Chpt. 8: Ana's POV
Kate and I spend the afternoon shopping as she has decided she needs a new outfit to go out to the club tonight to impress Elliot with. We both agreed I don't need to buy a new outfit as she still wants me to wear the one she previously picked out for me. This works for me because I really don't have the extra cash to buy a new outfit and go out to the club tonight. Shopping with Kate is an all-day adventure I quickly realize as she drags me to store after store. She finally decides on a tight silver dress that barely covers her butt and shows off her cleavage perfectly. She grabs a few accessories and shoes before finally calling it quits for today. We had back to the apartment where we order in Chinese food and pop a movie in to watch while we are eating. Kate quickly falls asleep on the couch after eating, and despite trying I find myself unable to take a nap as well despite the fact that I've been up since the nightmare woke up me at 3am. Unfortunately I've learned to survive on very little sleep as it's rare for me to be able to go back to sleep after a nightmare.
I busy myself unpacking my overnight bag in Kate's room so I can find everything when we get home tonight. I go to the kitchen and start cleaning up the dishes from our dinner and take out the trash which is now filled with take out containers and disposable coffee cups. By time I return Kate has not moved but I know if she does not wake up soon she wont have enough time to get ready for tonight.
"Kate' I gently say shaking her arm.
"Hmmmm?" She barely responds.
"Time to wake up" I say.
"Hmmmmmmmmmm" she responds again.
"Kate! If you don't wake up right now you won't have enough time to look beautiful before you see Elliot tonight!" I exclaim loudly.
"I'm up!" She exclaims sitting up quickly. I giggle at her. "I'm going to take a shower and then we will get your outfit for tonight."
I use the shower off the guest bedroom while she uses the bathroom that is attached to her bedroom. I spend extra time in the shower as Kate's water pressure is much better than the one at college and her hot water lasts a lot longer. I finish and throw on a robe that she always keeps in the bathroom for me before putting on my undergarments and going to find Kate.
"Are you decent?" I ask knocking on her door.
"Come in Ana" Kate responds. "Here I have the perfect outfit for you!" Kate exclaims handing me a purple dress on a hanger. It doesn't look as short as the one she picked out today which I'm grateful for. I don't feel comfortable in a dress if I have to worry about showing everyone my goods every time I bend over.
"Go get dressed and I will do your hair and make up" she orders.
"Yes ma'am" I respond pretending to salute her as I walk out the door.
I return to the guestroom and put the dress on. What I didn't notice in the bedroom is the back of the dress, or the lack there of. There is a small strip of fabric across the shoulder blades to hold the two pieces together but then it is open down to the waist line. I gulp nervously…I have a few scars right at and above my waist line that I'm very self-conscious about. I avoid any clothing that would let people see them because if someone sees them they will immediately want to know what happened. Kate knows some of my childhood but she doesn't know about the scars or the beatings. She knows I was hit but not the extent of which I was beat. She respects my boundaries and doesn't ask about my childhood; I think she can tell I don't like discussing my past. I sigh and put on the dress; there's nothing I can do about it now. The club will be dark so I realize once we arrive there no one will be able to see anything. Looking in the mirror I can see a few of the scars a few inches above where the fabric returns just in time to cover by ass. Turning around I can see the dress really does look amazing on me; Kate out did herself once again. I would never have picked out this outfit myself, but Kate has an exceptional taste and the ability to find an outfit that will look great on anyone.
"Are you dressed?" Kate asks before walking into the bedroom.
"If I wasn't it's a little late," I say laughing.
"You look beautiful Ana! Turn around and let me see the whole package," she exclaims happily.
I sigh and slowly turn around. When I hear her gasp I know she has seen the scars. Over the years they have faded but they are still pretty visible especially under bright lights. I really don't want to get into this conversation before we go out tonight. It's too heavy of a conversation to have…
"Have a seat and I will do your hair," Kate says quietly.
"Thank you," I say sitting down; thanking her for doing my hair but more importantly for not asking about the scars. Knowing Kate as well as I do, I am sure she is biting her tongue to keep from asking; the journalist in her is likely dying to know what happened.
An hour later my hair is dried, curled, sprayed and my makeup is done as well. The makeup is a little heavier than I would have liked but again Kate proves why I let her play dress up with me as I look in the mirror and am shocked at the person I see before me. Kate insists I borrow a pair of heels which complement the dress perfectly. Kate spends the next hour getting herself ready and then calls for a cab to take us to the club.
"Where are we going anyway?" I ask realizing Kate has only said we are going to a club tonight.
"A brand new club called Picturesque" she explains. "We were going to go to a different club but Elliot was going to here tonight and invited us to join. He says he knows the owner and can get us in without having to wait."
As we pull up to the club it's clear why Elliot told Kate he could get us in. The line to get in stretches down the block as far as you can see. There are two bouncers outside controlling the crowd and slowly letting people from the line into the club. Kate walks right up the bouncers, much to the dismay of the people waiting in line, and gives are names. As promised Elliot must have worked magic as our names are on the list and we are ushered inside. After checking our jackets we are taken by the hostess upstairs to a roped off section that has a VIP sign on it. We are seated at the table and told the rest of our party will be arriving shortly. From this table you can look down and see the entire club. The music can still be heard but is not so loud that you cannot have a conversation with those at your table. There is a balcony off to the side where some people from the VIP section are dancing. I immediately feel completely out of place; the people here are way out of my league. I start to get anxious when I feel Kate grab my hand and squeeze it.
"Can you believe this place? Isn't it amazing?" Kate asks.
"Uh…yeah it sure is," I stutter.
"I'm going to grab us a couple margaritas, sound good?" Kate asks standing up.
"Sure," I say as she walks away. I sit back in the chair and look around at everyone. I remind myself that the other only these people have that I don't is tons of money. My confidence is slowly returning as I continue to people watch while waiting for Kate.
Kate returns with the drinks and we sit chatting while we wait for Elliot to arrive. He texted her not long ago to say he was running late but would be there shortly. We talk about the upcoming semester and what our schedules look like. I'm not surprised to find we don't have any classes together seeing that we are in our final year of college and have different majors. We are on campus most days at similar times so we decide that every Thursday we are going to meet up for lunch at the student union since we both have a break around the same time on that day.
"Hello beautiful," a tall blonde man says as he approaches Kate.
"Hey you," Kate says, standing up to give him a hug and small kiss.
"Ana this is Elliot, Elliot this is Ana my best friend," Kate introduces.
We shake hands and Elliot signals the waitress and asks for a menu and a beer. "Sorry ladies, I'm starving. I've been working all day and didn't have a chance to grab a bite to eat when I ran home to wash up."
"What do you do Elliot?" I ask.
"I own a construction company specializing in commercial remodeling but we are branching out and starting to do some residential work as well," Elliot explains proudly.
"Oh there he is!" Elliot says, standing up to wave to someone.
"Ana?" I hear a familiar voice say.
"Christian? How nice to see you again," I say giggling.
"You two know each other?" Kate asks surprised.
"Sort of…Christian and I ran into each other a couple months ago when I was on my way to work," I explain.
"And then we ran into each other again this morning when Ana poured coffee on my feet!" Christian says laughing.
We both burst out laughing and explain to Kate and Elliot about our run in this morning. The waitress returns with Elliot's beer and a menu. Christian requests of a bottle of champagne for the table and orders an array of appetizers for us all to share. Elliot adds a burger to the order explaining to Christian that he didn't eat dinner before coming over while the rest of us agree that appetizers are enough. The waitress brings out the bottle of champagne that Christian ordered and pours everyone a glass.
"A toast" Christian says, raising his glass. "To new friends."
We all click glasses and drink the champagne. I've never had champagne before but this tastes very good. It's pink in color which surprises me because in movies champagne always looks clear or it has a yellow tint. I don't dare say anything because I would bet my entire bank account on the fact that I'm the only one at this table who has never had champagne before. The conversation flows nicely while we munch on the appetizers the waitress bought out.
"So Ana….what do you do?" Asks Christian.
"I'm a senior at the University of Washington majoring in English Literature; I will be graduating in the spring with a Bachelor's degree," I explain.
"And after graduation?" He asks.
"I'm not sure. I will be looking for an entry level position in the publishing field; I'm spending winter break researching a few publishing companies in Seattle" I respond.
"There are several good ones in the area," Christian explains. "There are a couple that are struggling financially and may not last more than a couple years though so be selective in where you apply. As the time gets closer I would be more than happy to review some of the publishing companies with you more in depth."
"I would appreciate that very much, thank you for the offer," I say graciously. Honestly, looking at a company's financial status wasn't something I had given much thought to but Christian has a valid point.
"How about you? What do you do Christian?" I ask.
"I am in mergers and acquisitions" Christian explains with a surprised look on his face.
"Oh? That tells me nothing Christian!" I say giggling.
"I guess it doesn't. I run my own company, Grey Enterprises, which focuses on purchasing companies that are struggling financially and assisting them in rebuilding or closing them completely. The goal is to provide enough financial support to allow the companies to restructure with proper guidance and assistance to become profitable again. After that, I either keep the company under our umbrella or I sell it off for another person to manage," he explains.
"Oh my God!" Kate exclaims. "You're the Christian Grey!"
"Yes," Christian says quietly "that's me."
"Kate? Calm down" I say seeing that Christian is clearly uncomfortable with her sudden attention.
"Ana this was the guy I was supposed to interview a month ago that I told you about. Why didn't you tell me it was the Christian Grey that you ran into this morning?" She asks.
"Ummmmm….because I'm still not sure what the big issue is. I told you I ran into Christian this morning and honestly I didn't know his last name until just now. I don't see the issue," I say confused.
"Ana-" Kate begins.
"Come on baby let's dance," Elliot says grabbing Kate's hand and leading her to the balcony dance floor.
"That was weird," I say looking at Christian.
"That's okay….I'm used to it," Christian responds. I must look confused because he continues to explain. "When we first bumped into each other that day when I was getting lunch I couldn't help but think you looked at me as if you had no idea who I was."
"It's true…because I'm still not sure who you are?" I ask completely confused.
"Let's just say I'm kind of a big thing in the business world. My company is well known both domestically and internationally for what we do. We also sponsor many grants to charities or universities," he explains shyly.
"That's wonderful! It's nice to hear of a company reinvesting their money rather than just padding their pockets!" I exclaim.
We continue discussing his business and work philosophy for a few minutes. I am quickly amazed at all that Christian has accomplished especially once he shares that he is only two years older than me. He clearly has a passion for his work as this is the most I've heard him talk all night and his face lights up even more when discussing his charity work and the grants that he sponsors. I'm surprised to learn that he has sponsored several grants for Washington State University which are focused on developing ways to clean water for third world countries as well as identifying agricultural improvements that can be made to existing systems that are in place in these same countries to increase production with minimal costs and resources needed.
"Would you like to dance?" Christian asks as we reach a comfortable silence.
"Sure," I say nervously.
We make our way to the dance floor where I remind myself several times that there is no way that Christian can see the scars on my back because it is so dark in here. My anxiety is through the roof right now and I'm cursing myself for letting Kate put me in this dress. I don't know how I will handle someone touching my scars and I'm frightened at how I will react if Christian accidently touches them. I would be much more comfortable if I had clothing covering the scars. I am thankful the DJ is not playing some type of slow music which would have Christian's hand placed right on my back. I take a deep breath and count to ten in my head trying to force myself to relax. I can do this; I can do this I repeat to myself over and over.
Christian and I begin dancing as a new song is played and I have to admit he is an amazing dancer. I can feel the alcohol I drank getting to me a little and find myself dancing more seductively than I typically do. After a few songs, Christian comes up behind me and starts dancing and grinding with me. His hands are initially on my hips which I am thankful for because he does not make a move to touch my back. I reach my hands up and put them around his neck as we continue to dance and grind with one another. I can feel his breath on my ear and find myself getting turned on by this small action. He begins placing small kisses up and down my neck while his hands run up and down my ribs. I turn my head slightly which must be what he was looking for because his lips suddenly land on mine. The kiss starts off gentle and soft but quickly becomes more passionate as I feel his hands on my waist again this time turning me around so I am facing him. I quickly obey and turn around again putting my arms around his neck and reaching into his hair which feels as soft as I imagined it would the first time we met. I feel his tongue gently caress my lips and I open them just slightly giving him more access. We are exploring each other's mouths just as I feel his hands reach the center of my back.
"Excuse me…I need to use the restroom," I say rushing off the dance floor quickly glancing around to find the ladies room.
"Ana?" I hear Kate's voice after a few moments.
"I'll be right out Kate," I say while still panting. My head is between my knees and I am trying to get my breathing under control before I step out of the stall.
"Are you okay?" She asks gently.
"I'll be fine," I say opening the door and slowly coming out.
"I saw you rush to the bathroom and decided to check on you. Did Christian do something? Did he hurt you?" Kate asks clearly worried.
"No, nothing like that; he didn't do anything. It was all me," I answer.
"Did he touch…?" she asks clearly not knowing what to say but she obviously made the connection.
"Yes," I say sighing.
"You okay to go back to the table? Do you need a few more minutes?" She asks. I am once again thankful that Kate doesn't pry into this.
"I'm okay" I say drying my hands.
As we walk back to the table I begin to worry what Christian will think. Just as things were getting hot and heavy between us I leave him on the dance floor running to the bathroom. He won't be able to make the connection to the scars on my back as luckily it is so dark there is no way he can see them. Christian and Elliot are sitting back at the table engrossed in a conversation about sports as we return. Both stand acknowledging our arrival and Kate and I giggle at this simple gesture.
"The line for the bathroom was so long!" Kate exclaims making an excuse as to why we were gone for so long. I smile at Kate as a thank you for her lie.
"You woman always take way too long in the bathroom anyway! One of these days I'm going to sneak in there to see what all the fuss is about. What do you think Christian? They must have much fancier bathrooms then the men's room," Elliot jokes.
"Of course, Elliot. Why else would women go to the bathroom in pairs?" Christian jokes.
We all laugh and the conversation easily flows from topic to topic. We go through several margaritas and another bottle of champagne before the bar announces last call for the evening. I look at my phone in complete shock that it's approaching two in the morning. Typically I have left a club long before last call because I hate being around crowds like this. There is something about this bar and being with Christian that made me completely forgetting my hate for large crowds.
"I guess we should get going," Christian says as we finish our drinks. "We will walk you ladies out."
We head to the coat check room just as the club turns the lights on signaling everyone to leave. As we wait in line I feel Christian come up behind me, gently kissing my neck and whispers to me "I had a wonderful time tonight Ana."
"Me too Christian," I respond as he continues to kiss my neck. His hands are fixed strongly on my hips and he makes no effort to move them. We remain like this as we move up in line and finally get our jackets. Kate had loaned me a black dress jacket to complement my outfit tonight as the jacket I had was not dressy enough.
"Allow me," Christian said taking my jacket and holding it so I could put my arms in.
We step outside where Christian offers to have his driver drop us at Kate's place before driving them home. Kate and I both agree as the line for a cab is quite long since the bar just got out. Christian leads us to a black Audi SUV parked nearly in front of the club. His driver, a tall muscular guy with a military haircut opens the door for us.
"Sir," he says.
"Taylor please take us to Ms. Kavanaugh's apartment to drop the girls off," Christian answers.
"My address is 152 Sunset Drive," Kate says.
We all climb in the SUV which is a tight squeeze but none of us seem to mind. Christian and I are holding hands as Kate and Elliot begin making out in the seat next to us. I glance up at Christian to see that he has noticed Kate and Elliot as well and he just smiles at me. He lifts my chin up and while looking into my eyes he places the most gentle kiss on my lips. My hands immediately go to neck as I tug him just a little closer. I feel him smile against my lips just before I feel his tongue seeking permission; I open my lips slightly to deepen the kiss.
"Sir we have arrived," Christian's driver interrupts us as he gets out of the car and opens our door.
Christian and Elliot walk us to the front door of Kate's apartment building where we again kiss and say good bye.
"I meant what I said earlier, Ana, I had a wonderful time tonight," Christian says breaking our kiss.
"As did I Christian," I say honestly.
"Can I call you sometime?" Christian asks shyly.
"I would like that," I answer.
"Good night Ana. Dream of me tonight?" he asks smiling.
"I will," I answer as Kate grabs my hand pulling me into the apartment lobby.