A/N:Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
"Here's your halibut sir." Our waiter at Lecosho places Christian plate of pan seared halibut in front of him before setting my order in front of me. "And here's your cavatelli. Can I get you anything else?"
"No. We're good but thank you.", Christian replies. The waiter smiles and moves over to the table next to us.
"Which film was your favorite?" Taking his linen napkin, Christian wipes the corner of his mouth and starts contemplating my question about the film festival where we saw two feature-length films and three short films.
"They were all great, but I'm going to have to say Desolate was my favorite." The film he's referring to is about an elderly man, Alexander, who after outliving his entire family struggles with being alone. "Even though it was scripted, it felt real. The emotions and the images were captured perfectly."
"That was my favorite as well. I think a lot of the screenwriters and directors have bright futures ahead of them."
"Speaking of bright futures.", Christian smiles after taking a bite of his glazed carrots. "Is it just me or does it feel like our connection keeps getting stronger?"
"Oh I can assure you that it's not just you.", I reply with a shy grin. I know that he's referring to the milestone we shared last night when he allowed me to touch his chest and back for the first time. "Thank you for last night."
"You've already thanked me several times, but there's really nothing to thank me for." I lean into the table more and stare straight into his mesmerizing grays.
"That's not true. You broke down your walls and let me in. I was beyond moved. I have to admit when you first started talking about getting closer I thought you were going to ask me to move in or something along those lines. Silly, huh?"
"Not in the least bit. Ana, I've got a confession.", he says as he places his fork down. "When I asked you to keep some of your clothes at Escala, my reasons were somewhat selfish. I asked with hopes one day you would move in. I've stopped myself a few times from asking because as much in love as we are, I know that we're not quite there yet." The idea of moving in with Christian is exciting, but like he said, we're not there yet.
"Living together would be nice, but I think we have a little more learning to do."
"I agree. So, is your mom still visiting next week?"
"Yeah. She called this morning and said that she should be in Seattle late Sunday night. Olivia overheard the conversation and offered to give me the day off, but I've got to get the film festival article in by next Thursday. Besides, my mom has some friends here in town who can keep her company while I'm at work."
"I suppose our sleep overs are going to be off while she's here.", Christian pouts.
"It might be best. Kate said that she might stay with Elliot so my mom and I can have mother, daughter quality time. It's a nice offer."
"You don't seem too sure." Tearing off a piece of my roll, I shake and then nod my head. "If that's not a look of uncertainty then I don't know what is."
"It's not that I'm not looking forward to seeing her. It's just...", I stammer. "My mom is one of those mothers who likes to nitpick. No matter how I'm wearing my hair, she always has a negative comment about it. Then there's the way I dress."
"Even so, I'm sure the amount of love your mother has for you is tremendous."
"Change of subject, you're still planning on helping us move Ethan tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah. Since he's wanting to start early, I was thinking I could stay over. That's if my girlfriend will let me." With a seductive grin, I brush my left foot along his leg. "I take that as a yes."
"Ethan, where do you want this box?", Elliot asks. He's standing in the living room doorway with a large box which he's struggling with.
"Just put it anywhere.", Ethan replies. Elliot shrugs and drops the box down in front of him, thus blocking the doorway. "Well, anywhere except for there. It's in the way so you're going to have to move it."
"I'll move it but not with my hands That thing is heavy." Elliot glances over his shoulder at Christian who's carrying a box. "Uh, Christian, could you do your brother who you adore more than anything in the world a favor and pick up that box?"
"The adoration he has for you is nothing compared to what he has for his sweet sister.", Mia giggles as she pushes Elliot out of the doorway. He holds his arms and begins to fake injury. "You're such a wimp."
"Am not.", he counters.
"Are too."
"Knock it off you two or I'll send you both to time out.", Christian mutters to his siblings. He reluctantly picks up the box which Elliot dropped. "I swear I can't take them anywhere."
"Ethan, you still need more furniture.", Kate tells him.
"I'll have the place fully furnished eventually. It's no big deal.", he replies, placing a lamp on a coffee table that Max gave him. Christian walks over to him and hands him an envelope. "What's this?"
"This is my housewarming gift for you." Ethan narrows his eyes on the envelope and slowly begins to open it. His eyes bulge when he sees the contents of the envelope.
"Christian, um, wow...I don't know what to say. This is generous. Actually, it's beyond generous. I appreciate it very much but can't accept it." Ethan tries to hand the envelope back to Christian, but Christian waves him off.
"I knew that you would need to decorate your place, and since I have no idea what you're considering, I thought you could take the money and buy whatever you need. Although we started off on the wrong foot, I now consider you a friend."
"Thanks." Everyone watches as Christian and Ethan shake hands. "I'm going to put this to good use." Max pulls out a piece of gum and accidentally drops the wrapper on the floor. Ethan immediately glares at his boyfriend. "Please pick up the paper. I'm going to keep this place spotless." Placing her hands on her hips, Kate cocks her head at her brother. "I know that's ironic coming from me considering how I made messes in your apartment. I learned my lesson though."
"Good for you.", Max says after picking up the wrapper. "By the way, I was just testing you to see what your reaction would be. You passed."
"I made a tray of sandwiches earlier. Why don't I go and get them?", I suggest.
"I'll go with you.", Christian tells me.
"You don't have to. I'll be back before you even have a chance to miss me." He snakes his arms around my waist and kisses me softly.
"I already miss you.", he whispers. "Don't forget Sawyer." I roll my eyes and kiss him one last time. Standing in the hallway is Sawyer who's been helping with the move as well. He looks up from his phone when he hears me approach.
"I'm going to get a tray of sandwiches from my apartment. Christian naturally wants you to go with me."
"All right.", he smiles.
When we get to my apartment, I'm shocked to see my mom talking to Ms. Herron. I can't hear their conversation, but I'm sure Ms. Herron is fishing for something that she can use as gossip with other tenants.
"There she is.", Ms. Herron nods at me.
"Mom, hi."
"Hi sweetheart. I got here and knocked but no one answered, and then your sweet neighbor told me that you were helping Ethan move."
"Yes. He's just moving to the floor above us, but we've been helping move him in. Thank you Ms. Herron for keeping my mom company."
"It was a pleasure. Your mother is wonderful. Ladies, I'd like to stay and chat, but Saturday's my cleaning day. Have a nice visit.", Ms. Herron says. She waves and disappears into her apartment, leaving me with my mom and Sawyer. I can tell that she's waiting for an introduction.
"Mom, this is Luke Sawyer. Sawyer, this is my mom Carla Adams." Sawyer moves forward and extends his hand to her although she seems hesitant. "He's my security."
"Security? Is everything ok?", she asks.
"Everything is fine. Christian just felt it would be best to have someone keep an eye on me."
"Ah, it's nice to meet you Luke. Is Christian helping with the move?" I sense that she's avoiding having me ask why she's here a day earlier.
"He is. I came down for just a minute to get some sandwiches. Let me get the door open so you can get your luggage in." I pull my key from my pocket and slip it into the lock. After the door is open, Sawyer grabs her suitcases and follows us into the apartment. "Mom, not that I'm not happy to see you because I am, but I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow night."
"I'm sorry. Some of Bob's colleagues who are attending the conference wanted to get some rest and sight see before the entire conference hoopla began. I was going to call you, but I thought it would be nice to surprise you. Judging from the look on your face when you first saw me, I'd say you're very surprised."
"Sawyer, I'll take the suitcases." My mom scans her eyes around the apartment as if she's inspecting it to see if it's up to par for her. Once I've got her suitcases, I carry them into my bedroom. For someone who's only here for a few days, she seems to have packs a lot. I turn and see her looking at a photo of Christian that I've placed next to my bed. "That's Christian."
"Ana, he's very handsome."
"I completely agree. You can sleep in my room while I take the fold out in the living room."
"Thank you.", she sighs. "I would sleep on the fold out, but you know how my back bothers me at times."
"Ana.", Christian says from the living room. My mom's tilts her head so she can see into the room better.
"That's Christian. Why don't I let you meet him." She smiles and walks with me into the living room where Christian's waiting. "Hey."
"Hi.", he murmurs. "I was getting worried so I came to check on you. Sawyer told me that you were in your room with your mother." He turns his attention to her and flashes his heart stopping smile. "Mrs. Adams, I'm Christian Grey. It's so nice to finally meet you." My mom's face is flushed while she takes his hand in hers.
"Call me Carla, and I'm also glad that we're finally meeting. Ana speaks highly of you. She sounds like a completely different person. Bryant really did a number on her."
"Mom, I don't want to hear that name. It's in the past, and I'm in the present with a guy who I'm hopelessly in love with. No one else matters."
"I couldn't have said it better myself.", Christian adds.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. You've changed your hair." I run my hands through my low ponytail and shrug. "It's gotten longer since the last time I saw you. It suits you." I toss an "I told you so" glance at Christian.
"Would you like to go upstairs and see everyone? I'm sure Kate and Ethan would be thrilled. You can also meet Christian's brother Elliot who's dating Kate as well as Max, Ethan's boyfriend."
"I would love to go, but I'm kind of tired. Would it be all right if I stayed here and rested?"
"Of course Mom. Maybe the three of us can go out to dinner later if you're feeling better."
"I'd like that very much especially since I'm looking forward to getting to know Christian more."
"Kate and I are going to go and hang out at my place after we take Mia home. What do you guys have planned?", Elliot asks once we're finished with the moving.
"We're going to see if Carla's feeling rested enough so we can go and have dinner.", Christian answers as the elevator stops on our floor.
"It was fun today.", Mia says. "Well, the lifting heavy boxes wasn't exactly fun but spending time with everyone compensated for it."
"It was nice, wasn't it?", I smile. I refused to let thoughts of Elena, Bryant, or Rachel interfere with my day. Christian takes me by the hand and leads me out of the elevator. "Have fun."
"Do you think you're mom's up to going out?", Christian asks when we get to the apartment.
"I'm not sure.", I murmur. "I can't put a finger on it, but she acted like more was going on than being tired."
"I'm sure it was nothing." I open the door and see that my bedroom door is still shut.
"I'm going to go and check on her." Christian settles on the sofa while I make my way to the bedroom. I'm about to knock when I hear my mom talking.
"This is what we both agreed on Bob. A little time and distance might be just what we need.", she says. I shouldn't be listening, but from what she's saying, she and Bob are split up. That would explain why she has som much luggage and her odd behavior.
"What's going on?", Christian whispers from behind me. I place my finger to my mouth and shush him.
"No Ana thinks I'm here while you're at a conference. I don't plan on telling her that we're actually going through a rough phase." Too late, you just did.