Chpt. 25 Ana's POV:
"Good Morning Beautiful" Christian says as I answer the phone.
"Morning" I yawn.
"Too early?" he laughs
"I was up late last night after work finishing a paper that is due this morning" I sigh.
"Hopefully your schedule isn't too busy today and you can find time to take a nap during the day?" he asks.
"I should, I have a pretty big gap between classes later" I answer.
"You're off tomorrow night right?" he asks.
"Yes, I work tonight, off tomorrow and then Valentine's Day craziness on Saturday" I giggle.
"My parents have invited you to dinner; I believe Elliot will be asking Kate to join us as well" Christian says.
"After what happened last time I came to dinner I'm surprised they are inviting me back" I laugh.
"Don't be silly Ana" Christian says. "They know what happened on Christmas wasn't your fault; that was all Elena."
"Ugh, don't say her name. I hope to never see her again" I sigh.
"If I can help it you never will" Christian promises. "Now how about dinner tomorrow night?"
"Sure, my last class ends at 4:30 so I should be back to the apartment around 5" I reply.
"I will pick you up around 5:30? Dinner is at 6" Christian says.
"Sounds good" I answer.
"Would you like to come back to my apartment after dinner? I can take you to work Saturday" Christian asks.
"I would like that" I blush.
"Me too" he says. "See you tomorrow night. I love you Ana."
"I love you too Christian" I hang up.
The morning goes by ever so slowly as the classes seem to drag on longer than usual. I was up until well after two in the morning finishing a paper and then had to be up by 6:30 to get ready for classes. I put off the paper longer than I should have, but I wasn't interested in writing a political paper so I just couldn't get into it. After my late morning class I quickly ran back to Kate's apartment and crashed for a couple of hours before returning to campus for my last class. Once I woke from my nap, I felt much more refreshed than I had all morning. My last class flew by quickly and then I headed to the restaurant for my last meeting with Antonio before the big dinner on Saturday.
"Hi Antonio" I walk into his office.
"Ana, how are you?" He asks.
"I'm good, and you?" I answer.
"Very good. How's that boyfriend of your's? Treating you good?" Antonio asks.
"Yes, he treats me very well" I answer; Antonio has seen Christian drop me off or pick me up a couple times and even once he waited at the bar for me to finish my shift.
"Good" Antonio replies.
"Everything all set for Saturday?" I ask.
"I believe so" Antonio sighs. "The decorations will be set up and the dining room rearranged by noon for the dinner services. The first service is at 3, I would like you to arrive by 1 if possible?"
"Yes, that's fine" I answer.
"Everyone else will arrive just at 2:30. I would recommend you meet briefly with all the staff reviewing how you want things to run for the evening. The same meeting should occur before the 7pm service so you can make any adjustments to processes that may not have run as smoothly during the first dinner service. Similar to the private event you ran, I would like you to sort of float around the restaurant. Checking on the kitchen staff, the wait staff, the bartender and occasionally checking with various guests. I want to make sure the guests have everything they need and are satisfied with their food and the service they receive. All woman will receive a white rose when they are seated so we will need to make sure the hostess desk is fully stocked with roses for both services" he explains.
"That shouldn't be a problem" I say jotting down everything down in my notebook.
"Tonight's service will probably be pretty slow as will tomorrow since people tend to eat out less right before Valentine's Day. If that's the case I will probably send you home a couple hours early since you will be coming in early on Saturday" Antonio says.
"Sure" I leave Antonio's office returning to the dining room.
The night drags on much as the morning did. The energy I gained from my short nap this afternoon quickly wears off and I am thankful when Antonio sends me home just after seven. I quickly walk back to Kate's apartment and immediately crash without even changing out of my work uniform.
"Ana? Ana? Ana!" Kate screams.
"Hmmmmm?" I mumble.
"You're going to be late for classes!" Kate yells.
"Shit!" I sit up in bed glancing at the clock.
I quickly throw on a pair of clothes and literally run to campus as my first class starts less than 20 minutes after Kate woke me up. I wasn't expecting to sleep straight through the night after I came home from work so I never bothered to set an alarm. I make it to the classroom with minutes to spare, sliding into my seat just as the professor walks into the classroom. The rest of the day progresses pretty quickly, however Fridays I have classes back to back all day so I don't have time to run back to Kate's apartment to shower. Luckily Christian isn't picking me up until 5:30 tonight so I will at least have time to shower before dinner at his parents tonight. I'm surprisingly not as nervous as I thought I would be today; I don't know if it's because Kate will be there or that I doubt anything could be as bad as the first time I met them. Unfortunately I don't have time to make something to bring to dinner with me, as much as I would have liked to. Between my work schedule, class schedule and increase in home work there was just no time this week.
"You're finally home! They're going to be here in less than forty-five minutes Ana!" Kate screams as I walk through the door.
"I know! I'm going to grab a quick shower and then figure out something to wear" I head down the hall to my bedroom.
"I picked out something for you, it's on your bed" Kate yells shutting her bedroom door.
"Thank you!" I yell back.
Kate has picked out a very tasteful flowered sundress with a light blue cardigan for me to wear this evening. I quickly shower, dress, quickly blow dry my hair and put on a light dusting of making up just as the door bells rings.
"Ana? Christian's here" Kate knocks on my door.
"I'll be out in one minute" I reply.
I throw on a pair of shoes and the cardigan before heading to the living room where I find Christian sitting at the breakfast bar. He obviously just came from work; he is dressed in a suit complete with a tie looking as sexy as ever.
"Hi beautiful" Christian says kissing me on the cheek.
"You don't look so bad yourself" I reply.
"I love this dress on you, it shows off you legs perfectly" he whispers into my ear.
"Thank you, Kate picked it out" I say.
"Oh Kate, Elliot is running late and asked me to bring you to our parent's house. His work site is closer to their house so he is going to head over there and shower quickly before dinner" Christian says as Kate walks into the living room.
"Sure, thanks Christian" Kate replies.
As usual Taylor is waiting downstairs at Christian's Audi SUV for us; I wonder if Christian ever goes anywhere without Taylor I giggle to myself as we get into the car. The drive to Christian's parents is relatively quick and Kate smile when she sees Elliot's truck in the driveway. I'm sure she wasn't looking forward to meeting Elliot's parents without him being there.
"Mother, Father…you remember Ana" Christian introduces us as we walk into the beautiful foyer of the Grey's house.
"It's so nice to see you again Ana" Mrs. Grey says hugging me.
"Thank you for inviting me to dinner Mrs. Grey" I reply.
"Please Ana, it's Grace" she says.
"Nice to see you again" Mr. Grey shakes my hand.
"You as well Mr. Grey" I say.
"Carrick please" he says.
"And this is Kate, Ana's roommate and Elliot's date if he is anywhere to be found" Christian glances in the great room.
"He is just changing his clothes; it's wonderful to meet you Kate. We've heard wonderful things about you" Grace says shaking her hand.
"Thank you" Kate says quietly.
I've never seen Kate look so nervous before; she is typically cool, calm and collected always confident in herself. Just as we enter the great room Elliot comes running down the steps hugging Kate forcefully whispering what I can only assume is an apology in her ear.
"Hi Elliot?" I giggle.
"Oh yeah, sorry" Elliot laughs pulling away from Kate. "Nice to see you again Ana."
"You too Elliot" I say.
"Thank you Christian for bringing Kate here too" Elliot says shaking Christian's hand.
"No problem" Christian replies.
"Dinner is ready if you all would join us in the dining room" Grace enters the great room.
"So Elliot, were you able to finish the project you were working on today?" Christian asks as dinner is being served.
"I did….the owner of the site was very specific in his design request but we managed to have it all complete by his deadline" Elliot smirks.
"I'm sure he is appreciative of that" Christian smiles.
"So Ana, I understand you are working at Campenilla's tomorrow for their dinner services?" Grace asks.
"Yes, I will be working both dinner services as we are booked with reservations" I answer.
"It's a shame you will be working all day on Valentine's Day" Carrick says.
"That's okay, I'm taking Ana away next weekend to celebrate" Christian leans over and kisses me on the cheek.
"Elliot, Kate do you have plans tomorrow night?" Grace asks.
"Yes, but Elliot won't tell me what" Kate pouts.
"It's a surprise" Elliot winks at her.
"Grace, Carrick do you have plans?" I ask.
"Yes, Christian has arranged for us to have dinner aboard his boat actually" Grace beams.
"How romantic!" Kate exclaims.
The conversation continues to flow comfortably over dinner and desert. Thankfully there are no interruptions this time as we begin our desert. There is no mention of Elena but Christian has told me that his parents have cut off all contact with her and forbidden her to attend any events at their hours or that Grace hosts. I didn't expect to see her here tonight, however as the night winds down I am relieved that she did not unexpectedly show up.
"Thank you again for having us for dinner" I hug Grace and Carrick goodbye.
"Thank you for everything you have done for Christian" Grace whispers in my ear confusing me.
"I hope you will join us again; you are always welcome here" Carrick says hugging me.
"Shall we?" Christian leads me to the awaiting car where Taylor opens the door.
The ride to Christian's apartment is fairly quick but I quickly find myself almost nodding off on Christian's shoulder as Taylor drives. It's been a very long couple of weeks and I think it's finally catching up with me. We must have arrived at Christian's apartment as the next thing I know Christian is laying me on his bed taking off my shoes.
"Oh, sorry I guess I fell asleep" I giggle.
"I didn't want to wake you" he says lying next to me on the bed.
"Are you not sleeping well?" Christian asks.
"So so" I sigh. "I had a couple late nights this week finishing papers or reading assignments for my classes. Mid terms are coming up so it feels like the professors are really dumping everything on us right now."
"Maybe you should cut back your hours at the restaurant" Christian suggests.
"I've thought about that," I admit. "But I looked at the schedule next week and Antonio only has me working two days during the week at least as of right now. His business tends to slow down after the holidays so I don't think I will be working as much."
"You really should be getting at least eight hours of sleep a night" Christian lectures.
"Christian, even if things weren't so busy right now it would be a rare occasion for me to get eight hours of sleep every night you know that. Besides when was the last time you got eight hours of sleep?" I ask.
"When I'm sleeping next to you" Christian says kissing me on the cheek. "Let's get some sleep."
"That sounds wonderful" I yawn exhaustion setting in.
I change into one of Christian's t shirts and climb into his bed just as he finishes in the bathroom joining me in his bed. He pulls me close to him with my back to his chest and we both quickly fall asleep.
"Nooooooooooooo!" I scream as the belt lands across my back.
"You lying Bitch! I know you took my pills, now where the fuck are they?" He yells hitting me again.
"I swear, I don't have them" I scream.
He pulls me up by my hair and tosses me against the living room wall knocking the picture frames off the wall which shatter against my head. He quickly comes over and kicks my ribs several times until I hear at least one of them crack. I know my ribs are broken as I take a deep breath and yell out in pain.
"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" I yelp.
"That will teach you to take my pills!" He kicks me hard again before tossing me into my bedroom locking the door from the outside.
I quickly crawl into my closet and hide under the clothes afraid he is returning. I can never tell when he is done but eventually I hear him storm out of the living room, slamming the front door shut. I listen for his car to go down the dirt driveway before I try to leave my room only to find that he has once again locked me in my room. The last time he did this I had no food for days; after that I hid a couple bottles of water and some granola bars that I had leftover from lunch in the back of my closet.
"Get out here bitch!" he yells waking me up by dragging me out of bedroom by my hair.
"Didn't you learn your lesson yesterday?" he screams throwing me against the kitchen table.
"I didn't do anything!" I sob trying to get up but he just holds me down.
"You stole my fucking pills yesterday and now my booze is missing! You filthy whore! You probably traded it to your boyfriend for sex last night!" He yells hitting me the paddle he keeps on the kitchen wall.
"Owwwwwwwwwww!" I scream as the paddle lands on the center of my back.
"Was he a good fuck last night?" Wack "Was he worth it?" Wack "Huh?"
"I was locked in my room, I didn't leave!" I sob.
End flashback
"Ana! Ana!" I hear my name being called and wake up to find Christian shaking me.
"Sorry….I….woke…you" I stutter trying to wake up from the dream.
"Come here" Christian says pulling me close to him.
He holds me tight against his chest, rubbing my back and whispering in my ear how much he loves me until my breathing finally returns to normal.
"Are you okay?" he asks after a few moments.
"Yeah…." I sigh. "I didn't meant to wake you."
"It's okay, don't worry about it. It looked like it was a pretty rough nightmare?" he asks.
"Yeah" I answer.
"What helps you after a nightmare?" he asks. "For me it's playing the piano, it helps get my mind off of it."
"I don't know…."I sigh. "At the boarding homes there wasn't much of an option for things to do so I would be stuck in my room. Sometimes walking around would help. Remember the morning I spilled coffee on you?"
"How could I forget?" he smiles.
"I woke up that morning around three having a nightmare; I was staying at a shelter at the time so there wasn't many options for calming down. I ended up leaving the shelter and walking to campus-" I describe.
"Are buses even running at that hour? The campus is open?" He interrupts.
"Well no to both of your questions" I answer. "Buses typically don't start running until at least six depending on the day of the week and the route. I walked to campus which from the shelter ended up taking a couple of hours. By the time I reached campus the gym and pool were open which meant the showers were open. That's where I was before I ran into you at the coffee shop."
"Ana" he sighs. "Walking the roads of Seattle in the middle of the night isn't safe. Please promise me you won't do that again."
"Christian, I don't know that I can promise that. Sometimes it really helped" I say sadly.
"No!" He exclaims pulling away so he can look me in the eye. "I don't care what time of the night it is, if you need to go for a walk to calm down from a nightmare I want you to call me. If talking doesn't help I will go for a walk with you. It's not safe for a beautiful woman like you to be walking the streets at three in the morning! Please promise me!"
"I promise" I reluctantly give in hating the idea that I would be waking him in the middle of the night again.
"Maybe there's other things that could help that are less dangerous" he suggests.
"Maybe…" I agree.
"How about a hot shower? That's something you could do at the apartment and it wouldn't even wake Kate since you have your own bathroom" He suggests.
"That's not a bad idea. After a few of the nightmares I have wanted to just take a really hot shower but it was never possible at the shelters or even the boarding home. There if you wanted a shower you had to take a bottle of disinfectant with you" I laugh.
"How about a shower right now?" He suggests pulling me out of bed.
"Don't you need to sleep? I don't want to keep you up even longer" I say.
"Nonsense….If I get tired I will sleep later. I want to take care of you; make sure you can go back to sleep. You have a very long day today" he reminds me.
Christian turns the shower water on and gently removes all my clothing before opening the door for me. I climb in the shower and let the water cascade over my entire body for several minutes before I realize that I am still alone in the shower. I see Christian sitting on the edge of the tub watching me; I think he is uncertain if he should join me.
"Christian?" I ask.
"Hmmmm?" He answers.
"Please join me" I open the door inviting him in.
"Are you sure?" he asks standing up.
"Please" I say.
Christian quickly undresses and joins me in the shower, pulling me close to him holding me tightly. He gently washes my hair and the rest of my body before doing the same for himself. Just as he steps away from the water I wrap my arms around his neck and put my head on his chest. His arms immediately wrap around me waste and he holds me tight for several minutes. I cannot believe how much things have changed since I first met him; I never would have thought I would be able to do this with a man.
"Thank you" I whisper.
"Anything to make you feel safe Ana" He whispers back kissing me on the cheek.
"Do you want me to get you something else to wear?" he asks.
"Just another t shirt from your dresser please" I answer.
He quickly returns with a t shirt that I put on as he puts on a pair of boxes and we both head back to bed. It's only two in the morning so thankfully there is still plenty of time to sleep before I have get ready for work today. Wrapped in Christian's arms, I quickly fall back asleep and manage to sleep the remainder of the morning without another nightmare. I sleep soundly until I hear Christian coming out of the bathroom and realize the sun is shining brightly through his balcony doors.
"What time is it?" I stretch sitting up.
"A little after ten" he sits back on the bed next to me.
"Wow, I can't believe I slept so late!" I laugh. "Did you just wake up too?"
"I've been up for a little while now, I was catching up on emails in bed" he says.
"Thank you again for last night" I say shyly.
"Ana, I meant what I said last night. I will do anything to make you feel safe; I love you" He kisses me deeply wrapping his arms around me to pull me close to him.
"God, I love you Christian" I whisper.
Our kiss quickly becomes passionate as we both pour our emotions into the kiss. He gently leans me back onto the bed so we are lying side by side, his lips never leaving mine. His hands quickly find my breasts through his t shirt that I'm still wearing as I wrap my leg around his waist pulling him closer to me. My hands are entangled in his hair as I suck on his lips. He groans as his hand moves under my shirt and he discovers that I never put on underwear after our shower last night. I reach in between our bodies and find his hard erection which I begin to gently stroke. He flips me over so I am laying on top of him, straddling his pelvis.
"Take your shirt off" he says.
I quickly sit up and pull the shirt over my head giving him full access to my bare breasts which he takes full advantage of. Sitting on top of him this position I can feel his erection grinding against my sex as he plays with my nipples and my breasts. I lean down kissing him deeply while slowly rubbing myself over his erection eliciting a moan from him.
"You're wearing too many clothes" I say pulling his shirt up between us.
"As you wish" he flips me back over so he is now leaning over me.
Christian pulls his shirts off as I rub my hands up and down his firm chest and abdomen before pulling his boxer briefs off. He leans over me taking my mouth in his just as his erection finds my sex again, I moan and try to move my hips closer to his erection but he responds by holding my hips in place. He gently kisses my neck, slowly making his way to my breasts where he pauses to suck and nibble on my nipples. He continues kissing my stomach slowly making his way to my sex where he gently kisses my clit before sucking on my folds. He pushes my legs apart so he can have better access to me as his mouth returns to my clit sucking it hard.
"Ahhhhhhhhh" I moan as his fingers begin exploring the outside of my sex.
Christian alternates between sucking on my clit and nibbling on my folds which I'm sure are now drenched with excitement as I the orgasm quickly approaches. I subconsciously find my hips bucking against his face, wanting more as the need for an orgasm takes over. Christian grabs my thighs firmly, pulling them apart before his mouth finds my sex once again.
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I moan as his tongue finally enters me and his thumb gently rubs my clit.
His tongue continues its attack on me, thrusting in and out of me bringing me closer and closer to the brink of a strong orgasm. His thumb leaves my clit as his finger and tongue are both in me fighting for space.
"Oh God!" I exclaim as he sucks hard on my folds as his finger thrusts deep inside of me.
His mouth quickly finds my clit again just as I feel a second finger enter me which is almost my undoing. He curls his fingers deep inside of me finding that magical spot that I never knew existed before Christian as he thrusts in and out of me deeply.
"Ah! Christian….I'm so close" I yell holding his head against my clit fearing he will stop the wonderful assault on my sex.
"Don't stop….Please….oh God….Christian!" I scream as the orgasm takes over just as he sucks harder than ever on my clit sending me over the edge.
He quickly climbs up to me, kissing me deeply as his fingers continue to move in and out of me prolonging my orgasm. He quickly removes his fingers from deep inside of me and slams his erection into me causing me to moan in pleasure as my walls finally stop trembling from the orgasm.
"God you feel so good Ana" He says thrusting and out of me with my legs wrapped tightly around his waist.
Christian continues thrusting in and out of me hitting that magical spot every time he enters me deeply. He moves up little which applies just enough pressure on my clit as I find the next orgasm quickly approaching. This man truly knows exactly what my body needs to respond to him; he knows exactly what to do to make me come.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" I moan as his fingers pinch my nipples hard.
"I'm so close Ana" he moans as he slams himself deep inside of me.
"Oh God! Don't stop" I beg as he picks up the pace and force in which he is thrusting into me.
"Come with me baby" Christian says before pulling all the way and thrusting into me hard and deep.
"Yes! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I scream as the orgasm takes over my body.
"Ana!" Christian yells as I feel him reach his orgasm inside of me.
"I love you" I whisper holding him tight against me.
"I love you too Ana. I wish we could spend all day in bed, just like this" he says gently moving himself back and forth inside of me making a point.
"Me too" I sigh.
We make our way to the bathroom, taking a nice long hot shower together before deciding we need to face reality and start the day. Taylor had brought up my overnight bag from the SUV last night so after breakfast I change into my uniform making sure I have a spare one in the bag incase this one gets dirty during the first dinner service. Antonio has made it clear to everyone that he expects us to look impeccable tonight for both services.
"Happy Valentine's Day Baby" Christian says handing me a narrow light blue box.
"I thought we weren't celebrating until next weekend? I didn't bring your gift with me" I pout.
"That's okay, we will still be celebrating next weekend but I thought maybe you could wear this tonight?" he asks shyly.
I gently open the box and find a beautiful white gold chain with a diamond encrusted heart hanging from it. I'm sure my jaw is on the floor as I have never seen something so beautiful in my entire life. The heart is the perfect size, not too big that people would gawk at it but just big enough to compliment an outfit. Christian takes the necklace from the box and puts it on me before I protest about the obscene amount of money I can only imagine something like this must have cost him.
"Christian….it's absolutely beautiful" I finally pick my jaw up off the floor.
"Not nearly as beautiful as you" he says kissing me.
"I really wish you wouldn't spend so much money on me" I complain. "The clothes you have for me here, the phone, the necklace plus the weekend away….it's all too much."
"I know you don't like me spending money on you but I have never had anyone that I wanted to spend money on before you. Without you, all this money means nothing to me. I want to show you how much I love you and when I saw this necklace I immediately knew you had to have it. This way my heart is always next to yours even when we are not together" he leans down and kisses me deeply.
"Don't make me cry before I have to leave for work Christian!" I hug him tightly. "I love you."
"I love you too Ana" Christian says.