Get some sleep, baby, he whispers, and I lay my head on his lap and fall asleep.
I dream of a Christmas ball, where I, beautiful and grown up, lightly dance with Christian. They look at us admiringly and smile. I literally feel the love and warmth from these people with my skin, and I feel incredibly good. There is no my past, there is no pimp for my mother, there is no fear and pain...
Ana, we ve arrived, Gray s voice suddenly intrudes into my sleep. I sigh and open my eyes.
You smiled in your sleep, Gray remarks, and I nod.
- I dreamed of a ball, and we danced there. A real ball, like a king or some president, I smile and awkwardly get out of the car. In front of us is a huge skyscraper, the sign on which says Trump Tower . I whistle.
You can t stop living beautifully, Mr. Gray, I giggle and take his hand.
Oh, Miss Still, I ve always lived large, Christian replies, and we go inside. Gray leads me to the front desk, where a sweet, smiling old lady sits.
Martha, this is Miss Still. I want her to have the keys to my penthouse, Christian says authoritatively. Marta nods in agreement and hands me the keys and the card for the elevator.
- What the fuck? Gray. This is my first and last time here, I hiss, but in my heart I hope that this is not so. I want to come here again and again.
But suddenly you have a desire to come here again and bake me pancakes, Christian smiles. Martha looks at us disapprovingly and shakes her head.
-What did you hatch? If you want, I ll bite you, I say, and she stopped staring at me.
We walk to the elevators, and I notice that Gray doesn't let go of my hand. He places his card on the panel and the elevator doors open. We walk inside and I feel the sexual tension between us again. Fuck, fuck. Christian comes up to me and straightens a stray curl.
Breathe, Anastasia, he whispers and I take a breath. I won t fuck you in the elevator.
Liar... I see lust and desire in his eyes. I will not be me. If I don't go to bed with Christian Gray soon.
Behind these thoughts, I don t notice how the elevator stops, and Christian and I find ourselves in a bright, spacious hall. There is soft carpet on the floor, there are fresh flowers everywhere. The Hall is dominated by soft tones of green and chocolate. On the walls are paintings by famous artists of different eras and movements. I'm holding my breath. It's like I'm in some prince's castle. Everything is very light and beautiful. I look with admiration at the electric fireplace, opposite which there is a wide, long sofa.
- Like? - Christian asks, taking off his coat. I smile like a fool and nod.
Do you want a tour? Christian carefully takes my hand and leads me to the top floor. He leads me to a wide double door and opens it with a slight movement. Library... A huge Library, with a bunch of shelves, shelving and books. The pleasant smell of book ink hits my nose and I smile.
-Have you read them all? - I m interested.
- No, only part of it. Not enough time. By the way, I remembered that I promised you a book if you finished the quarter well, Gray goes to one of the shelves and takes a book from it.
How does he know about my grades? Mystery. It seems that no one in the bar said a word about the results of their studies. Okay, I'll find out later.
Here, Merry Christmas, Christian puts a book in my hands, on the cover of which there is a picture of a sword stuck into the pages.
Is this a book about historical events? - I ask.
- Almost. Read it, I'm sure you'll like it. - Gray whispers gently and I nod.
We leave the library and go to the kitchen, which is located downstairs, near the stairs. The kitchen is sophisticated, with iron, steel and white sandstone everywhere. Christian looks at me slyly and nods at the table on which there are eggs, milk, flour, yeast, a base for Mulled Wine and two bottles of wine.
Okay, first let s prepare the pancakes, I say and quickly gather my hair into a bun. Mr. Gray, you will assist.
Christian kisses me on the cheek and we start cooking. I soak the yeast while Christian whisks the eggs and milk. I take my phone out of my pocket, find a cheerful melody and turn it up to full volume. We chat happily, discuss news, weather and share culinary tricks with each other. The kitchen is literally drowning in our laughter. Soon I start frying pancakes and Gray dives into the refrigerator for maple syrup. I absolutely love working with him in tandem, and I constantly feel his support.
-Who taught you to cook, Mr. Gray? I ask slyly, swaying my hips against him in no uncertain terms.
I ll introduce you when the time comes, Anastasia. So what about mulled wine? Gray puts a pan on the stove and pours the wine and base for mulled wine into it.
I start dancing and Christian starts dancing with me.
- What a twist! - I hear a courageous, very masculine voice.
We immediately stop our dance and turn around. At the entrance to the kitchen stands an elderly handsome gentleman, about seventy years old, with sharp predatory features and cold blue eyes. He exudes authority, just like Gray in the Irish pub.
- Clint! Christian beams and goes to him. They shake hands and it is clear that they are good friends.
- You and your girlfriend on Christmas morning. Have you finally decided to give up single life? Clint pats Gray on the shoulder in a friendly manner.
- She's 18, Eastwood! We re just friends, Gray feels awkward, he was clearly taken by surprise.
- Friends... Hmm... It's strange to see you with a girl friend. Friendship between a man and a woman is impossible, especially with such a beautiful one, Clint winks at me.
- I'll hit you now! - Gray mutters playfully, and I burst out laughing. Two respectable middle-aged businessmen, but they behave like Jose and Jack.
Clint, meet this brazen, daring and charming girl Anastasia Still. She gave me a provocative interview. She kissed me twice, and now she s making mulled wine with me, Gray smiled at me, and I nodded to him, Anastasia, this is Clint Eastwood, my friend and business partner. Yes, in his youth he played hot cowboys in Westerns.
I extend my hand to him and he shakes it. The handshake is firm, but at the same time very delicate. Lord, I'm shaking hands with a Hollywood movie star...
- Christian, there is news on... the case that you assigned to Alex. It needs to be discussed, Eastwood says, removing his hand.
- Ana, sorry, I need to work. I ll come back to you in 40 minutes, don t be bored, Gray kisses me tenderly, and he and Eastwood go upstairs.