I look up in shock to see him beckoning me from the stage to join him. I sit frozen to my seat unable to move. I don't know how he does it, but he must see me hesitate and he steps off the stage coming to get me. Moving effortlessly through the crowds he is at my table in under twenty seconds. I have not yet even had time to close my mouth fully from the shock.
The spotlight blocking my view of him as he takes my hand, I feel a sharp spark of electricity charge through us. Gasping slightly I pray that he didn't hear that over the applause the crowd is giving him. Pulling me softly from my seat he leads me towards the stage his hand holding mine the whole time. I stare down at my fingers completely numb in his grasp. My whole body feels numb like I'm his puppet. Leading up the few small steps onto the stage. My mind telling me please don't fall over, please don't trip. Then I stood looking there at him. His gaze lingers on my own briefly before he turns to the audience.
"ladies if I may please have your names?" He asks softly.
The peach dressed woman almost jumps forward saying her name. "I'm Penny." She giggles sweetly to the audience.
His head turns to look at me as he awaits my name. My brain tells me to speak, but my voice won't come out. I feel brain dead as his grey eyes gaze into mine. I want to swim in those eyes. Who cares if I drown. My sweet little inner angel inside my head nudges me reminding me to answer his question.
"I'm Ana." I croak barely audible. I clear my throat and try again as he smiles at me.
"I'm Ana," I say back more confident than I feel. A small smile spreads to his lips before he turns his head back to the crowds.
"Please give these two lovely ladies a round of applause for coming up here." The crowd bursting into applause on his order.
I can feel myself blushing under the eyes of over two hundred people. Who my mind informs me are all staring at this beautiful man stood next to me. He turns his back to me for a moment and I'm relieved to be out of his gaze.
"Penny I want you to write on the paper. First any number that comes into your head. Secondly a place in the world. Finally a statement about anything you like. I will tell you what you have written." He turns completely away from her and closes his eyes.
I can stare at him without those deep eyes looking back at me. His brown hair flicked up off his face. His jaw strong and clean shaven. He looks so good as I feel my mouth part slightly.
"I'm finished," Penny shouts. His eyes open looking at me again.
My inner angel inside me warns me that I'm drooling. As my mouth shuts his eyes fall to my lips and a small smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth.
He turns away and I'm left in his shadow. Penny has folded her paper over to stop him from seeing. I watch as his two fingers move to his temple as if he is thinking hard just for show.
"I'm seeing the number eleven." Penny's beaming smile gives her away. He is right.
"Now for the location Japan" Penny is almost screaming with joy. The audience applaud.
"Now finally your statement." He seems to be struggling a little more as his fingers press to his temple harder.
"You think I'm more attractive than your boyfriend. I think the word you used was hotter than."
Penny practical scream out loud. "Yes, your right." I imagine her boyfriend it not to happy as Christian thanks her for taking part and she hugs him.
Lucky cow my mind snaps at her. As she heads down the stairs the spotlight focuses on me and so does he. Oh, crap! He holds a pen and paper in his hands.
"Now Ana I would like you to do the same as Penny there. A number, any number. A location and a statement. Please." His words roll off his tongue and he turns away from me.
I want his gaze back on me. I need to write my answers quickly. My inner devil rears her head and whispers into my ear. I will show him, I quickly right down my number. He won't know what hit him. My location now, he has no chance on this one. My statement is out on the paper before I can even think.
I fold the paper into a little square. "I'm done now," I say.
He turns smiling back at me as all my blood boils at once. His fingers come up to his temple and his eyes pierce mine. My mind goes blank as his eyes are so intense. His lips break into a smirk. "Four thousand seven hundred and twenty-one." Oh, my god, he's right.
Was it a lucky guess? Does he have cameras or an earpiece telling him what I wrote? Looking round there are no cameras and his ears are cute but empty.
"I'm getting Chicago. Seventy-five Ashland Avenue." My mouth opens wide.
No, no, no this can't be happening. He got them both right. My eyes go wide in horror at my statement. My moment of madness only made slightly better by the fact I didn't write what my inner devil said. I stare up at him praying for the ground to swallow me whole or a secret trap door open so I could escape, but there is none. His eyes stare deeply into me focused and hard. I see his gaze soften as his fingers drop from his temple his smile disappears.
"You don't believe in magic and that you think I'm a conman." I cannot even dare to look into his eyes as I stare down at the paper and unfold it slowly.
I can't look up as I raise the piece of paper so the audience near us can see. My words are as follows.
4,721
75 Ashland Avenue Chicago
I don't believe in magic and you're a conman.
The audience burst into wild applause as I finally steal a glance in his direction. He looks hurt by my words. Who would blame him I called him a criminal in front of this whole audience? I try to look sorry as I shuffle from foot to foot. Maybe I should have written what my devil told me. How I wanted to kiss his lips. The audience calms down as I look up to see he is standing ten feet away from me his eyes locked on me.
"I will make a believer out of you yet. I want you to think of your most sacred possession. Think hard about what it is." He says even with the distance between us I can feel all his focus on me.
I quickly think of the most important thing my mother ever gave me. I see one of his hands come up level with his chest.
"Is this it?" I watch as my mother's necklace drops down between his fingers and swings gently from his open palm.
My hand shoots up to my neck to find the necklace gone. I was wearing it a second ago. I felt the cool metal on my skin and somehow it's in his hand. I nodded gasping in shock as a slow smile breaks across his face. The audience thunder with applause as he walks over to me. The spotlight following his every move as he slips behind me and opens the necklace.
The heavy strong beam of the spotlight now raining down over both of us as he pulls my brunette hair to the side. His fingers softly brush against my bare neck and that charge of electricity pours into me. His fingers move and I long for them back on my skin again as I feel the cool of the necklace fall into place. The applause seems to disappear completely and I feel like we are the only two there standing on the stage together. Everything is gone but us and the spotlight. I hear the clip on the necklace and his breathing heighten as his fingertips trail over my bare shoulders.
A loud sounding whistle fills my ears and the clapping returns as do all the audience. I blush as I look past the light and see Kate standing up clapping and whistling. My blush raises up from my chest and covers my whole face as he moves around in front of me.
"Now are you a believer?" He asks me, softly his lips parting a little.
My eyes look down to his lips. "Maybe," I whisper feeling my own lips parting. His eyes move down to my lips as I lick my lips slightly.
His hand takes mine again for the second time as I feel my knees go weak, as he turns.
"Please give our Ana a warm round of applause. What a treasure she has been for me." His words send the audience off clapping again as my skin stays scarlet.
My fingers instinctively tighten around his as he holds my hand. Then his touch is gone as my body leads me away from the stage and over towards Kate and our table.
She positively hugs me as I come back from the stage. Her face is a picture as she grins at me. "Oh, Ana I can't believe you wrote that. How could you." She is still grinning like the Cheshire cat at me.
"I nearly wrote something worse." I bite my lip right after the words come out.
Kate's interest is peaked as she goes to ask the question I really don't want to answer. I think quickly to distract her. "Shall we get another bottle of wine? I ask noticing our bottle is completely empty now.
Kate smiles with an apoplectic look in her eyes. "Sorry, I guess I did drink a little too much." We are both interrupted when a waiter comes over.
"I have a bottle of white wine for this table." He says an stares over Kate and grins like a love struck boy.
Kate gives her trademark flirty eyed look his way and the young waiter melts. "We didn't order that," I remark looking a little bit confused.
The waiter finds his voice again. "Compliments of Christian Grey."
Kate snatches the wine bottle out of his hands and pours herself some. "Thanks," she throws back over her shoulder.
The waiter slinks away toward the bar as Kate's eyes are aglow. "Looks like he can read minds." I don't even reply as my gaze is already fixed on him and how he commands the stage.
Every audience member is in awe of him. Who am I kidding I am in awe of him. My hand rests on the table as I feel that electric spark that we had. Did he feel it too? I wish I could read his mind.
His routine continues on as I appear spellbound by all his tricks. Trying to think how he could pull them off as my fingers tap at the solid wood table. I watch him like a hawk as suddenly his eyes look at me. His hand flies forward only for a moment and then back again. It seems an odd gesture to do in the middle of his act. Something is wrong as my fingers tap against the table. The feeling is different. It's not as hard as before as I look down and see something under my hand. A card, I flip it over and it has.
Ana please come and see me after the show.
Please enjoy the wine.
Christian Grey.
I look back up and he is doing a card trick for the crowds. I'm stunned into shock as I hold the card in my hand. Why me? Why did he pick me to come backstage after his show? I feel the card pulled from my hand as I look across the table to see Kate holding it staring at the words. Her eyes shoot up to meet my own.
"Damn Ana a personal invite backstage by Christian Grey." My mind fights the thoughts that are brimming to the surface. There is doubt in my eyes and Kate can see it written all over my face. I want to go so badly, but my mind says no.
"I can't." I barely get that far when Kate stares me down.
"No, you can and you will." I know not to argue with Kate, but I can't help it.
"Kate I can't. I have to drive you home and in case you didn't read it fully it only says me." I plead with her.
"I read it fully and he wants you to go. So you're going. I will take a taxi back. You're doing this." She is adamant.
Her argument seems sound as a part of me wants to see him again just to be close to him. I can feel my resistance slipping before I can even open my mouth again Kate butts in.
"Ana when have I ever lost an argument?" My mind already knew the answer as my mouth opened.
"Never," I spoke softly.
"Good and it's not going to start now." That was the end. I was doing it.
Both my angel and devil seemed happy. My angel smiling and my devil smirking at me. Looking back over at the stage as he finished another trick my eyes gazing at him. He looked straight over at me again his eyes questioning. I wonder if he could see me staring at him in this bar with all these people. I nod my head in silent agreement to his card. I watch as a smile spreads across his mouth. What a night this was turning out to be.
(Thank you to all my original readers and to all the new readers to this story. This is not a short story and is still being worked on with part 3. I have been working though writers block and also had my laptop wipe my latest chapter. I will be updating this first part often, as it's completed. Please do leave your reviews and favourite and follow this story and I hope to keep you all entertained. Thank you. SJamesW.)