My dear little broccolis💚💚💚

💚 So, this story is dedicated to two particular authors with whom I have briefly touched on those issues, and who make amazing stories. paleseptember10 & Krooela. Go check them out, you won't regret it.

💚 Fallen Angel💚

How would have Christian Grey's life turned out if the Greys had intervened when Elena tried to sink her claws into him? Would he still be the same man as we know, or someone completely different ...

‼️Rated M - {Out Of Characters/All Human/Alternate Universe}‼️

‼️Romance/Angst/Drama/Lemons‼️

‼️AS/CG/The Greys/The Steeles/Jack Hyde/Elena Lincoln‼️

💚 READ & REVIEW, DON'T BE A SILENT READER 💚

Chapter 17: Ave Maria (2,6K)

Christian's Pov

For a brief second, none of us says a word, and I just look at her face whilst trying to find a way to spin this around so I don't make too much of a fool out of myself. She even stopped walking for fuck's sake. I'm about to invoke the excuse of going with Kate and Elliott so it won't be actually a real date, when she finally talks, shaking her head a little,

"Well, that came out of nowhere." Not if you've been in my head, seeing what I did to you in my mind.

"Has it?" I say, trying to sound as detached as I can be. She shrugs and points out,

"You're the one who always says we're just friends. I don't mind having guy friends. I just thought … never mind. I'd love to go on a date with you, Christian."

"You would?" I muse and I catch my face on the phone, smiling like a goof so I try to fix this quickly. She chuckles a little, her smile reaching her eyes as she adds,

"Yes. In case you forgot, you're the one who was all about being friends. I, on the other hand, was all about throwing you in jail for being a handsome criminal. Though to be fair, many mobsters are also businessmen to cover their incomes of money, so …"

"So you'll only know Friday night. If I don't bring you back home, you know you were right."

She burst into laughter at that, not caring the least in the world that she is in the streets and she reminds me of a painful truth, "If I don't come home Friday night, my Dad will kill you before Saturday's first light. Your funeral, dude."

This stops any feeling of glee that I had. Colonel Steele is not someone I want to cross and I want even less to be on his shit list (though I am pretty sure that I am already on it.)

Ana grins, perfectly aware that she just put the fear of God in me and she lightens up the mood by saying, "Don't worry, if Friday goes well, at some point, I will be the one shitting my pants at the idea of meeting your parents. And I won't fuss if you make fun of me when that moment comes."

"I'll take you on that. In the meantime, I have to pretend I can earn a few bucks and rule the world. I'll text you later."

She waves at me and as soon as we stop the call, I let myself lean back in my chair, turning it so I can look at the view whilst I gladly let this mix of elation and satisfaction run through me. I have a date with Anastasia Rose Steele.

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

Over the next couple of days, I think of where could be that first date with Ana. I did consider flying her to another city, but knowing Ana, it might be just a tad too much for a first. But still, I definitely want to impress her, so I won't settle for something common. I did think of doing something extra like she likes, but it's our first date, and I think just a meal should be reasonable. Plus, I like the idea of living.

At first, I thought of booking a table at some fancy restaurant, but Ana isn't the kind of girl who is impressed by bling. The first time I saw her truly impressed by something I did was when she saw the view from my apartment, so I leaned toward this kind of thinking. And in the end, I have Andrea book me a caterer so I can take Ana on The Grace and we can eat on the water.

I don't tell anyone about our date. I only see Martha on Mondays, so I don't have to tell her anything so far. And I am certainly not going to tell Elliott, big gossip that he is. He is going to run to Grace and grow all of this out of proportion. And Mia is out of the country this week anyway.

When Friday nights come, I feel as nervous as the first time I pitched a business decision to someone who wasn't family. But as I knock on her door, I do my best to not show it. I don't want Ana to think of me as a wuss.

Usually, Ana is drop-dead gorgeous, but right now … right now I would eagerly be damned for her. She has let her hair loose but tamed it into wavy curls at the end. She's wearing a bold bright red lipstick and her eyes are lined by a beautiful cat eye whilst her lashes seem to extend to infinity. And her dress … her dress makes me want to take it off of her. A little black dress stopping mid-thigh and hugging her body revealing all her magnificent curves.

"So? Are you impressed?" She asks with a teasing smile and I clear my throat before admitting,

"More than impressed."

I did tell her to dress to impress. But I think that next time, I will tone it down. It's not good for my blood circulation to have her so beautiful. I mean, even without that whole business of touch issues, I wouldn't try anything on the first date. This is not a fling that I want with Ana, it's a real relationship.

She looks at me from head to toe, not doing a thing to hide that she is liking what she is seeing. To be fair, unlike her, I didn't go home to change. But I did dress in the morning thinking of tonight's date. Usually, I am the first one to apply the casual Friday wear, just to show people that they don't have to dress uptight 24/7, but today, I went for the three-piece suit. From what Mia told me many times, women like a man in suit and tie.

"I truly hope that you're not taking me to Applebees, because we are either overdressed, or you're buying the thing as a step closer for you to rule the world."

I laugh at that and she follows me to my car where Taylor is waiting for us. I see him glance at Ana in the rearview mirror before a small knowing smirk grows on his lips, but I don't really linger on that. I am too mesmerised by the siren next to me.

In the car, I ask about her day since we didn't get to text much today. I did meeting after meeting today and I know that I will go to the office tomorrow to finish up a few things. Saturdays and Sundays are my favourite days to go to the office. We work 24/7, though slower on nights and weekends. But employees are more relaxed during those hours, less stressed by the fact that I'm around.

Once we get to the dock, we follow Taylor to the Grace and just before getting on board, Ana turns to me, her smile rivalling with the setting sun.

"I love being on the water! How did you know?"

"I truly didn't know that. But I will keep it in mind."

Once again, she smiled and I lead her to the table dressed for her. Andrea deserves a big fat check this month! She went all out. I asked her to organise something cosy and intimate, mostly because I didn't want to right out tell my PA that she was organising a date for me, but she read between the lines.

There are roses and candles everywhere, champagne for two, our meal covered by silver platers, and even two little plaids for when the sun will be fully set and it will be cold.

"Are you really a CEO? Who has time to organise this when they run a multi-billion dollars company?" Ana asks with a little joke, and as I help her sit down, I tell her the truth,

"CEOs who have very good and dedicated PAs."

"Your PA organises your dates?"

"No. Just this one. Mostly because it was last minute and I don't think you would have agreed to follow me to th place I had first in mind."

"It was last minute because you really took me by surprise. I thought you didn't see things like that between us," she bluntly says.

I swallow with difficulty and reach for the champagne, but she shakes her head, letting me know, "I know you don't drink, and I'm not going to drink a bottle of champagne on my own. But if you have sparkling water, please pour it in the champagne glass, so I can pretend to be posh and all."

I laugh with her and serve us both the sparkling water in the glasses reserved for champagne. Then as I reveal the food before us, Ana kills the elephant in the room,

"So? What made you change your mind?"

I look at her, hesitating for a moment. Maybe I should keep all the thoughts I had about her to myself. But then again, Ana has always been open and honest with me. And if I want this relationship to grow into something more, I have to do the same.

"To be honest … it's mainly Jose."
"Jose? As in Jose with whom I ate mudpies, Jose?" She laughs as if this is the most ridiculous thing on Earth, and for a second, I momentarily forget all about my dislike of her being with another man and focus on something else entirely,

"You ate mudpies? As in ingesting them?"

"Meh, I was four. Since then, I have become a much better cook. I'll show you someday," She winks at me and I shake my head. "But Jose is the son of my father's best friend. We grew up together. As cliche as it sounds, he's like a brother to me, and I'm like a sister to him."

"So … should I expect an angry visit from him?" I ask lightly, though I really hope I won't. I have enough on my plate with Colonel Steele.

"If he knows what's good for him, he better nor," She growls and I can't help but laugh. I know Ana can be scary when she wants, I know she beat up both my big and muscular brother as well as my CPO. But … right now, she just looks like an angry kitten. Adorable.

"Anyway … are we really going to spend our first date talking about Jose and his stupid face?"

"First date, uh?"

"If you know what's good for you," she says, though this time it's a light and flirty tone as she slurps on an oyster. Maybe Andrea doesn't deserve a fat check after all. What kind of idea was that to put oysters on the menu?!

"Ana … I … there is a reason why I proposed friendship first," I let her know, immediately regretting it. I should have waited for the end of the dinner, so I would have nice memories to keep in mind. She doesn't blink, her big blue eyes focused on me as well as her attention.

"I … have some boundaries, and …" I look for my words, trying to find a way to not freak her out. I mean, it's pretty simple, don't touch me. But it will come with questions that I am not ready to answer yet. And who wants to blindly obey without at least some incentive.

But she just shrugs and pulls the blanket over her bare shoulders, "I know."

"What do you mean, you know?"

"I might be young, but I'm not an idiot, Christian. I see how you recoil when someone gets close to you. I see how you always avoid physical contact, even with your own brother. I see how … I pay attention. And I can tell it's not easy for you. So I'm assuming it's probably due to some trauma that you had to live through and I'm not here to extirpate that from you.

I'm not your shrink, Christian. I'm your friend."

Well, and there I thought I was all smooth and unreadable. But obviously, Ana has been paying attention. And in a way, I am more than flattered, I am touched. Her words really mean a lot to me. she's known for a while that I had touch issues and some messed up past, but she didn't push anything on me.

Still, her last word has a sour taste, "Friend?"

She puts her fork down and gently taps the corner of her mouth before letting me know, "Cards on the table, I think you're hot. But I also think you're funny, sweet, nice and … I don't know. I've never really thought of getting with someone like that before. But with you … I know I can't touch you, but … I wouldn't mind trying."

There is a faint blush growing on her cheeks and on her décolleté as she looks down, and had I been bold, I would have reached to kiss her.

"Now that I have embarrassed myself to the max, it's all on you. I'm here now, ready to take that next step with you, so … are you?"

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

The rest of the evening went marvellously well. We finished our food as Seattle was putting on its gown of a thousand lights, both with our blankets on our shoulders. We've talked about work, about our families, about our next movie, about everything that we usually talk about. The only difference is, now, she's my girlfriend.

I barely paid attention to anything of anyone after that revelation. Ana was mesmerised by the view, I was mesmerised by her beauty. She loved seeing a few more stars than in her flat, I loved being next to her under the moon. She marvelled at the fact that I could pilot the Grace, I pictured us together and alone on that boat, so I could show her how to manoeuvre it.

Now, we are in front of her flat, and we're jokingly arguing over the next date and who should be organising it. She wants to do something magical for me, but I want to take her to a proper restaurant. In the end, I won and got the planning for the next two dates. Though she made me swear to take care of it myself from start to finish.

I know that this is the moment on the date where I should make a move on her, but I also know that some girls are not into kissing on the first date. Still, I can't stop my eyes from constantly going to her lips. Her hands are trapped between her back and the wall, and she's looking at me, waiting for me to make a move.

"It's all on you, Christian. But my hands are tucked away, and I still haven't opened my door, which means …"

I know what it means. Now the question is, do I trust her to not try to touch me. I look from her lips to her eyes, so blue, so lustful, so full of life with a hint of insecurity that I know so well. This fear of rejection I felt every time I thought of her. And so I close my eyes.

Yes. Yes, I do trust her.

So I lean in, my lips reaching for hers.

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.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚

💚 So, I think I am evil and I stopped where I shouldn't have, right before their first kiss.

💚 But they had a heart to heart, and they are on board for dating. Do you think it will work with Christian's touch issues?

💚 What did you think of Ana in this chapter?

💚Well, let me know what you thought of this chapter. What was your favourite part? What do you think will happen next?

💚 E L James owns the names of the characters from the Fifty Shades franchise, Everything else is mine (including the mistakes and grammar errors).

Love, Mina 💚💚💚