Take My Breath Away

Wesley knew what Blair was talking about. Talbot and the other soldiers always addressed each other like that. Of course, they didn't dare do that to Wesley.

Blair then continued to ride some other amusement park rides. Each time, she enjoyed the ride by herself, while Wesley waited on the sidelines.

Finally, Blair felt bored and upset. It was no fun going on rides by herself. She said angrily, "Next up is the roller coaster. You'd better ride this one with me."

"Mmm hmm," was all he said.

"Is that yes or no? Tell me straight up. Will you ride the roller coaster with me?" Blair asked with a glum face.

Wesley sighed and nodded. Of course he would. That was why he came here in the first place. He knew she would be scared to ride the roller coaster by herself.

Blair's mood brightened again when she got his answer.

When they walked past a vending machine, Blair jogged over to it. She intended to buy two bottles of mineral water, but on second thought, she changed her mind and bought just one.

As she walked back to Wesley, she unscrewed the lid and took a few sips to quench her thirst. Then, she mischievously passed the bottle of water to him.

Much to her surprise, Wesley naturally grabbed the bottle and gulped down the rest in one go.

Moreover, he didn't show a hint of disdain on his face. Didn't he mind sharing the same bottle? It was like a second-hand kiss.

In a daze, Blair took the empty bottle back and shook it. He didn't leave her so much as a drop of water.

With a smile, he tossed the empty bottle into the bin near them, sinking it effortlessly. He then grabbed the dazed girl's hand and strode forward.

The warmth from his big hand snapped her back to reality. Blair flashed a sweet smile and moved a step closer to him, locking her arm in his. Pretending to be angry, she complained, "You owe me a bottle of water, mister."

"Okay." 'I bought you ten cartons of milk the other day. Just one bottle of water? No big deal.'

On their way to the roller coaster, two girls had been following them the whole time. Well, to be more precise, they followed Wesley. Tall, handsome, masculine aura—what girl wouldn't enjoy watching him?

The two girls thought that Blair was his girlfriend at first. But after watching them from a careful distance, the girls concluded they weren't a couple, because they weren't intimate.

Then later, they were sad when they saw Wesley drinking from the same bottle of water as Blair. But they weren't about to give up that easily. 'Well, maybe they're brother and sister.'

But the next fact struck them like a slap. The man held the woman's hand and then the woman locked arms with him. The man didn't pull away, but instead, he lowered his head to look at her lovingly. The way a boyfriend would look at his girlfriend.

Disappointed, the two girls instantly turned and stopped following them. Yes, they did appreciate hot guys, but they didn't mess around with someone who was already attached.

When he saw the two girls disappear into the crowd from the corner of his eye, Wesley finally felt relieved. He had noticed them tagging along, so he kept an eye on them.

His occupation trained him to be a vigilant man. It didn't matter who it was, he'd be able to figure out if he was being followed. The tiniest thing could alert him.

From a distance, they saw a roller coaster circle along the winding track. Screaming passengers could be heard, sending a shiver down Blair's spine. She suddenly wanted to chicken out.

It had been a few years since she had last ridden a roller coaster. She still remembered how scary it felt. It had sucked the life out of her when she exited the roller coaster. Recalling the experience, she was even more frightened now.

Wesley sensed that she was gradually slowing down and tightening her grip on his arm. Confused, he tilted his head to look at her.

Blair was staring at the roller coaster, fear evident in her eyes. She was hesitant, halting.

Knowing what was going on, Wesley gripped her hand, practically dragging her there.

Blair realized his intent. In a shaky voice, she stammered loudly, "W-Wesley... Wait... I'm afraid of heights. Let me go."

Wesley grinned and comforted her, "It's not that high." He guesstimated it might be no more than 60 meters high, which was roughly equivalent to a twenty-story building. He remembered the Kingda Ka roller coaster at Six Flags New Jersey was about 139 meters tall, more than twice the height of this one.

"But it's really fast. I get carsick, too." Blair tried to come up with another excuse.

"So are bullet trains. You get sick on those, too?" He took a quick look, and figured the roller coaster might hit 160 km/h, maybe 190 on the downhill runs. But a bullet train could reach 300-350.

Blair wanted to cry. She racked her brain to try finding another excuse to avoid the terrifying fate that awaited her. Each step closer to the large steel track made it that much harder to breathe. She could feel her legs trembling. "I don't think it's safe. The equipment looks pretty old. I don't want to die here."

"Hey, I'm going too. Before we came here, I got some safety inspectors to figure out if the rides were safe. And guess what they found? Nothing. You'll be fine," Wesley assured her. He still had a lot of things on his bucket list. He intended to cross them off one day.

The shivering woman was shocked to hear that. She didn't expect him to have enough prestige to order a safety inspection.

Despite Blair's reluctance, Wesley finally managed to drag her to the queue for the roller coaster. A lot of youngsters were lined up, most of them were young girls. They stood there with them. Blair felt embarrassed. Everyone looked brave, except her. She was the only one who hid behind a man in mortal fear.

She let out a light cough and let go of Wesley's arm. She straightened up and cheered herself up. "Anyway, you're going with me. As long as I have you to hold onto, I won't be scared."

Wesley nodded approvingly. "That's right. You can just pretend it's a merry-go-round."

Blair rolled her eyes at him. 'Merry-go-round? There's a huge difference!'

At the thought of it, Blair pursed her lips gloomily. People's thrilling screams came wave after wave, making her more and more uneasy.

Soon, it was their turn. As soon as they were allowed to get inside, Blair grabbed his hand and headed towards the last row of seats. "Quick! Let's sit in the last row. That's less scary," she urged.

But Wesley stopped her. "No." He dragged her in the opposite direction and stopped at the first row.

"No way! I'm not sitting in the first row!" she screamed, ready to escape.

Ignoring her protests, Wesley scooped her up and sat her down in one of the seats of the first row, while explaining, "Trust me. You won't be happy in the last row. If you sit in the first row, you get to see the action, up close and personal. The reason why a roller coaster is so thrilling is that you get to see what's going on. But in the back row, you're essentially weightless. If you don't have a strong stomach, you'll be emptying its contents by the end. That's not good for you, and I know it's not fun. Sit in the middle row, and you might as well throw away your ticket. Your view is blocked. You need to be able to see. It's more fun that way."

As he said that, he already sat next to Blair, fastened their seatbelts and closed the lap bars. After confirming everything, they just waited for the staff to check on their safety restraints. Blair clutched his hand tightly and said in a trembling voice,

"Okay...I trust you. You never lie."

Wesley smiled, "That's right.

Just like I told you." She felt a little better after hearing what he said. 'Yeah, he'd never lie to me!' she told herself.

A worker checked on the passengers one by one. After that, the bell rang, letting everyone know the ride was about to start. Wesley squeezed her hand, giving her comfort. "I'm by your side. Don't be afraid. You're safe."

Blair swallowed a little saliva and slowly tilted her head. She stared into his eyes; the deep and firm look in his eyes touched her heart. "Mmm hmm," she nodded.

He was here; she wasn't afraid.

Blair closed her eyes as the train slowly began its run.