A/N-
Hi readers,
I'll start off by thanking everyone who read and reviewed my first chapter! So glad you like it. A lot of you noticed my Ana is a little different than original Ana, too. Hm… interesting observation ;) You'll notice plenty of changes in Christian's character as well.
I have so many ideas for this story, and I'm excited to make it a hopefully successful fanfiction. Please keep on reading, following and reviewing!
See my pinterest - lilylilac1 – to see pictures of outfits I describe in this story. Every outfit Ana wears will be posted there, so I recommend you check it out!
Enjoy chapter 2!
CHAPTER 2
ANA'S POV – Friday, May 3
I take one last look in the mirror at my outfit for tonight's class. I'm wearing my typical outfit – a simple blue tank top and black running shorts. A lot of my students; women who range from athletic college students to middle - aged ladies trying to lose weight, wear Lululemon and brand name clothing. Ha – none of that for me. I try not to worry about not being able to afford a $60 bra when I can wear one from Old Navy that works just as well. Maybe it's because I was raised by Ray; a simple man who didn't need much to be happy. I think that's a beautiful way to be. Although, it's not like I'm not still female though. Sometimes I think about how nice it would be if I could easily afford Lululemon.
I put my hair in a ponytail, slip on my training shoes and grab my gray hoodie to slip overtop. I yell a goodbye to Kate, who is getting better from her virus yesterday, and head to my class.
When I arrive at the gym I teach at, I'm late. My class is supposed to start in one minute, so I pretty much run into the gym and through the huge lobby. I laugh when I realize who has joined me and is running beside me.
"Hey, Ana, what's the rush?"
"I'm late for my class," I say, laughing at Elliot and continuing to run as he keeps up with me. Elliot has a membership at the gym, and we've sort of become friends in a way because we've kept bumping into each other before or after my classes for the past couple weeks. He's a little flirty by nature, but I get the feeling he's like that with everyone. He's really funny, and I like him as a friend. I hop in the elevator and he hops in next to me, mocking me and making me laugh.
"So I wanted to ask you. We're pretty much best friends now, right?" he says casually.
"Of course," I say, like it's the most obvious thing in the world, and press floor button 3.
"I'm throwing a party tomorrow. Just close friends, and their friends, and their friends, and their friends. Ya know?" I laugh again.
"Sounds intimate."
"It'll be personal," he replies quickly with a grin. "I was wondering if you wanted to come. And you can bring friends if you want. Just don't bring your entire clan of diverse women, if you don't mind," he jokes, referring to my Pilates class.
I smile. "Not a problem." I act like it's not a big deal, but I really hope he's asking me as just a friend. Nothing more. I get so anxious…
"Yeah, I'd love to go," I say decisively. "Where and what time?"
He tells me the address, and that it's at nine o'clock.
"I'll bring my friend, Kate. I think she'd really like you," I tell him.
"Really?" he asks, his ears perking up. I knew he was a flirt. I'm glad he just sees me as a friend, as I see him.
I nod and laugh as the doors open. "Anyway Romeo, I should go. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"See ya, little one!"
I teach my class, and it's an average session. It's the end of the year and all my students are more advanced now, so I thankfully get more of a workout as well. After everyone leaves, I head to the bathroom to wash my face before I head home. As I'm leaving the bathroom, I freeze in my tracks when I see a large, muscular man standing with his back to me. I feel the familiar feeling of my heart rate accelerating. It looks like… that couldn't be…
The man turns around and starts towards the elevator, and I feel myself relax. I did it again. Of course it's not him. I get so paranoid. Stupid things like this trigger anxiety. I need to stop freaking out over nothing.
I zip my hoodie up higher and sigh out, just as my phone rings. I look at the number and smile before picking up.
"Hi Daddy."
"Salut, ma belle chéri," Dad says, and I feel more calm just from listening to his voice. "I'm just calling to ask about your day. How are you?" I smile. I love my dad.
"I'm good, Dad. I'm just leaving tonight's class." I get in the elevator and lean against the wall.
"Ah yes, how's that Pilates working out for you, Annie? Has it gotten easier to teach the amateurs?"
I laugh and shake my head at him even though he can't see me. "They're very good, Dad. Most of them are naturals."
"Sont pas aussi bon que vous!" he argues, and I laugh.
I suppose it's strange that my dad and I exchange conversations switching between French and English, but I'm used to it. It's become sort of 'our thing'. After husband # 3… the incident when I was fourteen, I went to Ray, who was living in Québec, Canada at the time for work. So, I lived there with him for two years. Canada's languages are French and English, so I learned French easily in the environment of bilingual speakers. I owe my fluency in French to those two years.
I was already fluent in English and Italian, which I learned from my mother and aunt from a young age, and I studied Spanish in high school. This means I was fluent in four languages by the end of high school. It's what got me interested in translation.
"I miss you, Annie," my dad says, and my heart swells. He's always been there for me. He's always reached out and he always tells me he loves me.
"I miss you too Dad. Can you please visit me soon?"
"I would love to Annie. Or you can come to Georgia. I'm sure your mother would love to see you too," he says.
I sigh. "If she does, she doesn't make it obvious." I hear Ray's returning exasperated sigh on the phone, though I doubt he intends it to be audible.
"I'm sure she'd love to see you as well, sweetie. Tell you what; I'll start planning my trip to Seattle right now. I'm so proud of you."
I smile from ear to ear as I get into my cab. "Thank you Dad. I should go now, I'm headed back home."
"I love you! Call me soon."
"Love you Dad."
I hang up and smile. He may not be my father by blood, but he sure is by heart. He was my mother's second husband, and was there when my mother wasn't. He was there when she didn't care.
I arrive at Kate and I's apartment and drop my keys on the table, flopping onto the couch where Kate is sitting watching the Bachelorette and looking a little more like herself.
"You seem better," I say, smiling at her.
"I feel better. It's probably your motherly charm mixed with watching hot guys on TV that stitched up my immune system."
I laugh. "Glad to hear it."
"So, you didn't say much about the interview yesterday. Bad news." Oh no.
"What?"
"I lost the recording device."
"Kate?" I exclaim. "Are you serious?"
"Relax, I'm sure I'll find it soon. Besides, I read over his answers to the questions that you wrote down, and they seemed good. No answer for the gay one though?" Kate quirks an eyebrow at me and I cover my face.
"Oh yeah, I meant to confront you about that. You don't ask a person about their sexuality Kate! It's an invasion of privacy, and it shouldn't matter anyway."
Well, it actually does matter to me. Though I'm completely in support of any type of sexual identification, Christian Grey's non-answer to that particular question left me feeling depressingly pessimistic.
I'm usually not this way about guys. In fact, I go out of my way to steer clear of them altogether as much as I can. I get anxious around men a lot, because of the incident with husband # 3. And I'm weak for that. But I can't control it, and that makes me feel even weaker. That's why I've never had a boyfriend, with the exception of Parker Oakens in first year, but that lasted a week before I freaked out and broke it off. It was a peer - pressured relationship that Kate forced, anyway.
On a serious note, though, I worry about my future. Will I always be like this?
Anyway, back to my point. At the interview yesterday, I was completely caught off guard by Christian Grey. He is so incredibly handsome. I should have looked up a photo of him before doing the interview. Maybe then I could have avoided embarrassing myself by staring.
I was entranced by his intense, dark gray eyes. They intrigued me in a way I can't explain. He overall was just the epitome of hotness, handsomeness, male beauty… just attractiveness in general. Plus, he had copper – brown curly hair that just added to the handsome factor. He was tall and built; I could tell even though he was wearing a business suit.
My point is that I've never felt this way before. I've run the other way from possibly attractive guys for the reasons I explained. But Christian Grey was different… I couldn't run away because he was drawing me towards him.
"Earth to Ana! You there, hot cakes?" I look up, realizing I've been totally tuning Kate out.
"What?"
"I asked what he was like. Was he mean? Everyone says he's super scary."
"No, he wasn't mean," I say, confused by the question. "He was kind."
"Kind?" Kate spits. "Not once have I ever heard the word kind in the same sentence as the name Christian Grey."
I tilt my head and frown at her. "You don't know him."
"And you do?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. How does she always seem to know everything about me? She already suspects I've got a stupid crush on Christian Grey the CEO. And she's absolutely right. Me, Ana Steele, a crush?
"That's not what I meant," I reply, flustered.
"I know, Ana banana," she says, giggling a bit. "He is super hot though. You and I can't deny that. I still can't believe you hadn't heard of him. I swear, if you weren't literally living with me, I would think you were living under a rock."
I look down at my phone, which just buzzed. It's an alert from the gym I teach at, which reminds me of Elliot and the party he invited me to.
"Hey Kate, do you want to go to a party tomorrow?" I ask her, looking up.
"Of course. Assuming I don't drop dead and this flu virus goes away between now and then, I mean," she adds. "Whose party?"
"This guy I've been talking to the past couple weeks. Elliot is his name. He invited me and said I could bring friends. I think you'll like him – he seems like your type," I say, nudging her.
"Sounds good," replies Kate with a wink.
A/N-
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lilylilac1
TRANSLATIONS –
"Sont pas aussi bon que vous!" – They aren't as good as you!
"Salut, ma belle chéri!" – Hi, my beautiful darling!