Take My Breath Away

The girl was Megan.

When she saw Blair and Wesley walk out of the elevator together, she was taken aback at first, and then she squeezed out some tears and ran into Wesley's arms, weeping.

Wesley was concerned. "What's the matter?" he asked tenderly.

"I think someone is still stalking me."

Wesley turned towards the other side of the hallway. Seeing what he was doing, Blair turned her head too. Two bodyguards stood there. Noticing Wesley was staring at them, one of them walked over. "They were gangsters, Mr. Li. They followed us all the way here. Mr. Huo is still out of the country."

While they were talking, Blair placed her finger on the fingerprint scanner. With a beep, the door was unlocked, and she pushed it open and walked in sullenly.

When she closed the door, she could still hear Wesley discussing the stalkers in the hallway.

She turned the lights on, changed into slippers, and walked into the kitchen.

It was only when she opened the fridge that it occurred to her that she had forgotten to go to the grocery store. The fridge itself was pretty bare. There were only a few tomatoes sitting in there. She checked the cabinet and could only find two packages of instant noodles.

It seemed instant noodles would be the only thing on the menu tonight.

She tossed a packet of instant noodles onto the top of the counter and walked into the bedroom to get changed.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Who could that be?

It couldn't be Wesley. He was comforting his sad, terrified niece.

Blair peeked through the cat's eye and saw Wesley standing outside, looking a little impatient. She opened the door quickly and asked, "What can I do for you, Mr. Li?"

Wesley always got to the point. "I have stuff in my fridge. You're a better cook than I am, so why not come over and cook? We can eat together."

'We?' "By 'we, ' do you mean you and me or the three of us?" asked Blair. That was an important distinction. She wanted to get Wesley alone.

"The three of us." Megan hadn't eaten either. Wesley intended to give her a lift home after dinner.

"Oh. It's no fun being the third wheel, so I'll have to say no. Bye." With that, she shut the door in his face.

Staring at the closed door, Wesley felt frustration rising in him. But he didn't give up. A moment later, he rang the doorbell again.

Leaning against the door, Blair listened to the doorbell ring. She counted to herself, 'One, two, three, four, five.' Then she opened the door again. "Hi. Forget something, Mr. Li?"

"You wouldn't be a third wheel. Her name is Megan Lan. She's not my girlfriend," Wesley explained.

Blair smiled. 'Not bad. He's coming along nicely. At least he's trying to let me know what's going on.' Then she asked, "How do you know her?"

Wesley was starting to lose patience. He looked at her and asked her point-blank, "Are you coming or not?"

Blair had to say, "Yes." 'Wesley, you son of a bitch.'

Blair followed Wesley into his apartment. Where was Megan? She didn't see the girl anywhere. When she heard the door close, Megan trotted out from a bedroom. "Hi, nice to see you," she greeted Blair.

"Nice to see you too," Blair nodded with a smile. Then she grabbed the ingredients from the fridge and walked towards the kitchen.

"Thank you for dinner," Megan said to her politely.

Blair felt the girl was very cordial. She turned around and gave Megan a smile.

Wesley had bought a ton of groceries. Blair looked inside the bag and got an idea what to cook. She started to wash and trim the vegetables.

Not long after, Wesley walked in as well. He wore casual clothes, his hair half wet. From the looks of it, he must have just taken a shower.

Blair glanced at him, wondering why he was in the kitchen.

He pointed to the vegetables on the floor and said, "Here. I'll trim them."

Blair craned her neck to look in the direction of the living room. The living room was empty again. She briefly wondered where Megan was, but figured the girl had gone into the bedroom to do her homework.

Blair nodded to him and continued busying herself with cooking. She kept thinking about when to give him the present, and how happy he'd be.

She glanced at the empty living room again. Since Megan was nowhere to be seen, she wondered if she should give it to him now.

With only the two of them around, it wouldn't be too embarrassing—even if he turned her down.

"What are you looking at?" Noticing that she was staring at the living room, spacing out, Wesley followed her gaze.

His question disturbed her thoughts and broke her out of her reverie. She dropped the celery, washed her hands in the sink, and said, "Wait a minute."

She left Wesley's apartment in a hurry, dashed into her own and found the bag with the present in it. Her heart was racing from the rush. She took a few seconds to calm herself down. She looked as if nothing had ever happened when she walked back into his apartment.

In the kitchen, Wesley had just trimmed the chives. He picked up an eggplant, wondering whether Blair would cook it up or not.

Just then, Blair quietly walked into the kitchen.

Wesley stole a glance at her figure out of the corner of his eye. Then he grabbed the broom and silently swept the leaves and stray cuttings off the floor.

Standing at the door to the kitchen, blushing, Blair stumbled over her words, "Um, Wesley."

He looked at her and put the broom down.

Right then, they heard the sound of a door opening. Startled, Blair ran back into the kitchen and threw the bag into a random cabinet.

Wesley caught a glimpse of the bag, but he had no clue what was inside.

Before he could ask, Megan walked over to him. "Uncle Wesley, this English question baffles me. Help me out?"

"English?" Wesley looked at Blair, who was washing the chives. "She's an English major. Ask her."

Blair had been preoccupied with what she'd say when she gave Wesley his present, and how he might react. This made her way too nervous to pay any attention to Megan. Suddenly, she realized that he seemed to be talking about her. "Huh?" She turned to him, confused.

Tilting her head, Megan asked, "Uncle Wesley, your English is excellent. She couldn't be better than you, could she?"

Wesley admitted, "You bet she is. She's passed the TEM8, TOEFL, and IELTS tests." He sounded firm.

Megan's eyes were filled with admiration when she looked at Blair. "Wow! You're smart!" she said. The next second, the expression on her face changed. She grabbed Wesley's arm and pleaded, "But I like the way you teach me. I'd have to get used to a different style if she helped me. It's better if you do it. Please..."

Blair noticed the way Megan leaned on his shoulder and the way she talked to him. Wesley wasn't annoyed at all. "Okay, fine. I'll be there in a minute."

Megan scampered away. Wesley walked over to Blair, turned on the faucet and washed his hands. "What was in the bag?"

Blair's heart hurt as she watched the way Megan was with him. She pushed the sadness away and answered, "Nothing. Just seasoning."

He could tell at a glance whether she was telling the truth or not. Now that she didn't want to let him know, he didn't press the issue. After turning off the faucet, he left the kitchen and walked into the bedroom where Megan was doing her homework.

He didn't leave the room, even when dinner was ready.

Heart sinking, Blair carried the dishes out, placed them on the table one by one. She kept shifting her gaze to the bedroom. The door was closed, so she had no idea what was going on in there. When all the dishes had been served, she shed the apron and left Wesley's apartment without a word.