A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
"Rise and shine Seattle on this rainy Thursday morning.", I hear being blared from my alarm radio. Through my semi-awake state, I'm able to find the off button before rolling on to my back, letting the thoughts that kept me awake practically all night take hold once more. Last night was going well until Christian showed up with a possessive attitude. "I don't share what's mine." Just thinking about those words make me want to scream. Having him not only follow me home but also tangle his lips with mine was completely unexpected but not terrible. With my index finger tracing my lips, I can still feel the heat from the kiss. It's flowing from my lips to my stomach and then to my sex. That kiss!
Although staying in bed and listening to the rain all day would be nice, I convince myself to get up and start getting ready. Dressed in a pair of black capri pants and a navy three-quarter sleeve button up, I go into the kitchen where Kate is dancing around with a carton of milk in one hand and a box of cereal in the other.
"Good morning.", she grins cheerfully. "Isn't it a beautiful day?"
"Are you delirious? It's raining cats and dogs outside. How does that make it a beautiful day?" She places the milk back in the fridge and turns to me with a gleam in her eye. It's the very same look that she has when she likes a guy. "Ah, it's because of a certain guy by the name of Elliot Grey. I take it things went well for you after I left?"
"Indeed. I'm surprised that you don't have the same attitude considering you have something going on with Elliot's brother."
"I don't have anything going on with Christian."
"That's not what it looked like at the club when the two of you were talking. You were oozing sexual tension, and he coincidentally left right after you. Why is that?" Why must she be so observant?
"Why he left when he did is none of my business.", I shrug while placing my bread in the toaster. "The guy is a grown man." A very attractive grown man who makes my insides quiver.
"Who clearly has a thing for you which is something that Elliot has never seen before."
"What do mean?"
"Christian's never brought girls around so Elliot thought he was either gay or a secretive monk. You should have heard the excitement in Elliot's voice as he talked about the prospect of you and Christian. Of course, I also shared in the giddiness of you moving on." My toast pops up at the same time as the possibility that Kate filled Elliot in on my relationship woes.
"Did you tell Elliot about Bryant?", I ask. Her lack of response answers the question. "Kate, I can't believe that you told a complete stranger about something so personal."
"I didn't mean to. It kind of slipped out as we were talking. Elliot made the comment that he wanted Christian to find someone who makes him happy, and I said that I hoped for the same for you since your ex had taken away all of your smiles. I'm sorry.", she apologizes, but I'm not in the mood to listen to her excuses. It also occurs to me that Elliot was doing the same to Christian by telling about his life. I suddenly have a need to be protective of him.
"And Elliot shouldn't have given details about Christian's life either. You may like the guy, but you need to be more cautious."
"You're right, but you also need to lower your guard just a bit whether it's with Christian Grey or someone else.", she says. "You deserve to be with someone who gives you back those stolen smiles." It's hard to be mad at Kate when she's only looking out for me. I push my chair back and move over to where she's sitting. "Uh, what are you going to do?"
"Hug my best friend."
"Ana, do you have a minute?", Olivia asks from the doorway of her office. I know it's about my article which I turned in as soon as I arrived at work. Standing from my chair, I tell myself that it's going to be ok. She liked the draft so she'll like the finished product. "Have a seat."
"Is everything ok?"
"No everything is not ok. Everything is perfect. I have to admit to being a tad worried when you told me yesterday that you would have the article finished a day early, but my concerns evaporated the minute I started reading it. You wrote a detailed article which is going to going to draw the reader in. It's also going to persuade people to help with the Coping Together charity. You should be very proud of yourself."
"Thank you. I hoped that it would help bring in more support for the charity."
"I've already emailed a copy of it to Mrs. Grey, and I'm sure that she's going to love it as much as I do. Look for it in next week's issue."
Striding across the floor back to my desk, I notice that Audrey and Daniel are immersed in a deep conversation. Perhaps he's going with my advice and telling her how he feels. She begins giggling as he turns and starts back to his desk, flashing a thumbs up in my direction.
"Any idea what that was about?", Kate asks.
"Hopefully something good.", I answer. "So, Olivia loved the article."
"Duh. I told you she would. I kind of already made plans with Elliot for tonight, but I can cancel them so we can have dinner and celebrate. My best friend trumps a guy any day."
"Kate, I don't want you to bail on Elliot for me. We can celebrate tomorrow or Saturday."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." She nods and picks up a stack of pages from her desk before standing up.
"Ok. I'm going to take these pages to editing."
After she's walked away, I glance at Daniel and Audrey who are wearing matching grins. It means a lot knowing that my friends are happy, but what about me? Should I start looking out for myself more? Reaching into my purse, I grab the piece of paper with Christian's number.
"Grey.", he answers, but I remain silent, trying to find the right words to say.
"It's Anastasia. Anastasia Steele.", I murmur.
"Anastasia, I was wondering if you were going to call especially after last night, but I'm glad that you did."
"I almost didn't. You said that you wanted to talk to me somewhere more private so why don't you come to my apartment tonight. Kate's going out with your brother so we'll be alone to talk."
"Alone. I like the sound of that.", he laughs. "What time should I be there?"
"I'm not sure what time Kate's going to be gone, but why don't you come at eight?"
"Eight it is then. Laters baby." Oh my fucking god! Why did he have to say that?
After Kate leaves at six thirty to meet Elliot for dinner, I begin to get ready for my "talk" with Christian. I dress in a deep a beige sleeveless blouse and jeans while leaving my hair down. Dinner wasn't discussed, but I threw a frozen pizza in the oven in case he expects food. Of course, being the billionaire CEO that he is, he probably believes that he's above anything but gourmet food. As I'm checking the pizza, I hear three taps on the door.
"Hi.", I say when I open the door. He's dressed in a pair of jeans and a gray v-neck sweater which displays his toned biceps. Snap out of it!
"Hello."
"Uh, come in. I wasn't sure if you wanted dinner so I tossed a frozen pizza in the oven."
"What kind?", he asks.
"Pepperoni, but it probably won't meet your standards so we can skip it."
"Frozen pizza, particularly pepperoni, happens to be one of my favorite food." Crap! At the sound of the oven buzzer, I move past him and head to the kitchen, feeling him watching my every move.
"Can you grab two plates from the cabinet behind you?" He smiles that smile and reaches for the plates.
Once the pizza is cut and placed on our plates, I pour two glasses of water and lead us into the living room where I purposely make sure my seat is on the opposite side of him.
"Before we begin, I've got something for you.", he says as he pulls a folded piece of paper from the pocket of his jeans. "This is an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement. Basically, it says that what we discuss will remain between us. It's nothing personal. In the business that I'm in, I can't take chances." Even though part of me is shocked, the other part understands where he's coming from. I take it from his hand and begin to read over it before grabbing a pen from the coffee table.
"Here you go.", I say.
"Any questions?"
"You built your empire from the ground up so you're looking out for yourself which is something that I've grown accustomed to myself."
"Anastasia.", he sighs. "I want to apologize for last night."
"You're sorry for the kiss?", I ask. Do I want him to be regret the kiss which kept me awake all night?
"Fuck no. I'm not sorry at all about the kiss. I'm sorry for how I treated you at the club. I came off sounding territorial, but I apologize." He actually sounds sincere. "This entire thing is new for me.", he points from him to me.
"Can I confess something and not have you use it against me?" He drops his slice of paper on to the plate and nods. "When you first started your little campaign."
"Campaign?", he smirks, making me irritated. "I'm sorry. Go on."
"Maybe I should hit remind. I was in a relationship for three years with a guy who was my everything or so I thought."
"The bastard from the auction, Bryant?"
"Yes, that would be the bastard. I found him with another woman, the one who you embarrassed. It was a kick to the gut for me, but it was also like an awakening. If that hadn't happened, I don't know if I would have discovered how my full strength. People have been telling me that I need to move on, but I don't want to lose what I found in myself. Does that make sense?"
"It does. Bryant is a class A fucker for messing up what he had with you. He had this jewel right in front of him, but I'm going to be selfish and admit that I'm glad that he did." He shifts forward in his seat on the sofa and allows me to look deeper into his eyes.
"I like you, but I like myself more which is why I'm hesitant."
"Again, I understand, but I want you to know that you're not the only one who's scared. This thing with us is new for me."
"Before you continue, what is this thing? Are we going to be fuck buddies or what?", I ask.
"I'm not going to lie and say that I don't want to fuck you into next week." And here comes the moisture! "At the restaurant, when I offered you something to ease you, I was referring to my way of life." An ominous feeling swells in my body as I take a long sip of my water to prepare for what's to come.
"Which is?", I stammer.
"The reason this is new for me is because I've never dated women before. I'm into BDSM." Ok, I was not expecting that. "I've never had a girlfriend since all the women I've been with have been my subs."
"Holy shit! This explains the mine comment you made.", I snap as I leap to my feet. "You are barking up the wrong tree if you think I'm going to let you dominate me."
"Would you listen for a minute?"
"Why? So you can say naughty things to me in hopes that I'll change my mind? Not happening!"
"Just hear me out. That's all I'm asking."