Didn't Want to Let Go

Anthony's hand froze on his cup of mocha as he looked at their intertwined hands. He smirked, "Did you think I would give up easily from a few words? You guys could be pretending to be a couple to brush me off. Did you expect me to accept such elementary level tricks?"

His words raised the boiling point of her patience. She hugged Alan's arm and smiled. "Anthony and whatever your last name is, I said I am not interested earlier. You misinterpreted my words. It's not that I am not interested in dating. My mind is filled with Alan. Translating it to simpler words, I am only interested in dating him. Anyone else won't be equal to a grain of sand in my eyes compared to him."

She almost applauded herself for saying these words smoothly.

Another fatal hit aimed for his heart as Anthony heard her words. This time, it was a straightforward rejection. His breathing fastened as he looked at Alan and then at her. Pointing towards him, Anthony started questioning them.

"What's so good about him? Compared to looks, grades and future, I am a much better choice. I've liked you for four years of college and tried looking for you. Unfortunately, I only found out about you through Lily much later. Still, I didn't give up any chances to get close to you." He said it all in one breath.

When his eyes met her indifferent gaze, he knew he his words stood didn't move her one bit. Ginny responded, "I'll say it bluntly. Thank you for having feelings for me, but there are better girls besides me. You should broaden your view and focus these feelings for another girl who would appreciate you. Although I've been listening to your words, your arrogance refused to accept no as an answer from me."

"Liking someone is one thing, but getting to know them is another. You can't force your feelings and pressure another person just because you have feelings for them. The method you chose to express your liking towards me was wrong. You could have approached me in a different way."

He remained still as she continued speaking to him. "Even if you wanted to be friends or anything more, you shouldn't have used this kind of stalking way. It only created fear and disturbance to my lifestyle when I found out someone was deliberately going through my public accounts. You wouldn't want someone doing what you did to you right?"

"I guess not." He bit his lip as he realized he had done something wrong.

"Nevertheless, I wouldn't have formed any feelings for you even if you did get to know me through Lily. I hope you understand what I'm trying to convey. I wish you luck in finding someone who would reciprocate the same feelings as you in the future. You should change your mindset as well when it comes to pursuing a girl. Stalking their social media is not the right way to do it."

After saying what she wanted to say, she tugged Alan's arm, indicating her desire to leave. He nodded and turned around to exit the cafe. When he stepped away from his table earlier, he paid for his drink already. Therefore, he was free to leave at any time he wished. Anthony didn't dare look up until he heard the door closing and bell jiggling.

A few drips fell from his face into his mocha as he sat back down and waited for his breakfast combo. Covering half his face with his palm, he looked out the window and saw Ginny smiling while holding onto Alan's hands. At that moment, his heart never felt as heavy as it did now. He genuinely liked her, but didn't dare tell her his feelings.

What he did was let his feelings be the judge of his rationality. He knew he shouldn't have stalked her and used lower hand methods to achieve his goals. Yet, he couldn't help but wanting to get close to her. All he ever wanted was to learn about her a little more than the day before.

Reaching his hand out to the glass window, he touched the space where Ginny and Alan connected. A small smiled appeared as he gasped out a breath of air. Closing his eyes, he let a few more drips of tears escape before wiping them away. 'Goodbye, my first crush.'

He finally figured out the difference between him and Alan. Alan wasn't afraid to show his feelings for her. Meanwhile, he didn't dare make his first step to talk to her normally. He lost entirely because of his weakness, not because of anyone.

The waiter brought over the breakfast combo as soon as it was ready to serve. Anthony smiled bitterly as he ate his meal. Meanwhile, Ginny and Alan were discussing what they should do next.

Ginny felt the weight lifted from her shoulders after spitting out words she wanted to say. She smiled as she swung their laced fingers back and forth as they walked towards a crowded space.

She looked up to meet his smile. "Ah, right. It's still early. Are you hungry? I saw you drinking something earlier, but didn't order food."

"Hmm? I'm a little bit hungry. I heard a pretty good bubble tea store around the area. Are you thirsty? We could get something to drink first while considering the food options." He suggested as he remembered her untouched water from the cafe.

"Talking about drinks, I am a bit thirsty. Then, the drinks will be my treat too." Her eyes brightened when she heard him mention bubble tea. She knew a new spot had opened recently, but never had the opportunity to taste it.

"Oh? I thought someone said she was going to treat me to a meal. Let me treat this time. You can treat for lunch." Stopping in front of the red streetlight, he noticed their hands were still linked together. Though he had realized it more than once since a while ago, he didn't want to let go. So, he didn't mention it.

"Okay. Okay. I owe you two meals then. Thank you for standing up for me at the cafe. If you didn't show up, I wouldn't be able to speak my mind. I'm bad at communicating with people." She pulled his hand as the streetlights changed to walking sign for pedestrians.

"No problem. I said I would be there for you, didn't I?"

She nodded in response and lowered her gaze to their hands. "Ah, sorry! I didn't realize I had been holding hands with you." She tried retracting her hands, but failed when his grip tightened. Looking at their hands and then towards him, she waited for him to say something.

"It's a populated area. We might lose each other and spend more time playing hide and seek. Let's stay close like this, so we don't separate." He said as she looked around and agreed with him.

"En. You're right. There are many people at this time." A smile appeared on her face as she went along with his words. The street they were walking on wasn't as crowded as before. In other words, she subconsciously didn't want to let go of his hands. She only mentioned it because she thought he would feel uncomfortable and didn't know how to say it.