Take My Breath Away

"What about red roses?" Blair asked tentatively.

Wesley hesitated and then said, "No. Not those." Even though he had little to no knowledge about the meanings of different flowers, he knew red roses meant "I love you."

They weren't a couple, so he couldn't buy her red roses.

"So much for your promise. Wesley, you don't need to come by every day..."

"Fine, I'll buy you the red roses." He finally gave in. Anyway, buying her a bouquet of red roses didn't necessarily mean they were boyfriend-girlfriend.

Blair leaned against the wall and looked at the bouquet of yellow roses in her arms. She smiled. "How about this? If you say 'I love you, ' then you don't have to buy me flowers," she suggested.

"No." He would rather buy the red roses than confess his love to her.

To him, the words "I love you" meant a commitment. He couldn't say them casually. He wasn't afraid of commitment—he was afraid of breaking that commitment because he was a soldier.

Blair wasn't surprised, nor was she angry. She already knew his answer even before she asked. She stood on tiptoe to draw her face near to his and whispered, "Wesley, listen. I'll go back to the apartment with you. But we can't keep doing this. I'll get tired of it, and want real love. When that happens, there will be no 'us.' We won't have a future anymore..."

He tightened his arms around her waist. Their noses touched; they could feel each other's breath, the lifting of the chest as they drew in air. After a moment of silence, he said quietly, "Blair, there are a lot of ways to love someone. Being together isn't the only way. If you're happy, so am I."

Blair felt like she had heard those words somewhere. 'Oh, right! On TV. The guy always says that to the girl, ' she realized.

At the thought of it, she sighed helplessly. Wesley was so stubborn. She found it hard to communicate with him. "You don't need to buy me red roses. I like the yellow ones. They're beautiful." As she finished speaking, she pushed the man away from her and began to arrange the pressed flowers nicely.

"Go back with me." He stressed his purpose again.

Blair nodded. "Before that, answer me one question. Are you dating Garnet? I love you, but if you already have a girlfriend, I can't. I won't be the other woman."

Wesley answered succinctly, "I don't like her."

"But she likes you."

"That's her problem," he said firmly.

"Okay. Let's go back home." Blair handed the flowers to him, and began to pack her things.

Some minutes later, hand in hand, Wesley and Blair checked out of the hotel together, the soldier dragging her suitcase behind them. The girl held a bouquet of yellow roses the whole time.

Just as they walked to the gate, they bumped into a couple that Wesley knew. They greeted each other briefly and then said their goodbyes.

When Wesley was out of sight, the woman said to the man, "Honey, the girl next to the Li family's son looked different from the little girl we met last time. Is he two-timing her?"

The man didn't find it surprising at all. He said nonchalantly, "He's from a rich and powerful family. He probably has lots of lovers."

"You're right. Rich people—go figure. Wesley has a nice figure on him. He may need more than just one to satisfy him," the woman said bluntly in front of her husband. She didn't feel the slightest bit embarrassed talking about sex.

But the man got nervous. He hissed, "Shush! Don't talk so loud. Don't mention his name, for God's sake. If someone hears us, we could get in trouble."

In an instant, the woman stole a look around the hotel. There was no one within earshot.

Blair was already in Wesley's car, both of them heading to the Eastern Coastal Apartments.

On their way, Blair asked Wesley to stop at a flower shop.

He expected her to ask for the red roses again. But unexpectedly, she picked up a bouquet of black cymbidium orchids. Those were pretty rare, and they caught her eye. She asked Wesley to pay for it.

After getting into the car, Wesley saw a happy smile on the girl's face. He didn't know why, but he was happy, too.

Suddenly, Blair looked at him.

"Wesley, can you swing by Megan's? I loved her gift, and I thought I'd return the favor."

"What are you up to?" He cast a sidelong glance at her, confused.

Blair blinked naughtily. "Didn't she give you some advice about buying me the flowers last time? You should go thank her."

Taking a look at the black flowers she was holding, he immediately understood what was going on.

Soon, they arrived at Megan's apartment. At first, Megan was happy to see Wesley, but when the soldier handed her a bouquet of black cymbidium, her face instantly changed abruptly. "Uncle Wesley, what..."

Wesley nodded, "Yeah, it's from me."

Megan bit her lower lip to hold back her anger. She didn't take the flowers from him and asked, "Uncle Wesley, what? Why?"

He replied calmly, "Thank you for your advice about flowers for Blair."

Megan was no fool, and quickly figured out what was going on. With a bitter smile, she said, "Blair's idea, right?"

He was silent.

"Do you know the meaning behind these flowers?"

Wesley was almost driven crazy by the words "meaning" and "flower." When he heard them again, he lost his patience. "I don't care about that."

With that, he threw the flowers into her arms and turned around to leave. Megan said quickly, "It means the girl's a ho. She's an unfaithful slut..."

Wesley stopped in his tracks. Who knew there could be so many different flower meanings? It was beyond his knowledge.

"Why did Blair have you give this to me? What is she trying to say? Uncle Wesley, what did I do wrong?" Megan's pitiful sobbing voice rang behind him.

"This feud between you two is stupid." Without turning his head around, he walked into the elevator.

Since Megan knew what the black cymbidium symbolized, she knew about the carnations, too, probably. Why did she suggest he buy them for Blair in the first place? He was just in the middle of a flower war. Wesley didn't like what Megan did. His face darkened.

Nonetheless, he didn't care about any of that. Women would be women, and if they played tricks, it was none of his concern.

Blair idly sat in the passenger seat and watched Wesley come closer. He wasn't holding the bouquet of flowers, so he must have given it to Megan.

He opened the car door and sat in the driver's seat. Before he buckled up, he pulled the smug woman into his arms and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Was that fun?"

Blair felt pain. She covered her mouth and glared at him. "Yes..." Her voice trailed off. The man pulled her hand away and kissed her on the lips again.

After they returned to their apartment, they went to their respective bedrooms. Wesley hadn't kissed Blair in a long time. He felt the kiss in the car wasn't enough.

Absent-mindedly, he finished his shower quickly and came out with a bath towel around his waist. He had just taken his pajamas from the closet and pulled off the bath towel when the door was suddenly pushed open. "Wesley, where's my luggage... Ahh! You... I... Why...are you naked?"

Blair hastily covered her eyes and turned around to leave, her face as red as a tomato.

"Stop!" Wesley called out to stop the woman and slowly put on his pajamas. Then he walked up behind her.

Blair thought he was angry, so she apologized, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I always knock, I mean I usually do. I just forgot this time. Sorry!" She was telling the truth.

He was close now. She opened her eyes slowly and turned around. Seeing him in his pajamas, she heaved a sigh of relief.

But he suddenly took her in his arms and whispered in her ear, his hot breath falling on her neck. "Remember what you told me the other day? You're right, you know, it's been awhile.

Remember when you got me off? You need to help me now."

"What... When did I say that? No, I didn't mean it like that..."

"Whatever! Blair, I already apologized to you. I deserve a reward."

"How?" She suddenly had a bad feeling.

Wesley grabbed her hands which were already healed and answered her with action.