Ana
I turn around to see Christian still comatose on the bed after our fun morning activities. I smirk in satisfaction when I look at his satisfied smile plastered on his face.
I turn back around and finish putting on my workout clothes. Here recently, I started an exercise routine since Doctor Greene recommended that it could help with my Polycystic ovary syndrome. We're not actively trying right now, but the exercise can help with the condition, and when we do start trying again to have a baby, the exercise can help with infertility.
I lean down and kiss Christian before slapping his hand away when he squeezes my ass. He smiles and tells me to be careful before turning over and falling back asleep.
I walk out into the living room and grab my sneakers and put them on before grabbing my headphones. I put them into my ears and step out onto the porch and turn up the volume on my phone. I quickly put my hair up in a low ponytail and put on my light workout jacket before walking towards the door.
When my workout playlist begins to blast in my ears, I take a deep breath and stretch on the front porch for a few minutes before walking down the steps. I turn the volume up and start running down the street.
I run down our street and head towards town. It's early Sunday morning, so there is not a whole lot of people out this early.
After five minutes of running, my eyes narrow when I see that Elena bimbo out walking her little wiener dog. I roll my eyes and look on in abhorrence when I look at what she is wearing. Short shorts, cut-off shirt, and tan wedges. Who the hell wears that while walking their dog this early in the morning?
"Oh, sweetie, you look parched," I hear her say in a sickly-sweet voice when I jog closer to her.
She leans down and takes something out of her big ass black purse and sets it on the ground. I stare at her stupefied when she pours a bottle of water into a little dog bowl that she places on the ground.
I shake my head dumbfounded as I run past her and hear her huff behind me. I roll my eyes and ignore her and her little dog's water break and continue running down the street.
After I run a mile, I stop and put my hands on my knees and pant in exhaustion. I stand up and slide my jacket down my arms and sigh at the cool air when it hits my sweaty skin.
After getting my breathing under control, I take off my jacket and take a deep breath before turning off the music and walk back towards the house.
When I get to our street, I see Grace and Carrick on their front porch drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. I take out my headphones from my ears and wave when Grace spots me walking towards their house.
"Good morning!" she smiles and waves.
"Well hello," Carrick smiles and gets up from his rocking chair and kisses my cheek.
Carrick is a handsome older man who is in his late fifties. Since living next door to each other, we often come to their house for dinner. Carrick is a chef, and his food is to die for, so I always look forward to those nights when we come over.
"How's it is going, Ana?" Grace comes forward and squeezes my arm.
"Pretty good. How are you guys?" I smile when Carrick offers me his chair.
"Same over here. Enjoying the beautiful weather this morning," she smiles as she folds her newspaper.
"I know. That's why I wanted to run this morning," I nod in agreement.
We sit there and talk for about five minutes before the front door opens and out walks their daughter Mia. She waves excitedly at me before kissing her mother on her cheek.
Mia is a sophomore in high school and Grace and Carrick's only child. She is an intelligent, beautiful girl with her long brown hair and deep brown eyes. She is dressed in her school cheerleading uniform.
"Well, I'm off to cheer practice," she grabs her pom poms and gestures to the car that just pulled up.
"You be careful, sweetheart," Carrick nods.
"I will dad," she rolls her eyes as two girls in matching cheer uniforms come bouncing towards the front porch.
"Are you ready, girl?" one of the girls say.
"I'm ready," Mia smiles as she kisses her father goodbye.
When they walk down the steps, I suddenly hear our front door open, and I see Christian walk out wearing ripped jeans and a white t-shirt. He stretches for a second before lighting a cigarette. The girls stop walking when they notice Christian when he walks down the steps.
I see Mia blush and tuck a loose hair behind her ear as she watches him walk down the path barefoot. I smile in amusement as she looks down at the ground. Mia has always had a little crush on Christian and most of the time he is slightly uncomfortable when she stares at him for too long.
Christian notices everyone watching him, and he nods at Grace and Carrick. He sees me waving him forward causing him to nod and puts out his cigarette before tucking it back behind his ear and walks towards me. He stops short when he sees Mia and her friends gawking at him by the street.
He shuffles from foot to foot before slightly nodding at them, "Mia, good morning."
"Morning, Christian," she shyly waves at him with one of her pom poms.
Carrick sighs and mumbles under his breath at his daughter's actions. Grace shakes her head in amusement as I do when Christian walks up the steps obviously uncomfortable with the girls' attention.
"Good morning, Christian," Grace chuckles as she watches her daughter and her friends drive away.
"Morning, Grace. Carrick," he nods at them before standing next to me.
"Morning young man, How's things?" Carrick puts down his newspaper and gives Christian his attention.
"Going good," he smirks over at me causing me to look down in embarrassment.
"Christian," I narrow my eyes when Carrick smirks into his coffee.
"Would you both like to stay for breakfast?" Grace asks while she stands up from her chair.
"Thank you, Grace, but I need to go shower. Maybe another time?" I stand up and gesture to my sweaty clothes.
"Of course. You know you are both welcome here anytime," she pats my arm.
"You guys have a good day, now. I'll see you at school tomorrow," I smile.
Christian takes my hand as we say goodbye to Grace and Carrick.
When we get inside the house, Christian pushes me up against the wall and crashes his lips to mine. I giggle as he nuzzles my neck after a few minutes. I push him away when he is about to shove his hand down my leggings.
"I have to shower, mister," I grin
He pouts when I sashay to our bedroom to take a shower. He groans behind me when I whip my shirt off my head. I laugh when I hear him racing towards me.
He grabs my hips causing me to yelp in surprise. Christian carries me to the shower, turning the water on. I smile when he pushes down his jeans and boxers with one hand before leading us under the water. He quickly pushes down my workout leggings and thrusts into me causing me to throw my head back as I cry out.
"Hello?"
"Buttercup," I smile when I hear Elliot's nickname for me.
"Hey, you. What's up?" I snicker.
"Nothing much. At work."
"Everything okay?" he sounds nervous.
"Everything is fine. Nothing wrong here, just have a favor to ask you," he says hesitantly.
"Sure," I shrug as I put my pen down.
"You know your friend, Kate?"
I sit up straighter and smile. "Yes?"
"Well, I was hoping if you can give me her number."
I almost squeal into the phone with happiness. Kate continually asks me how Elliot is and that she wants me to give him her number, but Christian didn't think it was such a great idea. I know he told me not to interfere, but Elliot asked me for her number.
"Sure," I smile and give him her number.
"So, what are you going to ask her?" I bite my lip.
"What do you think Buttercup? See if she wants to hang out," he chuckles.
"Oh, Elliot, I'm excited for you. Kate keeps bugging me about you, and now finally you guys can get together," I dance a little in my chair.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Ana," he laughs.
"You have to call me and tell me how everything goes?" I ask hopefully.
"Yeah, yeah. I got to get back to work. Love you, Buttercup."
"Love you, bye!"
After Elliot hangs up, I text Christian.
A: Elliot called to tell me he wants Kate's number.
C: I know, he told me he was going to call you.
A: Are you mad?
C: No, I'm just concerned. You know how Elliot can be and I don't want Kate to hurt him.
I sigh at Christian's last next. I know that Elliot slightly wears his heart on his sleeve most of the time and some girls are uncomfortable with how affectionate he can be. I know many women want intimacy and affection from their partners, but sometimes Elliot can go overboard, and it's been a problem in his past relationships.
A: It will be okay. I'll talk to Kate. Got to go. My class is starting again soon. Love you.
C: Love you too, babe.
"Hey!" Kate waves at me once she walks into the door.
I called Kate to see if she can meet me at the local coffee shop after work. I don't want Elliot to get hurt, so I wanted to talk to her beforehand. Elliot has been hurt in the past, and I see how that has affected him, and he is careful about who he allows getting close to him. I can see that Elliot is taking a risk in putting himself out there again. I can see that Elliot wants what his mom and dad have, which is a loving relationship, and their extreme love for each other influences him to want to find the same thing.
I know I haven't known Kate for very long, but she has become a loyal friend to me these last few months. She has been hurt in the past like Elliot and wants a loving relationship, so I do hope their date goes well.
"Hey," I smile and stand up to hug her.
She's still in her pink scrubs and messy bun since she came straight here from work. "Let me go get some coffee. I'll be back," she says after she sets down her purse and car keys.
I nod and wait for her to come back with her coffee. She sits down opposite of me and holds her cup with both her hands.
"Thanks for coming. I need to talk to you about Elliot," I tightly smile at her before taking a sip of my own coffee.
"Okay. Oh, Ana. I'm so excited! He called me a few hours ago, and asked me out this weekend," she dances in her seat before taking a sip of hers.
"I first want to say how happy I am that you guys are going out. As you know, I've known Elliot for a long time," I start.
She frowns slightly and then nods her head for me to continue.
"Elliot can be a little…affectionate," I say hesitantly.
She frowns deeply this time. "Is that a bad thing?"
"No, of course not. It's just that…," I sigh and bite my lip and think on how to explain his personality without making Elliot out to be a weirdo when he's anything but. Many women have told him that, which is bullshit.
"What?" she asks confused.
I sigh and take another sip of my coffee before I continue. "Elliot is a very passionate person. Like I said he's very affectionate and loyal. I just want to make you aware that Elliot is a really great guy. He's one of a kind, and I hope you two hit it off like I know you will," I smile and nod at her when she beams at me.
"Wow, he does seem like one of a kind, doesn't he?" she gives me an all-tooth-smile causing me to nod enthusiastically.
"He really is," I smile as I finish my coffee.
Kate and I sit there and talk for another thirty minutes before getting up and walking out of the coffee shop. She promises me that she will call me after their date to tell me how it went. We hug each other goodbye before going our separate ways.
AN: Since it's the 4th of July tomorrow, I decided to update a day early.
I have been busy these last few weeks, so I haven't had the chance to write and chapter 18 is the last pre-written chapter. So, I can still update weekly until then, but after that, the updates will probably not be every week. I will try my best to start writing again and give you all weekly updates. We will see how it goes.
Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Happy Independence Day!
Pinterest has been updated.