As soon as Ana stepped out of her car, she knew she had dived head-first into the full wrath of Kate Kavanagh and her miniature side-kick. Both of the blondes glared at her, their arms crossed and an exasperated expression present on their faces. Ana rolled her eyes. Surely Kate had talked him into making that stance before she arrived.

Ana hopped up the porch steps, enveloping Jaxson in her arms. She placed a loud, wet kiss onto his cheek. He groaned, using his small, stubby hand to wipe her kiss away. "Gross, Mommy," he complained. She scoffed. "What? You just taste so delicious," she exclaimed, trailing kisses along his cheeks and neck. He squealed, giggling as he softly pushed her away.

"Oh, no, no, no," Kate started, shaking her head and sucking her teeth, "We're still mad at you."

Jax nodded his head in agreement, re-crossing his arms. He pouted, his lower lip quivering. "Mommy always late."

Ana sighed, guilt sinking in. She ran her fingers through his hair, cupping his face gently. "Mommy's sorry," she whispered apologetically, leaving another kiss onto his cheek. She scooped him up, placing him on her hip as she turned towards Kate.

Smoothing things over with her would not be as easy. "Did you know I'm going to be late for work… Again?" Kate said, huffing angrily.

"I'm sorry, Kate. I was studying and time passed me by…" She trailed off.

Kate looked at her suspiciously, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Was someone at your apartment?" She asked dubiously, narrowing her eyes at Ana.

Ana waved her hand dismissively, "No one of importance." She stepped down off of the porch, leaving Kate to get ready for work. "I'm really sorry, Kate," she murmured, guilt and sadness present in her voice, "It won't happen again."

Kate rolled her eyes, "How many times have you said that?"

"What do you want for dinner, Baby?" Ana asked, peering at Jaxson's face through the rearview mirror. He was strapped into his car seat, coloring sloppily in his coloring book. He was deeply focused, his right eyebrow furrowed as he stared down at his book.

"Macdownals," he responded, not lifting his eyes off of his drawing.

Ana frowned, less than pleased with his answer. She knew that for a boy Jaxson's age, proper nutrition was key; however, she was always too busy to cook a proper meal. Fast food was the norm for them - not that she liked it that way.

"What about something healthier, honey?"

He shrugged, not at all engaged in the conversation. He switched out his red crayon for a blue one, coloring enthusiastically onto the paper. Ana took advantage of his distraction, turning into the local gas station only a block from their house. There'd have to be something slightly healthy there… Right?

"Be right back, baby," Ana stated, turning off the car and removing the keys from the ignition. She closed the door, locking the car behind her and scurrying into the convenience store. As she browsed the store's tiny selection of food - taking quick glances at Jaxson every thirty seconds - she picked up two fruit cups and two packaged salads, hoping Jax wouldn't be a picky eater that night. She grabbed a box of granola bars - his favorite - just in case he was feeling argumentative.

She paid for their small meal, her shopping bag in hand as she pushed open the store doors. She had made it halfway to her car, when suddenly, she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She jerked her head to the right, narrowing her eyes in the blue-purple light of the approaching twilight. She tried to shrug off the whole ordeal, blaming it on insomnia, but she could've swore that she saw a black figure move as soon as she turned her head back around.

She hoped it wasn't who she thought it was.

She quickly unlocked the car door and placed the shopping bag in the backseat next to Jaxson, who was still coloring intently, and hopped back into the driver's' seat. She tried to calm her racing heart, but panic and anxiety quickly spread its way through her body.

Calm down, Ana, no one is after you…

"Are you cold, sweety?" She asked, turning her attention to Jaxson, who was obviously more important than her paranoid thoughts. She peeked over her shoulder to look at him. She was afraid she had left him too long, even though it had only been a couple of minutes.

"Unh uh." Jax shook his head, turning away from his coloring page to look at her. "Jax wants nuggets," He stated, his doe eyes pleading as he stared at her.

Ana groaned. He was definitely going to be argumentative that night.

He took another look at his watch, his jaw tightening as he saw another minute go by. Was she going to stand him up? He ran a hand through his hair, anger slowly creeping its way up his spine.

"She'll be here, Sir," Taylor assured, his eyes scanning over their surroundings.

Christian released a quick breath, curtly nodding his head. He knew Taylor was trying to help, but he really did not need his employee's sympathy at the moment. It wasn't as if Christian were dying to have this date - he simply wanted to charm Ana so that he would have a better chance with her. He didn't need her, he wanted her - and he could have any submissive he wanted. If anything, Ana should be lucky that he was interested.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Grey...

"We'll be leaving in ten minutes," Christian announced, giving Ana a few more minutes to show up. If Christian hated anything, it was waiting. He made sure to always be punctual - it was one of the many virtues he valued. He expected the people he brought into his life to mimic his actions, and so far, Ana had not done too well. She'd need serious training if they were to have a future together.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Ana called out, jogging towards Christian and Taylor. She stopped once she was in close proximity to the both of them, placing her hands on her hips. "Usually I rely on microwave time, but our apartment building had a power shortage so I had to check the clock on the living room wall, which I didn't even know was five minutes late until I checked the time on my phone and I realized I only had, like, ten minutes to get to the park on time, but then I had to drop off Jax…" Ana rambled, out-of breath. She stopped and took a deep breath. "It was a huge mess," she finished, smoothing down her hair and crossing her arms.

"Who's Jax?" Christian asked, still irritated at the fact that she didn't show up on time.

Ana bit her lip, shrugging her shoulders. "So, do you wanna take a walk around the perimeter?" She asked, changing the subject. She turned towards Taylor, just noticing his presence. She frowned and took a slight step back. "Hello," she murmured, puzzled.

"Oh, this is Taylor, my -" Christian broke his sentence off before answering, not wanting to divulge the fact that he needed a security team. Ana still didn't know about his personal life, nor did he want her to. For some reason, it was refreshing for someone to not know how much he was worth. To Ana, he was just another common guy. "- close friend," he continued. "I ran into him while I was waiting for you," Christian lied.

Ana nodded, giving Taylor a warm smile. She stretched her hand out, offering a handshake. Taylor took her hand, shaking it firmly. "I'm Ana," she informed.

"Taylor. Nice to meet you, ma'am," he responded. "I will see you later then, Mr. - Christian," Taylor said, stumbling over his words. He was so used to being formal with Christian. He walked away, but was simply going to find a discreet spot to keep an eye on Christian. As he settled in about one hundred yards away, near a busy coffee shop, he called back-up to position themselves at different locations.

"Mr. Christian?" Ana asked, her voice riddled with humor.

Christian shrugged. "Taylor is a little… Weird."

"Well, birds of a feather flock together," Ana jeered, bumping Christian slightly with her elbow.

He didn't respond, since she actually had a point. As he thought more about it, however, he remembered the girls Ana hung around with at her workplace.

Hopefully she wasn't like them…

"Shall we start walking?" He suggested, pushing his negative thoughts out of his mind. He was enjoying the exchange between them. If he were completely honest, he was enjoying the whole quest he had embarked on. His submissives were usually chosen from a file; he didn't have such up-close interactions with them like he was having with Ana. He was also never as intrigued by them as he was with Ana.

The whole experience was refreshing.

"Sure," she replied, following behind Christian.

"So…" he started, "what would you like to talk about?"

"I don't know - you're the one who asked me on the date," she said, "you choose."

Christian peered over at her, his eyebrow raised. "Really? You already know what I'm going to ask, then."

Ana pursed her lips, shoving her hands into her pockets. "I suppose I do… I guess I'll subject myself to your prying for an hour or so."

Christian nodded, walking aimlessly. He stared up into the mid-afternoon sky, contemplating what he should ask first. No matter how hard he tried, he doubted that she would ever admit the real reasons for her stripper lifestyle - that was up to his team to discern. So, he decided to completely throw her off track.

"What's your favorite color?" He asked, staring straight ahead.

Ana snapped her head towards him, wondering if he was serious. "Really?" she questioned, incredulous.

Christian nodded. "I've already explained to you… I'm interested."

Ana looked down, slightly blushing. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, sighing quietly. "Orange," she said, "as you can tell by my apartment."

Christian smirked. "Okay, your turn."

"My turn for what?" She asked, confused.

"I ask one, you ask one," he explained.

"Oh, okay… Well, what's your favorite color?"

"White."

"Technically that's not a color-"

"Please," Christian interrupted, "let's not have this argument."

Ana laughed, nodding in agreement. She couldn't remember how many times her and Kate had spent bickering with each other over whether white and black were actually colors.

"Okay, okay," she conceded.

"Favorite movie?" Christian inquired, kicking a pile of leaves as they navigated around errant kids and dogs on leashes.

"27 dresses," she responded.

Christian grimaced. What a terrible movie.

"Middle name?" She asked, blowing into her hands. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea for her to suggest a park date during the middle of winter in Seattle.

"Don't have one. Are you cold?" He asked, preparing to shrug off his coat.

"Oh, no, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

Ana smiled. "That's sweet, but I don't think your coat will warm up my hands."

"We could stop walking and go inside," he suggested, "there's plenty of shops."

Ana pursed her lips, looking around at their options. There was a coffee shop, a bakery, some boutiques… "Hmm... Well, I am in the mood for a pastry."

"So I end up feeding you, after all," Christian murmured.

"Favorite song?" She asked in between bites of her pastry.

"Stairway to heaven," Christian stated, his face completely serious as he peered at Ana from behind his coffee mug.

"You're joking?" Ana asked dryly, trying to hold back her laughter.

Christian shook his head. "I'm not proud of the choices I've made," he muttered.

Ana laughed, her voice twinkling like wind chimes. She licked her fingers, which caused Christian to quickly look away as he tugged at his pants.

She constantly made him feel like a hormonal 15 year old.

He cautiously turned back towards her, thankful to notice that she no longer had her fingers between her lips. He didn't know what it was about her that drove him crazy. She looked similar to all of his other submissives, but she... Had a certain charm.

"I think it's cute," she admitted, "I wouldn't expect someone like you to listen to a song like that."

Christian placed his arms on the table, leaning forward with a dubious expression on his face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're… Gruff. You look more like a silent, classical type."

"I'm that too," he confessed, "I prefer concertos, but ballads will always have a special place in my heart."

Ana smirked and bit her lip. Christian reached forward, pulling softly on her chin. Her lip fell from between the prison of her teeth. "Please don't do that," Christian whispered.

Ana inhaled quickly, the back of her neck prickling. "Why?" She asked quietly, her cheeks flushing pink.

"Because it makes me have thoughts… That I shouldn't be having at the moment."

"They're just thoughts," she pointed out, "they can't hurt anyone."

Christian leaned back. "When I have thoughts, they turn into reality."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"That depends on what your version of 'bad' is," he responded.

"Okay, now you've got me intrigued," she admitted. "C'mon, elaborate."

"If we're airing out my secrets, it's only fair to divulge yours too."

Ana sighed, looking away. "I don't think I can do that."

"And why not?" he questioned, "is it really that serious?"

She shrugged, running her hands over her forearms. She huffed, feeling slightly annoyed. "Maybe - maybe not. The real question is why you're so worried."

"I'm not," he declared.

"Then stop asking," she challenged.

He groaned, running both hands through his hair. "You see, I would if you just told me."

"I don't know you, you expect me to trust you?" She asked, incredulous. "My God, you are entitled."

"That's not what-"

"I have to go," Ana stated abruptly, standing up and gathering her belongings. She placed her tote bag across her shoulder, a harrowed and anxious expression on her face.

"Are you sure?" Christian asked, following her lead and standing up. He looked over his shoulder, trying to find out what Ana had seen that affected her. "Are you okay?" He questioned.

"Yeah, fine," she replied, walking past him to find the exit.

He grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "Seriously, what's wrong?" He asked, searching her face for any signs or clues as to what was happening.

"Nothing, I-" she stated, but then stopped. She took another peek out of the window, her breathing starting to quicken. "I… Just forgot I had to pick something up. That's all. Raincheck?" She suggested, ripping her arm from his grasp. She turned back around, quickening her pace.

Before she left, however, she turned on her heel and acknowledged Christian. "Actually, I don't think a raincheck would be wise," she insisted, "I have a lot of shit going on and I'm definitely sure you don't want to deal with that - and honestly, I don't think I have the strength or time to care about anyone other than myself and… Family."

She scurried out of the door, briskly walking across the park. Christian whipped out his phone, pressing 5 on his keypad. The dial tone rang once before Taylor picked up his phone, answering curtly. "Sir?"

"Follow her," Christian snapped, pressing the end button on his phone. He watched as Ana half-ran away from the shop. Every few seconds or so, she would peer over her shoulder, as if she was being watched.

What the hell is this girl hiding?

Christian snapped out of his reverie when he heard a phone buzz quietly underneath the table. He leaned down, scooping the phone off of the floor.

She must've forgotten it...

Christian knew it was an invasion of her privacy - but when had he ever cared about anyone's personal space? He unlocked her phone - thankful that she didn't have a password installed - and went through her messages. The most recent one had came in a minute ago, which was probably what caused her phone to vibrate. As Christian read the message, he became even more confused.

Friday, December 4, 2014

Ethan

I deserve to see my son, Ana.

I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are appreciated.

-Xoxo