Chapter 3

A First Date

I decide to go for a run along the bay. I need to clear my head. The air is cool and misty. I crank my go to long run playlist. I set my iWatch to clock my times. Not many runners are out this morning. I need to sort my shit out.

By the time I hit my second mile, I decide I need to do two things. First, I plan on talking to Dr. Green about the last night's panic attack. That was a first for me. I want to be proactive about getting ahead of this anxiety before it becomes something bigger.

The other thing I need to do is to talk to Kate. Maybe if I get a feel for when she plans to move out and what she plans to do with our apartment, I can feel better about such a big life change. Kate and I have lived together since our freshman year of college. I am not going to let this life change overwhelm me. I'll get information and make a plan. I can do this.

I think about making a girls date with Kate for dinner this week. I definitely want to be a part of her wedding planning chaos. I don't want her freaking out if she saw me getting upset last night. I'm pretty sure that she didn't but just in case. Plus, I cannot wait to see her reaction when she finds out that I had a steamy make out sesh with Christian last night.

The whole Christian Grey onion has so many layers to peel back. He was pretty awesome at recognizing I was freaking out at the dinner table. That seems different than the Christian that I know. He has always been so aloof whenever he has been around. He is pretty good about showing up whenever Elliott and Mia plan something. He usually spends his time on his phone. He often has to leave early to go take care of some work emergency. Never has he seemed to notice how others are feeling. What was that about?

I am really pushing myself on this run. I feel the burn in my thighs as I grind along the path. Another jogger approaches me from behind.

I don't even have to turn my head to the right. I feel the tingle. Yep, Christian is running alongside me. I'm sure if I were to turn around I would see Taylor 20 paces behind us. Kill. Me. Now.

"I thought that was you, Ana."

"Oh, hi Christian." I slip off my ear buds.

It's lame but I'm at a loss here. What's the etiquette for meeting up with the guy you sucked face with the night before. I have an idea how I look – sweaty and panting. Great Steele. As if I didn't have enough material to over analyze.

We run along together. I'm pretty sure Mr. Sex-on-Legs is slowing his pace to run with me. His legs are so long. His muscles are so well defined. There is no way he clocks a 10 minute mile like me. He isn't even breathing heavily. I consider faking a Charlie horse. No, that would backfire. He would probably insist on massaging it out. Hum, may that's not such a bad idea…

Before I can come up with a better idea to get rid of Christian so I can resume dissecting our night together, we reach a turn off on the path. Christian indicates he is going to take it. Praise the gods!

"Ana, what are you doing tonight?"

My laundry. "Nothing really. I'll probably just catch up on some Real Housewives of Somewhere."

Christian frowns. Clearly, he doesn't watch much Bravo. "Have dinner with me. We can go somewhere casual, your choice."

"Er, um, Ok." Smooth Steele.

"Great, I'll pick you up at 7." And off he goes. I stand there and enjoy the view of the retreating Mr. Grey.

He. Is. So. Freaking. Hot.

True to his word, Christian knocks on the apartment door at 7 sharp. I pause, channel my best impression of laid back and sophisticated, and answer the door. One glance at my date and my lady bits feel the tingle. Is this what it feels like for a lady dog in heat? It is a good thing that I am wearing my Patagonia quick dry hipster panties. One flash of Grey's panty dropping smile and my undies are wet.

I suggest we eat at Shaker & Spear. It is an easy walk from Kate's and my apartment in the Pike's Place Market district. I am thankful that I chose to wear my Tieks. Last Christmas, Kate gifted me with a pair of the aqua-soled ballet slippers in tortoiseshell. I wanted to hate them because of their price, but Kate was right. They are amazing. I paired them with a dark olive shift dress from Dottie Couture and a gold leaf necklace. What would Kate think of my $30 dress paired with the $300 shoes?

We walk in comfortable silence. At the first crosswalk, Christian reaches for my hand. We make eye contact. My giggle makes him smile. He seems so relaxed tonight. Gone is Mr. Temperamental Tycoon. This is nice.

A bicycle rickshaw speeds past. This leads Christian into sharing a funny story about his last trip to Thailand. He tells me about how his hired car never showed up to his hotel. He was late for a crucial business meeting. Not wanting to risk losing a deal that his company had spent months negotiating, Christian managed to hire a pulled rickshaw. He laughs as he recalls trying to tell the man pulling the cart where he was trying to go. After several wrong turns through a crowded street market, he ended up arriving at his destination just in time for the head of the other company to see him arriving by pulled cart. The story is ridiculously funny and we are both laughing with ease by the time we reach the restaurant.

Without reservations, I assumed that we would need to sit at the bar until a table was ready. Nope. One smile from Mr. Panty Dropper and the hostess quickly seats us at a great table tucked in the corner. I could get used to this kind of service.

Christian orders us a bottle of wine that goes great with our dinner choices. We share bites of each other's plates. We have the usual first date convo. Christian asks me about my family and growing up in Montesano. I ask him about his childhood and starting Grey Enterprises Holdings. I notice that he is vague about his early years, but his eyes light up when discussing his company.

Christian tells me about leaving Harvard to start GEH. He describes his first year with only his CFO Ros to help him. By the end of year 5, GEH employed over 20,000 people.

Christian clearly loves talking about the work that GEH is doing to create opportunities for food and employment in Africa. He describes a solar-powered phone battery that he hopes will bring education to rural villagers. Wow. I had no idea Christian was involved in such important global work. I knew about his involvement in his parents' charity, Coping Together. It sounds like that is just a small fraction of his charitable work.

Christian asks me about working at Seattle Independent Publishing. I tell him about majoring in English Literature and my life-long love of reading. He seems genuinely interested in hearing about what I do and the people with whom I work.

After finishing our dinner and a delicious bottle of wine, Christian suggests that we go for a walk along the waterfront. We head the 10 blocks over to the boardwalk. We leisurely stroll along trading stories of Kate and I in college with those about Christian, Elliott, and Mia growing up. It sounds like the Grey siblings definitely had fun getting in to trouble together.

"I can see Elliott playing pranks on Mia, but I have a hard time seeing you doing it, Christian."

"Why is that?"

"You are always so serious. Any time that you go out with all of us, you seem busy on your phone. I've never really seen you relax."

Christian looks out over the bay. "You are right. I have been focused on GEH for a long time now. My therapist thinks that I need to find more balance in my life. He has been encouraging me to spend more time with my family. He tells me that I need to do a better job making friends."

I don't know what I find more surprising, the fact that Christian has a therapist or that his therapist wants him to make friends.

"Why does he say that?"

"The good Dr. Flynn thanks that spending time with my family and getting out there, socially, will help me with some stuff that I've been trying to work on for awhile now."

"The great Christian Grey has issues? I'm intrigued."

"Yes, Ms. Steele, even CEOs have their hang ups. I had a rough start in life. My parents saved me when they adopted me. They did a great job getting me the help that I needed, but I still have some issues to work through."

Christian doesn't appear to want to elaborate so I don't push him. I have heard rumors about what some of these issues might be, but it is not my place to push him to tell me. I do know that he does not like to be touched. Mia told me about this. She said that it led to a lot of fighting when Christian was a teenager.

When I look at my watch, I am surprised to see that it is already 10 pm. I can't believe how fast this night has gone. It seems that my nerves were for naught. I have had a good time. I think that Christian has, too.

We meander our way back to my apartment. Christian keeps a hold of my hand. When we arrive to my building, I lean against the brick exterior. Was it really just last night that the two of us were going at it in the back of Christian's SUV?

Flashback

Suddenly, there is no longer space between us. Christian's lips are on mine. He sucks my lower lip from between my teeth. His hand goes to the back of my neck pulling me closer. With all of his powerful CEO magic, he pulls me until I am sitting astride him. His tongue invades my mouth.

While I sit there stunned, my inner goddess wraps her arms around Christian's neck and kisses him with an intensity that has every single inch of my body blushing. She is so busy grinding into what can only be described as something very stiff and very large that neither she nor I notice that the SUV has pulled up to the curb in front of my apartment building. It is only when Taylor clears his throat very loudly. Christian and I break away from our kiss to see that we have arrived in front of my apartment building.

In what has to be one of my luckiest moves-to-date, I manage to dismount from Christian's lap and land soundly on the curb outside of the car. I suppress the urge to throw my arms up like an Olympian dismounting the beam.

I turn back to look at Christian contemplating if I should invite him up. As hot as this make-out sesh was, I am not in the right head space for taking things further. There is a reason I'm a 23-year-old virgin. As hard as it is to remember this through my throbbing lady bits and the alcohol, I make a decision.

"Thank you for the ride home." I pause and add, "this was nice."

I turn around and walk into my building. I do not stumble. I do not look back at Mr. Sex Elixir in his fancy sex-mobile.

End of Flashback

"Tonight was fun, Anastasia."

I bite my lower lip. Is he going to kiss me? Christian raises his hand to cup my cheek. His grey eyes flicker brightly. He uses his thumb to pull my lip down. He leans his face a bit closer. I can smell his trademark scent. I sneak a whiff. I detect hints of desire and promises of nights to come. He brings his lips to mine.

I push my inner goddess back onto her bar stool. I will not attack this man's mouth. I will not attack this man's mouth. I will not attack this man's mouth. She stays seated while I return his soft kiss. When he pulls away, I notice he licks his top lip. Very sexy, Mr. Grey

"Goodnight, Anastasia."

"Goodnight, Christian."

For the second night in a row, I will myself to walk away from this sex god. I can feel him watching me through the glass doors as I walk across the lobby and into the elevator. Again, I do not allow myself to look back. The elevator doors close.

I exhale. Err mah gawd. I just had a first date with Christian Forbes' Magazine's Top 30 Under 30 Grey. Be still my heart. This really just happened. My inner goddess spins herself in fast circles upon her bar stool.

As I get ready for bed my phone pings with a text.

-Thanks for a wonderful evening

-Right back at you. The food was good but the company was even better.

-Sweet dreams, Anastasia

A/N: Thank you for reading! This chapter is a bit longer than the first two. Which do you think is better? Shorter, more frequent chapters or longer chapters that are posted less often? For those of you that are experienced FanFic writers, do you have a certain word count you like to reach for your chapters? I tend to like longer chapters as a reader, but shorter chapters mean that I can post more often.

This chapter was a bit of a bridge. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this tamer version of Ana. Don't worry, Chapter 4 will lead us into the next time the band of merry makers has a night on the town. Ana will be unable to suppress her inner goddess when she lets loose with Kate and Mia.