Changed the outline of this story a bit. It will still involve Zoe but I think that will happen much later, right now it's more just about Nick and his relationship with Lara. Thanks for all the reviews! Really enjoying writing this.

Nick felt slightly groggy when he woke up that morning, he hadn't got to bed till after 2am and the wine he and Zoe had consumed didn't help either. 'Nothing a hot shower and bacon roll can't fix' Nick thought to himself.

Nick jumped in the shower, the water falling all over his tanned body; he had been in Ibiza at his friend's apartment for a few days just before he had met Lara for the first time in that hotel and had managed to work up a good colour. He had a decent body for someone who was 49 years old, maybe he could do with losing a few pounds around his stomach but he was a striking presence at nearly 6ft 2 and he knew it. He began to think about Lara; her long legs which had been wrapped round him on numerous occasions during the last month, her cute bum which he just wanted to nibble on and her DD boobs which he wanted in his hands right now. She had a beautiful face too, in fact it was stunning. He hadn't been with someone this young in a long time; back in his days of surgery he had slept with so many young nurses that he lost count but he had never kept it going this long, plus he was in his 30's then so the age gap didn't seem as bad. "25 years…" he muttered to himself as he reached for the shampoo. That was the age gap between himself and Lara but why was he so worried about this still? Zoe was right, it didn't matter! He needed to get these worries out of his head and just get on with it; they could work. He was very attracted to her, she was smart and funny, she obviously wanted him… he just needed to take Zoe's advice and loosen up. Zoe had basically confirmed that they were over last night and as much as this hurt him, he was Nick Jordan, he wasn't going to go chasing after her, looking pathetic. Zoe meant the world to him but it was starting to look like she was now out of his reach.

Nick started to think about the photo that Lara had sent him last night and reached down for his dick and began to stimulate himself, slowly. He was hard almost instantly, he rested his free arm against the tiles to support him and began to frantically wank himself off to the image of Lara tied up on his bed in those handcuffs, he imagined pushing her panties to the side and his massive dick going in and out of her hole. He shot his load all over the tiles, breathing slowly in an attempt to recover. Nick washed himself and the tiles down and jumped out of the shower, he was now running a bit late but he was the boss after all and who was going to tell him off?

Nick pulled up in his gun metal Porsche outside the ED and took the last bite of his bacon roll as he saw Dixie and Jeff wheeling in a patient. He caught up with them as they went through the doors of the ED. "What have we got Dixie?" Nick asked in his authoritative 'Clinical Lead' voice. "Male, 23 years old, multiple stab wounds to the abdomen." Dixie shouted back as Nick passed his coat and briefcase to Noel over the reception desk. As he followed the trolley into resus he knew that this was going to be a busy day.

It was now 7pm, Nick's shift had ran over by an hour or so, not that it bothered him as he loved his work. It had been one of those days where every single time he attempted to go back to his office to do paperwork, he was dragged back out instantly into resus. Nick sat down at his desk in attempt to gather his thoughts before he left and sort out any paperwork that may need to be done before he left, he was off for 2 days and hated to think that he had left any of his work for Zoe or Dylan to do. There was a knock at his door, "Come in!" bellowed Nick. It was Noel; "Mr J, Dr Hanna called whilst you were treating Mrs Cunningham. She asked if you could call her back on her mobile ASAP?". "Yeah, I will. Thanks Noel." Nick had totally forgot to call Zoe, never mind Lara. He picked up his iPhone, 2 messages and 2 missed calls. One call was from Zoe and the other was from his Mum, he would call them both back soon. He was more concerned with the texts, both of whom were from Lara.

'Oh god I have such a hangover today, got a photoshoot and everything. Nothing a bottle of Lucozade and a fry up can't fix! Can't wait to see you tonight. Still Ok for 8ish? Fancy getting a takeaway? L xx'

'Nick… you ok? We still on for tonight? Just say if you don't fancy it or anything has come up. L x'

He understood totally why she had sent that 2nd text, he hadn't replied to her message that she had sent nearly 7 hours ago. Her cuteness made him smile as he typed his reply.

'Sorry Lara I have been rushed off my feet all day and haven't even been near my phone. Yeah of course I am still on for tonight… I am so excited to see you. Yeah we can order something in, my treat but your choice ;) How is the hangover? Hope it wasn't too bad? Bet you looked sexy at the shoot… Do you want me to pick you up on my way home from work? I will be finished in the next 40 mins? N xx'

Zoe. He opened his messages and began to type a message.

'Hey Zo, sorry I missed your call. You will be pleased to know that I am seeing Lara tonight and I might even take her out for lunch tomorrow… I want to see if this can work. You made me realise that this could be something, a relationship even maybe. Thanks Zo. You mean the world to me, you do realise that yeah? I will see you on Tuesday, don't mess up my office too much. Nick x'

Nick packed his stuff together and typed his out of office message on his computer, he was only off for 2 days but he would probably receive about 100 emails in that time. His phone buzzed in his pocket, it was Lara.

'Yeah that sounds good :) See u in a while then, I am just gonna have a quick shower so just let yourself in if I am still in. Bottom door code is 3454 and my door code is 2874. Nah… the hangover got a bit better, might have a glass of wine tonight to keep it away though haha! Oh by the way… I forgot to say, my friends guessed that I had been seeing someone and I told them about us, I hope you don't mind? L xx'

Nick read the text… 'us'. That word stuck out. If he could accept that word then surely there was no other stumbling blocks to this becoming something.

'No of course… that's fine. I have told my friend, my best friend Zoe, about us too. I think we should have a chat tonight about 'us' ;) after our fun of course though! I will pick up some wine, what do you drink? N xx'

He felt bad that he had been seeing Lara for a month but had no idea about what she drank, he wanted to rectify this and start acting like a gentleman. His phone buzzed again but this time it was Zoe.

'Hi Bozo. That's good, well done! Now give this thing a go! Ha-ha... I am going out tonight so will be using your office to sleep off a hangover tomorrow, in between patients no doubt. I know Nick… you mean the world to me too. You really do. Now get off and show this girl a good time. Zo xxx Keep me updated with gossip please :)'

Bozo… she always called him that. He loved the fact that Zoe had never calmed down, she was still a party girl, even in her late 30's. He locked his phone content with what was happening. He felt a weight lift off his shoulders and butterflies in his stomach, he couldn't believe that by simply talking to Zoe about the whole thing that his feelings could be totally changed. She really did mean the world to him.

'Rose or white L xx' came the text from Lara.

Nick laughed to himself as he typed back; 'You young ones don't appreciate a good red. No problem babes, I'll get a bottle of each. N x'

Nick clicked his office door shut and waved goodbye to everyone in the ED. "Bye Mr J, see you Tuesday" shouted Noel from the reception desk.