Ana POV
My dad and I had enjoyed our weekend together. I even indulged him by getting up early on Sunday and going fishing with him.
It's 8:45 am on Monday morning, and Elliot could be here any second. Ray went out to the workshop at 8 am to draw up some ideas for Elliot, and I'm sitting on the porch waiting for Elliot to arrive. I'm hoping to sneak in a little hello before he meets with my dad. A big black pickup truck pulls up, and Elliot gets out, dressed in what I assume to be his usual work outfit. A pair of jeans along with a dark grey long-sleeved shirt that says GREY CONSTRUCTION.
I get out of my seat on the porch and walk down to Elliot, he's already seen me and meets me halfway.
"Hey baby," he says shooting me his signature smile, which in turns makes me blush furiously.
"Hi El," I say shyly, desperately trying to tame my blush.
He gives me what is supposed to be a brief kiss but quickly deepens it. I can't help but smile into the kiss.
We are interrupted by the clearing of a throat. More precisely, my dad clearing his throat. I quickly pull away, and if possible, my blush deepens even more.
"You must be Elliot?" Ray says, face completely impassive.
"Yes, sir. I'm Elliot Grey," Elliot says confidently putting his hand out to shake Ray's. Dad looks at with scrutinizing eyes but reaches his hand out to shake Elliot's.
"Yes, Annie has told me about you," he says not unkindly.
I'm happy to see that Elliot isn't cowering under Ray's stare, while I'm giving my dad the death stare, trying to get him to quit it. Apparently, it's not working. Just as I am about to say something to break the tense air around us, dad suggests he and Elliot go to the workshop and discuss business. I just want to scream NO. I mean, the man keeps power tools out there. Elliot, of course, agrees and they head over to the shop, I suggest I'll bring them some coffee when dad reminds me that he has a coffee machine out there, so it won't be necessary. Great...
I go back into the house and settle down on the couch with a cup of tea and a book. All I have to do now is wait.
Elliot POV
Following Ana's dad into his workshop, I feel like I'm about to enter the lion's den, but I try to appear confident as looking like a nervous teenager, won't get me anywhere. We step inside the workshop, and I'm seriously impressed. You can tell he has taken great interest and care in building it and what materials he used. Along with all the top grade machinery and tools I can see.
"So what are you doing with my daughter?" Mr. Steele asks point blank.
"Mr. Steele, I"
"It's Ray, not Mr. Steele or Sir, no reason age me early," he says with the first smile I've seen aimed at me today from this man.
"Ray, I like your daughter very much! She's an exceptional woman, and I am very lucky that she's giving me any time of the day," I tell him, trying to express how I feel about his daughter.
"You're right; she is exceptional. So why do you think, you're good enough for her?" he asks challenging me.
"I'm not," I say straight, genuinely feeling like I could never deserve her. She is unlike anyone I've ever met before; she has this air about her that draws me in completely.
"But I want to be the kind of man who is good enough for your daughter. I may not have known her long, but I'm sure you know how amazing she is, after all, you raised her," I tell him.
"Yes, I did. Which is also why, when she told me about you, I looked you up and did a little research on my own. You have quite the reputation Elliot," he says looking at me with scrutinizing eyes, probably trying to analyze my reaction to his statement.
"Yes, I know of the rumors that are out there about me and my personal life. It's also something I've talked about with Ana, and I knew there was a possibility that you would know and I'd have to explain it," I tell him, really hating those damn rumors. I explain everything to him as I did with Ana that first night, desperately hoping that her father will believe me. One of the things I've learned about Ana, is that she's a daddy's girl and loves her father very much. If he doesn't approve of me, I'm not sure where I stand when it comes to Ana.
When I finish telling him about everything, he stays quiet and has a thoughtful look on his face. I can feel my heart practically beating out of my chest, and I feel like I'm about to start sweating bullets any second now.
"You can stop looking so nervous, son. I like you, you seem like a good guy, and that's all I want for my Annie. But if you ever hurt her, you answer to me," he says with a dangerous look in his eye. If there was any doubt before now, Ray Steele is not a man to cross especially when it comes to his daughter.
Our tense and slightly scary talk over, we continue with the original purpose of our meeting. Ray has some incredible ideas for the staircase I need, and I can't wait to see how it turns out when it's all done and put into place.
Ana POV
It has been over an hour since they went into the workshop. I've had four cups of tea and eaten my way through most of my dad's Reese's cup stash. I'm too anxious to actually focus on reading my book, so I turned the TV on, but even that hasn't been able to hold my attention. Which is how I ended up raiding my dad's stash of Reese's cups. He knows they're my favorite as well as my choice of comfort food, so he always makes sure to stock up on them for when I come home.
Finally!
After an hour and a half, I can hear voices coming towards the house. They both sound relaxed and friendly from what I can hear, so hopefully, their little talk went well, and Elliot is still in one piece.
My dad comes through the front door followed by Elliot; they're both laughing about something, leaving me feeling very perplexed.
"Hi sweetheart," my dad says kissing me on top my head.
"Hi dad?," I said questionably.
"I see you found the Reese's cup stash, is there anything left?" he asks laughing at me.
"Nope," I say, totally unashamed. He knows how I get when I'm anxious and how many peanut butter cups I can put away.
"Damn Ana Banana! I think you might have broken my sister's record when it comes to these," Elliot says with a smile as he points to the wrappers left on the coffee table.
"Oh, this is not even her record Elliot! That's one thing you should always remember; NEVER run out of Reese's cups, it's for your own safety and sanity and try to keep an emergency stash, that she doesn't know about," Ray says, sharing a little bit of wisdom about Ana.
"You have a secret stash?" I ask my father accusingly while mentally going through all the possible hiding places around the house and the workshop.
"One you will never find, Annie," dad says, grinning like a loon.
We make a little small talk when dad announces that he's going back out to the workshop to do some work. I promise to come out and say goodbye before I leave for Portland.
"So what did you and my dad talk about?" I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.
"Oh you know, this and that," he says giving me his panty-dropping smile.
"Oh come on! Please tell me," I whine. This earns a chuckle from Elliot.
"Well we did talk about our favorite girl, but that's all I'm telling you" he whispers into my ear and catches my earlobe between his teeth before kissing my neck. I can't help the moan that escapes, and Elliot quickly moves to my lips his tongue begging for entrance, which I immediately give. The man is irresistible after all. I pull away a little in desperate need of some oxygen.
"I actually have to get back to Seattle and do a little work before I come to Portland later," he whispers slightly out of breath.
"Okay. I should probably get back to Portland, catch up with Kate and everything," I say all breathy.
"I'll be at your apartment around 9 pm, baby," he says giving me a quick kiss.
I follow him out to his truck, and we have another goodbye kiss before he gets into his car and drives back to Seattle.
A few hours later, I'm back in Portland. As I enter the apartment, I don't see Kate around but I can hear music coming from her room, so I walk over to her door to say hi.
"Oh hi Ana, how was your weekend with Ray?" She asks happily. She has clothes thrown all over her room, probably trying to find an outfit for tonight.
"It was good, it was nice to spend some time with him," I tell her.
"That's great, I'm glad you had a good weekend," she says smiling.
"Yeah, anyways I invited Elliot to come out with us tonight, I hope you don't mind," I say kindly, hoping it won't start another drama.
"Oh, you did? He's actually going to drive all the way from Seattle, just to go to the bar with us? I mean, it's going to be a long drive for him to go back and forth," she babbles.
"Yes, he is. But he's going to stay here tonight, so he won't have to drive back and that way he can have something to drink as well," I tell her.
"You said, he could spend the night?" she squeaks.
"Yes," I say, not being able to help the blush from her insinuation.
"Uhm okay..."
"Do you want to start getting ready together?" I ask, knowing it's something she loves and it might help turn her mood around.
Kate squeals and quickly guide me into my room and the bathroom with orders to take a shower and then she'll do my hair and makeup.