She jumps up from her seat, a heartwarming smile already on her lips, and greets us all with a hug. From the way she moves you can guess that she already has a few drinks – with a look to her glass I see that she was drinking a Martini. The other two guys greet us with handshakes, Elliott grinning hugely while Jason gives us a cool smile.
"Sit down, guys. What do you want to drink? Mia, I assume you want a Martini. I am having one." Leila bubbles as she practically pushes us into our seats, making us laugh. She is either too drunk or too nervous. Soon, we have our drinks – Mia her Martini, Ethan and I enjoying beer – and we are eating the pizza Christian has ordered already. Thanks to Leila he was able to know what we would like on our pizza. When we ask Christian where John is, he tells us that his friend couldn't make it today because of a blind date.
I watch Leila for a while, how she talks with Jason and Elliott – giving her best trying to impress quiet Jason and making him smile with her peculiar Leila charm – and how Christian can't keep his eyes off her. She doesn't notice it, the way he smiles whenever she makes a funny gesture when she is bubbling about something, his eyes looking lovingly at her. I gulp down the bitten piece of my pizza, feeling like I am eating something extremely bitter.
"And my mum kept pushing the door while the other lady kept pushing it too. And I was right beside them, telling them to let go, but my mum just screamed at me. She is incredibly stubborn. So, I sat down on the floor, waiting for them to calm down. It took them half an hour before they gave up and we finally were able to leave the supermarket. It was so embarrassing!" Leila was telling the guys about Mrs. Williams' famous act of obstinacy where she mistook the push and pull of a door, embarrassing young teenage Leila while doing so.
"Does obstinacy run in your family? Should I prepare myself for something like that?" Christian asks Leila between laughs.
"No, I am saint. Being stubborn isn't my thing." Leila confesses him with a promising look. "You don't have to be scared." She presses a tiny kiss to his cheek.
"Christian is stubborn enough for both of you. Don't worry, Leila." Elliott mocks her playfully, looking very good tonight. His golden hair is combed neatly, framing his beautiful face. Elliott is wearing dark jeans and a white shirt with a black vest. If Kate could see him right now, she would curse herself for going out with Nate – a guy she met at work.
"Really? You never told me that." Leila plays along and slaps Christian on his arm softly.
"You made me forget it." he whispers to her, making the others grimace – Elliott mentions to throw up – while Leila beams at him. If she was a comic character, her eyes would be the shape of hearts by now. She leans down to Christian's ear and whispers something to him which makes her blush. He answers her with a quick kiss on her lips. I think I just got stabbed.
"Where is Luke? Wasn't he a friend of yours?" Jason, who is sitting beside me, asks me suddenly. Surprised that taciturn Jason talked, I look towards him. He is giving me an attentive look. Being near him, I now notice his extreme buzz cut hair. It suits him somehow.
"Oh, he said he is going to be late. He was visiting his parents today and it takes a while to drive from Portland." I tell him softly, secretly thankful for something to talk about.
"Are you from Seattle?" I am taken back at his sudden interest in me but I answer politely.
"Yes, born here and living here. Obviously." I laugh nervously and take a hasty sip of my beer. "And you?"
Jason tells me that he is from Chicago, his parents and his whole family still lives there, and moved to Seattle ten years ago after he dropped out of college – like Christian he had attended NYU – and didn't want to go back to Chicago. He came to Seattle where one of his best friends was from and started a new life. I get the feeling that he was running away from home, from his family maybe, but I don't ask him for details, respecting his decision not to tell about it. We soon are talking about our favorite books and movies – surprisingly we have a similar taste – and compare each others dislikes.
"Ana, will you help me with the plates?" Leila asks suddenly. I look up, turning away from Jason, and see that Leila is giving me a pointed look – a look that means trouble for me.
"You don't have to do that, baby. I will do that." Christian tries to tell Leila but she only tells him that we are capable of putting some dishes away and that it is no problem at all – I get the feeling this isn't about the dishes. I smile at her and start stacking some of the dirty plates and glasses in order to take them to the kitchen.
Like a puppy I follow her to the kitchen with light wooden counters and a modern looking fridge and stove. The counters are L-shaped facing a small window. In the middle of the room there is a square table with 5 mismatching chairs. The open packages of the snacks in the living room are placed on the counter with a few bottles of drinks.
As soon as Leila has put the empty plates in her hands into the sink, she turns to me with a big grin on her face, her dimples on show. She looks excited.
"You were flirting with Jason!" She whispers enthusiastically to me.
"What?" I squeak and nearly let the plates fall.
"Please! He was so into you!"
"No!" I am screaming now, she shushes me with a nervous look towards the door.
"You were the only one he talked to."
"Maybe he was just being nice, Leila!" Seriously, people shouldn't mistake friendliness for flirting.
"He was being too nice."
"Leila!" I groan, annoyed already. "Please!" I think the alcohol makes her stupid.
"Don't think that I am not happy about it! I am just astonished by it. He is so... quiet. But so are you. You would make a great couple." For the love of god.
"Okay, Leila, it seems like you had enough drinks for tonight."
"Ana, I am trying to help you. You haven't been on a date since Paul!"
"I really don't want to talk about Paul right now. Or ever."
"You should go out with Jason." she ignores me and my wish to stop talking about dating. "Christian and I could play matchmaker. This is so exciting!"
I decide that I should also ignore her. I walk to the sink and place the dirty dishes besides it on the counter. She rambles on.
"We could have double dates. That would be fun."
Maybe I should put the dishes in the dishwasher.
"We could go to vacation together. You, me, Jason and Christian."
I take a deep breath, mentally count to ten, before I turn to her.
"I'm not interested in dating at the moment, Leila."
This catches her attention. She frowns when she asks, "Because of what happened with Paul? Or the others? Don't you trust men anymore?"
"No, it has nothing to do with my past relationships. I just... don't want to. And I would appreciate it if you didn't push me, okay?" I try to give her one of my rare, stern looks – she always tells me that thanks to those she knows where my boundaries are – and I succeed. Her mouth forms an 'o' and she sighs before she apologizes for her behavior.
"I didn't want to push you into anything. Sorry if I have angered you." The sad look she gives me makes me feel guilty.
"You didn't. I know you didn't meant any harm." I step towards her and hug her hard. Her soft, feminine smell fills my nostrils as I press my face into her glossy hair. Her warm body against mine feels good, Leila is a good friend – no matter how annoyingly drunk she can get sometimes. She hugs me back and murmurs again how sorry she is.
"Ana, Leila... Oh!" Suddenly Christian is standing at the threshold, obviously coming to check up on us when he caught us in an embrace. "Everything all right?" he asks with a concerned voice.
"Yes." I assure him with a smile and push Leila gently away. She turns to her boyfriend and nods at him before she goes to hug him.
"We had a girls talk, that's all." she mumbles when she is pressed against his body, his arms around her. Her skirt suits her well, I notice. A yellow thing which she combined with an light gray shirt and black polka dot thighs.
"Do all girls talks end with a hug or did I just interrupt you?" Christian grins dirtily and Leila slaps his arm.
"Pervert." she mumbles.
"Your pervert."
Aaand now they are kissing. Great.
I look away, finding a distraction in salted pretzels and their package. I read the information on the package like it is the revelation of God's secrets, giving it much more attention than needed. I hear how Leila clears her throat and giggles. Obviously they have stopped kissing.
"Let's head back before Elliott starts telling lies about me." Christian suggests and I hear how Leila says something in agreement. "Ana? You coming?"
"Yeah, I will... I have to make a phone call." I have to look into his face, his gray eyes soft and warm while he simply nods.
"Who are you going to call, Ana?" Leila's interest is picked. I give her a stern look before I answer her.
"Luke. He should be here by now. I'm just checking up on him."
She is happy with what she hears, her attention no longer on me. Leila bubbles about karaoke and that Christian has promised her to sing tonight as she starts walking out of the kitchen.
"Beer is in the fridge, Ana." Christian smiles at me before he and Leila leave the kitchen. I sigh as I get myself a bottle of beer out of the fridge – which isn't stocking only water and beer like Mia suggested – and lean against the kitchen counter. Placing the cool bottle on it, I try to eat some of the crackers, hoping that they will kill the butterflies in my stomach. While I am munching on some salted pretzels, Elliott enters the kitchen with a tablet full of empty glasses.
"Not much of a party girl, are you?" He asks me as he places the tablet besides the sink.
"That obvious?"
"Just a little." he grins at me and runs his fingers through his hair. "But it's a good thing that I have found you all by yourself."
"Why?" I ask suspiciously.
"Well, there is something I have to ask you and I am too shy to do it in front of the others."
"You don't seem like a shy guy."
Elliott laughs out loud.
"Hell no, I am not! But this subject is kinda... private."
"Shoot."
"Your friend, Kate, the blonde one. Wasn't she invited?" he tries to sound cool, failing terribly. His cheeks pink a little. That's cute.
"She has a date." His eyes widen when I tell him about Kate's evening. I feel the need to comfort him. "But she said she was going to stop by afterwards if it isn't a successful evening."
"Poor schmuck doesn't know that he has tough competition." I snort at his joke.
"The toughest."
Elliott wanders back to the living room, leaving me to myself once again.
I do call Luke as I told Leila but he doesn't pick up his phone, so I leave him a voice mail. And I write him a message where I ask him when he will pleasure us with his presence, knowing that he will make some dirty joke about my text message.
I also text Kate, asking her how her date with Nate is and if she will stop by at Christian's. Her answer comes quickly.
On my way.
Kate x
It's nearly 10pm. Her date must have been awful otherwise she wouldn't be on her way already.
How was Nate?
Ana xo
As Elliott called him, poor schmuck was after her for months now. She always had rejected him, even if she found him pretty and funny, telling us that she would never do the mistake of dating a coworker. But last week, he had asked her again for the millionth time and she got so annoyed with him that she agreed to go out with him.
Painfully boring.
I faked an illness to get away.
If anyone asks, I have a sore throat.
K x
I laugh at her words. Looking around I notice the dirty dishes in the sink. I hate untidiness – it's a miracle that Leila and I can live together with her being the most chaotic person on earth -, it makes me anxious like an undone task. So I get to work, opening the dishwasher, and starting to put the plates and glasses into it.
"Everything all right, Ana?" Christian is suddenly standing at the threshold, giving me a curious look.
"Yes, yes. I was just... putting these in the dishwasher." I point towards my task and hastily turn away from Christian. Blood is already rushing to my cheeks as I try to place the dirty dishes in the drainer with my slightly shaking hands. My eyes are focused on my task, but my ears are pricked.
"Thanks for doing that." Christian's voice sounds closer now, he has walked into the kitchen towards me. "But you really don't have to do it. I can put them in later."
"It's not a problem, really."
"Leila wants to sing karaoke. You could sing too if you want." He is now leaning against the counter right beside me. In the progress of focusing mainly on my task, I can't see his face while keeping my eyes to the dishes and dishwasher. But I can see his legs – long, strong legs – and his sneakers. I can feel his eyes on my face, my blush deepens and I try to shield my face with my hair. It's a good thing to have long hair sometimes.
"I'm not much of a singer." I answer him quietly, embarrassed at the thought of humiliating myself with a microphone and a terrible voice.
"Neither am I. But it could be fun." he tries to encourage me into something I wouldn't do even if my existence depended on it. Not even he can make me sing in front of others.
"Thanks, but I pass." I say as I place the last dish in the drainer. Now being without a task I have to look up. He is watching me, his eyes full of curiosity. He has crossed his arms at his chest and looks pretty cool while leaning against the counter. I hem a little as I mimic his posture so that we are standing side by side – this way I don't have to look into his eyes.
"We could do a duet if you want. Two karaoke haters against the rest of the world."
I grimace. "I really don't like to sing." I can't help myself, I glance at him. His frustrated look on his face surprises me.
"You don't like parties?" He is the second Grey who asks me this today. They are impressively vigilant.
I shake my head, feeling insecure. "Not really."
"What do you like then? I mean, apart from books." Surprised that he remembers my keen affection for books I look up. He is grinning now, his eyes glistening with success. He is enjoying that he caught my attention.
"Movies, I guess." Christian looks sulky for a second because of my short answer.
"Which movies in particular? Do you like the movie versions of your favorite British novels?" His interest in me and my hobbies is irritating me. Shouldn't he be asking Leila all these questions? Last time I checked she was his girlfriend, not me.
"Actually, no. I find the movie versions horrible. They never catch the depth of the real story." After I watched Pride and Prejudice, the one with Keira Knightley, I was horrified and still denied the existence of this movie. "But I enjoy thrillers. Mystery thrillers especially."
His eyebrows raise to his forehead, he looks perplexed.
"Really?"
"Yeah." I shrug and look away. My focus falls on my neglected beer bottle, I feel thirsty. I take a long sip, afterwards I don't put it away and start playing with tag of it. The silence between us is getting weird, I should probably talk. Or we could go back to the others where I wouldn't have to talk. I hem again, feeling anxious, and look at Christian.
"Let's head back. I don't want to miss Leila singing." I give him a small smile and without waiting for his answer I start walking out of the kitchen, leaving the silence and Christian's interest in me behind me.
What do you think? Do you like Christian and Ana talking? Or Jason and Ana talking? And NO, they are not going to be a couple. Like Ana said, people should stop mistaking friendliness for flirting.
Leave your love / hate.
Xoxo Melii
