"A fake boyfriend?! Are you for real?" Unfortunately. "It's not a good thing, Kate. Mr. Grey is only my temporary fake boyfriend until that informant is caught," I told everything about the other night- minus the Dollar-related stuff. "I'd give anything to have Christian Grey as my fake boyfriend," she swooned on my couch. Kate came over to do facemasks and watch documentaries with me; that's how academics spend their evenings. "You can have him if you want him; he won't be my BF for very long." "How can you say that, Ana? You have here the perfect opportunity to bag a rich hottie, and you're just gonna throw it away." "I'm not throwing anything away. Mr. Grey and I can… will never be an item." "Why not?" She took a sip from her sakura green tea. "B-because…. it would morally wrong. I'm his intern; I don't think my university or the law would like it." "Is that why he gave this relationship contract?" Kate picked up the folder I left on the side couch cushion. She opened it up and began to read.
"This looks more like a questionnaire than a contract." "I don't know; I haven't looked at it yet," I said, going to find one of my Lush facemasks. "How many hours to spend together, locations and people off-limits…. Oooooooh, kissing!" My best friend couldn't contain her squeal. I sighed, stretching over to hand her a pen. "Scratch that one out." "What?! But Ana, Christian could actually kiss you. Why would you want to cross that out?" Easy. My fear is what if he kisses me and…. I like it? Can't miss what I never had. "No kissing- period." "What about cheek or forehead kisses? Can we keep those in?" "Uh, I guess…. sure?" I mean forehead and cheek kisses aren't considered romantic, are they? They seemed harmless enough to me.
"And let me guess, Miss Prude? No sex either?" Kate hummed back to me. "Absolutely not! Scribble that one out in full." "It's not on here," she then noted. This made me blink at the back of her head surprisingly. It's not? Huh… I guess Mr. Grey isn't trying to take advantage of the situation. For some reason, this caused a smile to bloom across my lips; I was already grinning when I turned back to pour myself a cup of freshly brewed tea. That's kind of him…. Really kind.
"Ana, what's the deal with you? Most women would love to be in your shoes right now, but you're acting like you want nothing to do with Christian; at least romantically." I never said that. It's not a thing of "want"; it's something outside my control… I let out another long sigh. "I just….. don't wanna ruin anything. I've got a really good internship and more than that, I want to stay in my university's good books. Everything I do is for my PhD now…." Kinda. "School doesn't have to be your entire world; just at the center of it. There's lots more to the world than just the center," she prodded. "I do have more to my world! There's you and Daddy and my job and Paul and…"
"Paul? Is he the reason you're so reluctant with….?" Kate's eyes widened. "No! I mean no; the situation's the exact same with him. I just…. am not in the position to date anyone; for real, I mean." She eyed me for a moment before leaning back on the couch and returning her gaze to the contract. "You won't always be a student, Ana. Things will get easier in a couple of years; you'll see." You're probably wrong but I really hope you aren't, Kate. I just turned towards the bathroom. "Ready for facemasks?" She nodded, continuing to read over the agreement while drinking her tea.
"Here's one on going out on dates. Want me to read it to you?" "Sure," I was about to enter the bathroom when all of a sudden I heard my front door unlock. Kate and I looked over at the same time to see none other than Mr. Bodyguard barge into my apartment. While Kate wore a horrified expression at the intrusion, my eyes simply rolled. Of course…..
"Who are you?!" We both ignored Kate's question. Mr. Bodyguard stomped into my kitchen, promptly opening up the fridge. "Daddy didn't give you that key so you could come and eat my food whenever you want," I frowned, folding my arms; he didn't even glance my way. "I'm thirsty," he then proceeded to pull out my container of milk and finish its contents. "Um, Ana? What's the man drinking milk in your kitchen?" Kate asked me this time. Oh, great; why did he have to come around now of all times?
"This is my… cousin. Daddy gave him a spare key to my place… for emergencies only," I shot Mr. Bodyguard a lowkey glare at the end of my sentence. "Your cousin?" This completely changed his image in Kate's eyes. Ok, I'll admit Mr. Bodyguard wasn't the ugliest men on the planet. He was really attractive actually; he had this rugged edgy aura about him. As someone who loves dominant, strong men, I noticed this right away. But the scenario put blinders over my eyes; now he looked like some inconsiderate thug who came around without notice and guarded me like a dog when he was here. That's not as romantic as it sounds, particularly when you consider that he's getting paid big bulks to even tolerate me. It's clear he saw me as nothing but a nuisance; some little glass doll to babysit. And he was a horrible babysitter. In Kate's eyes however…..
"Ana, you didn't tell me your cousin was in town." Code talk: you failed to mention that you had a super bangable relative. She ogled Mr. Bodyguard, rubbing her finger under his chin and resisting the urge to lick her lips. "He… just got in," not an exact lie; we did just meet this week. Boy, I say that a lot to justify my actions- bad Ana! Kate flashed him a brilliant smile.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kate; Ana's best friend." "Yeah, yeah," I hate to laugh at my friends but the look on Kate's face when he said this was priceless. I had to hide a grin with my hand. Mr. Bodyguard placed the empty container on the counter, shoved his hands into his pockets, and headed towards the door. "Let me know if he calls," he told me before leaving. "I will," I sighed, not stopping the door from slamming behind him. "If who calls?" "The informant," I rejoined Kate in the living room. "Your cousin's hot but kind of a dick." "You're telling me," I laughed at that. It felt nice for someone else to say that.
["Hey, do we have any more of those emergency bracelets with trackers in them?" I asked Jones, who was currently resting at his desk with his feet up. "A few, I think. Why?" "I want to give one to Ana," I don't know why I hadn't thought of it earlier. It'll kill two birds with one stone: she'll be able to contact the cops whenever she's in trouble, and I'll be able to locate her if anything happens. I don't have any confidence in Grey's ability to protect Ana. This will make me and hopefully her so much better. Plus…
I kinda liked the idea of her wearing something from me.]