Chapter 11 Smack that!
Epov
The look on Gideon's face is priceless. Ana quickly grabs Teddy while Gideon is forcefully wiping at the milky substance. Looking down at his clothes he sees the rest of Teddy's wrath. Christian seems to notice it to. "Come with me, I have a few extra tuxes you can pick from." The guys leave the room and I look over to Ana. "Whoopsie" she sing-songs. "It was worth it. Did you see the look on his face? I thought he was going to blow chunks himself!" "Right?!" A knock on the door interrupts us. Ana looks up from Teddy's crib. "Oh, Gail he had another accident." "That's okay Mrs. Ana; I'll clean it up in no time." She looks over in my direction. "You must be Ms. Eva, I've heard so much about you. Thank you for bringing Mr. Grey more family." Her smile is genuine. "Oh, you're welcome. It was a great benefit for all of us." She smiles again then turns to Ana, "Mr. Grey and Mr. Cross are in the living room ready to go when you are." "Thanks Gail. Good night little man" she says as she tucks Teddy in for the night. We make our way to the living room where Gideon is still fixing the sleeve of his "new" shirt. I am amazed by the fit of the tux. The brothers are the same size. "Is everyone ready?" Christian asks and we all nod in agreement. We make it to the garage and I expect to see the standard black SUV, instead there is a fancy white limousine awaiting us. Taylor opens our door and we all slide inside.
We make it to the Grey home in fifteen minutes and I notice my palms are beginning to sweat. Christian and Ana are in a deep discussion over something but I'm not really paying attention. Glancing over at Gideon I notice his face which hardly ever gives anything away. He notices my stare and gives me a half smile before zoning out again. He must be nervous as well. I grab his hand and try to comfort us both. Taylor quickly pulls up to the door of the massive home. We are met by a younger woman. "Hi, you must be Eva!" she says as she pulls me into a hug. "Yes" I reply surprised. "I'm Mia, Christian's sister." She releases me then sets her sights on Gideon. "Oh my Gosh!" she practically screams. "You have to be related to my brother. Look at you! You two look so much alike. I wasn't expecting that." Quickly she pulls him into a hug shocking him as well. "Alright, Mia that's enough. You wouldn't want to scare him away now would you?" "No! Of course not! Sorry, I'm just so excited!" She says as she looks up at Christian. "Oh! I was actually meeting everyone out here for a reason, other than curiosity. Mom and Dad are in the study and want a private meeting before all the guests arrive." Mia says in almost one breath. "Alright, let's get this over with." Christian says and I watch as Ana takes a page from my book and elbows him in the side.
We step inside the house and Gideon turns toward Mia. "Don't worry, I don't scare that easily. I have a little bit of practice dealing with younger sisters." "How many do you have?" she asks even more excited. "Just one, her name is Ireland and she's fifteen." "That is so awesome." Mia squeals. We make our way to what I assume is the study. I look up at Gideon. "Don't worry; they're going to love you." "Thanks" he murmurs obviously not convinced. We step inside the door and all conversations stop. Everyone's eyes are on us, mainly Gideon. Christian breaks the silence. "Mom, Dad this is Gideon Cross." He turns to Gideon. "This is Carrick and Grace." I watch silently as Gideon greets them. "Mr. and Mrs. Grey, it's a pleasure to meet you." All the while he doesn't release his hold on my hand. The thought of him needing me that much makes me feel happy. My reverie is short lived though. "This is the persistent Eva Trammel." Christian says with a joking tone. "Ah, so you're the one who brought my son more family." Grace says smiling. "Yes, but I couldn't have done anything without Ana's help." "Thank you so much. He needed to know the truth." I look over to Ana to find her smiling at me as well. More introductions are made and conversation starts back up. I am in deep gossip with Ana and Mia about fashion week coming up. Looking over I find the guys talking to Ethan. "Mia, where is Kate and Elliot?" Ana asks. "I'm not sure. I thought they were right behind Ethan and I when we decided to meet you guys here in the study." "Hmm, that's strange. I thought for sure she'd be here by now." "Well, she's been acting weird all day so who knows." Mia replies.
Grace and Carrick, who had left the room previously to visit with early arriving guests, make their way back inside. "Everyone is starting to arrive. Would you guys care to join the party?" Carrick says a bit sarcastically. After putting on our masks we all head toward the door. Mia is obviously excited by the festivities, Gideon is zoned out again, Christian is brooding and Ana seems distracted. As we enter the "ball room" I realize how grand this event really is. The entire back yard has been transformed. There are tables set up everywhere and candles and flowers as far as the eye can see. "Grace has officially outdone herself." Ana whispers beside me. I'm still soaking it all in. I notice a group of musicians off to the side. There has been a special floor placed over the grass for dancing. As we continue walking a server stops us. "Rose' de Provence for the ladies?" We both laugh as Ana snatches her glass off the tray. "Yes please." She says then downs the contents. "Ah, that's better." Once we are in the center of things Ana spots who she's looking for. Christian seems to spot them at the same time and grabs Ana's hand then gestures for us to follow them.
Elliot is a burley guy and I instantly like his sense of humor. Plus the comment he makes, at Gideon's expense is rather funny. It has him laughing so hard he has to excuse himself. Kate, however, is a piece of work. I tune out half of what she is saying to Gideon because I am too focused on plotting ways to hurt her. After her snide comment about how "odd" it must've been finding out about his brother, I am ready to snap. Fortunately for her Gideon steps in and puts her in her place. "I assure you it was very surprising. However, I already have a brother. I thought Eva told me that Ana's best friend was a journalist. I would've thought you would check all the facts before you decided what was going on. I fear for how big your retraction page is at your paper. I assure you that having another brother was not something I was looking for. I know from experience it's not all it's cracked up to be." Then he turns to me. "Eva would you like some more refreshments?" I nod then stare at Kate. "Excuse us." I spit out rather coldly then stop dead in my tracks. "Shit! Speak of the devil." Christopher is standing right in front of us. I notice Gideon move to shield me from him. The brothers exchange words, none of which are pleasant. Then Christopher asks me to save a dance for him and I can see Gideon flexing his fist. Luckily, he takes the high road and drags me away with him. I turn back to see Ana giving Christopher a "go to hell" look and Christian trying to reign in his fury as well. Kate has apparently decided to stay behind and hopefully stand her ground.
It doesn't take long before the party picks up in full swing. Carrick is introducing Gideon to some man. "Who's that he's shaking hands with?" "Oh, that's Dr. Flynn. He's our shrink." "You and Christian see a Dr too?" I ask slightly surprised. "Yeah, he kind of came with the territory." Glancing over I want to ask her what she means but she's already headed in the guy's direction. We pass by two more servers and I see her down two more glasses. She better slow down or she will soon be feeling the effects. Before I can make it over to everyone, Mia pops up out of nowhere. "Eva, I just saw on Google! Fashion week is going to be huge! It was there top story!" She says as she grabs my hand and leads me toward a table. Suddenly, we hear a commotion in the distance. Taylor walks over to Christian and I see Grace make her way over to them. Whatever Taylor says to them pisses Christian off and makes Grace look extremely angry. I look over to Ana who was talking to Elliot. I notice him shrugging. They both stop their conversations when they notice Grace's angry march toward the front door. Taylor and Christian are hot on her heels. I excuse myself from Mia and meet up with Ana over by Gideon. "What was that about?" Ana asks worried. "I'm not sure. I heard a lot of "that bitch isn't welcome here" and then Grace said something about "her kind should never be allowed at any event having to do with children." "Ah, shit." Ana half whispers. "What is it?" "It …is Mrs. Robinson!" she says like I am supposed to know who that is. Then I notice Kate calling Ana's name. She makes her way over and starts to say something about Christopher but I can't hear her.
I want to know more details but Mia pops up. "Well, that was interesting. Anyway, about fashion week, maybe we could all go together. That would be so great." She can barely contain her excitement. Then an idea strikes me. "You know, we should probably invite Ireland as well. She never really gets to hang out with girls." Mia beams up at me. "Oh my Gosh, we should! This is going to be so much fun. Not only do I get another brother but I get two sisters as well. I'm so happy!" I'm dragged, once again, over to a table where we chat nonstop about fashion and models and New York. Well, technically I do a lot of nodding. Mia is the type that lets you get very few words in. I look over and see Gideon chatting it up with Carrick and Dr. Flynn. Both men are glancing toward the door obviously waiting on Christian and Grace to return. Gideon is staring down at his glass when I see Ana walk over to him and whisper something in his ear. He looks up at her and makes a move to stand. Carrick and Dr. Flynn both nod at him as he leaves the table.
I watch as he and Ana make their way to the dance floor. There's a good twenty people out there dancing and I'm having a hard time seeing them. Once again I excuse myself from Mia. Making my way over to the floor I realize I have no idea how this actually makes me feel. I trust Gideon and Ana but my insecurities are getting the best of me. As soon as I spot the two of them I feel uncomfortable. They are both laughing and obviously having a good time. Deciding to cut in and claim my man back I step onto the dance floor. Suddenly there's a loud slam and I look over to see that Christian has returned and he looks even more pissed. His eyes are blazing with jealousy as he spots the two of them. Secretly I wonder if that's what I look like myself. Marching over he reaches Ana in time for the end of the song. Grabbing her hand he pulls her off the dance floor. "Mrs. Grey, do you have any idea how pissed I am right now? You will soon, after you've been dealt your punishment." Christian whispers as he drags Ana past me and toward the house. I'm not exactly sure how to take his statement and even though I am super pissed at Ana, I don't want her to be punished. I mean that was a real twat move she pulled but punished…no, I don't like the sound of that.
Deciding this makes me want to follow them but I don't want to leave Gideon alone. I go back over to Mia and ask her to dance with Gideon and keep him company while I run to the restroom. She eagerly agrees and I quickly make my way inside. I spot them down a long hall and notice they go right. Slightly jogging I make it to the end of the hall and pear around the corner just in time to see a door close. I walk over to the door and hear them arguing on the other side. "Will you ever do it again?" Christian yells his voice muffled by the door. "No sir!" Ana wails. Then I hear a slap clear as day. Fear takes over and I shove the door open. The sight before me isn't what I expected to see…at all. Christian is standing beside a huge bed, his pants around his ankles. Ana is on all fours with her dress bunched up around her waist. It's very obvious to me now that the slap I heard was his hand on her ass. I want to disappear and bleach my brain. First, I have to close the door back without them seeing me. Grabbing the knob I twist it and ease the door closed. I think my lucky stars it didn't slam into the wall and grab their attention and that it makes no noise as I close it back.
Heading back to the party, I decide to find a restroom and splash some cold water on my face. I make my way back in time for the dinner announcement. Spotting Gideon I make my way over to him and join our table. "Are you okay? You look a little flushed." He asks me. "It must be the Champaign; I think I will stick with water for the rest of the night." I say and feel slightly guilty for fibbing. He looks at me in a questioning way but doesn't say anything. Mia and Ethan join our table a few minutes later followed by Elliot and Kate. Just as the meals are coming out Ana and Christian appear and make their way to our table. As they sit down I notice Ana fixing his bow tie. I think I'm going to be sick. I can't look Ana in the eye for a good hour.
Finally it's time for the auction portion of the evening. Dr. Flynn had generously donated his vacation homes in London, which Gideon and Christian bid for and won. By the end of the night Kate is finally talking to us and Christopher is nowhere to be found. Feeling emotionally drained I am glad this night is over. I remember thanking Carrick and Grace for a lovely evening and getting into the limo but I must have fallen asleep on the way back to Escala. I wake up to Gideon nudging me. "Come on babe we have to go to our car." I wake up enough to see Christian half carrying Ana. I guess the drink finally got to her too and her extracurricular activities…blah. We say good night and make plans for lunch the next day. Once we are back at our hotel I strip out of my dress and wipe off my makeup. After my nightly routine is finished I lie down on the bed and pass the fuck out.