Chpt. 22: Ana's POV:
I wake up again feeling hot only to quickly realize Christian is practically on top of me again. His head is on my chest next to my breast, his leg is around my thighs and he his entire body is pressed up against me. If we keep sleeping together like this we will need to turn up the air conditioning in here or open a window because I am too hot! I gently move Christian over and slide off the bed, heading to the bathroom. Just as I am splashing water on my face, the door opens and comes up behind me embracing me.
"Good morning," he says pulling my back against his chest.
"Hmmmm morning," I say as he kisses my neck.
"How are you feeling?" he turns me around so I am looking at him.
"A little sore, but I'm not complaining," I smile kissing him.
"I'm sorry if I was too rough," he apologizes.
"Don't be…I really enjoyed it," I admit blushing.
I pull his head down to me and kiss him deeply. As usual our kissing quickly becomes passionate as we invade each other's mouths. His hands immediately find my breasts and he begins pinching them gently while my hand reaches between us and finds his erection already rock hard. I stroke his erection which causes him to moan in my mouth and pinch my nipple harder.
"I want you so bad….but you are sore," he moans into my ear nearly biting my shoulder.
"I want you too," I bring his erection to my sex, allowing him to feel just how wet I am already for him.
"You're killing me Ana, I don't want to hurt you," he says pulling me closer to him.
"Join me in the shower?" I ask.
"No, bed. I want us to come together," he says pulling me back out of the bathroom without waiting for a response.
We climb back onto the bed as our hands continue to explore each other's bodies. His mouth quickly finds my nipples; I hold his head close to my breast afraid he will stop the wonderful assault on me. Although I'm enjoying this deeply I need to touch him, to hear him moan in enjoyment. Hearing his enjoyment turns me on further; knowing that I can bring this man such passion amazes me each time. I pull his mouth up to mine and begin sucking on his lips while my hand resumes stroking his erection. Christian's hand finds my clit which he begins rubbing gently causing me to moan into his mouth. I open my legs further inviting him to enter me, but his fingers don't move. They continue their assault on my clit, rubbing and pinching it until I am withering with need.
"Christian…Please" I beg as the orgasm is building.
He doesn't respond but continues his assault. I stroke his erection faster and as drops of liquid appear on the top he moans into my mouth pushing his erection harder into my hand.
"I want to taste you again" he whispers into my ear biting my ear lobe.
"Hmmmmmmmmmm" I moan. My God this man has a way with words.
Without taking his hand off my clit, he manages to turn himself around so once again his erection is in front of my face. He quickly grabs my ass and pulls me on top of him while I am stroking him. His mouth immediately finds my opening which is begging for attention. His tongue licks me everywhere, but never enters me. I moan and try to push my hips towards his face but he stops me by grabbing a hold of my ass and holding into place.
"Please Christian" I beg needing more; I'm so on edge.
Just as I feel his tongue get closer to my opening, I feel him push his hips gently upwards giving me a subtle clue as to what he wants. Immediately I take him deep into my throat, sucking him hard to which he moans while finally entering me with his tongue. I alternate between sucking him deeply and stroking him when the passion becomes too much for me to concentrate on him. Christian's mouth moves to my clit and he slowly pushes a finger into me causing me to moan deeply.
"You taste so good Ana" he says against me…sending just the smallest amount of vibration right through me.
I'm getting so close, but I remember he said he wanted us to come together again. It felt amazing to feel him come at the same time I did last night. It was as if we were in perfect synch with one another; meeting each other's needs fully. Thinking of last night as my juices nearly gushing out; I grab Christian's erection taking him deep and swallowing when he hits the back of my throat. I repeat this several times and I can tell he is getting closer; his grip on my thighs gets tighter and he is moaning loudly now. I keep up my pace and gently grab his balls to add to his pleasure. Just as I do this, he adds another finger deep inside of me curling them just the right way to hit that one spot and I nearly come undone.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH" I scream momentarily pulling him away from my mouth. "I need to come."
"Come Ana, let me taste you again" he says pushing his fingers into me roughly while thrusting his hips so his erection is deep in my throat.
I try to scream as the orgasm rips through me but with his erection deep in my throat this is impossible. My attempt at screaming must have been it for him, as he empties himself still deep in my throat. I swallow as much as I can while he pulls my thighs apart further so his tongue can enter me deeper.
"Oh God" I say collapsing on top of him.
"I love coming with you" he says. "How about that shower now?"
After a quick shower we are dressed and having breakfast in the dining room. Today our little world ends and we are back to reality. We have been the center of each other's world for several days now but it had to come to an end as we both have work to return to. I am scheduled to work tonight and I'm sure Christian has plenty of work to do considering how little I have seen him work in the last few days, plus the week he took off after Christmas. I am thankful for the time together but hope that going back to realty doesn't change things too much. I'm going to miss seeing him every day but I'm also looking forward to seeing Kate who should be home tomorrow. Plus school starts back up again in about a week which reminds me I need to pick up my books for the semester.
"Ana?" Christian asks waking me from my daydream.
"Oh sorry," I say.
"Everything okay?" he asks.
"It's fine," I smile. "Just thinking about everything I need to do this week."
"I'm going to miss having you here," he says.
"Me too, but reality calls," I laugh.
"What time do you need to be at work?" he asks.
"Three," I answer "But I need to go home to change into my uniform and feed the cat before I go."
"I can wait and then drive you to work," he says.
"Don't be silly, it's only a few blocks from the apartment. You have plenty to catch up on I'm sure," I laugh.
"No, it's fine. I want to drive you," he says.
"Christian, I can walk to work. Seriously, don't worry about it," I say sounding more firm then I wanted.
"Ok," he says sadly.
"I'm sorry," I walk over and kiss him on the lips. "I'm not used to someone worrying."
"I know," he sighs before kissing me back.
As promised, Christian drives me back to the apartment but does not wait for him to drive me to work. It was hard saying good bye to him after spending so many days together and sharing an amazing experience with him. We didn't say when we would see each other again, but I hope it will be soon. I run upstairs, feed the cat and change into my uniform before darting out the door to meet Antonio to discuss the plans for Valentine's Day. The walk to the restaurant is short but I can feel some soreness in my thighs which is likely due to all the activity in the last two days I realize smiling.
Got to work –A
Good –C
"Antonio, are you ready to meet?" I ask seeing his office door open.
"Yes Ana, please come in" He stands to great me.
"How was the service last night?" I ask.
"We had an early dinner rush but then it died down pretty quickly" he explains.
"That's good" I say.
"So you have some ideas for Valentine's Day?" he asks.
We spend the next 90 minutes discussing various plans for Valentine's Day and reviewing the menu. I've identified several strong members of the wait staff that I would prefer to have scheduled to work that day which Antonio was in agreement with. We discussed some of the other staff, identifying areas they could improve to becoming stronger wait staff. Some just have poor attitudes and I don't think you can fix that, but Antonio of course wants to give them the benefit of the doubt. A few others just need to pick up the pace a little or become more confident in their own ability. Antonio is going to try putting those staff on more dinner services to see if that doesn't help. Antonio's wife has sketched out a layout for the main dining room for us to begin working with. It's a different than the current layout so we will have to change the area numbers and train the wait staff a couple days before so they are prepared when the walk in on Valentine's Day. This day is by far the busiest day of the year for Antonio so we agree to meet a couple more times before the service to finalize everything. It is important that it all goes off without a hitch.
Dinner services goes by slowly as we are pretty dead; I send one of the wait staff home since there are so few tables. I guess everyone is hung over or something because this place is rarely this dead. My shift slowly comes to an end having served less than five tables all night. I say goodbye to Antonio before stepping outside in the frigid cold. Having been stuck inside for last several hours I hadn't realized how cold it had gotten outside and I pull the jacket tighter around me. Suddenly I hear someone clear their throat and look up to see Christian leaning against his SUV.
"Christian! What are you doing here?" I asked surprised.
"Driving you home of course," he opens the door for me.
"I thought we talked about this?" I say pouting at him but secretly happy to be in a nice warm car.
"No you said I couldn't drive you to work today; you never said anything about driving you home," He says kissing me.
"That's true, I didn't," I laugh as Taylor pulls away and heads to the apartment.
Christian drops me off at the apartment and like a true gentleman walks me to the door. We kiss goodbye and he promises to call me when he gets home. I quickly shower and change into pajamas just as the phone rings. We spend the next hour on the phone talking about everything and anything before we both start yawning. Although we both put it off, we eventually hang up the phone. Christian has an early morning meeting tomorrow and I have laundry to do, plus Kate texted me and said she should be home for dinner so I want to plan to cook a nice dinner for us. I haven't seen her in weeks and I have so much to tell her!
I fall asleep quickly and surprise myself by sleeping a complete night without a nightmare. I wake feeling rested, relaxed and ready to start the day. I grab a quick shower, make breakfast and throw in a load of laundry.
Good Morning Beautiful –C
Morning. Sleep well? –A
Not as good as when I am next to you –C
This simple text puts a permanent smile on my face which will likely be there all day. I worry to some degree that we are getting too close too fast but I don't know how to stop falling for him either. We've only known each other for a short period of time but I feel that we have shared so much with each other which has brought us closer.
"Ana! Are you here?" I hear Kate yell from the living room as I am putting away laundry.
"Kate!" I run to the living room and engulf her in a huge hug.
"I missed you!" Kate says as we plop down on the couch to catch up.
"How as the Bahamas? How was New Year's in New York?" I ask.
"Oh it was amazing Ana!" Kate exclaims happily. "The Bahamas were wonderful of course and it was great seeing my parents and Ethan again. But New York was perfect with Elliot! When he was with us in the Bahamas neither of us really acted right because my parents were constantly around. He stayed at a nearby hotel and my parents refused to let me even go to his hotel to visit him! But when we flew to New York, it was perfect because we could finally spend time together without my parents nagging us. We went to Time's Square and watched the ball drop before bringing in the New Year the right way in our hotel room!"
"Kate!" I smirk.
"So what's up with you? What have you been up to since I left? All moved in right?" she fires questions away.
"Yes, I'm all moved in. I also did some shopping and restocked your cabinets, fridge and freezer. No wonder you eat out constantly; you had no food here!" I laugh.
"It's easier than trying to cook," she explains. "But what else? Tell me, have you seen Christian again?"
"Oh, Kate he took me sky diving! We had so much fun together; we've gone out several times and in fact I just got home from spending the last few days with him," I say blushing.
"Wait! What?" She says shocked.
"I thought I would be nervous about sky diving, but once he told me what we were doing I was so excited! I never thought I would want to go sky diving but when the time came I couldn't wait! It was awesome!" I say happily.
"Not that! Although I'm glad you had fun for once!" Kate says. "Are you saying you spent several days with him? As in overnight? Wait, did you sleep with him?"
"Kate, that's none of your business," I say blushing deeply.
"Oh my God you did! Oh Ana it's about time! Tell me, was he good? Elliot is amazing in bed, so I would expect Christian to be too!" She replies.
"Yes, he was very very good," I say again blushing.
"Apparently so, your face is bright red!" Kate laughs.
"Oh Kate…I'm falling for him hard. I care so much about him," I sigh.
"But you're worried because you haven't known him that long?" she guesses.
"Yeah," I sigh again. "What if we are rushing into things?"
"Ana, relax," Kate instructs. "You're not talking about moving in with the guy or marrying him. You are dating him; well and sleeping with him. It's scary because you haven't felt like this before, but if you feel this strongly about him it's because it's real. I know you Ana, you would not have given him your cherry if you didn't think he was special."
"You're right," I say. "Do you feel this way about Elliot?"
"Oh Ana," she sighs. "I think I'm falling in love with Elliot! I've never felt this way about a guy, but I spend every minute that I'm not with him thinking about him. We talked constantly when I was in the Bahamas and then spent every minute together there once he arrived."
Kate and I spent the rest of the night catching up and looking at pictures from her trip. I've always been jealous of Kate's family; they seem like the perfect family. Every year they spend Christmas in some perfect spot far from home. The pictures are always gorgeous and everyone always looks so happy. Although I loved our holidays when my dad was alive, I wish we would have had more family vacations. I only remember a couple overnight camping trips when I was little which were fun, but I can't help but wonder if my dad didn't die what other trips would we have taken? How would my life have been different? Would he have stayed married to my mom?
"Earth to Ana," Kate says bringing me back to reality.
"Sorry, guess I'm still tired from the last few days," I smile.
"I was going to suggest we order something for dinner," Kate says.
"No! I'm making dinner for you as a welcome home meal and of course a way to begin thanking you for letting me move in especially when you were gone," I walk into the kitchen and begin taking everything out of the fridge for dinner.
"I'm just glad you finally agreed to move in! This place was always too big for me, it's why I've been pestering you for two years now to move in," Kate laughs. "What's for dinner anyway?"
"Chicken masala over rice with fresh veggies and a side salad," I say throwing some of the ingredients into a bowl.
"Oh yum! That sounds delicious," Kate smiles. "I'm going to jump in the shower quick…I hate the way you feel when you get off of a plane."
"Hi Christian," I answer my phone while cooking dinner.
"Hey beautiful," he greets me.
"What are you up to?" I ask.
"I just finished a meeting with some of my department heads and wanted to call you before my next conference call," he answers.
"Are you going home anytime soon?" I ask, it's almost six surely he should be home by now.
"Not for a couple more hours," he answers.
"That sucks, you must be exhausted," I say.
"Nah, I've had lots of coffee today," he laughs. "What are you doing?"
"I'm just putting the finishing touches on dinner. Kate came home today and we spent the afternoon catching up. She's in the shower now but then we're going to eat dinner together," I explain.
"I have to get on my call; I don't know if I will be able to talk tonight since this is going to go pretty late. I will call you in the morning," he says.
"Don't work too late," I laugh and hang up the phone.
Kate and I enjoy our dinner together before moving to the living room with a couple glasses of wine. It feels so nice to have her back here and to not spend my evenings alone. At the boarding homes where I stayed before there was never anything to do at night if I wasn't working. I was stuck in the room I rented with no one to talk to.
"What are your plans tomorrow?" Kate asks.
"I was thinking of heading to campus to buy my books since classes start in a couple days and then I'm working the dinner shift," I answer.
"Cool, I was thinking of running to the book store too. We'll go after breakfast?" she asks.
"Sounds good," I answer. "I'm going to head to bed; Night Kate – welcome home."
"Night Ana," she says.
Lunch today? –C
Sorry. On campus buying books –A
Dinner? –C
Ugh…working –A
Another time? –C
Absolutely J -A
I feel bad but there's no way I can meet Christian today; it's nearly eleven now and we just arrived on campus. The bookstore is packed as usual and the line wraps around the store nearly twice so I know we will be here almost all afternoon. Then I have to run back to the apartment, change and head to dinner tonight. With classes starting on Monday I know my time is going to be stretched pretty thin so it's going to be rough seeing Christian especially with his work schedule.
Same Day: Christian's POV
"Hey Bro!" Elliot says walking into my office.
"I'm sorry Mr. Grey, he walked right by me" Andrea says rushing in.
"It's fine Andrea; Please Elliot come in" I say sarcastically.
"What do you say we grab some dinner?" Elliot asks.
"I suppose I could leave now and finish this at home later" I answer, closing my laptop.
Elliot and I head to a nearby restaurant for dinner; I'm tempted to suggest we eat at Ana's restaurant but I don't want to make it too weird for her. I haven't been able to stop thinking about her all day; she kept invading my thoughts today when I tried to concentrate on work. I can't believe how fast I'm falling for her; never did I think I would feel so connected to someone. I realize now how much I was missing by contracting with subs; there was never the emotional connection. Sex was always meaningless; with Ana it's so much more. Every time we are together, I feel closer to her. It's like being with her reinforces my connection to her. I don't know if she feels the same way; I can only hope she does.
"So Christian?" Elliot asks as the waitress takes our order and walks away.
"How was the Bahamas?" I ask.
"It was great bro! Kate's family loved me; but of course what's not to love" he laughs.
"And New Year's in NYC?" I ask.
"Crowded, chaotic" he sighs. "But I dealt with it because it's what Kate wanted. What did you do for New Year's? Work as usual?"
"No, I spent it with Ana" I smirk; he thinks he knows me so well. "We went to the club and then back to my place."
"Really? Is my little bro finally getting serious about a girl?" He asks shocked.
"Yes, I am" I answer confidently.
"Me too" Elliot admits quietly.
"What? You? Don't tell me you're thinking of settling down?" I'm surprised; Elliot has always jumped from girl to girl rarely seeing the same one twice.
"I know, I know" he sighs. "But Kate is special."
"How is work going?" I ask.
"A little slow because of the weather but we're lining up jobs to start as soon as the cold breaks" he explains. "So….about Christmas dinner?"
"What about it?" I ask nervously.
"Is it true? Did you and Elena have a thing?" he asks.
"Yes" I sigh. "I thought she was helping me, but it's taken me this long to realize what she did was wrong."
"The whole time you have done business with her though?" he asks.
"Yes. Had I realized it sooner I would have ended our business relationship. I have already pulled my financial support from the salons and gifted them to her. We have no other business together and I do not plan on speaking to her again" I explain.
"I'm sorry" Elliot says quietly.
"Sorry? For what?" I'm confused.
"That I didn't know about it. That I didn't stop her" he sighs. "I should have been looking out for you better. We all saw the change in you after you started working with her but I thought you were finally growing up."
"Elliot, I don't think you could have stopped it" I acknowledge. "She convinced me she was helping me."
"Are you still into that?" Elliot asks awkwardly.
"No," I answer. "I was for a long time but over the last year I realized it wasn't helping me and I wanted more from the relationships."
"So you and Ana…." Elliot struggles.
"No!" I exclaim. "I would never expose Ana to that; she is too sweet and too innocent. Like I said, I realized I wasn't getting what I needed from the lifestyle even before I met Ana."
"You seem to really like her" Elliot points out.
"I do" I pause. "I find myself thinking of her constantly and wishing I could spend more time with her. We spent a lot of time together when Kate was on vacation and have really gotten to know each other."
"What do you say we all go out this weekend? Like a double date again?" he suggests.
"Sounds great! I'll need to find out Ana's work schedule but I'm sure we can work something out" I answer.