She closes her eyes, and for what feels like an eternity she collects her thoughts. But then she looks up, her clear blue eyes meeting his; sucking the last of the oxygen in his lungs away.
She nods. "Yes. I'm over him."
"Are you sure?" his voice trembles.
"Well... As sure as I can be. I dream of you. Not him. I want to spend time with you. Not him. I came here last night, I didn't go to him." She slides her arms around his body and squeezes his butt. "I slept with you last night. Not him."
He can't help the grin tugging on his lips, her words are like a beautiful symphony. Thank fuck she's over that bastard. "So you only want me for my body?" He asks pretending to be insulted, and kisses her on the lips.
"Maybe there's more to you than just a sexy body..." She smiles onto his lips. "I like what you have in here too." She lays her hand against his chest, right over his heart.
He presses her against the mattress and kisses her deeply, her fingers twist in his hair as she holds him close. But their bubble bursts as Elliot bangs on the door.
"Coffee's done."
Christian groans and reluctantly rolls off her.
"Come on, I'd like you to meet Elliot."
He grabs a pair of boxers and a t-shirt and pauses, looking at Ana shuffling her delectable derriere from the bed and searching for her clothes. He clears his throat to catch her attention. "I apologize for any crude remarks or comments he might make. Elliot has very little manners on the best of days and hung over... Well... Just heads up, ok?"
Ana gives Christian a tilted smile as she walks up to him. "I can handle it. But thanks for the warning." She tiptoes and pecks him on the lips.
Elliot smiles like the cat that's got the cream as he stirs sugar into his coffee. He's barely descent, sitting there in his light blue boxers and nothing else. Christian shakes his head and sighs as he leads Ana to the table.
"Ana, Elliot. Elliot, Ana." He waves his hand to and fro.
"Ah, the mysterious Ana." Elliot says and leans back to take a good look. He gives her a shameless one over and nods approvingly. "I have to admit I thought Christian was making you up, or at least exaggerating, but damn - he wasn't."
"Would you like some coffee?" Christian asks Ana while doing his best to ignore Elliot's comment.
"Sure. With milk, please," she answers sweetly, before returning Elliot's stare. She fakes a frown. "I'm sorry, but Christian hasn't told me about you. Or wait, has he? He mentioned an obnoxiously selfish guy that has slept with half of the women in the northern hemisphere."
Elliot grasps his chest overdramatically. "Oh, that's harsh."
"But not far from the truth." Christian points out, and places Ana's coffee cup in front of her.
"Weren't you supposed to find somewhere else to spend the night?" Christian changes the subject and sips his coffee, grimacing as the liquid burns his tongue. "Or did the Elliot charm fail?"
Elliot leans back and puts his hands behind his neck.
"Pfft... I got what I came for, and besides, I didn't want to see what she looked like in the morning... If you know what I mean?"
"Stylish." Ana quips. "So wham bam thank you ma'am?"
Elliot laughs and shrugs, unfazed by the tone of her comment. "Pretty much. It's not like I'm looking for a relationship, so why give the wrong signal?"
Elliot pauses and sits up.
"Speaking of which... What's the situation with you two? You know relationship-wise?"
Christian and Ana glance at each other and then their focus goes back to the coffee cups in their hands, neither say anything.
"Touchy subject, huh?" Elliot breaks the awkward silence.
"We're taking it slow." Christian says, looking up at Ana, gazing her reaction.
"Slow… Yeah, right…" Elliot shakes his head.
"I know, we haven't exactly had the conventional start… You know with the pregnancy and all…" Christian says.
Ana's eyes shoot up in surprise. Christian shrugs. "I told him."
"Yeah, he spilled his guts last night. I'm so sorry for what you guys went through." Elliot says.
"Does he know about…" Ana asks leaving the name unsaid.
"No."
"What don't I know?" Elliot asks.
"Nothing." Christian says, shaking his head, giving Elliot a look to shut up.
"I'm just out of a really complicated relationship." Ana says, taking the pressure off Christian. "So taking it slow, works for me." She smiles and catches his hand. Christian leans in and kisses her gently. The kiss deepens and both forget that Elliot even exists, never mind that he is sitting three feet away.
"You guys, just a quick question. Am I getting another showing? Could you amp up the volume a bit, since I didn't quite catch all the moaning last time." Elliot says, effectively bursting their bubble.
"Fuck you, Elliot." Christian grins at his best friend.
Half way through their breakfast, Christian's phone starts ringing. It's not the ringtone for Ella, so it's probably some work related issue.
"I should probably get that. Please be civil." He says while passing Elliot.
"Grey," Christian answers the unknown number calling.
"Finally, I've been trying to get hold of you." The line crackles and the sound is so distorted Christian barely recognizes the voice.
"Bastille? Where are you? I can barely hear you."
"I'm at St. Bart's… Man, do I have news for you…" The line crackles and goes quiet for a moment.
"Bas? Hello?" Christian looks at his phone to see if the call has been cut. The call duration numbers are still rolling, so obviously it hasn't. He lifts the phone back to his ear just to catch a few words between the distortions.
"Mia… dive… de…..plosion."
"Bas… I can't hear you." Christian yells into his phone.
"Che.. r… email."
Those are Bastille's last words before the line finally drops for good.
Christian lays down the phone, his hands trembling slightly and his throat suddenly dry. Bas wouldn't be calling unless there was some news about Mia and Hyde.
"Chris?" Ana lays her hand on his shoulder, snapping him from his thoughts. "What's wrong?" Elliot gets up and walks over until they are all standing in the hallway next to Christian's bedroom.
"That was Bas." Christian says, looking up at Elliot who knows exactly what the phone call means.
"Who's Bas?" Ana asks.
"Bastille is a private detective." Elliot answers as Christian doesn't get the words out. "He has been looking for Christian's ex and…"
"And my ex-partner who embezzled the company leaving me up to my neck in debt." Christian fills in, gritting his teeth at thought of Hyde.
"Are you serious?" Ana asks, looking back and forth between Christian and Elliot whom both nod.
"So has he found them?" Elliot asks.
"I don't know. The fucking line was so bad I only caught a word here and another there." Christian gets up and walks to the couch picking up his laptop from the side table and opening it. "One word was clear though. Email." He clicks on the icon and as he assumed, there it is, an unread email from Claude Bastille.
The email is short, but it's enough.
I found them, not in quite the mint condition I had hoped though. Check out the attachment.
–CB
"Well? What are you waiting for? Open it." Both Elliot and Ana are sitting on each side of Christian, reading shamelessly over his shoulder.
Blowing out a deep breath to reign his nerves Christian clicks on the file.
A picture of a newspaper front page opens. The headline is all Christian reads, before he shoves the computer into Elliot's hands and stands up, walks over to the kitchen and grabs a bottle of rum from the cupboard on the left. Not even bothering with a glass, he screws open the cap and takes a swig.
Couple killed in diving accident
"Holy fuck." Elliot quickly skims the short article. "Yesterday, an American couple was found dead south of Isle Chevreau. According to the officials, the bodies have been identified as Mia and Jack Hyde. Their deaths have been ruled accidental." He reads out loud.
A few paragraphs later he chuckles. "No shit, Sherlock. You see that?" Elliot points out a line for Ana. "The US embassy confirms that the couple was wanted by the police."
Something of a laughter bubbles from within Christian. A sound so strange both Elliot and Ana look up. He takes another mouthful of rum and swallows it with a grimace.
Ana walks up to Christian, and wrings the rum bottle from his fingers. "Are you okay?" She asks, placing her hand on his cheek and looking into his eyes.
"I'm fine." He answers, sounding everything but fine.
"Are you sure? This must be shocking…"
"I've been dreaming of, and fearing the day, that they are found… Ever since the first moment I realized what they had done." He cuts her off, his forehead set to a frown, his expression filled with loathing. "I've gone through it a million times. What I would say to them. How I would beat Hyde's motherfucking ass for what he did to me. How they both would grovel, and beg me for mercy." Christian's voice breaks and he looks down, holding his head with his hand. "I wanted them to rot in jail for what they did…" He turns away, leaning against the counter with both hands, hanging his head for a moment before he continues. "But of course not. The universe gets another one on me… They were in a fucking tropical paradise until they died. No suffering, no pain, no nothing. Just one more, screw you Christian."
"So… What happens next?" Ana asks, ignoring the self-pity-fest going on.
Christian just shrugs. "I don't know."
"Well, worst case scenario would be that they've blown all the money… Which I doubt." Elliot pipes in. "Or. The money is somewhere safe, and we let the justice system do its job and return it to its rightful owner. Which means…" Elliot pauses. "You did pay off all the debts right?" He looks at Christian.
"Yes."
"Then it means, ka-ching baby! Payday my friend, pay fucking day."
Christian looks up, as the thought hadn't crossed his mind.
"If I'd get the money back… Then maybe I could get my company back as well." He lets his imagination fly. No more Tech, no more Mr. Callahan and Stacy or Tracy or what the fuck her name is with the oversized boobs. "I need to call my lawyer."
AN: Thank you for reading and reviewing!
Happy Easter to all that celebrate it, and Have a great weekend for the ones who don't!
H xx