Christian's POV
My hands slip for the third time while trying to button up my dress shirt. I sigh and run my fingers through my hair after finally succeeding. Somehow, I can't get last night out of my head. I obviously have had my fair share of women, but Ana is just- Well if I've known she would be able to make me feel like this, then I would have done whatever this is a long time ago.
I slide on my suit jacket and manage to fix my messy hair. There's a knock on my door and Ana peeks her head inside. She comes to stand before me, looking absolutely breathtaking. The white dress reflects off her perfect skin and makes her stand out. Her hair is styled beautifully in long waves.
"You ready, yet?" she asks, softly. Almost sounding like she's nervous.
"Just about." I glance at her legs. How is it possible for someone so short to have legs that go on for miles?
"You look nice. New suit?"
"Thank you for noticing." I joke, and she smiles. "You look stunning as always."
"Thanks." Ana walks over and fixes with my tie. "So, I was thinking that we don't have to stay very long. All we need to do is show our faces, make sure everything is running smoothly, and say hello to Daniella. Afterward, we can come back to my place."
I so badly just want to ask if maybe there will be a repeat of last night, craving it so much. But Ana finishes adjusting my tie and kisses me on my cheek.
"Sounds good."
"We better leave, or else we're going to be late." She grins, and exits my bedroom.
"Yeah," I whisper.
There're so many things I want to ask her. Where do we stand now? What did last night mean for her? Does it change things between us? These strange, intense feelings for her are starting to take over in my head. I could really see us becoming something more, even falling in love with Ana. Or maybe I already am.
"Christian, let's go!"
The ride to the party doesn't take too long, and we pull up the valet already opening the door for us. Ana and I enter inside, and I'm already very impressed with Ana's hard work. You can tell she's incredibly dedicated to her job, and I can't help, but beam at her.
"Ana! I'm so happy you could come!" Daniella storms over in a long, very revealing yellow dress. "And Mr. Grey!" Her eyes stare lustfully at me.
"Thank you for having us." Ana smiles, resting her hand on my arm. I don't miss Daniella's eyes following Ana's possessive claim. "Can I leave you alone for just two minutes?"
"Why?" I raise a brow.
"I have to go speak to Claire about fixing the dessert table." she whispers.
"It depends." I smirk.
"On what?" Ana rolls her eyes.
"If you let me-"
"Ana! Need you right now." Claire interrupts us and drags her away from me. Now, I'm left alone with Miss Daniella. Her blue eyes sparkle at me, and she tosses her blonde hair over her shoulder.
"I'll show you to the bar." She latches onto my hand and pulls me towards that direction.
Daniella places herself in one of the bar stools, and I take the one next to her. The bartender takes our drink order, and her attention is solely on me. She crosses her legs, making sure to flash them and that her breasts are displayed.
"Can I call you Christian?" I give her a smug smirk.
"I don't know, can you?" She laughs, slapping my arm, playfully.
"You're funny." Our drinks are set in front of us, and she takes a greedy sip of her dirty martini. I decide not to taste my bourbon just yet.
"Shouldn't you be making sure your event is going smoothly, Miss Lucille?" She shrugs.
"There's a bunch of old farts everywhere, they're clueless to everything." I nod.
"So are you and Ana together?" I furrow my eyebrows.
"Excuse me?"
"Like is she your girlfriend?" I stare at her and shake my head. She grins, and slides her hand on my thigh. "Good. Just what I thought."
Ana's POV
"The dessert table looks much better now." I step back to admire my work.
"I agree. And I have everything under control." Claire says, standing next to me.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, Ana! Go enjoy your night with Christian." I sigh.
"Well, I just want to say you've done well adding the finishing touches." She smiles and hugs me.
"Thank you so much. That means more than you know." I start to laugh at her over affectionate demeanor.
"Call me if you need anything!" I yell and start pushing my way through the crowds of people to find where Christian is.
He's not where I last saw him, and I glance all over the place. My eyes scan the bar, and I find a blonde woman very cozy and settled on Christian's lap. It's most definitely Daniella as the prime suspect. I can feel my heart in my throat and trying to fight the urge to throw up when her lips forcefully start moving against his. Christian's hands roam all over her body, and I'm frozen in spot. It's like my heels are stuck in quicksand, and every second I can feel my body quickly descend closer to the ground.
Not being able to handle seeing anything else, I spin around and flee for the bathroom. I stand before the mirror, and I just stare at my devastated face. Maybe last night didn't mean anything to him, unlike it did for me. Christian always did say he hated relationships, and would always be a ladies man. How could I be so stupid?
My hands claw at the counter and I try to normalize my breathing. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. That's it, keep it going. The bathroom door opens and ruins my meditating. Daniella struts her trashy self inside and flashes me a smile.
"Those martinis are running right through me." She jokes, and I remain emotionless.
I send her a harsh dagger stare as she shuts the bathroom stall door behind her. That bitch is like a piece of chewing gum you find under the desk; tacky, used, and unwanted. I can't handle being so close to her, so I finally exit the bathroom.
One of the many waiters carrying a tray of champagne passes me, and I grab two glasses. Irrational Ana chugs those two suckers down like water and slams them down on the vacant table next to me.
Christian is still settled at the bar, and he turns around. His gray eyes find mine, and at first they shine brightly for me, but he finds my miserable looking face. Gray eyes snap quickly to be full of concerned. I bite the bullet and head over to him.
"What's wrong?" He tries to gently rub my bare shoulder, but I shrug away.
"It's nothing. Just not feeling well all of a sudden."
"Oh. We can leave." Christian starts to raise up, but I push him back down.
"No, stay. Don't let me ruin your night." His brow furrows.
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"Nothing, never mind. I'll call you later." I pull myself from him and walk outside. Since we're deep in the city, I wave out my hand to try to flag down a taxi.
"Ana!" I ignore him. "Anastasia!" Oh, he's using my full name. His hand catches onto my arm and he tugs me around. He looks defeated, and worried.
"What the hell is going on?" I look down. "Talk to me."
"Just go back inside and find Daniella. I bet she's waiting for round two of your make out session."
"It's not what it looked like. Trust me." I roll my eyes.
"Oh, it's not? Your hands sure enjoyed roaming all over her body." He scoffs and runs his hands through his hair.
"Why are you getting so riled up about this? You're not my girlfriend." My eyes widen, and I feel my heart crack. This is my fault anyways. I was the one to make the stupid dating rule, and look where I am now. The only one making it a huge deal that he kissed someone else, all because I fell deeply in love with him. "Ana, I didn't mean-"
"No, no, you're right. I'm not your girlfriend." His face drops. "I'm just the girl you have sex with occasionally and still friends with. Nothing more."
"Ana, that's not what I meant at all." I sigh.
"Of course, you didn't. But whatever this is, it has to end."
"Because of what happened? I told you-" Christian takes a step forward, but I stubbornly back away.
"No, I've been thinking about this for a few days and I think it's the right decision. I can see this threatening our friendship." His eyebrows furrow and his eyes become dark.
"What about last night? You thought you could have one last time, try something different, before kicking me to the curb because you got bored?" He raises his voice.
"What? Absolutely not! It wasn't like that at all. Last night was-" I try to plea.
"Nothing, Ana." Christian distances himself from me. "Daniella's waiting." Those words crushed my heart more than anything.
He turns on his heels, heading straight back into the party, leaving me to shed the tears that I've been holding back.
Author's note: The drama is on full effect in this chapter! Sorry this had to happen, but I needed to change everything up a bit, keep everyone on their toes. Don't hate me! I promise this story is an HEA. But any predictions for next chapter? Will they forgive and forget everything that has happened? Or is their friendship now ruined? Thank you all for reading :)