Saturday Anna went out with Ethel and Sarah. Daisy had to work and would join them later. Anna didn't mention John all evening when her phone rang. First she didn't want to pick it up.

"Come on, talk to him!" Ethel pushed her. "Or tell him to back off if he keeps stringing you along."

Sarah agreed

Anna didn't dare to pick up the phone. She asked for another drink.

"Yes! Lets get ourselves drunk and rave about that old man of yours!" Ethel exclaimed

A few drinks later Anna felt dizzy. With all those drinks in her system she felt more emotional. She wished she didn't.

Her phone rang again. She picked it up before she could even see who was calling. It was Mr. Bates, again.

Bates: "Hello, Anna?"

Anna: "Hmm…?"

Bates: "I can't hear you, there's too much noise… where are you?"

Anna: "What? …..Bates? ….Why are you calling at this time?

Bates: "Yes, I'm sorry…."

Anna: "No, it's OK… I just feel… a bit… strange. That's all."

Bates: "Are you OK? You DO sound strange…"

Anna: "I'm just not used to drinking, I guess…"

Bates: "That doesn't sound good… I wanted to talk to you about some work things. Didn't think about you having a night out… "

Anna: "Work? What? On Saturday evening? You should get out more Mr. Bates…"

Anna started to feel a bit lightheaded.

Bates: "Yeah you're right. Why don't I pick you up now? It's seems you had enough of this evening… we can have a non-alcoholic drink somewhere" he laughed.

Anna: "hmm… maybe you're right."

Bates: "Where are you, I'll be there in about 30 minutes!"

Bates picked her up at the pub. He didn't look shocked or mad at her for being drunk. She expected some fatherly speech about drinking… but he didn't mention anything about it. She could only notice some concern about her state of mind, by watching his eyes.

"Where are we going" Anna asked.

"I'll take you to my place, if that's alright with you? It's better than any pub and there's less noise, so we can talk."

Anna not only felt dizzy but she became warm and nervous. She wondered what his place looked like and how they would be alone without interference.

He lived on the edge of the city. The building was very old and big, it looked deserted. There weren't a lot of people in the street.

He unlocked the door and let Anna go in first. She walked up the stairs and through a long and dark hallway, which ended with another door. He came behind her and opened it. They then entered the room and John put on the lights. Anna was amazed. It was the largest room she'd ever seen in a house. It had the highest ceiling and biggest windows she could imagine. It must have been an old factory or industrial building with big engines, before he lived here. It was modernised, some floors up there was a wide, large, empty space. The walls were made of bricks and stones, nothing else on it. There was a staircase leading to what looked like an office and probably a bath- and bedroom. There was only a glass wall that separated it from the high living room.

It looked like his furniture was mostly designer items. It didn't felt cold: it felt warm and cosy. Most furniture was in nature and earthy tones. On the left there was a big kitchen and beneath the windows stood a big piano.

It was cold inside. In the living room stood a big woodstove with a big rug and pillows on the floor. John put the fire on.

"Please, sit down. Can I take you coat?" He hung his own coat and removed his tie. He opened the first buttons of his shirt allowing Anna to see the top of his chest hair.

Anna sat down on the big couch and looked around with wide eyes. She put her legs underneath her.

John put on some music, it was a classical piece: Bach's cello suite No.1 started coming from the speakers. Anna dreamt away.

He made her some tea and brought some cookies. "Now it's time I take care of you."

He took a seat beside her on the couch. "I needed to talk to you about work… but that wasn't the real reason I called you."

Anna looked into her cup of tea and took a sip. Her head was spinning.

"The way we left the airport, it just didn't feel right…" He paused a long time.

"I told you about what happened with my life, with…Vera... And then there wasn't time for you to respond. It wasn't honest to just burden you with it. I'm sorry."

Anna swallowed and softly said, "I like you the way you are… Mr. Bates. And everything that it took to make you the man you are today"

Anna moved so she sat sideways with her knees against his legs. She looked at him, her feet still underneath her. She put down her tea.

He looked sad. "Please Anna, call me John again." He looked her in the eyes.

Anna moved closer and turned even more so they sat almost opposite each other.

With her left hand she graphed one of his, which lay in his lap. She stared at their hands, caressing each other. When their eyes met again she couldn't hold herself back anymore. Anna pulled her left leg out underneath her and placed it on his other side. She now sat on his lap. They both where holding their breath, Anna softly bite her lip.

With her right hand she cupped his face and moved her fingers trough his hair.

John closed his eyes.

"I want you… will you let me close to you… John?" she asked husky.

He inhaled deeply when she said his name and laid his head back on the couch. One of his hands moved to her leg, it was on the edge of her dress. He softly caressed it with his fingers. Anna leaned in and whispered next to his ear "Please, let me hold you… let me love you" h

He looked at her: at the astonishing beautiful girl in front of him. "I surrender…" he said with a wanting, but slightly nervous smile. He looked hot and bewildered. His hand went from her leg to her back. He softly pulled her closer onto his lap, against his body.

He kissed her neck, her cheek, and finally he brushed his lips against hers. She felt his heated breath. Slowly both opened their mouths. He wrapped his hands around her and pulled her even closer. Their tongues slowly met and sought each other. They didn't rush anything. The kiss lingered long and when Anna pulled back to take her breath, he had the most loving look on his face. It was like she'd set him free. He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her nose, her eyelids, trailing to her jaw and ear. She trembled and took a deep breath when he started to undo her dress. He pulled the zip down and pulled the straps of her shoulders. She saw the twinkling in his eyes when he started kissing her collarbone. He caressed her back when he kissed lower and lower, coming to her breasts. Anna closed her eyes and laid her head in his neck when he pushed the top of her dress down. Anna pushed her hips forward and John moaned softly.

She started to undo the buttons of his shirt. She teased him by doing it very slowly and bit her lip, staring into his eyes. He almost couldn't handle it. He shuffled a bit on the couch, so he could give his manhood more space. She felt it strongly against her.

She pushed his shirt open and ran her fingers over his chest. Suddenly he pushed her back a bit and made her stand up. He followed her and held her tight, massaging her back, kissing her neck and mouth. Their bare, touching skin made them longing even more. John threw his shirt on the floor and helped Anna out of her dress. While they where kissing, Anna loosened his belt. His pants fell on the floor. He stepped out and grabbed her hand. He made her follow him to the rug on the floor, just in front of the fireplace. Anna sat down and helped John onto it too. They helped each other out of their last pieces of clothing and carried on. John tickled and massaged her back, caressing all the feminine lines of her body, kissing every inch. Anna laughed, giggled and teased him. They kissed passionately and spent time to get to know their bodies. Anna didn't have much experience, but felt very comfortable. They took time to please each other. Eventually they made love and clamped on to each other.

John held Anna and pulled a blanket over them. Anna fell asleep in his arms.

In the middle of the night John woke her and brought her upstairs in his comfortable bed. They slept till late in the morning.

Anna woke up when she heard a loud sound from the kitchen. Some pans or plates fell on the floor. She pushed the blanket off her and took a sweater from John's closet. She walked down the stairs bare feet.

"Good morning" Anna said, blushing. John, only wearing a bathrobe, looked a bit stressed but when he saw her he shyly smiled. "Hello." He walked up to Anna and put his hands on her waist. He pulled her closer and kissed her. "Good morning... I'm trying to make you some breakfast… but as you see, I'm not very good at it." He blushed.

"Maybe I can help you. We can do it together?" Anna offered.

"Like a real couple?" John joked.

"That would be nice…" Anna whispered with a twinkling in her eyes.

"That would be really nice..." John whispered back into her ear. And he added "I like it, you… wearing my sweater. I think you should wear it more often."

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The END!

Thanks again to downtonabbeyfan for editing!

I was so scared for posting it, but happy I did. Maybe I'll write some more A/B stories in the future