AUTHORS NOTE
Thank you for the response to this story so far. it means a lot and im sure a lot of you were glad Ana wasnt pregnant. So i finished this chapter earlier than expected and i hope it really does justice for everyone. All characters belong to EL James.
Ana's POV
Hey what are you doing? Want to hang out tomorrow as friends and get to know each other?
I send off the text message to Christian and await his reply. I feel crappy that I haven't taken the chance to get to know him because he seems so insistent on us getting to know each other and be friends and my self-pity party has prevented it from happening. There are only a couple days of school next week before we break from Christmas and I really want to take this opportunity to get to know him and hopefully go into the New Year with a new friend. I want to put this whole year of crappy stuff that's happened behind me and move on. I deserve at least that much.
Hey not a lot just relaxing after a long week of exams. Tomorrow sounds good. I will pick you up about 9?
Ok sounds good see you then. :)
I don't hear back from him after that but then I guess I never expected to either. I must admit I am a little nervous about tomorrow and spend the rest of the night constantly thinking about how tomorrow is going to and whether or not we will get along and have a lot to talk about or if we will have nothing in common at all. The night seems to drag by but eventually I hop into bed and think about a certain guy with beautiful grey eyes and copper hair.
I wake the next morning a little excited about today. I have about an hour and a half before Christian will be here so I decide to get up and head down to have some breakfast. My dad isn't here today he's gone fishing early this morning with some buddies of his so I don't have to go through the whole awkward meet my dad thing for now although he did grill me a little last night about Christian and despite my attempts to tell him we're just friends, I somehow doubt he believed me. After breakfast I take an extra long shower to clean myself properly then take extra time doing my hair and putting on a small amount of make-up. I'm not big on make-up but I want to at least make a little bit of effort. I decide to keep things casual by wearing a pair of skinny leg jeans and a t-shirt as it's a little warm out today and pair it with a pair of sandals. I look at the clock and notice its 8:55am so I grab my handbag and head downstairs and get there just in time to hear the doorbell ring.
"Hi Christian" I say as I open the door.
"Hi Ana. You look really nice today." He compliments me.
"Thank you" I say as we walk towards his car where he opens the passenger side door for me to get in. I smile at this small gesture that he displays.
As we start to drive I begin to wonder where we are going and what he has planned for the day. Before I can ask he beats me to it.
"I thought we might head to the marina if that's okay with you?" he asks.
"Yeah that sounds good." I say.
We're silent for the ride to the marina but it's not an uncomfortable silence. In fact it feels completely normal like this is something we do all the time.
We arrive and park the car. He comes around to my side and opens my door for me and waits for me to get out so he can shut it. As we set along the pier, I can't help but wonder exactly what it is that he has planned for us today. He comes to a stop in front of a beautiful boat and shakes hands with the guy on board who looks like he's about to set sail.
"Ana this is David, he captains this boat for my parents when they often take it out. David this is my friend Ana." Christian introduces us.
"Hi it's nice to meet you." I say.
"likewise." David says.
"We're going to head out on the water today and have a picnic lunch if that's okay with you?" Christian says to me.
"That sounds really nice." I say and Christian begins to help me up onto the boat then climbs up himself.
David sets off inside to get everything ready for us to take off whilst Christian and I settle ourselves into the chairs out on the back of the boat. We start to go backwards out of the dock and then head off into the open water. When we arrive at our destination, David lets us know that he's going to get into the life boat and go to the island nearby and to let him know when we wound like to leave, and off he goes leaving Christian and I alone.
"So, would you like a drink?" Christian asks me.
"Sure just some water would be good thanks." I say. He goes off to get some water and brings it back to the table on the deck and we sit there looking at each other waiting for the other person to speak.
"I'm sorry." I say. Deciding to strike up a conversation.
"What for?" he asks me.
"For not giving you a chance earlier to get to know you. I shouldn't have brushed you off without getting to know you and for that I'm sorry." I say.
"It's ok but can I ask why you were so hell bent on us not being friends and what changed now?" he asks.
"I don't know how much you listen to what's going around school and gossip, but I had a boyfriend who I had been friends with since kindergarten and we had been together since eighth grade. Over the summer he was riding his bike home from my house when he got hit by a drunk driver. He was taken to the hospital but he died on the table while they were trying to save his life." I say through the tears coming from my eyes. I take a deep breath and continue. "It was one of those rare things that people said would never last because we were so young but I believed that what we had would last forever. There are still times where I think he's going to walk through my front door like it never happened and I don't know if I will ever fully get over it or him probably not but I know I can't spend my life hiding behind that. I guess it scares me to put myself in such a vulnerable position which is why I avoided the friend thing with you because there's something about you that makes me have hope that it's possible to find true love again and recently I realised that I want to find it and with you there's this spark I feel that I've never had with anybody but Josh. I've tried avoiding it but I just don't know that I can anymore and quite frankly I don't think I want to." I tell him sincerely.
"I'm so sorry about your ex. I did hear stuff about a guy getting hit by a car over summer but I had no idea that he was your boyfriend. When you tell me that I understand why you tried to avoid things with me but I'm glad you've finally decided to give me a chance." He tells me with a smile.
"Me too." I say.
"And for the record, that spark you feel, I feel it too." He says before getting up and coming around to the other side of the table and leaning in to kiss me softly on the lips. I don't pull away until we are both breathless and I immediately miss his lips on mine.
"So what else do you want to ask me? While we're being honest." I say.
"Do you see this going somewhere as more than friends? Do you want us to be more than friends?" he asks.
"I do see this maybe going somewhere more than friends and I think maybe I do want to be more than friends with you. Do you want that?" I ask.
"Yes I do want to be more than friends with you. I want you to be my girlfriend." He tells me.
"I think I want that too." I say shyly.
"Okay but I have to tell you something first before you make your decision final." He looks at me with apprehension in his eyes.
"okay." I answer warily.
"I was adopted by the Grey's when I was four years old. They have always been the most amazing family to me despite my being a tough child to handle. The reason I ended up at this school is because I got expelled from the last one for fighting. They put up with a lot from me and they're saints for doing so. The reason for the fight was because a guy knocked into me and touched my back. I don't like people touching my back and the reason for that has to do with my life before I moved into the Grey's home." He takes a slight break. "My mother was a crack addict and a whore. She was young and stupid and her pimp would come over and burn his cigarettes on my back and chest which is why I don't like to be touched there." I gasp at his admission shocked to learn that he had such a terrible upbringing.
"I'm so sorry Christian that's terrible." I tell him.
"It's done with and there's nothing I can do about it now but the reason I'm telling you is because I really like you and now you're hopefully still going to be my girlfriend, it's going to make certain things difficult for us like hugging and stuff." He says to me.
"Well how have you dealt with it with previous girlfriends?" I ask.
"That's the thing. I've never had a girlfriend before." He says shyly and looks away as if he is embarrassed.
"Oh. Well that's okay I'm sure we can work something out. It's not a big deal I can just hug you around your neck instead of your back." I tell him.
"You're really okay with that? That you can't touch your boyfriend?" he asks me.
"Well it's different but it's certainly not a deal breaker. Who knows maybe one day you'll learn to trust me enough to let me touch your back or chest." I say.
"I hope so because I would hate to think you couldn't touch me like you wanted to." He tells me.
We sit there for a little while with his arm around my shoulder leaning against each other just enjoying the view and the peace and quiet that we are currently experiencing. I think about everything he's told me and it all makes sense his cold behaviour and lack of friends. That he doesn't like people to touch him and I can only imagine how hard it was for him to tell me about it and that he probably doesn't share it with too many people. I immediately feel special. I can't get over that he's never had a girlfriend. I guess I could understand that but he's a sexy looking guy who would have girls falling all over him but to think it's me he wants makes me feel appreciative that I get to know him.
We have lunch on the boat enjoying the sun and each other's company then Christian calls David to get him to come back because we are ready to head home. We arrive back to the marina about 4pm, saying goodbye to David we head back to the car holding hands and nothing has ever felt more normal. We get to my house and I notice that my dad still isn't home which so he won't be meeting Christian today which I'm secretly glad about. We get out of the car and he walks me to the door.
"Well thank you for a lovely day Ana. I had a great time and I'm glad you said yes to be my girlfriend." He tells me.
"Thank you for a lovely day Christian I had a good time too. I'm glad you asked me." I say as he leans down and places a kiss on my lips.
"Goodbye Ana. I will talk to you later." He says.
"Bye Christian." I say.
I watch as he walks off and gets into his car and drives away down the road. I can't help but smile about how today went and I'm really glad I said yes.
AUTHORS NOTE: Ok so let me know what you think? Was it good or no? I hope to put one more up before the end of the week. Have a good day!