Roommates | Kate & Ana

Chapter 14- Thinking Of You

My alarm clock buzzes to life, waking me from my deep sleep. I groan and hit snooze, burying my face back into my pillow. I hate being woken by alarm clocks. They're so aggressive. I'm just starting to fall back asleep when my brain suddenly realizes what today is. I spring up out of bed, my heart pounding. Oh fuck! It's my first day of work!  I grab my phone, and check the time, grateful to see that only a few minutes had passed and I still have plenty of time to get ready. That was a serious close one. My subconscious is staring at me, wide-eyed and thoroughly shaken up by my almost career ruining screw up. Geez, Steele...Get a grip! I toss my phone back down on Kate's bed and make my way over to her closet, searching for something to wear. First impressions are important and Kate's clothes are so much better than mine. She has such an amazing sense of style, unlike me. When I locate her formal and perfectly fitted plum dress, I smile in satisfaction. This is the perfect outfit for my first day. Classy, yet subtly sexy, more professional and woman-like than anything I've ever owned.  Now I've just got to find the proper shoes to go with it. I scan the bottom of Kate's closet, but I can't seem to find any heels that aren't ridiculously high. I sigh and march my way into my room to find some more suitable shoes for work. If I even tried walking in Kate's shoes all day I'd fall over and stumble all around like a baby deer and I can't have that happening on my first day. I already embarrass myself enough without dangerous contraptions on my feet. I grab some much simpler and safer Mary Janes from my closet, then I march right back out and shut my bedroom door behind me. To be honest I'm not even sure why Kate and I still have separate bedrooms. We have no use for them. I always sleep in Kate's bed with her. Even now that she's away I still refuse to sleep in my bed. I've grown accustomed to her bedroom. The scent of her lingers there in her bedroom the strongest and it soothes me when I sleep. The only good thing about keeping our bedroom separate is that when people come over we don't have to tell them about our relationship if we don't want to. If I don't want to. I correct myself. The only person out of Kate and I's friends who doesn't know is Josè and that's only because Kate is still waiting on me to tell him. I know I should just get it over with, but I just haven't made my mind up yet on how I'm going to tell him. I push the thought away, deciding to focus on the task at hand. Getting ready for my first day at work is a lot more important than updating Josè on my love life. As I dig through Kate's makeup bag, applying only the simplest of products to my face, I feel my heart ache with longing. I miss her. The house feels so empty with Kate away. She's gone visiting her family and won't be back for a couple more days. I sigh, applying a small layer of mascara onto my eyelashes. Someone knocks loudly at the door and I frown. Who the hell is knocking on the door this early in the morning? I quickly finish getting ready and toss Kate's makeup bag to the side. Then I head off in the direction of the knocking.

I open my door to a delivery man holding a beautiful arrangement of roses. "Anastasia Steele?" He holds them out to me. Someone sent me roses? Not just any someone....I know exactly who they're from. Kate. I smile hugely. "Thank you." I take the vase of roses from him and carry them into the kitchen, kicking the door closed behind me. I set them down on the counter and grab the note that goes with them. I flip it over in my hand and read it.

Thinking of you......With Love, Kate.

I smile even more, setting the note down on the counter. I take a minute to admire my flowers that the woman I love sent me, before I leave for work.

So far, SIP is amazing. My co-worker Hannah sits on the edge of my desk, chatting with me, while we wait for Jack to get in. He's always fashionably late on Mondays, or at least that's what Hannah tells me. "There he is!" Hannah points to the entrance where my new boss Jack Hyde is walking in, then hops off my desk. I stand up from my desk chair and smile brightly at him. "Good morning, Jack. I got you coffee." I hold the coffee cup out to him and he accepts it. "Thanks. Ana, isn't it?" He asks. "Yep." He nods, then extends his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Ana." We shake and I go to pull my hand away, but he continues to hold it. "Thanks for the coffee. I'm sure we're going to get along just perfectly." He smiles at me and a burst of uneasiness rushes over me. I hide my discomfort the best I can, smiling sweetly at him. "Pleasure to meet you too, Mr.Hyde." When he disappears into his office, I let my smile drop and I sit back down at my desk. What was that all about?

After that one awkward encounter, my first day at work went by smoothly. I'm just sitting down to eat dinner when my phone starts to ring. I pick it up and see it's Josè. "Hey, Josè! What's up?" I take a bite of my salad and try to chew it up without making too much noise. "Hey, Ana. Wait...are you eating something?" He asks. Damn. I've been caught. "Yeah, uh....sorry. You caught me at a bad time." I clear my throat, awkwardly trying to make my chewing sounds less audible. "Oh, I'll make it quick then. I just wanted to remind you about my photography exhibit. It's this Thursday." Shit! This Thursday? I totally forgot. "Right. I'll be there." I reassure him. "Cool. And you know it's formal right?" He questions. "Yeah. I'll be sure to wear my best dress." Or Kate's best dress.... "Great. I'll see you there. In your best dress." He puts extra emphasis on the last part, making me slightly uncomfortable. "Alright....I'll...uhh....see you there." I mumble, shutting down his attempt at flirting. I hope he doesn't try anything like that at the gallery. I still haven't quite decided what to tell him yet. At least Kate'll be back by then to help me through it.

Authors Note; To make up for my lack of updates I updated twice tonight. I hope y'all enjoy it.