Author's Note: I've been asked why I just don't post the entire story at once rather than posting chapter by chapter. For those not familiar with the process, each chapter takes approximately 5 minutes to upload. This story has over 45 chapters which means it would take more than 3.5 hours to upload all the chapters at once. Therefore I do it one at a time when I have a few minutes to spare. If you'd rather wait until the entire story is uploaded, I respect your choice.
Chpt. 4 CPOV:
Two years later
"You guys have plans this weekend?" Elliot asks as we sit around the conference table at our office having just wrapped up the review of upcoming and current projects that we're working on.
"Nah," Taylor says.
"Nothing," we've worked the last several weekends so this is the first one we've had off in a while.
"Good," Elliot says. "Because we're all going to Vegas."
"What?!" Elliot always has been spontaneous so I shouldn't be surprised.
"Vegas? I'm in," Taylor shrugs.
"You guys remember that girl Kate I mentioned?" he asks. We both nod; Elliot always mentions some chic he's with but he's been talking about some girl named Kate that he met at a bar a few months ago. Apparently they hit it off and he's been spending nearly every night with her since. "I kind of asked her to marry me."
"You kind of asked her to marry you?" okay even this is shocking for Elliot.
"Yup. And we decided we're doing it in Vegas…this weekend."
"You're getting married this weekend in Vegas?" Taylor seems as surprised as I am.
"Yup," Elliot smiles proudly.
"Holy shit," I shake my head in surprise.
"You guys will be there right?" he asks. "I want you both standing next to me."
"Of course," Taylor says.
"We'll be there," I agree.
"Great," he sighs heavily I guess worried we would have said no. "We'll fly down on Friday, hit a few clubs or something. Kate, her parents and our parents will fly down on Saturday morning for the wedding Saturday evening."
"That's really quick," I point out the obvious.
"Is she knocked up?" Taylor asks.
"No!" Elliot practically screams.
"Sorry," Taylor shrugs. "It's just kind of fast."
"It is," Elliot admits. "But what I feel for her is like nothing I've ever felt. What's the point in waiting? I'm not going to risk waiting and letting someone else get their hands on her while I pussyfoot around."
"Congratulations bro, I'm happy for you," I pull him in for a one armed hug.
"Congrats Elliot," Taylor chimes in. "Seriously, I'm happy you found someone."
"Thanks guys," Elliot blushes. "So, I've booked tickets for everyone. We'll fly out on Friday, go hit the clubs and then the wedding will be Saturday evening so we can probably hit the casinos or something in the morning."
"We fly back Sunday?" Taylor asks.
"You guys will fly back Sunday evening; Kate and I will take off for our honeymoon Sunday morning."
"You really planned this out," a few years ago if you would have told me Elliot would be getting married in Vegas I probably would have asked you what the strippers name was and how many hours has he known her. Yet, the last two years, with the start and incredible success of ECJ Construction Elliot has truly become more grounded. Sure he's still the jokester, but he's serious first and a jokester second.
ECJ Construction and Home Builders has been our baby for the last two years but the first year was the hardest. We each literally worked 80 plus hours a week for that entire first year, putting everything we had into the company. The three of us rented a three bedroom apartment together so we could work on projects and designs even when we weren't at the office. It's only been in the last year that we've been secure enough to hire additional staff permanently to assist us with the workload. Now, we're down to working 50-60 hours a week but none of us complain. Being so busy works out well; it keeps our minds from wandering too much. When Taylor and I both decided not to reenlist with the Air Force, we were gambling that this business would be enough for us. If it wasn't I didn't know what we would have done. But between getting the business set up and actually running, leasing office space, buying equipment and marketing the first year was nearly a blur.
"Kate's mom designs wedding gowns so she had a few connections," Elliot reminds us. "She found a small venue that was available for Saturday; since we're only having a handful of guests it wasn't a huge issue. We'll have dinner at the venue but it won't be your traditional wedding reception. Just something small and cozy."
"So we'll finally get to meet Kate," Taylor jokes.
We haven't met Kate, not for lack of wanting. The last few months have just been so busy with the business we haven't been able to get together. We would plan to meet for dinner, but then a problem would occur at one of the sites and we'd have to run over there. Or a last minute rescheduling of a meeting for client would cancel our plans.
"That you will," Elliot chuckles.
"Did you tell Mom and Dad yet?" I ask.
"Yup," he smirks. "Let's see, Dad asked if she was knocked up and Mom squealed, practically jumping up and down. And you can imagine Mia's reaction."
Three days later, we've wrapped up several projects and have the ground work laid for the projects that will begin next week and are on the plane to Vegas. This is the first time any of us have taken any time away from the company and not only are the three of us leaving for the week but Elliot will be gone for two full weeks between the wedding and his honeymoon. The three of us have reviewed everything and are cross trained as much as we can be on the aspects of each other's responsibilities. We each have our own roles that we hold within the company so that no one person is stuck with all the grunt work (aka paperwork).
"So where are we headed tonight?" I ask once we're checked into the hotel. Elliot, Taylor and I will be sharing a large room. Tomorrow night Elliot and Kate will obviously be in their own suite but the suite Elliot wanted isn't available until tomorrow. It didn't make sense for him to get his own room just for a night since the three of us were going out together anyway so we just upgraded to a room with a pull out sofa.
"There's a dance club within walking distance I thought we could check out, if it sucks there are a few more a little further away that we could catch a cab to," Elliot answers.
"Works for me," I reply.
"Me too," Taylor nods.
A couple of hours later, we're waiting in line to get into the club. The club was just a couple of blocks from the hotel so it worked out well for us. Once we were inside though the first thing that came to mind was Ana. God, it's been more than two years since that night yet she still manages to sneak into my thoughts when I least expect it. How is that fucking possible?
"You thinking about her?" Taylor asks when Elliot disappears to use the restroom and we're left at the small table with our beers.
"Yeah," there's no point in denying it.
"This place kind of reminds me of that club," Taylor says.
"Sort of," not really though. There are a number of small tables set up but there is one large bar that serves everyone. The dance floor takes up the majority of the room but there are other rooms that cater to other types of music so there's something here for everyone. The club in Georgia was smaller, with more places to sit and chat if you didn't want to dance.
Neither of us say anything else; what really is there to say? We don't talk about that night often, but occasionally one of us will bring it up. It's been impossible to forget Ana and how either of us felt that night. God knows I've tried to feel that way with someone else, but no one has even come close. Taylor and I never shared another woman together, but it wouldn't have mattered though because it wasn't the sex that impacted either of us so much about that night. It was Ana herself; there was something about her that is like no one I've ever met.
"Let's grab a shot," Elliot pulls us both from our lost thoughts.
The rest of our night is a blur with crazy amounts of liquor, beer and a little dancing with girls who are far drunker than we are. When Elliot starts stumbling, nearly knocking over the bar stool we decide it's time to head back to our hotel after all he has a wedding tomorrow night that he needs to be sober for. Rather than trying to keep him from walking into traffic, we hail a cab to take us the couple of blocks to the hotel. He barely makes it through the door before he collapses on the bed, shoes on and all.
"I'm going to go shower, just make sure if he pukes it gets in the trash can," I say setting the can next to Elliot's bed.
"Will do."
Once I'm in the shower, my mind immediately goes to Ana picturing her in here with me. I can picture her in here perfectly even though we never had the chance to take a shower together before she left that morning. I was angry about that for awhile, but it took some time to realize that she must have had her own reasons for wanting to leave. I can only assume that she figured it was a one night stand and didn't want the awkwardness of the morning after. I wish we would have had a chance to talk to see if she felt that connection like we did, but even if she did feel it I don't know that it would have changed anything. I'm sure she had a job to get back to in Seattle so it's not likely that she would have been able to spend much more time with us in Georgia or wherever we headed after that.
That doesn't stop me from picturing her naked in here with me, as if it was two years ago and she didn't leave the hotel room in the wee hours of the morning. That while Taylor slept in the bed, Ana and I quietly went into the shower together. The shower is small, there's not much room for each of us do move around without touching one another so every time we move our bodies rub against each other. It doesn't take too many times of accidentally bumping into each other until we're doing it on purpose; touching each other, rubbing against each other and letting our bodies slide up and down each other. With water pouring down her body, I take her hardened nipples into my mouth, sucking on them as the water pours into my mouth. She squirms, her hips rocking slightly as she seeks me out as I suck harder. She's moaning loudly and I'm sure that Taylor can hear every sound she's making.
"I want you Christian," she moans the words I've been waiting to hear as my cock has been begging for her since the moment I woke up next to her beautiful naked body.
"It's going to be hard and fast baby, I'm not going to last long," I warn as I pick her up resting her back against the cold tile. Her hips wrap around my waist, she grabs my dick, placing me at her entrance teasing me with her warmth just before she lets herself sink onto me.
"Fuck Ana," there are no words to describe how she feels. For the first time there is no barrier between us; I know I should say something, point out that we forgot the condom but I'm speechless. I've never had sex without a condom and despite telling Ana that I wasn't going to last, I suddenly don't want it to end. I want to take my time, to lay her out on a bed and just stay buried deep inside of her for the rest of the morning.
"Christian," she moans my name nearly undoing me right there. "I'm so close, please…."
With her hands gripping my shoulders tightly, she starts moving her stunning body so she's riding my cock as the water splashes between us. My hands are firm on her ass, helping her move faster and harder against me when the need clearly becomes too much for her. Her body tenses, her soft walls throb around me, heat surrounds me just before she screams out my name pushing herself deeper onto me until I swear I bump against her cervix.
"Ana," I groan as I find my release buried deep inside of her.
Only my release isn't inside of her, instead it's all over my hand and the shower wall. I groan at the realization that the entire encounter was in my head, at the disappointment that she really did leave that morning. I quickly wash up, cleaning up the mess I made before getting out of the shower and tossing on a pair of pajama pants. When I return to the room both Taylor and Elliot are sound asleep; I set up the pull out bed and check my emails before falling asleep.
"Martinez….fuck….watch out," Taylor's groaning wakes me from a dead sleep only a few hours later.
"Taylor! T, man wake up," I nudge him on the shoulder preparing for him to fight back if it should happen. We both have nightmares about that day…and others but that day is the nightmare that seems to reoccur the most often.
"What!?" Taylor sits up suddenly just as I back away. It only took one time of getting too close when Taylor took a swing at me and gave me a fat lip for me to learn to back away quickly before he wakes up.
"You were there again," I point out before heading back over to the pull out.
"Fuck," he sighs and drops back to the pillows.
We don't talk about that day, in fact we don't talk much about our time over there. When we do talk about Air Force, which isn't very often, it's about the time before we were sent there. Before everything went to hell; before we knew what hell really was.
"UGH who let me drink so much," Elliot grumbles as he slowly wakes the next day. Taylor and I have already been awake for several hours, having gone down and had breakfast and now we're both responding to work emails ensuring that everything is going smoothly in our absence. We both chuckle at Elliot, knowing this was exactly how he would wake up given how many shots he did.
"There was no stopping you," I point out.
"What time is it?"
"Almost two," Taylor says.
"Fuck…I'm getting married in a couple of hours," he groans.
"Yup," I smirk.
"I need coffee and a shower."
"You take care of the shower and I'll make a pot of coffee," Taylor says.
It takes the full time we have before the wedding to pull Elliot together, ensuring that his hang over is gone and that he can hold food down before his bride walks down the aisle. By the time my parents arrive to leave with us, any signs of what happened last night are gone.
"How is she doing?" Elliot asks on our way to the small venue just outside the city.
"She looks beautiful son," Dad says.
"She's fine, not nervous or anything. Probably the most relaxed bride I've ever seen," Mom adds.
I watch Elliot visibly relax, all nerves gone I think at the reassurance that Kate isn't going to suddenly run for the hills and leave him stranded at the altar. Nothing against Kate since I've never met her, but I imagine that's any guy's fear the day of their wedding. Mia isn't with us as she's one of Kate's bridesmaids so she's riding over with Kate and her parents. When we arrive at the venue, we're escorted into a small chapel where the ceremony will take place. Afterwards there is a banquet room across the hall that has been reserved for the dinner.
"Time to take your places gentleman," the woman who has been helping us announces. Elliot, Taylor and I take our places at the front of aisle while my parents and Kate's mom sit in the front row. Soft music begins playing just before the doors open just enough for Mia to slip through. Mia practically bounces down the aisle, which is the way she handles everything in life…with happiness and innocence. When the doors open a second time, the entire world seems to stop.
It's her.
It's Ana.
Ana is fucking here.
She's right here.
I feel movement next to me and I have to grab Taylor's tux jacket to keep him from running down the aisle to meet Ana. I know the feeling, because I nearly ran to her when I saw her walk through those doors too. When Taylor's angry eyes find mine, I mouth "later" to him nodding towards Elliot. Taylor seems to remember where we are and sighs, remaining still next to me. Ana is slowly walking down the aisle, her eyes on the floor in front of her until suddenly she looks up. She smiles at Elliot just before her eyes land on me and Taylor. I watch as she nearly stumbles, before quickly correcting herself. As she approaches the end of the aisle she never stops looking at us. I see Elliot's eyes bouncing from me to Ana likely trying to figure out why we were just staring at each other but his attention quickly changes when Kate and her father walk through the open doors.
I can't tell you anything else about the ceremony, I can only tell you that I watched Ana the entire time. She's exactly how I remember her, yet I still struggle to believe she's here. I go through the motions of the ceremony, handing Elliot rings when Taylor nudges me after I miss the officiant asking for them. What the hell is she doing here? How the fuck does she know Kate-fuck….she said her roommate was Kate. The entire time Elliot was dating Kate, we had the potential to run into Ana if we had just made it to one of those dinners. I'm sure she would have been there.
Taylor nudging me is the only thing that pulls me from my thoughts, only to see Ana standing in front of me. I've missed the entire ceremony and the fact that I'm supposed to be walking Ana down the aisle. I put my arm, which Ana quickly places her arm in mine as we walk slowly down the aisle following Kate and Elliot.
"Hi," Ana whispers as we walk through the doors into the hallway.
"Hi," of all the things I imagined I would say to Ana when I saw her again, that's what I came up with.
"Christian, this is Kate's roommate Ana. Ana this is my brother Christian," we smile awkwardly at each other. If either of us says we knew each other, questions would arise. Questions that I have no idea how the hell we would answer. How do you know Ana, Christian? Oh, she, Taylor and I spent an amazing night in bed together in Georgia…. Yeah that would go over well.
"Ana, this is Taylor one of our business partners," Elliot further introduces when the doors open back up. "And of course you met Mia."
"Okay, so we have a few photos to take but if you guys want you can wait in the room across the hall. Drinks and appetizers should be waiting," Kate announces.
"I think I'm going to get some air," Ana says as she tries to slip her arm from mine.
"I'll come with you," I quickly say not wanting to miss a chance to talk to her.
Taylor looks at me questioningly; I know he's trying to figure out how he can join us without raising suspicion or risking others wanting to join. I shake my head ever so slightly, letting him know he should wait here.
"Come on Taylor, let's grab a drink," Mia leads him into the banquet room not noticing his gaze is still on Ana and walking down the hallway.
We make our way out of the doors, I take in my surroundings before leading Ana around the corner to a small courtyard where a few people linger admiring the different flowers and shrubs planted throughout the area. It's nowhere near as private as I want right now, but it'll have to do. The entire time, I keep my hand on Ana's, almost as if I need to feel her to know she's really here. We make our way to a bench, sitting down but neither of us say anything. I've imagined all the things I would say to Ana if I ever saw her again, and yet now that she's in front of me, I'm speechless.
"I can't believe you're both here," she whispers.
"No more than we can believe you're here."
"What happened-"
"Could…could maybe we chat later about that? Maybe after or tomorrow? I…I just don't…not here." she interrupts just as she knows I'm about to ask what happened that morning. To ask her the question that has been on my mind since I woke up that morning…why did she leave so suddenly.
"Yeah…are you staying at the hotel?"
"Yes, I'm in the room next to your parents."
"Taylor and I have a room just above you, will you come to our room….to talk tonight?"
"Okay," she seems reluctant or nervous or something.
"Ana," I sigh and slip my arm around her shoulders pulling her against me. Her body tenses for a quick moment, but then relaxes against me as she puts her head on my shoulder. I don't know how long we sit like that, but just having her this close to me does something.
"We should head back before they send out a search party for us," Ana points out.
"We should," I reluctantly stand when Ana lifts her head off my shoulder. I offer her my hand, which she takes in hers before standing up. She's standing in front of me, only inches from me and the only thing I can think about is kissing her. I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her against me which earns me a gasp from her in surprise. I don't give her a hint of what I'm going to do, too afraid she'll tell me no, before I do what I wanted to do from the moment I saw her walking down the aisle. I kiss her, loving the way her soft lips feel against mine and how much better she tastes than I remember. I groan when I feel her tongue tentatively at my lips and the only thing I can think about is getting Ana back to the hotel.
"Dinner….we should go to dinner," Ana breathlessly says after pulling away.
"Yeah," that's about the only thing I can say.
We slowly make our way back to the banquet room where everyone is seated, already starting on the salad. I reluctantly let go of Ana's hand as she heads to the other side of the table where her empty seat waits for her. Ironically, she's seated directly across from me and Taylor. Taylor's looking between me and Ana, obviously dying to know what happened. Knowing I can't exactly talk to him here, I pull out my phone and type out a message on the note feature of the phone before sliding it him under the table.
She's going to come to our room tonight to talk.
Did she say anything?
No. She didn't want to talk about it out there.
You have lipstick on your cheek
I take a sip of water trying to hiding the heat I feel rising to my face; I quickly take my napkin and wipe my mouth and smile stupidly when I see a smudge of pink on the white napkin knowing it's from Ana's lipstick.
Jackass.
Taylor chuckles but doesn't say anything more. Dinner is long and boring; I can only focus on the beautiful woman sitting across from me who politely makes conversation with everyone at the table. Every so often she'll catch my eyes or Taylor's and she'll blush the cutest shade of pink. I can only hope that she's thinking of that night because right now it's the only I can think about…well that and getting her to our room tonight. Logically I know we need to talk but….
"So Ana, how's your job going?" Elliot asks and at the mention of Ana's name I'm forced back to reality.
"What is it you do Ana?" My mom asks.
"I'm an interior designer…I guess I should say I was-"
"What do you mean you was?" Kate shrieks.
"I…Well…when I asked for this weekend off I was given an ultimatum," Ana shrugs. "I wasn't happy there so the choice was easy."
"They fired you because you chose to take the weekend off?" Elliot asks stunned.
"Technically, I suppose I might have quit? They denied my request off even though my projects were on track for their completion dates and I had no new appointments scheduled for the weekend. When I said I was going regardless, they told me if I didn't work this weekend I shouldn't bother coming back on Monday," she explains.
"Ana, you didn't tell me," Kate says.
"Kate, it's your wedding. Hell would have had to freeze over before I missed it. I hated the job anyway, so really they did me a favor."
"Ana, I told you if you ever left them you should call me," Elliot says before turning to me and Taylor. "Ana worked for Litman Designs and unfortunately had a non-compete contract with them so she couldn't work for anyone else. You should see her portfolio, it's stunning."
Litman Designs is a small, but fairly successful interior design company in Seattle that we looked into when we were looking for someone to work with us on one of our projects. They had a decent portfolio but we ultimately decided to go with another company that seemed to fit better with our clientele. Litman did a lot of home interior designs but not as much commercial designs; our business is split evenly between commercial and home building so we needed someone who could manage both aspects of our business.
"What was your role at Litman?" Taylor asks.
"I was in charge of their commercial accounts," Ana answers.
"Fuck," she was fucking right there the entire time. Within arm's reach and we missed it.
"Christian!" Mom hisses at me.
"Sorry, Mom," I quickly apologize. "It slipped out. It's just that we've been looking for a designer for our commercial side."
The company we're with is great, but they're not quite what we want. We've been quietly interviewing other companies for the last several months but still hadn't found the perfect fit.
"Which is why I told Ana she should call me if she ever wanted to leave Litman," Elliot looks at Ana pointedly.
"I know," she sighs. "But this all just happened Elliot and you were getting married. Nothing was more important than the wedding and everything going off perfectly for you and Kate. This can wait; I planned to chat with you when you came back from your honeymoon anyway."
"We'll schedule a meeting," Taylor quickly voices my thoughts.
"Well, that seems to be settled," Kate's mom says. "Though dear, I'm truly touched that you would risk losing your job to be at my daughter's wedding."
The conversation is quickly steered away from Ana and I watch as the tension leaves her body when she's no longer the center of everyone's attention. After everyone finishes desert, Kate and Elliot announce that the limo is outside to take us back to the hotel. We slowly make our way out to the large limo that is waiting as we all make our way inside. I don't know how, but as luck would have it Ana ends up sitting between me and Taylor. What are the odds? The entire ride I'm aware of Ana's every move: of her body pressing against mine with each turn of the car, of her hands fidgeting on her thighs, of her legs pressed against mine and of the soft scent that is only Ana.
We all end up in the elevator together, but we're mostly on differently floors. Ana is on the same floor as my parents and Kate's parents, Taylor and I are on another floor and Elliot and Kate are on a different floor. As we enter the elevator, I type a note on the note screen and show it to Ana.
Room 624
She nods in response; I want to say so much more but with everyone in here I can't. Instead I watch as she walks off the elevator, heading to her room. I do the only thing I can do, I hope she comes to our room tonight so we can talk.