Lucas

"You're a lucky man to have Nicole. Don't ever let her go. She's a real gem."

The words Nicole's ex-boyfriend said when he called me out as we were making our way to the car still hung around in my head, almost like an on going, never stopping alarm clock.

Also like an annoying (that was anything but!), nagging reminder, that hasn't left my mind since yesterday was the thought of what Pixar had proposed to me. In order for me to follow my dreams and actually making them come true, I had to leave it all behind in London, and pack my bags permanently. That meant leaving my sister and leaving Lexi, who in all honesty, needed me.

Nicole's words snapped me out of my relenting thoughts.

"Luc, did you hear me?"

"Uh, sorry. What is it?"

"I was asking you, what's the dress code for tonight? If there is one, of course."

Ah, tonight. Tonight was the night I was taking Nicole out on her perfect date, and I was beyond excited about it. We didn't have a lot of proper, romantic dates, except that dinner at my place, although I wouldn't even qualify that one as an actual date. 

I wanted to take her out, visit some place different with her. After she let me in on her little secret of her perfect date and after I had my trip to California set up, I talked with Diane about all the details that I needed to take care of before we went to the Santa Monica Pier. 

"There's no dress code. Wear whatever you want." 

"So I don't need to worry about going to a fancy restaurant dressed like a tramp?"

I laughed at her question and rubbed her shoulders gently. "Nope. Just trust me, will you?"

"Of course, mister." She pecked my lips quickly and disappeared into the bathroom to apply a little bit of (unnecessary) make up.

Not too long after she was going through some of her clothes and chose a simple, casual outfit - with dark blue jeans, brown boots and a beige lacy shirt that matched beautifully with the denim jacket she had on, she was ready and set to go out with me to the date she looked forward the most her entire life.

We got in the car and drove through Pacific Coast Highway which is easily the most beautiful trip anyone could take, with the most breathtaking views I've ever seen.

Every time I looked to my right I had Nicole's big, brown eyes that looked like two roasted coffee beans starring at me, with the endless blue ocean behind her. The window was opened just an inch but it was enough to let the wind enter the car and cause her hair to dance around frenetically, letting the aroma of cinnamon and vanilla of her hair to travel right to my nostrils.

We stopped whenever it was possible to take some pictures, the heated colors of autumn that usually painted the city of London in its colorful leaves were the same that painted the clear sky in California. 

Finding a place to park the car was no easy task, but after we finally found a teeny tiny spot where we could fit the car in, we made our way through the crowds and finally arrived at Santa Monica Pier, Pacific Park. 

Once she realized we were heading towards the place that we'd talked about before, the place that she'd so badly wanted to go to, on a date, she was over the moon excited about it.

I turned my head to look at Nicole and her wide smile and the twinkle in her eyes made my heart flutter. 

"You're the best boyfriend ever, thank you so much!" Her lips were pursed as she kissed my cheek and squeezed my hand. 

The sound of children giggling as they passed by us, now making their way home, and the sound of adults screaming from the giant roller coaster that flew above our heads made me turn my head into all directions, trying to capture the magical quality of this place as much as I could.

"Oh, let's go get some nachos!" She said, pulling my by the hand to the blue stand on the corner. 

The colorful lights of the giant wheel and the smell of deep fried desserts and cotton candy caught my attention, but most importantly it caught my heart. 

This city had the love of my life, the four walls where my dreams could possibly come true, good food, good views, warm weather... What was there not to love? 

"Hey, what's on your mind?"

"Nothing." 

With a box filled with nachos in each hand of ours, we walked side by side along the pier, not daring to take our eyes off of the ocean the reflected the blue sky above us like a mirror. 

"I know it's something. Is it the Pixar offer?"

I smiled to myself at how she could read me like a book so well. "It's one of the things."

"Lucas, you've got plenty of time to think about it. It's such a big decision to make, I know it can't be easy."

"The thing is... The decision is pretty much made. I mean, it's a no brainier." I shrugged my shoulders and her eyes met mine again. I continued. "If I take them up on their offer, I get the dream and I get the girl."

Both our expressions softened as we starred at each other, after reaching the end of the pier and standing still. 

"No, don't do that. When I did this, I didn't mean it as a reason to have you here in LA with me. That wasn't my intention at all-"

"I know. I know that. I know you wouldn't do that."

"You're always gonna have the girl. Whether you're here or in London. God, even if you move across the world to the Philippines, you'll always have the girl. I love you way too much to give up on us just because we don't live in the same country. If we have to embark on a long distance relationship then, so be it! There's no one else I'd rather be with anyway." 

I reached my hand out to her box and fished out a few nachos and took them to my mouth. 

"Say something." She playfully hit my arm before taking a few nachos from my own box as well, mirroring my actions. 

"I love you." 

A smile crept across her face, making her lips curl upwards while her eyes shone like stars, while I knew deep down she was trying to fight it. 

"There's no one else I'd rather be with than you, trust me. But a long distance relationship isn't what I'm looking for. It will never work." 

Not for the future I have in mind for us. I kept this last part to myself. 

"So, what? It's either me or your dream? Come on, Lucas."

"I didn't say that. I... I have so much more that I need to think about."

"I know, you have your sister and Lexi to think about." 

"It's not just them, it's... everything. But hey," My fingers wrapped themselves around her arm gently. "I don't want us to go down this rabbit hole right now. I just want us to live in the present. Wasn't that what we agreed on when we first started dating? A day at a time?"

"Yes. Yes, you're right. Let's think about it only when we need to. Now will you please stop stealing my nachos?"

I chuckled at her and with an arm wrapped around her shoulders, I pulled her close to my chest and kissed the top of her head. 

"Never."

Both of us did our best to put the little conversation we just had aside, and focused on the cool rides we had waiting for us. 

The first one we decided to go on was the colorful roller coaster, and although there was no vomiting involved - thankfully! - it was a bad idea to go there after our snack. With queasy stomachs, we laughed out loud until our cheeks hurt and we had tears in our eyes while we discussed how bad of a decision it was to get twirled around in the air at the speed of light right after each of us ate a box filled with melted cheese covered nachos. 

That resulted in us getting a couple of water bottles before we waited a few minutes in line to go inside the photo booth. As it was fair to expect, the park was quite crowded - it was Saturday night and it was a long weekend. We were fine with the wait, as it gave us more time to drink our plain water and get our stomachs at an ease. 

When it came to our turn to go in, we were feeling a lot better, which helped in getting our pictures to turn out better than what we were feeling a few minutes ago. 

Nicole went in first, taking the seat in the corner, and I went in second, taking the small seat next to her while I pulled the black curtain shut. 

"So... what are we supposed to do exactly?"

"Have you never been to one of these before?" She asked in disbelief, as if it was completely out of this world that I haven't. 

"Nope."

"Well, me neither." She turned to me as she responded, biting her bottom lip while she shrugged her shoulders. "Just do whatever you want to do."

Oh, she shouldn't have said that.

She focused on the screen in front of us, clicked on the button and as soon as it started snapping pictures I wrapped my arms around her middle and pulled her close to me - even more than we were before in that tiny space - keeping a firm grip on her body as she squirmed under me while I kissed her cheek repeatedly, then her neck and finally her lips. 

Four photos came out in a vertical line up and she held it in her hands gently, admiring every single one of them. 

"These are so cute. You're too cute." She looked up at me and I felt my expressions soften when her eyes met mine. 

"Wanna take a few more?" Was all I managed to say after her chocolate colored eyes caused my brain to blank. 

"Yes, of course! Silly faces this time, though."

I did as told, and the next four snaps were printed, revealing different poses and hand gestures and funny expressions. 

It's like the childish side of me had been numb for all these past years, and she brought it back. I used to be much more care free, much more relaxed, I used to dream and to actually believe in myself but then, somewhere along the way, I grew up and adulthood took my true self away from me, and I let it happen. 

Nicole came into my life and somehow, she made me go back to who I was once before. She effortlessly turned me into who I really am, and deep down always have been.

Looking back at these pictures of me sticking my tongue out or making the peace sign behind Nicole's head, I see it clearly now - there's no comparison to the happiness that lives in me now. 

With much better stomachs and happy with the result of our little photo shoot, I bought us creamy pink colored cotton candy that tasted like all kinds of berries before we went in line for the Ferris wheel. 

The view from the top was nothing short of extraordinary - on one side there was the ocean, that was now, at almost eleven o'clock at night, barely visible, but still beautiful as it reflected the full moon that lit up the sky tonight, and the bright rainbow of colors from the park. On the other side there were tall buildings and palm trees. Not to sound too cliché about it, but Los Angeles was exactly like what you see in movies. 

"Alright, I got one more thing I need to do tonight to make your perfect date come true."

I held my hand out for her as we got out of the cabin and pulled her as we made our way to the next game spot. 

"You wanna win something for the pretty lady?" The caramel skin and the Latin accent made me smile - how I loved the melting pot of culture that this city was.

"What a man gotta do?" I handed him a ten dollar bill, the amount of money I saw on the small billboard outside the stand.

"Grab the darts. Ten for five darts. Aim and... good luck! Two balloons, you get one small monkey. Five balloons, you get a large monkey."

I turned to my side, where Nicole was, and winked at her, who simply giggled at me with her palms pressed together, resting on her chest, watching in anticipation as I tried my best to win her something. Hitting five balloons was a long shot, literally. 

The sound of the first balloon popping was followed by the sound of Nicole squealing, which proved that she too, wasn't too convinced I could actually win. 

The sound of all the other four remaining balloons popping echoed in my head and the visuals of purple, yellow, blue and orange coloring the white canvas behind them as they popped guaranteed my win of a large monkey. 

Nicole screamed out loud and joined in as I talked to the man behind the counter. 

"Congratulations!" He said, his broad smile showing. "So, miss, which monkey will you want?"

With a finger resting in her chin she gave it some thought before answering. "The green and blue one!" 

The man turned in his heels and climbed on a ladder to get the large stuffed animal down, and handed it to Nicole. She held it close to her chest, almost as if she was back to being ten years old, and leaned in the tips of her toes to kiss me. 

"Thank you! Nice aim, by the way!"

"Didn't know I had it in me." We waved the man goodnight and made our way out of the pier, and back to the parking lot. 

"Seriously Lucas, thank you so much for tonight. It was amazing, it was by far my favorite night ever!"

"I thought your favorite night was when you knocked on my door, all wet and feeling lost." I teased her with a sassy grin and she jokingly hit me with the toy.

"I was lost then. Now I'm found." 

Those final three words held a meaning that may be incomprehensible to others, but I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, what she meant. And I felt it too.

  * * *

Author's Note: 

Hey lovelies! Big news - this book you're reading just won an honorable mention from @Romance ( Romance Reads Contest ) and yes, I am pretty happy, excited and shocked all at once! 💖

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Xoxo, Mars