Chapter 14
Ana slept in the next morning and woke up to find her room an absolute tip. Her phone also had various notifications from her friends and Dad asking how the night went. Ana sighed and decided to go and eat first. Everything else could wait.
As she walked to the kitchen, the sore muscles in her legs made themselves known. She hadn't worn heels for that long in a while so that was to be expected. As she sat eating her cereal, she made a mental note of all the things she had to do. Ana had also glanced in Kate's room as she walked past, and it was like a tornado had torn through there, so Ana had just closed the door and pretended not to see it.
The living room had bits and bobs all over it; the aftermath of them getting ready so Ana tackled that first before she tidied up her room. Still in her pyjamas, she threw herself onto her bed and decided to reply to all the messages on her phone. She called her dad and told him all about the night and she couldn't help but gush about her new book to which her dad just laughed and said that nothing could make her that excited but a new book. Her dad had asked if she knew who had gifted her it and assumed that a stranger wouldn't have gifted her an expensive gift like that for no reason so it must have been someone she knew. Ana contemplated that for a second and realised that she hadn't even opened the package yet. It was on the hallway table where she had left it last night. They ended the call with Ray telling Ana he was proud of her for taking big steps and he told her that no matter what she did or accomplished, he'd always be proud of her.
Ana texted Emily and Lily back saying she'll call them later. As an afterthought, she decided to go on Facebook and update her profile picture to one from last night. She hadn't changed it in about three years, so she thought it was time. It was nearing noon now and she was about to hop in the shower when she heard the front door. "Ana!" Kate bellowed before the door had even closed.
Ana walked out to see Kate wearing what she assumed was Elliot's t-shirt judging by how large it was on her. Her dress from last night was around her arm and her heels were in the other. Kate had black smudges around her eyes from last night's makeup and her hair was piled into a bun. "Eeeek!" Kate squealed when she laid her eyes upon Ana. Kate dropped everything in her hands and threw her arms around Ana, squeezing her tightly.
"Ka..te" Ana wheezed, her arms limps since she couldn't move them.
"Oh! Sorry." Kate giggled. "I'm just so happy Ana." She held Ana at arm's length, examining her with shining eyes.
"Did Elliot propose?" Ana asked confused. What else could have happened between last night and now to make Kate this happy?
"What? No." Kate said, bewildered as she shook her head. "I'm on top of the world. Last night was so much fun and I'm just buzzing off the walls right now." Kate had wanted to say that she was excited for Ana, after what she saw between her and Grey last night, but she couldn't say that just yet.
"Uh huh." Ana nodded unconvincingly. She shouldn't question Kate's happy mood. She was never in a good mood in the mornings. "How come you came home? I thought you would have spent the day with Elliot?"
"Nah." Kate waved her hand dismissively. "I've had enough of him. He's going to his parents for lunch and he wanted me to come but I wanted to hang with you. The Greys can wait. You have things you need to tell me." She said excitedly.
"Oh?" Ana asking with a brow raised.
"Come on Ana! You need to tell me everything that happened between you and Christian Grey last night! There is something going on between you two. Oh, and that other guy you danced with. I want to know everything."
"Me and Christian? We're friends? He's still my boss." Ana said obviously.
"You looked cosy last night."
Ana shook her head. "Whatever. I feel comfortable around him. It's not like he's some inhumane creature; he's just a normal guy. I'm going to shower." Ana started walking away.
Kate followed behind her. "Okay. Nothing's going on but can you please tell me everything else that happened? I want to know how your first gala went." She begged. Ana turned the shower on and hopped in and heard Kate sit down on the closed toilet seat. She obviously wasn't going to let this go.
Ana sighed. "Fine. What do you want to know?" She started doing her business while she awaited Kate's response.
"What did you think of his parents? They seemed to love you."
"I was worried at first because Christian seemed more nervous than me, but they were so nice; I don't know why he was acting like that. Two very admirable people, I mean look at all they've done, and they've raised three amazing kids. Carrick introduced me to a few important people and I'm grateful that they're helping me out. They don't even know me properly and yet they did that." Ana spoke over the spray of the shower.
"They are really good people. Those three are lucky to have them. Are you going to take up Grace's invitation to dinner sometime? You could come with me?" Kate asked, curiously.
"I honestly don't know. Mia will try and get me to go one time for sure and it would be nice, but they're my boss's parents and chances are he'd be there too. Isn't that weird?"
"That doesn't matter. You won't be there for him. You're there for everyone else."
"What if Christian thinks I'm intruding or something? What if he's uncomfortable with it?"
Kate highly doubted that Grey would be uncomfortable at the idea of Ana at their family dinner. She'd bet good money that he wouldn't have any objections to her presence. "Ana, if he did have a problem, he would have said something to his parents but since he didn't say anything when they asked you, I assume he's not bothered. You said you guys are friends, right?"
Ana sighed. "Fine. Maybe I'll go one day. I'll think about it."
"So, tell me about Hannah. I saw you guys chatting up a storm at the table."
"It was fate Kate. She works in publishing!" Ana exclaimed. "We talked about me looking for a job in publishing and she said if there's any vacancies, she'd let me know. Hannah wants to be a graphic designer, but the job market hasn't done her any good, so we're kind of in the same boat. We actually had a very deep talk; it was nice to hear how things are going for her and to get someone else's thoughts on career's and whatnot."
"Coincidence or what?" Kate laughed. Ana could hear the tell-tale tapping sounds of an iPhone which let her know that Kate was texting while speaking. "Ana. You never told me how close you and Christian Grey were. You talk to him like no one else does. You both looked like you were really good friends or dare I say, you looked like you were more than friends."
Ana mouthed a yikes to herself. "Hannah actually thought we were together, and she was shocked when I told her we weren't. And I am comfortable around him Kate. It doesn't sound right because he's my boss; I should always be on my best behaviour around him but there's something about him that brings out my teasing side. He's my friend as much as Mia and Elliot are." Ana paused. "I think.. or at least I hope, he might also count me as a friend more than employee. He told me about his past Kate."
Kate's mouth dropped open in shock. "Holy shit. I know he went through things as a kid since everyone's eyes flew to Christian when his dad was speaking. But he's such a private guy! I wasn't going to pry either. I can't believe he told you!" She paused. "No offence." She said quickly.
"None taken. Actually, I stupidly asked him about it afterwards and was worried I'd overstepped some boundaries, but he told me. I'm just glad he's comfortable enough around me to reveal something so private to him." Ana sighed. "He's been through some awful things Kate. My admiration for him grows everyday seeing what he's made of himself." She heard Kate snort faintly. "Professionally Katherine." Ana clarified dryly.
"You know what? I think it's time I got rid of all the thoughts and opinions I had of Grey. I saw how he was with you all night. He can't be that bad if you think so highly of him and I trust your opinion." Kate said decisively.
"Thanks Kate." Ana didn't really know why she was thanking her, but she felt like she needed to.
"Ana, don't come at me for saying this… but you and Grey looked pretty cute last night."
The butterflies in Ana's belly went rampant again when she heard Kate say that, but she shook them off. If Christian wasn't Christian Grey, her boss, then she might have considered doing something about her feelings, but in reality, that could never be a possibility. Christian was Christian and Ana was just… Ana. They existed in different worlds and he could never be interested in a girl like her; not when there were plenty of other more suitable people out there for him. "What do you mean, cute?"
"Well… Elliot told me he saw you and Christian giving each other thumbs up from across the room which I thought was adorable. You're like a little team. At dinner, I can't be sure, but I think he was listening in on your conversation with Hannah and then when he butted in, you just teased him and then everyone joined in. I would have thought he would be annoyed at that, but he seemed to like it. You must be one of the only people who can talk to him like that. He looks like he has no cares in the world when he's around you and he completely lets down his guard. You can tell by his body language. He's still the dominating figure we all know but tonight he was almost…softer."
"I don't think that was because of me Kate. He was with family and he wasn't at work. So of course, he'd be less uptight." Ana told her firmly.
Kate subtly rolled her eyes. Ana couldn't see her. "I'm not saying it was because of you Ana. I was merely stating an observation and your probably right anyway." Kate placated her but she knew the truth. "You guys looked good together when you were dancing; like it was the most natural thing in the world and I know for a fact you don't feel comfortable dancing with people."
"I sort of just followed his lead and I'd danced with Elliot and Carrick before I danced with Christian, so I wasn't as nervous."
"Girl I saw all the looks you were getting from a few prissy little rich girls. They would have killed to be in your position."
"I overheard some women in the bathroom talking about him too. They were saying how much they wanted to snatch him up. It was horrid the way they talked about him like he was some kind of prize to be won." Ana shook her head to herself, wondering about some people's priorities.
"Comes with the territory I suppose." Kate said somewhat distractedly. "It's such an insincere world sometimes." Ana hummed in agreement. "Who was the blonde guy that asked you to dance? He was cute. Did he ask you out?" The curiosity was dripping from her voice.
"His name was Mike. He's a doctor and friend of Grace. I thought he was good looking and he kept smiling at me and I thought it was going well but then Christian came up and… I don't know… I just got a bad vibe or something."
Kate narrowed her eyes. Christian came up and she was no longer interested in that guy? "What do you mean? What happened?"
"Honestly? I don't really remember the conversation but the way he talked about Christian… like he knew him when he didn't. I got a sense that Mike thought he was better than Christian. I couldn't go out with someone like that. He asked me to go to the movies with him, of all things." Kate snorted. Ana hated going to the movies. "Exactly. I was going to let him down since I wasn't going to waste my time or his with something that was never going to go anywhere but then Christian interrupted, and I got the hell out of dodge."
Kate smiled to herself. She had seen the whole thing and it was very sweet. "Fair enough. I know you don't like dating if you know it's not going to go anywhere." Ana was serious about dating, unlike Kate. She didn't want to waste her time but there was always the thought in the back of her head of what if she had already said no to the one person who could have been her soulmate because of a bad first meeting? Ana always trusted her instincts, but she did worry if they'd led her away from the best things that could have happened in her life. "I think guys feel threatened by Christian. Add to the fact that you went to the event with him, of course Mike thought Christian was competition, so he wanted to one up him or something. Guys are weird." Kate concluded.
Ana was silent for a few moments as she focused on washing her hair. Should she tell Kate that she was attracted to Christian? But nothing would ever come out of it, so what was the point? But then again, Kate was her closest friend who she told everything to and Kate wouldn't judge her. They knew each other like the backs of their hands. Maybe Kate could help her make sense of some of her inner turmoil. Before she could decide what to do, Kate decided for her.
Kate wanted to get a sense of Ana's feelings towards Christian since she knew what he felt. "Ana…" Kate started hesitantly. "Do you think Christian Grey is attractive?"
Ana paused mid-conditioning. For now, she decided to just answer Kate's questions and if she felt like it, Ana could elaborate later and tell her all her thoughts. "Umm… yeah. I think anyone with working eyes would agree. Wasn't he voted sexiest man alive or something at some point?"
"I wasn't asking what everyone else thinks. I'm asking if you find him attractive."
Ana sighed. "Yes, I think he's attractive."
"Hypothetically, speaking. If he wasn't your boss and you met him, I don't know… out and about, would you date him?"
"In a perfect world… yeah." Ana said. She turned off the shower and reached for her towel, wrapping herself up before stepping out to see Kate still on the toilet seat with her phone in her hand but all her attention was on Ana. "The thing is though; I've gotten to know him so well through having this job. So, who's to say that if I did meet him elsewhere, that I would get to know him like I do now? And do you really think if I met him at a club or something that he would stop and take the time to talk to me of all people? He wouldn't. Everything comes down to this job."
"You really do sell yourself short way too often Ana. You don't see yourself clearly." Kate sighed. "But I would just like to say that in a perfect world as you say, I would 110% be team Ana and Christian. After seeing you together last night really did it. You go well together." Kate said softly. She didn't want to tell Ana that Christian could barely keep his eyes of Ana last night. She wouldn't believe her anyway, so Kate decided to keep that information for a later date. Her goal was to see what Ana felt towards Christian and Kate had gotten her answer. Ana just flashed her a bashful smile.
"A cheerleader for a hypothetical relationship. Thank you." They both laughed. "It's more than his looks Kate. You know I'm not superficial like that. It's how I feel when I'm around him. I feel calm around him and… its just easy." Ana shrugged. "He's a really good guy."
"I get it. Elliot makes my heart race, but he makes me feel serene at the same time. I guess that's it isn't it." Kate said with a wistful smile.
"You think he's it for you?" Ana asked softly, while she towelled her hair.
Kate paused. "I think so… yeah." She nodded with a shy smile. Uncharacteristic of Kate.
"I'm happy for you Kate. Elliot's fantastic. His quirks and all." Ana smiled. Kate chuckled. They had moved to Ana's room now; Kate sat on the bed and Ana was picking out some clothes. Kate resumed scrolling on her phone, while Ana got dressed when she gasped all of a sudden.
"You updated your Facebook picture?" Kate asked shocked. "It's only been what four years? This is monumental." Ana rolled her eyes and turned to see Kate squinting at her phone.
"I got some nice pictures last night, so I thought why not?" Ana shrugged.
"I approve of that picture. It's amazing and the twinkling lights in the background make you look like you're the princess in a Disney movie. Who took it?"
"I asked Mia to take some so I can show my dad and Lily. This was before she got drunk though. She took about 100. She went a bit over the top."
"Ooooh let me see them!" Kate asked excitedly.
"Knock yourself out." Ana pointed to her phone which was on her nightstand.
Kate was silent for a few minutes while she was tilting the phone to see the pictures better. "Oh my god Ana, have you seen all of them?"
"I think so." Ana asked with a furrowed brow. She was dressed now and sat beside Kate on the bed.
"Look." Kate showed Ana the phone. She had zoomed in on the background of one of the selfies Mia took of her and Ana. Christian was in the background, talking to some people but his eyes were on them and he was smiling. Ana's brows hit her hairline. Kate swiped through a few pictures until she stopped on a candid picture of Ana where she was laughing, presumably at something Mia said and off to the side was Christian again, but he was standing by himself this time, drinking his wine and there was an intense look in his eyes as he gazed at Ana. Kate was trying to keep the gleeful smile off her face, and she looked to see Ana's reaction.
"Woah." Ana said breathlessly. "I didn't even realise." She didn't know what to make of this. Why had he been staring?
"You're a bit oblivious at times Ana. He couldn't keep his eyes off of you all night. I think it's so cute. Gosh! You guys aren't even dating but I'm rooting for you guys so hard!" Kate all but squealed.
"Stop." Ana rolled her eyes with a laugh as she took her phone out of Kate's hands. "It doesn't mean anything. I don't look like that on a daily basis. It was probably just the novelty or something of seeing me all dolled up." Ana shrugged.
"Sure, sure, whatever." Kate rolled her eyes. "But now there might be an inkling that he's attracted to you!" Of course, Kate knew the truth, but she had to play the long game and play it carefully for Ana's sake.
Ana was silent as she thought about it. Could there be a chance?
Ana was on the couch watching some Big Bang Theory while Kate took a shower. It was her favourite way to pass time, after reading. It was just so wacky and wonderful; she loved it.
"Hey, did you ever figure out who gifted you that book at the auction?" Kate asked, as she plopped down on the couch.
"Oh! I forgot about that actually." Ana looked around to see where the package was. She spotted it on the hallway table and went to retrieve it. "I haven't figured it out yet. Who would do that? I barely knew anyone there."
Ana resumed her spot on the couch and ripped open the package. She took the book out and was so focused on the book that she didn't notice the piece of paper that fell out. "This is my favourite thing I own. A first edition." Ana gushed.
"Something just fell out." Kate pointed at the floor. Ana picked it up and saw her name written in elegant script on the folded paper. She thought she recognised the handwriting but couldn't place it. With a furrowed brow she opened it up.
As she read the note, her eyes got wider and wider. Kate was bouncing with curiosity. "It was Christian." Ana muttered, shocked.
Kate's brows hit her hairline. This wasn't exactly unexpected though. "Read it out!"
"Hi Anastasia. I know how much you love this story; you've mentioned that this book was the catalyst for your love of literature. I would say that if you never ended up finding your passion for literature then you wouldn't be where you are now. I saw you putting a bid in at the auction table and I wanted you to have this. No one would cherish this book like I know you would Anastasia. Please don't feel like you owe me anything. Enjoy the book and thank you for coming with me tonight. It's been one of my favourite nights." Ana looked up with wide eyes when she finished.
"Wow." Is all Kate could say. She so very desperately wanted to squeal in joy but reigned herself in. She had to admit, Christian Grey had game. Whether it was intentional or not, the man knew had to woo a girl.
"Yeah. I can't believe but now that I think about it, it makes sense – I mean who else would it have been?" Ana was going to keep the note. It was one of the sweetest things that someone's ever done for her.
"He definitely sees you as a friend Ana. Maybe even something more." Kate said lightly. At some point, Ana had to realise that Grey saw her as more than an employee, but that girl's obliviousness could be off the scales sometimes. So, Kate had to give her some gentle nudging.
"Friend? For sure. I'm glad." Ana mumbled. In all honesty, while she secretly and albeit foolishly hoped Christian saw her as something more, she knew nothing could come of it any time soon. She would never be that girl. Ana didn't want to get her hopes up, so she hoped convincing herself of them being just friends was enough.
Kate watched Ana with narrowed eyes. She didn't sound too glad.
"I'm going to say thank you." Ana got up with the book and the teared-up packaging and walked to her room. As soon as the door closed, Kate grinned triumphantly. Christian and Ana both felt the same way about the other, it was clear as day if you watched them for a while. Now it was time to make them both come to terms with their feelings and getting them together, or at least closer. Ana had more than likely never experienced feelings like this ever so Kate thought she might need some help figuring things out.
This was too good. Kate herself, had to admit that the two of them would make an amazing couple. They were almost opposites but somehow, they worked. Ana's quiet softness and Christian's tough powerful exterior balanced each other out. She texted Elliot with what she'd found out so far.
Christian had just arrived at his parents' house for their weekly Sunday lunches. Usually they were the highlight of his week but last night definitely takes the trophy on being his highlight this week.
Christian made his way through the house, looking for someone. There was soft music playing in the background. In the kitchen, he found his Mom standing at the counter chopping vegetables. "Hey Mom." He greeted her with a kiss to her cheek.
"Christian! How are you darling?" Grace said with a radiant smile, always happy to see her son.
"I'm good mom. I'm good. Hi Gretchen." He greeted her with a polite smile. Gretchen had always had a bit of a crush on Christian and he didn't want to encourage her so he stuck to being distant and polite. It was a harmless crush, but it did make him uncomfortable at times especially when she got in his personal space. Gretchen flashed him a broad smile as she gathered some plates. "Do you need help with anything mom? Where is everyone?" He asked pinching a carrot.
"Don't spoil your lunch Christian." Grace admonished. He smirked in return. Here he was, a nearly 30-year-old man and he was still getting told off by his mom for ruining his dinner. "I think we have it all under control. Everything is almost done so you can go and relax. Your father had to take a phone call in his office, Mia is still up in her room doing god knows what. Lunch in her own house and she's still late. And Elliot hasn't arrived yet."
Christian chuckled at her comment on Mia. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. "I'm gonna see what Mia's up to."
"Please make sure that girl gets down here in time." Grace called after him.
Christian knocked on Mia's door. "Come in." She called faintly. He walked into the room and found her sat on her unmade bed, dressed in sweats and a jumper, scrolling on her laptop. The curtains were still drawn, but there was a little light illuminating the room.
"Good afternoon sunshine." Christian greeted her cheerfully. It was obvious Mia was feeling a little hungover.
Mia side eyed him and mumbled a hello. Christian pulled back the curtains and the sunlight streamed into the room. Mia instantly covered her eyes and groaned. "Christian! Why can't you leave them?
Christian just chuckled and went and sat next to her on the bed. "You did this to yourself sister dearest. You shouldn't have drank so much."
"Leave me alone. What else was I supposed to do? It was fun. Anyway, it's my room, if I don't want to open the damn curtains I won't. Why are you even in here?" Mia grumbled. Her happy attitude usually went out the window when she was hungover or sick.
"Mom and dad are busy and Elliot's not here yet, so I thought I'd come and see what you were up to. Mom said not to be late." Christian said casually. Mia just muttered to herself in response.
Christian glanced at her laptop screen and saw her scrolling on Facebook. He just watched in silence as she did whatever she did on the website; she didn't seem to mind him being nosy. Mia scrolled down and a picture of Ana from last night appeared. Mia paused on it. "Oh hey, that's a picture I took of her. She made it her profile picture!" Mia exclaimed.
Christian was staring at the picture. Ana looked beautiful but it didn't capture her true beauty. Mia scrolled through the comments and left her own comment which consisted of a lot of exclamation marks and numerous emoji's. "She's so pretty." Mia said nonchalantly. "Look at all the comments on it." Christian read Ana's replies to the comments left on her photo and they were all very humble and gracious. He could practically picture her replying to them with a small smile and possibly pinked up cheeks. The image made a corner of his mouth lift up.
His eyes narrowed at a comment from some guy named Eric. He had written You just took my breath away Ana. Always looking good. Anastasia had responded with 'Too kind Eric. Thank you x'
Christian wasn't sure what to think of the little kiss at the end since all her comments ended with a kiss or smiley face. Someone named Lily had posted a very enthusiastic comment that mostly consisted of 'OMG's' but it made him chuckle nonetheless. "Is that her dad?" He asked pointing to a comment from a Ray Steele.
"Yeah, there's quite a few pictures of them on here and the little I've seen them interact; it's all very wholesome and cute. It's obvious they've got a good relationship." She turned to look at him. "You should know this if you have her on Facebook."
"I don't have her on Facebook." Christian shrugged. He didn't make it a rule to befriend his employees on social media. He didn't have much personal social media, but he had been on Facebook since his college days and he couldn't get rid of it despite not using it much at all. It wasn't public knowledge and most people just thought it was one of the numerous fake accounts of him.
Mia rolled her eyes at him. Of course, he didn't. Mia had seen that Ana and Christian were pretty close; closer than employee and employers usually are but even then, Christian wouldn't cross certain lines. She held out her hand for his phone. "Pass me your phone."
Christian handed over his phone wordlessly. There was no point in saying no to her, she'd get it eventually so why delay the inevitable? Mia tapped away on his phone for a few minutes and while she did that, his eyes drifted back to Ana's picture. There were no thoughts going through his mind, he just stared at the picture curiously. He felt like a lot of things had changed since she entered his life, but he couldn't figure out in what ways. It felt like everything, yet nothing was different at the same time.
"There." Mia threw his phone back to him.
"What did you do?"
"I added Ana for you on Facebook. I know you wanted to, and I also know that you never would, so I did it for you. Thank me after you've cyber stalked her." Mia said casually as she shut her laptop. "Come on, I can hear Elliot downstairs." She put on her slippers and walked out without changing. No doubt their mother would have something to say about that.
Christian felt like a teenager again. Waiting for a girl to text him back except he was waiting for her to accept a friend request. He sincerely hoped she did. Christian rolled his eyes at himself. This was pathetic. He followed Mia downstairs.
At the table, they were all catching each other up on their weeks. As expected, Grace made a comment about Mia's attire but since she was hungover, Grace didn't make too big of a deal about it. Elliot was his usual boisterous self and Christian was torn between punching him and laughing with him. He was usually the victim of his jokes.
About halfway through, Christian's phone buzzed in his pocket. He tried to ignore it; his mom wouldn't like it if he went on his phone during a family meal. Everyone at work knew to not contact him on Sunday's unless it was an emergency, so he knew it wasn't that. Eventually the conversation steered towards Elliot's company and his latest project which Christian wasn't really contributing anything to it and curiosity got the best of him, so he slyly took out his phone under the table. Imagine his surprise when he saw there was a text message from Ana. They had each other's number for work purposes but the fact that she'd used it for a personal matter didn't bother him at all.
'Christian it was you! I can't believe you gifted me Tess of the d'Urbervilles!' She wrote.
Christian smirked. 'Took you long enough. I hope this is a happy reaction?'
'Of course, it is! It is now the most prized possession I own. Thank you so so much. It means so much more now.'
'You're very welcome Ana. Show it some good love.' Christian texted her.
'Oh, don't you worry about that. You'll catch me in the break room during lunch tomorrow, reading it for the 1000th time. But seriously. This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me and it was completely unexpected but certainly not unwelcomed.'
'If anyone deserves nice things, it's you. I'll have to check this book out and see what makes you love it so much.'
'You can borrow it anytime. Just ask. Anyway, I'm going to get started on making your cream puffs. God knows how many I'll have to make that'll be enough to pay you back for everything you've done for me, so I better start early.'
That text made Christian smile. 'You just made me very excited to go to work tomorrow. My mouth is already salivating at the thought which isn't very ideal right now. My mother will chastise me for drooling at the dinner table. And I think three dozen should be enough, don't you think?'
Ana took a little bit longer to reply this time and Christian wondered what she was doing. Had she already started baking?
'Are you texting at the dinner table?! Rebellious. You'll get them soon enough and you know that the wait makes it even better in the end. And don't worry, between you and Elliot, a large amount will no doubt be consumed so I'm making plenty to go around. You can have as much as you want, although I wouldn't recommend you eat too many, unless you want stomach problems ;)'
Christian sniggered at her latest text. She underestimated him. 'Anastasia, you underestimate me. Do you really think the possibility of a little stomach pain is going to stop me from eating those delectable goods? Definitely not. Also, Elliot? I thought we made a deal that you'd only be making me some this time? He hasn't done anything to deserve them.' Christian knew he sounded like a little kid, but he didn't really care.
'Are you kidding? I'd never hear the end of it from Elliot. The boy already talks too much, can you imagine what he'd be like if he found out I didn't make any for him? He'd be insufferable and he's around all the time. He'll probably smell the air and figure out that I made cream puffs.' Christian chuckled at that. 'How about this? I will give you the majority and I'll pick out the deformed-looking ones and give them to him?'
Christian had to admit, Ana was pretty crafty. 'You make Elliot sound like a dog which is a pretty true comparison. I suppose I can accept that. He gets no more than ten though okay?'
'Okay, okay. Got it chief. And Elliot is very much like a dog. A golden retriever I'd say. I might tell him that next time I see him. He'd probably be happy that I compared him to a dog. Peculiar boy. Anyway, I better get started on your puffs otherwise I won't finish in time for tomorrow. I'll let you get back to your lunch.'
'See you tomorrow Ana. Have a nice day and don't spend it baking all day.' Christian was pretty sure she knew he was joking about making him loads and hoped she didn't spend her whole Sunday baking for him.
'Thanks Christian. And thank you again for the book! Enjoy your Sunday :)' She had texted smiley face at the end made him smile. It was… so wholesome, just like her.
Christian pocketed his phone and looked up and stilled. "What?" Mia and his parents were all staring at him and his mom had her fork suspended in mid-air. Elliot was focused on his food, but he kept glancing at Christian and sniggering.
Mia spoke up. "What's got you smiling like that big brother?"
"Were you on your phone during dinner Christian? You know better than that." Grace told him off gently. "What on earth has you smiling? Is it work?"
"Yeah, Christian. Spill the beans 'cause you've been a naughty, naughty boy; using your phone at the dinner table." Elliot taunted him, wagging his fork.
Christian sighed in exasperation. "I'm sorry. But it was just Ana." He said casually.
Both of his parents' eyebrows went up. "Oh?" His mom asked curiously. Mia furrowed her brows and Elliot was now grinning and waggling his brows suggestively.
"Yeah. I was the one who gifted her Tess of the d'Urbervilles last night and she only just figured it out, so she was just thanking me." He picked up his fork
"You bought Anastasia that book? Hang on let me remember… you bought it for 5000 dollars. That was mighty generous of you Christian." Carrick said shocked but impressed.
"It was nothing. It's her favourite book and the thing that got her into literature. I saw her bidding on it herself and so I wanted to make sure she got it. She deserved it. I knew she would love it." Christian shrugged.
"I knew it! As soon as the guy said the book was gifted to her, I just knew it was you." Elliot exclaimed.
"Oh my god! That is adorable. Who knew you had it in you Christian?" Mia said.
Grace was quiet as she gazed at her youngest son. "That was very sweet of you Christian. I really like Anastasia. She's a good girl."
"Isn't she?! I love Ana." Mia piped up.
"Thanks mom. She is pretty great." Christian smiled gently.
"Did she enjoy herself last night?" Grace asked.
"She really did. It was a pretty successful night for her. She said she would go if the opportunity presented itself again so that's a positive." Christian said.
"You two are close?" Carrick questioned.
"We're not that close. But I do consider her my friend." Christian said simply.
"I do hope she attends dinner one time. I wouldn't mind getting to know her a bit more." Grace said. "After all, you three like her and that's never happened before."
"You two were cute together last night." Mia added her two cents. "Hey mom, you should see the photos I've uploaded to facebook from last night. They turned out pretty good." And the conversation steered away from Ana.
Grace and Carrick met each other's eyes across the table and with one look they knew what the other was thinking. Christian was different. They had certainly never seen him smile and laugh like that while texting a girl. And he had certainly never bought a girl a 5000-dollar book. There was something going on here. But Christian seemed happier and as a parent that's all you could ask for your children, so they let it be for the time being and decided to let nature run its course. No meddling from them.
So very sorry it took so long. Life has picked back up and nearly back to normal so I've been busy.
Not sure why people think the story has finished but I assure you I'm not done telling their story. Still got a long way to go. So stay tuned.
