A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
"Hold up. You want to have dinner with me?" The place is kind of noisy so maybe I heard wrong, and he said something completely different.
"Yes Anastasia, I'd like to have dinner with you. Why don't we exchange numbers so we can make plans?", Christian answers while nodding for us to move further away from the stage which is good thinking considering I don't want a scene.
"First of all, I haven't agreed to dinner, and secondly, I don't give my number out to strangers." Instead of accepting my words, he seems to be amused by them.
"Ah, but if we have dinner, we can get to know each other and not be strangers.", he replies with a smug grin. "Don't think of it as a date but as two people sitting down for a meal while having a conversation. I saw you eating earlier and have heard you speak so you can't use the excuse of not knowing how to do either one." One side of my brain is telling me to say yes while the other side is telling me to stick my no dating policy. But it's not a date.
"I'm so excited that Christian had the highest bid on you.", Mia says excitedly as she comes rushing over with the guy who won her. "Jacob and I are going out tomorrow night. Any idea when your date might be?"
"Mia, I'm afraid that Anastasia doesn't want to have dinner with me."
"Why not?", she pouts. "Everyone else is going out."
"It's her decision so if she doesn't want to then there's nothing I can do about it. I can't change her mind." Mia and Jacob are staring at me like I've just ate the last cookie in the cookie jar. I hate feeling like the bad guy. "We should get back to our seats.", Christian shrugs with a defeated look before turning away. I did want the full experience.
"Fine.", I tell him. "I'll have dinner with you but only if I pick the place."
"I'll do you one better, you can pick the day and time as well." My terms, I like it.
"I'd like to go ahead and get it out of the way so how about tomorrow night at seven? Have you ever been to Paseo?" Maybe the night won't be so bad if we go to one of my favorite restaurants.
"Yes, I've actually been to both of their locations, and the food is excellent at both. Let me have your number so I can call if I need directions to your place."
"I should clarify myself. We'll meet at the the Paseo on Freemont Avenue at seven so there's no need for you to have my number or address." He stands in silence for a few seconds, pondering whether to accept the stipulations.
"I'll agree to your terms. Now shall we get back to our seats and enjoy the rest of the evening?"
"Let's go."
On the way back to our table, we pass by Bryant and Rachel who are now having a conversation with an older couple. Bryant's acting skills are lacking as he pretends not to notice me, but Rachel's watching every move that I make.
"Oh Ana, it's nice to see you again.", Rachel purrs. "Our scenery is much different from the last time we saw each other."
"Rachel, don't.", Bryant scolds. "We're all here to have a good time so don't ruin it."
"Enjoy the rest of your evening." Christian choses this moment to step to my side where he motions for Rachel to lean closer to him.
"You've got a little something in your teeth.", he says in a low voice. Sure enough, she has what looks like a piece of brussel sprouts in between two of her front teeth. I'm dying of laughter on the inside.
"You'd better go and take care of that." Rachel gives me a glare before rushing away, leaving Bryant behind, but Christian and I don't stop and keep him company. "Thank you for that.", I smile at Christian. "It was probably the highlight of my night."
"You mean being won by me wasn't? I'm wounded.", he sighs.
"You already told me that you were able to get some good things for your article, but you haven't said if you had fun last night.", Kate says while we're having lunch at Red Mill Burger. Now that she's feeling better, her appetite has returned so she suggested that we grab a burger.
"I had a nice time despite the fact that Bryant and Rachel were there." She drops her fry and shifts forward in her seat to hear the details. "It wasn't as bad as you're probably thinking. There was no hair pulling or name calling."
"Damn. I've been waiting on a good catfight. Just kidding. Seriously, how did go with seeing them?"
"Bryant kind of cornered me while Rachel was mingling. He had the nerve to ask me how I'm doing. Can you believe that? I more or less put him in his place. Then he wasn't too amused when he saw me on stage for the auction." Crap! My omission wasn't intentional, but I also knew that Kate would push for details...all of the details.
"You told me there was an auction, but it seems that you failed to mention your participation."
"They needed one more girl to be in so I agreed. The look on Bryant's face as the bidding went on was priceless."
"The bastard was having an "Oh fuck" moment.", she says.
"I may regret asking but what is that?"
"It's when you make a choice that you think is the best but then something happens and causes you to go "Oh fuck." He couldn't stand seeing those other guys going for you."
"Too bad. He made his choice when he decided to start screwing Rachel behind my back.", I say as I swirl my straw around in my glass.
"They say you never know what you have until it's gone. Back to the auction, who won you?"
"Um, Christian Grey.", I mumble. "Before you start planning my wedding, I want you to know that I only agreed to dinner with him because I felt like it was the right thing to do. We're meeting for dinner tonight at Paseo."
"I knew that you would change you mind about not dating. From the photos that I've seen of him online, he's one sexy man." This is exactly why I didn't want to tell her.
"I'm still sticking with the no dating decision because tonight isn't a date. It's simply dinner."
Dressed in a yellow and white striped sundress and white heels, I arrive at Paseo at six forty-five even though my non-date with Christian Grey isn't until seven. If I'm doing this on my terms, I want to make sure that I'm the first to arrive, but my plan is a bust when I see him standing inside. There may be a slight dampness at the sight of him dressed in a white button up dress shirt, jeans, and a black leather jacket. He looks nothing like a CEO. Turning around, he meets my gaze.
"Anastasia, it would seem that I'm not the only one who prefers to arrive earlier than scheduled.", he says. "You look lovely."
"Thank you."
"I went ahead and got a table if that's ok."
"Of course.", I answer as he nods towards a table near the back of the restaurant. I give him a brief smile and then begin walking to the table. As soon as we sit down, a young blonde waitress comes to the table with two menus.
"Good evening and welcome to Paseo. I'm Laura, and I'll be you serving you tonight. What can I get you to drink?"
"I'll have water with lemon."
"Water with lemon sounds like a nice choice. I'll have the same.", Christian replies. Laura hasn't taken her eyes off the time that she's been at the table, but he hasn't paid her the least bit attention. "We're going to need some time to look over the menu. Thanks."
"All right. I'll be back with your waters.", she says, turning on her heels in disappointment that she went unnoticed.
"Did you not want something stronger than water? Wine perhaps?"
"Why? Were you hoping that I'd get drunk so you could have your way with me?" I cock my head to the side with a raised brow.
"Not at all. I happen to like my women coherent. I just thought that you might want a glass of wine to help you relax."
"I'm relaxed." He slides a menu across the table for me, but I shake my head and push it away. "I already know what I want."
"That makes two of us.", he says with darkened eyes. Neither of us say anything as we stare at each other for what feels like eternity. The moment is broken by Laura who has returned with our waters.
"Ok, here are your waters. Have you decided what you're having?"
"I'm going to have the Caribbean scallops. Anastasia?"
"I'll have the same.", I answer as Laura writes down our order and walks away. For some reason, I find myself nervously biting my lip. Why am I nervous?
"Your lip biting is very distracting.", he says. "We might as well make the most of the evening so why don't you tell me a little about yourself. I'd like to know more about Anastasia Steele."
"There's not much to know. My birth father died when I was a baby so I have no memory of him. My mom's second husband Ray is who I've always thought of as my dad. He's been there for me through good and bad, and I don't know what I'd do without him. My relationship with my mom isn't as strong as I'd like, but her living in Georgia with her new husband doesn't help things. Still, we talk and email."
"I understand where you're coming from. I'm close to my family especially my mother, but I'd like to have a closer relationship with all of them." What seems to be a tinge of sadness is on his face as he looks down into his glass.
"You can always improve things with them.", I suggest.
"Maybe. Why don't we get back on track? Do you enjoy working at the magazine?"
"I love working there. Writing has always been a passion of mine so when I got the opportunity to write for a living, I took it. Olivia's an amazing boss. She gives me advice and encouragement when I feel like I'm running on empty. I assume you get the same feeling with your job."
"I do love it even though it's stressful and involves long hours. I can't remember when I last had a real vacation. Sure I get to travel all over the world, but ninety-nine percent of my time is spent in meetings which are boring as hell."
"What do you like to do when you have free time?", I ask as our food arrives. "How do you relax?"
"I like to sail and fly among other things.", he answers with a sly grin. "I could share some of my interests with you some time if you'd like." There's something mysterious about him, yet, I can't stop the aching that I've got between my legs. What in the hell is wrong with me?
"And now the million dollar question, why did you really bid on me at the auction? And don't give me the it was for charity or to make Bryant upset excuses. There's more going on than you're telling me."
"Bryant. Hmm. What is your connection to...Bryant?", he asks.
"He's someone who I used to date, but he's no longer in my life.", I shrug, taking a bite of my scallops.
"Judging from the way he was looking at you, he wants back in your life. I can't say that I don't blame him."
"Once again, you make a cryptic comment. Mr. Grey, one last time, why did you want to have dinner with me?"
"The truth?" Finally!
"Yes, please."
"I want you."