I pack a change of clothes into my backpack for when I get to Christian's, I don't need to walk around Seattle in leather pants and boots when it's summer weather. I wear it to protect myself when biking, but even though I totally love the kink I am not into leather and rubber looking clothing. I must say though, I look hot. Black leather pants that fit me like a glove, white tank top that you can see my black bra through, and then I will put my skin tight jacket on before I head out. I run over everything that I need and triple check it's packed before taking Nova and Comet out to the back pen that they can't escape from. House is locked up, alarm is set, and I'm good to go. Jacket, backpack, helmet and I'm off to the ferry.
Christian is waiting with Taylor in the garage when I arrive at his apartment building, both their mouths are hanging open while I switch of the bike and pull my helmet off. He's about to tell me about how unsafe it is and that I should have a car but I hold my hand up to stop that conversation before it starts. He may think he's caring but I don't need that, I have a car and a Jeep but if it's nice out I prefer to take my bike out places.
"Would you mind if I change before we go out?" I ask.
"Of course, we can head up while Taylor gets the car ready," Christian nods.
We go into the elevator, the penthouse password is my birthday, and rise up to his castle in the sky. The sexual tension is strong, and doesn't dissipate once we're in the apartment, while he leads me to my old room that still looks the same as before we went to Portland. All my things, my clothes, are still there and where I left them but it's clean. He leaves me to change, which takes longer seeing as I have to strip from the leather that sticks to my skin from the sweat and heat. I have a quick shower, washing my body, and dress in new pantie and strapless bra set and a white sundress with red spaghetti straps and red embroidery around the bottom, I got it when I was in Barcelona five months ago and an adorable boutique that you wouldn't find in a tourist area. I slip into red ballet flats and pull my purse out of my backpack, all biking gear gets shoved in my backpack, except the helmet and boots which won't fit. I carry everything out to the main living area with me.
Christian is waiting out in the living room in light blue jeans, grey polo top, and a black leather jacket. It's nice to see him dressing so casual and care-free, before his 'casual' still included fancy pants. One day he will wear a graphic tee and the world will end.
"You can leave that here, I thought we could have dinner here before you go home tonight. Unless you wanted to stay in town for tomorrow," He says.
"I can't stay late Christian, I have to get back to Nova and Comet," I set my gear down on one of the odd accent tables around here. "But I will stay for an early dinner and come back in the morning. Alright?"
"Sure," He smiles. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah. Where are we going?" I ask.
"Anywhere you want, it is a formal dress gala so if you have any ideas?"
"Neiman Marcus has a good collection, it's where I shop mostly."
"Sounds good, I know where that is."
"You should, it's where you bought my clothes," I giggle.
Taylor and Sawyer drive us in the SUV, escorting us inside and around the store as I get distracted by clothes not needed for some Grand Ball. It's situations like these and times with Christian when I feel like Cinderella or Rapunzul, both for different reasons. Anyway, it takes much longer than needed to get from point summer dresses to point evening gowns. I know, the girl who used to love Macy's and Kohl's, now loves the expensive stores, but now I can afford it because I'm not spending money on alcohol or drugs.
"Is there a colour theme?" I ask.
"No, but it's a masquerade."
"Good, so no one will know it's me."
"Except they all already know you're coming with me. Name cards and I called my parents as soon as you said yes," He blushes, he's cute when he's embarrassed.
We're both walking up and down the aisles looking at the different colours and different styles. I either want something bright and bold like red or blue, or I want something simple and black. I'm leaning more towards black as we look through everything, I mean Christian will be in a black tuxedo which will look sleek. He holds up a black dress that I fall in love with and put it on the rack of ones to try on. We both keep looking at Sawyer and Taylor who look very awkward standing in the section watching over us. With five gowns to try on, after about seventy-five minutes in the shop, we move to the private dressing room that he had booked.
I'm on the third dress, it's emerald green and simple but I feel like it looks sick. I walk out and Christian isn't out in the comfy chair anymore, I step out into the store to ask him if it makes me look sick and see him talking to Kate.
"Please, I don't want to wait till tomorrow to talk to her," I hear her plead.
"I can ask her but it's not my decision. You can't just force your way to her," He says.
I roll my eyes at that comment, that is exactly what you had done Mr Grey so don't be a hypocrite.
"It's it what you did!" She mirrors my thoughts.
"Kate!" I call out, the both look at me.
She runs over and hugs me tight, nearly knocking me over with impact. Thankfully Taylor was behind me and kept both of us in upright positions. I hug her back and we both exchange apologies, tears, and smiles. Girls can be easy or difficult, with Kate it's like we had a fight over pizza and everything is good now.
"I hate to say this, but it's not your colour," She looks at my dress.
"I was thinking the same thing," I smile, wiping my tears away. "Come help me with my last two choices, you might be more helpful then Christian."
"What I do?" He asks while we all go into the private room.
"You tell me I look beautiful in every one!" I laugh.
"Well you do," He shrugs. "I like this one."
"This one makes me look sick."
Kate and I go behind the curtain and I start to run down the zipper but stop, I really did not think this through right. Christian really hasn't see yet and I don't need her to see how much weight I've lost. I take a deep breath and still let her help me out of this one and into the next one which is red. I don't like the fit, she thinks its a bit awkward, Christian says I'm beautiful and we're onto the last one that is the black one I loved on the rack. This one one, it makes me look good but I panic with the open back. Looking in the mirror you can easily see my shoulder blades, spin and ribs; it's not as bad as they may think, and I am in program to get better with the eating disorder and I've actually gained a lot of weight since I have been back and working closely with Lucy and the clinic as an out-patient.
"Ana?" Kate's voice is hushed as she looks at my reflection.
"I'm better then I was," I choke. "I'm working with a program and have actually been gaining weight and all that again. I promise."
"Okay, and this one is beautiful but maybe not around Christian?"
"How about we get it as my goal dress?" I ask. Lucy talked about a outfit that would fit and look good when I hit my target weight. "The dress I get to wear when I'm not so boney."
"Awesome, lets go find more options then."
We leave Christian on his phone this time to look through the dresses, making sure that the would hide most of my obvious condition but not be too covered you'd think I was old or a nun. We turn away from focusing on floor length gowns and look at some shorter ones too, apparently Kate's gown is knee length. I don't care if my shoulder blades show more, it's mostly my spine and ribs that make me extremely self conscious.
I find one that I really like, full length gown with sleeves and it covers my back but it doesn't look too old or modest at the same time. I really like it, it is something I would be comfortable in to wear in public and with Christian. I forget all the others we have on the rack and carry this one back to the dressing room where Christian is shouting at his phone. Kate and I slip behind the curtain and she helps me into the dress.
"I like it," I examine myself in the mirror. "I just need to find a new pair of nude heels."
"You look gorgeous, and Marchesa Notte makes beautiful clothes," Kate smiles.
We walk out to Christian who hangs up the phone and looks at me, mouth hanging open. Well, we have all had great responses to this dress which means that this is the one: 3/4-Sleeve Embroidered Mermaid Gown by Marchesa Notte. It's around two thousand dollars total at check-out with all the taxes, cheap for a formal dress for a Grey or Kavanaugh reception. The shoes cost eight hundred and are: Christian Louboutin, Rivierina Patent Ankle-Wrap Red Sole Pump, Nude. I'm so thankful that is over and Kate doesn't seem too upset with me, she just keeps asking if I'm okay or good.
"You should join me and Mia tomorrow for hair and makeup, everything is booked but we can call and ask for a third stylist," Kate offers in the parking lot.
"Sure, that would be nice. I will leave my dress and shoes at Christian's and meet you where you are getting things done," I smile, quickly gauging his reaction.
"Brilliant, we're meeting at Habitude at nine tomorrow morning. We're getting waxed, plucked, massaged, hair, makeup, nails… the whole nine yards."
"Awesome, I'll meet you guys there. And I am sorry, Kate."
"I am too," She hugs me. "We pushed too."
Kate joins us for lunch and then goes her own way. Christian and I go for a walk along the marina for the afternoon. He tells me about work and what he's managed to accomplish the past year and a half, some of the big deals that he is working on now, and where he wants to take his company in the near future. I talk about living in France, traveling around Europe for a short while, coming back and finding my Bainbridge house. We walk and talk for hours, like we're the only two here in Seattle without a care in the world.
We finally get back to Escala to have an early dinner so I can make it back to my puppy's. Gail and I talk avidly while she makes a rich Italian dish with lots of carbs and fat, making me nauseous. I excuse myself to find Taylor to talk to him about tomorrow and possibly tonight in case Christian or Gail offer me wine. I find him in the security office looking at monitors and flipping through papers.
"Taylor?" I knock on the open door. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Of course Miss Steele," He waves me in, I close the door behind me and sit in one of the chairs by the desk. "What can I do for you?"
"Call me Ana?" I take breath. "I haven't had anything to drink for fifteen months, I have AA meetings once a week still and talk to Lucy about it. She thinks I should tell someone in case I am offered anything. I'm strong, I can say no, but it's the people offering that I have trouble saying no to."
"Like the Grey's and Kavanaugh's?" He raises a brow.
"Exactly, and I don't want to break now. I trust Christian and Kate, but it's hard to explain it to someone who hasn't been through it, or who may not understand."
"I'll keep an eye out Ana, and if you need air or a break tomorrow night find myself or Sawyer and we can take you away from the tents for some space."
"Thank you, and I will tell him when I'm ready, I'm just not yet."
He nods and I go back out to the kitchen where Gail is finishing up and plating the food, Christian comes from the wine pantry with a bottle of white. It's like swallowing a lump in my throat when he offers me a glass. Good thing I am driving which is a very valid excuse to not allow it into my system, but he pours himself a generous glass as we sit and are served.
We don't talk during dinner, I force myself to eat the whole plate that is three or four times what I normally eat. I leave to change back into my biking gear, hiding back in my room and the bathroom. I set everything on the counter and turn the tap on before going to the toilet and flipping the lid up, Lucy is going to be so disappointed in me. Leaning over the porcelain bowl I use my finger to tickle my gag reflex, expelling the meal from my stomach. After I flush the toilet and move to the sink I rinse out my mouth, wipe the sweat from my face and neck, and chew on a stick of gum. When I know for sure that no more will come up I change into my pants, tank top, and take my jacket out before throwing everything my bag and slipping it over my shoulders. I check the bathroom, making sure that nothing is here that could give me away, and leave it looking it the same.
Christian escorts me to the garage, kisses me goodbye, and tells me he will see me tomorrow after I have my spa day with the girls. The ride back to Bainbridge leaves me lots of time to think of the ramifications of today before Skyping Lucy.
We go through our normal check-in, and she reviews all my texts that I had sent her today. I leave out my food ordeal, knowing that come Monday when I see her in person that she'll know that I've temporarily slipped with the eating. I am willing to slip up with my eating issues but I refuse to slip with alcohol or drugs, those slips are not allowed.
"Are you sure there is nothing else you would like to talk about before we wrap up tonight?" Lucy asks.
"Um… what do I do about food tomorrow and not be obvious about it?" I ask her.
"Do your best, and eat but you don't have to eat everything. You don't have to eat everything placed in front of you or passed around, but eat enough that you get all your food groups and nutrients. For breakfast have a healthy and filling smoothie, lunch can be a salad with fruit. You'll be fine."
"Thanks Lucy."
"Goodnight Ana, text me in the morning."
I switch off my laptop and tay back in my bed. The dogs are laying down, and I'm to tired to shower tonight, I'll do that after my run in the morning. Double checking my alarm I finally nestle down ready to rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, never-ending, and somehow I need to make it back tomorrow night to the dogs. I've never left them unsupervised for an overnight before, maybe the neighbour's daughter would check on them if I do get stuck in Bellevue or Seattle.
AN: Good morning my Lovely's. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are having a beautiful day.
Food for Thought
1 What possible drama could entail at the Coping Together Gala?
2 Do you think our couple will take things slow or fast?
3 Is Ana pushing herself too much or not enough?
Hope you all are enjoying the story, some twists and turns are coming our way in the near future. I'll see you all tonight.
-Mouse