Being on the plane with Christian made me nervous, the smell of his cologne and the cool air coming from the air conditioner made my head spin. I was slowly sipping the club soda that Mona had left me. "This is helping me thank you."
"My pleasure Ana." Christian responded as he sipped his frosty glass of beer, in that moment he grabbed the orange slice off of the glass and bit into the orange flesh and his teeth grazed his lips and it left me breathless.
Fuck he's sexy and I felt embarrassed to continue staring at him.
Smiling at me, he took another slow sip "Mona is making broccoli chowder. She also is serving up a lean turkey BLT."
"That's a lot of food. I hope I can finish it."
Raising his eyebrow he looked over to me "It's really not. But why are you monitoring your portions? You don't look out of shape."
Biting into my cracker I smiled at him, under my hooded eyes I responded, "That's sweet of you to say. But I'm not perfect and I almost died trying to achieve it. It's a huge reason why Ethan kind of feels to control me, I stress out from not being stressed. I need to feel in control."
"I want to protect you so that doesn't happen again." He insisted.
"It's so hard when I want things for myself and no one see's them clearly. I'm not a child and I made hurtful decisions to myself but I'm always going to pay regardless." I muttered
"Ana, eat what you can." Christian responded and picked up some documents that were in front of him. I looked down to the small child sized bowl and dipped my spoon into the soup only tasting the thick cream only pretending to swallow spoonful's of soup.
It was clear to me that I was falling back into old habits. Chewing my lip to suppress my nerves.
Club soda only made me feel fat and bloated. I felt I still needed to be perfect in front of this man who was helping me. Christian was watching me suspiciously "Ana, is the food ok?"
I nodded "Yes. It's really delicious thank you. I'm going to get full quickly."
"Stop lying." He muttered
"Excuse me?" I asked, as I almost felt knocked back by his answer/
"You heard me. That dipping the spoon shit doesn't cut it. Ana you need to eat, I understand you have your issues and things that hurt you but it's not your body's fault. You are beautiful. You glow and your eyes shine. I notice when you get nervous you blink quickly." Christian ranted
My eyelashes give me away in that moment "I don't want to be a failure." I muttered as I looked down at the plate, only stirring the soup around.
"Why would you think you are a failure?" he asked.
"I'm not a socially groomed person, I'm highly unrefined, coming from a middle class home and having the "OK" of everything and never really expecting too much. I'm all of a sudden thrown in a world of labels and gossip and knowing the who's who is much more valuable rather than a strong and decent character. I can't be Mrs. Kavanagh."
There I unraveled in front of Christian. Feeling stupid I looked out the window of the small plane, I'd rather a bird outside than being in this tense conversation with this billionaire on a plane. Crying into the sleeve of my sweater, the small aches in my chest began to fade and only tears made me look at the bigger picture that I'm finally getting away from the life I was being made to live.
I loved Ethan but I couldn't tolerate his possessive attitude or the fact that he wanted to control me. I didn't know who I was yet.
I noticed Christian kneeling on the side my seat, being affectionate. Running his finger down the trail of tears that stained my cheek. I looked up at him and gave him a small peck on his forehead "Thank you" I whispered
"What was that for?" he asked
"Just because." I replied. God I felt stupid for doing that but I'm not sure why I felt drawn to do that.
"Stay here Anastasia. I'm going to bedroom for a while." And he got up from the floor and walked towards the back and closed the partition.
I hadn't noticed that we were taking off for Oakland yet until Mona came and told us to get situated and buckled that our flight would be leaving shortly. Christian went to the bedroom and left me in the seating area of the plane.
What was I going to do? I could go to school and live in California, work for Christian and try to be independent or go back to Ethan. I had too many things on my mind at that moment. I laid my head back and closed my eyes; this flight would not be too long.
I woke up to hear classical music playing in the background. I noticed that Christian had changed into more casual clothes.
"Oh, you're awake."
"I don't even remember falling asleep." I said
Christian taking a sip of beer from the frosty glass that was in front of him "I went to the bedroom to make a phone call and I returned and they you were. Fast asleep. I didn't have the heart to wake you."
Feeling weird as I was already I smiled "Thank I guess. So any news yet?"
Christian shaking his head "No, not yet. Ethan has been with your friend Kate all day looking all over Seattle for you. But good news is that will be landing in Oakland in a few moments so sit back and relax."
Laying my head back on the cushioned headrest, the Captain made the announcement that we were just minutes to landing and that we should have no problems with the weather. I leaned up and buckled up my seatbelt and Christian doing the same he smiled over at me.
"This is going to be interesting, I never been to Northern California." I muttered.
"You'll like it, there's lots to do here. Vineyards, shopping, culture. It's a little more diverse here, food trucks I heard are amazing and a few hipster places we can check out here in Oakland by the lake."
"Sounds great." I responded as I tapped my fingers on the armrest feeling my nerves starting up.
"You look worried Ana" Christian replied
"I am nervous. I'm worried that there is paparazzi when we land and my cover will be blown."
"Don't worry, there isn't really anything here unless someone here tips off the local news, which I doubt since everyone wants to keep their jobs. Plus that's more in Southern California with all that chasing cars and trying to stalk people for one good picture. Bunch of bullshit if you ask me." He explained.
"I'm glad to hear that." I smiled.
In minutes the plane landed and feeling it the landing went smoothly, Mona came out and let us know that our transportation was outside and luggage was being loaded. Mona opened the door and wished Christian and me a great time in Oakland.
The weather was beautiful there was slight breeze but not terribly hot. Blue skies and fluffy white clouds looked different to me than the ones I saw in Seattle. Maybe the clouds were different because I was free, I wasn't under scrutiny by a family but I was my own boss for a change. I looked over to see Christian grinning as he was scanning his iPad.
"What is so funny Mr. Grey?" I asked
"The look on your face, you seem so amazed by looking at the sky like it's something totally new and it's refreshing. Its rare to see someone marvel the beauty of their surroundings that everyone usually takes for granted." He explained.
I nodded "I suppose so, but I was only thinking that this was the first time that I didn't have to apologize for being myself. Ethan would of called me acting simple." I replied
"Ethan's an asshole." Christian smirked
I laughed softly "Yea, he is."
"I thought I should let you know that you are going to have to get into contact with him sometime before the end of tomorrow. He will file a missing persons report and you don't want to be dragged through all that non sense."
"I know but I don't want him play the valiant fiancée and say that he saved me from whatever was going on. He's the reason I wanted to go. I don't want to file a report with the cops. I just need to move on with my life and I need space."
"That's understandable. You can use my phone to call him. Taylor has special ops training and not even the stupid PI he hired can find us."
"A PI?"
"Private investigator. He hired one just yesterday and the trail went cold at the Fairmont. I'm such he's been keeping a tail on Elliot as well."
"Great, I'm a burden to everyone." I cried, "I'm sorry that this is happening and please if you want me to leave, I'll be leaving."
Christian rolled his eyes "Please one PI won't scare me. They can't arrest me or can he harass me. He's probably checking my financials to see what I've been doing, but luckily this is a business trip that has been planned." He winked at me as he opened the door to the SUV.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it." He replied and shut the door.
In the SUV it was quiet. The driver and Taylor were up front, Christian and me in the back. As we were driving down the busy street, I could see poverty all around until we reached the freeway. I wasn't so sure where we would be staying.
"Christian where are we going?" I asked
Looking at his phone as he was typing, "We are going the Claremont hotel. Its near the UC Berkley campus also its one of the oldest hotels in the area. Very exclusive plus I'm not really in the mood to book in San Francisco where we could be easily found."
"Really? Near UC Berkley?" I smiled
He nodded "Yes. It's beautiful. As soon as we get there and settle we'll go explore the area and go eat or something."
"That sounds fine thank you Christian, again you have no idea what you have done for me." I beamed
"Don't worry about it."
"But let me ask. What do you get out of helping me Christian? You haven't known me long and its just unbelievable." I asked
"I see a fighter in you. Something that draws me to help you in some way, I'm not sure." He responded
I was left looking out the window, at the cars and tall buildings as we were passing through a downtown area into some residential streets. Filled with tall eucalyptus trees and the streets became narrower and I saw the faces of Latinas pushing strollers, lean and tall women running with designer sunglasses. We pulled into a driveway with a security stop.
"I have guests checking in" the driver told the security guard.
"Name please?" he replied
"Christian Grey."
"Of course. Please pull up the front and the bellhop will assist with any luggage Mr. Grey has. Please enjoy your stay."
And the drive was not long but we pulled up to a beautiful white mansion. "Christian this place is absolutely huge"
Christian laughed "Its quite something, I like it here. Very quiet and private."
Walking into the lobby, I was impressed by everything not being so modern but it had a Great Gatsby feel to it. I loved the rugs and the wooden décor. Taylor checked us in and Christian walked over to me "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine, I'm just ready to relax and sleep for a little while."
"Just to let you know that it's still early and if you are hungry order room service and they do have spa services." Christian insisted
"Thank you. But for now, a bed is fine. I'm just exhausted I just feel like I didn't get enough sleep plus the plane. But I will nap first and then call Ethan if that's alright?" I asked
"That's fine Anastasia." He replied.
Walking me towards the elevator we waited till the doors opened and as we got in, he smiled.
What he smiled about I wasn't so sure but I felt like this was going to long trip with this man. I didn't feel uneasy being with him but I felt like I was being watched again but it wasn't the controlling type of watching Ethan would do. Ethan smothered me, calling to see if I ate that day, making sure I kept track in my food diary.
I know it was because he cared but he worried so much and it started to become obsessive to the point where I would lie, only because he would scold me for not having something to eat or even using the proper clothes when we went out. Kate wasn't much help either but I only had myself. My mom and dad couldn't really give advice, Mom was a three-time divorcee and dad well he was a tactile man who would only speak unless it had to do with fishing and soccer.
Love and relationships was something I was never stable in growing up because I wasn't sure what a healthy one was. Struggling with an eating disorder, for my parents they never noticed it they just thought I just was a light eater. Kate discovered my secret after living with me. Ethan being someone who needed the control helped me and paid for my rehab for six months. I was able to catch up on school and the Claytons were really cool about my leaving to seek treatment.
Now it seems everything that was done for me was going to waste. I need a life of my own. I was tired of being spied on by Ethan and Kate and now all of Seattle. I didn't need the drama.
"Christian, is there a way I can look up the Seattle Social Blog?" I asked
"Why is something the matter?" Christian replied
"No, nothing specific. I just need to see what's going on. I know I shouldn't read it but it's like I have a feeling Ethan knows something or he knows where I am." I stammered.
"Yea let us get into the suite and I'll let you borrow the iPad."
I smiled "Thanks again."
Christian running his hand through his silky cooper hair "No problem."
As the elevator doors opened, Christian led me down to the left and there. No other doors but a set of double doors and private bellhop standing guard at the entrance. Christian was taking measure to make sure that we had privacy and was pulling all the stops.
"Mr. and Mrs. Grey. Welcome to the Presidential suite. I presume everything is to your liking and if there is something you need or desire, please do not hesitate to ask. Our staff is on call for your length of the trip."
Christian handed the bellhop a few bills and then he proceeded to open the door.
"It's beautiful. You can see most of the Bay from up here."
"Yea, I wanted the best. I feel that's only way for me. Do it big or don't do it at all." Christian replied.
I nodded. "Well I am actually going to find the bed and call it baby for a few hours."
"Sleep well Anastasia." Christian beamed.
I blushed. I felt stupid and turned into the bedroom and slipped off my shoes, letting my head hit the pillow. All I remember is the sound of birds outside and the soft sunlight peeking through the curtains.
