Don't Hold Back

Don't Hold Back
ELLA

I woke up late in the morning, having spent the night imagining how my date with Lucas would go. When I was ready for school, I left the house and walked toward where I parked my car. I saw Cameron standing beside my car and laughed. Did he think that I had forgotten what happened the day before?

He stretched out his arm, holding my favorite chocolate in it, and said, "I am so sorry about yesterday. Please have this as a peace offering."

I stared at the chocolate for a while and smiled. "You are lucky I am in a good mood; otherwise, you would have found your way to school today or let Mom drop you off."

"Thank you," he said and got into the car.

As usual, I dropped him off at school before going to mine. After my class, I noticed that Nova was staring at me.

I smiled at her, and she walked over to where I was sitting and said, "Hi Ella, how are you?"

Everyone around us was surprised because they knew how deep our enmity ran.

"I'm fine," I replied. "Thank you very much for asking.

"Yeah, I haven't seen you around in a while. I think you've missed some of your classes. I was surprised because that is unlike you," she said.

"Yeah! I have been dealing with some stuff, but I'm fine. Everything is fine now," I said.

"Okay, all the best," she smiled.

"Thank you once again," I replied, watching her take her seat.

After my class, Aiden, who had kept staring at me throughout, asked me, "So how is it going with Lucas? You haven't told me anything. So far, what has been happening?"

I changed my facial expression as though I was unhappy. "Well, nothing is going according to plan, Aiden. I haven't gotten any concrete results for now, so I'm still working hard. I guess if I have something to share, I'll tell you."

"Don't worry, Ella. Everything will work out well in the end," he smiled.

I smiled back, and as soon as Aiden walked away, I thought to myself, "So you want me to tell you about my relationship, but you won't tell me about your feelings for Nova? No way. I'll treat you just the same way you treat me."

When I got back home, I quickly prepared my assignment and began to get ready for my dinner with Lucas. He had texted me the venue, and it was a high-end restaurant. It was an amazing place, one I knew I was going to love, even though I had never been there on a date before.

I drove myself to the restaurant, and when I arrived, Lucas was already waiting for me. He was wearing a black suit and a red tie, and he looked so dashing.

I smiled at him, "Hi Lucas, you're looking so hot, as usual."

He smiled back and said, "And you don't look too bad yourself. You look breathtakingly beautiful, Elle."

"That means so much coming from you," I replied.

He pulled out a chair for me to sit on and then sat down. He ordered a bottle of wine and poured some into my glass. I wasn't a big drinker, but I couldn't say no to Lucas.

I started to sip from my glass and noticed that he was staring at me. This time, his eyes held a different emotion than when I had first seen him.

"I like you," he said without beating around the bush. "I really, really like you, Elle.

As for your proposal, I've given it a lot of thought. There are some things I worry about, but I can't overlook the other reasons why we should be together. I know that you like me too, so let's give each other a chance and see how it goes."

I was so excited that I had to struggle to stop myself from squealing. I didn't want to embarrass Lucas.

"That's enough for me, Lucas."

He smiled, "So, tell me about yourself, Elle."

"Okay," I nodded. "My name is Ella actually. Elle is correct but everyone calls me Ella. You already know how old I am. I'm in my final year at the London Imperial College and I'm in the medical field.

Also, I am very much attracted to you and I've never been in a relationship before. As we get closer, you will come to know more about me."

His eyes lit up, "Wow! I have a daughter who is also a final-year student at your college. She is in the medical field as well and her name......."

His phone rang at this point and I heaved a sigh of relief. My heart had been beating fast because I knew that once he mentioned Nova, I would not be able to pretend that I didn't know her.

If I did so and he later found out the truth about my relationship with her, he might change his mind about being with me or stop taking me seriously.

Luckily, his phone rang, and he said, "I'm sorry. Let me take this call."

He answered the call and said, "Can we talk later, maybe in three hours?"

After the call ended, he smiled at me. "Sorry about that. So, where were we?"

"You were saying that I am very beautiful," I replied with a smile.

"Indeed you are," he said.

I smiled, "So, tell me about you."

"There's not much to tell," he said. "You can take me at face value. I am exactly what you see. And, you already know that I have a daughter, right? I had her when I finished high school and just started college.

I met this beautiful girl, and it was love at first sight for both of us. We hit it off immediately and started doing a lot of stuff together. Then, boom, she got pregnant.

Her parents were so disappointed in her that they kicked her out. At the time, I was nothing but a broke-ass who lived with my cousin, who was struggling to make ends meet. I lost my parents when I was young, so I couldn't really do much for her, but I tried my best.

My cousin was kind enough to let her move in with us, but it wasn't easy. I dropped out of school back then, and so did she. But when it was time to give birth, she didn't make it. She died while giving birth to my daughter.

Ever since then, my daughter has been my whole world. A few times I tried to move on, but I noticed that my daughter was not happy about it, so I just devoted all my time, love, and affection to her. But, she's a big girl now."

I smiled. "Wow! I'm sorry about what happened in the past. It's quite sad. You must be very lonely."

"Not really," he replied. "My daughter is there to keep me company. We have a very good relationship. It's not the same as having a woman in my life, but at least there is someone for me to talk to and share my feelings with. What do you think your parents would say if they found out that you were dating someone who is twice your age?"

"I know for a fact that my dad would throw a fit, and my mom might as well, but the bottom line is that they both love me so much, and my happiness would always be their priority.

That is my source of comfort. It makes me believe that no matter what, in the end, I would always get their support." I replied.

"Okay, that's nice to hear." He said. "So, tell me about your hobbies."

"I have a few hobbies," I replied. "I love to cycle, I love to eat, but most importantly, I love to read. I also enjoy swimming."

"Swimming! He exclaimed. "Now, that's something we have in common."

"Yes, swimming is one of my hobbies," I emphasized.

"That's so nice," Lucas said. "Would you like to go swimming with me, sometime? There's a private pool in one of my hotels, we can go swimming there if you don't mind."

"Of course, I would love to go swimming with you, Lucas," I replied eagerly.

"It's a date then. Is tomorrow okay with you? I hope it won't affect your studies," he asked.

"No, it won't affect my studies. Today, I prepared for this date after I was done with my classes, and tomorrow we can also go swimming once I'm done with my classes," I said.

"That works for me," Lucas replied. "I'm mostly free in the evenings, except for when I make the time to go for my golf course which is once a week."

Lucas and I spoke at length, talking about ourselves, our childhood memories, embarrassing moments, and our hobbies.

However, my phone kept ringing, with the name, "Charmer," flashing on the screen. I didn't understand why he was disturbing me.

I had told him earlier in school that I was going to try to get Lucas to like me in the evening but I hadn't told him about the current stage we were in. I found it strange that he was calling me repeatedly. I kept rejecting his calls until he finally got fed up and stopped calling me.

"Sorry about that," I said to Lucas.

"It's okay," he replied. "So tomorrow, we are going swimming, okay?"

I nodded. "Okay."

He stared at me for a while before saying, "It's getting late. We should go. We wouldn't want your parents to get worried."

I sighed, trying not to show the disappointment I felt. Being a father, I knew that most of the decisions Lucas made when it came to us were because he was trying to put himself in my parents' shoes and me in his daughter's shoes.

If I were with a regular or younger guy, we probably would have stayed out very late, but it was still okay. I got to spend some time with him, and we shared a bottle of wine. Tomorrow, we were going swimming so, I had to get a sexy bikini.

Lucas began walking with me towards the parking lot where we both left our cars. Despite how much I tried to be happy, my sad feeling became obvious on my face.

Lucas had promised me that there would be more where the last kiss we shared came from, but so far, he hadn't done anything. Well, maybe because he was old, he was slower and was taking his time.

When I got to my car, I turned and stared at him, smiling. "I'm your girlfriend now, Lucas, so I don't need permission to do this."

I stood on my tippy toes and placed a kiss on his cheek. After that, I said, "Goodnight" and turned to open my car.

However, Lucas held my hand and pulled me back. My heart skipped a beat at this point. I stared at him as he cupped my face and crashed his lips against mine.

I placed my hand around his back and held onto his jacket as he prodded and explored my lips to his heart's content. I enjoyed every bit of it and wished it wouldn't come to an end, but eventually, he had to pull away because we had become out of breath.

I looked at him, and he said, "Oh Ella, there are so many things I want to do to you, but..."

"Don't hold back," I said to him. "Don't hold back, Lucas. I also want those things."

He stared at me in surprise. "Really?"

I answered his question by grabbing his face and kissing him once more. He ran his fingers along my hair and said, "You are so beautiful, Ella. I think you should go now before I do what I'm not supposed to do and have you right here."

I smiled, "Okay, I'll be leaving right now."

I waved at him, and then he turned to walk away, but I said, "Lucas!"

He turned and stared at me. "Yes?"

"I love you," I whispered.

He chuckled, and I added, "With all of my heart."

He stared at me while smiling, and I scurried into my car and drove away, feeling on top of the world.