One of the reviews I received requested another two chapters posted back to back and I was more than happy to oblige. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter. It is special to me because I am from Seattle. All of the information about Pike Place market is accurate =)
Fuck! I knew I should have gone to work earlier! Ana had broken into a sweat, trying to think of an excuse as to why she was well enough to be out with Christian, but unable to come in to the office. She knew that her cheeks were bright red, giving her the instant appearance of guilt.
What time was it? Why was he even here? Ana glanced at her watch only to realize that it was almost a little past noon. Ana groaned inwardly at how close to the market her job was; Jack had obviously gone there for lunch.
Christian stepped toward Hyde, effectively towering over the smaller man. "I told her to call in today, Mr. Hyde. I felt that she was too sick to go to work, but as you can see she is feeling much better now. If everything goes smoothly you should expect her to return on Monday."
No way was Jack letting her off the hook that easily. "I just wanted to remind Ana of all of the work I need her to do. As good as the outdoors are for a…cold… sometimes work is an even better remedy," he leered at her direction. "I think that we can keep her nice and comfortable at the office."
Christian looked ready to pounce. Ana stepped in between them, hoping that their fun day wouldn't be ruined by the unfortunate encounter. "Thank you, Jack. I will see you on Monday."
She took Christian's hand and led him around her boss, taking care not to let him shake her grip loose. When Ana reached the sidewalk leading to the market she turned around to see if Jack had followed them, but he was gone.
She let out a sigh of relief and felt Christian breathe easier, too. She doubted that his anxiety was for the same reason as hers (had he ever worried about losing his job?), but it didn't matter. She gave him a bashful smile and saw the corners of his mouth twitch in response.
He leaned closer to her and she could feel his breath on her neck. "I am sending Sawyer to work with you from now on," he whispered. "That asshole is dangerous, Ana, and I won't have you in danger."
"No, I suppose you won't. Sawyer can follow me to work if you want, but I am driving myself," she negotiated. Christian narrowed his eyes at her, obviously thinking she was splitting hairs over how much independence she required. "Deal with it, Grey," she muttered in response.
Christian had been to the market a few times in his life, but this was by far his best experience at Pike Place. Ana had insisted that they watch the fish throwers. The all-male team took turns receiving orders from the customers and yelling them to the crew in the back, who would respond by tossing the specified fish in the air.
It really did take some skill to coordinate the act between so many individuals and Ana was captivated by the process. One of the men had noticed her watching and had bid her to come closer. She had nearly reached the edge of their display when a giant, ugly fish popped out, sending her back into his arms.
The fishermen all laughed at her reaction. The fake fish was apparently a trick used to fool tourists and small children. Well, tourists, small children and his Ana, gullible as she was. He loved the feeling of her being in his arms and the sound of her surprised laughter was music to his ears.
They spent about an hour walking around, looking at all of the stands. Each vender had something different and colorful to offer. Christian had snuck away at one point when Ana was ordering for a fruit crepe and had returned with a stunning bouquet of flowers. Being in the market with her made him feel so… normal, like they were just two regular young people in love.
After they had covered the market by foot, he led her down to the boardwalk overlooking the seafront. Yes, this was perfect bliss, except that there was something weighting on his mind. "Ana?" he whispered in her ear.
She responded, by looking up at him, her eyes full of love and happiness. He struggled to put into words what he was thinking. "I never want to be without you again. That pain was too much for me. I need to know you'll stay, no matter what."
Ana let out a deep breath. "I feel the same way, Christian. I still feel like you were the first one to leave. You got mad… and my punishment was your abandonment."
Christian had not thought of his escape as actually leaving until now. He pondered the issue for a moment before responding. "I wasn't leaving permanently, though, Ana. Otherwise I would have asked you to leave Esclava. Surely, you can see that."
"I guess I can," she admitted. "At the time it seemed like you were being passive-aggressive, you know? Showing me the door through your absence. When Sawyer told me I had two options, to stay at your place or go, I took that as meaning you were waiting for me to leave."
Christian frowned. If Sawyer had put it like that, he could defiantly see how Ana had come to that conclusion. This was something that he should have addressed himself and leaving it to his staff had been a mistake.
"If you ever need some space again, please just talk to me, Christian. Let me know so I can apologize if I've done something wrong or you can apologize for doing something wrong and we can move on without all of this crap happening."
Her request made sense, but Christian still felt sick about her hasty departure. "I like what you're saying, but it doesn't mean you might not leave again. I have pushed you to that point twice now and you still don't even know half of the shit I have hidden in my closet. I need some other kind of assurance. Something that tells me you won't leave me for anyone else."
They had stopped walking in front of one of the green park benches, so Ana sat down, obviously deep in thought. "What can I do, Christian? I have given you my word, but that isn't enough. How do I make you trust me?"
Christian didn't need to think twice about his answer. He bent down to meet her eyes before speaking. "Marry me, Ana."