Chpt. 15: Ana's POV:
It's been a very long day and tomorrow will be even longer as I am working a double for Christmas Eve. Today the restaurant was busier than normal which I can only assume is due to everyone doing last minute shopping. I ended up working a double today even though I was only scheduled to work the lunch shift but we were just so busy I couldn't leave. I decide to take a hot bath before heading to bed as my feet are sore from standing all day. I settle into the bath and realize I dozed off when I hear someone knocking at the door. I quickly get out of the tub, dry off and throw on a robe before rushing into the living room. It's after ten but really not matter what time it would be I have no idea who could be knocking on the door. Christian and Kate are the only ones who know I'm even here. Christian must still be in New York because I haven't heard from him since earlier today. I look through the peep hole to find Christian standing just outside my door. I quickly tie the robe tighter around me seeing that I am wearing nothing underneath before opening the door.
"Christian, I wasn't expecting-"I say surprised to find him here especially at this hour. We weren't supposed to see each other until Christmas day.
"I know, I needed to see you," He says, shutting the door behind him.
He grabs my face with both hands and kisses me as if his life depended on it. This kiss is different, it is full of emotion as if he is trying to tell me something. He doesn't stop kissing me until we are both breathless and then he holds me tight again his chest. Both of his arms are wrapped around my upper back holding me in place.
"Is everything okay Christian?" I ask.
"I just missed you and needed to see you," he answers.
"Are you sure?" I ask. "It seems like something is bothering you."
"No, it was just a rough day," Christian answers. "I know it's late, but I really wanted to see you."
"It's okay, I had just fallen asleep in the bathtub when you knocked on the door," I said giggling. "Seems you weren't the only one who had a long day."
"God, I missed you so much," He says kissing me again.
This kiss quickly becomes passionate as our tongues explore each other's mouth and our hands seem to be all over each other. His hands quickly find my breasts through the folds of my robe and my nipples turn rock hard at his slightest touch. I gain confidence and reach down easily finding his erection between us; he groans as I start to rub his erection through his pants. Christian quickly walks us down the hall to my room as we continue kissing and groping each other. Christian pulls back the top of my robe just slightly and takes my nipple into his mouth. I moan and push his head closer to my breast not wanting him to let go. He lets my breast go and I pull him back to my mouth needing to feel lips against mine again. He has me so turned on right now but this time I want to take care of him first. I unbutton his jeans and yank them down before taking his erection in my hands. I can't believe how big he is! He moans as I move my hand up and down his erection. His obvious enjoyment of this simple action boosts my confidence and gives me the courage I need to drop to my knees. I take him in my mouth as deep as I can and slowly begin sucking him.
"Oh God," He moans. "Oh Ana, oh my…don't stop….please."
I start sucking him faster, moving up and down his shaft listening to his moans of pleasure to determine what he likes the most. I have never done anything like this before so I'm not quite sure if I'm doing everything the right way but he seems to be enjoying it so I must be doing something right. I bring my hand up and begin playing with his balls which makes him moan even loader. I take him deeper in my mouth until I feel the tip hit the back of my throat and I swallow.
"Oh Ana!" He exclaims. "I'm so close…I'm going to come"
I suck him harder and take him deeper again and feel him tense just before he peeks. I suck him completely dry, swallowing everything which I am surprised doesn't taste as bad as I expected it to. I don't really know what I thought it would taste like. Christian pulls me up and kisses me passionately immediately grabbing my breast and pinching my nipple. He takes my nipple in his mouth again and alternates between sucking and biting it with just enough pressure to make it enjoyable. Christian gently urges me to the bed where he lays me down and quickly lays next to me. I have never been this close to man with so little clothing on. I am suddenly keenly aware that I am naked under my robe but thankful that it is pretty dark in my room so there is little chance of Christian seeing any of scars that are visible around my hips. There are a few that can be seen on my front as the belt would often curve around my hip bones as I was hit.
I am quickly brought back to the present as Christian's mouth once again finds my nipple. He reaches down pulling the tie on my robe apart as his mouth continues its attack on my breasts. He quickly moves to the other breast as my robe slides open. He gently kisses his way back to my lips and kisses me passionately before breaking and looking right down at me.
"I don't want to hurt you," he says quietly. "If I do anything-"
"Just don't touch my lower back, please?" I ask. "Anywhere else is fine but not there..."
"Okay I promise," he says kissing me softly on the lips.
I can feel his hesitation in the kiss, wanting the passion to return I quickly deepen the kiss and begin to feel him responding. His hand returns to my nipple again and I begin to feel the hunger he had earlier returning. I gently push his head down trying to tell him what I want. He quickly understands what I'm asking for and his lips find my nipple once again as his hand begins pinching one nipple as he sucks the other one. The alternating touch on my nipples is driving me closer and closer to the edge.
"Ahhhhhhh" I moan as Christian gently bites my nipple surprising me. "Oh….god…."
I feel Christian smile against my nipple clearly proud of himself at my response. He is lying partially on top of me and partially on the bed when I feel his hand move further down. He pulls my robe complete apart so now I completely exposed to him. His lips remain focused on my nipples so my attention to my exposed body is short lived. Christian's hand slowly makes its way between my legs and gently urges me to move them apart. He begins rubbing my clit ever so gently and I find myself opening my legs even further so he can have access to everything.
"Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," I moan as he deepens the pressure on my clit.
"Do you like that?" Christian says briefly pausing his attack on my nipples.
"Hmmmmmmm," I moan unable to form a coherent word I am so turned on.
I am so close to an orgasm I swear I am going to burst soon. Christian must sense how close I am and he slowly inserts a finger inside of me. This intensifies the feeling so much more, I can barely remember to breath as my body begs for more.
"Oh God," I moan as he moves the finger back and forth while his thumb continues rubbing my clit.
"You're so hot and tight Ana," he says breathless. "You respond perfectly to my touch…I've never been with someone so responsive before."
A second finger in gently inserted and I find my walls clenching around him each time he withdraws his fingers. My hips are moving up and down mimicking his fingers thrusting in and out of my body. I feel on fire and just when I think I can't take any more he begins to rub my clit even harder.
"Let go, Ana," he says. "Come for me."
He bites my nipple a little harder than before which sends me over the end and I explode around him. He continues moving his fingers in and out prolonging my orgasm even longer. He gently kisses both my nipples and moves up to kiss my lips as he slowly removes his fingers from my body. I ache at the sudden emptiness I feel, but he quickly wraps his arm around my stomach and brings me closer to kiss me deeper.
"Thank you for trusting me," he says.
No response is needed; he understands that I trusted him just enough to tell him where not to touch me but he also understands that I'm not ready to tell him why just yet. Christian rolls onto his back but gently pulls me closer to him. I put my leg on his and my head on his chest as we lay basking in our post orgasm bliss. After a few minutes I feel Christian's breathing changes and I look up to see that he has fallen asleep. I decide against waking him since it was obvious since the moment he got here that he had a stressful trip to New York. I cautiously reach over and set my alarm just in case I end up sleeping late, which never happens, but I cannot risk being late for work on such a busy day.
I cuddle back up next to Christian and quickly fall asleep relishing in the fact that Christian is the only I have ever had in my bed or ever spent the night with. I can't help but feel that I am falling deeply and fast for him. I worry he will hurt me but I have to take the chance as he makes me happier than I have ever been in my entire life. I didn't realize how unhappy I was until I found Christian.
"Noooooooooo," I hear a small voice say waking me from sleep.
I glance at the clock to see that it is just after two in the morning. I glance over hearing Christian moan again and quickly realize he must be having a nightmare. He had mentioned that his life before his adoption was not good and I can't help but assume this nightmare is related to that. He moans a few more times and I know I need to help him end the nightmare before it gets worse assuming it will get worse. I call his name a few times afraid to touch him but I don't get a response. I gently try shaking his arm as I call his name, but again no response. I take a chance and ever so cautiously reach over and place my lips firmly on his. I worry this could startle him and prepare myself that he could push me off of him not realizing it is me and thinking it is part of his nightmare. I begin to feel his body stop moving as I continue to kiss him further. Slowly his breathing begins to return to normal and I feel his arms reach up and wrap around me. He pulls me closer to him putting my head on his chest holding me tightly.
"Thank you," he whispers.
"You're welcome," I whisper back.
I don't ask him about the nightmare, knowing if that were me I would not want to talk about it especially not right after it happened. I feel his breathing settling into an even pace and look up to see he fell asleep again. I can't help but wondering what his nightmare was about and what his childhood was like before his parents adopted him. I know someday we are going to have to share horror stories; part of me wants to know his story and part of me does not. I don't want to think of him as a child experiencing anything like what I went through. He said he was fairly young when he was adopted which means whatever abuse he experienced he did so as a very young child, possibly as a baby. In that sense our childhoods were opposite; my early childhood was very pleasant and I recall mostly happy memories until my father died. Once he passed away, my mother fell apart and my childhood consistently got worse almost day by day until I finally left.
Beep beep beep
I reach over and turn off my alarm before snuggling back up next to Christian.
"What time is it?" he asks groggily.
"Nine," I answer.
"You're kidding," he says.
"No, why?" I ask.
"I haven't slept this late in years. I rarely sleep past six," He answers.
"Me either," I admit. "I always set my alarm but it's rare for me to wake to it even when I have early classes at school. I'm usually up by five or sometime mornings earlier."
"Happy Christmas Eve," Christian says kissing me.
"Same to you. I'm glad I got to wake up with you this morning," I reply.
"Me too," Christian says.
"I've never woken up next to someone before," I admit shyly.
"Really?" he asks surprised.
"Really," I answer.
"I wouldn't mind waking up to you again," Christian says, kissing me again.
"I wouldn't mind that either," I say smiling up at him.
"If you don't mind, could I use your shower?" Christian asks.
"Sure, I will get you an extra towel," I say getting out of bed and tying my robe back together realizing I slept with it open all night.
While Christian is in the shower I quickly throw on a pair of yoga pants and t-shirt and begin making breakfast. I'm not sure what he eats for breakfast so I decide to make a vegetable omelet with toast and coffee. From our run in at the café I know he prefers to drink coffee in the morning and takes it with only sugar. Breakfast is just about done when he comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me kissing my neck.
"That smells good," Christian says lifting the lid on the pan to see what I was cooking.
"I hope you like eggs, I wasn't sure what to make you," I reply.
"Ana, you will quickly learn there are very few foods that I don't like," Christian explains. "The only thing I absolutely cannot stomach to eat are peas, other than that I will eat just about anything."
"I made you a cup of coffee," I say handing me the cup. "Black with sugar right?"
"Yeah," he says confused. "How did you know?"
"When I spilled coffee on you in the café you had to reorder your coffee," I explain.
"Oh that's right. I'm surprised you remembered," he says.
We quietly eat our breakfast together and discuss our plans for the day. I am working all day at restaurant since we have been booked for over a month now for dinner service. Christian will return back to his apartment to change and get a little work done before going to his parents for dinner. He explained that his mother expects everyone to be there Christmas morning which means they all spend the night on Christmas Eve. They will have a big dinner tonight before attending a candle lit church service and then returning back to his parents' house for the night. Christian offers to drop me off at work today on his way home. I try to tell him it's not necessary since the restaurant is so close to the apartment but he insists.
"I'm going to grab a quick shower and change," I say as I finish loading the dishes we used this morning.
"One day I'd love to join you," Christian whispers in my ear as he kisses my neck and holds me close to him.
I don't respond but quickly go to the shower. Joining me in the shower means having full view of all my scars, I think. I wait for the panic to set in from that thought but surprisingly it doesn't. At some point if our relationship is going to continue, Christian is going to see my scars. There is no way to avoid it and I will need to accept that when it happens. I know when that day comes I will also need to tell him about the scars. It's a conversation I'm dreading but one I also know will need to occur and likely soon. I want to be a normal relationship where my boyfriend can take a shower with me. I want a normal relationship where I don't need to worry about where he can and can't touch me.
As he said he would, Christian drops me off at work on his way home. He kisses me goodbye before I get out of the car and promises to talk to me later tonight. I'm not sure that is going to happen though because I will not finish work until pretty late and he will be with his family but nonetheless I agree. The restaurant is beautifully decorated for the holiday with white Christmas lights setting the mood perfectly throughout the dining area.
"Antonio, this is stunning. You have truly outdone yourself," I say hugging Antonio.
"Thank you Ana," he says. "This was all my wife's doing. She said we needed to decorate for the holidays and found a way to do it without looking cheesy. I warned her if it looked cheesy I would tear it down before we even opened."
"Her vision was perfect. This is beautiful and could not be any farther from cheesy," I reply.
The day goes by very quickly as the restaurant is the busiest I have ever seen it. We have an early lunch scheduled and then two dinner services later in the day. The lunch shift is not as busy but as the first the dinner service begins things get a little hectic. The kitchen staff are trying to get food out as quick as possible but they seem to be getting lost with so many orders. The wait staff are standing around waiting for food but not helping the kitchen staff by preparing their salads.
"Ana, can I see you for a moment?" Antonio asks as I am between courses in the first dinner service.
"Sure," I say following him into his office.
"What are your thoughts thus far into dinner service?" he asks bluntly.
"Well…" I say pausing, unsure what he is looking for.
"Be honest, Ana," he encourages.
"It's crazy and disorganized," I admit. "The kitchen staff are getting overwhelmed with so many orders and the wait staff are just standing around waiting for food when they could be helping."
"Helping?" He asks.
"Sure, I made my own salads for my tables so the kitchen staff didn't need to be bothered with that. Wait staff could get their own soup too if we moved the soup pots to the other stove and then they wouldn't be in the way. Or you could have one kitchen staff member designated for soup and let the others focus on the entrees," I explain.
"Perfect," he says. "Let's do that."
"I'm sorry?" I ask confused.
"I'm going to ask you to be in charge of the kitchen and wait staff tonight if you don't mind. We need someone to organize everything and see that it runs smoothly before we lose complete control and have customers walking out," he answers.
"Of course, I will see what I can do," I say nervously.
"You will do fine," Antonio says trying to reassure me. "You did a wonderful job for the Grey's holiday party and this is less people. I have full confidence in you."
Antonio calls everyone over for a brief meeting in the kitchen and explains that changes that we already discussed. Wait staff will now prepare their own salads for each table and we will have everything lined up in the one section of the kitchen so they are not interfering with the kitchen staff. We have one designated kitchen staff member for soups and the others will focus on entrees. I will float between the kitchen and dining room but not be assigned any specific tables so I can jump in where needed.
The rest of the first dinner services goes perfectly and all customers leave happy. We have an hour break before the next dinner service starts and I ask all the staff to come to the kitchen. Antonio joins us as we begin to discuss the next dinner service. I identify a few members of the wait staff to focus on putting the dining room back together which includes setting all the tables and cleaning the floors. I identify two others to make all the salads that we will need for the second dinner service. This will save significant time as we won't need to be making the salads as the orders come in. I identify several tasks for various kitchen staff members to begin preparing ahead of dinner service so the kitchen is more organized for this service. The meeting adjourns and everyone heads off to complete their designated task.
"Well done Ana," Antonio says.
"Thank you," I reply. "I believe these small changes will have the next dinner service running smoother for you."
The next dinner service begins and immediately the difference is seen as compared to the first service. The small preparations we did before the service started had food going out much faster and staff was less stressed. The kitchen was more organized and the entire service went out without a problem. After cleaning up from the last service we all went home to get some much needed rest after a long day. I slowly walked back to the apartment enjoying the slight chill in the air and looking at all the store front holiday decorations.
"Hello?" I answer my phone.
"Are you done working?" Christian asks.
"Yes, actually I'm walking home now," I answer.
"How was your night?" He asks.
"Busy, hectic but it could have been worse," I answer.
"I suppose it could," He says laughing.
"How was your night? Did you go to church yet?" I ask.
"Yes, we just got back home a little while ago and everyone went to bed," he answers.
"Does everyone wake up early tomorrow?" I ask remembering Christmas mornings when my dad was alive and how early they would start.
"Yes," he says laughing. "Mia wakes the entire house up usually by seven if we're lucky and she lets us sleep that late. I swear you would think she was still a child!"
"Nothing wrong with that. I'm sure she is just excited to see everyone on Christmas morning," I say.
"True…but she has so much energy," he replies. "Are you home yet?"
"Yup, just walked into the apartment and now I'm feeding Murray," I explain.
We talk for a while longer as I heat up some dinner and get ready for bed. Finally when I can barely keep my eyes open I tell Christian that we need to hang up so I can go to sleep. He reluctantly agrees although I can hear him yawning as well. I barely manage to put my phone on the charger before passing out from exhaustion.
Beep beep beep
The next morning my alarm goes off waking me from a deep sleep. I wake feeling rested and find myself looking forward to dinner tonight with Christian's family. Initially I was very nervous about being around his family, but as I have gotten closer to Christian these last few days I find myself less nervous. I make a cup of tea and a bowl of cereal before sitting at the breakfast bar to read through the recipes again.
Merry Christmas –A
Merry Christmas Ana. I can't wait to see you later –C
Is everyone up yet? –A
No, you're awake before Mia –C
Sorry, didn't mean to wake you –A
It's okay, I couldn't sleep anyway –C
Sorry to hear that –A
What are you doing? –C
Having breakfast –A
Wish I was having breakfast with you again –C
Me too –A
See you later. Mia just barged in announcing it's Christmas –C
LOL –A
I put on some holiday music and begin making the crust for the apple pie. The last few years I have chosen to ignore the holidays, especially Christmas because it's been years since I had someone to spend it with. The first couple of holidays after dad died weren't horrible, they just weren't the same as when dad was still alive. After mom divorced her third husband our holidays became nonexistent. She never had money even if she was with some random guy because they never had jobs or if they did they always spent their money on drugs and alcohol. Most of the time Christmas day was just another day in our house. After I ran away there was no one to celebrate the holidays with, although Kate and I always exchanged gifts. This will be the first year in a very long time that I will be sitting down for a Christmas dinner that is not served at a soup kitchen or a shelter.
A couple of hours later the chocolate cake and apple pie are done and cooling on the counter. I texted Kate for advice on what to wear to the Grey's a few days ago and she gave me some ideas from her closet. I decide to wear a black dress that has small red roses on it with a silver shawl as Kate suggested. The dress is classy enough for dinner but not too dressy as Christian said dinner today is not a formal event. I shower get dressed and am about to put my shoes on when I hear a knock on the door.
"Merry Christmas baby," Christian says coming in with several gift bags.
"Merry Christmas to you too," I reply kissing him.
"These are for you," Christian says putting the gift bags on the coffee table.
"Why am I not surprised at all that you went overboard," I say laughing.
"Overboard?" he asks. "Please, this is nothing compared to what I originally had planned. Gail and Taylor managed to convince me that I did need to buy as much and had me send half the gift back."
"Oh my," I say giggling. "I won't say that you didn't need to get me anything and should not have spent this obscene amount of money on me since I know it won't do me any good."
"You're right it won't," he says smiling.
We exchange gifts and of course it takes me a lot longer to open all my gifts. I can't help but roll my eyes at the amount of money Christian has clearly spent on me. He truly knows no limit when it comes to spending money. The first small gift bag I open contains a blackberry, the exact same model as the one he has.
"Christian," I say gently. "I really don't need a blackberry; my phone is perfectly fine."
"Ana, it's perfectly fine but it's not efficient for you," he explains. "You're in your last semester of college and will begin sending your resume out for jobs soon right? Most employers will prefer to communicate with you via email at least initially. If you don't have access to your email regularly you may miss the perfect job opportunity."
"I suppose," I say sighing. He has a point, but I still don't think I need a blackberry.
The next several gift bags all contain hard covered classic books from several of my favorite authors. I finally have my own library again.
"Christian, I'm speechless," I say still in shock.
"Why? Do you not like them?" he asks concerned.
"No! It's not that," I explain. "I can't believe you remembered, these are my favorite authors."
"Of course I remembered and I know how sad you were that you had to leave so many of your books behind. I figured now that you had your own place you might want to start your book collection back up," Christian said.
"You have no idea how much this means to me," I say with tears threatening to fall.
"Ana, don't cry," Christian says hugging me. "Really, it's just a few books."
"It's not just a few books and you know it," I say. "But I can't cry because I just put make up on."
By the time I am done opening all the presents I have a new blackberry, close to a dozen books by some of my favorite authors and a beautiful necklace that compliments the dress I'm wearing tonight. Christian puts the necklace on me kissing my neck before he turns me around to get a better look.
"It's perfect Ana; it looks beautiful on you," he says.
"Thank you Christian," I reply. "This really is way too much."
"No it's not. I bought Mia three times this amount," He says laughing.
"This is your first gift," I say handing him the larger gift bag.
I watch his expression as he opens the books and reads the title. I bursts out laughing so hard I swear I see tears in his eyes.
"Oh this is good Ana," he says laughing.
"I thought you would appreciate it," I say giggling. "This is for you too."
He opens the smaller bag and his eyes light up when he sees the small MP3 player.
"This is the perfect size! I have one at home that is too big and I can't take it jogging or to the gym," He explains.
"It's preprogrammed with music but you can delete any that you don't like," I explain.
"Preprogrammed?" he asks confused.
"I downloaded music on it using Kate's computer," I reply. "It's an eclectic array of music everything from classical to rock."
"Oh wow, I can't believe you did this Ana," he says clearly surprised.
"You're not the easiest person to buy for Christian but it was important to me that my gifts were thoughtful," I explain.
Christian kisses me deeply and we both try to express our gratitude for the gifts in our kiss. The kiss quickly becomes passionate and I realize if we don't stop soon we will never make it to his parent's house for dinner. I try to pull away gently but Christian pulls me closer to him. I put my hand against his chest and pull back again.
"We need to go," I say breathless.
"No, let's stay here and continue this," he says kissing me again.
"No, we need to go," I say giggling.
"Fine, if we must," he says.
"Oh wait, I have dessert," I remember just before we walk out the door.
"Huh? I told you not to bring anything," Christian says.
"I know you did," I reply. "Here you carry this one and I will carry the pie."
"Is this chocolate cake?" he asks with big eyes.
"Yes, it's a double chocolate cake," I explain.
"Did I ever tell you chocolate cake is my favorite dessert?" he asks.
"I think it might have come up once or twice," I say laughing.
"You are amazing," he says kissing me on the cheek as we juggle the dessert items walking out.
"Sir, Ma-Ana," Taylor says.
"Merry Christmas Taylor," I reply.
"Same to you Ana," Taylor says.
We drive about a half an hour and arrive at the largest house I have ever seen. As we drive up the circular drive way I am in complete awe that people actually live here. It is the type of house you only ever see celebrities living in with perfect landscaping with not even a blade of grass out of place. The house is beautifully decorated with white Christmas lights and an oversized wreath on the front door.
"Ana? Are you coming?" Christian asks giving me his hand to get out of the ar.
"You grew up here?" I ask shocked.
"Yes," he answers.
"This place is huge," I say.
"It's just a house Ana, don't let it get to you," he says sensing my sudden nervousness.
Taylor carries the dessert as we walk up to the house where Christian's parents greet us at the door. I take a deep breath feeling Christian squeezing my hand and we walk to the door. Here goes nothing…