Two hours after Layla had departed, Elena went over to set up her room. It was this large bedroom, with a relatively larger bed, with thick mattress and blue sheets. There wasn't much more to be done, truth be told. Maca had prepared everything for her so that she would find them in order when she had finally arrived. She was also too tired to unpack now, and the pregnancy had a fair share on her fatigued body. After a shower and brushing her teeth, Elena jumped into the bed, took her already unpacked diary, and flopped herself comfortably on the bed. She was about to start scribbling something down when she heard her phone ring. She quickly searched for it and found it inside the back pocket of her jeans and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hello... it's me."
"Lance?" She asked.
"Yes. It's me."
"What's wrong? I can hear you panting heavily."
"I'm outside your gates. I need to talk to you. Please."
"Right now?"
"Yes..." Lance answered. "Right now."
"Okay, wait up... I'm coming." Elena said and jumped off the bed. She put on a pair of loose sweatpants and darted out of the house, phone in her hand. She raced over to the gate and found three dogs patrolling the outside dark night. It was almost nine. She hitched a sudden stop as they all stopped and looked at her strangely, growling sounds coming out of their canine jaws. Elena bit her lips in fear as she took some steps back, away from them.
"Pedro, Killer, Kaki!" Alia Macarena blurted from the porch of the house. She ranted something in Spanish that made Elena giggle as the dogs sprung away. Elena looked at her aunt and smiled at her before she turned for the gate. She reached and opened it up. She saw Lance standing by the car that they had used earlier in the day and his driver Emilio was inside it.
"What's wrong?" Elena asked, petrified.
"Could we talk inside?" He told her as he reached for her. Once in, and the gate having been closed by Lance, she turned to him.
"What's wro-" Elena's words were cut short when Lance's lips rested on hers, shushing her up. Elena felt the warmth on his soft lips as he kissed her, and she couldn't help but kiss him back. She must have lost track of time because she couldn't quite figure out how her hands went across him and she pulled himself closer to him. She felt the wave of affection, the electricity of attention, and the love that his kiss was giving her. She kissed him for a minute or so before he pulled away. He panted heavily as he looked at her, blue eyes filled with Elena's fetishes.
"Why'd you kiss me? What's the matter?" Elena asked, trying to catch her breath.
"You're so beautiful... and I'm in love with you," Lance told her, his hands cupping her by the cheeks. His sentence was broken with some involuntary pants.
"Thank you?" Elena told him as she scored his face.
"It was stupid shouting at you. I had no right whatsoever and I see that now. I'm sorry that I poured my frustrations on you for nothing... I'm sorry that I behaved like a jerk today. I know you were trying to be supportive of my work and I took it the wrong way. Forgive me, please. I cannot live without you so please don't send me away please..." Lance told her, his breathing heaved.
Elena told him after a long look on his face. "I forgive you." If Layla would be here she would have boiled like lava over Elena already. That would be a wrong answer from her perspective. Elena listened and trusted one of the Purcells once upon a time, and ended up paying the price. She wasn't going to repeat the same mistake.
"Really?" He asked. "Like really?"
"Yes." Elena giggled. "Yeah."
"Thank you... thank you. I'll never repeat that."
"And I promise not to look into your things ever again," Elena told him, affording a smile in the end. "It was also stupid and immature."
"No, it was cool. I mean you graduated with a Bachelor in Chemical Engineering, I don't see why such things as my invention would not interest you. You know what? Tomorrow, come by and I'll show you everything you want to know."
"Are you serious?" Elena asked once again.
"Yes. I don't want any more secrets between us. I told you we were going to make this work and I'm going to uplift that promise. It's going to be hard, but first how about we don't hold any more secrets from each other?"
"Hmm... I would love to come, but I need to lay low for a while now. The trip has been overwhelming."
"Or maybe I can bring them here," Lance told her.
"No, no... really it's okay. I just need to relax and have some alone time to think through everything that Mrs. Purcell told me."
"Think? What did Layla tell you?"
"She told me to forgive her son..."
"And do you want to?" Lance asked.
"I dunno... I mean I just forgave you, and him... it's complicated and that's why I need some time to think."
"Take your time... it's okay. I understand where you come from, and I know where you want to head. I will be here when you need me. Okay?"
Elena nodded and wrapped her arms around him once again.
"Rest, Elena," Lance told her as he kissed her on her hair. Elena smiled from down below. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," She answered as she left his embrace. She took two steps back as she looked at him.
"Tell your aunt I said hi." He finished as he reached the small door by the gate.
"Lance." Elena blurted. He stopped and looked at her black eyes filled with confusion. She ran over to him and hugged him tightly. She then skimmed at his face, and lastly at his lips. She moved her lips towards his once again and the earlier feeling came rushing in once again... only intensified. Elena's kiss pulled him into her until all gravity was lost in her lovely wrap. Her stomach twisted in the other direction, as her knees melted, feeling weakened by his affection and compassion. His hands were lost, rooted deep inside her black hair, as the feel of her cold body zeroed all his senses to make her feel warm, and feel alive again. Like fire, he burned bright for her, and she felt the warmth he gave her in the kiss. They both pulled away later on and looked at each other smiling. Lance bid her farewell once again, her fetishes clouding his mind. The day had just ended perfectly. And that's all that mattered to him.
When she had closed the gate, she felt a sudden spark inside her. Like a vast dark universe being lit by the big bang. She lost her mind in thoughts about Lance. Was he who the Purcells say he was or was he just this normal average guy? Webs of lies about him were in her mind. She was hiding her pregnancy from him. Layla was hiding facts about him from her, only that the only way of knowing them was having to return to the United States and ask Ethan himself. Her aunt Macarena had never seen the guy before, yet she was acting like she had known him for a long time. She was of course denying the talk of what she meant earlier on when Elena asked her about it during dinner. Everywhere she looked around she found that she was surrounded by lies, and all in their different ways connected to Lance. What did all these people have on him, and why couldn't they tell her. She reached for her diary by the bed once again and opened up the page.
31st January 2017.
She took a pen.
Dear diary, she wrote, I've finally got to my aunt's place in Mexico. The city is great and the people are nice. The weather is fine and life is just as it is. I however have one question... everyone I know is trying so hard to cover Lance Harper. Too many secrets around him, from me, included. Do I know the man I'm trying so hard to be in love with? Who am I dating? Who is Lance Harper?