Chapter 2: Dinner with Jose

March 6, 2019:

"You'll never believe what the title is of the manuscript I just started reading today," Anastasia told Jose nonchalantly as they shared a serving of tiramisu.

She hadn't left work until after 6, and then she met her best friend Jose for dinner. His husband BB had a work engagement, and Jose had just returned from a business trip. His work as a travel photographer took him all over the world.

Jose studied her face, pretending that he was thinking hard about it. "Hmm... One hundred ways to kill your fiance's ex-mother-in-law's pet poodle," he answered randomly while his mouth was full of tiramisu.

Anastasia snorted, something she only did when she was hanging out with her best friend and he did or said something ridiculous. "Not even close. Nothing as gory as killing anyone's pet. Think... lifestyle." She smiled a secret smile.

"What... you mean... our lifestyle?" he asked with wide eyes.

Anastasia nodded and answered, "Yep."

"One hundred ways to please your Dom?" he whispered jokingly, raising his eyebrows.

Anastasia laughed. "No, but close. Memoir of a Submissive."

Jose did his giggle snort thing that always set Anastasia off in a fit of giggles. Through both of their giggles, Jose asked, "Are you serious?"

"Yep," Anastasia answered, still giggling. "And so far, what I've read is pretty good. But that's only the first two chapters, so don't get too excited yet. I'd hoped to read more of it this afternoon, but there was one interruption after another. I brought it home with me, though, so I can read more of it later tonight."

"Wow! I could have written that book," Jose said, pretending to sound dejected, but not succeeding as he couldn't hold back another giggle.

"Well, if this one turns out to be crap, you still could," Anastasia suggested, managing to control her own giggle, if not her big smile.

"So could you, girl," Jose responded.

Anastasia shook her head, now looking serious and pensive. "No... not yet, but maybe someday. I've never even had a Dom."

"Daddy's your protector, which is nearly the same thing as a Dom," Jose argued.

"No, it's not," Anastasia argued back. "BB will never fuck me, so he's nothing close to a Dom. He's my protector and trainer, but not my Dom. There's a big difference."

Jose studied her face again, this time seriously. "I know you know by now what it'll mean, but you sure as hell sound ready," he commented. "More ready than you ever have."

"I'm ready, Jose," Anastasia agreed. She took another bite of tiramisu thoughtfully. "The way I see it, it's been more than ten months, so I've completed my gestation period. I'm ready to be... born, in a matter of speaking. Just last Friday, I begged BB... again... to let me present myself to the Grey Wolf. And he refused... again. I get that I wasn't ready... the first six times I asked him. But now... I'm tired of watching other people fuck and never getting off."

"I beg your pardon," Jose said, faking offense. "I get you off all the time."

"Yeah, with a vibrator," she snorted. "It's not the same, and you know it. I want to be fucked by a real Dom. I want to be dominated and fucked by the Grey Wolf."

"Ana..." Jose said carefully. "It's the Grey Wolf. I know you've had this major crush on him for months, and he's hot as hell. But... he only gets his subs from Madame Elena. Don't you think that's... odd?"

"Yes, I agree. But what if he were willing to take on another sub that he didn't get through that bitch? I know you've noticed how he looks at me. You're the one who made me aware of it in the first place."

"I did," Jose conceded. "And I mentioned it to Daddy. He's aware of it."

"What does that mean?" Anastasia asked.

"It means he doesn't want me to mention it again," Jose explained. "If I do, he'll probably punish me."

"Why? I don't get it. Why does the Grey Wolf act like he wants me, but he never talks to me? Why does he look at me like he wants to devour me, but then he doesn't even get close to me?"

"Probably because Daddy would kick his ass if he did," Jose replied. "He can't get close to you without your protector's permission. Club rules. You know that's how it works."

"But BB knows I want him, and I've been asking him for months now, so why doesn't he give permission?" Anastasia asked.

"I'm sure he has a good reason," Jose answered. "He always does. You know that."

"Yes, I know," Anastasia agreed. "It's just... there's nobody else at Down Under that interests me like the Grey Wolf does. I mean, his gray eyes are just… mesmerizing. And the way he flexes his muscles when he uses his crop. I want him to use that crop on me. It makes me wet just watching him use it on those bitches. And don't get me started on that beautiful cock. Those bitches don't value him enough. If he were my Dom, I'd value him. I'm more than ready, Jose. I know he doesn't normally do the type of arrangement that I've been telling BB I want, but maybe I should consider his type of arrangement, whatever that is."

"Don't compromise, Ana," Jose warned her. "You'll only be disappointed if you do."

Anastasia and Jose were referring, of course, to the same BDSM club that was owned by BB and Beatrice Bennington, although neither Anastasia nor Jose knew that Christian Grey was the third owner. Becoming a member was a tedious process which took about a month and included everything from a very thorough security background check to a full medical exam performed only by a physician approved by the owners of the club.

Anastasia had been a member of Down Under for over ten months now, and for that entire time, she had been under the protection of Jose's Dom, his husband BB, who had also become one of Anastasia's closest friends. When Anastasia had first approached BB with the request to be her Daddy Dom, too, but in a nonsexual way, he had refused. It had taken her several weeks to convince him that there was no better teacher and protector for her than him, and that she was determined to pursue the lifestyle with or without his help. When he realized just how serious Anastasia was about becoming a submissive, the protector in him could not say no. He made it clear that he wouldn't be her "Daddy Dom," as he was to Jose, but he would be her protector and trainer until she found the right Dominant to take over that role.

Although she wasn't attracted to him physically, Anastasia thought BB was gorgeous. The biracial 26 year old was tall and bald, but he made up for his lack of hair on his shaved head by a goatee that he'd sported since his late teens, giving him a bit of a devilish appearance. He was no devil though, not to Anastasia or Jose. To Anastasia, he was an angel. To Jose, he was the love of his life and his Daddy Dom. Jose had met him while on a trip to Amsterdam, when they'd taken the same flight out of SeaTac and sat next to each other. They'd ended up sharing a hotel room in Amsterdam, and they'd been together ever since. Shortly after they returned to Seattle from their business trip, BB had taken Jose as his submissive. Six months later, they'd had a claiming ceremony, during which BB collared Jose. Then, a little over a year ago, they were married in a beautiful ceremony for which Anastasia was Jose's Maid of Honor.

Normally when they had dinner together, Anastasia and Jose would talk for hours. Tonight, though, they cut it shorter than usual. Jose wanted to get home to his Daddy, whom he'd missed while away on his work trip. And Anastasia wanted to get back to reading Memoir of a Submissive. She admitted to Jose that she didn't expect to get much sleep, as she was intrigued by this particular manuscript.

Anastasia always made it a point to respect Jose and BB's private time together, so she hesitated before she called BB later that night... or actually early the next morning. However, she felt that the matter was urgent, and she couldn't let it rest.

When she'd gotten home from her dinner with Jose, she'd continued reading the manuscript of Memoir of a Submissive as planned. What she'd learned had made her blood run cold. She was so shocked that she needed a couple of hours just to process what she'd read. By then, it was already 3 a.m. She considered waiting until morning to bother BB, but she knew that he sometimes had early morning appointments, and if he were busy, he might miss her call. This could not wait.

Meanwhile, in the penthouse of Escala, Christian Grey was once again unable to sleep. He'd had another nightmare, which in and of itself was a very common experience. This time, however, a pair of ocean blue eyes haunted him, begging him not to hurt her. In his dream, he'd beat the shit out of her, even after she'd begged him not to hurt her. He'd made her cry, which in turn brought tears to his own eyes. When he'd awakened from the dream, his eyes had been wet, so he'd actually cried real tears. The dream confused the fuck out of him. He made his subs cry all the time, and it had never bothered him before, but causing Anastasia to cry even in a dream just about ripped the heart he didn't have out of his chest. The most painful part of the dream had been when she'd walked out the door. Somehow, he knew she was leaving him and didn't plan to come back. With all of his other subs, they were free to leave anytime they wanted to, and he never considered allowing them to come back after they'd ended a contract with him. But as he watched Anastasia leave, just before he'd awakened, all he could think about was how to get her back.

He got out of bed, his mind still reeling and his heart still aching. Anastasia wasn't even his, but he felt like crying like a little girl because it felt like she'd been his and he'd lost her. Damn, what a dream! He wasn't sure what was worse, this dream that he'd never had before, or the dreams he usually had, which were memories of the pimp burning him, and of the crack whore laughing about it.

As usual, he made his way to his piano and played for a while. As was his habit, he'd taken his cell phone with him. He wasn't sure why he did that; it wasn't like anyone was going to call him in the middle of the night. Just as that thought entered his mind, just as he'd glanced at his cell phone, it began to ring. Holy shit, why was BB calling him in the middle of the night? Something must be wrong with him or Jose.

"Grey," he answered, just as he always did.

"We need to talk, bro," BB said. "You have time for breakfast in the morning?"

"Bear, what's wrong?" Christian asked. "Is it Jose? Are you guys OK?"

"We're fine," BB assured him. "This isn't about us. It's about you."

Christian was confused. "What about me?"

"I just got off the phone with Anastasia. She knows who you are."

That didn't clear up Christian's confusion at all. "What do you mean? She knows who I am, yes. We were both in your fucking wedding. Of course, she knows who I am."

"That's not what I mean," BB interrupted. "Anastasia knows that you're the Grey Wolf. She's reading a manuscript, and it revealed everything about you."

"What?!" Christian shouted, feeling alarmed.

"It's called Memoir of a Submissive. The author, apparently, is Leila Williams. Remember her?"

"Oh, shit!" Christian exclaimed.