I had some time sitting by the pool today so I thought I would give you another chapter. :-). I'm still on my phone so hopefully there aren't too many mistakes.

Chapter 8: 2nd Time's the Charm

CPOV

I think this was the longest week ever. But Saturday is finally here and Elliot and I are meeting the girls for brunch at Saint Helens.

I pick Elliot up and we make our way to the restaurant. He's quiet but I know he's dying to ask me about Ana. I decide to head him off before he has a chance.

"Ana and I are friends. That's all." Although if we had it my way she'd be a lot more than that.

"Bro. I didn't say anything. But as your older brother I am glad to see you found someone. Even if it's just a friend. I was worried you were lonely up there in your skyscraper." Elliot is a pain in the ass but he's always had my back. When I dropped out of Harvard and mom and dad went ballistic he was there to support me.

We park the car on the street and head into the restaurant. We have a reservation but we're early anyway. We take a seat at our table. The waitress comes around to take a drink order. She's really laying it on thick for Elliot. He's got the classical good looks and uses it often to his advantage. I order a black coffee and mimosas for the girls. Elliot orders a cranberry juice.

I look up from the menu and see them coming through the door. Ana looks simply gorgeous. She's a natural beauty, with hardly any makeup needed, wearing a maxi dress and sandals. Her hair is down flowing past her shoulders and she has on just a couple of bracelets. We stand to greet them. Elliot gives Kate a bear hug and a kiss that's almost too indecent for public. I greet Ana with a kiss on the cheek. As I lean in I whisper in her ear, "You look stunning, Anastasia."

Ana blushes and her breath hitched. Her endless blue eyes looking right into my soul, "Thank you, Christian. Same to you." We put in our order and we start to talk. At first it's just small talk but then Elliot tells the girls about when we were little and our paternal grandparents were visiting. They scolded us for something so we were mad. We emptied our piggy banks and gave them the money telling them we wanted them to take a bus home because we didn't want them there. Needless to say we were grounded for quite some time when our parents found out.

Kate then tells a story about when Ana went with the Kavanaughs to a beach house in Malibu. Apparently the girls and Kate's brother Ethan were hanging around the pool and had a good amount of cocktails. Kate's mom called them in the house because she had lunch ready at the kitchen table. The three of them were making their plates when Ethan moved the chair that was behind Ana so he could reach the napkins. She didn't realize it and went to sit down. She fell flat on her rear and ended up with a face full of potato salad. Ethan was laughing so hard he fell down. And somehow the two of them got into a food fight on the floor while Kate stood there hysterically laughing. Apparently Ana is known for being clumsy. In between laughs Kate tells another story of when Ana went to ride with Ethan on a jet ski. She wasn't paying attention so when he started Ana fell off the jet ski ass over end. Kate practically had tears running down her cheeks at this point from laughing so hard.

By the time she finished the story our food was gone and we were almost in tears as well. I was really having a good time. I was missing out all these years.

Suddenly Elliot looks at his watch and says he needs to leave to go somewhere urgently. Kate pops up out of her seat and offers to take Elliot in her car and I can take Ana home in mine. They practically run out of the restaurant leaving us alone. I look at Ana with a huge, genuine smile. She looks up at me and says, "They weren't very subtle."

I let out a little laugh. "Elliot may be a lot of things but subtle isn't one of them."

"He really cares about you. He said that you are a good person." Elliot doesn't know all about me or he wouldn't feel that way. "He's a good person too and I wish that I was a better brother to him."

Ana places her hand on top of mine. There's that charge again. She lets out a little breath and I know she feels it too. "I'm sure that's not true but in any case it's never too late to make some changes."

She doesn't know how right she is.

"Do you want to walk around a little bit? There's a nice park nearby and it's a beautiful day." I ask hoping she will say yes.

She gives me a shy smile, "I would like that." She takes my offered hand and we walk out of the restaurant hand in hand. Like a normal couple. Who are just friends.

We make our way through the city to the park in comfortable silence I'm sure both of us thinking of what to say. I can see other guys checking her out and she has no clue. At first it makes me seething mad to have them ogle her like that but then I feel like I've won. I want to shout, 'She's with me assholes!' This feels right. I never held hands like this before. I never even went anywhere with my subs and I sure as hell didn't want to be seen with them in public.

It is indeed a beautiful day at the park with people out enjoying the weather walking their dogs or playing with their children.

We walk along one of the trails still holding hands. "So, Anastasia, how did you meet Kate?" They seem like polar opposites.

"We were roommates our freshman year in the dorms. We didn't hit it off right away but after a couple of weeks she was like a sister to me. Why do you call me Anastasia?"

"Because it's an usually beautiful name just like you." I look at her with all sincerity and she squeezes my hands in response but can't hide a subtle blush.

"My turn. How did you meet Jose?" I've been curious about this for a while since I know how close they are.

"We sat next to each other in the fifth grade. I was so shy I couldn't talk to anyone and he was often picked on so we started talking to each other. Then there was luncheon at the school for all the moms I got upset since my mom wasn't there and I ran out of the classroom in tears. He followed me out and hugged me and said he'd share his mom with me. Ever since that moment he's been like a brother to me." Her face just radiates with love when she talks about that.

"Were you always close to Elliot and Mia?" I almost asked her how she knew Mia's name but then I remembered she's known Elliot for months now.

"Elliot and I were really close when we were kids but when I became a teenager we weren't really. I was close with Mia since the day my parents brought her home. Even at the age of 6 I wanted to protect her. In fact, Mia was the first word I said since I had been adopted." Ana looks at me with a puzzled expression.

"I didn't have a good start in life and as a result I didn't talk. Grace and Carrick had adopted me two years before I said a word. It wasn't that I didn't know how to talk I just didn't want to." She looks at me with sorrowful eyes.

"Christian, I'm so sorry…" she begins to say before I interrupt her.

"Nothing to be sorry about. Everything that happened to me has lead me to right where I am now. So, Ray is your stepfather? What happened to your biological father?" Of course I know all this from the background check but I want to hear it from her.

"My biological father died when I was an infant - just a day old. Ray is the only father I have ever known."

"And your mother?" Again I know this.

"Mr. Grey, I do believe it's my turn to ask a question but I'll let it slide this one time." Her giggle can bring even the angriest man to smile.

"Miss Steele, you are most generous." I bow to her like a knight bowing to his queen. She laughs again. I wish I could make her laugh all the time.

"My mom means well but she's kind of a mess. She married Ray when I was a few months old and left him when I was six. I think she knew she couldn't take care of me so she signed over custody to Ray. Since then she's been hopping from one relationship to the next. She really isn't a good example of healthy relationships and Ray, he devoted all of his time to me."

"It's clear he did a wonderful job." Does everyone see what a wonderful woman Ana is?

"My turn." She hesitates for a second unsure if she should ask. "How did you get into BDSM?" And there it is. I promised I would be honest.

I take a deep breath. "One of my mother's friends seduced me the summer I was 15. She was, still is actually, a Dominant and she trained me to be her submissive." I've only ever told Flynn about this before.

"Fifteen? That's so young. So you've always done this?" She sounds worried. She has no idea how much I like her and what I am willing to give up for her.

"No. I've never had vanilla sex. The BDSM lifestyle is all I've ever known. I've never told anyone except for my therapist about this." And for a long time it was all I wanted until I met Anastasia.

"Tell me about your past relationships." At that I hear her voice crack a little. I hope this subject isn't too painful for her.

"I've only ever had one. Matt. We met second semester of freshman year and were together until junior year when he cheated on me." That bastard. How dare he cause her any pain. Although I'm not so innocent myself.

"Who would be stupid enough to let you go?" His loss is hopefully my gain.

"I'm not sure he let me go as much as he cheated on me and finally got caught. He promised me he'd wait until we got married to you know…" I can sense a mixture of sadness and apprehension in her voice.

"Anastasia, any man who isn't willing to wait for you is either stupid or crazy. But that does help me understand your reaction on Saturday. I'm sorry that happened. I was foolish." I hope she knows that.

"Well if it hadn't happened I guess we wouldn't be right where we are now." I don't know what came over me but I abruptly pull her into a hug. I have never hugged anyone before but this doesn't hurt. In fact, I like hugging Ana. It feels good.

Suddenly I remember that we are supposed to be just friends. I quickly pull away from her. "I'm sorry. I know we're supposed to be just friends." I take her hand again and start walking back to the R8.

Ana tugs on my hand to stop me. I turn to face her and am looking to see if she's OK. She then whispers, "Maybe we can be more than friends."

At that moment I look into those big, beautiful blue eyes and pull her into a kiss. It's the most passionate and loving kiss I've ever had. It's sweet and gentle and I don't want it to end. She puts her hands in my hair and gently tugs. My God. She is so fucking sexy and she doesn't even know it. I'm as hard as can be and I know she can feel it. I pull away so we don't go too far and I rest my forehead against hers. "My God. Anastasia what are you doing to me?"

She gives me a mischievous smile and quietly replies, "I don't know but I like it."