Page 256 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Anna slept soundly in Ben’s arms. She awoke to him stroking her hair back from her face. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was his smile. “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Good morning.” It had been a wonderful night. He hadn’t made any comments about her piercings and didn’t have any of his own. At his age, if his father was a Brother, he would most likely be aware of The Brotherhood.

Anna glanced at the window. The sun was just rising. “What time is it?”

“Six. Unfortunately, I have to get to the office early today. If I’d known what an amazing night I was going to have, I wouldn’t have scheduled such an early morning meeting.” He leaned down to kiss her. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She smiled. “I understand.”

“What time do you finish dancing?”

Anna chewed her lip. “I don’t know exactly. This is my first day with the company. Probably around five.”

“You dance all day? Wow.”

She grinned. “I don’t have to be there until ten. And it’s not like I’m dancing non-stop. I have breaks.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “I figured that.” He grinned down at her. “I’ll be home around six. Do you want to have dinner here with me?”

Anna nodded eagerly.

He leaned down and kissed her neck. “Then maybe dessert here in my room?”

Anna nodded. “Sounds wonderful. What will we have?”

“Mmm. How about you?”

Anna giggled. “Only if I get you, too.”

“You can have me anytime you want.” He rolled on top of her. “You have an amazing mouth.” He kissed her. “And body.” He kissed her again. “And everything else.”

He was hard against her thigh and she pressed her leg up against him, making him groan. He captured her lips with his. “I suppose I could be a little late,” he murmured against her lips.

Anna arrived at the studio early, hoping to find Jenna to tell her about her date with Ben. Aaron drove into the parking garage as she was walking out, and she waved and waited for him.

“Hey, Anna!” He jogged up to her and hugged her hard. “How was your trip?”

She shrugged. “I got to see some neat things, so I guess it was good.” Except for the Gathering. And the senator. And the punishments. And being killed. She hugged him again. “I’ve missed you.”

He buried his face in her neck. “I’ve missed you too.”

Anna closed her eyes and inhaled his scent. He always smelled so good.

“Hey, you’re with the company now. You wanna go out to dinner after rehearsal?”

Anna opened her mouth, but closed it again. He was asking her out. But Ben... “I-I can’t. I have plans.”

Aaron’s brows shot up. “With who?”

“Um, a guy in my building. His name is Ben.”

Aaron stiffened and pulled away. “Oh.” He looked up at the roof and chewed his lip.

“Aaron . . . please?—‍”

“No, it’s okay. I just thought—well, I thought I’d have at least a chance to ask you out before some other guy did.” He glanced back down at her. “Is it... um... Have you gone out with him before?”

Anna nodded, her heart sinking. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was to hurt Aaron. “We went out a few times over the weekend.” She winced. “I’m sorry.”

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