Hello my pretties. Thank you for clicking onto chapter six.

As always, please let me know if you spot any hinky grammar.

Thank you for the reviews that everybody has given me thus-far, and thank you for your continued support of what started out as just simple frustration and annoyance.

-Kitty

I had a couple job interviews on Monday, and then a few more on Tuesday. I really felt like every job had a lot to offer me, and each one could open up so many different doors for me in their own way. But, a lot of them were really big publishing companies, and even though I'm sure that I stood an equal chance atone of them just as much as the smaller firms, I knew that if I took a job for them, that I would be adrift in the massive sea that was the company.

But, I suppose that that was why I had applied for internships at so many different companies: so that I could have my pick of jobs. Of course, what it really boiled down to was if any of them wanted me. I know that I shouldn't get my hopes up until I get the call-back, but some of them did seem like they would be interested in having me.

I went home from my last interview, and dropped my purse on the couch. "Hey. How were your interviews?" Kate asked. She and Elliot were camped out on the sofa. Kate was curled into Elliot's side, and he was absently flicking through the channels.

"Interesting. I hope that I hear back from at least one of them. I'm a bit anxious to get to work on something."

"Other than unpacking?"

"Other than unpacking, yes."

"Well, at least you've got your big date tomorrow!"

"Big date?" Elliot asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Remy's roommate and his girlfriend are taking Ana and Remy out for hibachi tomorrow night."

"Oh, that sounds like fun. Can we go?"

"What?" I blink in shock at Elliot. Is he serious?

"Those places are only fun if you can get up a big group of people to join you. Come on, Ana; what time and where?" Elliot asked. I told him.

"I'll let Remy know that you're coming, in case Charlotte made reservations or something."

"Hi, Ana. Wow. You look… Wow."

"Thanks." I had borrowed another dress from Kate (I seriously needed to supplement my wardrobe with some evening attire). This one was a pink cocktail dress; I felt it was overly clingy, but Kate insisted that it was just what I needed. Remy was wearing a button-down shirt and khaki pants, but in a way that made work-day formal into super casual. "You remember my roommate, Kate, right?"

"Yes. Charlotte was completely thrilled when you said that she wanted to come," Remy said with a cheeky grin. "Speaking of which…" I looked over to my left, and saw Charlotte and Adam walking up to join us. Charlotte was dressed in the most beautiful kimono that I had ever seen, but she still somehow managed to make herself look like a very expensive call girl because most of her breasts were hanging out of the Japanese robe. Adam was wearing a freshly pressed suit, I was pleased to see.

"Anastasia, darling!" Charlotte exclaimed as soon as she was close enough. She grabbed my upper arms and kissed both of my cheeks.

"Hi, Charlotte. This is my roommate, Kate."

"Kate!" Charlotte repeated the gesture on Kate like they were old friends. Kate acted like this was a perfectly acceptable away to greet a complete stranger. "And this is my boyfriend, Adam."

"So, we're just waiting for your boyfriend, then?" Remy asked.

"Yeah. He said that he would be here. After all, he's the one who wanted to come."

"We can wait a few minutes, and then we should get in before all of the good tables are taken," Charlotte said as she glanced at her watch.

"How were your interviews?" Remy asked me.

"I think that they went fairly well. But, I guess that I'll just have to wait and see."

"Well, if you could have your pick of the places that you interviewed at, where would you like to work?" Remy asks.

"I liked Seattle Independent Publishing the most. It felt like the kind of place where I could really be myself."

"I hope that you get the job there, then."

"Heeey! Maybe Remy will have to sell some book that you had your nasty way with at SIP!" Charlotte chimes in. She leans on Remy's shoulder and offers me a cheeky grin.

"Ana's got great taste in books, so I'm sure that whatever book she leaves her stamp of approval on will fly off the shelves," Kate says.

"And you? What are you doing now that you've just graduated?" Charlotte turns her big, green eyes onto Kate.

"Oh, my dad lined up a job for me with the Seattle Times."

"Wow. Big-shot. Will I be reading your work in the paper?" Adam asked.

"Probably not at first, but I hope so," Kate says with a charming smile. Her phone chirps, and she turns away from us to see what it is. Remy offers me a hesitant, shy smile, which I return.

Awkward silence falls over our group; Adam coughs, but I'm not sure if it's because there's a tickle in his throat or he's trying to alleviate how suddenly weird that things have gotten.

Charlotte turns so that she's facing the same direction as Kate is, puts her arms over her head, and moves her hips like she's dancing to music that only she can hear. She bumps into Remy, which makes him stumble a couple of steps closer towards me. He turns around to glare at her, but she only offers him another cheeky grin.

"Elliot was caught up with something, but he's on his way right now," Kate says at last. "He says that we should go in and start without him."

"Let's do this!" Charlotte screamed as Adam opened the door for us. We went inside and were seated without too much of a wait.

"Charlotte, my darling muse," said the chef as he came out to greet us. "It has been much too long."

"Hey, I thought that you were MY muse?" Adam says with a pout.

"I can inspire beautiful artwork and delicious Japanese cuisine," Charlotte pointed out. We gave our orders to the chef, and he started to prepare the food at the grill that was attached to our table.

I'd never been to a place like this before, and I was completely mesmerized by the way that the man twirled the knifes around, rearranged the food on the grill, and served it up on a plate. Who knew that preparing food could be so fascinating?

Elliot came in halfway through the performance, which was great, because we got to watch the chef prepare something for Elliot, too. "Sorry I'm late, guys," Elliot said after he'd asked the waitress for a beer. "But hey! I didn't miss the entire show!"

I was a little curious about where Elliot had been; was he doing something with his brother? Holy crap, what if it was about me? I still didn't know if I should go ahead and file for a restraining order or not.

And Elliot didn't offer any reason why he had been so late, and nobody asked him. "Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?" Remy whispered to me after the chef had left. Charlotte, Adam, Kate, and Elliot were roaring with laughter over something that Charlotte had said.

"It's nothing."

"No, it's not. What is it?"

"It's just that Elliot is Christian's brother," I whispered to him. "And I don't know if I want to go forward with the restraining order or not."

"Well, he obviously thinks that he can separate himself from his brother for at least a few hours to hang around with you. And just because you broke up with his brother doesn't mean that he has to stop seeing Kate."

"Hey, what are you two whispering about over there! Waitress, can you bring me another beer, please?" Charlotte is overly loud, but I thank her for bringing me back to the present. I just want some time where I don't have to think about Christian Grey and whips and torture.

I'm starting to sense a pattern here. Add in some overly out-going people, mix in some couples, add alcohol, and you get an overly tipsy me.

I can't say for sure, but something tells me that if this dinner had just been me and Remy, I probably wouldn't have gotten this drunk. At least I don't feel like I'm about to a) throw up or b) pass out, which is a good sign. Maybe I did learn my lesson the first time and didn't drink so much. But also, maybe it's easier to monitor myself when there are beer bottles in front of me.

Kate has crawled onto Elliot's lap and they're now making out in front of the entire restaurant. And I have no idea where Charlotte and Adam have gone.

"Er, maybe we should go," Remy says quietly. I nod in agreement, and he puts some money down on the table before he leads me out the door. The fresh air helps to clear my head. Remy helps me into his truck.

"Where are we going?" I ask after a bit.

"My place."

"Why?"

"Because the last time you got drunk, you drunk-dialed a stalker and got yourself into a mess."

"Where did Charlotte and Adam go?"

"Lord knows. They probably won't come back until the wee hours of the morning, though." Remy pulled into the parking lot of his building, and I got out on my own.

"I think that maybe I don't want to file a restraining order anymore," I say as I follow Remy inside.

"Why's that?"

"I think that Christian is just going to fight this tooth and nail. I just sort of want to play that game that small children play… If I can't see you, then you can't see me. Maybe if I ignore Christian, he'll just go away."

"Ana, you're a little drunk, and you're not thinking straight. You shouldn't be making decisions like this right now." We get into the elevator, and Remy closes the gate before we start to move.

"I really want to kiss you right now," I whisper. Remy gives me a startled look. Then, he moves closer and gently, hesitantly, pressed his lips to mine. It wasn't some dominating, power-hungry kiss, but rather, sweet and innocent. It was the kind of kiss that should have been my first.

His lips were slightly chapped and moist, and his stubble was scratchy and rough against my face. We pulled apart when the elevator came to a stop at Remy's floor. "S-shall we go inside now?"

"Yeah." I nervously pulled away from him before I followed him off the elevator and into his apartment. Once inside, he turns the lights on, and then goes to get a glass of water, which he puts on the counter in front of me.

"Drink," he commands. I flinch at the sharp tone in his voice; Remy noticed it, and the hard look on his face softened at once. "Please. You're already going to have a hang over in the morning."

"Your tone of voice really scared me just now," I whisper as I take the glass.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. It's just that Adam requires a firm touch when he's drunk, and I forgot who I was with for a moment." I observe Remy over the top of the glass as I drink the water. Now I regret that I drank so much, because I would really like to fuck him.

Whoa. That's new. I would have never even though something like that before.

Maybe I should lie down somewhere until I'm not so drunk anymore.

I drain the water and set the glass back down on the counter. "Can I lie down for a while?"

"Yeah. On a bed or will a sofa do?"

"Um…" Holy hell, was he offering me his bed? If I hadn't been drunk, I would have said sofa in a heart-beat. But then I found myself saying, "Bed." I moved from around the counter, and followed Remy down a dark hall. He opened up a room, and gestured to the bed.

You are in Remy's room. You are in Remy's room, my Inner Goddess kept chanting while doing a saucy little shake of her hips. But, I was a little to unfocused right now to really take in my surroundings. I fell onto the bed, and was soon asleep.

It was dark when I awoke, and I paused for a moment to try and figure out what had woken me up. I still felt a little bit fuzzy, but I had probably already metabolized most of the beer by now.

I sat up and looked around Remy's room. It was dark, but I was able to make out the shapes of an art easel that was under a sheet, and there were several large canvases like what Remy had given me for our new place stacked up against the far wall.

An overly-loud giggle broke through the otherwise silent night, followed by some rhythmic thumps. Oh no, where Charlotte and Adam…? I quickly left the room because I didn't want to stay and listen to them having sex.

I didn't know where Remy was, but I absently walked back into the kitchen. There was a glow from the TV that spilled onto the floor of the white tile floor from the living room, so I went in there and saw that Remy was asleep on the couch. I walked over to him and shook his shoulder to wake him up.

"Oh, Ana. Are you feeling better?" Remy asked as he sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes. I shouldn't drink so much next time."

"Yeah, probably." Remy patted the seat next to him. "Sit." I sat and stared absently at the infomercial (and it can be yours for 20 low payments of 19.95!) "Do you remember what you said about the restraining order earlier?"

"Yeah…" I whispered as I looked down at my hands. "And I still stand by my earlier statement that I really don't want to drag this into the courts. I'd rather just pretend like none of that ever happened."

"So long as he doesn't try to break into your apartment or something."

"I know that he's dangerous, but I think that I would only be incurring his wrath even more if I decide to press charges."

"Dangerous? How?"

"I-I can't tell you," I stammered as I twisted my fingers together. Remy closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"Even if you hadn't signed that stupid NDA, I'm not even sure if I'd want to know what that guy is up to. It sounds like he was into some really messed up stuff. I don't know why a sweet woman like you would be interested in those things."

"I didn't run screaming for the hills because I was curious about what he had to offer. But, the stalking part aside, I think that the reality of the issue is that we wanted really different things from a relationship, and it probably wouldn't have worked out anyway. But then he kept giving me things. He gave me a couple of rare, first-edition copies of Tess D'Urbervilles, and a laptop that hadn't even come out yet. I feel like such a whore for taking his things in exchange for sex."

"Okay, so I might have only been in one long-term relationship, but it's a little expected for your boyfriend to give you gifts. But not if it makes you uncomfortable. And both of those gifts sound completely over-the-top."

"I've told you a lot about my only relationship," I whisper. "Can you tell me about yours?"

"Yeah. We were in junior high when we met, but we didn't start to date until our sophomore year of high school. We were inseparable… and it sometimes got to the point where if I went somewhere without Jessica, people would always ask where my right side was. You know, because she was always at my side. And by the time that we were seniors, I never even thought twice about where I wanted to apply to school, and I never questioned our future. I just always thought that we would be together forever. I didn't even mind having to shell out major money in order to pay for WSU, because I would be with her.

"So, we get to the dorms for our freshman year at WSU. And this is the first time that either of us have lived away from home, so I think that you've got to keep that in mind, okay? And I hadn't even settled into my dorm on move-in day when Jess texts me; she wants to take a break from 'us'. Obviously, I'm upset, because she was my entire life. I don't know what I would do if she were to leave me. And in the course of a few rather horrible texts that I regretted almost as soon as I sent them, the entire future that I had planned out fell apart. I didn't know what I wanted to do anymore now that I wasn't with Jess."

"I'm sensing a giant 'but' in your story."

"There is. So, it's been a year since Jess left me. I took all of the freshmen, gen-ed classes like you're supposed to, but I wasn't quite sure what else to do with my life. It's nearing the end of the spring semester, and I'm just about ready to call my parents and tell them that I'm going to come home until I can figure out what direction that I want to go in, and Jessica calls me. She's completely in tears, I can't understand a damned thing that she says, but eventually I figure out that she's at the hospital. Despite the emotional wringer that she's put me through, I rush over there. She's completely black and blue, with a broken arm, several broken ribs, and a concussion. Some loser that she was dating beat her to the point where she was completely unconscious and his roommate called 911.

"To make a long story short, we agreed to try it again, despite my initial unease at the entire situation. And despite a rather rocky start to our relationship, 2.0, we eventually got back into the swing of our relationship from how we were before. Only, this time it was better, because we were no longer in constant fear of our parents walking in on us. I would say 'you know how it is', but… you somehow managed to skip the awkward teen dating stage and move right into adult relationships." Remy rolled his eyes.

"But anyway, fast forward a year from the start of our relationship, 2.0. We're about to go back home for summer break– and I mean literally about to leave— when Jessica comes and she tells me that she's pregnant. Of course, I'm completely freaking out about this, because I'm barely 20, and I've been living on the support of my parents and student loans this entire time; I can't afford to have a baby. I ask Jessica if she's sure, and after a bit she says no. And then…" Remy paused, leaned back on the sofa, tilted his head back so that he was looking up at the ceiling, and ran a hand through his hair out of frustration.

"The completely worst thing that I have ever heard in my entire life. She isn't even sure if it's mine or not. Because ever since we agreed to get back together, she had been sleeping around. And the potential gene pool of this baby wasn't even just me and one other guy. I was a lot of guys. Like, maybe she just decided for fun to sleep with the entire floor of the boy's dorms one night. And the the next floor the night after."

"What did you do?"

"I got out of the car, pulled her suitcase out from the trunk, left it sitting on the curb, and just drove off. I didn't look back, and I never talked to her again. Oh, and I didn't even tell you the best part. So, it's hard not to be with somebody for that long and not be friends with their friends. Jessica's best friend send me a brief email later that summer that basically said that Jessica thought that if she acted like she was pregnant, she could milk all of her boyfriends for the things that she wanted. But, apparently, everybody else pretty much just abandoned her. When I asked the friend why Jessica caved and said that she'd been sleeping around, the friend had no clue, because that wasn't Jess's MO in the entire pregnancy thing."

"I don't know this girl, so I can only guess, but maybe she felt guilty about lying to you, since you two were together for such a long time. You must have meant something to her."

"Maybe," Remy agreed with an absent shrug. "I just found it hard to trust people after that. Like, if somebody that I was that close with could do something like that to me, what's a complete stranger going to do? I couldn't be in a long-term relationship after that, and I ended up sleeping around a lot for the last two years of college." Remy looked over to me. "Don't worry, though; I was kicked of that habit when I woke up with a major hang-over in bed with Adam. And only Adam. Kind of a wake-up call for me."

"I'm glad. But… why me?"

"I don't know. I'm not quite sure what I was hoping for when I asked you for your number, but I think that hearing you give your statement at the police station made me realize that I could trust you, because you blindly allowed me into the room, even though you didn't know me very well at all."