Chapter three

The coffee shop is quiet at this time of day, apart from the odd student, nursing each cup of coffee for as long as possible. Christian has chosen a table in the far away corner in order to have some privacy, but still notices a couple of female students stealing a glance at him and giggling. Jesus, he's almost twice their age! He doesn't smile back – college girls hasn't been his thing in a long time.

He is early. This neighbourhood is hardly his normal scene and Taylor insisted on familiarizing himself with the surroundings before dropping Christian at the coffee shop. As annoying as Taylor can get with his safety precautions, he has certainly managed to keep Christian out of trouble. Nothing severe has happened since … well, since Ana left. It was as if she attracted trouble. He smiles and shakes his head. She could be so incredibly brave and stupid at the same time.

Looking at his watch he realizes Ana's will probably be here in less than five minutes. She never was in the habit of being late. Then again, what does he know? He hasn't seen her for a mind-blowing ten years.

He is not entirely sure why he is doing this. Why does he want to see Ana? When she left him … Just thinking about it still makes him feel sick. She'd promised she would never leave. She was his entire life, and when she walked out on him he actually wanted to die. At first, he had hoped that she would come back to him, she had done so before after all. But as the months went by without a word from Ana, Christian had realised that he was going to have to live his life without her somehow, and in order to survive he buried himself in his work and tried very hard to turn his love into hate or at least indifference. It didn't work, knowing that he, or what he could not give her, was the reason she left.

Christians brooding is interrupted when he sees Ana through the window, crossing the street on her bike at neck-breaking speed. The familiar pang of anger at her recklessness and lack of concern for her own safety makes itself known, but subsides when Ana enters the café. The wind has ruffled her hair and flushed her cheeks. Her blue eyes are shining. She looks ever the English Lit student who fell head-first into his office twelve years ago, and Christian stops breathing for a moment.

Locating him at the corner table, she walks over, hesitates for a moment, then sits down opposite him. Right, he thinks, what to do? Hug, kiss cheeks, shake hands? He's grateful that she decided just to sit down. She gives him a real Ana-smile though, and he relaxes; maybe she is happy to see him, despite the less than warm welcome at her house the other day. But can he honestly blame her? Of course not.

"Mr. Grey". Ana smiles at him sweetly.

"Miss Ste … Mrs. Randall, eh, Ana". Christian corrects himself, looking embarrassed. She hasn't been his Miss Steele in a long time, but neither is she Mrs. Randall to him.

"Can I get you a coffee?" she asks, but Christian stands up immediately.

"Twinning's English breakfast? Would you like something to eat? Muffin? Pie?"

"Actually", Ana smiles at him, "I would like a cappuccino. I very much enjoy coffee these days."

Christian swiftly returns with two cappuccinos, and suddenly he's grateful that they're just having coffee, and not dinner as he'd suggested. If this gets really awkward, he can always make up an excuse and cut their date short. He glances out the window at a black Audi parked by the curb, some fifty yards from the coffee shop. Taylor's on stand-by.

"So how is Sara?" Christian asks as he sits down, carefully placing Ana's cappuccino in front of her. "She really is very lovely."

"Yes, she is. And quite taken by you, I might add. You still know how to charm'em, huh?" Ana jokes, making Christian throw a quick involuntary glance at the college girls - but fortunately they're finding something on one of their smart phones immensely funny, and seem to have forgotten all about him.

"But please, tell me about yourself," Ana continues. "I know your company is doing well, you're more often than not all over the financial news sections."

"Thank you, I manage." Christian says curtly. As a conversational topic his work seems wholly uninteresting right now. He wants her to tell him about herself, her life as it is now, but he has to be careful. Thing is, he knows quite a bit about her already. Following Christians instruction, Welch has always kept an eye on Ana, where she's been living and working mostly. Not wanting to give in too much to his stalking tendencies, and to protect his own feelings for that matter, Christian would only ask Welch to give him a brief yearly update. He doesn't want Ana to know this, but he doesn't want lie to her either.

He looks at her, her big blue eyes looking back at him. His chest tightens – she's ten years older, but she still takes his breath away. If anything, being a woman becomes her. At the same, he wonders how much is left of the girl he used to know. Conflicting emotions soar through him – he missed her so much, she hurt him so much. Suddenly he realises that none of them has said anything for a while.

"You're staring", Ana says, obviously uncomfortable, but somehow Christian finds this funny – or maybe it's just nerves – and he starts laughing. "I guess it's hard for me to believe that you are actually in front of me, after such a long time", he says, still laughing. To his relief Ana joins in.

"I know, this feels really weird." She looks at him intently. "You really do look very well. Why do good-looking men always become even more handsome the older they get?" She cocks her head to one side and Christian's heart jumps.

"Well, if you are in fact including me among those OLDER men that just keep on getting hotter, I thank you. And if the same rule does not apply to women, then I guess there are exceptions. You look very beautiful, Anastasia."

Ana suddenly finds her cappuccino very interesting. When she raises her eyes again, her look is determined. "How's your family? How are Grace and Carrick?" Christian smiles.

"They're both really good. Grace still works at the hospital, Carrick has retired early. He spends his days alternating golf and volunteer work. He loves it. Mia lives in Sydney with her husband and two kids and Elliot … well, obviously you know about Elliot."

"What about you, are you seeing anyone?" The question sounds innocent enough, but Christian thinks he can spot a momentary glint in Ana's blue eyes. But it might just be wishful thinking.

"Uhm, in a way" he answers slowly and is just about to continue when he sees Ana's horrified expression. He frowns in confusion, but then it dawns on him. Oh my God! She thinks he meant he has a Submissive!