Ana is relaxing in her bedroom when Kate comes home from work. "Hey, Ana," Kate calls to her as she walks into Ana's bedroom.
"Hey, Kate. How was work?" Ana lays her book down on the bed next to her and looks up at Kate standing in the doorway. Kate looks fantastic in a pencil skirt and sweater.
"It was great. My boss is sending me to a journalism conference." Kate excitedly tells her.
"Kate! That's awesome. Congratulations!" Ana stands up and gives Kate a congratulatory hug.
"But, I have some bad news." Kate looks at Ana and gives her an exaggerated pout.
"Oh no, what happened?" Ana asks partly in shock and partly worried.
"The conference starts this weekend so I won't be able to go with you to that party."
"Oh, that stinks. But it's good about the conference!" Ana beams at Kate with a sense of sisterly pride.
"Maybe Nolan can go with you," Kate suggests to Ana.
"I'll ask him. He might if John works." Ana tells her, unconcerned about the party at the moment. She's not sure she even wants to go. Ana was kind of caught up in the moment when Mia invited her. Mia is lovely but she won't know anyone at this fancy party. If Mia texts her about the party, she'll make her decision at that point.
The following day Ana doesn't work at the bookstore but has a freelance project, so she hunkers down in her room to read the manuscript she received. In the early afternoon her phone pings indicating she received a text.
*Hi Ana, it's Mia!*
*Hi Mia!*
*I hope u r still coming 2 the party. My parents' address is 2860 Main Street in Bellevue.*
*Thanks! I'll bring a couple of books for u 2 read. :-)*
*Cool! I gotta go. C U Saturday!*
*L8ter*
I guess I just RSVP'd to the party. She thought to herself. Thankfully she has a couple of dresses she could wear that would be appropriate and look good.
It's Saturday evening, the night of Mia's holiday party. Ana is just finishing up getting ready when Nolan knocks on the door. She answers the door and kisses him on the cheek. "Thanks for coming with me. I'm almost ready."
"John said I needed to get out of the house anyway." Nolan tells Ana as she returns to the bathroom to finish her makeup."
"There's beer in the fridge if you want one while you wait," Ana suggests.
"No, I'm good. What kind of makeup do you need? You already look fabulous." Nolan walks down the small hallway to the bathroom.
"Nolan, you are so sweet. John is fortunate to have you. But, I just want to make sure I look nice for the party." Ana puts on one last coat of lip gloss on and primps her hair. She turns to Nolan, "How do I look?"
"That dress is amazing - it's like it was meant for you." Ana is wearing a Ralph Lauren dark blue long-sleeve velvet dress with shirring at the side. The deep jewel tone color of the dress makes her blue eyes sparkle more than usual as well as compliments her fair skin.
"You think John would mind if I married you?" Ana jokingly asks Nolan while she tries, and fails, to hide her smile.
He smiles back at her, "Some days I think John would give me away for free. Ready?"
"Yup! Let's go. Am I driving?" Ana grabs her clutch and checks her phone one last time before putting it in the small and delicate bag.
"Let's take my car. I have the Honda, and it'll be easier for you to get in and out of in that dress." Nolan drives them the half hour to the address Mia texted Ana. They pull up to a long driveway lined with trees. He slowly takes them further down the path and the finally catch a glimpse of the house.
"Holy shit…" Ana says in awe, to no one in particular. She has never seen a house that big. It looks like it is from the movies. Most apartment buildings aren't this large.
Nolan finds a close spot to park, and they both climb out of the car, noticing the number of luxury cars parked by his Civic. Ana looks at Nolan with her eyes large to show Nolan she is shocked as much as he is. "How did you meet her again?" He asks.
"Her brother helped me carry the tv for Ray to my car on Black Friday," she tells him distractedly. She's unable to look away from the Tudor style mansion.
"Interesting." They approach the door, but before they have a chance to ring the bell, the door is opened by what Ana can only assume is a housekeeper or maid.
"Welcome. May I take your coats?" She asks with a saccharine smile.
"Um, sure." Ana replies and they both try to gracefully and quietly shrug out of their coats and hand them to the woman. From the foyer, they walk to an enormous great room which Ana estimates to be bigger than her entire apartment.
They aren't even ten steps into the room when they hear a shrill scream coming from the opposite corner. "Ana! Oh my God! I'm so glad you're here. I can't wait for my friends to meet you." Mia stops to take a breathe and catches a glimpse of Nolan. She bats her eyelashes and smiles, "So, who's this?"
Nolan smiles and reaches his hand out to Mia. "Hi, I'm Nolan."
She is still smiling, "Nice to meet you, Nolan." Suddenly, they hear someone calling for Mia. "Oh, I better go. There are food and drinks over there, help yourselves. I'll be right back." Mia points to an alcove at the far end of the great room before running to the girl calling her name.
"Let's eat. I'm starving." Nolan suggests. Just as he makes his suggestion, his stomach loudly growls making the both of them laugh. They stick close to the food while they snack, feeling slightly out of place since they don't know anyone there. People of all ages are at the party so Ana assumes friends of Mia's parents must also be there. As they eat, she looks around at the opulently decorated room. There is a giant tree in the corner with what must be thousands of lights and sparkly ornaments. Throughout the room are large arrangements of white poinsettias, red berries, and greens. Guests are talking and socializing in different sitting areas, at high-top tables, and in a sunroom. It reminded Ana of those sappy Christmas movies you see on tv where everyone in a charming little town all spends the holiday together.
Ana turns to Nolan and puts her plate in a nearby trash can. "I'll be right back; I have to go to the bathroom. Will you be OK here?" she asks concerned about leaving her friend alone at the party.
"Well, I definitely don't want to go to the bathroom with you so I'll be perfectly fine right here by the bar and food." Ana smiles at her friend and goes to find a bathroom. She's a little nervous that she might get lost in the house because it's so large.
Christian sees Ana and Nolan across the room when he gets to the party. Ana looks fantastic in a dark blue velvet dress that hugs her curves. When Ana mentioned bringing her roommate, though, Christian didn't think she meant a boyfriend. He's disappointed and he doesn't even know why. Christian has a long list of women who would love to be with him and he wouldn't have to chase them. As soon as he sees Ana leave he takes the opportunity to talk to her boyfriend.
Nolan is standing at the crudités display picking at the carrots and cucumbers when he is approached by the most gorgeous man he has ever seen.
"I see you came here with Ana, right?" He asks Nolan with no other preamble.
"Yeah, I'm Nolan. Nice to meet you." The beautiful stranger still hasn't told Nolan who he is.
"Christian Grey," he answers Nolan tersely, "I'm Mia's brother." Suddenly it clicks in Nolan's head who he is talking to.
"Oh, you're the guy who helped Ana with the tv on Black Friday. That was cool of you to help her. Ana is stubborn, and she would have been out there for hours trying to get the tv in her jeep by herself."
Christian gives a cool smile to Nolan. It's obvious he knows her well. "So, how long have you been together?" he bites the bullet and asks Nolan what he wants to know.
"Together? Who?" Nolan asks. Nolan has had a couple of drinks, but he's not drunk enough to be this confused.
Christian looks askance and frowns at Nolan. "You and Ana." He sounds obviously frustrated.
Nolan can't help it and starts to laugh. "Oh no! No, no… Ana and I are just friends. I have a boyfriend; Ana's like my little sister. She doesn't have much of a family, so I've kind of taken her under my wing." He explains to Christian as a way to indirectly apologize for laughing at Christian's question.
Almost immediately, Christian's scowl goes away, the worry lines on the sides of his eyes recede, and he gives a slight smile. "Oh." Christian pauses, unsure of what to say next. He doesn't want to say the wrong thing.
Realizing the reason Christian asked him about Ana, he answers Christian's unasked question, "She's single." Christian looks at Nolan. At 6 feet tall, Nolan is just a couple of inches shorter than Christian. The two men stand in awkward silence, neither of them knows what to say.
"Christian, darling." A very refined older woman, standing next to another older woman who looks like the stereotypical cougar, calls to him.
"Sorry, that's my mother." He gives a slight shrug to Nolan. "Nice to meet you." Christian doesn't wait for Nolan to respond and instead turns and strides over to his mother and the other woman.