It's Anastasia's twenty-first birthday today. I know Ana wants to learn to drive, but I'm sure she's never been behind the wheel of anything. I would never be able to forgive myself if she got hurt after getting behind the wheel the first time. Instead, I decide to take her to K1 Speed with her father, Gail, Taylor, and me. I've rented out the whole place for the day so that no one will bother us. Go-karts will be much safer than a car for her first experience. If she does well, then I'll take her out in the car later this afternoon before the sun goes down.

When she comes down for breakfast on her birthday, she's greeted by the four of us, all in ridiculous birthday hats with noise makers. We blow them when we see her, surprising her and making her giggle.

"Happy Birthday!" We recite in tandem.

"This is the best birthday ever." She's beaming and immediately goes to Mr. Steele, hugging him hard. "Hi, Dad. I didn't know you were coming this early!"

"That's the point, baby girl. I wanted to surprise you." She gives him a kiss and then hugs Taylor and Gail before saving me for last.

"Thank you for this, Christian. This is all so lovely. You're lovely." She wraps her arms around me and I hold her close, letting my hug linger. I love that I can celebrate her birthday with her. I love that she isn't stuck in a cage for another birthday.

"No need to thank me, Ana. Happy birthday." She pulls away enough to smile up at me and press her lips to mine, and I can't help, but notice that the kiss is longer than normal. When she pulls away, she blushes.

"Are you ready for your birthday breakfast?" Gail asks.

Anastasia nods eagerly. "Yes, that sounds wonderful."

Gail guides her over to the counter where a feast fit for a queen is waiting, taking up the length of the counter. Pancakes with sprinkles making them colorful, bacon, sausage, ham, eggs, biscuits, gravy, fruit salad, hashbrowns, French toast, bagels, and croissants line the length of the table.

"Oh, my." Her wide eyes look up and down the spread. "I know I have an appetite, but am I supposed to eat all of this?"

Gail laughs. "Whatever we don't eat this morning, we'll keep for leftovers."

She nods. "Okay. Where do I start?"

Gail hands her a plate. "Wherever you'd like."

We wait patiently as she loads up her plate. She gets a biscuit with gravy, some fruit salad, and makes herself a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant sandwich. Gail busies herself with pouring her a big glass of milk while Ana finishes and hands it to her when she's done.

"Go have a seat in the dining room. We'll fix our plates and be over in a minute."

We pile our plates high and grab our drink choices before joining Ana. She's sitting, waiting patiently for us to arrive.

"Eat, Ana. No need to be formal." I tell her, digging into my own plate. She gives me a smile and digs in. She hums upon the first bite of her biscuit and gravy.

"I'm in Heaven." She tells us, around a mouthful of food.

Gail giggles. "I'm glad you like it, Ana."

We all eat until we can barely move, all of us going in for a second plate. It's a breakfast feast to die for, and we still have enough leftovers for most of the week.

"We've got a surprise for you, Ana."

She grins. "You do?"

I nod. "You know how you said you wanted to drive?" Her eyes widen and she nods. "Well, we thought it'd be fun to start you out on something smaller than a car."

"Like what?"

"Go-karts."

"Go-karts? What are those?"

I really hadn't even thought about her not knowing what a go-kart was. "Um, they're little cars that you can drive around a race track at amusement parks." Seeing that she still looks confused, I pull my phone out and show her a video.

"Oh, that looks like fun. Will there be other people there?" She looks a little uncertain. Being crowded makes her feel suffocated and anxious.

I shake my head. "No, I rented the whole center out for the day. Just for the five of us."

"Wow. And we'll all get to drive?"

I smile. "Yep. We'll have go-kart races once you get use to it."

She squeals and turns toward me in her seat, throwing her arms around me. "Yes! When can we go? Can we go now?"

Laughing, I hold her to me. "Yes, once you're dressed."

She looks down at herself and then runs for the stairs.

"MAKE SURE YOU WEAR JEANS!" I yell to her. I don't know how easy it would be to stay lady like in a go-kart with a dress.

"OKAY!" I hear her call from the top landing.

XxXxXx

Anastasia is tucked into my side and holding her father's hand as we make our way into K1 Speed. I greet the manager while Anastasia takes in everything. In the inside go-kart park, there is also a little diner that houses concessions and other goodies. The diner has a view of the race track on one side and a small gaming area with pinball machines and racing games on the other. There's also a small gift shop and billiards room. It isn't a huge place, but it'll suffice and Anastasia looks as though she doesn't mind. She's practically bouncing up and down as she takes everything in.

"Hello, Mr. Grey. My name is Luis and I'm the Day Manager here at K1 Speed. The place will be rented out to you for the remainder of the day and is closed to the public. You have unlimited availability to the go-karts, food, and the games inside. Jason is in the race room whenever you're ready."

I nod, looking back at Ana, who is itching to get her hands on something. "I think we're ready." I tell him.

We head to the race track and Jason explains the rules to us and tells us we can get into our cars.

"I get number twenty-one!" She calls, seeing that it's in front, and climbs in eagerly.

I laugh and hurry over to her. "Okay, Ana. You heard everything he said, right?" She nods. "Alright. The right pedal is the gas pedal and the left if the brake. Be careful. We're going to do one practice round so we can all get our bearings, then we'll do a real race, okay?"

She nods. "Yes. Let's go!" She's dancing in her seat. I climb into the car behind hers and the other three climb in three cars beside us, Gail in the front.

Jason gives us the go ahead, so I tell Ana to push slowly on the gas. She lurches forward, screams, and then laughs.

"Try again." I tell her sliding up behind her. The other three wait patiently while she tries a couple times. Once she gets the hang of it, she starts flying around the race track like she's been doing it her whole life. I can barely keep up with her.

"Ana! Wait for me!" I yell at her.

I can hear her laughing. "No! I'm winning!"

"It's just practice!" I tell her, laughing.

"Okay, then I'm practicing winning!" She goes whizzing around the corner, her long hair flying behind her and I can see her laughing. Mr. Steele races passed me, smiling, trying to catch up to her. Looking behind me, I see Gail and Taylor gaining on me and I stomp on the gas, determined to catch up.

By the time we get back to the starting line, Anastasia and Mr. Steele are laughing while she dances in her seat. "I won! I won! I won!"

I have never seen her look so happy or carefree. Her joy is contagious and I notice we're all grinning like lunatics.

"Can we go again?"

"Yes, this time you'll do three times around. When I wave the checkered flag, it means that it's the last lap." Jason tells us.

"I think we should do women versus men!" Gail states, grinning. Ana quickly agrees.

"You're going to eat my dust, Grey." Anastasia tells me, gripping her steering while.

I'm half shocked, half amused.

"That's my girl!" Mr. Steele says, raising his hand to give her a high five. "But...I'm afraid it'll be my dust that you are eating."

Damn. These Steele's are savage.

We race four rounds and the men end up tying with the ladies. We go one more round where Mr. Steele literally wins just by a few inches.

"The men win!" Mr. Steele jumps out of his go-kart, raising his arms in triumph. Anastasia is smiling, but trying to give him a scowl.

"Barely." She states, climbing out of hers. She pushes him with her shoulder and he wraps his arm around her. "We'll get you next round."

"Maybe...but probably not."

Seeing them bicker back and forth is entertaining. I love seeing Anastasia like this.

"So close, Christian! Did you see it?" She asks putting her arm around my waist. "I want a rematch before we go home."

I smile and throw my arm over her shoulders, steering her into the diner. "You'll have plenty more chances to try to win before we go home."

"Try?" She huffs. "I bet you I'll win."

"Bet, huh? What would you like to bet?"

Her eyes widen and she looks around. Seeing Mr. Steele heading towards the bathroom and Gail and Taylor looking over the menu at one of the tables, I know we won't be overheard. Her cheeks are already red with excitement, but her color deepens at the thought.

"Tell me, Ana. Whatever you want." I twirl a long tendril of her hair around my finger.

"Um, well, if I win...I'd like to sleep in your bed tonight."

"In my bed? But where will I sleep?" I ask, feigning ignorance.

"Christian!"

I laugh. "That's a deal."

"And if you win?"

I think. "If I win..." What do I want? I grin. "If I win, then I get a kiss."

She cocks an eyebrow. "A kiss? That's an easy one."

I shake my head. "Not just a peck. A real kiss."

"Oh..." She looks down at her feet and then back up to me. "Okay." She states, nodding.

I give her a crooked grin and hold out my hand. "Deal, then?"

"Deal." She takes my hand and we shake on it.

After another few hours of playing around, we decide to hit the road. The girls end up winning one more round than us, but Mr. Steele cheated. He swung his car to the side so we couldn't pass him fast enough to catch up. Now, I don't get my kiss. I'll forever be stuck in this weird friendship that we have. I can't deny that I'm disappointed.

When we get outside, a red RS3 Audi is sitting, waiting for us.

"Where'd this come from?"

I grin. "You wanted a driving lesson. Taylor and Gail are going to go home. Mr. Steele and I are going to risk our lives to make your birthday a memorable one." I hold up the keys and she gives me a sweet smile and takes the keys from me.

I climb in the passenger's seat and Mr. Steel climbs in the center of the back. We all put our seatbelts on and I explain how to adjust the mirrors, how to hold the steering wheel, how the blinkers, lights, and wipers work.

"Now, you do not want to push on the gas of this car like you did the go-kart. We'll go through the windshield. Just turn the car on. Put your foot on the brake and shift into drive. Then ease off the brake and slowly press on the gas. Slowly..." I put my hands out, praying that she doesn't kill us.

She does as I say and we lurch a little bit when she touches the gas, but not too bad. "Good. Good girl. Perfect. Now drive around the parking lot for a couple minutes to get the hang of the pedals and wheel. After that, we'll take some of these back roads..."

XxXxXx

Two hours later, we're pulling into the garage of Escala with me behind the wheel. Anastasia did great considering it was her first experience behind a car, but she felt uncomfortable driving the interstate, yet. I didn't feel comfortable with her driving it either. We'll get there eventually.

We pull into a spot at Escala and Anastasia shakes her head. "You and your cars."

I chuckle. "What about them?"

"You have so many!"

"Well, I don't own those two over there...those are Gail and Taylor's...and I don't own this one either."

Her eyebrows furrow. "You don't? Is it a rental?"

I shake my head. "It's yours."

"IT'S WHAT?" She screeches.

I grin. "Happy birthday."

"Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Christian! You've already spent so much money on me the past few months..."

"And I'll spend more."

She sighs, holding her chest. "This is incredible."

"So you like it?"

She nods, suddenly teary-eyed. "I love it." She sniffles and begins to cry.

"Oh...oh, Ana...What's wrong?" I lean over the center console and hold her against me. "Are you okay?"

She sniffles and nods. "Yes, I'm sorry. Today is just so wonderful. I just never thought...oh, wow. It's hard to take in."

I smile and squeeze her to me again. "You deserve it all, baby."

"He's right, Ana. Let him spoil you."

I look back at her father and smile. He's rubbing her shoulder, trying to soothe her the best he can from the backseat.

"You okay?" I ask, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. Let's go inside. We've more celebrating to do." She smiles up at me and nods.

We climb out of the car and she stops me, giving me a fierce hug. "Thank you so much. You are such an incredible man. I appreciate everything you do for me."

I smile and hold her tight. "I know you do, darlin'. You're welcome."

She releases me and hurries to her father, putting her arms around his waist. "Do you see that? That's mine! Did you know about this?"

He just grins and shrugs, hugging her to him.

The elevator opens and we climb in, waiting for it to climb to the top. In the dining room, a Chinese buffet is laid out for dinner. I had told Ana to eat light for lunch so she'd have room for a big dinner, but she doesn't know what. I have been practicing with chopsticks and I am going to surprise her by using them tonight...hopefully.

When we step out of the elevator, the apartment is completely decorated in all things birthday. Balloons, streamers, presents, banners, signs, and confetti are all over. It looks like a party store threw up in here. We pass the entryway and Taylor and Gail pop open confetti poppers, making confetti rain down on the three of us.

"Oh, my gosh!" Anastasia is giggling and trying to clean the confetti out of her hair. "Thank you! This is all so wonderful!" She hugs Gail and Taylor and we usher her to the dining room for dinner. I open a bottle of Rose Bollinger, a pink champagne that I thought would be perfect for her first legal birthday.

I pour the glasses and we toast to Ana. I watch her take a sip, trying her first taste of alcohol.

"Mmm." She says, taking another drink.

I smile. "Taste good, then?"

She nods. "It's lovely." She takes another deep swig from her glass.

"Eat a little more food first, sweetheart. I don't want you drinking on an empty stomach." She places her glass down beside her plate and wipes her lip on her napkin, ready to dig in.

Dinner is filled with laughter and warm conversation and Anastasia makes her way through three glasses of champagne within the hour and a half we sit there. I notice her giggling a little easier and becoming a little more silly. It's quite entertaining.

Eventually, we head into the theater room, where we watch 'Pitch Perfect'. It isn't my first choice in a movie, but Gail and Ana picked it, so I'll deal with it. It actually ends up quite funny and Ana really enjoys it. When it's finished, Mr. Steele stands and stretches.

"Baby girl, I better get going. Taylor still has to drive me home and it's getting late. It was incredible being able to spend your birthday with you."

She smiles. "Thank you for being a part of it. It's been the best day. Perfect."

He gives her a kiss and a hug and heads out with Taylor. Gail follows closely behind them, deciding she better clean up the mess.

"Do you mind if I help?" Ana asks.

Gail scowls at her. "Yes, I mind! It's your birthday for another two hours. Enjoy it with Christian."

Anastasia giggles and settles into the oversized couch by me. "I tried."

"That you did." I agree. "Is there anything else you'd like to do for your birthday?"

She shrugs. "I think I just want to relax and watch a mushy movie."

"Mushy, huh?"

She smiles. "You don't have to stay. I don't mind watching by myself."

I shake my head. "Don't be silly. I'll watch it."

Luckily, she picks 'The Bounty Hunter' with Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler, which isn't too much of a RomCom.

As we watch their chemistry on screen, Anastasia sighs. "Does it really work that way?"

"Does what?" I'm confused.

"Kissing...being in love. Can a kiss really make you weak in the knees and forget to breathe? Does being in love really make you want to roll around in bed constantly?"

I smile. "I'm not sure about the being in love part. I've never had that with any of the girls I've been with."

"And the kissing? Is it really that good? Does it really make your toes curl and take your breath away?" She looks up at me, her chin resting on her knees.

I search her face for a moment. Should I really try it? I want to kiss her. Fuck, I've wanted to kiss her for a long time now. She unknowingly gave me a perfect opening. Is she ready?

She lifts her head and cocks it to the side, probably wondering why I haven't said anything, yet. Her teeth sink into her plump bottom lip. So soft.

Come on, Grey. The moments going to be over. Don't miss it. I know I'm going to regret it if I dont try.

I cup her face and begin to lean in, but I'm too fucking far away. I mentally chastise myself for making myself look like a dumb ass. She's sitting, stone still, while my hand is resting on her cheek. I scoot closer to her and try again.

"Why don't I show you?" I nuzzle my nose with hers and she lets out a bashful giggle. It makes me let out my own laugh. I feel like we're teenagers who are about to have our first kiss. I shake my head at the craziness of it all.

I press my forehead to hers. "I'm going to kiss you now."

She gives a small nod. "Okay." Her

voice is breathless.

When our noses touch, her eyes flutter shut and I press my lips to hers. Her lips are warm and soft and I deepen the kiss, urging her to move her own lips against mine. She catches on quickly and my fingers find their way to the back of her neck, getting tangled in her hair.

I have to force myself not to deepen it further. I worry that exploring her mouth on our first kiss will scare her away. I still need more. I need as much of her as I can get. I need to tpuch her. My other hand wanders over, finding her hip, and I begin to knead it, loving the curve of it against her body.

I hear a soft moan come from her. It's barely there, but it's there. It makes me smirk and causes us to slow our kissing down to a few more soft pecks. We finally pull away and we're both breathing a little heavier.

"Did it live up to your expectations?" I ask.

Licking her lips, she nods. "Better."

"Wow." I'm pretty damn happy with myself.

She leans back in and gives me another deep kiss before the moment is gone. It only lasts three or four seconds, but it means so much more than the short kisses we've had so far.

She looks up at me, becomes bashful, and looks away before standing. "I think I'm going to head to bed." She heads to the door of the theater room, but I stop her.

"Are you still staying in mine?"

She doesn't turn, but looks over her shoulder at me, giving me a smile. "Yea. I won, afterall." I watch her leave and I can feel myself grinning from ear-to-ear.

We both won tonight.