Ana
"Baby are you ready to go?" Christian wraps his arms around my waist causing me to jump in surprise.
I look over my shoulder and see him staring at me intently.
"Yeah, I'm ready," I smile.
I am standing by the windows in the kitchen of the shelter. It is the night of the party, and we are set to leave and meet up with Elliot in a few hours.
The house where his new lady friend lives is an hour away from here, so Christian and I need to take a few buses to get there. Elliot offered to give us a ride there, but we decided just to take the bus, so that if we wanted to leave at any time, then we didn't have to rely on other people to drive us back.
I look down at my outfit and try not to squirm. The area that we are meeting Elliot at is in a wealthier neighborhood and I do not own anything extravagant. Apparently the girl Elliot met is well off and comes from a very rich and influential family.
I turn around in his arms and stare up at Christian nervously.
"Do I look okay?" I bite my lip and tug my shirt down.
I am wearing blue skinny jeans, with a white camisole and a matching colored cardigan and flats. We really don't have any nice clothes, and these are the only thing that I could find in the donation room.
"Baby, you look beautiful. Don't stress over what you are wearing. You could wear a paper bag and you would still look breathtaking," he says.
I nod and wrap my arms around his neck. He smiles and kisses me on the side of my mouth. He is wearing a white V-neck shirt, black jeans and a leather jacket. His copper hair is slicked back, making him look utterly sexy.
"Okay. I'm just nervous for some reason," I shake my head.
"Why?" he frowns.
"I don't know. Just going to a party to meet people that we don't know," I shrug.
"Do you want to stay here? We don't have to go if you don't want too," he tenses.
"No. It's okay. We told Elliot we would go, and I don't want to stand him up," I shake my head again.
Christian nods and lets me go, "Okay then. Let's go.
I take his offered hand as he leads me out of the shelter to the front doors. We are about to walk outside when I suddenly remember something.
"Wait," I halt.
Christian stops and looks over his shoulder confused.
"The shelter closes in an hour. Where are we going to go after the party?" I frown.
I didn't think about that. The whole day I have been thinking about what I was going to wear and not where we were going to stay tonight.
"Elliot said he will let us crash at his house, or we can stay at his girl's house. Her parents didn't mind if we stayed over since it was a long drive for us," he explains.
I nod my head and let out a sigh of relief.
"Okay, good," I smile.
He smirks and leads me out of the front door towards the bus stop.
After a long and tedious bus ride, we have finally make it to our destination.
We walk off the bus, and I look around the area before me. We are in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, which is about twenty miles away from downtown Detroit.
I look around in wonder and awe. The town is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. The only one I've seen.
Christian takes my hand and we walk along the sidewalk, past various businesses and restaurants. When we get to the end, Christian pushes the button for the crosswalk as I spot the welcome sign to my left.
City of Bloomfield Hills
Established 1932
I smile as we walk along the crosswalk. I cuddle to Christian's side as he places his arm on my shoulder. He kisses my hair as we walk along the sidewalk to the house we are supposed to meet Elliot at.
It's still chilly out, and there is a cold breeze that surrounds us. I cuddle to him closer and continue to look at my surroundings in awe.
We walk for about thirty minutes until we get to a big metal gate at the end of one of the streets. In front of the enormous black gates, there is a big metal cursive G in the middle. Christian walks over to a keypad and punches in a code that he has written down on a piece of paper. I frown briefly as the gates suddenly opens. Christian takes my hand again and we walk along a smooth gravel road with perfectly cut green grass on both sides of the driveway.
We walk for what seems forever until we curve around to the left and spot a huge house in the distance. The house is big, and it looks like most of it is made entirely out of glass. I gulp and look over at Christian and his face remains impassive as the continues to guide me along the road. The perfect green grass seems to go on forever with tall trees that line the back and left side of the house.
As we get closer to the house, I am able to see more of its perfect features. The structure is made up of redwood, and tall beams that support it. What dominates the house is the huge glass windows that surrounds the front of the house. My mouth drops open as we get closer to the massive oak front doors.
Expensive cars litter the driveway. We weave through the cars and I hear laughter and music coming from inside. We stop at the front doors and Christian knocks, and we wait.
"Welcome. You must be Christian and Anastasia?" a tall man in a butler's outfit answers the door.
"Yes sir," Christian nods.
"Come in, please," the man gestures us in.
We walk inside of the house and I immediately begin to sweat. This house is big and intimidating. This has got to be the largest and grandest house that I have ever seen.
I gulp once more as I walk over to the foyer doors. The man who answered the door, comes over and opens it, and tells us to have fun. We nod and walk through the entrance and come face to face with at least fifty people milling about.
Christian takes my hand as I look around the room in awe. The living room has an enormous sunken section in the middle where some stairs leads to two couches with oversized brown and light green pillows. The walls are a light beige color, with light hardwood flooring. The décor is modern with expensive artwork that hangs on the crisp beige walls. There is an extensive wood and metal staircase that leads to the open room on the second floor.
I am distracted by a black and white sculpture that dominates the wall, that I didn't notice when Elliot had walked up to us. I look over at his smiling face, and immediately spot a small brown-haired girl on his arm beside him.
She is smiling politely at us. She is beautiful. I bite my lip and see her look towards me after Elliot introduces her to Christian. She politely smiles at him before she offers me her hand.
"Addison, this is my friend, Ana. She is Christian's girlfriend," he says.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you," she smiles showcasing her dimples.
I like her immediately. I shake her hand and introduce myself.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you as well. You have a lovely home," I smile.
She beams at me. She is really quite beautiful. She is shorter than I am, even in her five inch heels. She is wearing a knee-length blue dress with lace covering the bottom. Her short brown hair is styled in soft waves that frame her face. Her kind brown eyes are locked onto mine as she talks animatedly about how her and Elliot met. I smile and listen intently while Elliot and Christian talk beside us.
We talk for another five minutes before an older sophisticated couple walks over to us. I look down at my feet when they stop beside Addison. The sandy blonde haired woman smiles warmly at her and gives her a peck on the cheek. Christian suddenly tenses beside me. I frown for a second then stare back at the couple in front of me.
They are dressed in similar matching outfits. The woman is wearing a cream-colored sweater dress with matching shoes, her hair is in an elegant chignon. The brown haired man beside her is wearing a cream-colored cable-knit sweater and black slacks. He looks oddly familiar. Is that streaks of red in his hair? I squint, as they smile politely at us as Addison introduces them.
"Christian, Ana. These are my parents, Grace and Carrick Grey," she says gently.
I pick up my head and Mrs. Grey gives me a motherly smile. I breathe a sigh of relief when she suddenly beams at us.
"How wonderful to meet you. Welcome to our home," she says while taking me into her arms.
I hug her back and suddenly have the urge to cry. Her loving arms and her kindness causes a few stray tears to leak from my eye. I wipe them away hurriedly before she pulls back. She cups my face for a second with her hands before letting go. Her eyes shining with warmth.
"Hello, there young lady. Thank you for coming," the man smiles politely.
Okay, I have definitely seen him before.
"Thank you for having us," I say shyly.
"And who is this young man, Elliot?" Grace gestures towards Christian.
Christian stands up straight and holds out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am," he says impassively.
Grace frowns at him before a smile breaks out on her face.
"It's very nice to meet you too, and none of that ma'am nonsense. Call me Grace," She waves her hand and smiles.
"Grace," he gives her a tight smile.
She smiles and steps back. Mr. Grey comes forward and hold out his hand. Christian stares at him in disbelief. I frown in confusion when I see Mr. Grey's stare at him in shock.
Addison frowns, "Daddy? Are you okay?" She places her hand on his shoulder.
He comes out of his trance and clears his throat. "Of course, Sweetheart. It is nice to meet you, Christian," he says.
"Yeah," Christian murmurs and shakes his hand.
I place my hand into his and give it a squeeze. What the heck was that all about?
Grace tells us what they do for a living. She is a pediatrician and Carrick is a lawyer. She touched briefly on Carrick's stint in the military when he was younger. Christian freezes at the last part. I look up at him, confused once more. What's wrong with him?
Before Grace can go any further, Christian blurts out, "Where you ever in Texas at one point?"
Carrick looks over at him confused. He stares at Christian for a few beats before he looks down.
"Yes, I was," he murmurs.
"I…I…Elliot, can you point me to the drinks, please," Christian stutters.
Grace looks at him in concern while Elliot frowns.
"Uh, yeah. The bar is over there," he points.
Christian nods and hurriedly marches over to the bar. I frown deeply and before I can go over there to see if he is alright, two men walk over to us.
I gape at Christian when he suddenly slams a shot back. I am distracted once more when Addison introduces the two men beside her.
"Ana, these are my big brothers. Jack and Grayson Grey," she beams.
I look up and see one of them walk over to me and hold out his hand. My breath hitches as I get a good look at him. He's breathtaking.
He is wearing a dark gray suit, a crisp white shirt with no tie. His dirty blonde hair is slicked back, causing his bright blue eyes to pop. I blush when a small smirk appears on his lips.
"Nice to meet you, Miss?" he says smoothly.
"Steele," I stutter.
"Miss Steele," his voice sounds Australian.
He takes my hand and brings it to his lips and kisses my knuckles softly, all the while staring at me. I gulp and blush crimson. Oh, good god.
In my peripheral vision, I see Christian stomp over to us and yank me away from the hunk before me. Grayson pulls back and smirks at Christian.
I blush when everyone looks at us in amusement.
"Christian. The boyfriend," he hisses and shakes Grayson's hand.
"Pleasure," he nods.
Christian squeezes my waist causing me to wince momentarily. I bite my lip and look up to see the other man come forward with a bored expression on his face. He is shorter than Grayson wearing an all-black suit. His reddish hair is unruly and pushed back from his face. His blue eyes stare into mine with disinterest.
"Jack Grey," he says arrogantly.
"Hello," Christian says in annoyance.
Jack looks Christian up and down with disgust. What the fuck is this guy's problem?
Jack stands up straight and puts his hands behind his back, "What do you do?" he says impassively.
"All sorts of things," Christian scans the room in boredom.
"Cute," Jack smirks and suddenly walks away with his head held high.
I roll my eyes and Grace and Carrick look embarrassed. Grace looks up at me with an apologetic expression. I smile to tell her that it's alright. What an ass bag.
"Sorry about that. My brother is extremely rude sometimes," Addison chuckles.
"It's alright," I tightly smile at her.
"Well, thank you for coming. Please, make yourself at home. We are going to go mingle. It was nice to meet you both," Carrick says while holding out his hand to Grace.
She takes his hand, and they walk off leaving the five of us alone.
"Well, I am also going to mingle. Christian and Ana, it was a pleasure to meet you," Grayson says as he buttons up his suit and nods at us.
I give him a pathetic wave as he gives me a million-dollar smile and gracefully guides himself into the crowd. I see a few girls that are my age stare and giggle at him as he walks by. He doesn't even notice them.
Christian squeezes my waist again causing me to look up at him. His gray eyes are glaring at me. I bite my lip and give him a little shrug. Hey, I can look, can't I?
"Don't worry. He gets that all the time," Addison giggles.
I laugh with her and Elliot smirks at Christian.
Jack comes back over to us and whispers something in Addison's ear. She squeals and jumps up and down.
"Sorry, my friend and her parents are here, so I am going to go greet them," she says before bouncing off towards the foyer.
Elliot tells us that he is going to go with her and walks off, leaving us with Jack.
Jack smirks at us and takes a drink that he holding in his hand, the other hand is tucked away in
his pant pocket.
"So what do you and your brother do for a living, Jack?" Christian say impassively.
"I'm in construction. My own company, Grey Construction, and my brother owns his own business as well. Grey Enterprises," he says arrogantly once more.
"Cute," Christian throws his words back at him.
He sneers at him and huffs before taking a long sip of his drink.
"Yes, my brother and I are very successful business men. In fact," he points at us while digging into his pockets.
He takes out his black leather wallet and produces a plain white card and holds it out to Christian.
"Let me know if you need work. We are currently hiring for a new cleanup crew. Also, I think my brother is looking to hire in the mail room," he smirks.
Christian's grinds his teeth and glares at Jack. I gape at him. Fucking asshole!
He shrugs innocently and takes back his card. He then takes out his vibrating phone from his pocket and looks up at us.
"Well, this has been fun. Please excuse me, I have business to attend to," he smiles.
I roll my eyes as he turns on his heel and barks into his phone, "Grey."
"What a prick," Christian snorts.
"Yeah, um, have you noticed that they have the same last name as you?" I say distracted.
Christian freezes again and shakes his head, "So? A lot of people have that name."
I frown at his tone. He is glaring at me, sending me a message that he wants me to drop the subject. I sigh and look around the room. I see Addison walking over to us with a tall blonde girl. My eyes widen when I instantly recognize the girl who is standing before me.
"Well, we meet again," she smirks. Can this night get any worse?
AN: Here is the next chapter. Sorry for the delay. I am sure you all know that we had to evacuate due to Hurricane Matthew and we drove to Virginia and stayed for a week. We came back Tuesday with no power and we finally got it back on yesterday so we were finally able to write. The power is back on but the internet is still going in and out, and I can't get pinterest to work so I will hopefully get the rest of the pins up for this chapter when the internet is fully restored.
Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I hope you all liked the chapter, and just to clarify, no there will be nothing going on between Grayson and Ana. It was harmless. Like she said, she can look and admire from afar. Heck, if I met a Chris Hemsworth look-alike (That is who I pictured him to look like), I would definitely act the way Ana did. :D