C11 The Decision

He was waiting with bated breath all night and now the response he's been waiting for has finally arrived. So why is he hesitating? It was the love of his life for sure. It was her, the one he's been dreaming of ever since the accident. He wasn't resisting, but he was so anxious that he could not click. His heart was racing a million beats a minute. All this time, being so alone, and now the chance for love has come. A love he can surely be a part of without fear. He summons all his courage and clicks on the email. It said the following:

'I saw your request and I am interested in a date. I hope you respond.'

That was it. That was all that was written, and it was all he wanted to hear. He gets off his chair from both excitement and fear. He was so happy but so frightened at the same time. But why was he like this? Probably because, even though he is nearing 30 years old, this was his first date ever! Yes, he has never been on a date before, and he was so scared of making himself look like a fool. This feeling of anxiety and uncertainty, he didn't like it. It even felt painful; just as much as the pain on his leg as he remembers that he had a broken leg and immediately sits down.

Looking at the email with all these feelings, he decides to respond back.

Meanwhile, Leila and Tomi were still going on about their day. While Tomi was talking about herself, in the back of Leila's mind she was thinking about the dating app. She was so nervous. She was hoping that this would all just be a big misunderstanding and the guy would just forget about her. Maybe he'll think she is too young for him. Or maybe the admins of the site would realize she lied about her age and kick her out. She was thinking that this was the best scenario because she just didn't know what to do.

Then suddenly she got a notification on her phone. She takes her phone from her purse and checks it.

"He responded!" she tells Tomi.

"Well, don't just stand there looking at your phone. What does it say?"

Leila opens the e-mail and finds the following:

'Hello, Amber. Thanks for accepting my offer. I'm hoping we can get to know each other well. My name is Dexter Marian, I'm the CEO of the Fusion Car Company. I think you are a stunning woman and I hope that we will get along well.'

"Oh my gosh," said Tomi, "it really is him! That guy that was in that accident! It must be fate!"

"Fate? No, no, this must be a mistake."

"What mistake, look. He's asking you out, the man you rescued from that car crash."

This felt impossible. The very same person she rescued was now asking her out on a date. A CEO that was 10 years older than her, "this doesn't feel right."

"Oh, Leila, not that again. Just go out with him. It's okay."

"Is it? I'm lying about my age and I'm going to have to keep up the lie if I choose to go out with him."

"But you want to be treated like an adult, right? You keep complaining about how everyone keeps treating you like a kid. Now that you have the chance to be treated like a fully grown woman, you go back to being a tiny toddler."

"I'm not a toddler, it's just that this feels wrong."

"Well make up your mind. Do you want to be treated like a woman, or do you want to be treated like a kid?"

Leila hated this predicament. The right thing to do was to just forget about everything, right? This was indeed lying. She could get in trouble if people found out. But then again, hearing her overbearing mother's voice was haunting her. That old lady would not leave Leila alone for even a second. She wanted to escape that witch.

"So what should I do?"

"Reply. Tell him you'd love to go out with him. Then he'll set up the date."

With nervous hands, Leila did just that and replied to him.

It didn't take long for Dexter to get the reply as it said:

'Sounds great. When do you want to go out?'

This was it! He was going to finally meet the woman of his dreams face to face!