Chapter 12
APOV
We've invited Elliot and Christian over for dinner. And Anton, since he is staying here. I've decided to make gnocchi with bacon and spinach. I can make a lot of it to feed a bigger group.
Kate and Anton are out already so I text Anton and ask him to bring some good wine to go with dinner and pick out a dessert. Twenty minutes go by and Kate and Anton aren't back yet.
~Where R U?~
~ Stuck in traffic. Will B there soon!~
~OK. Hurry up, the guys will be here soon.~
~Don't get ur panties in a bunch.~
About ten minutes later there is a knock on the door. Anton and Kate probably forgot their keys. As I am opening the door, I say, "It's about time!" Standing there is Christian. "I'm so sorry, Christian. I thought you were Anton and Kate."
"They aren't here?"
"No, they are stuck in traffic."
"Didn't Elliot come with you?"
"No, he said he was driving here straight from a job site."
Just then Anton texts me again.
~Will get there as soon as we can~
~OK. Hurry up.~
"Well, it looks like it's just us for now. Anton and Kate went to get some wine so unfortunately, I can't offer you any but we do have some beer." I'm digging in the fridge to see what kind of beer we have. "Looks like we have Victory Hopdevil, Pike Place Ale, or Fremont's The Lamb."
"I'll have whatever you're drinking." He walks over to me in the kitchen. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
I hand him a Hopdevil and say, "No. I have everything ready. It's just keeping warm until everyone else gets here. Want to sit down while we wait?"
"Sure, lead the way." Christian follows me to the living room. Our apartment is nowhere near as big as his. I'm nervous so I turn on the TV and the movie Big Fish is on.
"Oh, I love this movie. It's one of my favorites," I tell Christian.
"I don't think I've ever seen it. What's it about?"
"It's such a good story. There's this guy who is about to become a father and has a strained relationship with his own dad. He finds out his dad is dying from cancer so he goes to his bedside. The father tells the son the story of his life which is pretty crazy."
"It looks like it just started. Why don't we watch it while we wait for everyone to get here?"
"Good idea." Christian sits next to me. We don't have anywhere to sit in here except for the sofa. Kate is having the chairs we normally have in here reupholstered. He sits close enough to me that I can smell him. He smells so good it's a little hard to pay attention, actually. It feels like there is some electric pull that is drawing me to him.
CPOV
I have a feeling Ana and I have been set up here. I won't be surprised if no one else shows up. She looks gorgeous today and as I'm sitting next to her, the smell of her hair is driving me crazy. I just want to reach over and sniff it but that would be weird.
The movie is good and I loved hearing Ana laugh at the funny parts and I know I heard some sniffles from her at the end. "Well, Ana, I think we have been stood up."
"Yeah, I think so. I hope you're hungry because I made a lot of food." She walks over to the kitchen to take the food out of the warming oven.
"As a matter of fact, I am. Are you sure there isn't something I can help you with?" I don't want to be a bad house guest.
"Well, you can grab yourself another beer." She gives me a big smile and her big blue eyes light up. I grab us each another beer.
We are sitting at the table enjoying the dinner, "Ana, this is good. You are a wonderful cook."
"Thank you, Christian. Cooking makes me feel calm. Do you cook at all?"
I would never think of cooking to be calming. "No, I don't even think I could boil water. Gail does all the cooking during the week."
"What about on the weekends, who cooks for you then?" I imagine telling her that my submissives normally cook all the meals on weekends would not go over well.
"It depends on what I am doing." Time to change the subject, Grey. "What else do you like to do?"
"Well, dancing has taken up a lot of my time so the only other thing I do is read. Cooking came out of necessity. Ray is terrible in the kitchen."
"How long have you been dancing?" I want to get to know what makes Ana tick.
"I started dancing when I was 3 but I got more involved when I was about 7 and my mom left Ray. It kept us both busy, I guess." She shrugs at her last statement.
"Why did you stay with your step dad and not move with your mom?"
"They didn't want to take me out of school and by the time the school year was over my mom had gotten remarried and was moving around the country with her new husband. Plus, I'm not sure I could leave Ray. In some ways, he was the only parent I had."
"I'm sorry. That must not have been fun." I think I lucked out when Grace and Carrick adopted me. The first four years of my life were hell but then it was like an angel saved me when Grace met me in the hospital that night.
"What about you? What do you like to do? Or, do you work all the time?" She gives me a teasing smile.
"Well, when I'm not working I like to go gliding and sailing on my boat."
"Gliding? That sounds exciting. You have your own sailboat?"
"Yeah, my company built it. Maybe one day I can take you sailing." We continue to chit chat and get to know each other, but since we're finished eating and no one has shown up I think I better get going. "I better get going. Hopefully, Kate and everyone else comes home soon."
"I can't believe they set us up like that. They really like to meddle, huh?"
"I can't say for Kate or Anton but Elliot is the nosiest bastard I've ever met." Ana laughs and it makes me feel… happy. I smile with her.
"Let me walk you out." We walk out and are standing at the threshold. "Thank you for coming over, Christian."
"I can't think of a better way to spend an evening. Thank you for the wonderful dinner." It's then I realize that we both have moved closer to each other and that magnetism is still there. I take a chance and lean down and give her a sweet kiss which she returns. "Can I call you tomorrow?"
She smiles shyly at me, "I'll be waiting. Good night, Christian."
