A/N: Thank you all for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 17: Talking About the News
"I don't see why you can't stay the night."
Ana smiled sadly as she sat on the edge of Christian's bed, slipping her heels back onto her feet. "I told you why I can't, Christian. I have responsibilities back home I can't ignore."
"Your dad's still watching Ted, and they both know you're here," Christian said, an adorable pout on his face. He was still naked under the covers while Ana was fully dressed, getting ready to leave. "Why can't you just stay for tonight?"
"Because they're expecting me back, and my dad would definitely get suspicious if I didn't come back until tomorrow morning," Ana said, giving him an amused look.
"Oh come on, your dad loves me," Christian said, reaching forward to tug Ana's arm. She complied to his persistence and leaned down, kissing him on the lips. He groaned against her.
"He'd love you a lot less if he knew you'd taken his daughter's virtue. On the first date no less," Ana pulled away slightly, quirking an eyebrow at him as she smiled. Christian couldn't help but grin lewdly.
"Hell yeah I did," he smirked, and Ana smacked his arm, giggling.
"Shut up," She snickered before pecking him on the lips one more time. "I have to go."
"Wait - let me ask you something," Christian still held onto Ana's arm and pulled her closer so she was half laying on top of him, causing her to giggle again.
"What is it?" she asked coquettishly, fingering the edge of the blanket covering his naked waist.
The amusement faded from his face as he gazed into her eyes. "How was it for you?"
Ana's smile faded as well, hearing the sincerity in his voice. "Are you asking if I enjoyed my first time?"
"Yeah. I mean…" Christian reached up and scratched the back of his head, looking slightly uncomfortable, and Ana's heart melted. "It was your first time, and I wanted to make it special for you. I hadn't planned on taking your virginity tonight, and I'm just afraid I was too… overcome… by you to be gentle enough."
"Christian," Ana beamed at him before leaning in and kissing him deeply. Christian immediately responded, cupping her face in his hand before pushing his fingers in her hair.
Ana pulled away slightly, gazing lovingly into his eyes. "What we did was perfect, Christian. It was amazing and romantic and everything I ever wanted it to be. There isn't a single thing I would change about it."
Christian smiled widely, happy with that answer. "Then can I ask you another question?" he asked, bringing his other hand to her waist and pulling her closer. "Can we do this again tomorrow night? Same time, same place?"
"I'd like that," Ana said sincerely, smiling at him, and Christian beamed back. "But seriously, I do need to go now…"
"But can I ask you another question?" Christian asked, pulling her even closer. Ana laughed again, realizing what he was doing. "Can I see you naked right now?"
"Christian!" Ana squealed, trying to pull away from him. "Stop it! I need to go now."
"Alright," Christian pretended to pout, finally letting go of her. "Let me get some clothes on and I'll walk you home."
"Okay," Ana smiled, finally getting to her feet. "And then I'll see you tomorrow morning at the jobsite?"
"Absolutely," Christian smiled at her, and Ana grinned back.
~The next morning~
Ana had a noticeable glow about her the following morning, one she was sure her father noticed as they got ready for the day. Ray thankfully didn't ask Ana for details about the date during breakfast, but rather asked what time she got back last night since he and Ted had already gone to bed.
"I got back around midnight," Ana said, glancing down at her plate of scrambled eggs and toast to hide the blush in her cheeks. "We just had a nice dinner and conversation."
"Well, I'm glad you had a good time, sweetheart," Ray smiled at her. "I think it's about time you met a nice young man and started putting yourself out there."
Ana blinked, giving her father a surprised look. "Really? Since when did you care if I date or not?"
"It doesn't matter to me what you do or don't do with your love life, Annie. All that really matters is that little guy over there," Ray nodded to Ted, who was sitting in front of the TV with his bowl of cereal. "As long as you're a good mother to him, I know that everything's going to be okay. But I have to say it's nice to see you truly happy for once… don't think I haven't noticed that little smile on your face every time Christian's name is mentioned."
Ana's blush deepened, and she couldn't help but grin slightly. "I am happy," she admitted. "Christian's a great guy."
"He is, and he really seems to like you," Ray smiled at his daughter. "He's great with Ted, too. I'd say you found yourself a good one, Annie."
"Thanks Dad."
It was almost time for Ana to go to the construction site, so she quickly finished her breakfast before getting Ted ready for the day. She was bringing him to the construction site today to give her dad a break from having to watch him so much lately, so she needed to hurry if they were going to get there on time. Once Ted had gotten dressed and brushed his teeth, the two of them headed out to the valley.
The LCH building was almost done at this point. The foundation and frame were finished, and Elliot and all the workers were currently putting up the building's siding and drywall. When Ana and Ted approached the site, however, she couldn't help but notice Christian was nowhere to be seen. She gazed around the area, feeling a little crestfallen.
"Hey guys," Elliot approached her and Ted, grinning broadly. "Good to see you two. So how was your date with Christian last night, Ana?" He gave her a suggestive grin, clearly wanting to know if she got lucky.
"It was fine, Elliot," Ana said firmly, pulling Ted closer to her, reminding him there was a child present. "Christian said he would meet us here this morning though. Is he here yet?"
"I guess not," Elliot said, gazing around the construction site. "I'm sure he'll be here soon. Come on, there are a few things to go over today before we put up the rest of the siding…"
Ana and Ted followed Elliot over to Andy, who was looking over some blueprints. The three adults all began discussing the logistics of getting most of the building's walls done today while Ted (who Ana remembered to put a hardhat on) played with a couple rocks and sticks nearby. Before Ana knew it an hour had passed without Christian showing his face at all, and she couldn't help but start to feel worried something had happened.
Just as she was about to call him, however, she saw his SUV pull up and park on the side of the road near the jobsite. Christian and Taylor both stepped out of it, and Ana felt immediately relieved.
"Hey bro," Elliot greeted his brother as he and Taylor approached. "Where've you been this morning?"
"Sorry I'm late. I got a phone call this morning," Christian explained apologetically. "It's actually something I need to talk about with you and the whole crew. Do you have a megaphone or something I could borrow?"
"Sure, just a sec."
Elliot hurried over to the foreman's trailer to grab the megaphone, and Christian walked over to greet Ana and Ted.
"Hey baby," Christian smiled, kissing Ana on the lips. "Hey Teddy."
"Hi," Ana said, feeling a bit surprised by the smile on his face. "What's going on?"
"You'll see," Christian grinned, pecking her on the lips once again.
Elliot returned with the megaphone, and Christian took it, walking a few steps away from the others so he could speak through it: "ATTENTION EVERYBODY."
Most of the construction crew turned at the sound of his voice, and some of the others using loud equipment were quickly told to stop. Christian waved so they would all come closer, and they all began to crowd together near him.
"Can everybody hear me?" Christian spoke loudly, bringing the megaphone away from his face, and the construction crew all nodded. "Alright, I only need a minute of your time. Earlier this morning, I received a phone call from the producers at KOMO Seattle Local News, and they said they'd like to do a story about our reconstruction efforts here in Easton. Around noon today, a camera crew and reporter are going to come by to interview me and get a few shots of the jobsite before filming the main part of town. Just be aware there's going to be some cameras around for a few hours today - you can keep doing your jobs, just try not to get in their way while they're here. Alright?"
The crew all nodded and murmured their agreement of that. Ana beamed widely at Christian, now understanding why he was late this morning. The Seattle local news actually wanted to do a story about him! She wasn't surprised though, since it was a truly amazing thing Christian did for their town. It was precisely the type of 'feel-good' story local news stations liked to report on.
The construction guys soon dispersed and Christian walked back over to Ana and Ted. Ana couldn't help but move forward and throw her arms around Christian's neck, kissing him on the lips.
"Christian, this is amazing," she exclaimed happily. "The local news wants to do a story about you!"
"Well, it's more about Easton's reconstruction," Christian said fairly, though he smiled too. "But yeah, I was surprised to get that phone call this morning."
"This entire town's reconstruction wouldn't have been possible without you," Ana said seriously. "That news crew probably wants to hear all about how you saved Easton after the storm. It's a great story, and I'm sure everyone in town would agree you deserve to be recognized for what you did. I'm so proud of you."
Christian gazed at Ana for a moment before smiling, the tender expression in his eyes making Ana's heart pound. He wrapped his arms around her waist before pulling her close and pressing his lips to hers in a sweet kiss, and Ana happily kissed him back.
"Would you be willing to show me how proud you are of me, baby?" Christian pulled away slightly and whispered in her ear. "Maybe later tonight?"
"Christian!" Ana giggled, quickly pulling away to make sure Ted hadn't heard what he said. Luckily, Ted had run off with Elliot nearby, who was showing him all the trucks and equipment on the jobsite. "You're lucky Ted didn't hear you say that."
"You're right. My apologies," Christian smirked, letting go of her waist. "Shall we get to work?"
"Lead the way," Ana grinned up at him. Christian took her hand in his own before they walked together over to where Elliot and Ted were.
Sure enough, around noon that day several large vans and SUVs with the KOMO News logo on them pulled up on the road near the jobsite. One of the vans had a large antenna and satellite dish sticking out of the roof, and once they parked, the satellite began to extend upward at least ten feet into the sky. Multiple people in matching windbreakers and badges stepped out of the vans and onto the jobsite, conversing with one another. A few of them were even carrying large cameras and recording equipment.
Suddenly, the back doors of a nearby SUV opened up and a gorgeous blonde woman in a royal blue dress and high heels stepped out. She was holding a microphone and a thick file folder in her hands, and when she approached Christian and Ana on the jobsite, her poise and confidence made it clear that she was the news reporter for this story. Ana vaguely recognized her face from a couple billboards she often passed by when driving down the highway.
"Hello, you must be Christian Grey," the blonde woman smiled sweetly at Christian before holding out her hand to shake. "My producer spoke with you over the phone. I'm Kate Kavanagh, field reporter for KOMO Seattle News."
"Nice to meet you," Christian shook her hand. "I'm Christian, and this is Ana Steele."
"Hi," Ana smiled at her.
"Why hello," Kate Kavanagh smiled and shook Ana's hand. "You and your construction crew are doing some amazing work out here, Ms. Steele. If you don't mind, our camera guys are just going to get some shots of you all working before I'm going to interview Christian."
"Oh, I'm not a part of the construction crew," Ana shook her head. "I just live here in Easton."
"Oh, fun! Well you must feel so lucky to have a guy like Christian to rebuild your home for you," Kate smiled compassionately, but there was a certain condescending tone to her voice that made Ana raise her eyebrows.
"Actually, my home isn't -"
"You know, all of us at KOMO News think it's truly inspirational what you did for the people in this town, Christian," Kate overrode Ana, addressing Christian with a bright smile. "My crew is just getting set up at the moment, but we'd like to take a few minutes to talk to you about what you did and how much of an impact it's had on Easton. We're probably going to do our interview over there in that small clearing in front of the jobsite - my producer will just come over and grab you once we're ready."
"Sounds good," Christian nodded.
Kate smiled before walking away toward one of the cameramen. Once she was gone, Ana and Christian glanced at each other.
"Wow, she was rude," Ana stated, and Christian gave a humorless chuckle.
"Hopefully she won't be here for too long," he said, though he sounded doubtful. "Are you and Ted going to stick around?"
"Yeah, I'm going to keep working with Elliot and Andy since the crew's finishing up the drywall and siding today. I should probably go grab my son before Elliot gets sick of him," Ana said, glancing over at them. Elliot was was currently giving Ted a piggyback ride while running around in circles, and Ted was squealing and giggling in delight.
"Actually, I think Elliot just made a new best friend," Christian said amusedly, and Ana laughed.
"I guess I have to go spoil their fun," Ana said, and she stepped toward Christian before pecking him on the lips. "I'll come and see you after your interview?"
"I look forward to it," Christian smiled lovingly at her, and Ana smiled back.
~/~
Over the next hour or so, Ana tried her best to concentrate on the work being done for the construction, but her eyes couldn't help but stray over to Kate Kavanagh interviewing Christian nearby. They were both standing in a clearing about fifty yards away with a camera, and Ana couldn't help but notice the way Kate was speaking to Christian - she had a big smile on her face as she held the microphone to his face, nodding and laughing coquettishly at everything he said. Every so often she would place her hand on his arm, a clearly affectionate move that made Ana's blood boil. Christian's body language was rather stiff, and he didn't reciprocate her friendly intimacy - whether or not he was truly annoyed by Kate's flirtatious behavior, however, Ana couldn't tell. She hated that she had to watch all this from afar.
Finally, the interview was over, and Kate and her team left the jobsite to head for the main part of town. Christian headed back over to where Ana and the others were, and Ana had a hard time hiding the grumpy expression on her face.
"Thank God that's over," Christian sighed once he stopped in front of Ana. He looked heartily annoyed. "I can't believe the nerve of that Kavanagh woman! She was asking me questions about the whole Elena Lincoln debacle from last year, and asked how it may have affected my decision to help Easton. As if that even matters!"
Ana didn't say anything, though she felt a pit form in her stomach at the thought of Kate Kavanagh questioning him about his sexual history. She watched as Ted ran around near the foreman's trailer, picking up sticks and rocks for his little collection.
"Ana?" Christian noticed her silence and took a step toward her, placing his hand on the small of her back. "What's wrong?"
Ana shrugged, finally glancing up at him. "I guess I just didn't like seeing that Kavanagh woman fawning all over you like that. The way she was smiling at you and touching your arm while she was talking to you… it was just gross. How could a professional news reporter behave like that toward someone she was interviewing?"
The pout in her voice was noticeable, and Christian laughed, causing her scowl to deepen. "Well, I'm glad you think it's so funny," she said grumpily as Christian chuckled in amusement. He pulled her into his arms.
"Baby, I'm sorry," he said, still smiling as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "You're just cute when you're jealous."
"I am not jealous," Ana frowned up at him. "I just… I didn't like her, that's all."
"I didn't like her either," Christian said. "I've known women like Kate Kavanagh before - women who are brash and tenacious because they only feel validated when they're in control. You see women like that all the time in the business world… and yet none of them have ever managed to turn my head." Christian paused for a moment, gazing into Ana's eyes. "No woman has, until you."
Ana didn't say anything, though she couldn't help but smile slightly at his sweet words. He lifted his hand so he was cupping her cheek, lightly brushing it with his thumb. "You have absolutely no reason to be jealous of any woman," he said sincerely, and Ana's heart melted. "What you and I have Ana, I would never jeopardize - not in a million years."
Ana smiled up at him before leaning up and pecking him on the lips. "I know you wouldn't, Christian. I'm sorry if I was being stupid."
"You weren't, baby," Christian said, giving her a wide grin. "I actually kinda like that you're so jealous and possessive of me."
"Oh shut up," Ana smirked, smacking him on the arm, and Christian chuckled. "We should probably go and finish up with Elliot right now before we leave. I still have to get Ted home and make him lunch, and then I need to get ready for our second date tonight."
"Well then, what the hell are we waiting for?" Christian asked, and he quickly grabbed Ana's hand before dragging her over to where Elliot was. Ana couldn't help but laugh at his eagerness, happy to comply.
A/N: So now we met Kate lol. What did you think? Next chapter, the LCH construction will finally come to an end.
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