Written in the Stars
By Tvdfanpam
Chapter 9
The Ball
Christian and Ana went to his club for a late dinner Friday night after they made it to Seattle then called it an early night. Ana was tired from her long day and Christian had a couple hours of work to do before he could sleep. Ana was asleep in her beautiful room by 9:00 pm. The next morning Christian was awakened by Ana knocking on his door. "Christian? Coffee's ready." He smiled although she couldn't see him.
"I'll be right out. I am going to take a quick shower." He jumped out of bed, surprised he slept in. A quick peak at his phone showed the time as 9:30 am. He overslept! He got tied up with a late night business call and didn't go to bed until after 1:30 am.
Ana had ventured into Christian's dream kitchen. She found a breakfast casserole in the refrigerator that just needed to be heated in the oven. Mrs. Jones was off on the weekends and she didn't know if Ana cooked or not so she left something for them to heat up easily. She also left a delicious looking fruit salad to go with the casserole.
She had already been in Christian's library and was in awe of the first edition rare books housed there. She didn't touch; she knew some of them were priceless and was afraid of handling them without gloves. She was content to just be in the same room as them. Last night Christian had given Ana a quick tour of the penthouse apartment before they changed and went out to dinner.
"Good morning beautiful." Christian kissed Ana on the cheek and took the coffee she handed him and walked over to the breakfast bar and sat down. He was happy to see Ana looking at home in his kitchen. "Whatcha making pretty girl?" He sniffed. "Something smells great." She smiled at him.
"Mrs. Jones left a breakfast casserole to heat up and a fruit salad in the refrigerator. I guess she didn't want to take a chance that I wouldn't be able to cook." Ana walked to the oven to turn on the light.
"Coffee is good though baby. You must be a whiz to figure out the space age coffee maker on the first try." He sipped his fresh brewed coffee in silence. Ana turned back around with a sheepish look on her face.
"Mrs. Jones left instructions on the machine. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had a clue how to operate it." She grinned at him. "I wasn't going to tell you unless you asked. A girl needs to have a little mystery about her."
"I'm sure there are lots of things to discover about you." He drank more coffee. "I look forward to it." He loved that she was more than a pretty face and wasn't afraid of doing things herself without needing someone to hold her hand. His sister Mia was a spoiled princess who had her own personal assistant to do chores for her and run errands. He wondered why she needed a personal assistant when she didn't even work.
"If you will set the table, I will bring the food." Ana said as the oven timer dinged signaling the casserole was ready then grabbed the fruit salad out of the fridge. Everything was placed on the breakfast bar and they sat side beside and enjoyed their breakfast. Christian had poured them each a glass of orange juice to go with their coffee.
"Would you like to have a walk around downtown baby? I could use the exercise. I normally work out every day but Sunday."
"I walk to school and back every day and then I get exercise at work by walking up and down the aisles of the library shelving books. Plus it seems like my classes are so spread out across campus, I must walk three miles between all my classes. So I am used to getting exercise every day too."
He was glad she wasn't opposed to getting out of the apartment. He was afraid if they stayed indoors, he might be tempted to canoodle with his girl on the sofa. He wasn't going to rush her. She was worth the wait. "I need to check my work email while you are getting ready." He said as he glanced at her pajamas. "I'll be in my office if you need me."
"I won't be long. Give me 15 minutes and we will be off. Do you think we can see those apartments today?"
"I'll find out. We might be able to squeeze them in this afternoon." He walked into his office and opened his laptop. He was going to email the realtor while he had a minute. Their day was packed; Ana had a hair appointment and Christian also had someone coming to his apartment later to fix her makeup and nails for the ball. He didn't know if there was enough time to see those apartments today but he would try to find the time since it was important to Ana. She told him she wanted to have a place to live before she graduated if at all possible. She was very organized and kept a list of things she needed to do and would check each item off the list when completed.
"Ready." She came out of her room putting on her earrings. She had her purse draped over her body and her phone in her hand. Christian was waiting for her in the living room, waiting by the full wall of windows. He walked over to her and kissed her on the lips.
"Even with your hair in a ponytail Miss Steele, you are beautiful." He hugged her and kissed her again. He was still stunned that she was his girlfriend. In his opinion she was the most beautiful woman in the world and he was so happy that she wanted to be with him. He now understood what beautiful on the inside meant. She smiled back at him and took his hand.
"You are such a sweet talker." They walked out of the apartment and went downstairs in the elevator and out through the lobby. "I love that staircase. It's striking." Ana commented as they left the building.
"It is certainly the focal point of the lobby. I have it on good authority that the staircase design was changed three times before the architect was satisfied." Ana goggled at him.
"Well, Mr. Grey since you are a fount of information this morning, you can be my own personal tour guide of downtown Seattle."
They walked around downtown then Christian took Ana to the salon for her hair appointment; he answered emails on his phone while he waited for her. They walked the two blocks back to his apartment complex where they viewed two of the available apartments before Ana had to be back upstairs to get her nails and makeup done for the ball. She was sipping champagne while she got a pedicure wondering if this is a preview of her life. "Baby, I hope you are enjoying your afternoon of pampering." Christian said as he wondered into the guest bathroom where Ana was reclining on a chaise. She raised her glass to him.
"This is the life." She joked. She giggled and drank another sip of champagne then sat the glass down on the counter. Her look changed to serious. "Mr. Grey, I can already tell you that this is going to be a once in a while thing. I didn't know it took 10 people to get me ready for a formal dinner and ball. I know I won't be doing this again for a long time."
He grimaced. "After this, I don't think I have anything else for a couple of months." He grinned at her. "Miss Steele, you will be the belle of the ball tonight, you know that? You will create a sensation and every eye will be on you." She visibly paled. "No baby. I mean you are so beautiful without any enhancements but with your hair up and your lovely neck on display…" He stopped at her obvious embarrassment. "It will be wonderful to have you on my arm. I can't wait to show you off."
She sighed. "Okay, I just hope I don't embarrass you. I haven't ever been to anything remotely like this."
"It will be fine. I promise I won't let you out of my sight." He left to go get in the shower. It was almost time to go.
Christian was wandering around the living room, going from the window to the kitchen to the dining room. He didn't realize he was pacing until Mrs. Jones came out of the kitchen. "Sir, would you like a glass of wine while you wait?" She asked politely, thinking that he needed to unwind a bit.
"That would be great Mrs. Jones. Thank you." She got a chilled bottle out of the wine fridge in the kitchen and poured him a glass and handed it to him. He smiled at her in thanks. Mrs. Jones gasped as she saw Ana in her dress. Christian turned around and nearly dropped his glass. He stared at his girlfriend in awe.
"See something you like?" Ana asked as she twirled around. "I feel like a princess. This is the fanciest dress I have ever worn." She said. Christian stood there with his mouth open in shock.
"You are beautiful Ana. A beautiful princess." He cleared his throat. "I have something for you." He walked over to her and handed her a pretty gift wrapped box. She eyed it suspiciously. "A little something to go with your dress." He tried to make it sound like it wasn't much. Ana unwrapped the box then she gasped when she saw what was inside: a platinum and ruby bracelet and a pair of diamond and ruby earrings.
Her eyes watered. "They are beautiful and way too much!" He shushed her as he took the bracelet out of the box and put it on her wrist. She took the earrings out she had on and quickly replaced them. A tear fell down her cheek. "You spoil me." She whispered as they stood in front of the mirror and admired her earrings. "Thank you so much. I will be a nervous wreck all night. I hope I don't lose one." She rambled on in shock.
"I am a lucky man and so happy you are my girlfriend. I will be nervous too." He whispered in her ear as they looked in the mirror together. He was tall and handsome in his tux and she was beautiful in her red dress and heels. He wrapped his arms around her. "Someone will see you and try to take you away from me. That is my fear." He kissed her on the side of her neck. She turned around to face him.
"No one is going to take me away from you. I'm yours remember? I will be afraid of all the single women and a few married ones too. You clean up really good Mr. Grey in your tux." He kissed her on the lips.
"Let's go baby." He took her hand and escorted her down to the lobby. He had rented a limo for the evening and Taylor was waiting downstairs with it. People actually stopped and stared as they made their way through the lobby. He only had eyes for Ana. She only had eyes for Christian.
The drive to the event was not too long. They drank a glass of champagne on the way and Ana was starting to relax when they pulled into his parents' estate. They were stopped at the gate to check that they had an invitation to the black tie event of the season in Seattle. When the guard saw who was in the car, they were waved on down the drive way.
The car stopped and Taylor got out and held the door open for Christian. He got out and buttoned his jacked then helped Ana out of the car. Flashbulbs were going off. "There will be a spread in the Seattle Times tomorrow, smile Ana." Christian said as he pulled her close to him. They smiled for the cameras.
"Mother, father may I present my girlfriend Anastasia Steele?" His parents stood there in awe as they watched their son with a beautiful woman hanging off his arm. She was not a bit nervous to meet them.
"Dr. Grey, Mr. Grey it is a pleasure to meet you. Christian has told me so much about you." She said politely, shaking hands with both of them. Grace couldn't stand it anymore and leaned in and hugged Ana.
"The pleasure is ours Anastasia. You are a very beautiful girl. Thank you for coming with our son." Grace said with tears in her eyes. She was so happy to see her son's beautiful girlfriend. Her mind was racing. She could tell by the way her son was acting that this was The One for him. "We'll talk later dears. You are seated at the same table with us." Ana and Christian went inside the large tent and couldn't find their seats for all the people stopping to greet them. No one there had seen Christian Grey with a woman and he was smiling.
They found their seats and didn't hardly get sat down before Mia saw them and came running over. "Oh my God! She's so beautiful Christian. You're so beautiful Ana! It's so nice to meet you. I'm Mia, Christian's sister." Mia exclaimed in shock then she hugged Ana hard then hugged her brother. "You two make a beautiful couple. You will make beautiful children." Ana blushed and Christian glared at her to shush her. "What? It's true." Mia said rather loudly.
"Mia, how many glasses of champagne have you had?" Her brother asked. She smiled sheepishly.
"I lost count after three. It's a party, who cares. I needed something to get through this." She said with a smile as she kissed her brother's cheek. "Tomorrow, I might regret it but not tonight." She shrugged as if to say oh well.
The festivities got under way and Ana could see what Mia was talking about. There were a few tedious moments when the announcer tried to do a comic stand-up routine and bombed. The food was good even though Ana wasn't always sure what she was eating. Then there was an intermission before the dancing was to start so Ana went to powder her nose.
Mia leaned over to her brother and thought she was whispering: "Christian, I am so happy for you. She seems perfect. Can I plan your wedding? I can see you married to her." Mia was more than a little drunk. Christian tried to ignore her but she just got louder.
He stood up quickly when Ana came back. "Baby, would you do me the honor of dancing the first dance with me?" He asked formally, bowing to her. She giggled, Ana had had a few glasses of champagne too.
"I would be honored sir." He took her hand and they went out onto the dance floor. They danced and danced, the band was good and played a mix of old and new songs. Grace and Carrick sat at the table and watched in astonishment. Quite a few people at the ball stared at them dancing in fact. They danced like they had danced together always. There was only the two of the when they danced it seemed as they stared into each other's eyes. The pictures in the paper the next day showed them smiling at each other as they danced close.
Mia slid over to sit beside her mom as they watched the dancers. "I am going to start planning their wedding. They are made for each other." Mia and Grace both sighed in unison.
"Who's dancing with Christian?" Someone said as she sat down beside Grace.
A/N: Thank you for all the positive reviews to this story. I appreciate it. Check out Pinterest: pcwbooks/written-in-the-stars to see Ana's dress and her jewelry.
**Due to some less than nice reviews, I tried to tone down the silliness. I hope that didn't change the tone of the story too much. It is hard to please everyone.**
